Chapter 31

     "Hello, Akane," Kuno said as he entered the dojo, his sons to either
side of him. Both boys looked alike that they could probably be mistaken for
twins "I brought my two boys just like you asked"
  "I wasn't expecting to see you so soon. The children's class doesn't start
for another half hour," Akane said, looking at her watch. It was just a
little past three now, meaning Ranma should be on his way back after picking
the girls up at school on his way back from the hospital. She didn't want
Ranma to get the wrong idea if he walked in and saw her and Kuno. Although
she could easily explain that he had come here a bit early for his sons'
first day of martial arts, it still wouldn't look good since he was aware
that she and Kuno went to school together. Also, who knew what Kuno might
say above that.
  "I know, they seemed eager to get here," Kuno lied. Actually, he was the
one who had been eager. He practically had to drag his sons here. He had
told them that he was interested in Akane, and that seemed to have made them
agree since the prospect of having a new mother made it worthwhile if it
turned out all right.
  "Just wait one second," Akane said as she entered her dojo. She came back 
within moments, two pairs of dogis in her hands. She happily handed then to 
the two boys "Here you go. The lockerroom's over there. If you need any help, 
just ask"
  "Thanks," they said in unison as they bowed toward her. The two boys
nodded and smiled at Akane before they headed toward the lockerroom 
  "They're very well-mannered," she commented as she watched them disappear
into the lockerroom. They reminded her of Ranma's girls. She turned to face
Kuno "Don't worry about them, they'll be all right. You can come by to pick
them up in an hour and a half"
  "But I would like to stay," he said, "I'd like to stay here with you"
  Akane blushed, "Um, I'm flattered to hear that, but there's no need" She
wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible. She didn't want Ranma walking
in on her. She didn't want Ranma to get the wrong idea.
  "Are you trying to get rid of me?" Kuno said softly, this hurt in his
husky voice. He still had feelings for her, and it hurt to realize that she
wanted to get rid of me.
  "Well, no. I didn't mean it that way," Akane said, trying to come up with
a plausible excuse, coming up with nothing. She did want him to leave, but
she didn't want to hurt his feeling in the process. She still cared for him,
but only as a friend "I-it's just that I know you're busy, what with all
those chains of equipment store you have, and I don't want to keep you
from doing your job" 
  It was a pathetic excuse. She knew Kuno didn't really have to worry much 
about his stores since they were self-sufficient. 
  Kuno took a deep breath. It was now or never "Akane, would you like to
have dinner with me?"
  "What?" Akane asked. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. It took
Kuno several years to come up with enough nerve to ask her out when they
went to school together, and now he asks her out only a few hours since they
last saw each other. He had changed over the years.
  "I was wondering, would you like to go to dinner with me?" he repeated.
He could feel his heart beating rapidly. His hands were sweaty. It felt like
he was asking Akane out for the very first time again. He knew that Akane
never shared the same feelings he had toward her, but he figured that
things changed, that she might have changed and would give him another
chance. When she just stood there, saying nothing, he spoke up "Well, Akane,
how about it? For old times sake"
  "I-I can't," she said, truly feeling guilty. She felt guilty for declining
Kuno's offer to a man she had no idea if he was attracted to her "S-sorry,"
She looked down toward the floormat of the dojo, unable to look Kuno in the
eyes.
  "W-why not?" he said, "Are you seeing someone now?" He clenched his jaw.
Was she seeing that man he encountered earlier, had saw her with when she
entered the store for some bokkens for the dojo?
  "Well, no," Akane said, feeling like she was being backed into a corner.
There was no way she could say 'yes' because she and Ranma, indeed, weren't
going out together. They spent time together, but they weren't going out
together.
  "So why don't you want to go out with me?" Kuno asked. He really wanted to
spend some time with her. He wanted to not only be near her but wanted to
catch up on the good old times. He wanted to know how she had been over the
years.
  Akane didn't say anything. There was no reason for her to decline. She
couldn't tell him that she was waiting for someone to ask her out, even if
she wasn't sure if he was attracted to her. She didn't want to hurt his
feelings. She secretly wished she was seeing Ranma, so she could decline
Kuno's offer without feeling guilty. But since she wasn't, there was no way
around it.
  "C'mon. I'd really like to spend some time with you," he continued. He
really wanted spend some time with her, and he wasn't about to give up, at
least not yet "We haven't seen each other in years. C'mon, for old times
sake"
  Akane had no way out, "All right. I'll go" She sighed. There had been no 
other way out except hurting Kuno's feelings, and she wasn't about to do that.
  "Great. How about I pick you up at 8pm on Friday?" he asked.
  Akane remembered the dinner Ranma had asked her out to as a way of thanks
for buying Meggie and Jessie some new clothes. They were expected to go to
dinner together with the girls on either a Friday or Saturday since the
girls shouldn't be staying out late on the weekdays because they would have
school the morning after "No, I-I'm very busy on Friday, and Saturday for
that matter. How about Sunday?" The weekends were Ranma's day off. Surely
he would spend it with his daughters, meaning she wouldn't have to worry
about having him around.
  "Okay, Sunday it is. I'll see you then," Kuno said. He turned around to
leave. He didn't want to stay any longer than he already had. There was no
real reason for him to stay. Besides, he didn't want her to have second
thoughts on the date and tell him about it while he since he was there.
  Before he left, he tuned back around and looked Akane in his eyes. Should he 
do it? Was she expecting it? Would she back away? Kuno swallowed the lump in 
his throat and leaned forward, kissing Akane fully on her lips. 
  Akane's eyes widened as she stood there, Kuno's warm lips on hers. She had
never expected him to do what he had done. He never had the nerve to kiss.
Not until they were going out for a while. After so many years, he was
kissing her like they had never been apart.
  "Goodbye, Akane," he said as he pulled his lips before she could react. He
turned around and left, leaving Akane standing there in absolute shock and
bewilderment.
  Ranma entered the dojo a few minutes later, carrying his daughters in the
crook of his arms. They were both squeaking in amusement as they went along
on the ride. He swung them around in a circle before putting them back
down.
  "C'mon, Daddy, do it again," the twins squealed in delight.
  "Daddy's tired," Ranma said, sitting down on a nearby bench that was near 
the back of the dojo. He looked over at Akane and smiled a bit. Akane could 
feel a wave of relief wash over her as she realized that Ranma hadn't seen 
Kuno kiss her a short moment ago. She wondered if he had seen Kuno when he 
left.
  "You go on into the house and make yourself busy," their Daddy told them. 
The twins obediently obeyed and ran out of the dojo, heading into the house. 
When they were gone, Ranma sighed this defeated look in his eyes. 
  "Is something wrong?" Akane asked. She didn't want to dwell on her fears
that Ranma had seen her with Kuno. It looked like he never saw. That seemed
to make her feel a bit guilty. Didn't he have a right to know? But then
again, it wasn't like they were seeing each other.
  "What am I going to do?" Ranma said. It looked like he was thinking out loud 
rather than telling her his problem. He was looking down at the floor, his 
face in his hands. His bangs fell over his eyes as he looked down. It gave him 
this almost child-like look.
  "Do about what? What happened?" she asked. She was about to sit next to
him, but it was better to stand since she didn't know if she wanted her
sitting next to him.
  "I completely forgot about it. The school's having an open house tomorrow.
I'm supposed to go there with Meggie and Jessie to talk to the teachers on
how my daughters are doing" he said, "I'll be the only single parent there.
All the other children are gonna see that, and you know how they could be
with the teasing"
  Akane knew what he meant. She had to go through that at her own school
when she was young. When Soun was the only parent to attend, and all the
children saw that, they teased her for many years to come. Children could
be so cruel.
  "Well, if it'll make you feel any better, I can always go with you and
your daughters" Akane suggested, "That way, the children won't tease them
because they'll think, um, that...I'm their mother"
  Ranma thought about it for a second. The thought had crossed his mind
earlier. If Akane was going as Meggie and Jessie's mother, then that meant
the other families would think that he and Akane were...married. Sure, the
thought seemed nice, but what would happen if the families started talking,
and the news reached...Kuno. That could break Akane and Kuno's relationship
up. Although it was tempting, he didn't want that to happen.
  "No, you better not," Ranma said, "I don't want to get you involved"
  "Then what are you going to do?" she asked. She was more than willing to 
participate in this. She wouldn't mind being spending some more time with 
Ranma and his daughters above the time she was going to spend with them today. 
The thought that people might consider her Ranma's wife had crossed her mind, 
and it gave her a warm feeling. She wouldn't mind being mother, even if Meggie 
and Jessie weren't her own.
  "I don't know," he said.
  Akane could feel this sad feeling hit her as she her his words but she had 
to ask "How about Ukyo? Maybe she could go with you" Although Ukyo had told 
her that Ranma only considered her a friend, Akane still felt threatened by 
the relationship those two shared. It seemed like their friendship could 
sprout into something more if they pursued it.
  "No. I want her to go with Ryoga," Ranma said, "I found out the hospital was 
going to release him later tonight. They'll most likely go with one another, 
which is good"
  "I'll go along," Akane said, "I don't mind" Actually she really wanted to
go. It was like killing two birds with one stone. Not only would she be with
Meggie and Jessie, but she would also be with Ranma "I've been through that.
My father took me to one of those open houses. Everyone started teasing me
the very next day. It's not fun I must add"
  Ranma said nothing. He didn't really know what to say. Akane seemed a bit
eager to go. It was probably because of the children, not him. But is was
all good. His children liked her as much as she liked them, and nothing much
else mattered to him. At least that was what he told himself. Deep down
inside, he wished she was attracted to him every bit as much as he was
attracted her.
  "Okay," he said, "I'll go tell the girls. They'll be thrilled"
  Akane let out a breath once Ranma left. She was grateful that he hadn't
seen what had transpired a few minutes before he entered the dojo. He would
had gotten quite an eyeful.
  She wondered if what she said was all right. She wondered if she could 
survive spending the evening with Ranma and his girls. They would be together, 
viewed as a family. It was very different from spending time with them now.
  "What am I going to do?" she said to herself as she sat down on the bench. 
She felt guilty for not having told Ranma about what Kuno had done. But there 
was something that kept her back. She was scared that Ranma wouldn't mind her 
and Kuno going out to dinner. But then again, it wasn't like she had to tell 
Ranma about it. It wasn't like they were seeing each other. Sadly, she wished 
she hadn't thought of it that way. She wished there was another reason, like 
Ranma getting jealous. But why should he. He never once showed the slightest 
discomfort when Kuno had showed up and he had to go fetch her in the house.
  "Do what?" a little boy sat next to her on the bench. He was dressed in a
dogi. It was one of Kuno's sons. His other son, the elder on, was on the mat,
looking over at the trophies Akane had won in tournaments.
  "Oh, you're all dressed, Yukaso," Akane said, quickly changing the
subject "Are you and your brother ready for practice?" She had to keep
herself busy. She didn't want to worry about it.
  "Yes," 
  
