Characters from the manga, Ranma 1/2 are the product of Rumiko Takahashi and other respective copyright holders. This fanfiction is not for commercial use and is only for the writer's and readers' imaginations and enjoyment.

FEB 2018: I have recently gotten back into writing for the time being and felt necessary to do some serious modifications to R&R. I am studying the Ranma 1/2 manga as much as possible and have decided to disregard the anime for this. I've picked up reading manga again and this stimulated my desire for writing for some reason, so here we are. I know that R&A may seem out of character, but there is a reason and purpose to it. Having served in the military for twenty years and seeing fellow service members and suffering from PTSD myself, I know how events can change people near-instantly. I can honestly say that the overwhelming flood of emotions can be just that...overwhelming. Channeling some of what I've experienced has been therapeutic.

Throughout, I will be using common usages of Japanese honorifics. I won't use them all the time, but mostly to delineate relationships between a variety of characters. This is so readers can differentiate between the varying levels of familiarity and respect that such honorifics show in Japanese society. Having been military myself, I used rank and names on a daily basis, so it is a habit of mine.

Some words that might not be recognized at first have, in fact, entered the English lexicon throughout the years from the Japanese language (i.e. omiai). I will provide an explanation at the end of the appropriate chapter that I use it in should it not be (i.e. uchideshi).

As an FYI, Furinkan is a fictional area of Nerima ward. I believe that it is modeled after Shakujii, a neighborhood or suburb within the ward itself. The park that Rumiko Takahashi used as a model for some of the manga is the Shakujii Park where the castle used to be. Additionally, the river that Ranma and Akane walk along (not a canal, thought by many), is reminiscent of the Shirako River (Shirako-gawa 白子川).

Thanks to for making a detailed and fairly accurate timeline for me to use. The notes for any modifications and reasons behind them appear to be well-thought-out and reasonable, IMHO. If you wish to check it out, go to (should the link not work, you'll have to hand-jam the address in...):

mzephyr dot altervista dot org slash timeline dot html

I hope you enjoy!

TAG: LEMON

Rewind and Replay

Chapter One: Settling In

1730, Sunday, 6 May

A steady swaying lulled Ranma as he came back to consciousness. It was trying to sink him back into a more restful sleep, but he refused to give in. A dull pain on the back of Ranma's head let him know he was alive, whatever that meant. Because of its effects, he felt somewhat groggy and disoriented. Shaking his head feebly to dispel the cobwebs, he took a look at his surroundings.

Holding him was his father in panda form. The Tendo's dojo front gate was closed behind them. He was thrown over his father's shoulder like a bag of rice. His...or rather, her, he noticed, because of the curse being activated, hands were dangling down below. Raising one up, he gently probed the tender spot to determine the extent of the damage to his skull.

Satisfied that he wasn't concussed nor had a fracture, he turned his attention to where his father was going. By now, they had entered the house proper. Genma-panda was lumbering through the main hallway. There was a commotion ahead. For some reason, it sounded vaguely familiar.

Lifting Ranma-onna off of his shoulder, Genma-panda placed in front of him with the boy-turned-girl facing the assembly.

Soun Tendo and family were arrayed before him. Soun, Nabiki and Kasumi were peeking out from behind him, and Akane off to one side. All but one showed both fear and shock. Curiously, Akane appeared to have a smirk she was desperately trying to hide, as if the scene before her was amusing.

Kasumi sounded afraid, saying, "Daddy...this...is your friend?"

Soun denied the allegations, shaking his head vehemently.

"Oh, so this panda just decided to visit! Happens all the time," Nabiki said shrilly to her father.

Soun shook his head vigorously from side to side again, denying any involvement with these strangers showing up in his home uninvited. He hadn't been friends with anyone in a traveling circus.

Ranma-onna thought to himself as their conversation went on, What's with them? They're acting as if they don't even know me. Looking back at his father for some sort of clue, he turned back to the group.

Soun bent down, pointing and asking, "You...wouldn't be...?" Ranma-onna looked sharply at Soun and Nabiki, realizing what was going on.

"Ranma Saotome," was his curt answer. He wasn't embarrassed about them showing up in cursed form this time. It was one of the few things aside from the Art that he had bothered to remember because of the emotional and psychological significance it had impressed upon him. He had dreamed this encounter a number of times because of how much its effect had influenced his stay from that day forward. It was all coming back to him slowly. There would to be no excuses or apologies this time if he could help it.

Soun beamed with joy. "At last, you've come" the older man exclaimed happily.

Nabiki, standing next to her father, relaxed and quipped, "He is cute!"

Soun stepped forward, grasping Ranma-onna by the shoulders. "It's so good of you to come," Soun blubbered. For a heartbeat, Ranma-onna was panicked because he couldn't shrug Soun's hands off of his shoulders. Instead of trying to get away, he raised his hands up to Soun's midriff, ensuring he wouldn't be hugged. He pushed more forcefully as Soun attempted, once again, to bring Ranma-onna into a hug. They stood that way for several heartbeats. Soun had not, of course, noticed anything untoward because of his focus on Ranma-onna's face. However, with Ranma-onna's reticence at being hugged, his eyes were able to take in more of the youth in front of him. With his height and proximity to Ranma-onna, realization finally dawned upon Soun's face at what he was looking at.

Following her father's gaze, Nabiki stepped forward to inspect Ranma-onna's body more closely. She was about to poke the bulging shirt, but Ranma-onna caught her by the wrist with his own hand. "Yes, they're boobs," Ranma-onna said in a neutral voice. Nabiki leaned her weight forward and continued to try to poke one still, but Ranma-onna's grip was firm and wouldn't let her finger advance one iota. Perturbed, Nabiki stepped back.

Turning, she looked at her father accusingly. "You said Ranma was a boy. He is a girl!"

Just as Ranma-onna remembered it, Soun swooned in front of everybody at the news. Ranma-onna suppressed a snicker, trying to act shocked by covering his mouth. He was shoved aside as Genma-panda stepped forward and picked Soun up. Kasumi and Nabiki, alarmed, were about to protest the action, but subsided when he stepped forward. They melted back from the panda, allowing him passage into the family room where he lay Soun down in a more comfortable position.

Akane fell in beside Ranma-onna as they walked to the family room. She leaned closer, whispering, "Jusenkyo."

Ranma-onna nearly jumped out of his skin, hearing the word. He grabbed Akane's elbow, which spun her as she halted. He looked up into her eyes. Akane's own smiled at Ranma-onna. Hope filled his heart. "You, too?" he asked.

Akane nodded, seeming to affirm his question. "We'll talk in the dojo." Ranma-onna felt a thrilled shock course through his body. They continued into the family room.

Kasumi went deeper into the house and returned momentarily with a futon and pillow, arranging it so the panda could lay Soun down on it. Nabiki followed with a cool, damp cloth and laid it on Soun's forehead. Ranma-onna and Akane had stood back as the others administered aid to Soun. They sat down next to each other when a spot opened up.

Curious, he gave Akane a sidelong look. If the hint she had just given him was any indication, he wasn't the only one restarting the first day of his arrival. Were there others, perhaps?

He decided to play things out similar to what had happened before. Wracking his brain, he tried to remember what everyone's initial actions had been when he and his father had first arrived. So far as he could recall, everything up to now had nearly been by the script. It was just that, as everything was playing live, he had to ensure the sequence of events and his reactions were in order. Easier said than done.

As Kasumi said, "Oh, poor Father. He must be so disappointed," more memories of what had happened began to click for him.

"He's disappointed," Nabiki said heatedly. "He's not the only one!" Nabiki turned from Kasumi to face Ranma-onna. "Look at her! Some fiancé this is!" Perhaps this was what had soured her attitude towards him? She sounded as if she had been mortally insulted. Whereas he had been wallowing in his own shame before, he could now attend to his surroundings and was astonished at the palpable animosity she was emitting.

It didn't take long for Soun to recover from his swoon as the two eldest girls argued. As soon as he started showing signs of consciousness, everyone turned towards him. "Look, everyone," Kasumi said to emphasize the point,"Father's coming to."

Nabiki returned her attention to her father, glaring at him. "This is all your fault, Daddy! Don't you know the difference between a boy and a girl?"

Feebly, Soun answered, "I assumed my friend Genma's son was a boy," having added a great deal of emphasis to the word 'son'.

Nabiki tried poking Ranma-onna's breast again, but Ranma-onna was not allowing that to happen any time soon. He grabbed her wrist and prevented any form of poking of his body parts. Simply put, it was both embarrassing and it hurt a bit. "You want me to start poking yours, too," he asked. Flustered, Nabiki pulled her hand back. She rubbed at her sore wrist absently. Now that Nabiki had her attention elsewhere, Ranma-onna piped up, saying, "Actually, my pop is right, I'm a guy." He received some incredulous stares for that statement.

Akane, looking annoyed at Nabiki's treatment of Ranma-onna, leaned forward. "Why don't you leave her alone? She is a guest," she growled. It appeared to Ranma-onna that Akane seemed to pause minutely when she had used Ranma-onna's current gender.

Things seemed to be getting weirder and weirder. He continued to watch her surreptitiously. As he expected, Akane turned to him, asking, "Hey, you want to go practice?"

Ranma-onna made himself look as if he were thinking about it. Looking up at her, into her eyes, he nodded his assent.

"I'm Akane. You want to be friends?" Her smile was friendly.

Ranma-onna felt as if something had pierced his heart. These had been words given to a total stranger the first day he had arrived, and they were offered once again. Were they genuine? Or was it an act to throw off her family before they went to the dojo?

Knowing he would finally figure it out what was going on, he smiled and stood up. He followed Akane out of the family room and around towards the dojo. He clearly remembered that he had simply dodged Akane during their very first bout, since that was his usual tactic when sparring with her. They had laughed afterwards that first time.

Akane led him to the dojo without saying a word. After they were inside and the door was closed, she turned to face him, seemingly excited. "Wow, this is so strange! It's like we're doing everything all over again!" she exclaimed.

Ranma-onna couldn't help but feel some excitement as well. "Yeah, it's pretty weird. I dunno what's going on, really. My day started with me wakin' up from getting brained by Pops. It only really came to me when your dad was askin' who I was."

Akane nodded in understanding. "My day started when I woke up this morning to get ready for my morning exercises. I could tell it was you because of how you reacted to Daddy and Nabiki. What are we going to do?"

Looking at the dojo door, Ranma-onna shrugged. Cautiously, "I'm not sure why we're startin' all over again. There's gotta be a reason behind it, but I have no clue why yet. As far as I figure it, we're about to be engaged, though. Again." He was curious as to his initial emotion about what he said. Was it anticipation? He didn't feel troubled about what was to happen. In fact, he was rather looking forward to it.

