Adamantine Mist
By M. Zephyr

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

As stated in the author's note at the top of chapter 7B, the official end of the story Adamantine Mist is the chapter 7 which accompanies that story. Chapter 7B and this chapter, 7C, are alternate endings for those who might enjoy them. Please note that these chapters are tragic endings.

Also as mentioned before chapter 7B, significant portions of the text at the beginning are copied verbatim from the official chapter 7. In fact, here in chapter 7C, the first scene is exactly identical to the official chapter (the scene between Kasumi and Tofu), while the second scene between Akane and Ranma is the same until after the paragraph which starts with "How d'you know she's got her heart set on it?" After that point, the rest of scene has some small differences, and the remainder of the chapter after that scene is very different.

Chapter 7C. Eternal Bond

With the threats to her well-being removed, Kasumi was once more free to venture forth alone from her house, and she needed to do so frequently. The wedding was now just three days away, yet there were still a great many details to be dealt with, and - although everyone was helping - there were some things which Kasumi just had to handle herself. The errand at hand was one such. More, it was one which she was not looking forward to, for it promised to be painful.

Nonetheless, she did not allow her inner dread to show in her expression. Kasumi bestowed upon every person she passed the same gentle smile and cheerful greeting as always, and all of them replied in kind. Only she was aware that her pace was slowing, as though she could draw out the journey, her destination forever just out of reach. Not that it was possible to do so. In fact, the young woman looked up to see that she was already there, gazing with a heavy heart upon the words printed on the front window: "Ono Clinic."

Firmly grasping the preserved shard of pottery in her hand, Kasumi advanced upon the door. She opened it slowly, entered, stepped out of her shoes and into slippers, then crossed the room. Every act seemed to stretch out, as though she were moving in slow motion. Feeling quite improper, she glided silently down the hall, slipping past the examination room without drawing notice from the doctor or his patient. Relieved at reaching Doctor Tofu's office unseen, Kasumi released the breath she was unaware she'd been holding. Once there, she prepared tea for two people, seated herself in the visitor's chair and settled herself to wait.

It wasn't truly very long before Kasumi heard voices out in the hall. Several seconds later the door opened and Doctor Tofu Ono strolled briskly into the room. He was already turning the corner around his desk when he finally realized that the room was not unoccupied. Kasumi wasted no time sliding her chair over a meter, placing it in front of the door.

"Hello, Tofu-sensei."

Tofu swallowed heavily, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "Ka-Ka-Kasumi-san!" he choked out. His stumbling steps backed him into the corner of the office.

"I have come to return these books." The young woman removed two books from her bag and placed them on the desk. "I'm sorry that I kept them for so long."

"Qui-Quite all right," Tofu replied with a chuckle, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and using it to dust the telephone. "Wh-what brings you here?"

"I believe I just told you I was returning two books," Kasumi said sternly. "Now please sit down." The last two words were not given as an order, precisely, but certainly carried the suggestion that the speaker could not conceive that you would not do as she asked.

Tofu sat. He tried to loosen his necktie, only to remember he wasn't wearing one.

"This behavior of yours has gone on quite long enough," Kasumi said severely. Or at least what passed for severely when coming from Kasumi Tendo. "At one time it was amusing. However, I am due to be married soon, and I believe it is time you cease trying to amuse me with your antics, and start behaving more respectfully."

Tofu swallowed heavily again, wincing in pain at this reminder. At a further sensation of pain from his leg, he looked down to find that he had jabbed his thigh with no fewer than five acupuncture needles. He pulled them free and carefully laid them in a row on his desk. Tensing his muscles to try to hold himself still, the young doctor replied, "Of ... of course. You're quite right." Sweat beaded his brow at the effort he was making.

Kasumi cast a critical eye over him, noting the perspiration, the fidgeting hands, the tremors, the eyes darting back and forth. Her lips thinned. For this conversation, she wanted his entire attention.

"Tofu-sensei, you appear to be distracted to an unwarranted degree. Is something wrong? Is there perhaps a dose of some medicine you could take to calm your nerves, without damaging your judgment or wit?"

Tofu's mind irresistibly followed this train of thought, passing along the pharmacopoeia in his cabinets. After a moment he paused at the thought of something which might indeed give him peace for a short space of time. It had never occurred to him to try before, probably because these encounters always seemed to be unplanned. Or at least, unplanned by himself.

With a nod, the doctor shakily rose to his feet. From a shelf he pulled down a jar, containing fragments of leaves, and examined it carefully. This would not be the time to mistakenly choose the wrong substance. He clumsily managed to grind a bit of leaf with a pestle he had present, spilling a considerable quantity more, then spooned a small amount into his tea. After this he spent a few moments staring at the cup in confusion, not having remembered pouring himself any tea. Shaking his head, he sat down on the edge of his chair and managed to sip from his cup without spilling it all over himself.

Unable to remain sitting after he finished, Tofu stood quickly, banging his chair back against a shelf. He walked over to the table at the side of the room. There he went through rapid motions, preparing tea for both himself and his guest.

"Er, Tofu-sensei? I already made tea for both of us. You put the medicine in yours and drank it. Remember?"

Tofu paused in his movements, cursing himself silently for acting the fool. He clutched the edge of the table to keep his hands still. He remained in that position for five minutes, at the end of which time a tingling sensation at his extremities suggested that the potion was taking effect. He returned to his chair and lowered himself into it, again sitting near the front edge.

Fixing his gaze politely on his guest, Tofu said, "Thank you for returning the books, although of course you're welcome to keep them for as long as you like. It's, ah ... very nice to see you."

Kasumi tilted her head slightly. "You're welcome. And thank you. Now, I hope you will forgive me for asking, but why did you send your regrets in response to the invitation to my wedding?"

Tofu looked pained. "I'm afraid that I'll be busy that day."

Kasumi raised her eyebrows. "On a Sunday? It would be most impolite for me to suggest any prevarication on your part. Almost as impolite as it would be for you to prevaricate."

He drew in a quick but soft breath, not used to hearing such things from the young maiden before him. "Nonetheless, I fear I will be unable to attend. For ... for personal reasons, if you must have some other answer."

"Well, I'm sorry to say, but I think I must have some answer beyond that," Kasumi said as politely as she could. She stiffened her resolve, refusing to take the easy path, determined to give him the necessary extra push to do the right thing. "You have been not only our family doctor, but a dear friend for many years now. To fail to join us to celebrate this occasion - the idea is inconceivable. You must come, really you must. Or at least, you must provide some much better excuse."

Tofu dropped his eyes, pasting a small smile on his lips. "Where is the Kasumi I have known all of these years? The young lady who never forgets even the least trifle of etiquette? Hearing you set aside the proprieties like this makes me wonder if the end of the world draws near. Or perhaps I am dreaming."

Kasumi folded her hands in her lap, pursing her lips to avoid their involuntary tremor, for indeed this was coming hard to her. "If it helps you to believe that you are in a dream, then do so. As long as you answer."

Tofu sighed regretfully, knowing that he would have to answer. He could refuse the woman before him nothing if she insisted. He spoke bluntly, the herb he'd ingested cushioning some of his pain. "I do not wish to come because of the pain it would bring me. To see you marry Ranma Saotome."

Kasumi gave a small nod in acknowledgment at finally receiving some small measure of honesty. Her eyes were burning with unshed tears and for a short while, she did not trust herself to speak. Then she replied with, "May I ask what problem you have with my fiancé? He is a few years younger than myself, and granted a trifle impulsive and ill mannered, yet he has a good heart withal. I believe that he will make a good husband."