  Ranma gazed out the window as the rain gently fell. It was very late, the
sun having set several hours ago. The living room was deathly silent, save
for the snoozing piglet in Akane's arms. Akane was sitting on the couch, her
gaze on nothing in particular. Actually, she was trying to keep her gaze away
from Ranma.
  "Man, I don't think it's ever going to slow down," Ranma said, his husky 
voice breaking the uncomfortable silence that had set in. I don't know how I'm 
going be able to get them home in this kinda weather" He had no idea how he 
would be able to get his girls home without getting them wet. He had no 
problem carrying the two of them while they slept, but there was no way he 
could avoid the rain.
  "They could stay here," Akane said, getting up and putting the piglet in his 
cage. She then picked up the cage and went to the basement, returning within 
moments. She didn't want the twins to see the piglet until their birthday.
  "Yeah, if it was on a weekend, I'd have no problem. But they have school
tomorrow" Ranma said, his voice serious. He was concerned for his daughters.
"I wasn't expecting them to stay here overnight. I didn't bring along any
clothes for them to wear tomorrow"
  Akane looked over at the bags of new clothes that Ranma hadn't brought
home with him earlier. He was expecting to bring those bags home tonight.
"You don't have to worry about the clothes because there's a still some new
clothes I got them over there" she said.
  "Oh yeah," Ranma said "I forgot all about that. I guess there's really
nothing for me to worry about then. They've got their books since we came
here straight from their school. I guess the problem's solved then, I guess
I better get going then. I'll come back tomorrow morning to pick them up"
  Akane didn't want him to leave. She wanted him to stay longer. She wanted
to tell him not to go, but what reason did she have to say that? Because she
was in love with him? It would break her heart if he wouldn't accept because
that would mean the feelings weren't mutual. She was scared to find out that
he didn't love her.
  Ranma wanted to stay, but there was no reason for him to stay. His
daughters were in good hands. He wanted to tell her that it was raining too
hard, but he was sure Akane wouldn't buy it. She knew he would be up to
something.
  Ranma opened the door to leave, but before he had a chance to take a
single step through the door, divine intervention seemed to have been working
for him when a loud cackle of thunder roared through the skies, causing
Akane to give a quick yelp from the surprise.
  He turned to face her. The lightning had definitely scared her for the
color had drained from her face. As he gaze at her, he could see a little bit
of his daughters in her eyes for they were scared of lightning. It made him
smile to find out that Akane and the twins had more things in common than he
suspected.
  Akane felt embarrassed when Ranma had seen how scared she looked. She was
deathly afraid of lightning. It made her feel helpless. It made her realize
how insignificant she was to this world. There was no way to battle nature,
and it had a free run to do whatever it wanted. The thunder used to wake her
out of her slumber. She used to go running into her parents room to spend
the night with them. But now that they were gone, there was no one to
comfort her.
  "Are you okay?" came a soft voice that made Akane feel safe. It was
Ranma's voice. He was still there, his gaze warmly on hers. There was this
real concern in his eyes.
  "Y-yeah," she said. But she wasn't. Her heart was going a mile a minute. She
would never get used to the sound of thunder. Just at that moment, the
loud thunder ripped through the heavens, causing Akane to suddenly jump into
Ranma's arms in fright.
  Ranma stood there for a moment as Akane's face was buried in his chest.
She needed comfort. He embraced her, his arms gently wrapping around her.
There was nothing he could do. His mind was telling him not to take hold of
her, but his body wouldn't listen. She was so close that he could smell the
shampoo in her hair. He could feel her breasts against his chest.
  Akane was about to pull away, but she couldn't, not for several pleasure-
filled moments. When she did come up with enough willpower to pull back, she 
felt Ranma's strong arms take hold of her. Her heart started beating faster as 
she realized that she was in Ranma's arms. She could hear Ranma's steady 
heartbeat through his chest.
  "It's okay," Ranma said, continuing to hold her. He didn't really care
now. Nothing was making sense. All his senses had gone haywire. The sight
of her so close, the smell of her perfume, the feel of her body pressed
again his were too much for him. The fact that she was seeing Kuno had
disappeared from his mind. Everything had disappeared. All he was aware of
were himself and Akane.
  Akane closed her eyes. Having Ranma hold her like that felt like heaven.
She had never felt this safe in her life. She felt like she could overcome
any obstacle. She heard the thunder again, but she didn't flick. She had
barely heard it, even though it was loud enough to shake the windows. All
she could hear was Ranma's heartbeat. She didn't want to pull away. She
wanted to stay in his arms for the rest of eternity.
  "Daddy, I'm scared," came a voice from behind them, by the stairs.
  Ranma reluctantly let go of Akane as he turned toward his daughter. He
didn't want his daughter to get the wrong idea. If she saw him hugging
Akane, she would start assuming that Akane would become her Mommy. And that
wasn't possible since she was taken, was Kuno's.
  "C'mere," Ranma said, kneeling low as Jessie ran up into his arms. He
hugged her fiercely "It's okay, honey. Daddy's here. I'll protect you" He
held her like there was no tomorrow. As he held her, Meggie came down the
stairs, jumping into Ranma's welcoming arms "It's okay. There's nothing to
be scared of"
  Akane watched as Ranma held his daughters. He held them in the same way as
he had held her. Her heart ached as she realized that she couldn't enjoy it
also. She could only watch. How she wished she could comfort her child with
her fears.
  "I was so scared," Meggie said as Ranma released her. Akane was taken aback
when Meggie broke away Ranma and grabbed onto her leg. She just stood
there, her face in Akane's stomach, her arms wrapped tautly around one of
Akane's legs "I'm scared of thunder"
  "It's okay, honey," Akane said, "Don't worry, it scares me also" She didn't 
bother to tell her that it had scared her into her Daddy's arms "You and 
Jessie aren't the only ones"
  "Really?"
  "Let's go to the livingroom," Ranma said, "We'll sit on the couch. You can
sleep in my arms" Akane blushed because Ranma was looking toward her. It was
as if he were talking to her, not the little girl she was holding.
  "Okay," Meggie said as she released Akane's leg, quickly heading toward the
livingroom, her sister following her.
  "I hope you don't mind if I stay a little longer," Ranma said to Akane, 
"Once they fall asleep, I'll put them to bed, and I'll be one my way" He was 
actually grateful that he could stay here longer. He now had a reason.
  Ranma and Akane headed toward the livingroom, Ranma sitting down on the
sofa. Meggie happily jumped into his lap, resting her head against his
shoulder.
  "I'll go make some warm milk," Akane said, "It'll help you go back to sleep"
She was about to head into the kitchen, but Jessie stopped her by taking
hold of her hand.
  "I want to go to sleep on your lap," she said, dragging Akane into the
livingroom. Akane was forced to sit next to Ranma as he smiled weakly toward
her.
  Ranma just laid back as Meggie rested her head against his shoulder,
already near slumber. She hand her little arms wrapped around the back of
his neck. Jessie was sitting on Akane's lap in the same fashion. She was
almost fast asleep.
  "They'll be asleep soon," Ranma mouthed toward Akane. Akane flushed a bit 
when she realized she was paying far too much attention on Ranma's lips than 
she was supposed to. There was nothing much she could do but wait for them the 
girls to fall asleep before she could help Ranma take them upstairs to
the guestroom.
  Akane closed her eyes. She, too, felt tired. She'd just take a quick nap.
When she woke, she would take Jessie to the guestroom.
  She woke up early into the morning, several hours later than she expected to 
wake up, Jessie sound
asleep on her lap. To her surprise, Ranma was still sitting next to her, fast 
asleep, Meggie asleep on his lap also.
  She looked over at Ranma. He looked so peaceful. She had never seen this 
side of him before. He seemed so innocent as Meggie slept in his arms. He 
looked like he was a young boy with no responsibilities, nothing to worry 
about. As she held Jessie, it felt so nice, as if she were this little girl's 
mother. Is this how great it felt when Ranma held them, she thought, smiling 
warmly. As she looked at Ranma, she couldn't help but feel that this was her 
family.
  She sighed. How she wished this could be her family.