"Yes, I believe we are." Her eyes followed his gaze back to the house. "In a little while, you will be going to the furo to get cleaned up. And then I walked in on you, thinking you were a girl at the time."

Ranma-onna looked back at her. Her tone was unreadable. Looking at her face, though, he could see the hint of a smile. And she calls me the pervert, he thought. "Yeah, well, now that you know it's me this time around and I'm cursed, we can avoid stuff like that."

They shared a knowing smile. Feeling a bit of their usual embarrassment when sharing emotions, they looked away. The silence between them lengthened.

Thoughts of their situation flitted through their minds. After a time, Akane broke the silence with, "Ranma, are you...are you willing to go along with the engagement?" Her tone was soft, like the 'cute' Akane he remembered.

Ranma-onna pursed his lips in thought, looking sidelong at Akane. If they had a 'second chance', then a lot of the mistakes from before could be avoided. Right? Now that they were at the beginning of their relationship, so to speak, he wasn't engaged to either Shampoo or Ukyo. They would be showing up eventually, true, but that would give them time to build their relationship without interference. "I, er, don't mind if you don't. I was engaged to Nabiki once and that was like a nightmare. And being engaged to Kasumi? I dunno. It's like me dating my mother and I can't really get past that. Besides, Tofu-sensei likes her." He deliberately avoided mentioning his other paramours.

Akane chuckled. "After they found out about the curse, they were really freaked out by it," she remembered. "Kasumi and Nabiki were quick to push the engagement onto me." Recalling just how fast they had done it and the reasons they had done so left a bitter taste in her mouth. Shaking it off, she said, "I want to actually spar real quick if you don't mind."

The offer sounded pretty good. He wanted to see if there was anything different with his body now that they were in the past. "Sure, why not?"

The two got into their respective ready stances. Akane shot forward, as she usually liked to initiate combat. Ranma began dodging. As they continued, Ranma began throwing light touches to vital spots on Akane's body. Nothing that would harm her, but enough for him to tell what his current speed and reaction times were. He was also assessing Akane's. While she hadn't gained as much speed and power as he had before, she had still improved due to the various fights they had experienced. Additionally, sparring with her had been enough to raise her speed as she attempted to land a blow upon him.

Eventually, they came to a stop. Akane appeared flustered. "You're still too scared to hit me," she accused.

"It's not that I'm scared to," Ranma-onna countered. "I just don't wanna." The thought of inflicting pain on Akane was agonizing in and of itself. He couldn't see himself doing it.

She didn't appreciate his disingenuous reply. Walking to the door, she called back, "Come on, Ranma. I want to get cleaned up. Go get your bath so that I can get mine."

Nodding, Ranma-onna followed her out of the dojo and sought out Kasumi after rummaging through his pack, which was still lying in the entrance, and got out a clean set of clothes. When he found her, she held a towel and washcloth in her arms, as if in anticipation of his desire. Taking them, he smiled up at Kasumi. "Thanks."

Kasumi was about to give him directions to the furo, but he was already walking off in the right direction. She said nothing, but looked puzzled for a moment before going about her duties. Perhaps he had received directions from Akane already.

He stepped into the changing room and undressed. Stretching a bit, he worked the kinks out of his body, moving into the furoba proper. Having been accustomed to his female body for so long, he paid no mind to the cold water and how it felt to his body. With a contented sigh, he sank into the furo to soak, enjoying the fact he was back in his original form.

Eyes closed and relaxed, he began picking at what was bothering him.

Both he and Akane were in the past, or so it seemed. If it had been otherwise, then someone else would have given up the jig somehow. Kasumi, probably. She wasn't prone to such acts. It was a fact that they were repeating everything from the first day they had met. The only differences thus far were some of their reactions and what their memories had provided.

It was odd that Akane had started her day out by waking up in her bed that morning, and him only coming to while over Genma's shoulder. Instead of being embarrassed by both his and his father's arrival, he had noticed some key details about the Tendos. Nabiki, for instance, had seemed eager to be attending an omiai and meeting him for the first time, but had soured. After having found out about his curse the first time, she had literally jumped at the chance to push him off to Akane. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why she treated him so bad.

What also bothered him was how he and Akane would deal with the engagement, now that they had preexisting knowledge of each other. Maybe he could get her to stop calling him a pervert? He could also try to be nicer. He had promised himself to do so when they were walking away from Ryugenzawa hand-in-hand. Would Akane refrain from her usual anger at him because of their first meeting? She had been so nice and friendly when she had thought of him as a girl the first time, then had turned belligerent thereafter.

He gulped at the next train of thought.

He had no desire to be engaged with either Nabiki or Kasumi, as he had stated earlier. Was Akane truly willing to take on the engagement without having it shoved off onto her? The way she had seemed earlier hinted at the fact she truly didn't mind. Thinking of not being engaged to Akane left him with a strange feeling. She had professed that she didn't want to be engaged on numerous occasions in the past, but she really hadn't broken the engagement. Aside from the one time he ended up engaged to Nabiki due to a falling out. He still shuddered uncontrollably at the memory.

Well, they had broken up more than the one time, to be sure, but their break-ups had never lasted long, he amended. More often than not, she had just said that she wanted nothing to do with him. Sighing, he shook his head and stood up. Time was getting short. There was to be another family meeting soon. He was getting anxious about the whole bit and was starting to go around in mental circles. Drying himself off, he entered the changing room and put on his clean set of clothes. Stepping out, he found Akane leaning against the wall across from the door.

He smiled at her. "No surprises this time, eh?"

Akane matched his smile. "Everybody else is in for a surprise, though," was her reply. "I'll be out in a few moments." She slipped past him into the changing room and closed the door behind her.

No, no surprises this time. After Akane had run screaming into the family room, she had sought out a stone to drown 'the pervert in the bathroom'. She hadn't had a chance to get cleaned up before the explanation had started. This time she would. With her taking a bath, it put the family meeting a little further into the day. Nothing untoward would happen, he figured. But it wouldn't be too imprudent to check how things were going elsewhere.

Creeping down the hall, he peered around the corner into the family room. Sitting in the family room, both Soun and his father were facing each other, looking as if they had been in a deep discussion. Kasumi entered from another doorway and placed two beers down next to them. From his angle, he couldn't tell if Nabiki was in the room or not.

Stealthily, Ranma made his way around and through the house to the kitchen without being seen. Kasumi had entered before he did. Lifting the noren, he cleared his throat so as not to unduly startle Kasumi.

In a polite tone, he said, "Excuse me, Kasumi. Could I get a kettle of warm water, not boiling, and a couple glasses of cold water, please?" He clearly remembered Genma being scalded the first time Soun had changed him from panda to human. It still made him chuckle at his father's discomfort.

Kasumi turned to see the male Ranma. He was wearing the same style of clothes as his female side had and was taller. She was confused about how the panda had disappeared and a young man was now in their house. What about the girl? Was she still in the bath? And where did this boy come from, who was wearing the same style of clothing as the girl?

Could there be a connection?

"Why, yes, I can do that for you..." She looked at him expectantly.

Noticing that she was prompting him for his name, Ranma said, "I'm, er, Ranma Saotome. I need the water for a bit of a demonstration."

Kasumi nodded, even more perplexed. Putting her puzzled thoughts aside, she did as she had been asked. By the way Ranma was talking he would be doing some explaining to the family of what was happening.

Once again, Ranma made his way around the house without being noticed and stood near the changing room. Akane would soon be finishing her bath. Setting his back to the wall and sliding down until he was sitting, he waited.

After ten minutes of waiting, he was beginning to get impatient. What was taking her so long? She usually didn't languish in the furo if there was something important going on.

Just as he was standing up to knock on the door to find out what the holdup was, the door opened. He froze, hand raised, ready to knock. Akane looked up at him. She looked as if she were preoccupied as her eyes followed his arm to his side. Without changing expression, she said, "Why don't you let me go in first? I think it's better if we do it that way. When you come in, you can introduce yourself."

"I already talked to Kasumi. I asked her to get some warm and cold water. If Pops wants to try anything funny, he's going to get a nasty surprise." Stepping out of the way, he allowed her to proceed to the family room.

When she got there, Nabiki was sitting at the table, munching on some snacks. Kasumi was just setting down the items she has been asked to bring. She also had tea cups for four people. Akane, seeing that Genma and her father were already served, assumed they were for the three Tendo girls and Ranma.

Taking a seat at the table next to Nabiki, she pulled her cup of tea closer and looked into it. She kept an eye on the entrance she had entered from.

Meanwhile, Ranma was slowly counting to himself. He wanted Akane to get settled first. It wouldn't seem appropriate if he followed her in too closely. Their plans might be blown away if the sisters, Soun, and his father realized that Akane knew him. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that their lives would be more difficult if anyone suspected them of anything.

Ruefully, he thought, It wouldn't be the first time I was accused of something. This time, I am guilty. And Akane's in on it this time, too.

Deciding that enough time had passed, he made his way to the family room.

By this time, Akane was growing impatient with him just as he had only moments before. She started to let a sigh out just as he entered her sight, but checked herself. Turning away from him, she looked out of the open doors towards the pond, past her father and Genma.

This allowed Kasumi to be the one to notice him first. As if she were used to him, she said, "Oh, there you are, Ranma." As she said this, everyone's head swiveled to look at him. She continued as Nabiki jerked back in shock to find a new stranger. "I have the water you requested."

Ranma smiled at her, again saying, "Thanks."

Before he could enter any further or say anything else, he was accosted by Nabiki. "Ranma? Isn't Ranma that busty little girl that was here earlier?" Noticing his attire, she continued before he could answer. "And what's with the clothes? She was wearing the same sort of thing earlier."

Holding up his hands placatingly, he tried waving off Nabiki's questions.

She wasn't finished, however. Turning her head, she looked at Genma. "Besides which, who are you and where did that panda go?"

Before Ranma could say anything again, his father spoke up. "Just recently we returned from our travels in China. It was in the Bayankala mountain region, within the Qinhai province that we met with tragedy, for we went to Jusenkyo."

Soun picked up from there, allowing his dramatic side out, "The legendary ground of accursed springs. Their true horror has always been shrouded in mystery. But now..."

While Soun was talking, Ranma had walked over to the table and stood beside his father. Swiftly, he grabbed his father by his gi and, using a judo throw, tossed Genma into the koi pond. "...one idiot martial artists turns into an even dumber panda," he finished. He laughed uproariously.