The doctor turned away for a moment, wishing there were some way out of this conversation. He turned back, forging ahead resolutely. "The problem is not with Ranma. At least not directly. In fact, I quite wish that I could hate him over this. It would make it easier, somehow. But I can't. You're right, he is a good man once you get past his rough exterior. If only he were marrying someone else. Someone like your sister."

Kasumi asked quietly, "You do not believe that I have the right to marry a good man?"

Tofu's jaw dropped. "Of ... of course you do! But I always hoped that I could ... I mean ..."

The young woman across the desk inquired gently, "Could what?"

Tofu's eyes dropped, resigning himself to his doom. He whispered, "I hoped that I could be the one to marry you."

At his words, Kasumi's heart took flight like a bird in the spring, singing with joy. For a few wonderful moments she treasured the feeling. Then she squeezed hard on the piece of porcelain resting under her palm, biting her lip softly at the pain. She wrapped Tofu's words in silk cloth and tucked them away in a corner of her mind. Shutting a door carefully on the memory, she hardened herself to keep to the course she had set.

"Why have you never said this before?" she asked quietly, trying, not entirely successfully, to keep her voice calm.

"You ... you were too young. Much too young," Tofu replied tearfully. "Still in middle school. Day after day I had to remind myself of how young you were."

Kasumi pressed her lips together tightly. Taking a deep breath, she responded acerbically, "I have not been in middle school for many years. I came of age over a year ago. A year ago! For that matter, my father would have been delighted to give his consent even before that, at least after Akane was chosen as Ranma's original fiancée. Why? Why did you wait until it was too late to tell me this?"

Tofu could not help but drop his face into his hands. Hoarsely, he told her, "That is a question with which I have been torturing myself daily for nearly a month. I believe ... I had been reminding myself of your youth for so long, it had become a ... a habit. A habit I could not break. Yet somehow I always dreamed ..." He shook his head, then lifted his face, moisture evident at the corners of his eyes. "But do you not understand? I can't bear the thought of standing there and watching you marry Ranma."

Kasumi steeled herself for what she must do. "I understand that you are a coward."

Tofu fell back in his chair as if he were shot.

The young woman went on, unstoppably. "You are a close friend of the Tendo family. You have been a friend to Ranma as well. All of our neighbors know this. You have been invited to our wedding, and everyone will expect to see you there. If you do not appear, they will all wonder, and will speculate as to the reason. I understand that it will be painful. Are you not man enough to do your social duty and see it through, regardless? Or do the bonds of honor only apply when they are easy to satisfy?"

She watched with careful dispassion as the man sitting across from her worked his mouth, no sound emerging. She gave him a couple of minutes. When there was no sign of improvement, she asked impatiently, "Well?"

For Tofu it felt as if the pull of gravity upon his body had doubled. He had collapsed, and only the support of the chair kept him off the floor. For the first time in his memory, the sweet girl he had known all of these years had revealed something more stern, and he could not stop the thought that it only made him love her all the more. Yet she was still looking at him, waiting, demanding an answer. Demanding that he prove himself a man after all.

He closed his eyes, drawing strength up from somewhere deep inside himself. "I ... I'll be there, Kasumi-san."

"Thank you, Tofu-sensei." She rose to her feet and bestowed upon him a brilliant smile. Then she turned and walked out through the door.

Tofu did not move from that spot for half an hour, until a nervous tap came upon the door, looking for the doctor. Ignoring his aching joints, he pulled himself to his feet and greeted the patient, taking the elderly man to the examination room. The quiet routine of his job was wholly unable to banish memories of the earlier conversation.

The bell rang signaling the end of the final day of class for the first term. Students streamed out of the building, laughing and ready to begin their summer break. Two additional figures emerged slowly, well after all the rest. Neither Ranma nor Akane particularly felt like running anywhere.

On arriving home they found that there would be no martial arts practice that day, nor could there be until after the wedding. At least not within the dojo. The inside of the building had been transformed, tables lined along the walls, chairs arranged in rows between, and an aisle running up the middle. Even if the dojo had been available, there was no time, as everyone was busy with final preparations. Akane was immediately pressed into helping, although Nodoka had the presence of mind to choose tasks for her which lay outside the kitchen.

Ranma escaped to the dojo where Soun Tendo and his own father were putting up decorations. He knew that he should offer to help, but couldn't bring himself to do so. He might not try to stop what was coming, but it was growing increasingly difficult to force himself to do anything which served to bring it closer. He stepped back out of the doorway before the two men could see him, then jumped over the wall, heading for the park on the south side of town where he hoped to meditate on absolutely nothing for a while.

Two pairs of eyes in the kitchen watched him go - Kasumi and Nodoka. The two women exchanged worried glances. They had conferred previously regarding Ranma's recent behavior, his mother expressing a concern that he might try to run off before Sunday to escape the pressure, Kasumi certain that he would not. In the end, Nodoka didn't need much persuading to convince her that her son would do the manly thing and be present for the ceremony.

The main cause of their worry was the knowledge that Ranma would have to return well before dinner today to meet with the priest. Thinking that perhaps he and Akane were ready to clear the air between themselves, at least a little, regarding the upcoming wedding, Kasumi decided to send Akane out later to retrieve him. However, after a considerable time passed Akane still had not reappeared, even though she must have completed her current chore.

A little concerned, Kasumi set out to find her baby sister. After looking in a couple of other places, she knocked on the closed door of Akane's bedroom. "Wh-who is it?" came a quavery voice from inside.

"It's Kasumi," the older sister said as cheerfully as she could. "I need you to do me a favor."

"J-just a minute, oneechan."

After several long seconds Akane opened her door, smiling brightly. For her part, Kasumi carefully made no show of noticing the red streaks below Akane's eyes.

"Sorry," Akane said. "I got a bit of a headache and decided to lie down for a few minutes."

"I hope you're feeling better now," Kasumi replied tenderly. "You see, I was hoping you could do something for me. Do you think you could go and find Ranma? He's wandered off again, and I'm afraid he might forget that the priest is coming later to go over the ceremony with us. There's no real hurry, so take your time. Perhaps the fresh air will even help with your headache."

"Okay," Akane said, less gloomily. The idea of getting out of the house for an hour or so did seem rather appealing at the moment. "I'll find the baka for you."

Kasumi smiled. "There's no need to call him that. Just remind him to be back in time. That's all."

Ranma was in the second place Akane looked, at one of the local parks, somewhat off the walking path sitting on a bench by a wall. He was apparently watching a family who were feeding ducks at a pond some distance away. For a few minutes Akane just stood there, drinking in the sight of him, remembering how he had come into her life and everything they had been through together. Then some sixth sense alerted him to her presence, for he turned his head her way, catching her watching him. Gathering her courage Akane walked over and sat beside him.

Ranma made room on the bench for her, wondering why she had come to join him. He'd been meditating on the crying he heard from her room each night, asking himself if maybe, just maybe, it might mean she wanted him after all. The notion was hard to believe, but if there were any possibility it could be true, hadn't he better try to find out soon? That was why, before Akane's unexpected appearance, he'd been sitting there trying to work up the courage to ask her, to learn the truth. Now, almost as if Fate had sent her there, she'd just walked up and sat down at his side. Perhaps Akane had decided to broach the subject herself?

