Chapter 21

     Ranma opened his eyes, disoriented, unable to discern his surroundings.
He had a wet cloth on his head, some of the water running down the side of
his face. He took the wet cloth off of his face as he sat upright, squinting
from the brilliance of the sunlight that shone in through the open window
just above the futon he had been sleeping in.
  He waited a moment for the pain in the back of his head to yield. He
always hated waking up abruptly in the morning, the sun always causing him
pain to his eyes. When the pain was tolerable, he carefully took in his
surroundings. He realized that he was in Akane's room, him having noticed
that vase of roses on the far side of the room.
  I must have passed out, Ranma thought. He remembered being in the bathroom
with Akane, but he didn't remember the transition from there to Akane's
room. He must have been unconscious at the time. He remembered that he had
kissed Akane in the tub, but he couldn't remember anything after that. He
must have passed out because he had been in the bathtub for too long. He
probably suffered from heat stroke. His thoughts lingered on last night, on
how he kissed her passionately, on how she returned the kiss.
  What happened last night, he thought. He remembered how her lips felt on
his, her taste still lingering in his mouth. He couldn't get it out of his
mind, how she kissed him. She kissed him like no other woman had ever kissed
him. She evoked feelings in him that her never felt he could feel. He wished
he could indulge in that again, but that would probably never happen again.
What had happened last night must have happened because it was in the heat
of passion. He didn't know what had come over him, made him kiss her. All he
knew that if given the chance to do it again, he would never be able to
bring up the courage.
  He sighed as he looked around the room. He noticed that Akane's bed was
empty, she having gone out for her usual morning jog. Did she carry me to
her room, Ranma thought to himself. Did she sleep in her bed while I slept
on the futon on the floor right next to her? Did she sleep? Surely, he knew
he would never get a wink of sleep if he was in her situation, if Akane was
sleeping on the futon.
  Figuring he shouldn't worry his head off, Ranma looked at the clock that
hung on the wall. It read a little past eight-thirty. That meant he had
about an hour and a half before he was supposed to be at his mother's house.
Ryoga and Mousse said they would both show up at ten.
  He got up off the futon, stretching his arms out. He realized that he was
completely naked when the blankets fell to his feet. Did Akane carry him
while he was naked? He looked at the blankets and noticed a towel hidden
under the rumpled mess. He wondered if Akane placed a towel around his waist
before she carried him upstairs. It must have fallen off when I got up,
Ranma thought about the towel. He figured that he had been wearing the towel
when he was asleep, but it had fallen off the second he got up. It didn't
really matter anyway. He knew that Akane had seen him naked. Besides, he had
seen her naked also when he stole a glance when she was about to slide into
the tub. I guess what comes around goes around, he thought.
  He looked at the full-length mirror, very self conscious of the scars on
his body. He traced a finger over the scar, letting it glide from his right
armpit, over the underside of his pec, stopping once the scar ended at the
sternum. The scar was the width of his finger.
  He looked at his nakedness, not too embarrassed about his build. Aside
from the few scars, he was blessed with an excellent body. He had a body
men aspired for when they worked out at a gym. His body was muscularly
compact yet very strong. Aside from a couple of improperly healed bones, he
had an almost perfect bone structure, made to carry his bodyweight
perfectly. He had a nice slim waist, no bigger than 28 inches, which made
his shoulders look very broad in comparison to his waist.
  He noticed that his clothes were near the foot of Akane's bed, neatly
folded. He picked it up and got dressed. Before he had a chance to put his
shirt on, someone knocked on the door.
  "Come in," he said. He quickly put his shirt on, not wanting his scars to be 
exposed. He was tucking his shirt into his pants as Akane entered the room.
  "How're you feeling?" Akane asked. She was holding a tray. There was a large 
glass of orange juice and a plateful of pancakes and eggs on it. She placed it 
on her desk, which was in the corner of the room. She noticed the towel at the 
foot of her bed and blushed. She recalled having to see him naked as she 
wrapped the towel on the unconscious Ranma's waist. She was grateful that it 
was dark in the bathroom. Otherwise, she would have had a much harder time 
concentrating. Even though she had never slept with a man, she had seen men 
naked before. None of them remotely compared to him. 
  "I'm okay," he said, eyeing the plateful of food ravenously. He hadn't
eaten since he ate breakfast at his mom's house yesterday. He had a chance
to go to lunch with Ryoga and Mousse, but he decided to stay at the house to
continue ripping a hole in the wall. It was lucky for him that Ryoga and
Mousse were on their way back from lunch when Ranma had accidentally broken
the water pipe.
  "What the hell happened?!" Mousse had said, running up to Ranma, who was
trying desperately to stop the spraying water. He was soaking wet. Mousse
had ran up to him, getting drenched in the process, to help out. Ryoga just
stood there and watched, a bemused look on his face. He seemed to enjoy
watching them trying to stop the water from splashing.
  "I accidentally broke the pipe," Ranma had said. He was already shivering 
from the cold water. He had been trying to stop the water for about three 
minutes before Mousse and Ryoga got back from lunch.
  "Hey, Ryoga, aren't you going to help?" Mousse called out. His glasses had 
been blown off by the shear pressure of the water, causing his vision to 
become horribly impaired.
  Ryoga gave a small chuckle before answering "No prob," He entered the
house, taking his time. After several moments, the water stopped spraying.
Ryoga stepped out of the house a smile on his lips "It's easier to fix the
pipe if you turn the water off"
  Ranma could help but smile a bit upon remembering the scene yesterday.
  "What's so funny?" Akane asked, noticing that Ranma had actually cracked
a genuine smile. The last time she could remember seeing him smile genuinely
was when he joked that he had a date...with the laundromat.
  "Oh. Nothing important," he said. He could smell the sweet scent from the
food as it permeated the entire room, making his stomach rumble. Even though
the room was filled with the smell of pancakes and eggs, he could smell the
faint fragrance of Akane's shampoo. She had this strawberry scent that
seemed to turn him on.
  "I made you breakfast" Akane said, gesturing toward the tray. She knew he
was hungry, what with the rumble of his stomach and the ravenous look he was
giving it. She had made him the same kind of pancakes he had made his
daughters a few days ago, when he stopped by early in the morning. She had
watched him as he prepared the pancakes. She had learned how to make them
simply through watching. As for the taste, that was a whole different story.
  "Thanks," Ranma said, "I'm starvin'. I haven't eaten since breakfast
yesterday"
  He picked up the fork that was laid right next to the plate and stuck it
right into the stack of pancakes. He brought all three pancakes to his mouth
and took a big bite, nearly devouring a quarter of the pancakes in a single
bit. He chewed it a couple times before he swallowed. Akane wondered how he
didn't choke. He didn't look like he was breaking the food down enough for
it to go down his mouth smoothly.
  Before she even knew it, Ranma was finished, "That tasted great"
  Akane started at Ranma in wide-eyed disbelief. It took him no more than a
minute to devour the plateful of food. He had made him three pancakes and
four scrambled eggs and a large cup of orange juice. It should have taken
him over a half hour to finish it.
  "Where's Meggie and Jessie?" Ranma said, wiping some pancake syrup from
his chin with a napkin. He knew his daughters would be up now. They always
woke up early, even if they didn't have school today. They seemed to always
go to sleep and wake up at the same time.
  "Um, they're downstairs......with Ukyo," Akane said. Ukyo had showed up at
around eight. She came over when she called Ranma's house and there was no
answer. He had told her that he was in love with Akane so it as natural
that he might have spent the night with her.
  "Really?" Ranma sounded a bit enthusiastic, much to Akane's displeasure "Is
Miki with them?" He wanted to spend some time with the daughter he never
knew he had. He was determined to get the girl to open up to him.
  "Speaking of Miki," Akane said, taking a deep breath. She had to hear this
for herself, from Ranma's lips, not from someone else's "Um...is Miki your
daughter?"
  Ranma was silent from a short time before answering "Um, how'd you know?"
  "I figured it out," Akane lied. It was Ukyo who told her, "I noticed that
Miki looked a lot like you. I noticed how you became a bit attached to her
all of a sudden"
  "Yeah. It's true. She's my daughter," Ranma said. He didn't really want
to tell this to Akane because he figured she'd get the wrong idea about him
and Ukyo, what with them now have something that should bring them closer
together. But it was inevitable. How was he going to hide the fact that he
had another daughter? Besides, why should he hide it? Having Miki for a
daughter wasn't something he was ashamed of? He wasn't going to be like his
father. Ranma's father had been ashamed of him. That was one of the reasons
he abused him.
  "Um, why is Ukyo here?" he added, changing the subject. He didn't want to
dwell on that subject too long. It made him feel uncomfortable. He didn't
like the fact that he was talking to Akane about a daughter that he never
knew he had. He the fact that Ukyo was now in his life made it even more
awkward.
  "She said she wanted to talk to you," Akane said.
  "Do you know what it's about?" he asked. He wanted to make it openly clear
that he and Ukyo had no secrets with one another, that he wasn't keeping
anything secret about Ukyo from Akane.
  "I don't know, but she mentioned something about Ryoga" Akane said,
shrugging her shoulders. 
  "Ryoga?" he said. He wasn't expecting to hear his friend's name mentioned.
  "Yeah, she's downstairs," Akane said, heading toward the door "I'll go get
her. You two can talk in my room"
  "Um, about last night," Ranma started, changing the subject again. He had to 
know what happened last, had to know if it meant as much to her as it did him. 
He wanted to know if it was a mutual thing that they shared or was if it came 
about in the heat of passion.
  Akane was already gone.