Genma-panda came up sputtering. Any words he was trying to say came out in growls and barks. Keeping an eye on his father, Ranma continued with the story. "It was for the sake of the Art that we went to Jusenkyo. But Pops, in his infinite wisdom, took us there before finding out that it was cursed."

His father, maddened by his sons actions, attacked Ranma. His intended victim dodged out of the way, landing an elbow into Genma-panda's gut. Genma-panda's eyes bulged at the blow as he bowed over, only to be shut by Ranma's following elbow strike to the back of his head. With a disdainful sniff, Ranma walked over to the table and picked up one of the glasses and the kettle. He took them to the engawa.

"Cold water turns my Pop into a panda and warm water turns him back." Tipping the kettle, he changed his father back into a human. "For me," he went on, "cold water turns me into a girl." Upending the glass of water over himself, he changed into the buxom girl they had met before. "And warm water changes me back." He used the kettle on himself.

Genma recovered from his little nap, standing up beside Ranma. He felt his teeth with his tongue to see if any had loosened by his jaw meeting the floor. Satisfied that there was no damage, he tried grabbing for Ranma.

A battle ensued. The combatant's ranged from the engawa to the edge of the pond. Their fists and feet were flying at a rapid speed, the blows resounding in the enclosed space.

It ended abruptly when Ranma, gaining an advantage, tossed Genma back into the pond. He still held the kettle in his hand, not having spilled a drop.

Ranma could see that the story had shocked both Nabiki and Kasumi. Akane was doing her best to act as surprised.

"Oh, the tragedy," Soun lamented. Ranma cast a disdainful look at the Tendo patriarch, but refrained from saying anything about it.

Kasumi rounded on Genma-panda accusingly. "How could you, Mr. Saotome? That's just going too far." This was one of the few times Kasumi had appeared riled up over anything. Seeing her this way was both disturbing and amusing at the same time.

Nabiki also turned on Genma-panda, but for another reason. She could see people doing strange things for money. But to put yourself in danger for something as tenuous as martial arts? "Yeah," she added hotly, "even for Martial Arts training!"

Looking down and covering her face, Akane tried her best not to laugh at the entire scene.

Both Nabiki and Kasumi accosted Genma-panda with their fists, who backed away from their assault, though they did not harm him. The travel guide fell out of his gi. Nabiki picked it up and thumbed through several pages. Noticing the kanji, she said, "Something about training grounds?"

Kasumi looked to the kanji she was pointing at, and then they both looked back at Genma-panda. "You don't know any Chinese, do you," she asked.

Amazingly, Genma-panda pulled a party favor out and popped it open, which a piece of paper with 'Correct' written on it fell out. Ranma still missed where his father had pulled it from, even though he was watching for it. Deciding that his father was suffering enough for the moment, he dumped the remaining water from the kettle onto the older man before it was too cold to change him back. Kasumi and Nabiki returned to their seats now that their righteous anger had been satisfied for the moment.

Soun picked up from Ranma had left off. "So, when doused with warm water, my old friend changes back to human form. When struck by cold water, Ranma changes to a girl. And Ranma changes from girl to boy with warm water as well." Both Ranma and Akane rolled their eyes as they knew what was about to happen next. "Your problem isn't so terrible at all. My daughters: Kasumi, nineteen; Nabiki, seventeen; and Akane, sixteen. Pick the one you want. She's your fiancée."

If Kasumi or Nabiki had moved any slower than he remembered, Ranma would have thought they had considered being engaged to him. True to form, though, they backed Akane's claim fully.

"Oh, he wants Akane," Kasumi offered.

"Definitely," Nabiki said.

They didn't have to say it, but their actions were shouting that they had no desire to deal with him. They could have been crying out 'freak', and it couldn't have been clearer. It was Kasumi's reaction that hurt him the most.

Playing the act, Akane yelled, "Why am I the one he would want?" She couldn't just accept the engagement at their suggestion. Doing so would have seemed odd for her.

As expected, her sisters used lines she remembered.

"Well, you hate boys, don't you," was Nabiki's answer to the question.

In a supportive tone, Kasumi said, "Well, you're in luck. Ranma's half girl." Ranma restrained himself from shouting angrily at Kasumi's comment that he was a guy, through and through.

Akane winced. What did they think of her to say such things? She didn't hate boys, really. It was a litany she had used because the ones she dealt with were hormone-crazed and thought she was only a prize to be lauded over. And she surely wasn't into girls. Did her sisters think that she was?

"Besides," Kasumi continued, "you two are martial artists. Who better to inherit the dojo?"

Ranma did his part as well. Turning on his father, he growled, "I ain't got time for fiancées. Getting rid of this curse is the first thing I need to do. Besides, I'm only eight-, er, sixteen."

Now that they had a candidate for Ranma to marry, both Genma and Soun took the bit in their teeth, so to speak, and went forward with their plans. With an officious manner, Genma said to Ranma, "This is a matter of honor, boy. It was decided before all of you were born that our two families were to be joined. We're here to stay. And that's final.

"What do you know about honor," was Ranma's retort. "You run at the slightest bit of trouble."

For his part, Genma stood firm on the subject. In a softer, yet still firm voice, as if he were cajoling Ranma, he said, "We're staying, Ranma. No matter what happens, you will be marrying a Tendo."

Ranma pretended he couldn't find any more protestations to fling at his father. Turning on his heel, he crossed his arms and stood stiffly. Genma, knowing Ranma and his ways, was satisfied with the display to know no more talking was necessary.

Soun, in turn was trying to convince a recalcitrant Akane. "Now, Akane, dear, Genma and I wanted to join the two schools into one. This way, with the two of you being the martial artists of each family, our legacies will be ensured. The two of you will carry on the dojo. In time, perhaps, you two can feel more than the duty set before you and enjoy a long, happy life together. You two, whether you know it or not now, have much in common. I'm sure of it," he said, as if to reassure himself.

Restraining herself from using her old objections, Akane returned with, "I have enough problems with boys that I don't need to be engaged to one right now."

"Be that as it may," Soun returned, "Ranma is to be engaged to one of you girls. As your sisters have pointed out, you are the most logical choice for the engagement."

With a huff, Akane turned her head as if sulking, but not before giving each of her sisters a glare. It was convincing enough for her family that they stopped pressing the issue. Though it appeared that she was against the engagement, they saw that she understood and would accept the matter as giri. Being a martial artist, it was one of the tenets of her life.

Soun and Genma looked at each other, satisfied grins pasted onto their faces.

"Now that that's settled," Soun began once it was apparent the two teenagers were not going to be any more problems.

But, before he could continue, Akane interrupted. "I'll accept the engagement on two conditions." She paused to make sure everyone was looking at her. "When Ranma and I went out to the dojo to spar, he never attempted to go on the offensive. I don't know what that means, really, but from what I feel, he doesn't think girls are good martial artists." Ranma cringed at the accusation. "First, he must accept me a martial artist and be willing to teach me what he knows of the Saotome style and anything he picked up in his travels." Here, Akane's grin turned feral. "Second, he must accept me teaching him the Tendo style as well."

Before Ranma could voice a protest, Genma spoke up for him. "Agreed." He wasn't about to let anything, especially something as trivial as the two teaching each other, get in the way. And everybody knew that a student-teacher relationship often budded into romance. What a perfect combination!

Ranma leveled a glare at Akane, who returned it with one of her own. There was no way now that Ranma could squirm out of actually sparring with her. Their earlier bout had prompted the idea. This is what took her so long in the furo, Ranma thought heatedly. With Genma's blessing, or even help, she would get to be on par with the rest of her fiancé's forthcoming rivals and paramours.

"Fine," Akane said in a lighter tone. "I'll be up in my room if anyone needs me." Standing up, she left the family room and went upstairs.

After the family meeting had been settled, Kasumi had served the fathers another set of beers and showed Ranma to his new room. Ranma lay on his futon, dissecting everything from that day down to the minutest detail.

His physical abilities were back to where he had been when first arriving at the dojo. It wouldn't take too long to get some of it back to what he had been. There had to be some way to get his speed up. Doing his ki-related attacks should be feasible. It was more of a mental exercise than anything. The ki blasts shouldn't be too hard to manifest, he was just unsure how powerful they would be. When he got a chance, he would have to find an empty lot or go training in the mountains to test his abilities further. Doing them in Nerima or within sight of Genma would be too hazardous. It would raise too many questions that he hadn't thought up good excuses for. His father knew all the training he had undergone throughout his life. It would be difficult to explain it away as something he had picked up somewhere in passing.

Now that Akane had trapped him into sparring with him, he had no choice but to do so. His father would brook no arguments. She had successfully used the engagement as an opportunity to her benefit. He had fought her before, but had always refrained from actually harming her. Now it wasn't an option.

The super-soba noodles and the enchanted dogi stood out most in his mind.

Thoughts of the dogi prompted his thoughts to analyze what its properties were. Had it really brought out Akane's potential or had it been its own abilities? The dogi had wiped the floor with Soun, Genma and Ranma by itself until it had attached itself to Akane. Only when wearing it had Akane been able to fight Ranma on equal terms. While it was true that the dogi had increased her physical skills, such as her agility and strength, it hadn't conveyed the appropriate experience to go with it.

If he could train her to that level and add the techniques he had in his arsenal, she would be formidable. It would be hard work and Akane would have to sacrifice a lot of her free time to training. Most of his own free time was spent working out, so it wasn't much of an issue for him to redirect his efforts. This brought a silly grin to his face. Wouldn't Shampoo and Ukyo be surprised? Though they had no knowledge of them at the moment, there would be no doubt that Akane had claim to him.

The last line of thought sobered him quickly.

Why were they considering the engagement as if they were to be married? Their actions between each other had been...amiable. They had accepted each other as being engaged rather than fighting against the inevitable.

Yes, he decided, we will definitely have to find some time to discuss our predicament. If only the two of them had come back to live in the past, then there had to be a very important reason for this.

His thoughts finally turned to what was truly bothering him. He still couldn't remember what had happened to cause their return to the past. After rolling around for some time, he was finally able to put aside his thoughts and allowed himself to relax. The next day was sure to be a full one.

0200, Monday, 7 May

As he slept, his dreams were of both himself and Akane. There were several misadventures throughout, highlighting their tumultuous courtship. Some, he even smiled at.

Further, into the night, his dreams started taking on a darker tone. As his latest dream went along, he felt a longing or perhaps a loss.

