Chapter 1

     The dawning sun was just beginning to peak out in the distant horizon,
its light shedding warmth on the world. The sounds of birds could be heard,
its beautiful music blending gracefully with the gentle whispers of the
blowing winds. The trees rustled lightly as cool breezes blew by, some of
its autumn leaves fluttering to the ground. Akane was leaning against the
outer wall, watching silently as those leaves fell. Her breathing was
slightly heavy, she having finished her usual morning jog.
  "Ah, nothing better than a brisk morning jog to get the blood flowing" she
said to herself, brushing aside her bangs, which were matted to her forehead
from the perspiration.
  She sighed aloud, wishing Kasumi was there to greet her like she used to 
many years ago. She remembered how she would always see her older sister out
sweeping the sidewalk, there to greet her after she finished her morning
jog.
  "Good morning, Akane," Kasumi would say, followed by a sweet smile. She 
would be dressed in her usual apron-like outfit, consisting of yellow 
sweatshirt and white frilly dress, the entire outfit covered by a white
apron.
  "Good morning, Kasumi," Akane would respond, smiling in return. From there, 
Kasumi and Akane would engage in simple conversation, chit chat to everybody 
including them. But those days were gone. Kasumi had moved out of the house 
several years ago and married her first true love, Dr. Tofu, a local 
chiropractor. It had been a rocky beginning at first, what with Kasumi never 
realizing just how much he cared for her or how much she cared for him. They 
came to realize their feelings when he finally gotten over his nervousness 
around her. Now, Kasumi and Dr. Tofu are living together, their third child on 
the way.
  Akane sighed inwardly as she stepped through the front gate, closing it
behind her once she was in the front yard. The front yard had stayed the
same over the many years, shrubbery outlining the interior of the
outer wall with trees intermittently peaking up out through the foliage.
  She crossed the yard and entered the house through the front door, which
she kept opened whenever she went out on her daily jog. She didn't have to
worry about theft or anything like that. Nerima was a very safe and peaceful
neighborhood. The interior of the house had remained the same over the many
years, every piece of furniture exactly where it was since that fateful
night. Akane never really liked change, always preferring the old way over
the new. That was just the way she was, old-fashioned.
  "I better get changed," she said to herself as she gracefully glided up the
stairs, taking two steps at a time. Not one creek emerged from the 
floorboards, Akane being very light on her feet.
  It was about time she got changed anyway, her morning martial arts lessons
were going to start in about fifteen minutes. Back then, her father, Soun,
would had taught class instead of her. But that wasn't the case anymore.
  Soun had died many years ago, killed by a drunk driver. He and Akane had
been out strolling late one night when, out of nowhere, a car swerved off
the road and headed straight towards them. Soun had managed to react in
time, pushing Akane out of the way before he was hit by the oncoming car.
  Akane had watched in horror as her father's body was thrown through the
air and struck up against a tree. She gazed through tearing eyes as she
held her father's dying body in her arms, pleading to god that he live as
she waited for help to arrive. But god never answered her prayers. Her
father died that night from massive brain hemorrhaging, and there was
nothing that could have been done. The funeral for him was set just two days
after that tragic night. Everyone had attended, all saying their final
farewells. Although many had wept at that funeral, Akane wept the most.
Nabiki, her older sister, was strong and could take the tragic loss.
Kasumi, the eldest of the three, was devastated, but had Dr. Tofu there to
comfort her. Akane....she had no one to comfort her. She was all alone.
  Following the funeral came the will reading, which left the family
business resting on Akane's shoulders. Nabiki would have been better to
take over the business, what with her being adept in business and all. But
when asked if she take the business, she gracefully declined, telling Akane
she was the only one in the family who knew martial arts. And so, she was
given the responsibilities of taking care of not only the dojo, but of the
home. It didn't help any when Kasumi moved out and into Dr. Tofu's home,
the two of them having married just a few months after the funeral. It
seemed that when Dr. Tofu saw Kasumi crying at the funeral like she did, his
nervousness had vanished, and he was able to comfort her. Not too long after
she moved into his house, Kasumi decided to go to college to major in
pre-med, graduating first in her class when she finally got out. Although
Akane was happy for her, she knew she would no longer hear from Kasumi
again, Kasumi no longer having the time since she's now one of the most
prestigious doctors in the country.
