Epilogue: What Happened to Everyone

3 Months Later

Ranma, dressed in a black tux, looked across the aisle at Akane and smiled dumbly at her. She was wearing a beautiful gown that fit her to perfection, her hair had been styled to frame her lovely face that was enhanced with the extra effort she put on her makeup today, and it was worth it. He had never seen her look so beautiful.

Akane smiled back and looked down shyly at her bouquet as a blush formed on her face. Ranma looked so handsome in the black tux that emphasized his wide shoulders and trim waist. His blue eyes shone with so much love and affection that she was overwhelmed and it was hard to look directly into them without getting flustered.

The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and the flowers were in bloom. It was a perfect day for a wedding and the Tendo estate provided the perfect backdrop. The family and friends who gathered to share the special day with the lovely couple were enjoying the happiness that radiated from the pair. For once, a wedding on the Tendo grounds was going perfectly.

It helped that it wasn't Ranma and Akane who were getting married.

The pair looked on as Kasumi, resplendent in an ivory mermaid wedding gown - that showed off her figure perfectly - said her vows to Tofu, who never looked happier. A little dazed but very happy. Standing next to Kasumi was Nabiki, the maid of honor and Akane, her bridesmaid. Tofu had an old college friend serving as his best man and Ranma as a groomsman.

The surprise engagement of Akane to Sota had affected Tofu more than Ranma thought. The doctor had spent many a night worried about the possibility of having yet another unknown engagement by the Tendo patriarch pop up, but this time having his beloved Kasumi taken from him. It had taken him a while to get up the nerve to propose - whenever he tried his Kasumi-itis would act up - but when he did, she happily accepted. They then told her family about the wedding, everyone except Nodoka and Ranma were surprised by the news and everyone was excited for the couple.

The wedding had taken two months to plan, giving Tofu's relatives and friends enough time to make arrangements to come into town. Tofu's mother was deliriously happy that her son was finally ready to marry and to such a paragon of Japanese femininity. For the ceremony she had set the shrine of his father she carried on her little back next to the one of Kasumi's mother. Both the bride and groom where happy with the arrangement as they felt their beloved parents could take part of their wonderful day.

The Ichiro family had helped with the wedding, providing everyone with tuxedos and dresses, along with all the necessary accessories. Tatsuki, who was in the midst of planning her own wedding, and Kasumi, being of similar age and temperament, had hit it off and became fast friends. Both Tatsuki's family and the Chihari family were attending the wedding, having become close friends with the Tendos and Saotomes. The fathers all enjoyed drinking together and telling outrageous but often true stories of training during their formative years. While their long suffering wives enjoyed the respite from the insanity caused by their husbands and encouraged each other's meddling in their children's lives.

Nabiki had graduated from high school and began her first year at university. She chose a college in Tokyo, to Soun's delight, but chose to live on campus, which caused the patriarch to cry at the loss of his little girl. She came home every other weekend to spend time with her family and to have her laundry done by Nodoka, who was more than happy to take over the household chores. Kasumi was consumed with wedding details and began to spend more time with Tofu in his home. Nabiki was happy with the arrangement since she saved money getting her laundry done at home and still had the independence she always craved.

She was still dating Taro, who had decided to move permanently to Nerima. He was living at the Neko Hanten and helping run the restaurant when he wasn't off with Nabiki. He enjoyed their visits and had no problem taking her to and from college for her visits. He actually really liked carrying her in his arms as he flew the distance in his chimera form. It always amazed him that she had no fear or disgust for his alternate state. She was so comfortable with his chimera form, that she often teased that she was more than happy to ride the bull.

Mousse had turned out to have a mind for business and had made some changes to the restaurant that increased business. He decided to take the name of the restaurant literally. The men were now required to wear black slacks and black fitted muscle t-shirts, the women wore black leggings, and black tank-tops with black heels. Everyone was required to put on cat ears and attach a jaunty little tail for service. Ranma promptly quit as this was too much for his ailurophobia. Mousse had begun staffing the day shift with all men, bringing in the bored housewives during the lunch shift. The night shift was primarily female, catching the salary men on the way home from work. Business had never been better.