With suddenness, everything came to him with clarity as if he had been at the spot at that moment. A whirlwind surrounded him. The familiar, heady rush of battle sang through his veins. His heart set the beat, his blood singing the old hymns of yore. Somehow, Ranma could feel about himself with his entire being. His unseen opponent was below. His legs coiled below him, ready to fling him wherever he needed. Akane's frozen form was blasting through the flames below.

Through the haze, he could see a face.

Feathers on a wing.

A clawed hand.

Was it truly a man? Ranma could not tell.

Desperation and rage filled him now, as he hovered higher than his opponent. There was a purpose. Someone he needed to save was dying. That was all he could tell. The one below was standing in his way of helping. And they would pay.

Dearly, oh-so-dearly, would they pay for causing him this pain and fear. He gathered his willpower and ki, forming a new Hiryu Shoten Ha to shred this beast-man, thus ending the threat.

Then he was floating in the air as he held Akane's doll-form.

Did he blink?

No, he had skipped ahead. The bird-man was now broken. Dead.

It was the price demanded. Feeling the stain on his soul, Ranma fought to cling to his innocence. But it was never to be found again, a warrior now versed in the ways of mortal combat and all that it entailed. He had done it with no remorse. At this time, though, he had to push his own wretchedness aside. Someone needed him.

He saw himself throw the Gekkajan down to the dragon's head below. He used a Hiryu Gyoten Ha to cause the dragon's head to point upwards so he and Akane were doused by the cold water. She returned to her original size in his arms.

A swirl of mist swept by, obscuring his vision momentarily.

He found himself at the foot of the dragon spout, the face of a cliff rising high above him. It was a behemoth, casting a dark shadow over him, attempting to dominate his will. A gushing waterfall tumbled down from the air into a pond nearby. The area around the pond was barren, rocky crags jutting all about. It was relatively flat where he sat.

Day was turning into dusk, as the shadows were long and the sun was hanging low in the sky.

Something was in his arms.

No, it was someone.

Looking down, he saw the still form of Akane. Her eyes were closed. He could not see through her lashes to witness what he needed. This was bad, something told him. Ranma could remember holding her naked form in the whirlwind of his creation. He needed to know that she was still alive.

She would have been naked now but for the shirt wrapped around her form. His tank-top clung to his moist body. His skin was clammy. Feeling oddly detached, he could only look down at her face in repose. It was serene. No care in the world could bother her at that moment. Neither was there a smile, a warmth he wished to see and feel. It would be warmer than the falling sun in the west. Neither would her angry scowl would not mar her features. It was this that he had called her 'uncute' for. No more, as there was nothing that would cause her mercurial and volatile nature to come forth.

He heard the words he had spoken to her. The awkward confession of how he was sorry and grateful for her help. How his inability to say what he truly felt. The words tore at him worse than any beating he had ever received from his opponents. These were the true feelings he had suppressed for so long, only able to tell her when it was too late.

He needed her so bad that it ached from deep within. It was unlike anything he had ever felt for another. Neither his father nor mother could be the one to stand by his side like Akane had for the past two years. She was his other half, the one that completed him. Never before had he realized just how crucial Akane was to his being. There had been hints before, but the reality was now too much to bear.

Something wet plopped onto her face.

A tear.

Not just any tear. It was his. Its purity captured his attention only momentarily before he again focused on whom he was holding.

His love, his only reason now for fighting and winning was lifeless in his arms. He cried mentally, I wanted to tell you that I love you.

Clutching at Akane's lifeless body, he gave a long, forlorn cry. It reverberated throughout the area. He poured all of himself into his grief. All the times he had debased her abilities, her vibrant beauty, and pushed her away. There would never be another chance for him to make amends. Every time he had been close to expressing his true feelings, he had shied away. Lied to himself. Lied to her.

All the lost chances, their failed attempts, poured out in his utterance of grief. He had fought harder than he had ever done before, but it hadn't been enough. He had been too late.

Failure. He was a failure to her because of all he had said to anger her...to make her cry. All he had not done for her. She should have been loved like no other, like she deserved.

His ki expanded out from his body like a balloon as he buried his face into her neck. Tendrils snaked out, looking vaguely like dragon heads, the necks stretching forth as powerful jaws latched onto anything they came in contact with, reminiscent of the Yamato no Orochi. Jagged cracks spread forth upon the cliff face. First, small stones fell down into the water as his wordless cry and ki shook the very foundation of the mountain.

Still, he screamed his anguish to the world.

"Akane!" his very soul cried out. She was lost to him forever. "If only...If only we could have had another chance." His cry rent the heavens. Those within miles felt his grief. People of all ages clutched a hand to their hearts, feeling what he was feeling. Unbeknownst to him, everyone atop the mountain fled as quickly as they were able. The fear they felt was unreasonable, and they dared not get close to Ranma.

A sharp sound, much like that heard from a lightning bolt when it strikes nearby, sounded. The ground shook.

From above, a gargantuan piece of the mountain was sliding off. For the second time, he was destroying a mountain. As it fell, it gathered momentum as well as shearing off portions of the cliff face as it tumbled forth. With his head reared back in his tortured scream, he saw. But he did not care. Below him, the ground broke apart, his body falling into an abyss, followed by ton-upon-ton of rocks. He clutched Akane to his chest, burying his face in her hair.

His broken heart stopped long before his body met the jagged stones below or the mountain that was caving in upon him.

As their bodies fell, a light shone from Akane's breast. It glowed a bright red, reminiscent of her name. It expanded out, engulfing the two lovers as they hurtled downwards. In a flash of heat so intense, their bodies were incinerated into ash. The light of Ranma's ki and Akane's flame jetted into the sky, illuminating all around for miles. They spiraled around each other like birds dancing. The light faded into nothingness.

All was darkness. The cold clutches of death embraced Ranma, hinting at an eternity of solitude. There would be no Akane to be with him. Time did not seem to have any meaning here. Whether it was a second or a thousand years, he hung suspended in the darkness.

Something called to him. A faint voice that tickled his hearing. It hinted at some form of redemption. He saw two forms floating in the darkness. It was a dragon and a phoenix. He recognized them as representations of himself and Akane. The scales on the dragon resembled gemstones, changing colors in a mesmerizing, scintillating array. They shifted from sapphire and every color between emerald.

The phoenix facing him was more magnificent than any painting or drawing could capture. Its feathers were of the brightest hues of reds and oranges, trails of flame coming off of them. There were numerous representations of this motif throughout Asia as a composite of various birds, but this phoenix was obviously a predator. The beak and talons looked sharp, deadly should one suffer their keen edges. The wings and body were made for flying fast and making sharp turns that would allow it to capture its prey.

Between them were two staves, their hafts crossed. Their heads were adorned by a representation of a sun and a moon. They looked familiar.

A light other than the ones emitted from these entities engulfed the majestic beasts.

He woke from his dreams. Sitting up in a cold sweat, Ranma found he could not breathe at first. Leaning forward, he felt as if he were about to pass out from asphyxiation.

A whimper, so quiet that he thought he may have imagined it, came from another room. Instinct overtook reason.

Springing forth, he rushed out of the guest room. He sucked in ragged gasps of air, finally, as he pushed open Akane's door. The wooden duck clattered in protest as the door opened abruptly.

The street lights struggled for supremacy outside, but it was the moon that won over. The moonlight speared through the window. Its silver light made the room seem ethereal. The color was drained out of everything, making it all black and silver to his eyes.

Akane sat in the corner of her bed, much like a frightened child. Her face had a silvery sheen, like that of a ghost. She looked at him, a forlorn waif lost in a turbulent sea. Her eyes sought out his, looking for something, anything to take the fear and despair and pain away. To her eyes, he was a stone statue come to life. The muscles were taut, gleaming and outlined by the shadowy crevices. Her protector and savior was present. Yes, her knight in shining armor, even if it were his own skin that shone as such.

Leaping onto the bed, Ranma gathered her into his arms. The door closed behind him.

The way he held her was not lost on him. It was the same as in the dream. The memory of the nightmare of a moment ago sucked them down into a pit of despair.

His grief came back to him, swelling his heart, as if ready to burst it out of his chest. They clung to each other, making not a sound. Both of the teenagers shook as if they were back in the whirlwind he had created in their dream. Their arms clutched at each other and would have broken ribs and bruised flesh if it had been anyone else they held but each other.

Ranma held Akane this way for several long and desperate minutes. Their hearts raced, as if frantically battling a foe. Finally, their panic faded as their minds sought a way to hide away their feverish remembrances. Somewhere dark and deep in the recesses of their consciousness, they shoved the horrors where only when they were prepared would they confront them.

It was Akane who moved first. Using the sleeve of her pajamas, she wiped at her tear-streaked face. As she did this, Ranma slowly loosened his grip up on her. He was still rocking her in his arms, lost in himself. She looked at his face and administered the same treatment to him as she had herself. Fresh tears took their place.

Consolingly, she said, "Shhh. Hush. It's okay now, Ranma. I'm all right. We're both all right." Her voice was thick with emotion, but reassuring at the same time.

She knew what he had dreamed, for she had seen and heard the same as him. Felt the same as he had. The depth of his feeling for her washed over and through her. They felt like the promising caresses of a warm southern wind in the middle of winter. A wind that enveloped her, swirling about and warming her cold skin and promising to forever do so. It was comfortable to be in his arms. The feelings she held for him matched his own.

Ranma's thoughts kept up a litany of, I lost her. The living presence of her in his arms kept him from wailing as in the dream, giving voice to his riotous feelings. That would surely have woken anyone at a great distance. Perhaps, even, the entire ward.

Softly, Akane stroked his face as a mother with their child, watching him relax under her gentle touch. She spoke reassuringly to him, offering words of comfort. Her body was warm. The thudding drumbeat of her heart could be felt on his chest. The breath of life flowed through her, for he could feel it on his face and neck. It stirred the small hairs, tickling. The warm, moist softness of it was reassuring.

His eyes opened, and he pulled back to behold her, gaining focus. Once again, she was in his arms, he noted consciously. This time, though, she was alive and well. Whatever had happened, it didn't matter to him at this moment. She was whole and oh-so-alive!

Not even thinking of what he was doing, he brought his face towards her for a kiss. Akane closed her eyes, tilting her head back in acceptance.

The bussing of their lips felt as through an electric shock had run through them. They parted momentarily, savoring the feel and taste of each other. The contact had been sensual, a mere brushing of sensitive skin one against the other. Ranma wet his lips, meeting hers again. She welcomed him with her own. Akane's soft lips enticed Ranma further, emboldening him to deepen the kiss. Both felt a rush of blood to their heads, making them feel a slight dizziness. Their heartbeats raced and synchronized together. Akane grabbed Ranma's pigtail and opened her mouth, an invitation that Ranma was eager to enjoy. Tongues vied for dominance much like any martial artist would in the dojo.