  Ranma was sitting on Akane's bed when Ukyo entered. He was leaning back,
propped up against his extended arms, his legs crossed at the ankle. He was
twisting and turning his neck in a wide arc, trying to get the kink out of
it. He gave Ukyo a warm smile, his smile warmer than the sunlight that
entered into the room through the window.
  "Hi Ucchan," Ranma said. He was glad to see Ukyo, had wanted to talk to her
ever since yesterday. When he and Ryoga and Mousse were working on Nodoka's
house, Ryoga mentioned Ukyo's name.
  "Um, Ranma?" Ryoga had started. It was around late evening last night when
they were all in the livingroom, indulging in some male conversation. Ryoga
was sitting on a chair while Ranma and Mousse were sitting on the sofa. 
  "Yeah?" Ranma said, taking a swig of his soda. He would have been drinking
beer, but he had sworn not to drink beer, scared that he would get violent
like his father used to. Just the thought that he would get violent near his
kids was enough to keep him nowhere near beer or sake.
  "How do you know Ukyo?" Ryoga had asked, taking a sip of his soda. He was
drinking soda because he never liked the taste of it. He didn't like the
taste of sake either. When he used to travel alone, he always carried soda
in his backpack. Over the years, he acquired a liking to soda.
  "Ucchan?" Ranma said. He wasn't expecting the conversation to take a turn
toward his childhood best friend. They had been talking about home
improvement at the time, on how they were going to accomplish this large
task they had started "Well, if you'd like to know, she and I are childhood
friends. We knew each other since I was around six. I bumped into her when I
sitting on a bench in a park" He didn't bother to tell the guys that he was
on the verge of tears when he had bumped into her. He didn't let them know
that he had been horribly beaten just before they bumped into each other. He
had never let Ukyo know about that either. 
  She never even knew he had been abused by his father. When he met her for 
the first time, she introduced
herself to him, a big warm, smile on her lips. That seemed to make Ranma 
forget about his pain. Sure, his back was covered with painful bruises, but 
the pain seemed to disappear when he indulged in conversation with her. Over 
the years, after he'd been beaten, he'd go to Ukyo and talk to her. Talking to 
her always seemed to null the pain, make it go away. But when she had moved a 
couple of years after they met, Ranma's world collapsed. He no longer had 
anyone in his life. He was all alone. But thinking of her smile seemed to make 
the pain go away, even if she wasn't there to be with him. Over the harsh 
years of beatings, Ranma had become indifferent to physical pain.
  "Well....is she seeing someone?" Ryoga had asked. He seemed nervous, like
a school kid talking to this girl he like's friend. This was, in a way, the
same case. Ranma was Ukyo's friend, and Ryoga was trying to find out about
her through him. When he saw Ukyo at the amusement park the other day, his
heart leapt. He felt this warm feeling envelope him when she smiled at him.
Her smile seemed to make his day. He had never met a woman like her. He
wanted to settle down and raise a family, and Ukyo seemed to be the person
that he wanted to settle down with. He always wanted to be a family man.
With Miki there, everything seemed to fit into place.
  "No," Ranma said, snapping out of his little reverie. He had been thinking 
about Ukyo as a child at the time, recalling how she looked when they first 
met. Him meeting Ukyo was one of the highlights of his unfortunate life. He 
looked at Ryoga, knowing exactly where Ryoga was going with those questions. 
Every guy asked the question Ryoga asked for one reason "Are you interested in 
her?"
  He remembered seeing Ryoga blush.
  Mousse leaned over and saw him blushing "Hey look, he's blushing"
  "Do you mind?" Ryoga had said defensively. He felt incredibly embarrassed,
like a schoolboy getting caught smoking in the bathroom. He knew Mousse was
only teasing. He knew he'd do it if Mousse was in the same predicament. He
turned to Ranma and continued "What were we talking about. Oh yeah, am I
interested in her? I think so"
  "You want me to talk to her?" Ranma had asked. He should have felt a bit
threatened by Ryoga's interest in Ukyo, but he wasn't for some reason. He
knew Ryoga was a good man, and that he would take good care of Ukyo if they
ever got together. He would have probably been upset if it were anyone else.
Sure, Ukyo was a full-grown woman now, but Ranma still felt a little
protective of her. He knew that if anybody hurt her, he would do all that
was in his power to get back at the person whom made her cry. 
  "Will you do that?" Ryoga had said. His visage shown that of relief, "I
want to know what she thinks about me"
  Ranma nodded. He'd have to talk to Ukyo about this conversation as soon as
he saw her. He didn't know when he'd see her, but he was hoping it would be
soon.
  "Ranma?" Ukyo said, giving him a gentle nudge. She noticed that he seemed
to zone out for a moment, staring at the wall. She assumed he was thinking
about something.
  Ranma snapped out of his little reverie of the conversation he and Ryoga
had last night, his gaze resting on Ukyo, his eyes looking into hers "Sorry,
I was just thinking. What is it you wanted to see me about?"
  "Um, I was wondering, is Ryoga....um..." Ukyo started.
  "Attached?" Ranma finished for her. He could see it in her eyes. She
looked love-struck, the same look he saw in her eyes that night they made
love many, many years ago. Her eyes had sparkled that night as they gazed
into each other's eyes. He remember seeing flames burning in her eyes. Her
eyes sparkled like that right now.
  Ukyo blushed as Ranma gave a faint smile. He knew he hit it right on the
spot. He knew Ukyo had a thing for Ryoga "No. He isn't attached. He's said
he's been looking to settle down for some time now, to raise a family"
  Ukyo gave a small gasp, "Really?"
  "And speaking of Ryoga, he mentioned you last night," Ranma said. He
remembered him asking him to talk to her on his behalf. He remembered his
friend telling him that he wanted to know what she thought of him, if she
was interested in him. Obviously, from the look of her eyes, Ukyo was indeed
interested.
  "What did he say?" Ukyo asked, very interested. She felt like a little
schoolgirl, her girlfriend running up to her and telling her that someone
liked her. It made her feel young again. She had felt this attraction
toward Ryoga the first time she laid eyes on him. When his lips brushed
across to back of her hand when he kissed it, it sent electricity surging
through her body.
  Ranma gave her a bemused look "He asked me if you were seeing someone,"
  "So what did you tell him?" she asked, the suspense killing her. She wanted 
to know how he felt about her. She was already aware that she had an 
attraction toward him, but she wanted to know if it was mutual or one-sided.
  "I told him 'no' of course" he said ,"Isn't that what you would've wanted
me to tell him?"
  "Yes," Ukyo said, stepping forward and kissing Ranma on his forehead. She
gave him a smile "Thanks"
  "He's a good man, Ucchan," Ranma continued, "He'll make ya happy"
  "I'm almost sure of it,"
    
  Akane was reading a magazine, sipping her coffee when Ukyo came down the
stairs, Ranma following suit. Akane noticed that they had only been alone
for about two minutes before they came down. That must have meant they
didn't do anything intimate. There was no way they could get anything
accomplished in two minutes, at least she hoped.
  "Where's Miki?" Ranma asked. He wanted to see his other daughter. He had
noticed Meggie and Jessie playing in the backyard when he bothered to gaze
out Akane's window. The twins were playing tag. He figured this was the best
time to get to know her, him not having spent much time with her ever since
they met.
  "She's in the kitchen. She said she wanted to be alone," Akane said, not
bothering to look up from the magazine she was reading. She knew Ranma and
Ukyo looked like the perfect couple, even if she didn't look.
  Ranma headed for the kitchen as Ukyo sat down right next to Akane. She
gave Akane a bemused look, knowing that Akane was curious to know exactly
what had transpired when she was alone with Ranma "You're probably wondering
what Ranma and I were talking about"
  Akane shrugged her shoulders uninterestedly, desperately trying to hide
her curiosity. She wanted to pretend like it didn't matter to her, she
wanting to hide the fact that she wanted to know exactly what had happened.
  "Okay, if you're not interested, then I won't tell you" Ukyo said, smiling
wryly. She wanted to have some fun. Akane had won Ranma from her fair and
square, but she wanted some form of pay back. She knew Akane wanted to know
what happened. She leaned back against the sofa, her arms stretched out,
crossing her legs as she gave Akane a smirk.
  Akane bit her lip, wishing she had the courage to ask. She wanted to know
so bad, but she didn't want to seem nosy. She wished there was a way to get
Ukyo to tell her without having to directly or indirectly ask her the
question she dreaded.
  "I don't see Miki in there," Ranma said, entering the livingroom. He had
even checked to lower shelves, in case she was hiding in there, much to no
avail. His daughters sometimes hid around the house, but he usually found
them in no time. They only had a few favorite hiding places.
  "What?" Akane said. She was so sure Miki was in the kitchen when Ukyo
headed upstairs. She had only left her alone for one minute. Miki was nine,
a year older than the twins. Surely, she didn't need to be watched over,
just like Meggie and Jessie, both whom were eight.
  "We better find her," Ranma said, concern in his voice. He remembered
losing sight of one of his daughters, and that had changed his life forever.
He had looked away for one second, and when he looked back, she was no
longer there. He found her several yards away, but it had changed his life.
  Akane go up, heading toward the stairs "I'll check upstairs"
  "I'll check the basement," Ukyo said, heading for the back of the house,
where the stairway to the basement were located.
  "What's goin' on here?" Meggie asked, entering the livingroom. She noticed
that all the adults seemed to be in a mad panic over something. Naturally,
she always being curious, she had to know what this was all about.
  "Honey," Ranma said, placing his hands on his daughter's shoulder,
kneeling low so his head was level with hers. His voice sounded pleading, as
if he had just received the scare of his life "have you seen Miki anywhere?"
  "Yeah," Meggie said innocently "She's out back with Jessie"
  Ranma stood up and looked out the window toward the backyard. His tense
visage relaxed when he noticed Jessie and Miki playing by the pond,
pretending they were fishing.
  Akane was near Ranma, and she noticed that he seemed like he had seen a
ghost. He had broken out in a massive sweat. It kind of looked as if he had
been frightened to his very core. He looked every bit as distressed as when
he found out when Jessie was missing. 
  "Are you all right?" Akane asked. She seemed concerned.
  Ranma was sweating heavily, and his heart was racing, beating much faster
that it was supposed to. He took in a few deep breaths, relaxing himself
"Y-yeah. I-I'm okay"
  As if on cue, Miki entered the livingroom, Meggie following behind her.
Miki was holding a book. Miki gave Ranma a glance before turning away. She
didn't believe what her Mommy had told her, that Ranma was her father. But
then again, it might be true. She never heard much about her father. When
she had asked who her father was, her Mommy had quickly switched the
subject, avoiding it.
  Ranma came over and embraced Miki, the little girl giving a yelp from the
slight pain that ran through her body "Thank goodness you're okay. I got so
worried"
  Miki felt this nice feeling envelope her as Ranma held her, causing her to
forget about the pain, to forget about what had happened to her a few days
ago. It feeling was natural, as if she was meant to be in his arms. She
said nothing, not really knowing what to say. When she tried, her words died
before they left her lips. She was still skeptic that Ranma was her father.
He looked very different from he. But then again, she had gotten most of her
looks from her mother's side of the family. As to what she acquired from her
father's side, she did not know. But she did know one thing, that she had
never acquired her Mommy's eyes.
  Akane watched as Ranma fussed over the little girl, a bit confused. He was
acting as if he hadn't seen her in years. Sure, people would probably get
a bit stressed over finding out that Miki was gone, but they would surely
start relaxing when they found her a couple of seconds later. Ranma hadn't.
He still seemed stressed over the incident.
  "Um, what's that in your hands?" Ukyo asked, noticing the book that was
getting pressed between Miki and Ranma's chest. She wasn't too surprised
that her daughter would be carrying a book. She always liked to read, and it
seemed like her daughter had acquired that fondness also. Whenever Miki had
free time, she would be reading a book. She was a very bright girl, having
learned to read at a very early age, and age far younger than most average
kids.
  "I found this book in the storage shed out back," Miki said, handing her
Mommy the book.
  Akane recognized the book immediately. It was one of the books she read
several years ago. She used to read a lot, before her father had died. Ever
since she had to take care of the dojo, she no longer had the time to do so.
"I remember that book. I read it a while ago. It's an excellent book. You're
welcome to have it if you'd like," She wished she wasn't as busy as she was
nowadays. If she could have a few hours to herself, she would definitely get
back into reading again.
  "Thanks," Miki said, smiling warmly. Not that many people had been nice to
her over the years. It felt nice that someone was being nice to her for a
change. She could get used to this.
  Ukyo surveyed the book carefully in her hands. The book was a thick one,
probably more than 300 pages. It was more a novel. She read the cover.
  "The Day of Immortality" she said aloud. She flipped to the back and
read a quick synopsis of the story. It told of a young man having discovered
immortality, and of the pains and sorrow he had to go through to achieve his
goal, death. Ukyo batted an eye upon reading the synopsis. She knew Miki
always liked psychological stories. Ukyo flipped the book back to the front
and opened it, reading the inside of the front page. She noticed that the
book she was holding was the second book of the immortality trilogy. The
little girl always liked reading long stories.
  "That looks like an interesting book," Miki said. She reached up and took
hold of the book as Ukyo handed it to her. She started to leaf through it.
  "Miki, that's the second book to a trilogy," Ukyo said. She turned to face
Akane "You wouldn't happen to know where the first book is?"
  "Sorry," Akane said "I think I lost it several years ago. I haven't seen it
since. It's better if you just buy a new one than to look for it. Besides,
the first book is very old and some of the pages are missing"
  Ukyo turned to Miki, "How about we go to the bookstore to get you a new
book?" She knew her daughter would definitely say yes. Reading was one of
Miki's favorite hobbies. She could devour a 400 page book in as little as
two days.
  "Okay," Miki said.
  Ranma came up with an idea as Ukyo and her daughter spoke to each other.
He realized that taking Miki to the bookstore would be a good way to spend
some time with her, to get to know her better "Um, Miki, would you like me
to come with you to the bookstore?"
  Ukyo looked at Ranma, smiling warmly. She knew Ranma was trying to get
along with Miki. She knew this was a good chance to let them spend some time
together "Well, Miki, what do ya say? Would you like to go to the bookstore
with Ranma here?"
  Miki wanted to say no, but she knew he was just trying to be nice. Knowing
this, she could at least meet him halfway "I guess that would be okay"
  "I wanna come too, Daddy," Jessie blurted out, jumping up an down. She
didn't really care too much about going to a bookstore, but she always liked
going places with her Daddy. Her Daddy could make going to the bookstore
seem like an adventure. 
  "Me too," Meggie yelped aloud. She loved going to the bookstore. She, too,
liked reading. Maybe she could find a good book to read while she was down
there. Although she was having tons of fun spending time with Akane, she
knew that eventually, the fun will start to abate, and she would start
getting bored. She figured that if she had a book, she would never get
bored. She never knew why she liked reading, but she always did. Little did
she know that Ranma reading her and Jessie a bedtime story every night when
they were young was what got them into reading. They would never get bored
of reading. That was the same thing with Jessie, except it would take a lot
longer before an activity became tedious for her and she went back to
reading books.
  Ranma smiled. He knew this would be a great chance to get Miki and his
daughter more aquatinted. Sure, they all went to the same school, but Miki
was a grade higher than the twins. He always loved children, so to him, the
more children tagging along the better
  "That's a great idea. Besides, it's about time you start reading again" he
said. He had realized that the twins hadn't been reading as often as they
used to. He'd let them chose their own book. He knew exactly where the twins
would go to buy a book once they entered the bookstore. They would both head
for the fantasy section of the store. He didn't quite know why, but the
twins had this fancy for fantasy-type novels. He figured that dragons and
sorcery were what attracted them to the genre. Strange though, considering
he never read them a fantasy novel before.
  "When does the bookstore open?" Ukyo asked.
  "It opened about an hour ago," Akane replied. She knew the bookstore's
opening and closing hours by heart. She used to go there every day when she
was little.
  "Good, we'll go to the bookstore," Ranma said, right before his stomach
grumbled "Um, right after we eat"