"Looking for me?" he asked hopefully, keeping his eyes fixed on the family he'd been watching, afraid that if he looked at her he'd betray himself.

"Yeah," she said. "Kasumi sent me to find you. To remind you that the priest is coming over to review everything." She sat beside him, yet not too closely, and focused on the same family group which seemed to hold his attention.

Ranma sighed, bitterly disappointed that her reason was so mundane, so different from his hope. He looked up at the sun to gauge the time. "Got an hour, or more, before that. Suppose I had forgotten though. Thanks."

Akane glanced sidelong at him. "Something wrong?" she asked, curious about the sigh, willing to spin this little time together out for a while longer.

Ranma shrugged disconsolately. "I just wish ..." He trailed off.

"What?" Akane asked, tilting her head to the side, wondering what was going through his head.

The words were almost whispered. "It's stupid, I know, but ... for a moment I thought, maybe, you were looking for me for yourself. Not for Kasumi."

"Oh." Akane turned her eyes down to her lap. After a moment she felt compelled to ask, "Why? It's not like, you know ... well, you never seemed to want my attention before."

Words rose up in Ranma's throat, words formed out of habit, preparing to tell her that he didn't want her attention now. But he couldn't bring himself to release those words. They burned on his tongue, and then all the way back down as he swallowed them. They were the same words he had said too many times, using them like weapons to keep her at a distance. He found himself wishing he could take them all back, every stupid claim of disinterest he had ever made.

He looked at the family in the distance again. Would that be Kasumi and himself some day? With their children? Had there ever been a chance it could be Akane and him? Was it wrong for him to wish he could have had that future?

Why did Akane cry herself to sleep at night? Was there a chance that she really wanted him? Unfortunately, even if she did, his wish for an easy answer wasn't to be granted - she hadn't come here to speak of it. Which left only one person to bring it up.

And she had given him the opening, if he had the courage to take it. She had asked - he could answer, tell her why he was hoping she had come looking for him. This was his chance to learn the truth. Maybe the last chance he'd have. If he was ever going to do this, then he'd better do it now, because time had almost run out.

Clearing his throat, Ranma tried to explain. "I was thinking, maybe, you'd come looking for me, 'cause ... you see, I was hoping ..."

He paused. Something about that felt wrong. He realized after a few seconds what it was - he wanted Akane to tell him first, if she felt that way, to spare him from maybe making a fool of himself. The insight came to him in that moment that he was being a coward, and there was no more time for that. If he wanted the truth, he had to start by confessing himself.

Taking a deep breath, Ranma started speaking again. "I think I screwed up, back when Kasumi took over the engagement. Hell, a lot further back than that. I ... it ain't easy to say this, but ... I've been a bit of an idiot."

Akane almost snapped back with, "so what else is new?" She stopped herself, however. There had been too many times when she had said things like that to him. Times she had avoided saying anything serious by seeking safety in quips or insults instead. The idea of going down that road again was more than she could bear.

Akane turned her own thoughts back to when the engagement was changed. When she might have spoken up, chosen a different course. Her reply was quiet instead of scornful, introspective instead of thoughtless. "I guess ... I was a bit of an idiot myself. So, um ... what were you an idiot about, exactly?" She was honestly curious, thinking wistfully it was too bad he wouldn't say something like he had wanted to marry her instead of Kasumi.

Ranma gestured toward the family he'd been watching. A father, wearing a western suit. A mother, in a summer dress. A boy, age three or thereabouts, running around with boundless energy. A baby of indeterminate gender, currently in its mother's arms instead of the stroller at her side.

"Look at 'em," he said softly. "That's what I wanted ... want. I ain't just a martial artist, the guy that beats up monsters and whatever else. I want what other people want, when they think about the future. Married, a wife, kids. Yeah, doesn't sound like me at all, does it? But it's true. Only ... not Kasumi. I never saw her in that picture."

Ranma clenched his fist as he looked off into the distance. "That's why I said I was an idiot. I should've never got engaged to Kasumi." He sighed. "The moment it happened, I should've spoke up. Should've stopped it. Somehow. Should've told them who I really wanted."

Akane looked over at the family again, seeing herself in the mother. She felt a moment of hope, then crushed it. It was too late. Besides, just because he hadn't wanted to be engaged to Kasumi was no reason to fool herself into thinking he had wanted her. "So you finally decided? After all this time? Now that you're about to marry my sister?" She sighed. "May I ask who it was? Not that it matters any more. I bet ... I bet it was Ukyo, wasn't it?"

Ranma turned toward her, fire in his eyes. All of the pent up emotions poured themselves into his voice, the words unstoppable. "Ukyo?! Don't you understand?! The one I wanted to marry was you! You, dammit! Not Ukyo. Not Shampoo. Not Kasumi. It was ..." He ran down, slumping forward, hands dangling between his knees. "It was always you."

Akane's hand flew up to her throat. She couldn't breathe. There wasn't enough air in the park. She couldn't have heard right. It was impossible that Ranma had really wanted to be engaged to her. But she had heard. The words were still echoing inside her skull. Words that were undeniable.

Still trying to convince herself she had heard correctly, still trying to breathe properly, she gasped out, "Why? Why didn't you say that a month ago? Ever? Why wait until now?"

He snorted, bitterness tinging his words. "You made your own feelings plain enough."

Akane felt her breath taken away again, this time by the sheer magnitude of folly in the situation. She almost responded in anger, but the pain she felt swallowed the anger, and instead her words came out quietly, sadly. "I promise you, Ranma, I made my feelings as plain as you made yours."

He turned his face toward her, puzzled. "What's that supposed to mean? I thought I just told you. I, well, I never admitted how I really felt. Not till now. That means I didn't make my feelings plain at all."

"That's what I mean," Akane confirmed sadly. "If you think I ... I didn't want the engagement, then ... I'm afraid you were wrong."

Ranma stared at her, his bitter air of defeat giving way to the first glimmers of hope. "What? You ... you wanted our engagement? I thought ... I thought you were happy to hand me over to Kasumi."

Akane shook her head from side to side. She whispered, barely breathing the words, "I didn't really want to break our engagement. I ... I wanted to marry you. Someday. If you wanted it."

It was like a breeze lifted Ranma's spirit. A light appeared, offering a path out of the darkness. "I'm sorry." He struggled to find words to express how he felt. "Gods, 'sorry' doesn't begin to cover it. I can't believe how big an idiot I've been. Listen, we can ..."

"No." The quiet word was said firmly.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Ranma asked, both arms raised. "You ain't even heard what I was gonna say."

"There's nothing we can do," Akane said implacably. "Your wedding is in two days. Kasumi has her heart set on marrying you."

"How d'you know she's got her heart set on it?" Ranma demanded. "Maybe she don't want it either."

Akane shook her head. Her voice remained even, lacking in emotion. "She's been planning this for a month, devoted every waking moment to it. Invitations, dresses, florist, and on and on. Now you want to leave her at the altar? And make me responsible? I can't do that Ranma. I won't do that."

Ranma looked at her imploringly. "But ..."

Akane shook her head again, not looking at him. "No. You agreed to marry Kasumi. You need to marry Kasumi. I'm not going to steal my own sister's husband."

Ranma turned away, his face twisting. "I ain't her husband yet," he replied fiercely. He took a deep breath. "Look ... I don't wanna hurt Kasumi. I won't. But this marriage, it ain't right. I want to marry you, not her. Uh ... eventually, you know, marry you someday. It's ... it's ..."