  Not much longer after Kasumi moved out, Nabiki moved out also, her
business career taking off, she leaving for America to further her career.
Nabiki had always told Akane that America was where she was going to hit
it big. It seems Nabiki was correct. She was now living extravagantly, her
life-long goal attained. Akane was very happy for her. But soon, the letters
that Nabiki always sent abruptly stopped. For several long years, Akane
haven't heard anything from Nabiki. And so now, at the age of twenty-eight,
Akane was all alone. The only people in her life were her students. But she
only saw her students for two hours a day per session and that was it.
Actually, teaching her students martial arts had proved to be a real
task-worthy job. And it didn't help matters any because of the fact that
she was the only sensei teaching martial arts. But she loved teaching. That
was the only thing that kept her going. That and the fact that there might
be someone out there that she could spend her life with. She was so lonely,
especially on the cold winter nights. Many nights she wished she was warm
in someone's arms, only to realize that she would never meet a man, what
with her spending her life inside a dojo teaching her students. Sure, she
could go after one of her students, but that wasn't right. She would never
mix business with pleasure. Besides, those students were the only thing
that was keeping the business from going under and she definitely didn't
want to jeopardize her reputation as a respectful sensei with her students.
  Akane opened the door to her room and entered, taking her shirt off as
she closed the door behind herself. She then took off her jogging shorts
and threw them and the shirt and a hamper that was in the corner. Wearing
nothing more than her panties, Akane went into her closet and fetched out her
sensei dogi. The dogi was akin to any other dogi for any other martial
art. She even wore the same black dress-like leggings that represented her
being a sensei.
  Akane took a quick glance at the full-length mirror that hung on the closet
door, making sure her outfit was on correctly. As she looked at herself, she
couldn't help but smile at just how beautiful a woman she had become. She
still sported her short-haired look from when she was young, which made it a 
lot easier for her to teach. Although she was unaware of this, most of the 
males in her class found her very attractive, even if they were two of three 
times older than her. Although there were males in her class, most of her 
students were females, all of them liking the fact that they were being taught 
by a female rather than a male.
  Akane looked at the clock that was on top of her draw. Her eyes widened
when she realized what time it was.
  "Oh no, class's gonna start in one minute!" she said, tugging at her
dogi belt one more time before heading out of her room and down the stairs.

  The moon could be seen in the distance horizon as it started its
ascent, its light causing the building to cast shadows that seemed to
stretch all the way to the ends of the universe. It was late in the evening,
the sun having left the world over an hour ago. The buildings that lined the
streets were void of lights, all of its occupants having gone home to be
with their loved ones. The houses were alive with laughter, laughter of
kids seeing their father or mother after they spent a long day at work. 
  That was what most of the working class came home to, a home filled with
joy upon their arrival. The joys of being with loved ones. The sounds of
welcome as they stepped through the door. But for one person, she came into
a bleak-looking house, alone. The house was dark when she entered it, no one
home to greet her. Fortunately, she had become used to being alone, away
from outside contact.
  Akane languidly flopped onto her bed, her energy spent. She had spent most
of the day teaching martial arts and was dying for a nice, warm bath.
That is, if she could only get out of her bed first. Her back ached, all her 
muscles tense. She didn't want to move, but was longing for a bath, something 
that was soothing.
  She groaned aloud as she tried to push herself up, only to fail when
aching took over. She knew that she couldn't keep this up. Having to go
through this pain everyday for several years was really starting to get on
her nerves.
  "I have to find someone who'll help me teach" she said to herself.
  But how could she? Even if she did live pretty well off, she couldn't just
go out and hire help...or could she?
  "I guess I should put an ad in the newspaper stating that I need someone
to help me teach" she said, yawning out loud, too tired to try and get up
so she can go take that nice warm bath.
  "I'll put that ad in first thing tomorrow," she said, right before falling
to sleep.