The passions they had repressed for so long welled up within each of them. Akane's free hand wrapped around Ranma's back, grasping the fabric of his shirt, stretching from her intense grip. She pulled herself closer to him, her chest squeezing tightly against his. Ranma's chest muscles clenched at the feel of Akane's bra-less breasts pressed into him, her hard nipples digging into his flesh through their clothing. The movement of Ranma's chest muscle scraped the fabric of their clothes across Akane's nipples, sending a shiver down her body. In turn, Ranma's hand that was not cradling her went to the small of Akane's back, eliciting a small squeal. Akane sucked on Ranma's lower lip, making him shudder. His body, already stirred by Akane's nearness, throbbed rhythmically at Akane's ministrations. Akane moaned into his mouth. In response, Ranma let out a low, throaty growl that resonated from deep within his chest. The reverberations from his chest were picked up by her nipples, which in turn caused her body to respond in ways she had never imagined possible.

The hand in the small of her back began caressing her spine. In response, Akane rocked her hips back and forth as his fingers moved up and down, inviting him to move his hand lower each time until he caressed her backside. The movement whetted her appetite for more. Leaning her weight back, she directed Ranma's body over her.

Their lips parted from one another, their hot breaths moistening each other's cheeks. Even without having caught her breath, Akane pulled Ranma's face back to hers, her velvet tongue piercing his lips. He sucked on it, tickling the tip of hers with his own. Shifting her body more, Akane lay prone on the bed and locked her heels behind Ranma's knees. The hand that held his shirt released its hold and moved down, pushing his hips down into hers.

Ranma moaned at the contact.

Even through their clothes, the two could feel the other's heat. They joined an age-old cadence. Breaking the kiss, Ranma's lips began to nibble at Akane's earlobe while his eyelashes tickled face. Stimulated beyond control, Akane buried her face into Ranma's chest as she tried to dampen the fervent moans due to Ranma's ministrations to her nether regions. Ranma raked his teeth along the muscles joining Akane's neck to her shoulder, sending a shock down her body.

As the two administered to each others needs, their passions increased, and their bodies responded in kind. The life force, or ki, of their bodies flared around them. They were both of reddish hues, Ranma's crimson while Akane's was scarlet. At first, the ki reacted much like oil and water, flowing about them without mixing. An occasional spark would inject itself into the other only to burst like fireworks. This continued on for several minutes as their bodies worked with each other in harmony.

Suddenly, as if an emulsifier had been added, their ki began melding. They swirled together, blending and combining to form a true red around them. Numerous shockwaves were emitted from them in rhythmic bursts.

All the while, the others that were sleeping felt keenly the effects of their copulation, even though they were not directly involved. The two's ki radiated out from them in a globe after the shockwaves had subsided, affecting any within. The brains of the sleepers began triggering dopamine and other beneficial chemicals.

Soun, a man who had lost his wife many years prior, felt a small release of the pressures of depression, with his body and mind relaxing. Warm memories of his late wife surfaced in his dreams, giving him a calm he had not had in nearly a decade. Never had he slept as calmly as now, the muscles in his body relaxing. Warmth and tenderness that he had enjoyed, but lost, was once again within his grasp as he held her in his arms once again.

The Tendo sisters were also feeling a release of pressures, but with subtle differences. Kasumi, who had taken on the mantle of surrogate mother, felt her role fulfilled, a happiness filling her heart that seemed to explode in her chest. The daily tasks and deeds she had done for her father and sisters did not feel like a chore but instead were the deep and abiding love she held for her family. Nabiki, who had closed off her heart to others, now had cracks in the stone shield she had created. Of all the Tendo girls, she had been affected the most, withdrawing to the point that, while she cared for her family, she had distanced herself to the point of impassivity. Though it did not completely shatter, her shield was pierced through with the feelings she had neglected. Memories of her mother's kindness and steely will caused her smile. Perhaps these feelings would be cultivated, or would they wither as she once again created barriers between herself and others?

Genma, like Soun, was reminded of his wife. Her loyalty and perseverance tempered his cowardice and voraciousness. He had closed himself off to her love, allowing it to wither like grapes on a vine. As the waves of love and tenderness that emanated from the couple in the other room, his own heart began to bloom with the desire to see Nodoka again. His single-minded desire to raise his son to be the best martial artist was dulled in that moment. For the night, he did not care about the promise, as he only wanted to hold her, embrace her soft flesh within his strong arms, something that he hadn't done in over a decade.

Desperately grabbing her pillow, Akane used it to further dampen the sounds of ecstasy her body began feeling. A warm dampness spread through her nether regions as her body succumbed to the passionate rocking of their pelvises. Ranma was unable to keep up the cadence with Akane as his body suddenly jerked. Wrapping her legs tighter, Akane pressed her hips into him as she felt him pulsating, climaxing with him. She gyrated, causing him to grunt with each jerk of his body.

Out of breath, Ranma rested his weight onto his knees and elbows. His fingers brushed through Akane's sweat-dampened hair as they gazed into each other's eyes. Akane raked her fingers over Ranma's back, eliciting more shivers from him. They smiled contentedly at each other as so many worries passed away from them. Old insecurities had been shredded, their remains finding the deepest corners of the night to hide in, never to return.

For a long time they kissed until they were forced to take large gulps of precious air. They smiled to each other with satisfaction.

They had gone so far beyond more than mere kissing. The feelings for each other had reached a point of no return. It had been a climax that neither one had been able to control nor wished to stop. Consummation had brought their minds, bodies and souls together. As some texts described it, they had severed their previous ties to parents and family and now cleaved one to another. Even though there had been one physical aspect missing from their consummation, it had been replaced with the melding of their ki. Henceforth, they were now essentially one.

"Oh, Ranma, I love you so much," Akane managed to finally say. Tears wet her lashes as she gazed up at him. As one freed itself from its entrapment, Ranma brushed it away with a rough thumb. She nuzzled his hand in return. "I'm yours always and forever."

Ranma's heart was fit to burst at Akane's words. She had spoken something he had desperately wanted to hear for so long. "And I love you more than you can imagine," Ranma responded. Only at this moment could he express himself fully and without reservation.

Akane wrapped both arms around him in a crushing embrace. She buried her face into his shoulder as she cried happily. Releasing her hold a little, Akane enjoyed another round of kissing with Ranma.

After all this time, they were now at the beginning. And in spite of it all, it was at the beginning that they were feeling as one. Could they hold this moment forever in time, to savor evermore?

Nay, the moment would not last forever, for it could not. The lovers had not the power to do so. They had to content themselves with what they had just shared. More would come later. Without any further spoken words, they nodded as their eyes locked and their knowledge of more to follow came to them.

Others had seen a fraction of what they felt for each other. Though none, not even themselves, understood the depth of their feelings, or the heights of ecstasy they could elicit. Perhaps it was Ranma's soul scream had somehow pulled them back to give them another chance. Or maybe they had met some kami after dying that had allowed them the second chance that Ranma had cried for. The knowledge was veiled, and they found that they did not wish to seek it out.

Ranma and Akane uncoiled themselves from each other. Standing by her bed, Ranma leaned forward and kissed her again. This one did not have the jolt as their first had given them. Nevertheless, it warmed their hearts deeply for it felt comfortable. His hand combed through her hair a few times, coming forward to cup her face. She smiled up at him, leaning into his hand and closing her eyes.

Oddly enough, they felt no embarrassment at what they had shared.

Through the emotional and physical exchange, the entire house had not even stirred. It was a miracle that they wished not to spoil by further dalliance. With a last brush of lips, they parted and Ranma went to the door. He closed it silently behind himself.

At their parting, the remainder of the household seemed to release a sigh of contentment. They settled into a deeper sleep, one of rest and lighter hearts. Their eyes were moist with unshed tears and smiles played on their lips.

As quietly as he could, Ranma entered his room and gathered a change of clothing. He hurriedly made his way to the bathroom to change, cleaning the mess he had made as well as he could before placing his boxers into the hamper. Akane found herself doing the same, as her nether regions were soaked through. Whey they lay back down in their own beds, almost as if they were mirroring each other, the two lovers brought a hand to their lips in memory of what they had shared. Both exhausted by their ordeal, they soon drifted off to sleep.

0830, Monday, 7 May

Morning soon came and found both Ranma and Akane ready for school. Ranma was accustomed to the routine from having lived in the Tendo home for two years. Yet he was still not fully ready for his daily lessons. He was merely missing his school bag and supplies.

"Yo, Pops!" he called out, standing in the hall leading to the front door. "What am I supposed to use for school?" His father had supplied him with a bag filled with supplies before, but it had yet to materialize. For some reason, they had forgone their morning bout. Ranma chalked it up to them having had a long journey and finally finding a cozy place to rest. Or the copious amounts of alcohol the older man had drunk the night before. Trust his father to be the lazy one.

Not that he was complaining or anything, though. After last night's episode, he hadn't felt his temper ready to spar just yet.

Genma popped into view, carrying his supplies. The older martial artist didn't even blink at Ranma being ready and willing to attend school. He was just glad the boy wasn't putting up a fuss. If that were the case, maybe he wouldn't have to follow him to school.

After a moment's thought, he decided that following Ranma was indeed necessary. Ranma could be trying to set him off his guard. The boy may have seemingly accepted the engagement with little resistance, but one could never tell. Before they had made it to the dojo, they had fought. If he was capitulating this easily, then it was best to watch out for any potential shenanigans.

As before, Nabiki had run off before the other two. She said nothing to them about it being Akane's responsibility to show Ranma to school this time. Akane wasn't complaining about it, either, merely waiting for him. They set out at a walk.

For his part, Ranma was beside Akane, rather than up on the fence as was his wont. They didn't feel quite in the mood to talk about what had happened the night prior. Ranma's nerves were on edge, hypervigilance causing his senses to extend well past himself and Akane. Looking back carefully, Ranma 'felt' his father shadowing them this time. Since they weren't fighting, Genma refrained from showing himself.

They found themselves nearing the gates of Furinkan, earlier than they would have expected because of their rapid pace and not needing to change form from having gotten wet. A large crowd was milling around several meters beyond the gates. Someone, apparently acting as lookout, pointed the couple out. "Akane," a ringing chorus shouted. They immediately formed battle lines.

Akane slowed in consternation. She had completely forgotten about the morning attacks. Ranma kept going without breaking stride. Noting this, Akane put on a burst of speed to catch up with him. Looking sidelong at him, she noted his expression.