He paused, taking another deep breath, trying to calm himself and sort out his thoughts. "Sometimes I'd think about it. Imagine it. What it would be like if you were willing. Spending time together, not 'cause we had to, but 'cause we wanted to. Teaching in the dojo. Having kids. Watching 'em grow up. Teaching 'em martial arts. The girls would be beautiful, o'course, 'cause they'd look like you." He jerked to a stop, embarrassed at having said too much.

Despite her determination, Akane felt a catch in her throat. She heard herself responding, "What, no red-haired girls with pigtails in the lot? I suppose the boys would look like you?"

Ranma shrugged, still embarrassed. "Well, yeah."

She looked over at the family group again, the father and mother now sitting in the grass, the little boy in his father's lap, the mother still holding the baby. Her eyes blurred and for a moment, she could see herself and Ranma there, with their children around them.

"What about you?" Ranma asked. "You ever think about it? You and me? You ever imagine what it would be like?"

Blinking her vision clear, Akane took a deep breath and nodded. "Sometimes," she admitted. "I'd think about ... you and me ... together. Sometimes ..." She couldn't go on, lost opportunities and regrets stifled her voice.

Plaintively, Ranma tried to suggest, "We could ..."

"No," Akane said quietly, interrupting him. Even to her own ear the word sounded weak. She clenched her hands together tightly, seeking after the resolve with which she had answered him earlier. It was hard, so hard, and she felt her eyes growing damp, a tear breaking free and rolling down her cheek. Reluctantly, she set aside the dream he had summoned forth. Her voice firmer, Akane said, "No, we can't, Ranma. We just can't. Please, don't tempt me."

"But I love you!"

"Oh God!" He'd said it, plainly, without denial, the words she had wanted to hear from him for so long. That simple phrase, more than anything else he had said, threatened to overwhelm her defenses. Akane jumped up, holding her hands over her ears, shaking her head violently from side to side. Tears were running down her face. "No! Don't say that! Please, don't say that! You're engaged to Kasumi. Everyone is coming to see her get married. I won't betray my sister. I won't!"

Ranma leapt to his feet in front of her and forced her hands away from her head. "Listen to me!" he yelled. "I can finally tell you what I want! What I was too stupid to tell you the last time ... the, the time you asked. What I realized that day I thought you were ... dead. Akane, I don't think I can live without you! Please ... I, I love you." He let his face drop, still holding her arms out, and repeated the words quietly. "I love you."

Akane felt as if her heart were tearing apart within her. She wanted so badly to say "yes," to run away with him, leave her family, leave everything. Marry and raise a family somewhere where they'd never find them. Because that was what it would take. If she tried to claim Ranma as her own, she would shame herself, she could never face her family again.

She broke down sobbing and Ranma pulled her into his arms, hugged her in a warm embrace. His strength, his soul, wrapping around her, comforting her. She cried harder as she felt his hand stroking along her hair, rocking her a little back and forth. There in the safety of his arms, she imagined their future together, alone together, but they'd have each other, and the children which would come.

The tears slowed down to sniffles. It was an intoxicating fantasy, and all it required was that she give up her family, betray the sister who had raised her as a mother, throw away her honor. She took one more ragged breath and pulled back, not quite meeting Ranma's eyes.

"I'm afraid I've gotten your shirt all wet," she told him hoarsely.

"Akane, I ..."

Akane lifted a finger and pressed it against his lips, silencing him. "Ranma, I'll treasure the things you said. Always. I wish, I really wish we could have had that future. But it's too late. You're Kasumi's now."

Mumbling around her finger, Ranma said, "It ain't too late until after Sunday."

Akane's teeth bit into her lip, and her eyes grew moist again. "Please. Don't. It's hard enough."

She leaned forward, and for just a moment Ranma thought she planned to kiss him. But Akane moved to the side, and rested her cheek against his. Her mouth beside his ear, in the softest of whispers she said, "I love you, Ranma. Take care of Kasumi for me."

She then turned and left, without letting him see her face again. Unable to believe this was happening, Ranma started to follow, thinking that he must, somehow, find words to convince her. He stopped, though, as Akane moved faster, unable to bear the thought that she might run from him if he pursued her. So he stood there and watched Akane disappear from sight, while wondering how the bright summer day could seem to have had all of the light sucked out of it.

Kasumi and Nodoka were in Kasumi's bedroom, quietly discussing plans one last time before the wedding tomorrow. It was clear that certain parties were feeling highly stressed, but that had been inevitable, indeed necessary if things were to turn out the way they hoped. Both of them were relatively confident that things would go according to script.

Kasumi was saying, "Both Ranma and Tofu are ready to break. I can feel it. You saw how your son was fidgeting all day. He is barely holding it back. When the time comes for the wedding tomorrow, he'll be so desperate that he'll be ready to try anything."

Nodoka twisted her hands on the silk wrapped bundle she carried. "So long as 'anything' is what we're hoping for."

The younger woman smiled. "Honestly, I simply cannot believe that Ranma would run away from his obligations. He will confront us. He must. I cannot see any other choice he will think he can make, except to choose to go through with the wedding. And his love for Akane is too strong to let him do that."

Nodoka breathed deeply. "I hope so. I do want my son to be happy."

Kasumi bit her lip. "The one who concerns me is Akane. I would prefer for her to come out and say what she wants as well, before any confrontation with Ranma. But I fear she will not do so on her own. Although she feels much as Ranma does, she ..." Kasumi sighed. "She looks up to me too much. Places me on an undeserved pedestal. I think we will need to give her some extra, er, prodding before she will admit what she wants."

The older woman stared out the window into the darkness. After a moment her lips curved upward. "Perhaps if we forced her to think about you and my son? Together, shall we say? What I mean is, suppose I were to ask you about your plans for the honeymoon?"

Kasumi blushed prettily, turning her eyes down. However, her lips turned up as well. "That is ... a little cruel. But I must admit, it might very well produce exactly the shock we need. As long as she is in the right mental state."

Nodoka nodded. "We'll have her help me with your dress tomorrow. Seeing you putting on the wedding gown, looking ready to be married, should do the trick, don't you think? I can't believe she wouldn't be thinking about might have beens, if only she was the one putting on the dress."

Kasumi let out a breath. "Yes. That will probably work." She sighed. "I wish we didn't have to manipulate them like this. I wish they could just admit what they want on their own. But if we left them to their own devices ..."

"... they would just continue to dither about it," Nodoka finished for her. "Refusing to admit that they now want what they opposed for so long. They both have the pride and stubbornness of martial artists. And if we allow them to continue to behave in this manner, then one day one too many hurtful words might be said. No, I agreed with you weeks ago. This is probably the best hope we have for them to do what they really want."

"If it all works," Kasumi said, the prayer in her words clearly heard.

"Yes," Nodoka said. "If it works." She paused. "I suppose ... what's the term? Devil's advocate? I know we discussed it a long time ago, but this plan could fail. Tomorrow is the wedding. If it all falls through, are you still prepared to go through with it? To marry my son? No doubt it was easier to contemplate the possibility when it was ... further away."

Kasumi took a very deep breath. "Yes," she said, forcing her voice to be firm. "Because if they do not ... if Ranma and my sister cannot overcome their pride when the moment arrives where they must speak or lose their chance forever ... if that happens, then I was wrong. Wrong to think they love each other. Wrong to think it was their destiny to be together."

