Last Time
After admitting to Akane his true feelings, Ranma broke off his engagements with the other girls and officially proposed to Akane.Chapter 2: Tying Loose Ends
Disclaimer The Ranmaverse and all of it's characters are property of the brilliant Takahashi-sama and I claim no ownership of them. Only the story belongs to me.
Edited 02/23/08
That was a good work out. Akane thought to herself as she wiped the sweat off of her forehead. After cleaning up the bricks she began making her way toward the house, but the sound of the gate opening stopped her. As she turned around, she saw Shan Pu standing there. "What do you want Shampoo?" Akane asked looking up at her.
"Shan Pu challenge you. Shan Pu beat you Shan Pu get Ranma." Shan Pu said as Ranma walked out to join them.
"That's enough Shampoo." Ranma said stepping out in front of Akane in case Shan Pu decided to attack.
"I accept." Akane said behind Ranma.
"Akane no." Ranma pleaded turning around to face her.
"Come back in one week and we will fight for Ranma." Akane said keeping her eyes on Shan Pu and ignoring Ranma.
"Is deal." Shan Pu said before heading out of the yard.
"Akane are you crazy? You can't beat Shampoo right now." Ranma said as worried appeared on his face.
"I know, that's why I asked for one week. So you better start training me unless you wanna end up in China." Akane said with a smile as she turned and headed back to the dojo.
"Akane I don't think this is a good idea." Ranma said as he walked into the dojo.
"Ranma when I beat her, her ties to you will be gone. We are never going to be able to have our wedding if she's still chasing after you." Akane said as she placed her hand on his shoulder.
"But.." Ranma was saying but stopped when he felt the water splash against his face. "What'd ya do that for?" Ranma-chan asked as she started ringing the water out of her shirt.
"I'm going to be fighting a girl, so I might as well practice on one." Akane said with a smile as she walked over and picked up two pieces of wood that were on the floor. "Here." Akane said as she tossed them to Ranma-chan and she caught them easily.
"What are these for?" Ranma-chan asked confused as she looked at the pieces of wood in her hands.
"Shampoo will fight with her weapons, you might as well too. And don't hold back on me Ranma." Akane said as she took her fighting stance.
"Akane I can't hit you." Ranma-chan insisted as she shot her gaze up to Akane.
"Ranma listen to me, Shampoo isn't going to baby me. If I stand any chance of winning, I need you to fight me as you would any other. If you baby me, I will lose this fight." Akane insisted before jumping into the air and heading toward Ranma-chan. She easily dodged out of the way and turned toward Akane who was now on the other side. "Fight me Ranma." Akane said as she charged after her again.
"I can't." Ranma-chan said softly as she easily moved out of the way again.
"Damn it Ranma, attack me. Stop treating me like a little kid." Akane said annoyed as she sent a few punches Ranma's way, but she ducked her head out of the way and missed all of them.
"Akane don't ask me to hit you, I would do anything for you, but I can't hit you." Ranma-chan said as she back flipped out of the way from Akane's kick that was headed toward her stomach.
"Then I hope you enjoy your life in China." Akane said coldly as she turned and headed out of the dojo. Ranma-chan quickly flipped over Akane, turning in the air, so as she landed she was facing her. "Ranma if you don't fight me I will not be able to beat her." Akane said softly as she sighed. Ranma-chan allowed a tear to make its way down her cheek as she raised her weapons and charged after Akane.
"Thank you." Akane said still breathing hard from the fight.
"For what? Hurting you?" Ranma-chan asked as she shot a look at Akane, wincing when she saw the bruises that were starting to appear already.
"For not treating me like a piece of glass that will shatter if you breath on it." Akane said as she walked over and hugged Ranma-chan. As Akane went to stand up, Ranma-chan held onto her, keeping her just a few inches away from her. Running her fingers through Akane's hair, she started bringing her face closer.
"Ranma!" Akane said stopping her in her tracks.
"What's wrong?" Ranma-chan asked worried she had hurt her.
"You're still a girl." Akane said laughing.
"Oh I forgot." Ranma-chan said looking down at her female body. "But you know what?" Ranma-chan asked with a grin as she looked back up at Akane.
"What?" Akane asked confused.
"Think I earned it." Ranma-chan said as she pulled Akane's face to hers and touched Akane's lips with her own, for a short but sweet kiss. "You should go soak in a hot bath. It will help a lot." Ranma-chan with a smile after the kiss had ended. Akane just shook her head and headed in toward the house.
"What happened to my little girl!?" Soun yelled as Akane walked into the house and he could see she was starting to bruise.
"It's nothing daddy, just training." Akane said with a smile as Ranma-chan walked in behind her and closed the door.
"Ranma! You did this to my daughter?!" Soun yelled as his demon head aura started to appear, towering over Ranma-chan.
"He didn't have a choice daddy." Akane said stepping in front of Ranma-chan to block her father's path. "I made him. Shampoo challenged me to a fight for Ranma in one week. If Ranma treated me like a baby in our training how can I hope to beat her?" Akane asked placing her hands on her hips.
"Even still boy you hit a girl, and your fiancé no less." his dad said shaking his head. "Such disgrace." Genma said shaking his head.
"No, the disgrace would have been him to deny me what I asked. If you want to be mad at anyone, be mad at me. You will not take this out on Ranma. Do I make myself clear?" Akane asked as her battle aura started to appear around her. Soun and Genma just slowly nodded their heads. "Good now I am going to go take a bath." Akane said and then turned back to Ranma-chan with a smile. "After dinner we will train again." Akane said giving her a kiss on her cheek and then heading toward the bathroom.
(How did it go?) Khu Lon asked as she came downstairs and found Shan Pu sitting down at a table.
(I will fight Akane in one week for Ranma.) Shan Pu said not looking up from the floor.
(Good good. It's about time we put that little girl in her place.) Khu Lon said with a smug grin as she pogoed away.
(Shan Pu is this wise?) Mu Tsu asked as he walked out of the kitchen and over to her.