She was gripped by a foreboding. His face was set in a stern mask, eyes narrowed in anger. Looking back at the assembly, Akane began fearing for their well-being despite their intentions. Though her pride would normally have quashed Ranma's impending explosion, she was finding herself restrained and unwilling to stop Ranma.

Ranma felt the crowd's hostile intent directed at the young woman next to him. He lost himself to the feelings of the night before, where he had been fighting the bird-man.

He did not reply to Akane's, "Ranma, don't hurt them!"

With a snarl, he leapt forward and away from Akane. He met the first boy, a hockey player, with a vicious knife strike to the neck. He continued on. The boy crumpled to the ground.

He was now a whirlwind inside of the mass of people. Bodies fell before him as he kicked and punched his way through. They hadn't the chance or time to raise a defense against his assault. Faster than Akane had ever dispatched her opponents, he had struck down everyone who had been readying themselves for Akane's arrival. Unlike how Akane's previous fights had gone before, he remained untouched. Since they had been unaware of him, they hadn't had time to attempt grappling him, swinging their improvised weapons or any other form of attack.

Akane ran to the first victim of Ranma's ire. Checking his pulse, she found that Ranma had used a strike that had shocked the system, but would have no lasting injury besides a small bruise. Gladdened by this, she looked at the others carefully. Everyone was either unconscious or laying about, moaning in pain. Walking through the bodies, she saw that there was nothing drastic. Blood welled from a few noses and mouths, but there were no life-threatening injuries.

Ranma came to rest at the far edge of the crowd. Those that hadn't participated stared at him in shock. Nabiki and her friends were up on her classroom's balcony to watch Akane's regular bout and make bets, dropped their jaws. Nabiki had never seen the like before. Even Akane paled before Ranma's expertise.

Akane's ultimatum from the night before came to mind. She had insisted that Ranma be her sensei. She would teach him the Tendo-ryu, as part of it, but she knew that it had been on the side. Perhaps Akane had received a show of his abilities when the two had sparred? That would explain a thing or two.

His display also showed a bit of his character. He may have known or realized that the morning gathering was tasked to defeat Akane for a date. That would mean that his 'Code' or whatever made him stick up for Akane, since she was 'weaker' than him. There were ways to play that, she knew. Akane was the same way and Nabiki knew how to use that to her advantage. She would have to ponder the possibilities.

Her attention was drawn back to the show below, for it was not over.

Tatewaki Kuno had stepped out from behind the tree. His timing was supposed to coincide with Akane's defeat of the boys. Looking up from the rose whose fragrance he was languishing over, Kuno cocked his wrist to throw it at the figure close to him. Catching himself before releasing the flower of romance, he scowled at the individual that appeared as a lone survivor or an interloper.

"Tis a fine demonstration." Looking beyond Ranma, he saw Akane. She was absorbed in the act of checking on the fallen and hadn't noticed his august presence yet. Turning his attention back to regard Ranma, he said, "Yet this skirmish is not for one such as thee. Akane, the fierce tigress is to be set upon each morn, so that any who desire it may attempt to date with her. Thine interference is most distressing and unwanted." Kuno raised the rose to his nose, closing his eyes as he inhaled its fragrance once again. Akane, after finding that the majority of the bodies were not permanently damaged, turned her attention to the kendoist. Noting that Akane was finally looking at him, Kuno took his chance to fling the rose at her.

Before it could reach his intended target, it was intercepted. Kuno scowled in displeasure. Ranma crumpled the rose in one hand. Slowly and methodically. Each snap of its frail stem caused offense beyond endurance.

Stepping forward, Kuno shouted, "What kind of ribald brute art thou!? To stop the Arrow of Cupid and then to crush it in thine filthy manus? One such as thee cannot be suffered for long." Baring his bokken, he advanced towards Ranma.

Finished destroying Kuno's amorous attempt, Ranma dropped into a ready stance. After Kuno had taken three steps, he shot forward.

Even to Akane's experienced eye, he blurred.

He stopped just inside of Kuno's guard, his face a mere foot away from the other. Kuno flinched away from the look in his opponent's eyes, for it was not as Ranma had used before when fighting the kendoist in his previous life. That of a formerly excited youth ready for any challenge was now deadly and calculating. Kuno did not know how Ranma had fought with him 'before', as this was his first encounter. These orbs are of a seasoned soldier. A veteran of battle! Never have I met such a visage, yet I can see it all too clearly, Kuno cried mentally. He balked in his attack, realizing his mistake much too late. He had waved his wooden sword about, play-acting as if he were a warrior. Old ballads of chivalry and righteousness were the soothing medicines for his beleaguered soul. What he faced now was a man who felt that righteousness and lived with such chivalry as a mantle.

Having the intent of bodily harm directed at him to which he could not easily defend against had a stunning effect. He fought with himself to stop the quaking of his limbs. Taking a quick series of steps back, he raised his bokken to the ready, if a bit unsteadily. Ranma did not follow this time, but seemed to gauge his opponent's intent and how, for the first time, fear shown in Kuno's eyes and stance. Oddly enough, this disturbed him a bit, but pushed it aside for the time being.

Ranma knew all of Kuno's moves by now and what he hadn't learned 'yet'. He had fought him on a regular basis while attending Furinkan. Though he wasn't as mad as he was a moment ago, he was still displeased. Having been careful with the other students, he was willing to do the same for the upperclassman, if only a little. He was glad that Akane hadn't interrupted him just yet. He wasn't yet sure himself what he wanted to do to Kuno.

His fiancée was watching with concern. After having examined her would-be challengers, she figured that Ranma was in an odd mood. She remembered his face, but his actions had contradicted what she had thought. Seeing Tatewaki's face when Ranma had destroyed the rose had been quite the reward. Normally, she would deride her fiancé. This time, she would let the scene play out, for it was sure to be fascinating.

For a moment, the two young men appeared to be merely looking at each other. Kuno was looking for a way to counter Ranma's proximity, but could sense no openings. Attacking with his bokken would result in nothing, for he could not get enough power and momentum into the swing. Ranma was looking at all the openings he had in order to disable the taller youth.

Again, Ranma blurred to the eyes of the spectators.

Bokken still held tightly in his hands, Kuno felt a slight jerking motion. Before him, Ranma held the latter portion of his wooden practice sword. He had snapped it off neatly in twain with a sharp movement of his hands. Looking down in disbelief, Kuno noted that there was only a fraction of an inch left from his hand's gripped the remainder of the wood. Its cut was as clean as if it had been from a razor blade. A quick movement of feet and the kendoist found himself standing before the tree he had been hiding behind a moment before.

"Chasin' after Akane ends here," Ranma said through clenched teeth, only loud enough for Tatewaki to hear him. Ranma stepped closer, but still out of arm's reach, waving the remainder of the weapon. "The name's Ranma Saotome. I'm now her fiancé and instructor in the school of Saotome Anything Goes Martial Arts. Challenges to her go through me first."

With several sharp gestures, Ranma turned the wooden sword into spikes. Kuno found himself carried by the force of the wood catching the uniform's top, pinning his shoulders to the tree, his feet dangling a foot from the ground. Several more spikes further pinned him to the arbor mercilessly. One under each armpit, on either side of his hips and one below his crotch. Each one pulled the cloth taut against his body, making any struggling useless.

Finished with his duties, Ranma turned towards the school, glancing over at Akane. As she joined Ranma, she idly noted that, perhaps for the first time, Ranma had not directly struck or knocked Kuno out, as far as her memory served her. Kuno stared after Ranma, his clothes soaked through with a growing wetness between his legs.

A few minutes after Ranma and Akane's departure, it began to rain. The cool rain was enough to revive most of the youths. They pulled themselves off of the ground and assisted any of their comrades that required it inside to attend the nurse's office. A few, noting Kuno's distressed form, stopped long enough to take pictures.

Genma had watched the entire display with interest. Ranma had shown a mean streak unlike anything he had seen from the boy before. The reason for Ranma's actions were beyond him. The way he had handled the crowd had made him smile to himself. He had chosen a path that led to the more formidable opponents first, dispatching any that had been unfortunate enough to be in his way. Crouching low, where the others could not readily see him had caused enough confusion in its own right. Their focus had solely been on Akane. Only the flying bodies, screams of pain, and falling of companions had alerted anyone that they had someone in their midst, making him smile even wider in appreciation.

What Ranma had done to the young man spouting off in the hakama had been amusing. The practitioners of the Saotome-ryu, while not disdainful of weapons, found they could be a hindrance because of their limitations if one relied solely upon them. Genma had taken on the mantle of unarmed combat, using the entirety of one's body as a weapon. Strengthening, toughening, speeding it up, raising its endurance and anything else one could think of. As a side-effect, use of a weapon, even untrained, benefited from the mental and physical alacrity of its wielder. It had been Soun's family that had kept and maintained the weapons throughout the generations. In Genma's view, one would be too caught up in the limitations of the weapon, a fact shown by Kuno being unable to react to having his own dismantled in both his hands and in front of him.

As a panda, he turned about and returned to the dojo. The frightened looks of the locals were ignored. A warm kettle of water followed by a refreshing tea and a good game sounded appropriate as he regaled his old friend of the fight he had witnessed.

There was no crowd for Ranma and Akane to get through, since the only ones in front of the school had been the horde of boys and Kuno. The other students had gone to class and watched the fight from the grandstands of their classrooms if they had felt the desire to.

They made it into the room with plenty of time to spare prior to the bell's signal to start classes. Before, they had been late to class because of their detour to Tofu-sensei's and Akane chasing Ranma down in order to change him back from girl to guy after the fight with Kuno. When they entered, they were accosted by their fellow students.

Sayuri and Yuka, two of Akane's closest friends were two of the first to get into her face. "So, who's your knight in shining armor," Yuka asked unashamedly, eyeing Ranma up and down.

Her voice wasn't lowered at all and Ranma heard the question. His cheeks tinged slightly pink at her brazenness. Akane did the same. Though they had shared much the night before, they still hadn't quite come to terms with how others would see or react to them.

"He's, um, Ranma Saotome," she introduced. "He arrived at the dojo with his father yesterday." The girls gave an 'ooh' to Akane's admission.

Sayuri interjected herself into the conversation, "So, what's the scoop, Akane? Everyone saw what he did." Her eyes lit up in admiration. "He took them out way faster than you ever have."

Akane spent the next few minutes hedging, trying to throw her friends and classmates off of the trail. "Our fathers are old friends. My father invited his to stay for a bit, since they've been in the middle of a training journey and hadn't seen each other for years. He, uh, they agreed to stay for a little while and so Ranma is going to go to school with us for the time being."