"If that happens," she continued, speaking sternly to convey her determination, "then yes, I must marry Ranma. The honor of our family, my honor, demands it. ..."

Ranma pulled himself up onto the roof early that night. He doubted he'd be able to sleep at all, knowing that tomorrow he was supposed to marry Kasumi. There had to be some way out of it! It was Akane whom he loved. And she loved him. Shouldn't that mean that he and Akane ought to marry?

He sagged, thinking about the other people. Kasumi was the one who originally insisted on this marriage, who had been putting all of her effort into it for the past month. Could he really bring himself to cause her so much pain by backing out now? At the very last moment?

But what if Kasumi didn't really want to marry him? What if it was just about duty, preserving her family's honor? If that were the case, well, honor would be kept well enough by Akane marrying him instead. Sure, it would cause a little talk, given what everyone was expecting, but that wasn't so bad was it? Their families were always the subject of tons of gossip anyway, and as long as nothing happened to cast shame on them it would all blow over.

Of course Pop, and Mom, and Tendo-san were all telling him he had to marry Kasumi. But really, would it matter that much to them? If he married Akane instead? He doubted their fathers would mind very much, one way or the other. His mother though ... that was a sticky one. He had agreed to marry Kasumi. Invitations had gone out. People would be coming to see him and Kasumi get married. What would Mom think about some last minute wishy-washiness on his part?

Besides, all of this depended on Akane agreeing to marry him. Ranma drooped at that thought. She wanted to, he knew. But when he'd tried to talk to her about it, she had refused to consider the notion. Had told him point blank not to tempt her, that he had to go through with marrying Kasumi. Why did she have to be so thick-headed?

Not that the adjective 'thick-headed' couldn't be applied to his own behavior for the last month. Or even further back.

Even if he could talk Akane around, get her to agree, there was still the question of Kasumi. Sure, if she was only doing this out of duty, she'd probably be willing to give way and let him marry Akane. Maybe. If she was willing to put up with the embarrassment of such a last minute change. But if she really wanted to marry him ... What then? What if she really did think she was in love with him?

Ranma paced back and forth along the roof, his thoughts in turmoil. What should he do? What could he do? Even if there was a way out, the wedding was tomorrow for God's sake! Ranma was pretty certain that waiting until after the wedding to come up with a plan would be much too late.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Ranma shuffled down the roof in the direction of Akane's bedroom. Not that he was planning to talk to her. So far he didn't really have any plan in mind. He just hoped that sitting above her room might calm him enough that he could think a little more clearly.

A little distance short of his goal the young man paused at the sound of voices from an open window below. He identified them automatically, Kasumi and his mother. And the room below was Kasumi's bedroom. Knowing that it was impolite to eavesdrop, he found himself unable, or at least unwilling, to move away. He listened closely, the softly spoken words just barely audible.

"... I must marry Ranma. The honor of our family, my honor, demands it." Kasumi's voice was stern, filled with determination. "That has been the plan from the beginning. I must marry Ranma, and he must marry me. No other outcome can be contemplated. So to answer your question, yes, the ceremony tomorrow absolutely will take place."

"You know that he will never love you," Nodoka stated calmly. "Not in the way that a young woman dreams."

Kasumi sighed. "Love is a luxury which is rarely associated with an arranged marriage. He is a good and decent young man, and I will have to be content with that. You are correct, he does not love me. Nor, for that matter, do I love him. Not that way. Nonetheless, I assure you, that will not prevent our wedding."

There was a pause, during which Ranma stood there trembling, fighting to remain silent in the face of what he was hearing. He crept closer, straining to hear, wondering if maybe, just maybe, his mother would inject a word of sanity. Perhaps suggest that love was important after all.

After another moment Kasumi spoke again. "As long as we are speaking of such matters, what if ... what if Ranma simply refuses to go through with the wedding? Or tries to run away? I know I said myself I was sure he would not. But allow me to take on the role of devil's advocate. What then?"

There was steel in Nodoka's voice as she answered, "My son will not be so unmanly. And if necessary, I will see to that. People might understand calling off a wedding because of an attack, but both families would be dishonored if the wedding were not held because my son would ... choose so. I assure you, I will not allow him to refuse. If he runs off, I will hunt him down myself and bring him back."

Ranma had heard enough, far more than enough. He was shaking his head in denial, mouth open, unable to find words to express himself. Ranma jumped away, landing on the ground clear on the other side of the house. Mind blank, he wandered aimlessly into the dojo, where he stared at the decorations, trying to cope with what he had learned.

Back in Kasumi's bedroom, the bride-to-be was saying, "Well, let us hope it does not come to that. Yes, it's best to be prepared to carry through on that scenario if - if - it turns out we have been severely mistaken about the depths of their mutual feelings. But it's hardly my first choice. I am sure that tomorrow we will all manage to marry for love. A little more pressure, carefully applied at the end, and I'm sure we'll crack through my sister's and your son's unbelievable stubbornness."

"I'm looking forward to it," Nodoka answered hopefully.

Out in the dojo Ranma opened his eyes, peering into the gloom. He must have blacked out for a time. He saw that he was on his knees on the low platform they had built at the end of the dojo, underneath the shrine. His thoughts were whirling around, trapped in an endless circle, no escape in sight.

Kasumi and his mother would not release him. The fact that he loved Akane, and Akane loved him, did not matter. Tomorrow, perhaps today - how much time had passed? - he would be forced to marry Kasumi. At the end of his mother's katana if necessary.

This would be followed by a life in service to the plans laid down by his father and Tendo-san. Married to a wife he would never love, and who would never love him in return. He might have borne that, if he had not learned that Akane loved him. The prospect of a lifetime of marriage to Kasumi, looking at Akane all that time, or just aware that she was out there, somewhere - knowing that she loved him, knowing what they could have had ...

It was madness! Ranma's fist slammed down, shattering the platform below him, his thoughts spinning ever more wildly. Did they really think he could live like that! He was only human! Not some martial arts robot!

But what could he do? They would not allow him to marry Akane. Not only his mother, but Kasumi herself had said so! By their own words they made it clear that what he wanted was irrelevant; they would insist that honor demanded he marry Kasumi. They would not accept his refusal. Even if he tried to run away, his own mother would come after him, demand that he return.

And in any case, what would be the use in running away? If Akane did not come with him, his life would be empty. Now that he knew she loved him, he could not bear the thought of leaving her behind. Yet he was sure that she would not come with him. The way she had spoken to him, telling him not to tempt her, refusing to contemplate any choice which involved taking him away from Kasumi. No, Akane would not run away with him.

Even if she did ... Ranma tried to imagine it. Akane would feel dishonored. She would feel that she betrayed her sister, dishonored herself. If he convinced her to come away with him, then he would be responsible for forcing that upon her. Their would be no chance for them to be happy together, living under such a burden.

The pressure was building up within him, demanding release. Yet all doors he could think of were closed to him. He had told Akane that he loved her, that he could not live without her. Yet the figures of Kasumi and his mother stood over him, the former gently implacable, the latter holding her katana, demanding the he marry Kasumi. His soul snarled its refusal, shouting that he would have Akane or nothing.

He could not run, for he could not have Akane that way either. He could not, would not, marry Kasumi. He could not get away with refusing to marry. There was nothing, no way to turn, no possibility, no hope ...

Ranma smashed another hole in the platform beneath him, heart racing, gasping for air. He was trapped, trapped, no escape ...