Chapter 32

     Akane woke up to the sight of Ranma. The warm sun shone in through the
windows in the livingroom. It was very late into the morning. She
immediately noticed that she was no longer holding Jessie, and that Meggie
was no longer with Ranma. She also had blankets covering her. That meant
Ranma had placed blankets over her sometime over the course of the night.
  "I took them to school already," Ranma said, reading her thoughts. He
noticed she was wondering about his kids because she was looking to and fro.
He placed a plateful of food on the coffee table in front of her. Although
it considered of a simple breakfast, it looked absolutely delicious.
  "I made you some breakfast," he said. It was the least he could do. He
wanted to thank her for that she didn't mind him having spend the night
with her. She had been very helpful with his children by simply being there
for them.
  "T-thanks," she said. She wondered if this was what she would wake up to 
everyday if she had married Ranma. His warm smile had already made her 
morning. She had forgotten that she was supposed to do her morning jog. 
Actually, she had remembered it, but she would rather stay here with Ranma 
rather than go outside running even though she shouldn't be staying with him. 
It would torment her since she didn't know of his feelings toward her.
  Ranma headed toward the kitchen "When does the first class start?"
  She looked at her clock "It doesn't start for another two hours" Oh great,
she thought. That means I'll have to spend two hours in the same house with
him. How will I ever be able to deal with it? It's going to drive me nuts.
  Ranma came into livingroom holding a tray of food "Is it all right if I
join you?" He didn't want to eat his breakfast alone in kitchen.
  Akane didn't really know what to say. She said the first thing that came
to her mouth, which happened to had come straight from her heart "S-sure"

  The morning had gone uneventful. They both shared a lovely breakfast
together, the two of them even doing the dishes after they ate.
  It was now almost three in the afternoon. Classes had gone on as
scheduled with a few students staying behind for some extra help. When Ranma
was through helping them out, he was ready to leave to pick up his children.
  "Well, I better get going now," he said as he was halfway out the front 
door" He stopped for a second to think. He and Akane were expected to go to 
the school tonight for open house "Um, would you like to come?" 
  Akane was taken aback at the proposition. What compelled Ranma to ask her
to go with him to pick up his children? She wondered for a second on what it
could possibly be, finally assuming it was just a friendly guesture. She
thought about how nice it would be to see his children, to see their happy
faces. She knew that her the next class wouldn't be starting for a little
more than an hour from now. That meant she probably had enough time to enjoy
lunch. She was hooked on his daughters already "Okay"
  When they both arrived, Meggie and Jessie were waiting out front. They had
made it at just the right time.
  "Akane," the twins squeaked in unison as they both ran up to her and gave
her a tight hug around her lower half, one girl for each leg "We're so glad
to see you"
  Akane smiled. She was glad to see them also. She could feel this wave of
content wash over her as she saw their smiling faces, a feeling she could
get used to. Just seeing them seem to brighten her day.
  "Daddy, I'm hungry," Jessie said, rubbing her little tummy. She hadn't 
eaten yet, and neither had her sister. They had both given their lunch to
a friend whom happened to have forgotten her own.
  "Let me guess," Ranma asked "you gave it to your friend again" This had
happened more than once. His daughters' friend had this tendency to forget
to bring her lunch to school often.
  "Yep," they said together, nodding.
  "Well, I'm not too sure I can today," he looked over at Akane, "Hey, Akane, 
we are we expected back at the dojo?"
  "In about an hour," she replied. Already, the thought of spending time with
Ranma was in her mind. She was glad that the next training session didn't 
begin for a while. That meant there was plenty of time to eat.
  "We want Akane coming along," the twins said together.
  "Well," Ranma smiled at Akane as he "What do ya say? Would you like to eat 
out with us?" He was secretly hoping she would say yes. Although it would be
great eating out with his daughters, Ranma knew that if Akane went along, it
would make it even better. She wouldn't be only keeping his children 
company.
  "Please," the twins added.
  "Well, with an offer like that, how can I refuse," she said with a smile, a 
warm, maternal smile.
  "Great, now where would you two like to go?" Ranma said as he picked them 
both up in his arms, swinging them around a couple of times before putting 
them back down. As Akane watched, she knew she could never love a man more 
than the man she was watching. Even if he gave her half the love he gave 
his daughters, she would still be happy. But the question was if he loved 
her. She had no idea. 
  A teacher in her mid-thirties emerged from the front entrance "Excuse me, 
Mr. Saotome. May I have a word with you?" Ranma knew it was Meggie and 
Jessie's teacher. Although older than Ranma, she looked like she was the
same age as him, if not younger. 
  "I'll be right back," Ranma told his daughters and Akane before heading 
toward the teacher. 
  "Do you like Daddy?" Jessie asked as she tugged at Akane's pants to grab 
her attention. She looked up at her with innocent eyes. It looked as if
Jessie had no idea that a question like that could bring some form of
embarrassment.
  "Um, well, er..." Akane's words failed her. She had no idea what to say.
She could feel her cheeks flushing with heat. She couldn't believe such 
simple words could make her feel so embarrassed.
  Meggie spoke, "Yeah, do you like Daddy?" Now both girls were tugging at 
Akane's pants. Akane looked over toward Ranma, but she noticed his back was
turned to her, deep in conversation with the teacher. She noticed that she
couldn't hear what he and the teacher were saying meaning there was a good
chance he wouldn't be able to hear Meggie and Jessie.
  "Do you think your Daddy likes me?" Akane asked, figuring the girls would
innocently give away some secrets Ranma might tell them about her. She 
figured the girls would have asked Ranma the same thing also, that if he
liked her. And perhaps he might have told them something.
  "I think he like you lots," Jessie said, "like they way we like you"
  Akane smiled a bit. She wished they said something along the lines that he 
'said' he liked her, not 'think'. But it was all right. Just the thought that 
he might like her gave her a warm feeling. But that feeling died as she 
wondered what his real reason for liking her might be. It was most likely 
because his daughters like her, like what Jessie had just said.
  "I think he really likes you," Meggie agreed.
  "And why's that?" Akane asked. Maybe she might have better luck with his
other daughter. 
  "Well, we never saw him with spend time alone with another girl until he 
met you, " she said. And she was telling the truth. Ukyo didn't count. Ukyo
spent time with both them and Ranma, not Ranma alone.
  Akane smiled as she absorbed the information. That statement confirmed 
what Ukyo had said back then in the hospital "You mean I'm the only girl?"
  "Yeah," Meggie replied "I don't know why, but I think girls don't like 
Daddy that much"
  Akane suppressed the giggled. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
And from Ranma's own daughter's mouth. She doubted that any woman would 
dislike Ranma. And that seemed to bother her a bit. She knew that all women
looked at Ranma rather fondly, and she was the type to get jealous, even if
he never returned mutual feelings toward them.
  "I doubt it," Akane said, "Your Daddy is a very nice person, and I'm sure 
lots of girls like him"
  "Are you one of 'em?" both of them asked.
  Akane couldn't believe how well these girls were at putting her on the spot. 
Although they seemed to become distracted easily, they didn't seem to forget 
what they were being distracted from.
  "It's a secret," Akane said. She wanted to tell them that she was madly in 
love with their Daddy, but she had no idea how he felt about her. She didn't
want this love to be one-sided, even though it seemed most likely from her
viewpoint.
  "We won't tell anyone," Jessie said, "We pinkie-swear" She raised one of her 
tiny hands and stuck out her pinkie, Meggie also doing the same as she 
added "Yeah, we pinkie-swear"
  Akane knew how the pinkie-swear worked. It meant they would never tell, no
matter what, no matter what their Daddy said. She remembered when she was 
little and that she would never give out secrets after she pinkie-swore
to keeping them secret. She knew that it was safe to tell them.
  She stuck out her own pinkie on both hand and hooked them with Meggie and
Jessie's pinkie, "Yes, I like your Daddy. I like him a lot"
  "Hey. What're you talking about?" Ranma called out as he headed toward the 
three girls. It seemed like he and the teacher were finished with whatever
they were saying. The teacher was now gone, having gone back into the 
school.
  "It's a secret," Jessie said, "and we're not telling you because we 
pinkie-swore"
  "Whoa, a pinkie-swear," Ranma said as he picked up Jessie, easily putting 
her on his shoulders "then I guess that secret's safe" He gave her a good 
twirl before putting her back down "Okay, now back to business, where would
you two like to eat?"
  "How about we have Akane pick?" Meggie said, now her turn to be picked up
by her Daddy. She squealed in delight at the attention he always gave her and 
her sister.
  "Sure thing, kiddo," Ranma said. He then looked at Akane, "Where would you 
like to eat?"
  "Okay, how about Mackie-chan's?" she said. She assumed the twins would like 
a restaurant like that. 
  Ranma smiled at Akane before turning his attention onto the twins again, 
"Looks like you two are in luck today. It seems Akane likes to eat at your 
favorite restaurant also"
  