The bell rang.

Before any more questions could be asked, the homeroom teacher entered. Their class representative called them to their seats. The teacher, seeing Ranma, called him forward. He looked at a slip of paper on top of a stack of other papers, indicating that he had a new student in homeroom Turning his attention to the class, he said in a droning voice, "Please welcome Ranma Saotome. It appears that he has recently returned from China." Ranma bowed to the class. The students greeted him accordingly. Pulling sheets of paper off of a stack of books, the teacher handed them to Ranma. He pointed out an empty seat. "Go ahead and sit down over there."

Ranma did as he was told.

Unlike the first day he had attended Furinkan, Ranma and Akane weren't forced to stand outside holding buckets. Ranma reflected on his admission in the heat of the moment earlier. The fact that he had admitted his engagement to Kuno was likely to be a cause for concern. He was expecting Kuno to come crashing through the door at any moment. As the day wore on towards lunch, however, his worries were for naught.

Even though the two had skipped the day's classes, they had ended up studying the material. Vaguely, both Akane and Ranma remembered their lessons. Not only that, they were far beyond the subject material that much of it was too simple for them. Thus, they were bored even more so than they would have been by the beleaguered droning of the teacher's voice and their chalk's ticking sounds on the blackboard.

It was the first change of teachers that the students accosted Akane again. Ranma was too new for them and a bit intimidating for them to harass. But Akane was another matter. Again, it was Sayuri and Yuka at the forefront, since they had seats closest to Akane.

Ranma looked outside while listening to the conversation. He noted that the tattered remains of Kuno's outfit were still attached to the tree. The janitor, it appeared, had cut the kendo uniform in order to release the kendoist because the wooden stakes had been embedded too far into the tree for him to remove.

"Our dojo and his school have the same master. He and his father are here to exchange training between us," Akane answered. This set the surrounding girls to cooing as their imaginations began blooming. "We don't know how long they're staying before they go back on their training trip." Her attempt at dissembling wasn't having the desired effect, however.

The break didn't last long before the next teacher arrived. Before long, the day had proceeded without incident from Kuno or anyone else.

1600, Monday, 7 May

Back at the Tendo residence, Ranma and Akane changed into their gi and headed to the dojo. Attending them in the dojo were both Soun and Genma. They sat directly in front of the kamidana, the shrine that was mounted on the wall. There was a sense of formality to them. On the sidelines, Kasumi and Nabiki were sitting attentively, though in their own respective clothes rather than gi.

Suspicious, Ranma asked, "Yo, Pops, what's goin' on?"

"We are here to pass on the right of training another in each of our respective schools to the two of you." He indicated a spot in front of them, "Sit, Ranma."

Soun motioned to a place next to where Genma had pointed to, saying, "Akane, you do the same, sit here."

After the two had sat down in the seiza position in front of their fathers, they looked over at each other. They were totally perplexed at what was transpiring. This pomp and circumstance had not happened before. Though it was necessary to have the appropriate license to teach their respective schools, neither of their fathers had ever bothered to deal with such formalities between the two. Then again, as the two reflected, they hadn't had a student-teacher relationship before.

"Ranma Saotome, practitioner of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts," Genma began, putting his fist to his palm in front of himself. "Do you solemnly swear to practice and teach the Art of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts to the best of your abilities?"

Totally flabbergasted, but taking his cue from his farther, Ranma said, "I, Ranma Saotome, practitioner of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, do solemnly swear to practice and teach the Art of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts to the best of my abilities." The ceremony continued for several more minutes as Genma laid out more of the rules and expectations of Ranma. It as eventually Soun's and Akane's turn to do the same thing.

After it was finished, Ranma and Akane bowed to their fathers and stood. Looking rather self-satisfied, Soun and Genma proceeded to leave the dojo. They were followed by Kasumi and Nabiki, the latter looking rather bored by the whole ordeal.

Finally alone, Ranma and Akane turned to each other. They both started to say something at the same time, stopped and blushed. Ranma held his hand out to Akane, indicating that she should go first.

"Well, I guess we should assess what each of us know and decide on what needs to be trained," Akane mused.

Ranma relaxed into an exaggerated thinking pose, which was merely looking up at the ceiling with his hand on his chin. "Well, for one, you're already as strong as an ox, so there's no problem there." He watched for the cue of Akane becoming cross at his rude assessment. "You are pretty clumsy, though. And you're slower than molasses in the middle of winter."

Akane's temper flared. She raised her fist to pound Ranma, but the words they had just spoken in front of their fathers came back to her, giving her pause. Ranma held up his hands in an entreaty for peace. Restraining herself, she looked down at her feet. "Yes, sensei,"she said in a conciliatory tone.

Sounding unapologetic, Ranma said, "What I meant was that we could work on your speed and your agility."

"And we can work on your being an insensitive jerk," Akane retorted.

Exasperated, Ranma's own temper flared a bit. "What, you think your enemies are going to be all nicey-nice? How many fights have you seen me win where I ticked them off so bad they couldn't see straight? Fightin' isn't about who is nicer, it's about who's standing in the end."

Akane remained quiet and looked up at him, sensing a lesson to be had.

"I spent fourteen years, just me and Pops. You think he was nice the whole time? Have you ever seen him be nice to me? I can't remember the last time he said anything to praise me. He was taunting me till I got it right, then we just moved on to the next thing he wanted to train me in. Then we got here." Emotions roiled up in him, making his thoughts jumbled. "Then we got here," he repeated, "and you said you wanted to be my friend. But, then, almost at the same time, you started being a jerk just like anyone else. You started callin' me names, so I did the same thing." Frustrated at his own outburst, Ranma turned away, sulking.

Akane was stunned at the admission. She hadn't ever considered Ranma's point of view. He and his craziness had shown up while she had been dealing with her own problems. Their abrasive relationship had started from the first day and never let up. Standing there, she realized that she had forgiven nearly everyone of their transgressions but Ranma. From the first day they had met, she had labeled him a pervert, never allowing him any leniency. Through all of their ups and downs, she had never considered his feelings, his upbringing nor provided any true comfort when he dearly needed it most. There had been attempts, but her own inhibitions had caused her to balk. His responses to her had only been a reflex from his own upbringing.

Stepping forward, she grasped Ranma from behind, hugging him to her tightly. He stiffened at the contact, his mental gears freezing. Was she going to crush him? Suplex? Toss him through the roof?

When none of that came, he relaxed minutely. Feeling this, Akane finally allowed herself to say something. "I'm...I'm sorry, Ranma." It was hard speaking those words, but they were genuine. "With everything that has happened to us...It's hard to break some old habits. I think that, maybe, it's going to take us a while to understand and trust each other."

Ranma nodded. Turning in her arms, he put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her away, so he could look into her eyes. "A lot of stuff is goin' to happen to us. We have to get ready for it. The only way we can do that is by working together." He closed his eyes and sighed. "It's goin' to be hard. Maybe, if we can do this, you won't..." Ranma trailed off, recalling the dream and what it had entailed.

"Maybe we won't die," Akane finished for him.

Ranma looking stricken, could only agree with her.

On some strange impulse, Akane grabbed Ranma's pigtail and pulled him down for a kiss. She felt him start to pull away, but he then went along with it. Releasing the kiss, she looked back up into his eyes, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "For whatever reason, we're here. We have a second chance. Just the two of us. That has to mean something, right?" She smiled at Ranma's goofy grin as he nodded his assent. "As you said, there will be a lot of challenges ahead of us. We need to be prepared." She took several steps back away from Ranma. Bowing, she said, "So, sensei, we need to figure out a training regimen for the both of us, so we're prepared."

Feeling the need to change the atmosphere with Akane, Ranma smirked and nodded. "Well, uchideshi," Ranma started. Akane made a face and stuck her tongue out at Ranma for the term he used for her. She felt a thrill at the title. "As I said, I think we need to work on your speed and balance. There are a few things we'll work on as well, but those two are the most important for the time being. I wanna get back to where I was before we start on the Tendo-ryu, though. First, I need to find out what our where our schools overlap and what you don't have from the Saotome-ryu."

As Ranma began outlining what he was going to do with her for the training, Akane felt both excitement and dread. For the first time in their relationship, Ranma was actually taking her training seriously. It had been years since her father had given her lessons.

It was in the middle of Akane running through the beginning forms and kata that Nabiki came in and called them for dinner. As a sign of mutual respect, the two bowed to each other. Akane almost started skipping to the door, but caught herself. Nabiki was still watching. If they didn't want too much attention focused upon their relationship, they needed to act calm, cool and collected. The sisters exchanged pleasantries as they headed into the house as Ranma followed them.

Upon sitting at the table, Ranma began another aspect of his training regimen for Akane. He started by arranging Akane's dinner in front of her. It was, by far, more than what she was used to. She was about to add a scathing remark, but was cut off when he said, "You're going to want the extra energy for in the morning. Your usual morning jog isn't enough to get you up to the level where you can start learning the advanced techniques. We're starting an hour earlier than you're used to, and we'll have just enough time to eat and get ready for school. Tomorrow will be your initial physical assessment, so I can figure out where you are and what needs to be done."

Akane looked from her food, to Ranma and back, then nodded. Having had Ranma live with them for so long had given her an idea of how much Ranma was able to consume. Even with dinner, he could be seen snacking on chips, ice cream or other high-calorie foods in between meals on occasion. During her own bouts of intensified training, she had experienced the need for more calories.

After their meal, both retired to their rooms to work on their homework.

Akane couldn't concentrate on her homework at first, distracted by recent events. She touched her lips, remembering the feel of Ranma's against her own. She couldn't believe how she had been acting, taking the steps she had with their relationship. It was as if her original reticence had faded and had been replaced with something else. It was as if their dying had unlocked her inhibitions, freeing them from the cage she had clutched tightly to her chest.

Her musings brought a flush to her face. Hadn't there been numerous times she had felt something blooming in her chest when she looked at Ranma? Their relationship in the past had been awkward to the point of being comical and tragic at the same time. Whenever they had found themselves in situations involving just the two of them, there had been moments they had embraced, nearly kissed or felt the warmth and comfort of the other's presence.

Her fiancé could no longer deny his attraction to her. Nor could she do the same to him. His litany of insults were now hollow in the face of their true feelings towards one another. Perhaps they would continue with the abuse if only to keep their fathers from interfering with these new developments. She found herself wanting to cherish Ranma's affections and attention without complications. Should their fathers find out, they were more likely to be stumbling blocks. They would have to limit such trysts as they had the night prior to when nobody would be able to catch or interrupt them. The idea of performing such an act again made Akane blush a bright red all the way down past her shoulders.