Chapter 22

     Ranma entered the bookstore, the little girls holding his arms. Meggie
was holding Ranma's left hand as her sister held Meggie's other hand, Miki
holding onto his right one. The walk to the bookstore was a short one,
having taken no longer than ten minutes to reach their destination. 
  He felt reluctant to releasing his hold of them, but he had to. Ukyo had let 
him take Miki to the bookstore while she stayed at Akane's house with Akane. 
She seemed to have wanted to talk to Akane about something. He was expected 
back in about an half an hour to drop Miki and the twins off.
  Ranma stopped to check out the bookstore, never realizing just how large the 
store was. The last time he had been in this store had been many years ago, 
when he was looking for books on parenting. Eventually, he decided against it, 
figuring it was better that he learned the joys of parenting as it came along. 
He figured he didn't need help. It turned out his decision was a wise one. If 
he had bought the parenting books, the joys of learning to adjust to his 
daughters' needs would have been missed.
  The bookstore was a very large one, the back of the store stretching back
as far as the length of a football field. To his left, stretching all the
way to the back of the store were isles and isles filled with book, both new
and old. To his right were several isles dedicated to magazine and
newspapers, followed by more isles of books. The cash registers were in the
front of the store, right next to the entrance.
  Ranma followed as Miki and the twins headed for the back of the store. He
took his time, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. The bookstore was virtually
empty. He smiled to a couple of salesladies, all of them blushing as walked
by them.
  Ranma saw Miki in the fiction isle. He walked down the isle, meeting up with 
Miki as she scanned through all the books "What's the name of the first book 
of the trilogy?" he asked, scanning through the columns of books. He looked 
out of the corner of his eye as saw the twins in the isle just next to the one 
where he and Miki were.
  "It's called 'Dawning of Immortality'" Miki said. She noticed several
books that seemed interesting, but decided against it. She wanted to read
about this immortality series more than the other ones.
  "Here it is," Ranma said, pulling a book out of the shelf. He handed it to
Miki. She smiled as she took hold of it, causing Ranma to smile inwardly.
Maybe she will open up to him. She had never smiled to him before now.
Sooner or later, he'd get her to laugh with joy.
  "Would you like to get the entire series? It'd be more convenient. We
wouldn't have to come here after you finished the book" he said. He knew that
if he were in Miki's place, he'd buy the entire series to save the time and
effort of coming back.
  "I 'd like to," she said. She really wanted to get the entire series, but
her Mommy had only given her just enough money for one book. The book she
was getting was an expensive one, despite being an old one. 
  "Don't worry, I'll pay," Ranma said, rubbing the top of Miki's head. He
knew Ukyo had only given her enough for one book. He reached over and
grabbed two more books 'Day of Immortality' and 'Night of Immortality',
handing it to Miki. He figured it was best to buy her a second book.
Afterall, the book she found at Akane's house was very old, and it looked
like it was going to fall apart at any moment.
  Miki looked up at him and smiled at him as he placed his arm on her
shoulder, the two of them heading for the isle where the twins were.

  Kodachi Kuno felt frustrated as she searched the isles for her two little
girls, Yayoi and Kiori. They were such spoiled little girls. Kodachi was
ready to pull out all her hair from the frustration of taking them anywhere.
Yayoi was four, and Kiori was five. She had heard of children in there
terrible twos, but it seemed to have stuck with her own children even after
they were two. They were uncooperative, disrespectful, and ill-mannered. It
was all because their father was that way. He had spoiled them so much that
there was no way back. He had given in to every one of their tantrums,
making them believe that every adult would give in to them if they kept
throwing tantrums. 
  And now, when her husband, their father, had run off with the secretary that 
worked for him, leaving her to raise the children. She needed a vacation, and 
she needed it bad. She could have always let her brother, Tatewaki, take care 
of them for a short time while she took some time off, but he had his own 
problems. Besides, he had his own children to worry about. Aside from her 
brother, she would never trust another man
again. When her husband had left her, she had been terribly hurt, scarred for 
life. She now thought that all men were just like her husband or would 
eventually turn into him.
  "Yayoi, Kiori," Kodachi said in exasperation "where are you?" Yayoi had
run off as soon as she entered the bookstore, quickly followed by Kiori.
They always did this, always running off, leaving her in their wake. She
felt so frustrated it was unbelievable. What was she going to do with these
kids?
  "May I help you?" a saleslady asked. She noticed that Kodachi looked
incredibly tired, as if she hadn't slept a decent night's sleep in a long 
time. There were rings under her eyes. Her cheekbones seemed sunken. Even 
thought her appearance could be improved upon, Kodachi was still a very 
beautiful woman. She had long black hair, her bangs falling down over her dark 
eyes. Her hair was tied in a ponytail that fell down her back all the way down 
to her slim waist, tied in place by a red ribbon.
  "Yeah, have you seen two little girls run by here?" Kodachi said wearily.
  "Um, yes," the saleslady said, pointing toward the fantasy isle "I saw
them go turn down the fantasy isle" She remembered seeing two twins running
past her, both of them saying 'hi' as they passed her. They looked like very
sweet little children. When she saw their father walk by, she blushed
horribly when he looked right at her, giving her a smile. She looked at
Kodachi, a bit envious of her.
  She must be that man's wife, she thought. She wondered how she, herself,
could catch a man like Ranma. She wanted a man like him. She had dated many
people over her young life, but she had never come across someone that
remotely looked as handsome as Ranma. It wasn't Ranma's looks that
attracted her to him, albeit it had something to do with it, but it was the
way he carried himself. He seemed to have this paternal air to him that all
women found attractive, even those whom don't have children.
  "Thanks," Kodachi said as she headed for the fantasy book isle. She
noticed that the saleslady were looking at her enviously, which seemed to
confuse her. Why would she be envious of me when I have two spoiled little
girls, Kodachi thought.
  "Is there anything you want to read, honey?" Ranma said, putting his hand on
Jessie's shoulder. She was still scanning over all the books to choose.
Meggie had already chosen her book. All that was left was for Jessie to
chose one for herself.
  "Excuse me," came a voice.
  Ranma turned to face it
  "Have you seen two...." Kodachi started, but her voice failed her. Her
heart had just leapt into her throat. Her heart raced as she gazed into
Ranma's beautiful eyes. It had this loving sadness to it that she found
quite odd. It looked like he was on the verge of tears. Her heart leapt at
the thought that she had met someone so sensitive. She took in a deep
breath, remembering she was here because of men like him.
  "Have you seen two little girls run by here?" she said, her voice
strained. She had to force those words out of her mouth. She had to fight
back this strange urge to stare at him so intently.
  Ranma regarded her for a second before answering. The woman before him was
a very beautiful one, albeit she had some slight rings under her eyes. One
night's rest would easily fix that. The lady before him seemed like she was
on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
  "Sorry. I haven't," he said. He hadn't seen any other children in the store
except his own. The store was virtually empty at the time. He wouldn't be
surprised if he and the little girls and the salesladies and this woman
standing in front of him were the only people in the store.
  Kodachi gave a small whimper. She was hoping he would have seen her
children. She turned her gaze toward the three little girls in the isle with
them. She noticed a pair of twins and a little girl slightly older than
them. The twins were very beautiful looking girls, and the other girl was
every bit as beautiful. They were both huddled near Ranma. They all looked
at her curiously.
  "Have any of you seen them?" Ranma said, turning his attention to his
girls. Maybe they saw the two little girls when they ran up ahead of him when
they entered.
  All three of them shook there heads.
  "Sorry," Ranma said "None of us have seen them. Um, would you like me to 
help you look?"
  Ranma had noticed this defeated look in Kodachi's eyes. She looked like
she was about fall to her knees and cry. He was always sympathetic toward
others, even if very little people were ever sympathetic toward him.
  "You'd do that for me?" Kodachi said. She was a bit shocked. All the men
in her life had usually treated her badly, acting as if she was invisible.
She expected him to ignore her like all the other men she had dated.
  "Sure, what do they look like?" he said. He knew that he'd greatly
appreciate it if someone helped him out if he couldn't find his children.
That was why he was so grateful that Chiako had found Jessie and kept her
out of trouble.
  "They're both around this tall," Kodachi said, lowering her hand to around
waist height "and they both have long black hair"
  Ranma nodded. He then turned to Miki and the twins, "I'm goin' to help her
find her children. Don't go anywhere. And you know what to do if someone
suspicious bothers you, right?"
  "Yeah. We'll scream," the twins said. Miki just looked at them with a
bemused look. Kodachi couldn't help but smile. His children were so
well-mannered, the exact opposite of her own children. She noticed that they
were very nice and polite. When she looked at them, they gave her a warm
smile and a polite bow.
  "Fine," Ranma said, turning his attention toward Kodachi "Let's get going"
  Ranma and Kodachi both left the isle to look for her children.
  "What's your name?" Kodachi said "Mine's Kodachi Kuno"
  "Ranma Saotome," he said. He began wondering because he could have sworn he
heard her family name before, but he couldn't quite explain where for some
reason. He looked back toward the fantasy isle. He could still see the three
girls staying where they were, not going anywhere.
  "I came here to buy some parenting books," Kodachi started. She wanted to
have a conversation with him. She always liked to talk.
  "Oh?" Ranma asked. He seemed interested. He couldn't help but wonder about
how he had come here once to buy some parenting books. That was over ten
years ago "I don't want to seem arrogant or anything, but I'm a pretty good
parent. I could always help you out if you'd like. What's the problem?"
  Kodachi didn't know where to begin. It should have been more along the
lines of 'What isn't the problem?' Her children were enough to drive anyone
insane.
  "Well....."