He still sent money back to Cologne in the Amazon village and had recently gone back for a visit on the pretense of seeing his mother, but had mainly gone to see Shampoo. He was more confident now. With his improved eyesight, his skills had also improved greatly. It helped that he now had Taro, Konatsu, Akane, and even Ranma to train with. He had hoped to impress his beloved and win her hand.

However, his hopes had been dashed. When he got home he found out that Shampoo had been married the month before! His mother had been forbidden by the Elders to notify her son of the arrangement for fear that he would try to interrupt the ceremony.

Upon returning home, Shampoo had been completely heartbroken. Cologne had suggested a political marriage would be advantageous for her, as it would unite two powerful Amazon families. The proposed groom was a distant cousin of Shampoo, being Cologne's cousin's great great grandson. The male was attractive enough and more than willing to marry her. In Cologne's opinion, he would be the perfect Amazon husband; willing to take care of the children, tend the home, had no aspirations of becoming a warrior, and with his family lineage, she knew he would provide Shampoo with powerful offspring.

Shampoo had been convinced she would never love again, and in her state, she had hastily accepted Cologne's proposal. She left all the planning to the bridegroom and focused on her new training. The Elder Amazon, finally realizing her legacy's true weaknesses was in critical thinking and not physical acumen, had begun to train Shampoo mentally. She was getting new lessons in Amazon politics, war planning, and most of all, impulse control.

Mousse had planned to visit for two weeks but had left after only three days. He could not bear seeing his beloved with someone else and of hearing the entire village gossiping about the happy couple. He came back to Nerima broken hearted, knowing he would never return to the village except for the occasional visit to his mother.

Sayuri had watched him in concern. She had accepted that she would never be able to touch his heart the way Shampoo had but still wanted to be there for him. Unwilling to sit and wait for him to notice her, she had begun dating a college freshman but she still held out hope that she had a chance with the male Amazon in the future.

Hiroshi's crush had been a superficial one and it was easy for him to begin chasing one of the new waitresses at the Neko Hanten, who was a bit of an airhead, a lot of a flirt, and very well endowed.

Despite their agreement to not get involved in their friend's love lives, Ranma and Akane had been subtly trying to steer Daisuke and Yuka together. For her part, Akane had been touting Daisuke's praises while emphasizing the more playboy aspects of Hiroshi's personality. Ranma had been trying to get the two to spend a much time together as possible while encouraging the shyer boy to be a little more outgoing when speaking to Yuka. To their delight, it was working, but slowly. They were both so shy they had still not gone on their first date.

Happosai still occupied his room in the Tendo home but to Soun and Genma's delight had spent most of his time "training." The Grandmaster was happy with the arrangement he made with Akane. He still found it surprising that all those lovely young girls were so sweet to him and he enjoyed the interactions so much that he was determined to follow her rules, not wanting to risk losing the guaranteed new stash of lovelies he got every month. But he was so tempted every time he saw Ranma or Akane enter the furo that he decided to spend the rest of the month traveling throughout Japan.

Ryoga eventually found his way back to Akari. She was happy to see him but wondered at his sullen mood. He remained quiet about the situation but finally told the farm girl the truth about his situation with Akane. He had plenty of time to think about how his secret had affected the blue-haired girl. He felt terrible about it and didn't want to risk Akari reacting the same way should she learn about "P-Chan." Akari had been upset upon learning the truth but it was mostly over the fact that Ryoga had been in love with Akane. She comforted Ryoga the best she could and he remained at the Unryu farm, helping to train her prized pigs whenever he wasn't lost and wandering the globe.

Thanks to Konatsu, both Kunos had left Japan. After the infamous kiss with her brother, Kodachi slowly became unraveled. She was absolutely disgusted by the fact that she kissed her own brother, but the fact that it had been her very first kiss had only made it worse. She had tried to push the event from her mind but couldn't. It seemed to plague her, getting so bad that when she looked at a guy, she began to see aspects of her brother in each of them. Even when she was alone with Kon. It disturbed her so much that she had decided to leave Japan in hopes that finding a gaijin, who looked nothing like her brother, would solve the problem.