Ranma had finally acknowledged what he wanted in life, wanted desperately. What life would no longer allow him to have. What he had foolishly allowed to slip through his fingers.

The young man wrapped his arms around his chest, squeezing, shaking. He wanted to howl, to cry out his denial. He would not do what they wanted! He would not allow them to force him into this! But the only other option was to leave, to go away forever, to hide himself so well that they would never find him. And he couldn't. The thought roared inside his head once more, ‹I can't live without Akane!›

Ranma went still as the echoes of his mental cry faded, finding a new meaning in the shouted claim. At that moment he realized that, yes, there was another choice. A choice which would not force him to live a life without the woman he loved. His mouth set in grim humor at the twisted meaning in that thought.

The young man almost laughed, but choked it down, afraid that it would sound crazed. It amused him that it was a choice of honor, to be made when all other choices would bring dishonor. Perhaps his mother would be proud of him. It was, at least, a decision with which she ought to be reasonably comfortable.

Ranma slipped inside the house, noting by the kitchen clock it was still a little short of midnight. Moving as quietly as he could, he entered the room he shared with his parents, glad that his pop was such a heavy sleeper. A few minutes careful searching found the white robes for which he was looking. Taking them, he left the room, then hesitated. Instead of proceeding immediately down the steps, he turned the other way.

He eased open the door while smiling regretfully at the duck nameplate. Stepping inside, he closed the door as silently as he had opened it. Moving without a sound, he knelt down beside the bed, spending some time simply gazing at Akane's sleeping features.

He reached out a hand and lightly brushed a few strands of hair from her forehead with his fingertips. "Good-bye, tomboy," he said as softly as he could. "I love you, you know. More than life. Try not to be too sad."

Ranma leaned forward. As lightly as he could, he pressed his lips to Akane's. Then he stood swiftly and jumped out through her window.

Akane lifted herself on one elbow, touching fingers to her lips. Had that been a dream? Or had Ranma just ...? Had she caught a glimpse of his back at her window? Hastily she scrambled from under the covers and looked outside, seeing nothing. After a further hesitation she slipped out of her room and crept down the stairs.

Out in the dojo once more, Ranma turned on the lights. No reason to sprain an ankle tripping over something in the dark, he thought to himself humorlessly. Making his way over to the display of weapons, he selected a tanto, testing its edge with his fingertip. He gave a grim nod at the drop of blood it raised. Steeling himself, he made his way once more to the end of the room, to kneel under the shrine.

Akane stepped outside, staring at the dojo. Light was pouring out of the windows and doorway. Was Ranma doing a late night exercise, unable to sleep? Except that made no sense. There was no room with everything set up for the wedding. What was that baka up to? Silently she crept closer.

Akane peered around the edge of the door. After a moment she spotted Ranma up at the front of the room, kneeling, facing away from her. Dressed all in white. What was he up to? His body jerked as he gave a grunt she clearly heard. Then he jerked again, the grunt this time carrying a clear note of agony. Alarmed, Akane was already stepping forward when Ranma slid to the side and fell over. With a gasp, she jumped the rest of the distance instantly.

Blood. That was the only thought her mind could encompass in the first seconds. As the initial shock passed she realized she was holding Ranma in her arms, one hand pressed uselessly over the crimson flow from his belly. There were two long slashes, one horizontal, the other vertical. She looked up into his face, her mouth gaping open in a cry of horror which wouldn't emerge. His eyes were staring back at her, a little blood on his lips.

"A-Akane?"

"Why? Why?!"

He lifted an arm weakly. Brushed his fingertips along her cheek. "I love you. Told you ... can't live without you. Th-they were gonna make me m-marry Kasumi anyway. Heard 'em. No way out, 'cept this."

Her vision of him was blurred by the tears pouring out of her eyes. "You could have married Kasumi. You could have been happy. Happy enough."

Ranma shook his head. "Lookin' at you, all those y-years? Knowing wha' I could've had? B'lieve me, this's less painful." He coughed, bringing up more blood. "Remin' me, tho'. Next time I do this. T'use a kaishakunin. Finish it quick."

A sob broke free from her throat. "I don't want you to die!"

"'S for the best, 'Kane. Ever'un even keeps their honor. Least I ..." He coughed again, wincing in agony, blood running down the side of his face from the corner of his mouth. He leaned back, eyes closing. Whispering, he completed the sentence, "... I got t'see you, one last time."

"Ranma!"

"Love ... you ..." His breath seemed to catch on the last word. The next breath didn't come.

"No!!" The scream was torn from her throat, leaving it raw. It echoed from the walls. She squeezed Ranma's body tightly to her chest, rocking back and forth mindlessly, wailing her grief. Her mind shut down, unaware of the people calling out, demanding to know what was going on.

Then there were hands on her, pulling her away. "There's nothing you can do for him," a voice said by her ear, ragged with its own grief. "He's gone." She struggled against her captor, uselessly. Then she went limp, sobbing brokenly.

Blindly Akane heard the voices around her. Words of shock, horror, grief, anguish. Her sister Kasumi was sobbing, saying something over and over about it all being her fault, while Ranma's mother was speaking coldly vicious words of agreement. Nabiki, her own voice sounding fractured, was somewhere nearby making a suggestion about sedatives.

Akane felt herself being lowered to a bench. The hands which had been holding her released their grip, the owner turning away to ask a question of someone else nearby.

Ranma was gone. He was really and truly gone, and he'd never be back. She should never have refused him, that day in the park. She should have said to hell with honor, and her sister, and run away with him. Run away to someplace where people didn't care about honor, or duty to one's family. Somewhere where she and Ranma could have been married, and spent their lives together, forever.

He was gone. Gone forever. She'd never see that quirky smile again. That glint in his eyes. That maddening confidence. She'd never be whole again, for he had taken a piece of her heart, carried it away with him.

The future loomed before her. An empty life, stretching out endlessly. Until death finally brought them together again.

Why wait?

Akane opened her eyes. There was absolutely no hesitation in her movements as she jumped up from the bench, crossing the room in two bounds. A voice cried out from somewhere behind her, far too late. Seizing the tanto from where Ranma had dropped it, Akane plunged it into her belly. Screaming her agony, she yanked it across, cutting desperately. Mouth open in a rictus of pain, she fell forward across his body, striving forward to press her lips to his. She barely made it before she collapsed, unable to stop her gasping cries of pain.

Her father reached her, his hand closing over hers, holding the knife still, bawling for Nabiki to call for an ambulance. His other hand pressed to the long gash, uselessly trying to stem the blood pouring out of it. It was apparent that her clumsy stroke had managed to cut something vital. Akane was no longer rational, kicking feebly, the pain having overwhelmed her. Kasumi, hands pressed to her ears in a vain effort to block out her sister's cries, watched as Nodoka purposely strode over to the wall and lifted down a katana.

"Nodoka, you can't," Soun choked out. "The ambulance will be here ..."

The woman pointed. Her words were acid. "Look at how much blood she is losing, and tell me you think she has a chance. Listen to how much pain she is in! She has chosen an honorable death! As did my son!" Her teeth nearly broke, they were so tightly clenched on these last words. "Or does honor only matter to you when it comes to marital arrangements? Does honor only matter when it is convenient?" She spat the last word.

"But she's my baby," Soun wept brokenly. In his arms, Akane's gasps were weaker, but no less tormented.