(If I want to be able to marry Ranma, I have to beat Akane. There is no other way.) Shan Pu said looking up at him.
(But you heard him Shan Pu, he choice her. Why do you still fight to marry someone who doesn't want to marry you?) Mu Tsu asked with a touch of concern in his voice.
(Why do you still try to marry me?) Shan Pu countered.
(Because I love you.) Mu Tsu said as he sat down next to her.
(So then you understand.) Shan Pu said with a nod as she turned to face him.
(But do you love him Shan Pu? Or is it just for the law?) Mu Tsu asked with a sigh.
(Mu Tsu get back to work!) Khu Lon called down from upstairs. Shaking his head, Mu Tsu stood up and headed back into the kitchen.
"Ouch!" Akane called out as she landed flat on her butt.
"You're getting better." Ranma said with a smile as he walked over to her and reached his hand down for her to grab onto.
"Still a long way to go and we only have a few days left." Akane said shaking her head as she brushed herself off. Ranma looked her over and sadness once again appeared in his eyes. "Don't start Ranma, it's not as bad as it looks. Bruises heal." Akane said with a smile as she placed her hand on his shoulder.
"You should never have a bruise that was caused by me." Ranma said shaking his head as he turned away from her.
"And you shouldn't be forced to marry Shampoo and move to China over some Amazon law. Life isn't fair Ranma. We have to work for what we get and some times that means a little pain. If it means I can spend the rest of my life with you, then it's worth it." Akane said with a smile as she brought his face back toward her and kissed him on the lips. "Now let's go eat, dinner should be ready." Akane said with a smile as she led him toward the house.
"Dinner isn't ready yet?" Akane asked as she walked back into the house with Ranma and saw everyone, but Kasumi, sitting around the table with nothing on it.
"It seems Kasumi is not feeling well." Nabiki said looking up at her as their dad began sobbing again.
"Okay I'll make it." Akane said with a shrug as she headed into the kitchen.
"Akane cook?" Soun asked quickly as he stopped crying.
"Great." Nabiki said rolling her eyes.
"She's gotten much better." Genma said nodding as he watched Ranma walked into the kitchen after Akane. "As long as Ranma is watching her that is." Genma said with a grin as the other two looked at him like he was crazy.
"So what are you going to make?" Ranma asked with a smile as he hopped up on the counter.
"Well the calendar said miso soup and cucumber maki, so I guess that would be a good idea." Akane said with a smile as she reached up next to Ranma to grab a knife from behind him. After setting the knife down on the cutting board, Akane headed over to the fridge to get out everything she would need.
As she sat everything down on the counter, she went over the list again to make sure it was complete. "Wakame, tofu, dashi, miso paste and spring onions. Well got everything for the miso soup." Akane said with a smile as she looked up at him. After she had started heating up the dashi she started soaking the wakame and then turned her attention to the maki.
"Okay so got the nori, sushi rice, sesame seeds, cucumbers and makisu." Akane said with a smile as she made sure everything was ready. "Can you add the miso paste?" Akane asked looking up at Ranma after a minute as she was cutting the cucumbers into slices.
"What do I do?" Ranma asked confused as he picked up the miso paste container.
"Put a spoonful or so in the measuring cup and add enough of the dashi to melt it, mix and add it to the pan." Akane said with a smile as she turned back to him. As she finished off the cucumbers she pushed the cutting board off to the side and placed the makisu in front of her. Laying the nori down, she wet her fingers and started adding the sushi rice. "Mind cutting up the tofu?" Akane asked not looking up as she began rolling the makisu over itself.
"Sure." Ranma said as he quickly cut them into small cubes.
"Dinner's ready." Akane called with a smile as she walked into the room with a tray of food with Ranma following with another. After she had finished passing out the food, she sat down and laughed at Ranma and Genma, who were already wolfing down their food. Looking around, she noticed her dad and Nabiki weren't eating.
"It's okay guys really." Akane said with a smile as she began eating her dinner.
"It is really good." Ranma said with a smile in between bites of food. Slowly Nabiki and Soun began eating their dinner as well.
"You get dish duty." Akane said with a smile to Nabiki and ran out the door for more training before her sister could respond.
"Not bad, got in some good hits here." Ranma said with a smile as he rubbed the back of his head that had been hit a moment ago by Akane.
"Yeah and Shampoo's no where near as good as you, I just might be able to do this." Akane said with a smile trying not to sound over confident.
"Need to work on your speed and agility though. You're still a bit too clumsy If you make even one mistake it might cost you the fight." Ranma said seriously as he sat his weapons down on the ground and turned back to Akane. "I'm going to throw some punches your way. Don't try to fight, just work on dodging. Be careful Akane, I'm not going to be holding back on the punches, if you get hit it's gonna hurt and I'm not going to stop. If you get hit ignore it and be ready for the next one, got it?" Ranma asked as he took a fighting stance in front of her.
"Ready when you are." Akane said keeping her eyes fixed on him, not showing an ounce of emotion.
"She's getting pretty good." Nabiki said with a smile as she took pictures of Ranma and Akane fighting.
"I really wish you would stop spying." Soun said shaking his head, but making no movement to stop spying himself.
"And what do you call what you are doing?" Nabiki asked with a laugh as she looked up at him.
"Making sure my daughter is safe." Soun said matter-of-factly.
"Sure." Nabiki said sarcastically
"If you guys are going to stay there fine but be quiet." Akane said as she weaved around trying to dodge Ranma's blows as they raced towards her stomach and face. Soun and Nabiki refrained from talking, but she continued to snap shots with a grin.
"That's one mean punch you got there." Akane said out of breath as she rubbed her jaw.
"You picked up your speed petty good. Few more rounds of that and you just might be ready for Shampoo." Ranma said as he wrapped a towel around her shoulders before putting one across his own. "One more day of fighting, then you take the last day to rest up. Need you to be in top form the day of the fight and I want you to go see Dr. Tofu." Ranma said sternly as he sat down behind her and began rubbing her shoulders.