What she didn't know was that Konatsu was gas-lighting her. He had started to speak with Kuno's verbose syntax, had styled his hair in the exact same way, and even started to wear Tatewaki's cologne. Kodachi had chosen to spend her last year of high school in France. She decided on the location because of a love of the food and was now attending a prestigious all girl's school near Paris. One faithful weekend after her first month there, she met a wonderful gaijin with blond hair, aristocratic features, and bright blue eyes. They bonded over their love of food and the fact that they both practiced unique styles of martial arts. Instead of being disgusted by his inherited physical abnormality, she found it intriguing. Picolet was so smitten by her, he purchased a diamond ring and planned to propose to her the following weekend.

Tatewaki, being used to suppressing reality, had promptly forgotten the kissing incident as soon as it happened and Konatsu's plan to disgust the elder Kuno sibling fell flat on its face. So the kunoichi came up with a different plan to get the kendoist out of everyone's hair. He had planted the idea that Kuno needed to go on a Samurai's quest to prove his manhood before he could earn the kunoichi's hand in marriage. Kuno left on his warrior's journey shortly after graduation. His first stop was China where he promptly forgot about the kunoichi.

When he got to China he went into the wilds and ran into his pig-tailed goddess. Or who he thought was his pig-tailed goddess but turned out to be a stranger. The confusion was understandable as the other girl could have been his pig-tailed girl's twin sister. But the girl was somehow even more uninhibited; she ran around almost naked and didn't care. She was a little peculiar with her love of piggy back rides, love of bananas, and her fondness for grooming him. The oddest thing though was the way she seemed to disappear, especially around the hot water springs, where her pet monkey would suddenly show up. But she was so passionate and wild, so free with her affection and body, that it was easy to overlook her idiosyncrasies.

Konatsu, for his part, was still happily working at Ucchan's. He couldn't have been more content with his job and was more than pleased with his social life. He wasn't dating anyone now that the Kunos had both left Nerima but the group of friends he had felt like family.

Ukyo was another matter. She still had mixed feelings about everything. After that talk with Ranma, she had broken down in tears and stayed that way until she felt Konatsu's strong arms wrap around her. She found herself comforted by his embrace and inside her the turmoil turned into something different, something she didn't understand. He was successful in calming her down but she was still upset about the situation. It took a while for her to understand that she hadn't really loved Ranma. Cared for him, yes. But loved him? No. She knew that if she really had, she wouldn't have gotten over the pain of losing him so easily. What lingered was the feeling of embarrassment at being dumped and the anger at his treatment of her. Not to mention the humiliation at being so thoroughly beaten by Akane.

She decided to finish out her last year at Furinkan but requested to be transferred to a different class than Akane and Ranma. Whatever her feelings, she was not going to submit herself to watching the two together. In her off time, she found herself thinking of Konatsu more and more. However, she wasn't willing to admit that she had growing feelings for the kunochi, so she treated him the way she always had. Konatsu, not thinking he was worth her notice, had remained oblivious to her growing attraction.

As for our favorite couple, things had not changed much but changed a lot at the same time. After their conversation in the dojo, they had told Nodoka, Kasumi, and Nabiki of their new status; happily dating. Together the women and Ranma told Soun and Genma that they would no longer fight the engagement but felt they were too young to marry. That had caused an eruption by the two fathers who didn't understand why the heirs couldn't marry right then and there.

Nodoka had quieted her husband with the simple and expedient act of placing the Saotome honor blade on the table and slowly, dramatically withdrawing the blade. He had not forgotten her words or her treatment of him when she learned about his part in keeping P-Chan's true identity a secret. He wisely quieted down and prayed that his best friend would be able to convince their children to go along with a quickie wedding.