"As Ranma was my only child," Nodoka returned fiercely, forcing back her tears once more. "Look on them and see the sacrifice to your pride. You know that she will die. There is no point in prolonging her suffering. This began with honor. Let it end with honor."

Kasumi looked on in horror, shaking her head. Unable to speak.

Genma stepped up beside his wife, his own face running with tears, his voice choked. "Are you sure you can ...?" He gestured toward the sword.

Nodoka nodded curtly. "I know I have little skill with a blade, but this at least I have practiced. And I have prepared myself mentally for years."

She stepped forward. Soun, hearing his daughter's agony, knowing what Nodoka had said was true, lifted Akane slightly. He closed his eyes. There was a swish of air, and a slight tug on his arms. Kasumi screamed once, then fainted. Gently the man lowered his now silent youngest child to the floor.

"Akane's name will be added to the Saotome registry," Nodoka declared stonily. "Their ashes will be buried together." No one dared to defy her.

The guests received a considerable shock as they arrived the next day, one by one. Instead of a happy wedding, they found themselves offering condolences to two families torn by grief. Most left shortly after arriving, so as not to be a burden. A few of the closer relatives stuck around to offer their help in cleaning up, and making the necessary arrangements. Ukyo collapsed, and had to be placed in a corner, wrapped in a blanket.

Doctor Tofu had worked himself up into a considerable state that morning, while putting on his tuxedo. Half insane over the thought that he was about to lose his heart's desire, forever, he found the willpower to make a terrifying decision. He therefore shoved his skeleton Betty-chan into a closet, then marched down the street toward the Tendo home, burning with determination. He was going to confront Kasumi before the ceremony, beg her to reconsider, ask her to marry himself instead of Ranma.

As he reached the gate, however, it became apparent that something odd was going on. A few people were coming out with shocked expressions, whereupon they turned down the street and walked away. One woman was openly crying. Puzzled, worried, Tofu advanced slowly upon the gate. Taking a breath, he pushed it open and stepped inside.

Genma Saotome was standing there, looking decidedly haggard. It took Tofu a long moment to recognize the man, having encountered him far more often in the form of a panda bear. Besides, Ranma's father seemed to have aged a decade overnight. Genma, on the other hand, recognized the doctor immediately.

"Ah, Doctor Tofu," Genma said. "Was wondering if you'd come. The wedding's off. There's been a ... tragedy." His voice was unexpectedly hoarse, almost on the edge of tears if the doctor was any judge.

"Nothing too terrible, I hope," Tofu suggested optimistically.

Genma grunted, his expression forlorn. "M'son, and Akane-kun, both died last night."

Tofu almost fell over in shock. Died? How? What on earth could have happened? Had one of their old enemies attacked, caught them by surprise?

"I am deeply saddened to hear of your grief," the doctor said. "Is there anything I can do, for you or your family?"

Genma shook his head. "Nothing really to be done. M'wife is holding things down inside the house, together with an aunt and a couple of cousins. Tendo-kun took a couple of sleeping pills and some sake. He's passed out right now. Nabiki isn't saying much, trying to pretend she ain't crying. Kasumi's shut herself in her room. She's not talking to anyone." He sighed. "There's a couple of other relatives. In the dojo. Cleaning up."

"I see." It was still unbelievable, hearing the news of such devastation. "Perhaps I can try talking to Kasumi," he suggested. "I have known her for a long time."

Genma shrugged. His eyes followed the younger man wearily as Tofu entered the house.

A woman Tofu did not know came up to meet him while he was removing his shoes. He quietly explained that he was a local chiropractor, and a friend of Kasumi in particular, before he mounted the stairs. Knocking on her door, however, brought no answer. He knocked again, then tried the knob to find that it was locked. Calling softly, he said, "Kasumi-san? It's me, Tofu. Please let me in."

There was a gasp from inside the room, but no further sound.

"Kasumi-san. Please. I know you are in pain. Please talk to me."

Still nothing was heard.

The young doctor contemplated the closed door before him. Whatever enemy had struck down her family, it wasn't good to lock herself away like this. If he had always been the fool, she had always been far too reserved for her own good. Earlier, he had decided that he loved her, and was going to face that love. While he was not idiot enough to make unwelcome proclamations in the face of a family tragedy, it was time to start acting like the man he wanted to be for her.

He knocked again. "Kasumi, I am afraid I must insist that you open this door. You cannot continue to hide in there all by yourself."

After waiting another minute and still receiving no response, Tofu drew a deep breath. Placing one hand on the door, he drew his other arm back, then struck the door hard with his palm just above the knob. There was a sharp crack, and the door swung open a few centimeters. He pushed it open further and stepped inside.

Kasumi was sitting on her bed, her back to a corner of the room, knees drawn up to her chin. She turned her face away the instant Tofu entered the room, but not before he saw how very red and puffy her eyes were. Her cracking voice begged, "Please ... go ..."

"No," he replied in stark refusal. Walking over he climbed onto the bed, sitting beside her as she drew away. He tried to pull her into his arms, while she struggled not to let him.

"Kasumi, it's not your fault!" Tofu told her. "Whoever did this ..."

Kasumi yanked herself out of his hands, pressing herself against the wall. "It is! It is!" she wailed.

Tofu placed a hand on her back rather than trying to embrace her again immediately. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"They ... didn't tell you?" she asked, small sobs between the words. "Nodoka-san ... didn't tell you ... I did it?"

Tofu shook his head, not that the distraught girl could see the gesture. "I haven't spoken to Ranma's mother. So please, tell me. Why are you blaming yourself? Surely the people who attacked them are to blame."

"Oh." Kasumi crumbled slightly, realizing the man beside her was under a misapprehension. That it was up to her to enlighten him. "They weren't ... attacked."

Tofu was startled, trying to rearrange his thoughts. "Then what ..."

"They ... took their ... own lives," the young woman said, feeling Tofu stiffen beside her. "First Ranma ... to escape ... the marriage. Akane ... found him. Then she ... killed herself. I ... saw her die."

The doctor was left speechless. It was hard to imagine the confident young Ranma he knew giving in to despair to that degree. Yet apparently the boy had. And now it seemed clear why Kasumi felt that she was to blame, since this had happened because of the planned marriage to herself. He kept his hand pressed against her back, trying to radiate comfort through it.

"It's not your fault, Kasumi. He was caught in a trap of honor. One that any of us could have put a stop to. If only he had admitted his true feelings for Akane long ago, before this marriage was planned. Or Akane had admitted her feelings for him. Or I ... if I had admitted my feelings ... for you."

"That's why it's my fault," Kasumi whispered. Her sobs had settled as she gathered her nerve to confess. "That was the plan. Everyone was too stubborn to admit what they wanted. When all of you realized it was truly your last chance, today ... you were supposed to finally admit ... but he didn't ... it didn't work ... I failed. And now they're dead!" She started crying again.

Tofu sat still, contemplating what she had just said. It was quite true that he had finally cracked under the mounting pressure that morning, that he had come here with every intention of asking her to give up Ranma and marry himself instead. Had she truly manipulated him to that degree? If she had, could he forgive her?

A nagging little voice inside asked, if her plan had succeeded, would he have minded?

He looked at the heartbroken woman weeping into the wall beside him, remembering the barely teenage girl he had first met, already the head of her household in all but name. Wise before her years, and yet ... still only twenty-one years old. A bare year into adulthood.

Tofu reached out once more to pull Kasumi into his arms. She struggled against him, again, but this time he refused to yield. He soon had her pressed against his chest, a hand behind her head.