  "Thanks," Kodachi said as she held onto Yayoi and Kiori. She felt
confident that she would be able to take control of her life again instead
of having her children do it. Ranma had told her that she shouldn't give in
to their tantrums all the time, to lay down her authority. Sure, they would
throw their tantrums, but eventually, they would subside when the children
realize that their fits of outrage would no longer work anymore. He had also
told her about how she should give them incentives to do anything
constructive at home.
  "I'd be glad to help out whenever you like," he said, walking over to the
cashier, placing the books Miki and the twins had chosen onto the counter.
He looked toward the cashier, giving her a warm smile, which made her blush.
  "Do you have any paper and a pen I can borrow?" he said to the cashier.
When she gave him the items he asked for, he jotted down his phone number on
the piece of paper, handing it to Kodachi "Here, you can call me if you ever
have problems"
  Kodachi looked at the piece of paper. She then looked at the cashier. The
cashier was looking at her as if she was the one who was getting his phone
number. It must have been unprecedented that a man would give a woman his
phone number.
  He handed the cashier a five thousand yen bill, "Sorry, I don't have
anything smaller than that," before turning his attention back onto Kodachi
and saying "You can reach me at mostly night"
  "Thanks," Kodachi said, eyeing Ranma quite fondly, much to his
unawareness. She felt this great feeling being around him. He was nothing
like the men she had even known. He was kind, gentle, and very loving. She
could see herself spending the rest of her life with a man like him. She
quickly gazed down at ring finger of his left hand, noticing that he wasn't
wearing a wedding ring. That meant he wasn't married. 
  Ranma looked at his watch. It read 9:36 am "I better get going now. It's
been nice talking to you," He took the change the cashier handed him, shoving
them into his back pocket. He then took hold of the plastic bag that the
lady had put all those book into.
  "Bye," he said, giving her a smile, right before leaving, Miki and the twins 
holding his hands. Kodachi and the cashier watched as Ranma left the store, 
both of their heart beating rapidly.
  "He's gorgeous," the cashier said, a slight blush on her cheeks. She could
still feel the heat that traveled from his fingertips and into her hands
when their hands touched when she was handing him his change.
  "I know" Kodachi said, remembering to breath again, a smile on her lips. She 
looked at the phone number Ranma had given her, noticing that the cashier was 
trying to steal a glance at it. She just smiled at her before shoving it into 
her pocket.
  "Is he married?" the cashier asked. She just had to know. She most likely
knew the answer. She was shocked to hear what that he was not when Kodachi
replied.
  "No," she said, her day already looking brighter than it already was. Her
morning had started out terribly, but now it seemed nothing would bring her
down. Thoughts of talking and spending time with Ranma again made her feel
happy. Unfortunately, at that moment, she realized that her children had
just ran off toward the back of the store again.
  "Damn!!!"



Chapter 23

     Akane's heart leapt when the doorbell rang. She looked a clock that hung
on a nearby wall. It read 9:50. That meant it should be Ranma. He had left
for the bookstore with the children after breakfast, at around 9:00. He was
expected back before ten because he had to get on over to his mom's house
for when Ryoga and Mousse arrived to help fix up the house.
  She opened the door, only to be overwhelmed when the girls entered the
house in a mad dash, Meggie leading the pack. Ranma had been holding Miki's 
hand as she ran into the house while Jessie had been holding his other hand. 
It just so happened that the two girls quickly took off their shoes and ran 
past Akane on either side while still holding his hand, causing Ranma to fall 
down on top of her as they held onto his hands. 
  Ranma was lying on top of Akane, his lips so very close that if he inched
one bit closer, their lips would have brushed across one another. His
chest was pressed against her own chest. He was so close to her that he
could smell the arousing fragrance of her shampoo. He quickly got to his
feet, hoping Akane didn't feel just how aroused he had gotten.
  "Sorry," he apologized, reaching his hand forward to take Akane's, helping
her to her feet. He could feel the warmth of her hands as they touched his.
He felt grateful that he was wearing loose-fitting jeans, hiding his
arousal. He scratched the back of his head as he gave her a weak smile.
  Akane turned around, hoping Ranma didn't see her blushing. When he fell
on top of her, he could feel him pressed against her, especially his...
  What am I thinking, Akane thought. She couldn't believe herself. She could
feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest, threatening to explode if it
went any faster. When she felt him pressed against her, she started to
recall the incident they had last night, when they kissed. She remembered
how great his lips felt on hers. She especially remembered seeing him naked.
  Ranma looked at Akane as her back was turned to him. He noticed that she
was adorned in some loose sweatpants and a thick sweatshirt, concealing her
curves. It didn't matter though. Ranma already knew how great she looked
without those clothes on, for he had stolen a peek when she took her towel
off, when she thought he wasn't looking.
  "Um, I'll leave them with you," Ranma said "I have to get on over to my
mom's house for when Ryoga and Mousse arrives"
  He stepped forward, expecting her to turn around so he could kiss her,
but her back remained facing him. She never turned around. Instead, she just
said "Okay, I'll see you later then"
  Ranma's visage was crestfallen. He wanted to kiss her again. He thought that 
that incident last night wasn't something born out of the heat of passion. But 
it obviously seemed so because Akane never bothered to open up anymore to him. 
She also acted like the incident didn't happen, as if she were ashamed of it, 
which seemed to further daunt Ranma about pursuing her.
  "Where's Ukyo?" he asked. He wanted to ask her if she wanted to go with
him to his mom's house because Ryoga was due to show up in about ten minutes
there. He figured she would have liked to have talked to him face to face
instead of having him relay the message. Afterall, he might forget to
mention something.
  "She's in the backyard," Akane said. She remembered Ukyo having told her
that she wanted to go to the backyard to be alone. She said she wanted time
to organize her thoughts. Akane would have done the same thing is she was
in the same situation as Ukyo. Akane now knew of Ukyo's fancy for Ranma's 
friend, Ryoga.
  "If you'd really like to know what we were talking about upstairs, I'll
tell you" Ukyo had said right after Ranma, and the kids had left "I wanted to
ask him about his friend, Ryoga"
  "Ryoga?" Akane had asked. She didn't know where Ukyo was going with this
conversation "What about him?"
  "I'll get to it in a second. I wanted to ask him if Ryoga was seeing
anyone"
  Akane's heart seemed to have leapt for joy. She knew exactly where Ukyo was
getting at. She knew Ukyo was interested in Ryoga. Otherwise, she wouldn't
have asked an irrelevant question like that "We'll is he?"
  "No. He isn't seeing someone" Ukyo continued "I found out that Ryoga seems
to like me also. Ranma told me Ryoga had asked about me yesterday. He told
me Ryoga also asked if I was seeing someone"
  Akane said, "Well, are you?" She was hanging on what she was going to say
next. She prayed that she would say 'no'.
  "Of course not," she said, "I wanted to see Ranma, but he isn't interested
in rekindling our relationship again".....also, he's in love with you, not
me. The last part she didn't say. She didn't need to say. Surely, Akane
could have seen the signs. Surely, she would have noticed that he seemed to
spend a lot of time with her, and that he wanted her to get along with his
daughters.
  "I'm sorry to hear that," she really did feel bad. But then she realized
that she no longer needed to worry about Ranma leaving her for Ukyo anymore.
That meant she could tell him about her feelings toward him.
  "I'm going out back to the backyard. I need some time alone," Ukyo said,
heading for the open porch door that led to the backyard. She stepped out
the door, closing it behind her.
  Akane was left there, standing where she was. She felt bad for Ukyo. She
knew she would be emotionally hurt if the man she loved didn't love her like
the way she loved him, if the feelings weren't mutual. But then again, Akane
really didn't know if he loved her. He might love someone else.
  Ranma voice caused Akane to snap out of her little reverie "Tell Ukyo I
said goodbye"
  Akane took in a deep breath. Being around Ranma now made her feel more
nervous than ever, especially after last night's incident. She wondered what
all of that was about. He had kissed her passionately, as if she was the
only woman he ever wanted, which made her feel special. But as they
continued to kiss, when she indicated that she wanted to take it to another
level, he had backed off. He told her to leave him alone, as if he didn't
want to be near her. What was it about him that made him back off? She
couldn't quite understand why. She thought he wanted to go further than
kissing, but his backing off seemed to indicate that he didn't want to. Was
it some kind of one-sided love she had for him? Was that as intimate as he
wanted to be with her? Did that kiss mean anything to him? She had to ask.
  "Ranma, about last night," she started, turning back around to face Ranma.
  But she was too late, Ranma had left.