"Alright." Akane said with a sigh, knowing his tone of voice said there was no point in trying to argue Akane went to get up, but Ranma put his arms around her, stopping her from leaving. Sighing he laid his head down on her shoulder and for a long moment said nothing. "Ranma?" Akane asked concerned
"You should go take a bath." Ranma said after a moment as he helped her to her feet before walking out of the dojo. Akane just shook her head and headed in the house.
(Shan Pu?) Mu Tsu called as he walked into her room.
(What do you want Mu Tsu?) Shan Pu asked not bothering to look at him as she continued to practice.
(Are you ready for tomorrow?) Mu Tsu asked with a touch of concern in his voice.
(I am ready. I am an Amazon warrior, I am always ready.) Shan Pu said as she continued through the moves.
(If you lose this fight, will you really give up on Ranma?) Mu Tsu asked after a moment of silence.
(I will not lose.) Shan Pu said with certainty as she turned to look at him.
(But if you do?) Mu Tsu asked again as she began glaring at him.
(If by some chance Akane does defeat me, I will have no choice, it would be dishonorable to go after him again when I have no more claim to him.) Shan Pu said after a moment. Mu Tsu just nodded his head and left the room as she began practicing again.
"Ouch." Akane said as she winced in pain when she turned in the bath tub.
"Akane?" She heard coming from the door to the changing room and look up at it. "What's up Ranma?" Akane asked with a sigh.
"Are you alright?" Ranma asked concerned.
"Yes I am fine." Akane said trying to sound like nothing was wrong, but it didn't fool Ranma.
"What's hurting you?" Ranma called in, still on the other side of the door.
"Nothing, I am.."
"Akane what is bothering you?" Ranma asked cutting her off.
"My back." Akane said shaking her head at his persistence
"Turn around." Ranma said after a moment.
"What? Ranma what are you talking about?" Akane asked with a confused look on her face.
"Just turn around. I'm coming in." Ranma said as he opened the door and Akane had to quickly turn her back to him so he wouldn't see her naked.
"What do you think you are going Ranma?" Akane asked angerly as she covered her front with her hands even though it was under water. Ranma ignored her question as knelt down behind her and began massaging her back. "Ranma couldn't this wait til I wasn't, let's say naked?" Akane growled at him even though she was beginning to relax under the pressure of his fingers.
"Why do you think I told you to turn around?" Ranma asked with a laugh not really looking for an answer.
"What if someone walks in?" Akane asked as the thought dawned on her and she looked toward the door noticing he hadn't closed it.
"No one will walk in they're in town. I told them you needed to relax so they took off for the day." Ranma said as his fingers continued to kneed into her back.
Did he just say we're alone? Akane's mind wondered as she began to tense up. Ranma noticed this and stopped what he was doing, then he realized what was going on.
"Akane relax, I'm not going to try anything." Ranma said with a laugh as he started up again, feeling Akane began to relax under his fingers.
"Hey Ran-chan just heard about the fight." Ukyo said as she walked into the bathroom, she had heard them talking as she walked by the hallway looking for him.
"Ahh!" Akane said almost jumping out of the bath tub before realizing she was still naked.
"Relax Akane it's just a back massage." Ukyo said laughing as she leaned up against the wall. "Can't say I'm not jealous though Ran-chan never gave me a back massage, let alone one while I had no clothes on." Ukyo said with a laugh as she saw Akane starting to turn red. "Alright, alright, I'll meet you two out there." Ukyo said pointing out the door.
"Just don't do anything I wouldn't do." Ukyo said with a smile as she started out. "Wait." Ukyo said turning back to them. "Better yet don't do anything Kasumi wouldn't do." Ukyo said laughing when she saw Akane was turning an even brighter shade of red and quickly left the room before anything could be thrown at her.
"Oh Kuno baby." Nabiki said with a huge grin that said some money making scheme was a foot.
"I detest you." Kuno said simply looking up at her.
"Good. Anyways I have a great deal for you." Nabiki said with a smile as she sat down next to him.
"And what pray tell is this deal thy speak of?" Kuno asked a bit more interested then he was a moment before.
"I want you to buy the Nekohanten." Nabiki said matter-of-factly.
"That would be what?" Kuno asked confused.
"The cat café that's run by Shampoo's great-grandmother."
"Why would I want to buy that?" Kuno asked even more confused.
"Well you want to buy it for two reasons, but before I tell you those reasons you may want to hear the rest of the deal." Nabiki said as she leaned back looking at him, knowing he would play right into her fingers.
"Speak." Kuno said simply.
"Here's the deal, you buy it and hand it over to me. I would be the sole owner."
"Why would you want it?" Kuno asked still confused.
"Nice source of income since I am about to lose my main source."
"What do you mean?"
"Well see it's like this. The ghoul that owns it is about to take Ranma back to China with her and the way I see it, if she sells it faster she will leave faster taking that jerk that stole my sister from you with her." Nabiki said, hiding the fact that she was pleased that he was so easy to manipulate.
"So I buy this place and I am rid of Saotome forever?" Kuno asked as he looked at her with joy in his eyes.
"Yes and when you hand it over to me, you get a free pass to have any pictures of my sister and the lovely pig tailed girl." Nabiki said hiding her grin that she had just snagged him, as easily as she thought she would.
"Sold!" Kuno yelled as he ran away from her.
"Way too easy." Nabiki said shaking her head as she got up and started walking away.
"Heya Ucchan." Ranma said with a grin as he walked into the room and saw her sitting down at the table with tea and cookies in front of her.
"Hello Ran-chan. Hello Akane. Glad to see you are fully dressed this time." Ukyo said with a laugh when she saw Akane was turning red again.
"What do you want Ukyo?" Akane asked when she had managed to calm herself.
"Just came to see how you were doing. With the fight today figured you might need some support." Ukyo said with a smile as Ranma and Akane sat down in their usual spots.
"Why would you want to help me?" Akane asked not sure if she should trust her or not.