"It's not your fault, Kasumi," he whispered. "No more so than anyone else, at least. There were many ways out of this mess. Ranma didn't have to choose that path. Your fathers could have been more sensible about the whole matter long ago. Even I, as I said, I could have confessed what was in my heart ages ago. We've suffered a terrible loss, but all of us are to blame."

Kasumi turned blurry eyes up toward him. "You ... you don't think it's all my fault? Nodoka-san said such horrible things ..."

He stroked a hand along her hair, holding her a little tighter. "She is grieving for the loss of her only child. I am sure that in time she will regret anything she said in the heat of such an awful moment. And I will tell you again, no, the blame for this is not yours alone. All of us must share it." He paused, then said. "After all, you are my beautiful Kasumi, who always tries harder than anyone to do what is best for her family. How could I possibly think anything so terrible about you?"

She gave him a brave smile, which trembled all the same. "You're being very eloquent. Are you sure you're my Tofu-sensei?"

He smiled back. "You need me. So it is time for me to leave my foolish ways behind. Yes, I am your Tofu-sensei. It is too soon to speak of such matters, but ... soon I wish to talk with you about being yours, in truth. For as long as we both shall live."

Kasumi's breath caught. Her hands, behind his back, grabbed handfuls of his shirt and held on. In that moment she saw him as a lifeline, a means by which she might be pulled from the hell into which she had plunged herself. When she could trust her voice, she said, "Please take me away."

"Kasumi ..."

She shook her head. "I know. Not now. My family needs me, for this one last task. But after ..." She choked for a moment. "... after the funeral, will you please take me away? Forever?"

"If that is your wish," Tofu told her seriously, voice overflowing. "I will take you anywhere you wish to go. Only so long as I may stay by your side. Forever."

Kasumi nodded, then settled her face down into his chest once more, starting to cry again. However, this time the tears were finally able to bring catharsis, and Tofu continued to hold her after the grief-stricken girl fell asleep in his arms.

A woman came striding swiftly down the path through the park. A few mothers, out with their children, watched her curiously as she swept past, wondering what was causing so much hurry. She was in her early thirties, wearing a conservative dress. Her long brown hair, tied with a bow, flowed across one shoulder. Closer inspection would reveal a few strands of gray already making an appearance among the brown.

Her expression was mildly frazzled, and her eyes were casting back and forth as she walked, looking everywhere - behind bushes and benches, inside the public trash bins, even out in the lake itself.

She paused, lifting hands to cup around her mouth. "Ranma! Akane! Where are you two! Answer me!"

A boy called back, "Up here, Mom!"

Kasumi Ono allowed her gaze to follow the direction of the voice up into a tree, to see her nine year old son Ranma waving back from among the leaves. Putting her hands on her hips, she tried to sound stern as she said, "How often do I have to tell you not to run ahead out of sight! Now get down here, young man!"

"Awww!"

The boy jumped off of the branch on which he stood, grabbing hold of another with his hands. He swung from this one to land on yet another, lower branch, where he teetered precariously. Kasumi's hand flew to her mouth in fright as he started to fall, but some miracle allowed him to regain his balance. He climbed the rest of the way down without mishap. At the bottom his mother grabbed him and squeezed him close.

"Mom! You're embarrassing me!"

"And you're turning me gray before my time," she countered. However, she released her son, and ruffled his hair with her hand, before placing the hand on his shoulder and catching his eye. "Now, no more climbing trees like that."

She was answered by an obstinate look, and stifled an inward groan. There were many occasions, such as now, when Kasumi was convinced that her children's stubborn natures were her penance for what happened all of those years ago.

Shaking her head, Kasumi asked, "Do you know where your little sister got off to?"

Ranma nodded, then pointed straight up. In mounting concern, Kasumi looked upward, finally spotting her seven year old daughter up in the same tree. Her heart caught in her throat. The girl was twice as high as Ranma had been.

"Akane!"

"Coming, Momma."

"No! Hold still!"

Too late. Climbing down, the girl's foot slipped and she fell. Her bottom landed on a thick branch a short distance below, from which she slipped backward and ended up hanging upside-down by her knees. She giggled. Taking hold of another branch which was just within reach, she swung around it, where she was able to place one foot in a fork of the trunk.

"Please stop!"

"Why, Momma?"

"Just ...!"

"Could you use some help, ma'am?"

Kasumi swung around to see a young man, in his late teens or early twenties. He gave her a smile and said, "We're doing some work here in the park, trimming trees. I can get her down for you."

Kasumi silently nodded her answer, watching as he quickly slung a belt around the trunk and made his way up the tree. In no time at all he was back down with the little girl clinging to his front like a leech. He pulled her arms from around his neck and held her out, where she was seized by her grateful mother.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. I don't know how ..."

"Don't fret. Just glad I was here to help. You might want to try keeping a closer eye on the tyke, though."

Kasumi blushed at being lectured by the young man. Not without cause, of course. "I only wish it were so easy," she mumbled. "Thank you again."

As the man walked off, Kasumi shifted Akane over to one arm. Reaching out with her other, she grabbed Ranma's hand. "As for you two, we're going home. If you want to come to the park, you need to learn to behave yourselves." She walked off, carrying and dragging two protesting children.

Back under the tree, if one had eyes to see things which lay beyond the bounds of this world, one might have seen two figures. A young man and woman, sitting on the grass, side by side, holding hands.

"I need a vacation," the male spirit said, running his free hand through his hair and tugging lightly on his pigtail. "Our namesakes need an army of guardian spirits to watch over 'em, not just the two of us."

"That was a couple of nice catches you made there," the female spirit said.

"Yeah, but that was good work on your part, too. Getting that guy to look this way and see what was going on."

The female spirit chuckled. "I have to admit, I never expected my sister and Doctor Tofu to have two such, um, rambunctious children. I mean, their own natures are so calm and peaceful."

"Kinda makes you wonder just how much worse our kids might have been," he suggested with a twisted smile.

She shuddered, then cast him a wary look. "Are you reconsidering? You know, the whole reincarnation option?"

He raised her hand to his lips, kissing the backs of her fingers. "No. We'll keep an eye on these two till they're grown. Then it'll be our turn, our second chance. Nothing's gonna stand in the way of me marrying you, of calling you my wife. Not even death."

She leaned her head on his shoulder happily, but said, "We won't remember, you know."

He put an arm around her shoulder. "We won't remember our names from before, or our lives, or even that we met. And I may be a stubborn baka again who has trouble admitting how he feels, even to himself. But I promise you Akane, if there's one thing I'll never forget, from now to the end of eternity, it's how much I love you."

She turned her face to his, leaning toward him to respond with a kiss, when her head shot up. "Something's about to happen! At the house!"

They stood quickly, still holding hands. "A guardian spirit's work is never done," Ranma said with a smile. He gave her a quick kiss, then they both disappeared.

THE END

Author's note:

A kaishakunin is the assistant who stands ready to behead the person committing seppuku. It's the role Nodoka trained for, in case her husband and Ranma needed to fulfill the contract when they returned from the training trip.

To be honest, I feel that this chapter is weaker than the other two endings. However, I include it here for completeness, and because there will probably be people who will enjoy reading it nonetheless. Besides, I rather liked the image of the gentle Tofu and peaceful Kasumi having two children who are such a handful that Kasumi can't keep them out of trouble without the help of Ranma's and Akane's spirits.

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