Slapping her cheeks, she shook her head and tried to get the dandelion fluff out of her head. She needed to concentrate on her arithmetic. There was nothing more to be done at the moment.

Upon completing his own homework, Ranma went to the dojo to do a light workout before going to bed. Inside was Genma, who had been waiting for him. He allowed Ranma to work any kinks out and move over to where he was balancing on his head. Ranma did the same.

"That was an interesting fight you had at the school this morning," Genma prompted.

A flicker of displeasure at what had happened that morning flitted across Ranma's face. "It was something stupid that got started at the beginning of the year because of Kuno. He said that anyone that defeated Akane could date her. I thought it was kinda ridiculous when I heard about it." The intense feelings he'd had that morning bothered him still. Dredging it up was unpleasant.

Genma mentally reviewed what he'd seen and Ranma's response before replying. "Do you think it was really your place to do what you did?"

Ranma snorted in disdain and was about to reply with a wisecrack, but refrained from it. He reflected on his actions. "Maybe not, but I wasn't going to just let it happen to her again. Those guys just turned into a big mob of bullies. It was likely only a matter of time before someone finally took her down. Probably Kuno. Who knows what would happen to her if someone had been able to defeat her." A tightness in his chest at the idea of someone taking advantage of Akane gripped him. So many things had happened to them during their engagement, but they'd been able to get through it relatively unscathed. Except for what had happened during their last battle, obviously. He'd only been angry a handful of times before. This time had been different from all the rest, though. It had consumed him. While the emotion had been uncontrollable, his actions had been decisive and measured, but he was unsure of whether he could do so again later.

A great deal had happened to them in just over the past two weeks, Genma mused. The curse and being chased by a bloodthirsty Amazon through China had been harrowing experiences. On top of that, Ranma was suddenly engaged to someone he hadn't met before. All of these stresses could have caused the outburst. "You could just let her keep doing it. Since she has been fighting those boys since the start of the school year and hasn't been defeated. It's probably been good training," Genma probed.

Everything could be turned into a training opportunity was one of Genma's mottoes, Ranma knew. "Not if you get bad habits from it," he countered. "Akane hasn't had anyone to train or practice with her for a while. Now, as her teacher, I want to make sure she gets the most out of the training I'm going to give her."

For a long time, Ranma was quiet as he digested the magnitude of his new responsibility. It was different when he had only been a student or sparring partner. He was now a teacher, who was obligated to give the best training he could to his student. The weight of the situation was uncomfortable. There were so many things he had to be sure of before he could have Akane do any of the training he had performed in the past. His father had trained him since he could stand. Cologne had inherited a well-trained, though not necessarily disciplined, student after she had arrived in Japan.

Akane, for the most part, had received a good deal of training from her father. Ranma still didn't fully know her strengths and weaknesses. What kata did she know? What were the differences between the Saotome school versus the Tendo school? How well did Akane pick up on techniques as opposed to how well he did? Would she pick up some faster than he had and slower than others? What were the best methods to teach them?

At some point, Ranma finally gave voice to his concerns. Genma listened to his son as the questions and concerns rolled off of his tongue. While he didn't give any advice or coaching at first, it was later in the conversation that he began to give some guidance. There were little pushes here and there on how best to work with Akane. Having known Soun and trained with him for many years himself, Genma was able to provide some enlightenment on what Akane might have in her repertoire.

As the evening wore on, Ranma's concerns abated even as more questions began to arise. Eventually, Genma had to put a stop to it as he found Ranma beginning to lead himself around in mental circles. Inside, he was gladdened at his son's show of maturity while somewhat saddened at the same time. He had expected to keep Ranma as a student and sparring partner for some time, but Akane's demand to be taught had prompted him to make this hard decision.

The pride and sense of loss was a bitter pill to swallow, but he did it gladly, knowing that his son would rise to the challenge set before him. Genma sat in the dojo for a time after Ranma had left, fighting back the tears that continued to threaten their way out from their imprisonment.

2030, Monday, 7 May

Akane lay on her bed, already in her pajamas. She had been thinking about the events that had transpired over the last day and a half. A light tap on her window brought her thoughts to a halt as she looked up to see Ranma upside down outside. Hurriedly getting up, she opened the window, whispering, "What did you want, Ranma?"

Without a word, he pointed up. Knowing he was indicating the roof, she nodded her assent. He immediately dropped out of sight. Had she not seen his abilities before her heart would have leapt out of her chest. Just as soon as his feet touched the ground he was leaping back up into her window, turning. Akane wrapped her arms around his neck, and they made their way to the roof.

Placing themselves at the bottom corner so Nabiki or anyone else might not hear them, they sat down. "So, uh, how're you doin'," Ranma asked.

Giving him a flat look, Akane deadpanned, "Is that why you brought me up here?" A spring breeze tousled her hair, freeing wisps of locks to blow freely.

Mesmerized by her looks in the moonlight, Ranma didn't say anything until Akane poked him, giggling at his dumbstruck look. "Oh, yeah, I was wonderin' what we were gonna do." His hands idly fidgeted with the cuff of his pants.

Not knowing what he meant exactly but having a good idea, Akane decided to work it out of him rather than assuming. "About what exactly?"

Turning his head to look up at the moon, he glanced at Akane out of the corner of his eye. "Y'know, last night." His body was stiff as he gauged her reaction.

Akane bit her lip, Aha! So he's been thinking about that, too. Running a finger along his knee, "You mean us getting engaged?" she teased. Technically they had gotten engaged the night prior. It had been in the wee hour of the morning that they had been grinding.

Frowning but not turning back towards her, "Nah, you know what I mean. What happened between us."

Though Ranma couldn't see her blush in the moonlight, he sensed it. "What about it?"

Playing the twenty questions game was irritating Ranma. Turning back to face her, he leaned his body so his head was pointed towards the peak. This made it so Akane had to either turn bodily or look at him at an awkward angle. She joined him by leaning her body the same way, facing towards him. Now that they were eye-to-eye, Ranma smirked. "What're we gonna do about it? Are we just stay engaged or get married?"

Both of their senses of propriety screamed at them to tie the knot. Ranma's question had Akane seriously think about how her family would react. Their fathers would be overjoyed at their decision, not caring whether they liked or loved each other. They simply wanted the two families united regardless of feelings. Should they feel something for each other that was just a bonus. Kasumi and Nabiki would be surprised. Being the traditionalist and having a higher sense of propriety, Kasumi would likely be fine with their getting married. Should they keep from getting married, Kasumi would insist they keep their activities proper. Nabiki was an enigma. The middle Tendo liked to torment Ranma, getting money out of him at every opportunity and ruining whatever she could. Would that change if they were married?

With these factors, Akane turned the question back around, "Are you ready to get married?"

Slowly losing his smile, Ranma thought about the question. "I know our fathers would like us to. Especially for what they tried doing before Jusendo." Seeing that Akane was maintaining a placid expression, he forged on. "I know we did that." He couldn't put into words what they had shared. It hadn't been sex, but it was the closest he could imagine. "But are we ready for everything that goes with marriage? I dunno. How about you?" Would Akane take it as him being afraid of commitment?

At the moment, Akane was having the same turbulent feelings about the whole matter. She would truly like to be one with Ranma. On the other hand, there was more to being married than what they had shared. Should they go with being married their fathers would likely be pushing her to start having children. For that she wasn't quite ready. Finishing school was a must. And going to college were on her agenda if she could manage. "I like how we know how each of us feel towards each other. The...getting married, though. Maybe we could back off on that for now...what I mean is, we should probably take things between us slower." Seeing Ranma's apparent agreement, she gained more confidence in what she was trying to say. Not only did she want to avoid the complications that would come with marriage while living in the Tendo household, she wanted to be wooed by the man she loved. Their tumultuous engagement had been just that, a whirlwind of one conflict after another. Interruptions, rivals, embarrassments and misunderstandings. "Without all of the other troubles that were bothering us, can we try being a couple first? Girlfriend-boyfriend or dating?"

From the way Ranma was lying down, his shrug looked odd, but he managed it. "I suppose we could do something like that." Pausing, he pursed his lips and looked past her. "Don't get mad or nothin', but about the dating." Her eyebrow raised questioningly. "I'm not sure how much we're gonna get to do that. Well, since you want me to start trainin' ya, that means we're gonna be goin' out on trainin' trips during the weekend. Y'know, most of what you thought was free time is gonna get taken up by trainin' from now on."

Understanding what Ranma was getting at, Akane had to agree with him. In order to get up to Ranma's level or, at least, where she could manage to hang, there was a need for her to put forth great effort. "I suppose you're right." It would still be an opportunity for them to bond as a couple.

"Not that, well, y'know, that I'm against goin' on a date or nothin'. It's just that it might be awhile," he tried to placate.

A corner of Akane's mouth perked up into a smile. Going back to their previous topic, "I think we should keep everyone in the dark about us, too, though. Maybe act a little bit like we're used to?"

"That might be all right, sure. It might be a bit hard now, but..." Sighing through his nose, "I've always thought you were beautiful, y'know. And now...er, well, it's gonna be hard to keep my hands offa ya," he admitted.

Beaming, Akane grabbed Ranma's free hand with her own, interlacing their fingers. "So, if you thought I was beautiful, then why did you keep calling me uncute?"

Pulling their hands up, he bopped her on the nose with a finger. "That wasn't about how you looked. It was about your attitude. Always gettin' angry and stuff."

"Hmph! What about the tomboy, then?" she scowled.

Leaning close, Ranma chuckled, "Nothin' wrong with bein' a tomboy, if you ask me." He planted a kiss on her nose.

"Oh?" Akane giggled. "Then why did you call me an uncute tomboy?"

Not answering, Ranma just kissed her. Distracted by his ministrations, Akane let the matter drop.

The symbology used for the dragon and phoenix is common in China and Japan as most readers know. However, often paired together, the two represent both conflict and wedded bliss. In both China and Japan, Dragon and Phoenix symbolism is associated closely with the imperial family - the emperor (dragon) and the empress (phoenix).

kamidana – (神棚, lit. "god shelf") a miniature Shinto shrine that houses a kami (god/spirit), is used for worship of said kami, has additional items of worship/special meaning with it and where offerings are placed. This is also where pictures or mementos of ancestors or family members are kept.

uchideshi – (内弟子, lit. "inside student") is a Japanese term for a live-in student/apprentice who trains under and assists a sensei on a full-time basis. The system exists in kabuki, rakugo, shogi, igo, aikido, sumo, karate and other modern Japanese martial arts.