Soun had been happy at the announcement that his youngest daughter was no longer fighting her engagement but confused on why she didn't just fulfill her duty to their family. He had expressed his concerns rather diplomatically, or so he thought, and was cowed by Kasumi and Nabiki's response. They both grew large and ominous and leaned over him with looks of disappointment and anger, respectively, on their faces. He would have continued to stutter his objections but he glanced over to his youngest daughter and the look on her face killed all his protests.

She looked so sad, so disappointed in him. He had not forgotten the harm he had done by keeping Ryoga's secret and knew that if he continued to protest he would permanently damage his relationship with her. He sighed deeply as he took out a cigarette. Lighting it and taking the first intoxicating pull of tobacco helped calm him. He blew out the smoke and told his family that if Ranma and Akane promised to one day, in the not so distant future, get married, he would no longer press for a wedding. Genma looked devastated at his friend's acquiescence but was unable to stand against everyone else.

Akane smiled at Soun. She was still mad that he had kept the knowledge of Ryoga's alternate form a secret in what he believed was her best interest, but with that simple acquiescence to her wishes, he had truly gained her forgiveness. She knew that her father could not change who he was. But he was still her father. She had already lost her mother and she did not want to lose him, too.

Since then, Ranma had kept his promise to train Akane in the Saotome style. He was teaching her the Saotome school katas and learned some of the Tendo ones in turn. They had even developed some katas together, combining the styles of both schools. The fathers watched on happily, finally seeing the two schools joined in one way. The pig-tailed boy also devised his own way of training Akane without hitting her: he simply had other people do it.

Mousse, Konatsu, and Taro had become a common sight at the Tendo Dojo, with all five training together. None of the other boys had any problems sparring with Akane and Ranma could trust them not to get carried away when they fought with her. And if they did, he was there to step in. It was worth the worry because Akane was so happy and he could see the effects the training had on her. She truly was a practitioner of the Anything Goes School principals and was able to incorporate all the different styles together seamlessly.

Their relationship had continued to grow in other areas, too. As difficult as it was for them, they had worked on talking through their problems. Sometimes it was their tempers that got in the way, others it was their stubbornness, and the simple fact that neither were good at expressing themselves also caused problems. But throughout it all they tried, which was the important thing.

They had grown closer physically, too. The more time they spent together the more they seemed to want each other. Their make out sessions were always hot and heavy as they explored each other's bodies. The only problem they had was stopping before they went too far. When they did finally separate after their long study sessions, they were often left frustrated. Both were then forced to see to their own unfulfilled needs in private before going to bed fitfully.

Akane had begun to wonder why they were waiting. She loved him and he loved her. Would it matter if they made love before they were married? Surprisingly, it was Kasumi who convinced her she didn't need to wait.

The three Tendo sisters were in the dojo late one night after Kasumi's bridal shower. All of the guests had left and the three girls sat and talked as they finished off the last of the sake. They were all a little tipsy from having imbibed throughout the evening. Nabiki reached behind her to pull out the present she bought for the occasion.

She handed the gift bag to her sister and said with a smirk, "This is from me. I thought you would want to wait to open it."

Kasumi reached into the pink and black bag and pulled out a rather racy piece of lingerie designed to resemble a nurses uniform, complete with a little hat, stethoscope, white thigh-high stockings and a very tiny red thong that matched the small red cross that decorated the hat.

Akane's eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Nabiki!"

The middle sister just shrugged before saying, "What? How many people can play doctor with an actual doctor?"

Kasumi just giggled and put the garment in front of her chest to gauge how it would look on and said, "Thank you. I'm sure Tofu will love it." At Akane's disbelieving look, the eldest sister smiled mischievously and added, "There is a reason I'm not wearing white at the wedding, little sister."

Akane almost spit out her drink and wondered if her eldest sister had drank a bit too much alcohol that night. But Kasumi only giggled some more. When her mother died she had asked Kasumi to look after her sisters and father. Her mother never told her how she should do it, so Kasumi thought she should act like her mother had. She spent years taking care of the house, tending to everyone, and trying to be a good example for her sisters.