"For one I'm not really looking forward to Ran-chan being dragged off to China and second where else would I be besides here to support my best friend and his fi..fi..fiancé." Ukyo finally managed to choke out the last word. Akane just stared at her for a moment then her face started to soften.
"It's not easy for you is it?" Akane asked as she smiled at the girl.
"No but I am working on it. I may not like it but I have to accept the fact that he chose you. He may not be my fiancé anymore but he is still my friend and that means I will do anything for his happiness." Ukyo said as she smiled at Akane. Ranma was completely oblivious to what was going on and just continued to stuff cookies into his mouth. Akane and Ukyo both looked at him and frowned before busting into laughter.
(You're not going with me great-grandmother?) Shan Pu asked confused as she was about to walk out the door for her duel.
(No I have received an offer on the Nekohanten and I must go and make the final sell. When you return we will leave for China with your husband before anyone else can interrupt us.) Khu Lon said as she started toward the stairs to pack.
(Yes great-grandmother.) Shan Pu said with a smile as she headed out the door with Mu Tsu following.
"Are you ready?" Ranma asked looking up as Akane came down the stairs to find her family all waiting in the den for her.
"Yes." Akane said nodding.
"Good cause I think she just arrived." Ukyo said pointing toward the door. A moment later it opened to revealed Shan Pu and Mu Tsu standing there.
"Let's go to the dojo." Akane said as she pushed past Shan Pu and Mu Tsu without giving them a second glance. Shan Pu just shrugged and followed after her along with everyone else.
"I'll make some tea." Kasumi said as she left the others to go out to the dojo and headed into the kitchen.
Shan Pu and Akane took their fighting stances in the dojo the moment they arrived and would have started fighting already if Ranma wasn't standing in between them. "This is it Shampoo, if you lose you have no claim to me." Ranma said matter-of-factly looking over at her.
"Shan Pu understand." the Amazon said never taking her eyes off of Akane.
'Good luck' Ranma mouthed to Akane with a smile then walked over and sat down next to everyone else. Ranma took a second to look around the room, no one seemed to be there hoping Shan Pu would win, even Mu Tsu was voting against her.
Shan Pu took a deep breath and then, screaming a battle cry, charged after Akane with her bonboris raised above her head. Akane reached her arms up to block the first blow as the weapons raced toward her head. Pushing them back, she went after Shan Pu and began throwing swings toward her midsection.
The amazon quickly dodged these and swung her right bonbori toward Akane's head, but the swing went under her feet as she jumped into the air, and then as she began falling, she out reached her arm and flew toward Shan Pu in an attempt to strike her as she came down. Shan Pu quickly jumped out of the way and Akane's arm instead went through the floor boards below them.
Shan Pu shook her head a second at the girl's strength and then brought her attention back to the fight as Akane was charging at her again.
As the bonbori came flying down toward Akane's head, she dodged out of the way quickly, and brought her knee up to Shan Pu's chest, knocking the wind out of the amazon. Not taking a moment to breath, she turned in a round house kick and sent her flying across the room to the wall on the other side. Shan Pu winced in pain as she went to stand up and collapsed back on the floor.
"You are beat Shampoo." Akane said not losing her cold stare as she stayed ready in case the girl decided to try again.
"You beat Shan Pu." Shan Pu finally said after a long moment as she began to finally make her way to a standing position After a moment of being able to keep her balance, she started making her way slowly toward Akane.
"No Shampoo it's not going to happen." Akane said sternly causing the amazon to look up at her.
"Shan Pu have to. Is law." Shan Pu said with a sigh.
"It will only cause a vicious never ending cycle, there's no point to it." Akane said shaking her head.
"What am I missing?" Ukyo asked confused as she looked at everyone around her.
"Kiss of death." Mu Tsu and Ranma said in unison, not taking their eyes off the girls in front of them.
"Ah I get it." Ukyo said nodding.
"Listen to me Shampoo, if you try to give me the kiss of death Ranma will stop you. By stopping you he defeats you. You will once again be forced to try to marry him by your law. When this happens I will challenge you and I will beat you. And we will be right back where we are now. You may lose your pride but save your honor Shampoo." Akane said softly, causing her to shoot her gaze up at her.
"What you mean? How is honor from that?" Shan Pu asked confused.
"Think about it Shampoo, how much honor would you have left after being defeated by me over and over? You have lost Shampoo but other then the kiss of death you have followed your laws. You didn't give up on Ranma until you were beat for him. You can still save face but not if you continue this." Akane said calmly still unsure if the amazon was going to listen to her.
"Great-grandmother not like this." Shan Pu said after a minute shaking her head.
"Let us deal with her." Ranma said as he stood up and walked over to Akane.
(Let's go home Shan Pu.) Mu Tsu said calmly as he walked over to her. He went to help her but thought better of it at the last second and just waited for her.
(Yes.) Shan Pu said softly as she looked up at him and then turned and headed out the door, her pride kept her silent as she felt the pain coursing through her body with every step.
"Ranma?" Akane asked as she walked into his room and found him packing. "Where are you going?" Akane asked worried as she walked over and sat down next to him.
"I'm going to tie up some lose ends." Ranma replied as he finished putting his clothes into the bag.
"What do you mean?" Akane asked placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Shampoo's right that old ghoul isn't going to accept this. She's gonna just keep coming back until she gets her way. I need to put an end to this if I want you to be safe." Ranma said looking into her eyes.
"Let me come with you." Akane said as he stood up and put his bag on his back.
"I can't do that. I'm not sure how some people will react and I don't want you to get hurt." Ranma said shaking his head.
"How safe is it going to be for me to be here right now Ranma? When she finds out the first thing she is going to do is come here. And you won't be here to protect me, I may have gotten better but I know I can't stop her Ranma. Let me come with you." Akane said as she stood up and looked at him.
"You're right, let's go get your bag ready." Ranma said as he led her out of the room.
"You guys should leave to." Ranma said as he walked downstairs with Akane.
"It would be better if when she gets here she doesn't find anyone to take it out on." Akane said as finished adjusting the bag on her back.