  Ukyo sat on one on the stones out in the backyard, her gaze at the pond
and at the life it held. As she sat there, she wondered about Ranma,
wondered about how she and him were childhood friends and how they met.
She felt almost bad that she had taken a liking to his friend, Ryoga Hibiki.
She didn't want to forget about the memories they shared together.
  "Hi," Ukyo had introduced herself with a big warm, smile. As she sat on
those rocks, she could remember clearly that she was at the age of six when
they met. Her hair was very short at the time, so short that she almost
looked like a boy if it weren't for the dress that she wore. She had
noticed this young boy living nearby ever since she moved there. She
wanted to talk to the boy, but he seemed distant. Then one day, she took a
deep breath and walked up to the young boy.
  The little boy was sitting on a bench in the park. Ukyo happened to have
been in the park with her father at the time. She had been playing in the
playground when she saw Ranma out of the corner of her eye when he sat down
on a bench nearby, his head low. She had looked around for his parents, but
they were nowhere to be found. It was strange that his parents would let
someone that was six years old out go out on his own. Little did she know
that his father had just kicked him out of the house. There was no way for
him to go back until his mom got back home from grocery shopping. Once she
found out what his father had done, he would be allowed back into the house.
  "Hi," Ranma had said, not even bothering to look at the girl standing
before him. He was ashamed of himself. He gaze was on the ground. He didn't
her to see that he was on the verge of crying. He had been beaten by his
father just an hour prior to their meeting each other. If it weren't for the
shirt he was wearing, everyone would have noticed that his back was all
covered with bruises.
  "I'm Ukyo Kuonji," she had said. She sat down next to Ranma, regarding him
intently. Ranma, even though he was only six, looked like he was no longer
a child. He looked like his childhood had passed him. It looked like a heap
of responsibility had been dumped on him. When he stole a glance toward her,
she noticed that his eyes, although beautiful, seemed to be liquid, as if he
were on the verge breaking down and crying. His eyes looked like they were
hiding something, something sad and very disturbing.
  "I-I'm Ranma Saotome," he had said. He looked up at Ukyo and regarded her.
She was a very sweet-looking girl. Her hair was short, almost as short as
his own. If it weren't for the dress she was wearing, Ranma would have
sworn Ukyo was a little boy.
  "You wanna play together?" Ukyo had asked. She was gesturing toward the
swings in the park, the same swings his daughters would be swinging on more
than twenty years later.
  That seemed to make Ranma forget about his pain. The thought of spending
time with Ukyo seemed to make it go away. He didn't know what she did to
make the pain go away, but it worked. It was too bad that, although the
physical pain went away, the emotional pain never subsided.
  "I guess so," Ranma had said.
  Ukyo smiled before tapping Ranma on the shoulder, causing him to wince
slightly in pain. Ukyo didn't notice this, "Tag" she said, right before
running for the playground in a happy, gleeful giggle "You're it"
  Ranma smiled as he hopped off the bench, the same bench he'd be sitting on
as he watched his own daughters on the swings. He then started running after
Ukyo, noticing that this was the only time he could remember ever having
smiled. Anytime prior to that he couldn't recall.  Maybe it was because
there was nothing to smile about before he met Ukyo.
  Ukyo leaned back, propping herself up with her arms as she fondly recalled
how she and Ranma met for the first time. That incident always brought a
smile on her lips. Meeting Ranma was one of the best thing that ever
happened to her, which made leaving him the worst thing to happen to her.
She remembered having to tell Ranma that she was moving just a few years
after meeting him.
  "Ranchan," Ukyo had said as she tapped Ranma on his shoulder. That was the
nickname she gave him. Ranma was sitting next to her on the bench. They were
now both ten years old. Ranma had grown quite a lot over the years they
had known each other.                                        
  "What is it, Ucchan?" Ranma had said. That was the nickname he gave Ukyo.
She liked that nickname. He was gazing at her intently, which seemed to make
telling him more awkward than it already was.
  Ukyo took a deep breath before starting "Ranchan, my Daddy just told me the
other day that we will be moving very soon"
  Hearing those words seemed to shatter Ranma's heart. He knew what this
meant, knew that he was going to be alone again. Sure, there were kids in
elementary school to be friends with, but that would never be the same. He
would never have a friendship with another person like the one he had been
with Ukyo.
  Ukyo had started crying, putting her head on his shoulder. Ranma didn't
even wince in pain anymore, him already having grown accustomed to the
beatings nowadays. He was almost indifferent to physical pain. It didn't
bother him anymore. Even if that was true, he was still vulnerable to
emotional pain. The thought that spending the rest of his life without Ukyo
tore away at him.
  "Where will you be moving to?" Ranma had asked. He was wondering if she
didn't move too far away, he might be able to ride his bike to her place to
visit.
  "I don't know exactly where," Ukyo said between sobs "but he said it'll be
somewhere in Hokkaido"
  Ranma was a smart kid. He knew that Hokkaido was too far away, that it was
on the other side of the country. But he had to put up a good front. He
couldn't cry. Ukyo was crying for the both of them "Well, lets just hope
we'll see each other again sometime in the future"
  Ukyo laid back on the ground in Akane's backyard as she remembered his
words. Those words did come true several years after she had moved back to
Nerima after spending a couple of years in Hokkaido. She remembered that she
was eighteen at the time. When she came back to him, Ranma had been so happy
that the first thing he did was kiss her on the lips. It was unprecedented.
Ukyo was shocked that he would do that to her, but she didn't fight it.
Eventually, their friendship headed toward another direction, the two of
them becoming lovers not much longer afterwards. They only remained lovers
for a short time, when they turned twenty, that was until they decided it
was best they went their separate ways. She ended up moving back to Hokkaido,
but this time, carrying Ranma's child.
  She felt bad that she might forget all these fond memories of their
friendship, forgetting them once she fell in love again, forgetting about
him. She didn't want to forget about him. She wanted to remember him.
  "Whatcha thinkin' about, Mommy?" Miki asked, stepping out into the
backyard. She had begun reading her book, but had noticed that her Mommy was
in the backyard so she wanted to find out what was going on.
  "Oh, nothing much, honey," Ukyo said, still on her back, turning her head
around to face Miki. Although no one could really see the difference between
Miki and her father, Ukyo knew there were some striking similarities. Miki's
eyes for one of them. Miki definitely had Ranma's beautiful eyes.
  Miki sat down next to her as Ukyo sat upright to brush Miki's bangs out of
her eyes. 
  Ukyo smiled, knowing that no matter where she was, just looking at Miki 
would always make her remember Ranma.
 
  Mousse and Ryoga were waiting on the front steps of his mom's house when
Ranma arrived. He looked at his watch, and it read just a little past ten.
The two of them had been sitting on the steps, talking to one another when
Ranma walked up to them. Mousse was conversing with Ryoga about how he
wanted kids.
  "So that's why we moved here," Mousse was saying to Ryoga "so we can start
a family" He and Ryoga had been talking about him and Shampoo starting
family. Shampoo had mentioned to him, indicated to him, that she wanted to
start having children. Afterall, they weren't getting any younger.
  Ranma listened intently as Ryoga and Mousse continued on conversing. He
was interested in where the conversation was headed. He had always thought
Mousse was a family man.
  "And just last week, Shampoo was late," Mousse added proudly, a smile on
his lips. One really had any idea how long he had to work to get her
pregnant. There was only a brief moment in a woman's menstrual cycle where
she was most likely to get pregnant, and Mousse could only make love to her
when she was ovulating. That meant Mousse was climbing the walls with sexual
frustrating because he could only make love to her about once a month.
  "Late for what?" Ranma asked. He was now lost. What was she late with,
coming home last week?  
  Mousse and Ryoga broke out in a fit of laughter before saying "What do you 
think?"
  "Oh," Ranma said. When he noticed his two friends giving him a bemused look, 
he then realized exactly what he was late with. 