Chapter 2

     Ranma leaned up against the park bench, watching his two beautiful 
daughters at play in the playground. The morning breeze blew through his black 
hair, his ponytail, which looked more like a pig-tail than anything else, 
gently swaying to and fro. He loved watching his two daughters have fun. 
Just watching brought him great joy, his daughters the most precious things in 
his entire life. He loved both of them with all his heart, just as much as 
they loved their father. His twin daughters giggled sweetly as they continued 
to swing higher and higher on the swings, their momentum making them 
look as if they could reach the heavens if they continued on like that.
  "How am I goin' to tell them?" Ranma said to himself softly, looking down 
toward the ground as his elbows rested up against his thighs. Ranma was in a 
very bad predicament. The company he worked for was a subsidiary of a larger 
foreign company that was expanding and they wanted  him overseas taking care 
of their international business affairs. Ranma was 
chief-executive of a prestigious computer engineering company, a position he  
wasn't all to fond of considering he wasn't enjoying what he was doing. The  
only reason why he had taken the job was to support his twin daughters, Meggie 
and Jessie. 
 Seven years ago, when the twins were born, Ranma was forced to find a better 
job due to the arrival of an unexpected twin. He was forced to quit his job of 
being a sensei so he could look for a better job since being a sensei wasn't 
bringing in enough money. The thought of bringing up two children instead of 
one was too much for his wife, so she left him with the burden of nurturing 
the two very shortly after their birth. She had packed her bags one night, and 
just left, never heard from again, at least not until several years ago. 
Although he had very hard times at first, Ranma managed to handle both having 
a job and two kids to take care of, working in the mornings while a 
baby-sitter took care of them and spending his time with them at night 
when he came home from work. 
  But now, it would change. Ranma was supposed to move east and overseas and 
become president of one of the companies. But he didn't want to. He knew that 
if his two daughters moved with him, they would have to switch schools and go 
to a new one, one where they have no friends.  He couldn't do that to them, he 
loved them too much to make them to go through that again. The first time, 
when he moved to Nerima, his daughters had so much trouble adjusting to the 
new change that it kept him up late at nights from the guilt, guilt that it 
was his fault. But not anymore, he planned on staying right where he was. And 
so he was given an option, to move overseas, or quit. That was it, no other 
choice. So he chose to resign. That one move nearly brought the entire company 
down because when Ranma's fellow co-workers respected him so much that they 
said they would quit if he quit. So when he quit, everyone else quit along 
with him, much to his protest. He didn't want to bring anyone else in this, 
but they insisted. So now Ranma was without a job and two daughters to take 
care of. His mind was plagued with worry, far too much stress for a 
twenty-nine year old to have. He looked like he didn't have a worry in the 
world, his handsome face concealing his emotions well. How was he going to 
tell his daughters that he quit his job? How was he going to support them 
without a job? Sure, Ranma was smart enough to save several million yen over 
the years, but that money was meant for the girls college tuition. If he 
didn't get a job, and fast, he would soon have to start using his savings. And 
what would happen after all that money was gone? Then what?
  "Daddy," came a sweet innocent voice from the playground.
  Ranma lifted his head, his gaze resting on Meggie, the first-born of the
twins, just one minute older than Jessie. As his gaze caught hers, him
looking into her chocolate-brown eyes, all of his worries seemed to
disappear. His visage turned from worrisome to content, happy that he had
made the right choice, to stay in Nerima so his daughters would be with
their friends.
  "What is it, Meggie?" Ranma asked, calling Meggie by her nickname, a
nickname that only she allowed him and her sister to call her. Her real name
was Meghan but she preferred Meggie. 
  He smiled warmly.
  "Can ya give me a push, Daddy?" she said, trying to swing as high as she
could, not even close to as high as Jessie was swinging.
  "Sure. I'd be glad to,"
  Ranma stood up from his bench and proceeded towards the playground. But
before he stepped through the small gate of the fence that surrounded it, a
jogger accidentally bumped into him. He and the jogger both fell to the
ground, the jogger falling down on top of him.