  "Hey Akane, are you ready yet. We better get going," Ranma said as he  
patiently waited in the livingroom. He was ready to head toward his mother's 
house. He had drop his kids off at her house shortly after eating 
at Mackie-chan's. He had told Nodoka that he was expected to bring them to the 
school at eight meaning they should be all ready to go when they got there. He 
had also grabbed a good pair of clothes from her house so he would be dressed 
appropriately for the occasion. For instances like this, he was glad he stored 
some extra pairs of clothes at his mother's house.
  Ranma looked at a nearby clock. It ready a little past six. He didn't want 
to show up for the open house late so he wanted to leave early. He wanted to 
be out of the house several minutes ago. Akane had been upstairs in her 
bedroom for well over a half an hour now. He had no idea what she was doing.
  He walked over toward the door that lead to the basement and opened it.
He then proceeded to head down into the basement. He figured that since he
was waiting, he might as well check up on the pig. Afterall, he'll be soon
taking care of it, even though he was now starting to have doubts about it.
  Akane came down the stairs that lead to the second floor. She looked 
absolutely stunning. She was dressed in a light blue skirt and blouse that
seemed made for no one but her. Her short heels gave her a sophisticated 
look that made he seem like the president of some prestigious company "Okay, 
Ranma, I'm ready" 
  She entered the livingroom expecting to see him, but he  wasn't there 
"Ranma, where are you?"
  "I'm in the basement" his husky voice emanated from beyond the basement 
door "I'm just feeding P-chan"
 Ranma emerged from the door after a few moments. When he caught sight of
Akane, he was taken aback by how beautiful she looked. She looked nowhere 
near like the woman she worked along side training martial arts. He felt a
bit under dressed since he wearing jeans and a nice shirt "Y-you look 
beautiful" he said in a soft voice. 
  As he walked up to her, he could smell a faint scent of perfume, "And you 
smell great also"
  Akane blushed at Ranma's sincere compliments. She had never received 
comments like that. She never knew how nice it felt to receive compliments 
like that. It made her feel special "T-thank you. You look nice also"
  "Well, compared to you, I feel seriously underdressed," he said. And he was 
right. He wished he had at least brought a vest or a nice jacket. But it  too 
late so there was nothing he could do a bout it. He sighed "Well, are you 
ready to go?"
  "Yes," came the reply. She was definitely ready to go. She had been looking
forward to this all day. She had spent the entire morning and afternoon with 
Ranma already and she still looked forward to spending the evening with him.
  "I guess we better get going," Ranma said as he opened the front door for 
her, getting a good smell of Akane as she glided by him. Once outside, he
opened the front gate for her "Wow, look at that sky"
  The sun was setting, giving the sky a serene and romantic look. Akane 
couldn't help but stare at it in amazement before she felt Ranma's soft
hand touch her shoulder. For some reason, Ranma's touch felt better than any
setting sun.
  Together, the two headed off into the sunset.

  "I see you're doing all right," Ranma said as he smiled toward his long 
time friend, Ryoga. Ranma wasn't too surprised at meeting him here. He knew
that Ryoga would be the kind of person to come to the school with Ukyo and
Miki. 
  "Yeah, but I could always be better," Ryoga replied. His arm was in a sling, 
and partially bandaged. It looked more like he had sprained his arm rather 
than had gotten shot. He turned his attention toward Ukyo, whom was chatting 
with Akane. Miki and the twins were in the playground, the three of them now 
the best of friends. Ranma didn't have to worry about supervision  because 
there was a teacher there watching over the girls.
  "I'm kind of nervous," Ryoga said, looking over at Miki as she played to her 
heart's content.
  "Nervous?" Ranma asked, a bit curious, "Nervous about what?"
  "Well, I've never been to one of these things before," came the reply. 
  "Don't worry about it," Ranma said, chuckling once, "It's easy. Just think 
of it as a party among adults, but with children running about" The open house 
was a means for families to get to know each other better, so they would know 
what kind of parents their children's friends were.
  That seemed to calm him down a bit, albeit little "If you say so"
  "Let's go get the kids," he said as he trotted off toward the playground,
Ryoga walking along side him. Ryoga had already gotten quite attached to
Miki, and he was glad she liked him. He was also glad Miki's mother liked
him also.
  "Where are they going?" Akane asked as she watched Ranma and Ryoga walk off. 
She thought they had forgotten about them. But she felt a little bit 
embarrassed for asking such a question when she saw them enter the playground. 
It had made her seem paranoid.
  Ukyo smiled, "They're jus' picking the girls up. That's all" She gazed at 
Ryoga fondly as she watched him pick up Miki in his arms like the way a real 
father would. Even though Ryoga had no experience with children, she knew he 
would definitely become a good father.
  "You seem to really like him," Akane commented. She recalled seeing Ryoga
and Ukyo kissing each other passionately when she and Ranma came to pay 
them a visit after they found out Ryoga had been shot. 
  "Oh yeah," Ukyo replied, not even embarrassed. She knew she was in love 
with Ryoga and she wasn't scared to admit it...unlike other people.
  Ranma was carrying Meggie and Jessie under each arm, Ryoga following 
behind him, Miki sitting securely on top of his shoulders, when they both 
walked up to Akane and Ukyo 
  "Are you ready to go in?" Ranma asked, smiling a bit.
  Without saying a word, everyone entered the building.
 
  "The night went a lot easier than I expected," Akane said as Ranma opened
the front door to his house. He was holding Meggie in a piggy-back as she
slept silently. He made his movements to open the door very slow so he 
wouldn't wake the sleeping angel. Akane was holding Jessie in her arms. 
Jessie was sleeping soundly, her head buried between Akane's neck and 
shoulder.
  "See, there was nothing to be worried about," Ranma said, holding the door 
open for Akane to enter. Once she entered the house, he silently closed the 
door behind him "We better get them into their beds" he added as he headed 
upstairs, Akane following.
  It took about ten minutes before Ranma managed to get Meggie and
Jessie out of their clothes and into their pajamas and into bed. Once 
done, both Ranma and Akane went back downstairs.
  Akane sat down on the couch, very well aware of the silence that filled 
the entire house. The silence was anywhere near as thick as when they were 
together at work. At work, she had something else to think about rather
than of each other, but they were no longer at work. 
  Ranma went into the kitchen "Would you like something to drink? Coffee 
perhaps?"
  "Um, sure," she said. She looked at the fireplace, her gaze on a particular
picture that was on the mantle. It was a picture of Ranma standing in a 
graveyard. She got up off the couch and walked up to it, picking it up. She
tried to study the picture, but she couldn't see it clearly enough to 
discern the name of the gravestone he was standing in front of.
  "Here you go," Ranma said as he entered the livingroom, a cup of coffee in
each hand. He sat down on the couch where Akane had been sitting. He placed
her cup of coffee in the table as he regarded her intently "You should drink
your coffee before it gets cold" 
  He took a sip as Akane walked away from the fireplace and sat down on the 
couch next to him. For some reason, having her next to him made him a bit 
nervous. 
  "How's the party arrangements coming along?" Akane asked. She remembered
that the girls' birthday was only two days away. She wondered when Ranma had
the time to set the party up. It seemed like he wasn't at all worried about
the party "Who's expected to come?"
  "Well, so far, I invited all of Meggie and Jessie's friends," he started
off, thinking for a moment "Mousse and Shampoo, um, Ukyo and Miki and 
Ryoga, let me see, and Kodachi and her kids. I think that's all"
  "Judging by who you're inviting, it seems as if it more of a party for
adults," she smiled. But her smiled died as she wondered who this Kodachi
person was. She remembered hearing from Ranma that he met Kodachi at the
bookstore, and that he was helping her out with her children, but she 
wondered if there was more to it.
  "You're right. But there's a good reason," he said, "Mousse and Shampoo are 
expecting to have a child soon and they wanted to experience how it would  be 
like with children around. Ukyo would be there along with Miki. I think Ryoga 
would most likely be there also because he seems pretty fond of Miki as you 
can see. Meggie and Jessie seemed to have gotten along with Yayoi and Kiori, 
Kodachi's kids, when they first met at the bookstore so I assume they would 
like to see each other again"
  "Along with the girls' friends, that's going to be quite a lotta people
showing up" Akane said. She wondered how she would fit in with the crowd.
She would be the only one there that had no real connection with any of the
children attending. As for Meggie and Jessie, she was only their father's
employer. The only thing that made her feel all right was the fact that they
liked her.
  Ranma shrugged his shoulders "Don't worry, there's a pretty big backyard and 
the indoor pool should keep most of them busy" He stretched out his arms and 
put his feet on the table. He took another sip of his coffee as he sighed 
"Akane, I have a favor to ask from you"
  "W-what is it?"
  "Well, on the girls' birthday, at around noon, I need about an hour off" 
he said "It's pretty personal"
  "Um, s-sure," she said. She couldn't help but wonder what was so personal
that he would need time off. Actually, he wouldn't be needing time off. 
There wasn't any class at noontime. The latest morning class ended at 
eleven-thirty and the next class didn't start till one, giving Ranma plenty
of time to do whatever he needed to do "You can take as much time as you'd 
like I can take over for you for the first afternoon class"
  "I appreciate the offer, but it's okay. I only need a short time," he 
replied, "I want to keep the meeting short"