"Yes we agree, we are sending Kasumi and Nabiki to Ranma's mom. Genma and I will stay here." Soun said nodding his head.
"You should be gone too daddy." Akane said concerned.
"We are martial artists, we do not run from a fight." Genma said shaking his head.
"Just don't pick a fight with her pop." Ranma said with understanding of their dads' actions.
"Come on, we'll drop you two off at mom's before we head out." Ranma said to Nabiki and Kasumi as he started out the door with Akane.
"Well hello you guys." Nodoka said with a smile as she opened the door and let everyone in.
"Mom can I talk to you for a minute?" Ranma asked as he started off toward the kitchen.
"Sure. Make yourselves at home." Nodoka said with a smile to the girls before following Ranma. Genma had called not long before to give her an update as to what was going on so having the three Tendo girls in her den didn't surprise her in the least. "What is it Ranma?" she asked with a smile as she stopped once she was in the kitchen.
"I need to ask for a favor." Ranma said after a moment.
"Of course." she said with a nod.
"We can backpack our way to where we are going but it would be better if we could get there faster. I'd hate to see what the old ghoul will do if we are gone too long. Plus there is a debt I need to repay cause of pop." Ranma said with a sigh, he hated having to ask his mother for money but at the moment she was his only option.
"Say no more." she said with a smile as she pulled money out of her kimono and handed it to him. "Do not worry about taking this, it is yours as much as it is mine." she said with a smile as she placed her hand on his shoulder.
"I will pay you back." Ranma said looking up at her.
"I will hear of no such thing." Nodoka said with a stern face and then turned and left the room before he could say anything.
(So you're back Shan Pu.) Khu Lon said with a smile as she heard the front door open. (Good I have made arrangements, we will leave first thing in the morning when son in law gets here. I assume he's packing since he's not with you.) Khu Lon said not bothering to look up.
(Ranma is not going with us great-grandmother.) Shan Pu said as she braced herself for what was about to happen.
(You beat that little twit in combat and he thinks he can still get out of it, does he have no honor?) she asked pissed as she jumped up from her chair and started toward the door.
(I lost.) Shan Pu said holding herself still, afraid if she moved she might cry.
(You what?!) Khu Lon screamed at her.
(Akane beat me.) Shan Pu said keeping her eyes on the ground.
(Well not all is lost. You gave her the kiss of death so, it's farther than I wanted to go, but we will just have to kill her and there will be nothing standing in our way.) Khu Lon said matter-of-factly as a new plan started to appear in her mind.
(No kiss of death.) Shan Pu said softly.
(What?! Have you lost your amazon pride and honor girl?) Khu Lon asked after it took a moment for her words to sink in.
(I have my honor that is why I couldn't give her the kiss of death.) Shan Pu said barely managing to remain calm.
(What do you mean child?) Khu Lon asked confused.
(Akane explained to me that if I tried Ranma will stop me, then I would have to try and marry him again, and Akane would challenge me, I would lose and we would start over again. I would lose honor if I continued as it is now I only lose my pride.) Shan Pu said knowing her great-grandmother was getting more angry with ever word.
(I will kill her myself then.) Khu Lon said as she pogoed out of the restaurant before Shan Pu could say anything else to her.
Shan Pu sighed and dropped to her knees as the tears began to fall freely from her eyes. (Shan Pu?) Mu Tsu said softly, he had remained in the door while she talked to Khu Lon
(Poor Akane.) Shan Pu said shaking her head. (Great-grandmother will kill her.) Shan Pu said as she looked up at him.
(Ranma won't let her.) Mu Tsu said with what little smile he could, himself worried for the girl's life.
"So where to first?" Akane asked as they boarded the train heading out of Nermia.
"To see Kuonji Akira." Ranma said calmly as they took their seats. After a moment of thinking, Akane was able to figure out who it was and just nodded quietly. As she turned toward the window, Akane watched as her home town passed by disappearing behind them.
She looked over at Ranma, seeing he was lost in thought, she reached down and held his hand in hers and gave it a soft squeeze of reassurance. Ranma smiled up at her and then once again lost in his train of thought.
Soun and Genma look up from their game of Shogi on the porch when they heard someone approachingthem. Standing in front of them on her staff was Khu Lon.
"Where is he?" Khu Lon asked annoyed she had to waste her time with these two.
"Gone, he won't be back for at least two weeks." Soun said as he returned to his game and moved one of his pieces
"Son-in-law wouldn't run away, where did he go?" Khu Lon asked turning her gaze to Genma.
"Training." Was all the man said before making his next move on the board.
"Where is Akane?" Khu Lon asked and laughed when she saw Soun tense up a bit at her question.
"Gone too." Soun said after a moment.
"I tire of this, just tell me where she went." Khu Lon said as she started to get madder.
"Training." Genma replied as he moved his next piece, trying to hide his fear of her.
"They left together? You had better hope they aren't eloping." Khu Lon warned the two men in front of her.
"No they did not go to elope, they assured us of that before they left." Genma said looking up at her. Khu Lon looked deep into his eyes until the stare drove him to look away. She saw a hint of disappointment in his eyes, that along with her 300 years on this earth, told her he spoke the truth.
"Very well I will deal with her when she returns then." Khu Lon said with a smile as the two men tensed again and she pogoed out of the yard on her staff.
"Mr. Kounji?" Ranma asked as he and Akane walked into the okonomiyaki restaurant and saw a man behind the counter flipping some over.
"Yes may I help you?" the man asked looking up at them.
"I am Ranma Saotome." Ranma said and waited as the recognition quickly formed in the man's face.
"Are you finally ready to marry my daughter?" Kounji asked as he went back to flipping the okonomiyaki.
"No sir." Ranma said as the man shot his gaze back up at him.
"Then you are not welcome here Saotome." Kounji said pointing toward the door.