  "Sorry" Ranma apologized, quickly getting to his feet. He reached out a
hand to help the jogger to her feet.
  "It was all my fault," Akane said "I wasn't looking at where I was going"
She took hold of Ranma's hand and pulled herself to her feet, noticing how
delicate Ranma's hand felt in hers. His hand was soft yet strong. She looked
up at Ranma and her heart skipped a beat when she looked into those
beautiful blue eyes of his. She turned her gaze away from him, slightly 
blushing, a warm feeling in her heart. 
  "Are you all right?" he said, concern in his voice.
  "Y-yes, I am," Akane said, not looking directly at him. Even his voice
made her blush. She couldn't quite explain it.
  "Daddy," came a voice, causing Akane to start. Akane turned around and
looked down. There, standing before her, the little girl's head no higher than 
her waist was the most beautiful looking child Akane had ever seen. The child 
had silk-like brown hair that flowed down beyond her shoulderblades, her cute
face showing nothing but pure innocence and carefree joy. She was dressed in a
pretty blue dress that was fluffy around the shoulders.
  "Who's this, Daddy?" the little girl said, looking up at Akane with those
chocolate-brown eyes that could melt the heart of any mother-to-be "Is she
goin' to be our new Mommy?"
  "Meggie," Ranma said, blushing slightly, embarrassment in his voice. He
looked at Akane, and then turned his gaze away, unable to look into those
beautiful eyes of hers. He had many women come up to him over the years and
he had never been drawn to them like he was to this woman right now. Without
looking at Akane, he spoke.
  "I'm sorry," he apologized again, "This is pretty embarrassing"
  Akane smiled, noticing Ranma blushing, a slight red hue in his cheeks. She
seemed to have regained her composure, now that the situation was up against
Ranma.
  "I'm Akane," she said, smiling a smile that seemed to make Ranma's heart
flutter "Akane Tendo"
  "I-I'm Ranma. Ranma Saotome" he said, trying to regain his composure, much
to no avail. What Meggie said seemed to have really gotten to him. He never
expected his little Meggie to say that, especially about a stranger "This
is my daughter, Meghan.....I mean Meggie. Over there," he added, pointing
towards an identical looking girl walking towards them "is my other
daughter, Jessie"
  "Who's that, Daddy?" Jessie asked, stopping once she was standing between
Akane and her father. She was looking up towards Akane, her hand now in
one of Ranma's hands, while Meggie slipped her hand in his other.
  "Um.....that's...Akane," Ranma said, a nervousness still in his voice. He 
was indeed deeply embarrassed at the situation his two daughters had put him 
in.
  "Is she your girlfriend?" Jessie asked, leaning her head up against
Ranma's thigh, tugging at his shorts, which was already exposing too much
of his muscularly defined legs as it was.
  Akane smiled she patted Jessie on top of her head, noticing how smooth
her hair felt to the touch, "No, Jessie. We just bumped into each other.
That's all"
  "Oh....I was hoping you were Daddy's girlfriend so we can have a Mommy
when he marries ya," she replied.
  "Jessie," Ranma said, now really embarrassed "You're really embarrassing
me. Can you please stop saying those things?"
  "I'm sorry, Daddy," Jessie said, her feelings hurt. She didn't want to do
anything to hurt her Daddy, especially embarrass him. She looked down
towards the ground "I didn't mean it"
  "Jessie," Ranma said, regaining his composure. No matter what kind of
predicament he was in, it didn't bother him as much as seeing one of his
daughter's feelings hurt "It's not your fault. I know you didn't mean it"
  Akane watched as Ranma embraced the little girl in his arms, reluctant
when it came to letting her go. She then saw him hug his other daughter so
she wouldn't feel left out. Akane's heart melted when he saw how much he
loved his children, something she found very attractive in a man, even if he
was the first real contact she had with a man outside the dojo for a very
long time. Having been so caught up in the moment, Akane was unaware how
late she was in getting back home until she looked at her watch. It was
already pretty late in the morning, and she was going to be late getting
back home. 