Chapter 33

     Akane picked up the present she had bought for both Meggie and Jessie.
She had bought it yesterday. It was a stuffed teddy bear that was larger
than both Meggie and Jessie clipped together. She had gone out and bought
the stuffed animal when Ranma had left to pick up his kids the yesterday.
When he came back after dropping them off after his mother's house, all
he did was smile.
  "You didn't need to do that," he had said. Even though he said that, she
knew that it would be a great present for his daughters.
  Akane smiled as she remembered Ranma facial expression the other day. He
looked shocked when he walked into the dojo and saw that huge bear sitting
in the middle of the room. She was now in the livingroom of the house,
the bear sitting on the coffee table.
  She gave it a keen look, wondering how she was going to get it all the
way to Ranma house. She had had it brought to her house by the store from
where she bought it, but there was no way she could have the store bring it
to Ranma's house.
  Akane looked at the clock in her room. It read a little past eleven. That 
meant the class Ranma was teaching would be ending in a half an hour. She 
wondered where Ranma was going after class ended. He had mentioned that he was 
meeting someone the other day. But who? She had asked him, but he refused
to say. When Ranma had came to work earlier today, he looked like he had 
little sleep. She figured it was all in anticipation to making his daughters' 
party a success. But deep down inside, she knew it was something
else. He looked detached and was very quiet, as if something was really 
troubling him.
  She left the house and entered the dojo just as the last of the students 
were leaving. Akane noticed as Ranma entered the lockerroom, emerging within
minutes, dressed in his casual.
  "I'll be back in a little while," he said somberly. He didn't bother to even 
look at Akane as he was about to head out the door. He looked very sad, more 
sad than she had ever seen him. She wondered why. He should be happy since 
today was his daughters' birthday, the day they arrived into 
this world.
  "Is everything okay?" she had to ask. She was very concerned over the
way Ranma had been acting this morning. He seemed very different.
  "Really?" he said, "No" 
  He turned around and left. 
  
  Akane paced back and forth in the dojo as she wondered why Ranma was 
acting the way he was. He had said nothing, and it bothered her. She had
never seen him this bothered before. It was obvious that he was hiding 
something, but what. 
  A student entered the dojo.
  Akane felt a bit grateful that she could be  distracted from her thoughts of 
Ranma. It was causing her pain to see Ranma being so troubled, and it was 
worse because she had no idea what it was  about.
  "Hello, Kenitsu," Akane said, "You're here pretty early"
  "H-hello, s-sensei," the young boy said nervously. It was obvious that he 
was
nervous being around Akane. Perhaps it was because he had a crush on her. 
  At that moment, Ranma entered the dojo "I'm back" 
  Akane turned toward Akane and her heart skipped a beat. She wasn't 
expecting to see Ranma back so early. He had only been gone for no more than
a half an hour. It wasn't the fact that Ranma came back early that caught her 
by surprise, but the fact that Ranma was back to his old self. It was as if
the thing that bothered him so much earlier had never happened, whatever it
was.
  Ranma nodded toward the young student before he went into the lockerroom.
After a few minutes, Ranma emerged fully dressed in the school's dogi. He
looked over at Akane and smiled before he began stretching.
  Akane just stood there, not knowing what to think. Ranma looked perfectly
fine. But she soon assumed that Ranma was just hiding it, bottling it all in.
She walked up to Ranma and placed a hand on his shoulder "Um, h-how did it
go?" She wanted to ask if he was all right, but she figured it was best not 
to.
  "It went fine," he said as he turned to face her. He couldn't help but 
noticed how his body was responding to just a simple touch. It was just a 
casual touch. She was just putting her hand on his shoulder to get his 
attention. Well it did just that, and a whole lot more. His heart was beating
faster than it was supposed to. As he looked into her eyes, he knew what she
wanted to ask "Don't worry, I'm fine now. I get that way once a year" he
smiled warmly.
  "Oh, okay," Akane still thought he was trying to hide something. But there 
was nothing he could do. It was none of her business, and she had no right
interfering in his personal affairs.

 Ranma and Akane were both at the school to pick up Meggie and Jessie. Ukyo
and Ryoga was already there when they had arrived. 
  "Man, I'm going to have my hands full," Ranma commented as he realized how 
many things he had to get done before the party is expected to commence. 
Although he had sent out all the invitations, there was still more that had to 
be done. Since the party wouldn't start till later tonight, he wanted to put 
up some nice lighting in the backyard so there would be enough light. 
  "Don't worry, we'll help," Ukyo said as she looked up at Ryoga before 
turning toward Ranma. She had every intention of helping out, even if Ranma 
refused their offer. It was the least she could do.
  Ranma knew it was useless to argue, "Thanks. The first thing I hafta do is 
drop the kids off at my mom's. After that, I gotta go back to Akane's place to 
pick up their present. So I'll meet you at my house in about an hour" he 
sighed in relief "Man, I'm so glad that there aren't anymore classes. That 
way, we can get started and don't have to rush"
 Meggie and Jessie and Miki emerged from the school at that moment, all of 
them jumping into their parents' arms. Akane was lucky enough to experience
the same contentment Ranma felt when Meggie and Jessie hugged Akane in the
same fashion as they did Ranma. 
  "We'll see you in an hour," Ukyo said as she and Ryoga and Miki headed off 
toward town. They all wanted to grab a quick bite to eat before they get to 
work. Besides, they had an hour to waste.
  
  Ukyo and Ryoga and Miki were already at Ranma's house when Ranma and Akane 
arrived. Ranma was carrying a large cage that held the little piglet he 
planned to give the twins as a present. He gently placed the cage on the 
ground as took out his keys and opened the door to let everyone into the 
house. Ukyo and Akane were helpful enough to carry the cage into the house 
when they both noticed that Ranma looked a bit tired from carrying it all the 
way from Akane's house.
  "Where would you like me to put this?" Ukyo asked as she held the cage, 
adjusting herself a bit from the extreme weight. Although she and Akane were 
both in good physical condition, they couldn't help but notice how heavy the 
cage was.
  Ranma cleared the coffee table in the livingroom "You two can place it right 
here" He was grateful that Akane and Ukyo and Ryoga were helping him out. They 
would make his job much easier and quicker.
  "What should we get started on?" Ukyo said, pulling the sleeves of her shirt
up. She was looking forward to spending the rest of the day helping out. Ryoga
was eager to help out as best to his abilities, despite the fact that one of 
his arms was in a sling.
  "Just wait here for a minute," Ranma said as he headed upstairs to pick up 
the decorations for the party. He came back downstairs after a few minutes 
carrying an armful of decorations and boxes of games.
  Miki sat in front of the piano, striking a few keys, already bored out of
her mind. Ranma noticed this as he handed everything to Akane and Ukyo "Hey,
Miki, can you do me a favor?"
  "What favor?" 
  "Can you keep piglet company for a while?" he said. He figured the little
piglet would keep her occupied long enough for them to get everything done.
His guess was right when Miki's face lit up. Without saying a word, she opened 
the door to the cage and took the piglet into her arms. 
  He smiled when P-chan remained in her arms, not bothering to scurry free. 
Ranma was grateful that that piglet seemed to be good with children "Just one 
thing, Miki, just keep him in the house"
  "Okay," the little girl squeaked. She placed the piglet on the carpet and 
started to pet it, the piglet enjoying the attention.
  Ranma turned to the rest of the group "Well, let's get started"
  