"Very well but not 'til I did what I came here to do." Ranma said as he pulled an envelope out of his shirt and placed it on the counter. "It is to replace the cart my father stole. I can not and will not try to fix his dishonor, that is his own burden to bare. I am here merely to even my own. I am sorry for what my father has put you two through but I can not marry Ukyo, it would be unfair to both of us and to the woman I gave my heart to." Ranma said calmly as he watched the man, he's movements with the spatulas was almost the same as Ukyo's.
Kounji looked back up and finally noticed the girl standing behind Ranma. "That would be her I assume?" Kounji asked looking back at Ranma.
"Yes, our fathers engaged us many years before you met my father and I myself have proposed to her, she is the one I will marry." Ranma said as he watched the man's face start to soften.
Kounji thought for a few minutes before finally speaking again. "Your father has no honor here." he said coldly.
"My father has no honor any where." Ranma replied just as coldly.
"Very well, your debt has been repaid and you are released of your engagement to my daughter." Kounji said with a sigh.
"Thank you sir." Ranma said with a bow before turning to Akane and walking out the door with her.
Akane watched as Ranma hailed a cab and they got in, waited as they walked into the airport, stayed quiet as they finally boarded the airplane, but the moment they had taken off she couldn't wait any longer and finally asked, "Where are we going?"
She had been calling home to see how things were when he bought the tickets and too busy telling Ranma what had been going on to notice the sign stating where the plane was headed. "China." Ranma said as he looked over at her from his seat.
Akane thought for a moment and then shook her head. "Amazons." Ranma just nodded at her and then stared at the back of the seat in front of him. "Well at least while we are there you can get cured." Akane said with a smile trying to cheer him up a little.
"No." Ranma said shaking his head.
"Why not Ranma? We're already going to be there and it's not that far from the amazon village." Akane said confused.
"I don't want to stay away any longer than I have to. It's not going to be safe back home especially when the ghoul finds out we have been to China. I can't leave everyone back there in danger just to try and get my cure." Ranma said looking back over at her. "Don't worry we will come back to China later for the cure." Ranma said with a smile as he squeezed her hand to try and reassure her.
"Alright Ranma." Akane said with a smile after a moment and then rested her head on his shoulder.
(She is dead the moment she returns.) Khu Lon vowed to herself as she entered the restaurant and pogoed her way upstairs. Shan Pu and Mu Tsu turned to look at each other at the same time.
(Ranma was smart, he got Akane out of town.) Mu Tsu said quietly as he looked over at the stairs to make sure Khu Lon wasn't coming down.
(Yes and for her sake I hope he stays gone.) Shan Pu said sadly.
(Shan Pu?) Mu Tsu asked after a few minutes of silence.
(What do you want Mu Tsu?) Shan Pu asked as she sat down on one of the chairs in the near empty room, Khu Lon had closed the restaurant earlier that day for the last time so there was no one here to need them.
(You never answered my question from before.) Mu Tsu said softly as he took the seat next to her.
(What question?) Shan Pu asked ready to hit him if he was talking about marrying her again.
(Whether you were really in love with Ranma or just wanted to marry him because of the law.) Mu Tsu said a little tense when he saw she was about to hit him.
(I love him for being able to beat me in combat, he is a strong man and would make a great husband. I love him for fighting with honor, not backing down from a fight or cheating to win. I love him for coming to the rescue when someone is in trouble, even if it was the one who challenged him.) Shan Pu said as she stared off into space, next to her Mu Tsu's expression became more depressed with each word.
(But no Mu Tsu, I am not in love with him.) Shan Pu said, emphasizing the 'in', as she looked back over at him with what little of a smile she could muster at that moment.
(So.) Mu Tsu said after a few minutes of letting what she said soak in. (If I was to be able to beat you in combat it would be the same thing?) Mu Tsu asked looking at the floor.
(Yes Mu Tsu it would.) Shan Pu said sadly.
"Wow I think this is the first time I went to China by choice. Didn't really have much of a chance to take in the sights last time." Akane said looking around as Ranma was setting up the tents behind her.
"Yeah kinda hard to when you've been kidnapped huh?" Ranma asked as he walked over and sat down beside her at the fire now that he was done with the tents.
"Yeah. How long will it take to reach the village?" Akane asked as she looked up at him.
"About a week, maybe less if we hurry. We will only be able to stop when it's time to sleep and the journey will get very tiring for you. If you want I can drop you off at the next town, you should be safe there 'til I return." Ranma said as he stared into the fire and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"No I will go with you." Akane said as she gazed into the fire with him.
"It might not be safe Akane, I don't think the amazon elders are going to like what I have to say." Ranma said looking down at her with concern in his voice.
"I will not sit around in a village for a week waiting for you. I wouldn't be able to stand not knowing what's happening to you. I came with you this far and I will see it to the end with you Ranma." Akane said sternly as she laid her head on his shoulder. "Besides," Akane said with a yawn. "If you left me behind I would just follow you."
"Let's get some sleep, we will be heading out early." Ranma said shaking his head as he stood up and led her to her tent before going into his.
"How do you think they are fairing? It's been a week already." Soun said sadly as he looked up at Genma from their Shogi game.
"They're alright. My boy will take care of her don't worry." Genma said as he switched the board around while his friend was looking at him. "I win." Genma said with a smile as Soun looked down at the board confused.
"What?" Soun asked looking up, but instead of getting an answer, he got a panda staring at him. Soun just shook his head as he set the board up for another game.
"Ukyo?" Shan Pu called softly as she walked into the restaurant and saw her behind the counter.
"Shampoo? Mousse? What are you two doing here?" Ukyo asked a bit confused.
"You hear from Ranma?" Shan Pu asked as she sat down on the counter in front of her.
"No, and before you ask I don't know where he went, he didn't tell me." Ukyo said as she continued to cook the food in front of her.
"Shan Pu no want to know. If Shan Pu know, great-grandmother find out and kill Akane." Shan Pu said startling the young chef in front of her.
"Wait you want to protect Akane?" Ukyo asked confused.