  "Oh no, I'm late!" Akane said, turning to Ranma "I have to get going now.
But it's been nice meeting you and your two lovely daughters"
  "Okay. Maybe we'll see you around, Akane. Bye" he said, smiling sweetly.
  Akane smiled back, her heart aflutter from having been so close to Ranma
for that long. It seems like Akane's morning was definitely off to a good
start.



Chapter 3

     "I have five years experience in teaching martial arts, two for
Tae Kwon Do and three for Shotokan Karate" the man said, leaning back on
the couch.
  Akane leaned back against her own couch, which was located across from
the man. She regarded the man for a second, wondering if he was the right
choice. Throughout the whole day, she had interviewed over two dozen people
who had responded to the ad she had placed up in the paper a few days ago.
Only two out of all those people were qualified for the position of sensei.
  Akane's gaze turned from the man, and onto the window. The stars glittered 
high in the sky that night, the moon shining every bit as bright. It was late 
that night, and he was the last person she had to interview for the day.
  "What degree did you attain in both arts?" she asked, putting a check
next to his name, which meant he was experienced in teaching. The question
she just asked him didn't really matter, but she just wanted to know just
how much of the martial arts he knew.
  "For Tae Kwon Do, I'm a third dan and about to take a test for my
fourth dan. For Shotokan Karate, I'm only a second dan" he replied.
  Akane was impressed with the man's experience. Almost all of her
potential hired help only had a first or maybe a second dan, let alone
a fourth and second dan in two different arts. Most of the people she
interviewed were either too young and had just gotten their first dan, or was
not experienced in teaching.
  "You are definitely qualified for the position. I'll let you know if you've
got the job tomorrow" Akane said, extending her hand forward to shake his
hand, noticing he had a firm grip "Thanks for coming"
  "No, thank you for taking the time to interview me," he replied, smiling
sweetly.
  With that said, the man gracefully got up to his feet and left the house,
Akane escorting him to her front gate.
  "Good night," he said, bowing to her right before he left, a guesture none 
of the other people had done, a guesture that seemed to make Akane want to
hire him right there on the spot.
  Akane watched as the man walked down the street, getting smaller and
smaller as he got farther away. 
  She sighed, grateful that he was the last person she needed to interview for 
the day. But dread came over her when she realized that she would most likely 
have more interviews tomorrow. She wasn't cut out for this. She was having 
enough difficulty teaching her daily classes, let alone interview more people.
  Akane leaned up against the outer wall, closing her eyes, thankful for the
day's end. Now that all the interviews were over, she could have some time
to herself, time to take a soothing warm dip in the bathtub. Her muscles
were tense, like always, and she was in definite need of relaxation.
  "Good evening," came a voice, causing Akane to start.
  She opened her eyes and gazed at the figure that stood before her.
  It was Ranma.
  "I know you...you're the guy I bumped into several days ago. You're Ranma.
Ranma Saotome," Akane said, surprise in her voice. She would never forget his 
name. That was for sure. And now, for some reason, the thought of a nice warm 
bath seemed to have disappeared from her mind.
  "That's me, Akane Tendo," he said with a smile, trying to hide his
surprise of seeing the beautiful woman that he had dreamt about for the
past few days. He was hiding it well, his visage showing no signs of
surprise or attraction towards her.
  "What brings you here?" she asked, slightly blushing from Ranma's husky
voice. She felt relief when she realized it was dark out, and that Ranma
couldn't see her doing so.
  "Well...I'm here to schedule an appointment for an interview" Ranma
replied, feeling a little bit embarrassed that he didn't call instead. He
never really liked to talk over phonelines. He preferred talking to the
person face to face. And since he realized he was talking to Akane, he was
glad he liked his approach, even if he didn't know that Akane was the
person who was going to be interviewing him. He would've known it was her
if it weren't for her forgetting to put her name in the ad in the first
place.
  "An interview? You want to be a sensei?" Akane asked, a little surprised.
When she first met Ranma out in the park, she would've never guessed he knew
martial arts. She expected him to be something like a model, what with his
terrific build. She never would've thought that Ranma was the kind of
person who knew martial arts, what with him spending all of his time loving
his two daughters.