  The twins loved their surprise party. They absolutely loved it. When their
Daddy had brought them home to a house full of classmates and friends, they 
both gave him the biggest hug any eight year old could give. Receiving such 
affection from them had made going through the trouble of preparing the party 
more than worth it.
  Ranma was out in the backyard with all the children while all the other 
adults remained in the house. 
  Shampoo sighed as she gazed out the window. She couldn't wait till she and 
Mousse had their own children, couldn't wait to be the ones doing this in the 
near future. She actually felt jealous at how much enjoyment Ranma got from 
being with his daughters. She wanted that to happened to her also. 
  Mousse walked up next to her, handing her a soft drink "Don't worry. In a 
few years from now, we'll be doing the same thing for our children" He stepped 
behind his wife and placed his arms around her as he kissed her gently kissed 
the nape of her neck.
  "Ranma makes it look so easy," she said, "I wonder how he does it"
  "I guess he's just good with children" her husband commented. He smiled as 
he looked out the window and caught sight of Ranma playing pin the tail on the 
donkey, missing the target completely. He stuck the tail on the fence that was 
about five feet away from its intended target. Shampoo giggled also at the 
site.
  "Hey, check this out," Mousse said as he gestured for Akane and Kodachi to 
look out their window. Akane and Kodachi were both in the livingroom talking 
to each other. For some reason, the two of them had hit it off and soon became 
friends.
  Akane didn't feel threatened by Kodachi because Ranma had mentioned earlier 
that he was only helping her out with her children, and that was it. 
  Kodachi and Akane both got off the couch and stepped up to the window. Ryoga 
stayed in the livingroom, splaying with the piglet. It seemed he had taken a 
keen liking to the piglet all of a sudden.
  "What is it?" Akane asked.
  "Look," Shampoo said as she pointed toward Ranma, whom was still desperately 
trying to stick the tail in its proper place. Everyone laughed heartily. Ranma 
took his blindfold off, his face faulting as he realized how far off he was. 
He turned around and noticed everyone from within the house laughing.
  "It's not as easy as it looks," Ranma said, "Why don't you try it? You'll 
see what I mean" He grinned as he challenged them "C'mon, give it a try"
  "You're not going to sit there and take that are you?" Shampoo turned toward 
Mousse and nudged him. She smirked. knowing all to well that Ranma was 
referring to all of them.
  Mousse looked confused "Me, he was talking to you. I'm sure of it"
  "Look kiddies," Ranma said as he spoke to all the children "They're too 
chicken to play this game" He even went as far as to make some clucking 
noises, the children following his lead. 
  Akane smiled inwardly at what Ranma had just done. It wasn't the fact that 
he got the children into the act, but the fact that he looked incredibly sexy 
doing such an immature thing.
  "How about you Akane?" Ranma said with a smile, enjoying the moment "Maybe 
you'd like to give this a try. No. I dare you to try it" 
  All the kids joined in "We dare ya. We dare ya"
  Akane felt up to the challenge, "Oh yeah. I'll make you eat those words"
  "Yeah, you go get him," Mousse said. For some reason, Akane must have 
misinterpreted the meaning of what he had said for she blushed for a moment. 
But when she realized what Mousse was implying, she managed to bring back her 
composure. 
  Akane could feel her heart racing as she headed out to the backyard, all the
kids surrounding her in the excitement. They were screaming in delight that 
someone was up to the challenge.
  "C'mon Akane," both Meggie and Jessie said, "we know you can do it"
  "Thanks guys," Akane said. Before she realized, she was being surrounded by 
all the little girls while the little boys surrounded Ranma. It looked like it 
would be a war between males and females.
  "I guess you're representing all the girls here and I the boys," Ranma said 
with a smirk "You still up to it"
  Akane laughed heartily as she gave him a mischievous grin "I'm not gonna 
back down now" 
  She walked up to Ranma and turned around for him to put the blindfold on. By 
now, the rest of the adults had emerged from the house and into the backyard.
  Ranma walked up to Akane gently placed the blindfold over her eyes. His 
heart was beating rapidly as he did so. He was so close to Akane. He could see 
the nape of her neck, and he felt compelled to kiss it. He was so close that 
he could smell the scent of her shampoo. It smelled divine, and it was giving 
him a sensory overload. He could feel the hairs of his neck stand on end as he 
realized just how much he wanted to turn her around to face him so he could 
kiss her.
  Although Akane's eyes were blindfold, she knew Ranma's eyes were on her. She 
could feel his warm gaze regarding her. She could feel this warm feeling 
surrounding her as she stood still. She didn't want that feeling to end. When 
Ranma's hand brushed against the nape of her neck when tying the blindfold on, 
she could feel her heart jump. Although it was by accident, she kind of wished 
it wasn't. She wished he had intended to touch her. She pictured that it 
wasn't his hand touching the back of her neck, but his lips. She wouldn't mind 
him given her butterfly kisses on her naked neck. She sighed, wishing it 
wasn't accidental.
  Ranma managed to catch himself before he went any further. He had reached 
out and touched her neck, wanting to feel her soft skin. He would had done 
more if it weren't for the fact that there were people watching. But when he 
had touched her, she didn't move. He assumed she figured it was an accident. 
He sighed, wishing she had responded to his touch.
  "Okay" Ranma said "You ready?"
  "Yes"
  "Go ahead kids, give her a good spin," he said as he stepped back. The kids 
rushed her and started spinning her around. After a few moments, they stopped 
and Akane was left to pin the tail on the donkey.
  Ranma turned around to face the other adults "Well, what about you guys? Are 
you going to give it a try?" All of them pretended they were preoccupied with 
watching the beautiful evening sky "Fine, be that way- Ow!"
  A burst of laughter from both the adults and kids echoed throughout the 
entire backyard. Akane had just pinned the tail on Ranma. 
  Akane pulled the blindfold off, only to get a great view of Ranma's backside 
and the tail she had pinned on it. She blushed a moment, but then she broke 
out in laughter, unable to control herself. She should had been embarrassed, 
but she couldn't do anything but laugh.
  Ranma pulled the pin off his rear end as he grinned at Akane "So, you want 
to play that way, huh? Now's my turn" He pretended he was going to go after 
Akane and pin the tail on her this time. 
  But before he could do anything, Meggie shouted out "Stop Daddy, everybody," 
she said, "Don't let him hurt our leader"
  Ranma pretended to become really scared "Oh no" 
  He fell to the ground as if he had tripped. Before he knew it, actually, he 
was expecting it, everyone had piled on top of him, pinning him to the ground.
  "You can't stop me," he said with a laugh, "I must pin the tail on Akane"
  Akane watched in amusement as Ranma pretended he couldn't get up from the 
pile of children. Ranma was easily capable of freeing himself, but he seemed 
to enjoy pretending he couldn't.
  Mousse stepped up next to Akane, turning toward he as he smiled "Man, I wish 
I was a kid again. Don't you?"
  Akane nodded. She loved how Ranma acted like a child, and it made her want 
to love him even more. It wasn't as if Ranma was trying to retain his 
childhood through acting like a child, but rather enjoying his adulthood but 
with a childish charm to it. This was like the Ranma she had gotten to know, 
nothing like the one that was acting differently this afternoon. This was the 
side of Ranma she could definitely get used to. She knew he was in love with 
him, but she didn't know if the feelings were mutual.  
  "He seems to enjoy this party more than anyone else," Shampoo commented as 
she stepped up to the two. She wrapped and arm around her husband's waist as 
he placed his arm over one of her shoulders.
  "Hey Akane, why aren't you helping us out?" Meggie said as she looked up at 
Akane. She and everyone else were still trying to keep Ranma pinned down. 
  Akane pointed at herself "M-me?" She blushed. She realized what that would 
mean. It meant she would have to get on top of him, and that was way too 
intimate for her. She knew she could not get on top of him while the children 
were beneath her. Although she was light, her weight would be too much for a 
child to bear. 
  Meggie got off the pile and tugged at Akane's arm "C'mon, help us. He's 
gettin' up" Before she realized, a bunch of children had quickly gotten off as 
she was pulled down on top of Ranma. 
  "W-what the..." Ranma managed to blurt out before Akane was brought down on 
top of him, her chest pressed down on his. Before Akane had a chance to get 
back up, all the children piled on top of the both of them. 
  Ranma had no idea what to do. Akane's body was pressed firmly against his, 
and it felt great. His lips were only mere inches away from Akane's. He could 
felt her breasts pressed against his chest, and he knew he wouldn't be able to 
keep himself from kissing her right then and there. He wanted to wrap his arms 
around her and kiss her passionately. But somehow, he managed to control 
himself. Because he knew there were children around, he had managed to contain 
his desires. 
  As Akane was under everyone, she could feel Ranma heartbeat through his 
chest. She could feel his bodyheat enter into her body, and it was making her 
hot. She could feel his muscular chest against her breasts, and legs pressed 
against hers, and his...
  "Okay kids, that's enough," Ranma said reluctantly "You can let us up now"
Even though he was enjoying the sensations that was assailing his body, he
knew he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.
  The kids got up off the two adults. Akane got to her feet first, helping
Ranma up. She felt a bit disappointed that she could remain that way for a
little longer. But not only that, but because of how Ranma quickly told the
kids to get off, as if he didn't enjoy the being so close to her.
  Ranma dusted himself off as he turned to Akane and smiled meekly "Sorry 
about that. I didn't know something like that was going to happen" 
  "I-it's okay," she said. But it wasn't.
  "Can we play another game?" Miki said. 
  Ranma turned toward Miki "Okay, what would you like to play?"
  "How about hide and seek?" she suggested. Before she knew it, everyone
else agreed. They all shouted that they play that game. 
  Ranma smiled as he said "Okay, I'm it. All of you go and hide" All the 
children quickly ran into the house to hide. It was clear that everyone was
enjoying the party. Even Mousse was starting to get into it.
  "I'm going to join them," he said as he raced off into the house. But before 
he did, he turned to face everyone still outside in the backyard to say 
  "Hey, adults should act like kids once in a while" He smiled again before 
turning around and entering the house.
  "Oh my god," Shampoo said "Even my husband is getting into the act.
Oh well, I guess I might as well enjoy myself" She quickly ran into the 
house.