But now she considered her job done, her sisters were grown. Nabiki was in college and Akane was practically an adult. She was proud of how they both turned out and proud of the part she played in it. With Nodoka there to take care of the Tendo household, Kasumi could start her own family knowing her father and youngest sister would be taken care of. Sitting around with her sisters, she felt lighter than she could ever remember. This was what she had wanted for such a long time, to be able to spend time with her sisters as sisters, without having to act like their mother.

Nabiki laughed uproariously. "Way to go Tofu! I didn't think he had it him!" She rolled her eyes at her younger sister and added, "Stop being such a prude, I know you aren't innocent anymore." When Akane only looked down and turned red Nabiki burst out laughing again. "I don't believe it. You and Saotome haven't done it yet?"

"No! Not...really. I mean we've done...stuff but..."

"What's the problem? Can't Ranma get it up?" the middle Tendo asked with a smirk on her face.

"Oh, he has no problem with that," Akane answered before her eyes grew wide as she realized what she admitted to. Her face grew even redder when Nabiki wiggled her eyesbrows suggestively at her younger sister and Kasumi giggled behind her hand.

"Alright, why haven't you then? With the way you look at each other, I'm surprised you aren't walking around bow legged all the time."

"I thought we should wait...you know, until we're married."

Nabiki only rolled her eyes at her younger sister.

"You two love each other and belong together. If you want to wait because you aren't ready, then wait. But don't do it because you think you have to follow some sort of rule," Kasumi advised, shocking Akane.

"But...but...you always said you thought we were too young!"

"And you were, when I said it. You hadn't even accepted the engagement or your feelings back then. Things are different now. You're older, more mature, and most importantly, you know you love each other."

Akane let that sink in a moment before she turned bright red as Nabiki began to tell her all the things she was missing, going into embarrassing detail that included suggestive positions. She sunk down in her seat in mortification as Kasumi nodded wisely at some of the advice and added some of her own less descriptive suggestions. Her eldest sister had clearly drankdrunk too much sake.

The next morning Nabiki took Akane to the local clinic for birth control.

It was now evening and stars were out. The reception was still going strong in the dojo and Ranma and Akane had slipped out for a breath of fresh air. They stood by the pond gazing at the stars.

The pig-tailed boy cleared his throat and began to fidget with his braid, a sure sign that he was nervous. Beside him, his fiancée waited patiently knowing he would say what he wanted to in due time.

Clearing his throat again, he said, "So...'Kane...there's something that I've been meanin' ta ask ya."

She turned to face him expectantly with a smile on her face.

"The thing is...I mean..." he stuttered and when she only continued to look at him he mumbled quickly, "Willyabemygirlfriend?"

Akane blinked at him, not having understood the question. "Sorry, I didn't catch that."

Sighing deeply he blushed and said slower, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

She blinked slowly at him, surprised at the question. It seemed a little silly and unnecessary considering they were engaged but she quickly realized the significance of the question. They had not chosen the engagement and were originally forced into it by their parents. They had accepted it yes, but it was assumed they would get married, it wasn't a choice of theirs to make. This new status would be their choice, their decision together.

When she didn't answer right away he added, "See, I've had fiancées before but I've never had a girlfriend and well I...I'd like you to be...Will you?"

Ranma watched as she began to worry her bottom lip and when a frown came to her face he grew concerned. Given the choice was she going to say no? Had she decided after being with him that she no longer wanted him?

"You see, there's this thing that you should know," she began hesitantly.

Fear began to fill him as a cold line of sweat ran down his back.

"I…I," she began nervously. "I have this...," she rolled her hand in the air trying to find the right words, "fiancé. And he's gets very jealous when other guys ask me out."

She smiled at him with a twinkle in her eyes as she watched him visibly relax. Sometimes it was just fun messing with him.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. He's pretty tough, too," she added, running her hands down his lapels and brushing off imaginary lint from his shoulders. She'd had the urge to touch him all day and could no longer resist.

"Really?"

Akane nodded her head and looked at him from beneath her lashes.

"Big, strong, and handsome," she added as she unnecessarily adjusted his tie.