  "Yes," Ranma replied, smiling slightly, still a bit embarrassed at having
came at such a late time of day.
  "Why don't you come on in? I'll interview you now," Akane said, smiling
weakly "Besides, I wasn't planning on doin' anything in particular anyway"
  "Are you sure?" Ranma asked "I don't want to impose"
  "It's no problem at all" Akane said. Even though the though of a warm
bath seemed nice, spending some time with Ranma seemed even nicer.

  "I have about seven years experience in teaching, four of them for Kenpo,
and the other three for Aikido" Ranma said, taking a sip of his coffee,
which tasted great. It was very early, somewhere around two in the morning.
  Ranma had first stepped into the house almost three hours ago, and they
still weren't through with the interview yet. Maybe it was because they
would always digress into other subjects like why he was there or how she
inherited the dojo and so on. Even though they spent so much time together
already, the time seemed to have slipped away in a blink of an eye.
  Akane was impressed at Ranma's reply, very impressed. He was so far the
most qualified person for the position.
  "How long've you taken Kenpo and Aikido?" Akane asked, wondering just how
much experience he had in martial arts.
  "I've studied Kenpo since I was around three, meaning I've taken it for
twenty-six years. I started taking Aikido when I was around thirteen, which
means I've been taking it for close to sixteen years" Ranma replied.
  That means he's only twenty-nine, just one year older than me, Akane
thought, adding the numbers in her head up. Ranma definitely didn't look his
age. He looked like he was in his early twenties. What was even more
surprising was that he looked that young while still taking care of two
daughters. But Ranma wasn't the only one who looked young in that room.
Akane looked like she, too, was in her early twenties, which was odd 
considering she had quite a lot of stress from taking care of the house
and the dojo.
  "What degree did you attain in both arts?" she asked, the same question
she asked every other person she interviewed. Even though it was pretty
much an irrelevant question, she wanted to know anyway. 
  "I have a eighth dan in Kenpo and a seventh dan in Aikido" he said
bluntly, not at all proud of his rank yet not at all ashamed of it either.
He said it as if one would say what their address was.
  Oh my god, Akane thought. This guy's better than me. This guy's more
than much better than the person before him.
  "Wow, that's pretty much the highest rank you can attain in both arts,"
Akane said, a bit envious of Ranma's skill. But she wasn't at all bad
herself. She was a seventh dan in Karate and considered a grandmaster in
Anything-goes-martial arts, the highest rank a martial artist could ever
attain. Unfortunately, when one teaches a totally new art to the world,
they are automatically considered a grandmaster.
  Ranma shrugged his shoulders. He didn't really care what rank he held. It
meant nothing to him. He was self-confident of his skills and that was what
mattered. He wouldn't even care if he was a white belt. He had two sweet
daughters that made him feel like he could take on the world.
  "I'd like to spar against you," Akane said, smiling slightly, her gaze
challenging Ranma's. Akane was way too good a martial artist to go up
against even a fifth or even a sixth dan martial artist. She needed someone
as good as her, if not better, to spar against her so she could learn more.
  If she always beat her opponents, how could she learn from her mistakes.
Now that there was a worthy opponent for her, she could finally see if she
was any good, any good against a formidable opponent.
  "Why would you want to spar with me?" Ranma asked, a bit confused.
Whenever people found out what rank he was in martial arts, they tended to
avoid confrontations with him. He was surprised that someone, who was
actually aware of his skill, wanted to fight with him.
  "I wanna see just how good you are?" Akane said, "That's all. How about
it?"
  "Um, I'd really like to, but I really have to get going," Ranma said, 
getting up out of his seat, finishing off his cup of coffee with one big gulp 
"It's getting late and I don't want the girls to wake up and ask the 
baby-sitter why I'm not home yet. But I would love to tomorrow" he added with 
a smile.
  "Can you come here around eight?" Akane asked.
  "Yeah, right after I drop the kids off at school," Ranma said "How come?"
  "Because that's when class starts. And I want you to teach it."