  "We had a wonderful time" Shampoo said. She gave Ranma a hug and kissed him 
kiss on his cheek "This is a day we will never forget. I haven't had this much 
fun in years. I'm glad you invited us"
  Ranma smiled warmly to the young couple, returning Shampoo's friendly 
embrace "I'm glad you came"
  "Well, until next time, see you later," Mousse said. He placed his jacket 
over Shampoo and opened the umbrella Ranma had lent them. Together, he and
Shampoo stepped out into the evening rain and headed toward home. Before they
disappeared around a corner, they turned around and waved him one last time.
  It was now getting pretty close to midnight. It had began to rain about an 
hour ago, just shortly after the party had ended. Kodachi was the first to 
head home, her kids about to fall asleep. It seemed like she didn't want to 
worry about getting them home after they had fallen asleep. Miki had fallen 
asleep pretty early, and Ukyo had decided it was best to take her home to put 
her to bed. Ryoga had followed her and Miki back to Ukyo's place. It seems 
like he would most likely spend the night there. Shampoo and Mousse had stayed
behind to help fix some of the thing that were left behind after the party
had ended. But now that they had finished, they felt it was best to leave.
  Akane was the only one who remained. She was busy trying to get a stain 
out of the livingroom rug where one of the kids had spilled the juice. She was 
just about finished when Ranma entered the room.
  "You don't have to do that, Akane" Ranma said softly, "Would you like 
anything to drink?"
  Akane got up from her knees "Oh, don't worry about it. It was no problem.
No thank you. I'm not that thirsty" She looked up at Ranma and was caught a
bit off guard when she noticed that Ranma looked sad again "Is there 
something wrong?"
  Ranma walked up to the fireplace and picked a photo up off the mantle. He
looked at the clock. It read now exactly midnight. As of right now, the day
came to a close, and a new day began. He sat down on the
couch and looked deeply into the picture. He put the picture on the 
coffee table as he placed his face in his hands "Just one minute ago, it was 
her birthday"
  Akane looked at Ranma curiously "Whose birthday?"
  "It's horrible" he said, his voice wavering "How could I have been so 
stupid? I shouldn't have reacted quick enough"
  Akane had no idea what he was talking about, but all she knew she could do
was listen carefully. She knew, at that moment, Ranma was revealing something
about himself that she never knew. She sat down next to him, yearning to 
reach out and hold him. But she refrained herself. She didn't know what to 
do.
  "Yesterday was her birthday," he continued, "Her birthday was on the same 
day as Meggie and Jessie's. It just so happens, that was the same day she 
died" His face remained covered in his hand as he spoke "Eight years ago, my 
first daughter had died"
  Akane gasped in horror, not knowing what to say. She had never realized 
that Ranma had a daughter before Miki.
  "It was her second birthday. She and I were out on the town celebrating," 
his voice was soft, barely audible "We were crossing the street when out of 
nowhere..." he stood up, his back toward Akane. He picked up the picture and 
looked at it. 
  Akane noticed that it was the picture of Ranma standing before a tombstone.
Tears were beginning to form around her eyes. She had no idea Ranma had gone
through something this terrible.
  "We were crossing a street..." he said, "when out of nowhere, a car runs the
red light...I should have reacted quick enough to get out of the way. We were
both hit by the car, but I...I survived...she died on the way to the 
hospital"
  Akane started to silently cry. Her tears started flowing freely. It must
have been horrible. She couldn't believe how much pain Ranma had to endure.
Every time it was his daughters' birthday, it also signified his other's. 
Through some tragic twist of fate, Ranma's first daughter had died on the 
same day the twins were born. As she sat there, things started to make sense.
That was why he needed time off the other day. He wanted to pay his respects
to his late-daughter. 
 "It was all my fault. I should have seen the car coming," he said, "I wanted 
to kill myself because of what had happened..." Akane remembered what Ukyo had 
said, about what she said about Ranma once wanting to die. Now she realized he 
wanted to die because a part of his life had been destroyed. But since the 
birth of his other daughters, he found a reason to go on.
  "It wasn't your fault," Akane said, trying to be the voice of reason, "Like
you said, the car ran the red light"
  "But I should have seen it coming," he said, his back still toward her "And
why did I have to be the one to survive?"
  Akane said nothing. She couldn't say anything. She wiped the tears from her
eyes but for some reason, they wouldn't stop.
  "There's not one day I go through without thinking about her, about how
I have failed her" he said, "I was born to an abusive father. My daughter died
on the same day the twins were born. My wife left me. And pretty soon..." he
stopped, not wanting to continue on. He shook his head "And what hurts is 
that it was all my fault. I should have been a better kid when I was young.
I should have seen the car coming. I should have been a better husband"
  "It's not your fault," she said, "None of that was your fault"
  Ranma was breaking down. He couldn't stop himself from speaking. He turned
toward Akane "My life means nothing to me. I don't care if anything happens
to me"
  Akane gasped.
  "All I want is for my children to live a happy life," he said, "I don't want
them to go through the same things I went through. That's why I spoil them, 
because I don't want to turn into my father. That's why I never want to be
away from them, cause I don't want to lost them like I did my first 
daughter. I should have died with my daughter"  
  "But what about Meggie and Jessie and Miki," Akane said, "If you had died,
then what would have happened to them?"
  Ranma said nothing. He sat down on the couch again, placing his face back
in his hands. 
  "I-I'd like to be alone?" he didn't bother to look up at her. He was
ashamed to let Akane see him this way.
  Akane got off the couch and took a step toward him "A-are you sure?"
  Ranma nodded.
  "I'll go check on the kids," she said. She gave him one last glance before
she headed upstairs toward Meggie and Jessie's room. Once upstairs, she
stepped into their room. Both twins were both sound asleep. She walked up to
Meggie and gently brushed a bang off her face. She then walked over to Jessie
and tucked her in.
  Akane sat down in a chair as she looked into the corner of the room. There
was a small box where P-chan was sleeping soundly. The piglet didn't even
crack an eye open when she had entered the room. She gazed out the window,
her mind on Ranma. She had no idea Ranma was living with a burden like this
on his shoulders. She couldn't believe he had a daughter that died on this
very day over eight years ago. How horrible it must had been for him to live
with the thought that his first daughter had died on the same day Meggie and
Jessie were born. Not only that, but he had to live with the though that he
survived while his daughter died. It must be tearing him apart to wonder why
it couldn't have been the other way around.
  "Is that you, Akane?" came a soft voice from her right. Akane turned to
face Jessie. The little girl was looking at Akane through half opened eyes.
She yawned once as she sat upright, her blanket falling down into her lap.
  "Yes, honey, it's me," Akane said as gently laid the child back down "Just 
go back to sleep" she placed the blanket back over Jessie as the little child 
closed her eyes. As she looked down at Jessie, Akane knew that she had fallen 
in love with Ranma's children. Every time she was near them, she felt this 
instinct within her to love them, as if it were always meant to be. She wanted 
children just like them. No. She wanted them for her children. She would 
change nothing about them.
  She wondered about how this could possibly happen. Miki was also Ranma's, 
and so was the girl that died when she and Ranma were hit by a car. But the 
thing was, was that the girl would now be older than Miki, meaning that she 
had been born before Miki. That didn't add up. That would mean Ranma's wife 
must had been pregnant before Ukyo got pregnant. The only logical reason she 
could come up with was if he and his wife had split, Ranma got together with 
Ukyo for a night, and then his wife walked back into his life. That made 
sense. But then again, Ranma never mentioned if the first daughter was Ranma 
and his wife's. It was either that or Ranma had committed adultery. Akane 
didn't dare to think of the possibility.
  Akane watched Jessie for quite a while before she was sure she was asleep. 
When she looked at the clock on the dresser draw, she realized that close to a 
half an hour had passed. She wondered it enough time had elapsed for her to go 
back downstairs. She decided to wait for a little longer.
  