"Is that all?"

"Sexy. He is very, very sexy," she added huskily. She then bit her bottom lip, which she knew turned him on.

"Well, I think I can take him," he said as he yanked her to him before he brought his mouth slowly to hers.

She found it so thrilling when he grabbed her like that. There was just something so masculine and primal about the forceful move that got her blood pumping. She closed her eyes in anticipation, her heart already thumping wildly in her chest.

But nothing happened.

She opened her eyes and found his mouth hovering over hers tantalizingly. His right eyebrow quirked at her questioningly as he trailed his fingers teasingly down her neck. He smiled as she shuddered at his ministrations. He loved the affect he had on her.

"Well, if you think you can take him, then yes," she said breathlessly.

Ranma brushed his lips against hers gently, before nipping her lip lightly with his teeth. She opened her lips with a groan and he dove in, exploring her warm mouth with his tongue. His hands began their own exploration, running over the generous curves he had admired all day. He squeezed her bottom with both hands and she moaned in pleasure.

He broke their kiss and began to trail kisses down her slender neck. When he reached the sensitive hollow where her neck and shoulders met she tilted her head to side to give him better access. She loved it when he laved over that spot with his tongue and she closed her eyes to better enjoy his assault. Another moan escaped her lips as she felt the now familiar throbbing begin between her thighs. She could feel herself get wet and the rest of her body began to tingle.

She ran her hands up against his muscular chest, needing to feel his strong muscles. She began to unbutton his shirt as she moved them backwards, leading them towards the house. When she slipped her hands under his shirt and felt his smooth skin and muscles under her fingers, she paused to rub herself against the prominent bulge now wedged between them.

Unable to restrain himself anymore, Ranma bent and placed his hands under her thighs and deftly lifted her up bridal style. He found it difficult to walk in his current state but he wanted desperately to be alone with his beautiful girlfriend, which was all the motivation he needed to get them quickly up the stairs.

She gladly wrapped her arms around his neck as she placed kisses along the strong line of his jaw before she teasingly nibbled on his ear. She had to squeeze her thighs together as her core began to ache with need as he carried her up to her room and slammed the door shut behind them.

Her last coherent thought for was, We're both getting lucky tonight.

A/N: That's it folks! The story is over! I've dealt with what I think are all their major issues, both individually and as a couple. Not everyone had a happy ending or even ended up with the person they wanted, but that's life. For anyone who is confused, Kuno ended up with the monkey Herb turned into a woman using nyannichuan.

I'm sure some of you are wondering why I didn't end it with Ranma and Akane getting married. I simply believe that they are too young. If you take away the pressure from their parents and other outside influences, they would be happy just being engaged for a while as long as they understand their feelings for each other and where they stand as a couple. I know Ranma asking Akane to be his girlfriend is a little OOC but I think he would want them to define their relationship for themselves. Plus it was just cute.

I've written over 150,000 words in 10 months and ended up with a story that I'm really proud of. I hope you enjoyed reading it because I enjoyed writing it. Thank you to everyone who has come along for this wonderful ride. When I started this, I thought that maybe I would hit 100 reviews total and this far outstripped what I thought was possible. So thank you to everyone who has left a review, either short or long, for this story. I can't believe it reached over 400! Yay!

Side note: reviews are so important to the writers on this site because it lets us know what you do and don't like about the story and our writing style. So please leave a review on the stories you read. For those who leave guest reviews, consider creating an account as it is hard to answer your questions when we can no PM you.

I could not have done this alone. Thanks to KaikiH for proof reading my first chapter and for supporting me when I had doubts about my story. Also thank you, PepperonyOwl for all her help with the early chapters of the story, your insights were wonderful. I really miss your stories so I hope you come back to the fandom soon! The biggest thanks has to go to alwaysZutarian who was the best beta reader ever with her insights into the characters, her pointing out when I needed to add just a bit more to each chapter, but mostly her moral support. This story wouldn't have been as good without her help. You ladies rock!

Original Publication Date: March 18, 2015

Revised: September 29, 2015