"Akane beat Shan Pu, Akane great warrior." Shan Pu said with a nod. "Shan Pu can't go against great-grandmother, but Shan Pu no want Akane hurt either." Shan Pu said with a sigh.
"If you hear from him, tell him to be careful, when Khu Lon came home today she said something about Akane being dealt with when she gets back." Mu Tsu said as he sat down next to Shan Pu.
"I will. You two hungry? It's on the house." Ukyo said with a smile as she placed two more okonomiyaki on the grill. Shan Pu and Mu Tsu just smiled at her.
"Be careful Akane." Ranma said as he stopped and looked down at her.
"Why?" Akane asked confused.
"We are almost at the village and I hear someone coming toward us in the trees." Ranma said as he looked back up at the trees the noise was coming from. Akane strained her ears but she couldn't hear anything.
(What do you want?) a voice called down to them in Chinese a few minutes later.
"I do not speak Chinese." Ranma said pointly and heard whispers in the trees above them. There are two of them. Ranma thought to himself.
"What you want?" another voice called to them a minute later.
"I need to speak to the amazon elders." Ranma said looking directly at them even though he couldn't see them through the leaves and branches.
"Why you want see elders?" the second voice asked.
"I need to talk to them about another amazon. Just tell them Ranma Saotome is here to see them." Ranma said and listened as the whispers started again in Chinese.
"We get elders." the voice said as Ranma heard the other one taking off in the trees the way it had come. "They may no want talk to you." the voice warned.
"That's okay." Ranma said as he looked down at Akane and gave her a reassuring smile.
"The second one's back." Ranma whispered in Akane's ear about 30 minutes later after hearing her in the trees above. He listened as the whispers started again.
"Elders see you. You come with us." the voice said as the two jumped down from the trees and were standing in front of them. The one had short green hair and the other long brown, their clothes were much like the usual attire Shan Pu wore. They turned and started toward the village with Ranma and Akane following. When they finally walked through the large gates, the one with short green hair turned back to them.
"You stay." she said before walking away from them with the other girl following. Akane gave a nervoussmile to the amazons that were staring at them but she was given cold stares in return and decided looking at the ground was a better idea.
(What do you want?) an older amazon asked as she walked up to them. The girl with the short green hair whispered a few words in her ear and then looked back at us. "What do you want?" the older amazon asked in perfect Japanese, confusing the two for a moment.
"Honorable elder." Ranma said with a bow and Akane, seeing what he was doing, quickly followed suit. "We are here to ask for your help." Ranma said as he looked at the ground in front of the elder, knowing it was not a good idea to look her in the eyes.
"Why should I help you?" the elder asked, without a hint of emotion in her voice.
"It concerns one of your own."
"I figured as much just by hearing your name Saotome, we know very well who you are. Now you are tiring my patients just tell me what it is you want." the elder said sternly but not sounding annoyed
"I ask that you remove any ties Shampoo has to me, even though she was already beaten in combat for me, and that you stop Khu Lon from further interfering in my and my fiancé's lives. She acts without honor in her attempts to trick or brainwash me into being Shampoo's husband. Even now after my fiancé beat Shampoo in a duel for claim to me, she still makes plans against us and against my fiancé's life." Ranma said calmly, showing not even a hint of fear for the elder.
"And you are the one he refers to?" the elder asked turning toward Akane.
"Yes honorable elder." Akane said bowing her head.
"Am I to believe that you, a simple little girl, was able to beat Shan Pu, our greatest warrior, in a fair battle?" the elder asked looking Akane over. Akane bit her tongue to stop herself for lashing out for being called a 'simple little girl' and instead let out a sigh.
"Yes I beat Shampoo in a duel with my honor intact. Even Shampoo admitted defeat in the end." Akane said and a wave of gasps went off around her from the other amazons.
"We will think over your request on one condition You must fight the best warrior in the village, if you are able to beat her we will know that you did not cheat against Shan Pu." the elder said pointly. Ranma went to interfere but Akane put her arm out in front of him to stop him.
"I accept honorable elder." Akane said with a bow.
"You may stay here for the night, you will have your answer and duel in the morning." the elder said and turned to leave.
"No." Akane said pointly, causing the elder to turn back and stare at her. "I mean no disrespect." Akane said quickly with a bow before the elder could yell at her. "I only mean to say that it would be a spar and not a duel, the last thing I need at this moment is another amazon to try and give me the kiss of death." Akane said quickly.
The elder thought over the fact that she has said 'try' for a moment and then finally spoke. "A spar then, not a duel." the elder said and then walked away with most of the others following or going back to what they had been doing.
Ranma set up one of the tents in a corner of the village that was not occupied by any of the amazons. There being only enough room for one, the other tent remained in his bag. Soon as he was finished, Ranma and Akane quickly entered the tent to get away from the stares of the amazons outside.
"Why did you accept the fight?" Ranma asked and he laid down and Akane curled up in his arms under their sleeping bag.
"If I refused it would look like I had cheated against Shampoo, when I win this fight the elders will know that I didn't and may be more inclined to help us." Akane said as she rested her head on his arm.
"Don't get cocky Akane." Ranma warned.
"I'm not, you heard the elder. Shampoo is their greatest warrior, who ever I fight tomorrow isn't going to be as good." Akane said as she yawned.
"Unless you fight an elder, I don't think she counted them in that. We both know Shampoo isn't as good as Cologne but she is also an elder."
"I think if she was going to have me fight an elder she would have said elder, I think to call them anything else would be dishonorable to them." Akane said trying to reassure Ranma.
"Just be careful." Ranma said after a moment as he kissed her on the cheek.
"I will." Akane promised as she closed her eyes and began to fall asleep.
"Akane you with spar with Lang Ling." the elder said pointing to a young amazon with long blue hair and shining green eyes. She was wearing a short, blue Chinese style dress that had a large dragon embedded in the fabric. She welded no weapon, but her fists were balled up as though she was ready to attack.
"You will spar on the beam, if either touch the ground they lose." the elder said pointing to a large tree that was hanging in the air a little ways from where they were standing.