Chapter 24

     The moon was high in the sky, radiating its brilliance on Nerima. The
streets glowed silvery from the moonlight. The leaves were fluttering gently
from the cool breezes that blew through the streets. It was a peaceful night
that night, not a soul to be seen anywhere, everyone now in their warm and
cozy homes, spending their nights with their family.
  Ranma was in the garage, sitting in a lawnchair he had set out, gazing
through the open garage door and out toward the stars high above. It was
around 8:15 now, meaning he had forty-five more minutes before he
was expected back at Akane's house. He was expected back at her house at
nine, so he could pick up his children. His children always fell asleep at
around ten. That meant he'd have to be back at her house earlier so they
would still be awake so he could take them back to his house. 
  Mousse was sitting to Ranma's right, also in a lawn chair. Ryoga had left
about an hour ago when Ukyo had showed up unexpectedly. Ukyo had showed up
with Miki, on her way home from Akane's house at around three.
  Mousse looked over at Ranma, "It's nice that Ryoga is walking Ukyo and Miki
home"
  "Yeah," Ranma agreed, remembering when Ukyo had showed up a few hours
earlier.
  "Hiya Ranchan," Ukyo had said, waving toward Ranma from the other side of
the street. She was holding onto the Miki in one of her hands. Ranma was
surprised to see her. He had been working at putting a hole in the
livingroom wall that he almost missed seeing her. Actually, he was now
finished with putting in a hole, but was rather cleaning up the mess around
it. There was nothing much more he could do. He'd have to buy a window
tomorrow so it could be placed in place of the hole.
  "Hi Ucchan. Um, what're ya doing here?" Ranma had said, stopping what he
was doing to talk to Ukyo as she walked up to him. He thought she was going
to spend the day at Akane's. He wiped the sweat of his brow with a towel
that was nearby.
  "I was on my way home from Akane's," Ukyo had started, "and I wanted to
stop by on my way home" It was true. But her real motive was she wanted to
say hi to not only Ranma, but to Ryoga. She knew he was supposed to be
working on Nodoka's house, Akane having told her. She wanted to stop by to
talk to Ryoga, to get to know him better. She was hoping he would escort
her home like he had the other day.
  "Hi Miki," Ranma had said, turning his attention to the little girl Ukyo
was holding. He noticed that there was a bookmark set in the middle of the
book she was holding. He was a bit surprised that she had read so much in
so little time. They had only bought that book several hours ago.
  "Hi," Miki said softly.
  "Um, is Ryoga here?" Ukyo said, looking a bit nervous. She knew he was,
but it was best that she let Ranma know what she was here for.
  Ranma looked continued to look up at the stars as he remembered telling
Ukyo that Ryoga was in the back, reshingling the roof. He was more than
finished when Ukyo decided to go to the backyard to say hi to him, leaving
Miki in Ranma's care. She wanted to talk to Ryoga alone. Besides, Ranma had
insisted that he talk to Miki alone.
  "How do you like the book so far?" Ranma had said, kneeling low, his head
level with Miki's.
  "I like it a lot," Miki said, her eyes lighting up. She had already devoured 
half in a few short hours. She was most likely going to finish the book by 
tonight. The book was interesting and very suspenseful, leaving Miki always 
compelled to read more and more.
  Ranma had smiled. He was glad she was happy. That was all that mattered to
him. Even though he had found out she was his daughter only a few days ago,
it felt as if he had known her since she was born.
  Mousse looked at his watch, "I better get goin' now. Shampoo'll be home
from her modeling shoot in a half hour"
  "Speaking of Shampoo," Ranma said "Now that there's a chance that a child
might be on the way. What will Shampoo do? I mean, she's a model, right?"
  Mousse knew what Ranma was getting at. He wanted to know what Shampoo
would do once she started showing signs of her pregnancy. Surely, she'd have
to take time off from her modeling career. Shampoo and Mousse had already
planned it out. Mousse, although he was content with his career, was looking
to quit so he and Shampoo could open a restaurant together. Shampoo was an
excellent cook, and her talent shouldn't be wasted. Mousse was a great cook
also. 
  The village they grew up in were known produce excellent chefs and cooks. 
Shampoo's great-grandmother, Cologne, had taught her all that she knew about 
cooking, a family tradition to pass down recipes.
  "I plan on retiring from my job as a police officer," Mousse started,
taking another sip of his soda "As soon as Shampoo's pregnancy starts
showing, and she can't go on modeling, I'm going to quit, so I can take care 
of her. We're gonna take it easy. I've saved quite a lotta money over the 
years. We've been planning to open up our own restaurant"
  "Why would you quit?" Ranma asked, a bit confused "I thought you liked
your job"
  "I do like it," he replied, getting up an throwing the empty soda can into a 
nearby garbage can "but once the child arrives, I don't want to put my life at 
risk anymore. God forbid if I get hurt or killed in the line of duty. Who'll 
take care of Shampoo and the child?"
  Ranma knew what Mousse meant. He would have done the same thing himself.
He would never put himself in harm's way as long as his children needed him.
He knew that if, god forbid, something bad happened to him, his children
would be alone. Sure, Nodoka could take care of them, but she had already
did her share of child rearing. Now that Ranma was grown up, and no longer
living at home, she could finally do the things she always wanted to do
before she had a child. Besides, she was too old to be taking care of
children anyway. Shori might take care of them, but that was a chance he
wasn't going to take. Although she could bear children, Shori was not fit
for motherhood. There was Ukyo, but she already had a child that she had to
take care of. That only left....Akane.
  Mousse looked at his watch again "Ranma, I better get goin' now.
Shampoo'll have a hissy-fit if I'm not home one time. Whenever I'm late, she
starts thinking the worst, like my being shot. But then again, why would she
think that when she knows I have the weekend off. Well, you know how women
get. Anyway, we can always talk tomorrow morning"
  Ranma got up off his lawn chair as Mousse did his. They gave each other a 
handshake, a custom that Ranma wasn't too used to. But it was Mousse whom 
initiated it. In the village he grew up, shaking hands with someone was 
tantamount to bowing.
  "One more day, and we'll be finished with the house. I promise," Ranma said
as he walked with Mousse out of the garage and toward the front of the
house, stopping once they reached the sidewalk.
  "Don't worry about it," Mousse said, "I like doing house repairs. It
wouldn't bother me if we'd have to put in a new foundation. Sure, it'll take
a lot of time, but it wouldn't bother me at all. I like doing this kinda
stuff. Well, I best be goin' now. I'll see ya in the morning. Later"
  "Later," Ranma said, waving to Mousse as he walked off, disappearing as he
rounded a corner. Ranma stood there for several moments, enjoying the peace
and quiet.
  Ranma smiled to himself as he remembered seeing Ukyo and Ryoga together.
They looked really well as a couple. Also, Miki seemed to have taken a
fondness toward Ryoga, liking him more than Ranma. Even though he'd prefer
to raise Miki, Ranma knew that Ryoga would be perfect to raise her as a
father. They seemed to share similar personalities. For instance, both of
them were a bit quiet and shy. Ryoga also liked to read as much as Miki did.
He had explained that when he traveled, he'd read to keep himself from
getting bored. It turned out that Ryoga and Miki both liked the same kind
of books.
  Ranma turned around and headed back toward the garage. Inside, he folded
up the lawn chairs and placed them in the back of the garage, up on some
shelves. As he did that, he accidentally knocked over a cardboard box marked
'Ranma's stuff'. A photo album fell out of the book, flipping open to the
same picture Mousse had seen when he looked over Ranma's shoulder. He gave
the picture a glance before closing the book and putting it back into the
box and putting the box back on the shelf he had knocked it off of. He
felt like crying when he saw that picture. It brought back so many memories,
memories he wanted to forget, memories that haunted him.
  He turned around, taking a deep breath, calming himself. He exited the
garage, closing the garage door by pulling it down. He then looked at his
mom's house, noticing that it now looked totally different. All the shutters
had been replaced, and the entire roof had been reshingled. There were only
a few remaining things left to be attended to. The livingroom still needed
a window, which Ranma would buy tomorrow, and the house was only half
painted. Ryoga and Mousse had begun painting the house as soon as they were
finished with their task while Ranma had to clean up the mess he had caused
from creating that hole in the wall.
  Ranma was paying so much attention to how great a job that he hadn't
noticed Akane and his daughter walking up the driveway until Akane called
his name.
  "Hello Ranma,"



Chapter 25

     Ranma kissed Meggie on her forehead as he placed her in her bed, gently
tucking her in, making sure she wouldn't catch a cold that night. Akane did
the same thing with Jessie, also kissing her on her forehead. Ranma's
daughters were so adorable that she couldn't resist. She also kissed Meggie
on her forehead as Ranma did the same with Jessie. Once he was satisfied
that they were safely tucked in, Ranma exited his daughters bedroom, holding
the door open for Akane as she followed. He gently closed the door, making
sure he wouldn't wake them from the noise.
  He headed downstairs, Akane following suit. Once downstairs, Ranma headed
for the kitchen as Akane sat down in one of the lush sofas in the
well-furnished livingroom. As she sat there, she carefully took in her
surroundings. She was at Ranma's house. When she had arrived at Nodoka's
house with the twins, the two little girls were practically asleep. Ranma
and Akane ended up carrying the twins back to Ranma's house when Akane found
out there was no way for the twins to sleep at Nodoka's house due to the
potent paint fumes.
  Akane continued to take in her surroundings. The livingroom was very vast,
even having room for a fireplace. The fireplace looked like it had been used
often. 
  On the mantle above it, she noticed several picture frames. Even though she 
was sitting on the sofa, she knew that they were pictures of Ranma and his 
daughters. Akane couldn't help but smile when she noticed how content Ranma 
looked in the pictures with them.
  She gazed around the room. The room looked very modern, unlike her own
house. There were several plants in the corners, hanging from the ceiling,
that gave the room a comfortable feel to it. There was a entertainment
system near the front of the room, right next to the large alcove of
windows. It looked like a family man's livingroom, not a livingroom
belonging to someone single. There was a grand piano in the far corner of the
room. The piano looked magnificent. She could see the ivory keys glistening
in the moonlight that shone through the window.
  Ranma noticed that Akane was paying particular attention to the piano when
he entered the livingroom. He gracefully walked over to it, sitting down on
the bench in front of it, giving Akane a look before turning his gaze back
onto the piano.
  "Would you like to hear a song?" he said softly.
  Akane nodded.
  Ranma took a deep breath, and then struck several keys, sending a beautiful 
chord reverberating through the room. He then slowly started playing, his 
hands gracefully moving up and down the scale of keys, striking both the white 
and black ones. The song was soft, heartfelt, serene. Akane listened as he 
played the song slowly, playing with his heart when he struck the keys. The 
song had this saddening quality, as if it sounded like the grief in his heart. 
It was slow and melodious.
  Ranma closed his eyes as he felt the keys through his fingertips, no
longer concentrating on the song, but rather enjoying the beautiful music.
It looked as if he were playing the song through his heart, not through his
fingers. He was playing whatever that came into mind, improvising as he went
along. The air was filled with gentle notes, every note flowing perfectly
into the next note. Ranma's left hand was playing the chords, moving up and
down the scale of keys while his other hand played the beautiful melody, a
melody Akane knew she would never forget. The song was so filled with
sadness that it tugged at Akane's heartstrings. She knew he was playing
with his heart. She knew he was playing as he went along. It seemed playing
the piano was a way of him expressing his sadness, as if he were a poet
expressing his feeling through a song.
  Akane sat there, spellbound as she listened to the music, feeling this
heavy feeling in her heart, like she was about to cry. She gently wiped a
tear forming around her eye. She could listen to him play forever, listen to
him expressing the pain in his heart.
  The song continued for several pleasure-filled minutes before Ranma could
no longer play, his wrist bothering him too much. He slowly ended the song,
hiding the pain in his wrist, by coming to a conclusion in the song.
  "That was beautiful," Akane said, knowing that she would forever remember
the song in her heart, never forgetting it even if Ranma would never be able
to produce that song again.
  "Thank you," Ranma said, turning his attention to Akane as he gently closed 
a panel over the ivory keys. He was grateful that Akane couldn't see his 
finger because they were now twitching from the pain. He ignored it, used to 
the pain.
  "How long have you played?" she asked, the song still fresh in her memory.
She could almost feel the song in her heart. 
  "I've played ever since I was little," he replied, rubbing one of his wrists 
"I had to stop because my wrist started hurting me" He never bothered to tell 
her about how his wrist became like that.
  "Would you like some coffee?" Ranma added, changing the subject, getting up
from his bench "It should be ready in a little while"
  "Sure," Akane said. She knew he was hiding something by changing the
subject so abruptly. She wanted to ask him why his wrist would bother him,
but she didn't want to seem nosy to him. How could she want to know
everything about Ranma yet not seem nosy? There was no way she could get
around that. The best way to deal with it was with patience. Eventually,
Ranma would tell her more about himself, let her in on his past. She shifted
her gaze out the window. Ranma's house gave a prefect view of the night sky.
The sky wasn't blocked by towering buildings like Akane's place was. She
could only see the stars from one side of her house, unlike Ranma's, where
she could see them from all sides.
  Ranma sat down next to her, the lush sofa sagging to the contour of his
body. He sat right next to her, his gaze out toward the stars. It was
strange that he chose to sit right next to her when the sofa was large
enough for five or so people to sit on with room to spare. Akane could feel
the side of her leg pressing against the side of his. She could feel his
loving warmth. Her thighs felt like they were on fire.
  "Don't you love looking at the stars?" he said, his voice soft. He always
liked to look up at the stars. When he was young, he seemed to always find
peace in gazing up at them. Those stars were what got him through those
troublesome times after Ukyo had moved. He felt so alone when she had left,
but looking up at the star made him no longer feel like he was alone. He
turned his gaze from the stars, resting them on Akane. He was so close to
her that he could smell her perfume. He didn't know why she needed to put on
perfume when all she was doing was taking the twins home, but he sure liked
the smell of it. His nose tingled from her intoxicating fragrance.
  Akane nodded to Ranma's question. She, too, loved looking at the stars. It
reminded her of her late-mother. Her mother had taught her the
constellations, made her fascinated in astronomy. She used to sit in her
mother's lap outside in the backyard, her gaze up at the stars.
  "You see that?" her mom had said, pointing up toward a brightly twinkling
star that seemed to show up at the same spot every night. All the other
stars and constellations seemed to show up in different locations. Sometimes,
they never showed up at all.
  "You mean that very bright star?" Akane had said, pointing her chubby
little finger.
  "That's the north star," her mom had said, "That star stays fixed in the
sky while all the other stars seem to revolve around it"
  Akane smiled to herself as she remembered that night. She must have been
no older than four at the time. She could clearly remember that night as if
it were yesterday.
  "What're you smiling about?" Ranma asked. He noticed Akane smile when she 
was looking up at the stars, as if she found something pleasant about looking 
up at them. He would like to know. 
  "Looking up at the stars bring back memories," Akane commented, leaning back 
on the sofa. She didn't know why she did it, but she somehow leaned up against 
him. Her head wasn't necessarily resting up against his shoulder, but it 
looked like it was about to. She seemed a bit mellow that night. Maybe it
was because she no longer felt threatened by Ukyo taking Ranma away from her 
anymore. Afterall, she had told her that she was interested in Ryoga. That 
left Ranma free for herself.
  Ranma could feel his heart speeding up when Akane leaned up against him.
He could feel her warmth, and it made his body burn with desire. He wanted to 
take her into his arms and hold her forever, but he couldn't. He figured Akane 
was unaware of what she was doing, that she didn't really mean to lean up 
against him.
  "Akane," Ranma said softly, the only noise in the quiet room. His voice
sounded husky, very masculine.
  "Yes, Ranma?" she said, not paying much attention to anything. She was
enjoying the closeness. She cherished it. It felt like she was enveloped in
a warm blanket, all snuggled up and comfortable. She could feel Ranma's hot
breath on the side of her face with every breath he took.
  "About last night," he started, thinking of the right words to say. He
wanted to ask her what that kiss meant to her last night, if it meant
anything. He knew he was never going to forget it, but he wanted to know if
she would too. That kiss felt like nothing he had ever felt before.
  Akane could feel her heart skip a beat when he mentioned about last night.
She wondered what he thought about that kiss, about how it meant to him. She
wondered if that kiss was a casual kiss to him, because it sure didn't for
her. She had never been kissed like that in her life. His lips felt very
passionate on hers, as if he desired her, lusted for her.
  Ranma looked into Akane's eyes as she looked into his, their gaze locking
in on one another, shutting the rest of the world out. Akane's eyes showed
this burning fire in them while Ranma's eyes had this almost liquid look to
it, as if he were about to cry. But despite that, his eyes looked warm and
comforting.
  Ranma opened his mouth, but his words never came out. His mouth felt dry.
"Um...I better get the coffee," he ended up saying. He couldn't bring up the
incident. He was too embarrassed about it. He felt like less of a man for
having pulled away from her when she opened herself up to him. He had felt
insecure about himself, self-conscious about himself, scared of himself. He
didn't want Akane to see that part of him, that insecure part of him. He had
always been insecure of his scarred body, and it proved just how insecure he
was about it when he shattered that moment they had together last night when
he pulled away like a frightened little boy. Even so, he was sure that that 
kiss they shared would be something he would remember forever, a kiss that was 
probably a casual kiss for Akane he figured.
  Ranma quickly got up and headed for the kitchen.
  "Is it all right if I start a fire in the fireplace?" Akane asked. She knew 
he was about to say something about last night, about what he thought about 
that kiss. She didn't want to rush him. If he didn't feel it was the
right time to talk about it, then she wasn't going to rush him. She figured 
that if she started a fire, it would create a warmer and more comfortable 
atmosphere in the livingroom. Maybe then he would open up.
  She walked over to the fireplace, picking up a box of matches that were on 
the mantle above it. She struck a match, applied it to the tinder and watched 
the flames spread to the kindling and then to the logs. The shadows caused 
from the flames danced up against the walls of the livingroom as the flames 
crackled gently. She picked up an iron rod that was at the edge of the 
fireplace, using it to stoke the fire for several moments.
  Ranma came back into the livingroom, handing her a cup of coffee. He sat
down the same spot he was before on the sofa, sipping his coffee. He noticed
that Akane was now looking at the pictures that were on the mantle "Don't
look at those pictures, I look horrible in them"
  Akane smiled to herself, grateful that her back was to him. In every
picture, Ranma looked extremely handsome, as if the camera loved him. There
was one other thing she noticed about the picture, that, albeit smiling,
Ranma didn't look happy. It looked like something was missing from his life.
He looked almost sad. His smiled looked forced.
  She took her time as she looked through every picture. In every picture,
the twins seemed to get older and older. In the first picture she looked at
was of him holding the twins. The twins looked like they were right from the
maternity ward. He looked like a teenager in that picture. A bit further
down the row of pictures, the twins looked like they were around three,
Ranma in the background watching over them as they tried to kick a ball. The
last picture was a about a year old. It looked like it had been taken at a
graveyard. 
  In that picture, Ranma was standing before a tombstone, looking as if he was 
on the verge of crying. Although she couldn't discern the name on the grave, 
Akane knew it must have been his father's grave. It seemed that he still had 
feeling for his late-father. She couldn't quite understand why he would even 
come close to shedding tears for him after all the terrible things his father 
had done to him. 
  Ranma was finished with his cup of coffee by the time Akane was finished
with looking over all the pictures on the mantle. He got up and walked up to
her "I going to get another cup. You want another one?" It was useless of him
to ask. She had barely took a sip of the cup she was holding.
  "No thank you," she said.
  Ranma walked off into the kitchen to get another cup of coffee, leaving
Akane alone to organize her thoughts. She wanted to ask him about last
night, but she didn't want to pressure him. She wanted to know now what he
thought about that kiss, but she didn't want to bring up the incident.
Clearly, Ranma seemed a bit nervous about talking about it.
  She looked down at the fire, noticing that she hadn't taken out the iron
rod. She gripped the rubber handle and pulled it out of the fire. The bar
was glowing red. It had been in the fire too long.
  Just at the moment, Ranma entered the livingroom. As soon as he caught
sight of the glowing rod, he panicked. He dropped his cup of coffee, the
glass shattering on the floor, coffee splattering everywhere.
  Akane looked at Ranma, noticing how pale he had just gotten. It looked
like all the blood had been drained from his body. His face was pale, his
lips colorless and ashen. He looked clearly disturbed.
  "Are you okay?" Akane asked, taking a step toward him, the glowing rod in
her hands.
  "Get the away from me!" he said, retreating, slipping on the coffee,
falling backwards on his backside. From her he scooted backwards as she
took another step. There was a look of terror in his eyes. She had never
seen him so scared in his life. She had never seen someone so scared in her
life. He looked like a little boy as he huddled backwards.
  Akane noticed that Ranma's gaze was intent on the glowing rod. She looked
at it for a second before realizing what she was holding. She quickly placed
it back on the hold, careful not to touch anything with it. When she turned
back to face him Ranma seemed a bit more relax. He just sat there, in the
puddle of coffee, staring blankly at Akane. His eyes were fixed toward her,
but he didn't look like he was looking directly at her. It seemed as if he
was looking through her and seeing someone else. But that only lasted for a
split second. But that moment she saw of Ranma would forever be etched into
her mind. All of Ranma's defenses had fallen down at that particular
instant, leaving him more vulnerable than a newborn baby. No matter how
painful it was for him, he had always managed to have some form of defense
against the onslaught of emotions and pains that threatened to tear him
apart. But that one moment, that split second, Ranma had lost all awareness
of his surroundings and the pain seemed to have finally overwhelmed him.
When she had seen that, she just wanted to reach out and take hold of him,
embrace him. But it looked like he didn't want it.
  Ranma got up off the floor, his pants stained with coffee, regaining what
little composure he had left. He looked over at the rod, it no longer
glowing, it having cooled down slightly cool air in the room. The glowing