"Shampoo fought on that when I first met her." Ranma said nodding toward the log.
Akane nodded and headed over to the beam, when she was close, she started running and did a front flip onto the beam. Lang Ling just jumped from where she was standing and landed on the beam with ease. Akane gave her opponent a short bow and then shifted into her fighting stance as she readied for the girl to attack.
She didn't have long to wait, not a moment later the amazon came charging at her with her fist raised. Akane ducked down to miss the punch and swung her leg around to trip the girl. But she back flipped away and landed on the beam a few feet from where she had been.
She's fast. Akane thought to herself as the girl came running toward her again with her leg out stretched. As the kick was about to touch home base, Akane jumped into the air and flipped over the girl, turning around in the air before she landed so she couldn't be caught off guard.
Lang Ling quickly turned around and started throwing punches toward Akane's face, one after another with great speed. Not as fast as Ranma, but still pretty damn fast. Akane thought to herself as she weaved in and out of the punches, but the last one caught her in the jaw.
She felt the blood begin to drip down her chin, but ignored it as she went on the offensive and began throwing her own punches at the girl. She managed to dodge them all but her rocking had caused her to lose balance and as she began to fall off the log, Akane turned in a round house kick, catching her in the jaw and sent her flying off of the beam.
As Akane was about to smile in victory she saw that her opponent was about to land in the bonfire in the middle of the village. Without thinking, Akane shot herself off of the beam, catching the girl in midair, and front flipped over the fire, to land safely on the other side. Akane breathed a sigh of relief when she saw both her and the girl had a few singe marks, but no permanent damage.
"An interesting way to lose Akane." the elder said as she walked up to her while she was setting the girl on the ground.
"Better to lose a spar than to lose honor." Akane said pointly as she bowed to the amazon before turning to the elder to bow.
"You would not have lost honor here, it was her job to save herself." the elder said as she once again looked Akane over.
"I may not have lost honor with you but I would have lost it with myself if I had allowed her to enter the fire." Akane said still breathing hard from the fight.
"Very well." the elder said with a slight smile. "You would make a great amazon Akane Tendo."
"That is an honor I will have to pass on, I am needed at home." Akane replied as she bowed again to the elder.
"We have discussed what you have asked and the elders agree that Khu Lon has gone to far in trying to uphold amazon law and should have never done some of the things she has. You are removed from your ties to Shan Pu and do not worry about them we will deal with them." the elder said turning toward Ranma.
"Can I ask one last thing honorable elder?" Ranma asked after bowing.
"Alright."
"I ask that you go easy on Shampoo and Mousse, Shampoo only followed the orders of her great-grandmother and Mousse only did what he did cause he loves Shampoo. And I know that your laws say he has to beat her in combat to be her husband and I know Mousse is blind, dumb, and doesn't think about what he's doing sometimes." Ranma said as he went from trying to talk him up to being annoyed at Mu Tsu.
"Are you supposed to make me like him or hate him?" the elder asked with a slight chuckle in her tone.
"Anyways, Mousse is a great fighter and though he can't beat her he makes up for it in determination One can not win a battle they are not determined to win. So I ask that you give him a chance to be Shampoo's husband, I think it would do both of them good."
"We will see. You may go." the elder said with a slight bow before heading back into the hut she came from earlier.
"Let's go home." Ranma said with a smile as he turned toward Akane and they began heading out of the village.
"So tell me." Ranma said a few minutes later as they were walking along the path they had traveled the night before with the two amazons. "Why did you lose the fight?"
"I landed on the ground first." Akane said with a smile as she put her arm around his stomach and leaned up against him.
"Ah." Ranma said shaking his head as he put his arm around her as well.
(It's a pity she doesn't want to be an amazon, she would make a fine one.) the elder said from a tree branch as she watched the two walk away.
(Yes she would honorable elder.) Lang Ling said with a smile as she sat next to her.
(Send word to Khu Lon, the three of them are to return immediately.) the elder said and then followed along in the trees heading back to the village.
(Goodbye sister Akane.) Lang Ling said with a smile before heading back the way she had come.
"We're back!" Ranma called in as he entered the house with Akane behind him.
"Oh good I'll make tea." Kasumi said with a smile as she headed into the kitchen.
"My little girl!" Soun said and then the water works started in.
"Good job boy." Genma said with a smile. Nabiki just watched her sister walk into the kitchen and shook her head.
"Hey Nabiki, didn't have a chance to ask you before, did you deliver on your part of the deal?" Ranma asked as he sat down at his normal spot at the table.
"What deal?" Akane asked confused as she sat down next to him.
"Yep got it right here." Nabiki said with a smile as she held up a piece of paper.
"Why do you have the deed to the Nekohanten?" Akane asked after reading what the paper said.
"I had Nabiki buy it so Cologne might be forced back to China for a little while if things didn't go our way, plus if they did she would be less likely to come back, I hope." Ranma explained as Kasumi walked back in with the tea.
"How did you pay for it?" Akane asked after a moment.
"Made a deal with Kuno. Think I'll open it, might be some good money in that place." Nabiki said as she picked up her cup and started drinking her tea.
"So what did you guys do anyways?" Nabiki asked raising an eyebrow at them.
"Paid of dad's debt to Ukyo's dad," Ranma said turning his glare at his father who quickly became a panda. "And we talk to the amazon elders about getting Cologne off our backs. Akane even beat their best warrior, after Shampoo that is, in a spar and the elder wanted her to become an amazon." Ranma said with a grin as he boasted about his fiancé.
"So what happened while we were gone?" Ranma asked looking around the table.
"Well our favorite amazon trio left for China two days ago and Ucchan is closed, seems Ukyo went to visit her dad for a bit. Kuno's been running around grinning and saying something about finally being rid of 'that scourge to all women Saotome'." Nabiki said after thinking for a moment. "So can I be the one to give him the good news?" Nabiki asked with a grin.
"You love to torture him just a bit much Nabiki." Akane said shaking her head. "But sure why not." she said with a laugh.