rod was what had scared him so much. When he saw that rod, memories of his
father came flooding back into his mind, overwhelming him. Though Akane was
holding the piece of iron, Ranma thought it was his father holding it. His
father's image seemed superimposed over Akane's at that brief moment. He had
felt like a little boy again, defenseless, vulnerable, too scared to run
away.
  "Sorry," he said, not really looking directly at Akane. He felt ashamed for
what he had done. He felt ashamed for becoming so vulnerable. He wished
Akane hadn't seen him like that.
  "Are you okay?" she asked, concern in her voice. She wondered what had
happened, what had caused him to become so vulnerable for that brief moment
in time. She followed his gaze onto the rod, realizing that it had something
to do with it. But what could it mean?
  "I-I'll be okay," Ranma stuttered, still feeling the rapid heartbeat in his
chest "I'm sorry about that. When I saw  you holding that glowing rod, I
thought you were my father"
  "What do you mean?" Akane asked, a bit confused. She gave a some thought
for a moment before realizing what he was implementing. Her fists clenched
upon the thought that his father had done such a terrible act of inhumanity.
  "That's how I got the scar on my chest," Ranma started, taking a deep
breath. He wasn't used to talking about his past, but he knew he shouldn't
keep it all bottled up on the inside "My father once heated a metal pipe up
till it glowed bright red. I didn't know why he did it, but he hit me with
it. The pipe burned me all the way to my ribs" He touched the scar through
his shirt, noticing how painful it felt on the inside. The scar had healed,
but the pain in his heart never did. It pained him to wonder why his father
could have done something like that to his only son.
  Akane listened intently as he told her of everything, "The scars on my back 
was from one of those three-pronged hoes that's used to break the soil. I was 
out in the garden on day, playing. I must have been six or seven at the time. 
I guess I didn't hear my father calling me in, because the next thing I knew, 
he was outside standing next to me, holding a hoe. The next thing I remember 
was feeling my back catch on fire from the pain as he slashed it across my 
back"
  Akane seemed to wince when made a sideways slashing mark with his arms,
acting out how his father had slashed him. She could almost feel the pain
Ranma had gone through. And the thought that he had to carry that horrible
memory all his life made her want to cry.
  A tear started forming around her eye, "I-I'm so sorry to hear that"
  Ranma wiped the tear from her eye with his finger before it fell down the
side of her cheek "Please don't cry. There's no need to cry for me" He felt
a bit flattered that someone would actually shed tears for him, for the
pains he suffered through. He always thought that he didn't deserved to be
cried over, that his life was useless. But it had all changed when he had
children. His daughters seemed to have given meaning to his life. He knew
that if he were to ever shed tears, it would be for his daughters, not
himself.
  Ranma looked down at his coffee-stained pants. There were also some stains
on his shirt "I better go take a shower and get out of these clothes" He
wanted to change the subject. He didn't really like to talk about his past,
no matter how good he felt afterwards. He didn't like bringing up old
memories that he preferred to have forgotten.
  Akane watched as Ranma headed upstairs, coming back down within a minute,
a pair of clean clothes thrown over his shoulder. As he walked by her, he
spoke "I'll be out in about ten minutes. Just make yourself at home," He then
headed off into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
  Akane didn't hear the lock on the door click, meaning he was going to
leave his bathroom door unlocked. She could feel color flushing into her
cheeks when she realized that the only thing that separated her from Ranma
was a single door, which he happened to have left unlocked. Did he purposely
leave it unlocked because he wanted Akane to join him? Did he want her to
walk in on him?
  She decided that it was best she distract herself until he was finished.
She walked over into the kitchen, deciding that she wanted to find something
to snack on. When she walked into the kitchen, she felt tiny in comparison
to the vast size of the room. The ceiling, which had a skylight, looked like
it was over twenty feet up. Everything in the kitchen, including most its
appliances, was the color white. The only other color that noticeable in the
room was the color black, which was the color of the refrigerator. The
whiteness of the kitchen seemed to match Ranma's heart, pure. White gave the
impression of innocence and purity, which seemed perfect for Ranma.
  She walked over to the fringe, smiling to herself upon noticing the
pictures that the twins had made that were taped to the fringe door.
Although she wasn't adept in drawing, she knew, through those pictures, that
the twins were very talented in drawing. For mere seven-year olds, they drew
like artisans. The pictures seemed to portray how they viewed their Daddy.
Meggie's pictured showed of Ranma looking happy. But there was this slight
difference in the way she drew him smiling. The outside of his eye brows
were angled downward, making him look like she was giving Ranma this a sad
smile. The other picture had a picture of Ranma looking out toward the person 
viewing the picture,
a single tear flowing from his eye. When Akane had saw that picture, she 
reached a hand out and touched the picture, touching the tear. It was as if 
she was wiping his tear away. That picture had been drawn by Meggie. She 
seemed to have noticed Ranma looked like he was always about to cry, and she 
was portraying the tears he wanted to shed through her picture of him.
  Akane could feel the pictures tugging at her heart. She wished she had 
pictures like these to put on her own refrigerator door. She wanted to have 
pictures too. She shook her head, fighting back the tears that were 
threatening to overwhelm her. She open the fridge door, hoping to find 
something to eat.
  She immediately found something that seemed appetizing. She took hold of
a packet of bologna and ham, closing the door behind her as she carried the
items to the counter. She then started checking the cupboards for some
bread, finding it within moments. She made herself a ham and bologna
sandwich, putting the contents back into its rightful place once she
finished.
  At that moment, the phone rang, causing Akane to start. She was about to
go tell Ranma that the phone was ringing, but she realized that she'd have
to go into the room if she wanted him to hear her. The hissing of his shower
was too loud, most likely muffling the noise if she were to knock on his
door.
  She figured it was best that she took the message for him rather than
intrude in on his shower, which she wouldn't have minded doing, except the
embarrassment factor for the both of them preventing her.
  Akane picked up the phone "Hello? Saotome residence"
  "Is Ranma there?" came a voice on the other end, a very feminine voice.
The voice sounded sultry and very seductive. She noticed that there was
someone in the background, a child. No. Two children. They were both crying.
  Akane could feel despair descending upon her like a ton of bricks, causing
her to feel this dread in her heart. Who's this woman on the other line,
Akane though. Why is she calling for Ranma? Why does she want Ranma?
  She took in a deep breath before speaking "Um, he's in the shower now. Can
I take a message?" She pulled out a couple of drawers, hoping to find a
notepad and pen in one of them. She found on after opening the second
drawer.
  "Please do," the voice said, "Please tell him Kodachi called. And please 
tell him I need him"
  She needs him, Akane though, her grip tightening on the phone received,
her knuckles turning white. What did she mean by that? What does she mean
by 'Please tell him I need him'? She could feel anger welting up inside,
anger at herself for actually believing that she could possibly have Ranma.
Surely, there must have been hundreds of women in his life. He was
definitely a great catch. There was no doubt about it. But why was she
trying to snag him like everyone else? Did she consider him a trophy? No.
She considered him more than that. She considered him to be the most caring
and loving person in her life. Surely, there was no way she could ever be
with a man like him, and she was angry at herself for believing she could
have.
  She took a deep breath, calming herself. She had to convince herself that
she would never have a man like him. In the end, she knew she would get
hurt, which was what she felt now, hurt. She was hurt to realize that she
wasn't the only woman in his life. She had naively believed that Ukyo had
been the only other woman in his life. She was living in a dream.
  "Can you please tell Ranma to call me when he gets out?" the Kodachi said.
Her voice sounded shaky. But despite that, it also sounded yearning and in
wanting of him. Akane could hear the lust in her voice when she said Ranma's
name.
  "Does he have your number?" Akane said, trying to keep herself
professional. She was trying to hide her feelings by keeping her voice in
a soft yet monotone voice.
  Akane ended up jotting down Kodachi's phone number on the notepad she had
found. After she repeated it over the phone to confirm that she had jotted
it down correctly, she hung up. Actually, Kodachi hung up, and she seemed 
preoccupied as she hung up. Akane just stood there, listening to the
dial tone that followed a few seconds after. It seemed she, too, was
preoccupied.
  Akane looked at the phone number as she placed the receiver back in its
place. She wanted to rip the paper up and throw it away, hoping he would
never hear from that woman again. But she wasn't that kind of person. She
knew she would give it to him, no matter how painful it would be for her
when his face would light upon realizing that one of his many women had
called to be with him, needing him.
  She placed the notepad on the counter, heading for the front door. She
didn't want to be in Ranma's house anymore. She had this real queasy feeling
in her stomach, a feeling that emerged when she had picked up that phone
receiver and heard that sultry voice on the other end.
  "Hey, Akane, where're ya goin'?" Ranma called out, noticing Akane heading
for the front door as he came out of the bathroom, all the while toweling
his damp hair dry. He was wearing a tank-top and some sweat pants. Akane
noticed that he looked incredibly virile, his muscles glistening in the
moonlight. The sight took Akane's breath away.
  "I-I have to get going now," she said, knowing that if she stayed any longer 
with him, she would go mad with desire. The voice echoing in her head was the 
only thing that kept her from running into his arms. She didn't want to get 
hurt. She made sure her back was turned to him, for there were tears forming 
around her eyelids.
  "Are ya sure?" he said in a soft voice, unsuspecting of the phonecall he had 
received, and that Akane had taken a message for "I was hoping you would stay 
a little longer" He liked having her for company.
  "Y-you do?" she said, her back still toward Ranma. She quickly wiped the
tear away with the back of her hand. She could hear the sincerity in his
words. She, too, wanted to stay longer, but she couldn't. She knew it would
be too awkward for her to be around him, she now knowing of Ranma's other
supposed lovers. She didn't want to be one of his lover. If she were to be
his lover, she wanted to be his only lover.
  At that moment, the phone rang.
  "Just wait here for a second," Ranma said, heading toward the livingroom to 
pick up the phone. Akane didn't know what to do. She wanted to leave, but she 
also wanted to stay. She just stood there for a second before deciding she 
wanted to stay. She walked into the livingroom as Ranma picked up the phone.
  "Hello?" Ranma said, using one hand to hold the receiver while the other was 
still toweling his hair dry. Akane listened intently to Ranma's words, 
wondering if it was the Kodachi lady again.
  Even though the livingroom was dark, except for the faint light the
fireplace was producing, Akane noticed Ranma's face turn to shock. She could
hear the shakiness in his voice as he said "Uh huh. I'll be right there"
  He hung up the phone, turning his attention to Akane, fright in his eyes.
It looked like he had aged a couple of years over those few seconds he was
on the phone "Akane, we have to go to Mizunkan Hospital"
  "H-hospital? Why?" she asked. She didn't know what was going on. But she
did know something was terribly wrong simply by the expression on his face.
Some thing was definitely wrong.
  "Ryoga's hurt," Ranma said, heading upstairs to put some more suitable
clothes on, Akane following suit. She stood in front of his bedroom door as
he quickly went into his room, taking his tank-top off. There's was no time
to worry about how he looked without his shirt. His friend was hurt, and
that was the only thing that mattered.
  Akane blushed when she saw him take off his shirt. Even though three scars
crossed his entire back, his back was muscled and defined. His back was
turned to her. She then saw him take off his sweat pants, revealing nothing
but his boxers. She quickly turned around, a bit embarrassed at what she
had seen. She was now aware that Ranma would be totally naked if he wasn't
wearing that pair of boxers.
  She heard his closet door open, and then him shuffling to put some clothes
on. After a few moments, Ranma, now fully dressed, placed a hand on her
shoulder "I'm ready, let's get going"
  Akane then realized that Jessie and Meggie were asleep in the room
next to Ranma's "Um, what about your kids?"
  Ranma was halfway down the stairs when he replied "My neighbor will watch
over them" 
  Ranma's neighbor was an elderly lady of around fifty. Her two children were 
now all grown up, and they were living in their own homes now. Her husband had 
died several years ago of cancer, leaving her all alone.
When Ranma had moved into the house next door to her, bring with him two 
daughter, her life seemed to be no longer lonesome. 
  She sometimes took care of Ranma's girls whenever he had to go somewhere. 
Most of the time, Nodoka would take care of them, but every so often, he 
figured she needed a break, and he would drop his kids off at his neighbor's 
house. His neighbor loved his daughters. They brought happiness back into her 
life. Her children, although living on their own now, were still young, around 
their early twenties. They were too young to have kids, meaning she would have 
to wait for sometime before she would be a grandmother. In a way, she 
vicariously lived being a grandmother through Ranma's daughters. She treated 
Jessie and
Meggie as if they were her own grandchildren.
  Akane was standing next to Ranma as he knocked on his neighbor's house.
Within moments, and elderly lady answered the door. Akane regarded her for a
second. She had long gray hair, which was in a bun, and was as short as
herself. There were a lot of lines around the edge of her mouth and her eyes,
giving her the appearance that she was older than she really was.
  "Hello, Ranma," the elderly lady said, smiling warmly. She always liked it 
when Ranma would stop by her house. He used to do that often, but not that 
anymore.
  "Hello, Miako-san" Ranma said, bowing to the elderly lady. He hadn't seen
her in a while now. She looked like she had gotten older over the months
they hadn't seen each other. Maybe it was because his children was what
kept her feeling young.
  "What brings you here today?" she said in a low, soft voice. She seemed to
perk up at the thought of seeing Ranma again after all these months.
  "I have to go somewhere important," he said "can you please watch over my
kids for a little while? I'll be back in a short time"
  "Sure," she said rather zealously "I'd love to. Take your time"
  Miako-san reached an wrinkled hand out and took hold of the house keys
Ranma handed to her. Ranma bowed to her, Akane doing the same out of
politeness, and they left, heading for the hospital.
  Miako-san smiled warmly to herself, nodding, having realized how lovely a
couple Ranma and the girl next to him made "It must have been over five
years since I saw him with a girl. It's about time that boy started dating
again"