  Ranma was in the livingroom, his back to Akane as he sat on the couch, still 
quietly staring at the photo when Akane came down over an hour later. He had 
been so intent on the picture in his hands that he wasn't away of Akane's 
presence, not even when she entered the room, leaning against the doorjamb.
  She took a careful step forward, wanting to comfort him from all the pain, 
but she didn't know what to do. She couldn't believe how much pain Ranma 
burdened. She had never met someone that suffered so much through the years. 
And what was sad was the fact that she would had never known, not unless he 
had told her. She had always thought Ranma would be living the good life, not 
a care in the world except for his children. But the truth was nowhere near 
what she had expected.
  "R-Ranma," she said softly. She had to do something. She gently placed a 
hand on his shoulder.
  He didn't say a word, still looking down at the picture. When she looked 
down into his hands, she caught sight of teardrops on the glass frame. 
  Ranma was crying. He didn't want to look up at her, ashamed of himself for 
letting his emotions get the better of him. He had kept control of his 
emotions all his life, but here he was, unable to do anything to stop them 
from flowing.
  "They won't stop," Ranma finally after a long silence. He looked up at 
Akane, tears gently trickling down the side of his face. He tried to wipe them 
away, but they continued to flow, his tears glistening in the gently moonlight 
that was shining through one of the open livingroom windows.
  Akane walked around the couch and sat down next to him "Don't worry, Ranma. 
It's okay"
  Ranma tried to smile, but it couldn't hide away his pain "This has never 
happened to me. I've never cried before in my life, not even when my 
father....not even when my father beat me until I was unconscious" He stood up 
"I can deal with the physical pain....but I can't deal with the emotional. 
It's tearing me apart"
  "I'm sorry, Ranma," she said softly, the tears already beginning to form 
around her own eyes. She had seen men cry before, but this was one man she 
didn't want to cry. It tore away at her. There was nothing she could do to 
stop those tears. She was totally helpless.
  "I've always wondered," Ranma started, his back toward Akane, not wanting 
her to see him like that "I always wondered if that day should have been my 
time....but through some horrible twist of fate, my daughter was taken away 
instead of me"
  "No," Akane said, "That's not true. You can't think like that. You were 
meant to survive"
  "I want all the pain to go away" he said, his voice, almost inaudible. All 
his life, he had kept this bottled up, but tonight, he couldn't stop 
everything from coming out "As soon as Meggie and Jessie are grown up, I want 
everything to end. I don't want to go on anymore. When I was put in the 
hospital after my father beat me so bad, I should have died that night"
  Akane gasped. Ranma was speaking like he was suicidal. She couldn't believe 
what she was hear. Ranma wants to die. He was slowly moving into the realms of 
depression. And just a few short hours ago, he was having the time of his 
life, laughing, enjoying being alive. Was it all an act?
  Ranma sad back down on the couch, his tears finally starting to subside 
"There are times I wondered if it would have been better if I had died that 
night in the hospital"
  Akane started to sob, "Please, don't say that" She leaned forward and 
embraced Ranma, needing to burden some of his pain. It was a natural instinct. 
If Ranma was suffering this much, she would gladly burden for him, just so he 
wouldn't have to.
  As Akane held him in her arms, she felt Ranma's body tense of up a second, 
not really knowing how to react to her warm embrace. But after a short while, 
he began to relax, soon returning the much needed embrace.
  "I bet you think I'm some piece of scum," he said out of nowhere, catching 
Akane by surprise.
  "W-what? Why would you think I would think of something like that?" she said 
shocked. She was more shocked that it had crossed her mind a short while ago, 
on how he had a daughter and had gotten Ukyo pregnant.
  "It's kinda weird," he started out, "Shori was pregnant with our first 
daughter, Allison, and I never knew about it, not until she comes walking back 
into my life after leaving me for the first time. She wanted to pursue her 
dreams over in the states rather than stay here. We broke up and she left for 
America. And then soon, over a year after we had split, Ukyo came back into my 
life. We started to see each other, and then soon, we became..." he paused, 
trying to think of some better words 
  "And then, we soon became intimate with each other," He began after taking a 
deep breath "But during that time, Shori walks back into my life, a changed 
person. Ukyo actually thinks I met Shori for the first time when Ukyo and I 
were seeing each other, but Shori and I knew each other before then. Seeing 
how Shori had changed, I took her back, and Ukyo and I broke up. Ukyo left, 
carrying with her who is now Miki at the time. Shori, when she enters my life, 
she shows me the daughter I never knew I had. And I accept her with all my 
heart, just like I did with Miki. At first, I didn't believe it, but blood 
tests proved that she was, indeed, mine. Allison was one at the time. And 
soon, after getting back together, we get married, and Shori gets pregnant 
with Meggie and Jessie. After the twins are born, she leaves again..."
  Akane said nothing. She had done nothing but listened carefully, absorbing 
in everything.
  After a short moment of silence, Ranma got up off the couch. He didn't want 
to talk about his past anymore. Every time he had to mention it, it pained 
him. It was best that he did something to keep his mind occupied "I-I'm going 
to go check up on Meggie and Jessie. I'll be right back" His voice was soft, 
almost not his own.
  Akane watched as Ranma slowly walked up the stairs, seemingly all right, but 
most likely not. It seemed he needed some more time alone, to sort out his 
feelings. But she knew she would not leave it like that. Ranma needed her, and 
tonight was when he needed her the most, except he didn't know it. She would 
continue to stay by his side, even into the wee hours of the morning if she'd 
have to.

  Meggie was crying as Ranma held her when Akane finally decided to go 
upstairs to see what was taking so long. When Ranma hadn't come down after 
twenty or so minutes, she wanted to see if everything was all right.
  "It's okay," she heard Ranma say as she peered in through the open door 
"Daddy's here"
  Akane entered the bedroom, noticing how visibly shaken the little girl 
seemed. Tears were running down her little angelic face, tears that didn't 
suit her. A girl like that should never shed a tear in her life.
  "I was so scared it was you, Daddy," Meggie said between sobs "I was so 
scared you were the one hitting me"
  Akane gasped as she realized what the little girl was talking about. Meggie 
had had a nightmare where Ranma was abusing her. At that moment, she realized 
the extent of just how powerful something like that could be on a person's 
life. And here, Ranma actually lived through the experience, not just dreamt 
about it.
  "Don't worry, honey," Ranma said softly as he gently rocked the little girl 
in his arms as he held her, walking around in little circles "Daddy's right 
here. I'll never do something like that. Never" 
  Akane caught sight of Ranma when his back wasn't toward her. She noticed he, 
too, had tears. She realized that Ranma was crying over the thought that he 
would turn into the same kind of monster his own father was. He would never 
allow that to happen to his little girls. Never. He would rather die than 
cause them any harm.
  The abuse Ranma received when he was young seemed to have made its way into 
his daughter's dreams. Even though nothing had really happened, it was still 
very disturbing to both him and Meggie.
  "I didn't do anything bad," Meggie said.
  "I know you didn't" her father said through clenched teeth. He wished he 
could do something to get rid of Meggie's nightmare. He remembered asking 
himself that same question after he found himself lying in his own bed, 
riddled with real bruises from real beating from his own father. Even in 
dreams, he didn't want Meggie the experience the horrible ordeal he had 
experienced.
  Meggie cause sight of Akane through her teary eyes "Akane, I was so scared. 
It looked so real"
  "It's all right," Akane said softly, careful not to wake Jessie up "Your 
Daddy would never do anything like that. Never" 
  Ranma looked over toward Akane and gave her a smile, silently thanking her 
for her support "You see, honey, Akane even agrees. You have to believe me. 
Nothing bad will ever happen to you. I promise"
  It took over twenty minutes of convincing before the little girl finally 
fell asleep again. Once asleep, Ranma gently placed Meggie back in her bed and 
tucked her in. He kissed her on her forehead, and then did the same for Jessie 
before he left the room with Akane.
  "Thanks for you help back there," Ranma said to Akane as he gently closed 
the bedroom door behind him "Meggie was utterly convinced that the dream was 
real until you intervened"
  "Ranma,"
  "Yes?"
  "About that dream," Akane started out slowly "I-is that what you had to go 
through?" She had never been abused so she had never really known how much of 
an affect it could had caused. She never even had friends or known anyone that 
was abused. When she noticed Ranma hesitate for a second she spoke "I-I'm 
sorry. I didn't mean to ask something so personal" She looked down toward the 
floor, ashamed of asking such a ridiculous question.
  "If you mean the dreams, I never went through that," Ranma said after a 
short while "I never had dreams like that. I actually had to experience them"
  Without saying another word, Ranma went downstairs.
  Akane went downstairs several minutes, a bit ashamed at asking a question 
like that. It was none of her business. But for some reason she had to ask. 
She had to know.
  Ranma was in the kitchen when Akane realized that he was no where to be 
found. When she entered in, he had a cut of coffee ready for her. He handed it 
to her "Are you staying?"
  Akane was caught off guard for a moment. She had no idea if she wanted to 
stay. Of course she did, but she didn't know if she should. Would she be 
overstaying her welcome if she did? But then again, Ranma looked like he 
really needed her the most. 
  "What do you think?" she asked, trying to avoid having to answer. She didn't 
know what she wanted. 
  "It doesn't really matter," he said softly, taking a sip of his own coffee 
"I wouldn't mind you staying, but there'll be nothing for you to do" Ranma 
kept silent on the thoughts that raced through his mind on how he would be 
able to keep her busy. Now was not the time to be thinking of something  like 
that. 
  Akane blushed a bit when she thought of something. She was grateful she had 
it under control before Ranma had a chance to notice. She couldn't believe she 
could be thinking of something like that, especially at a time like now.
  Not wanting to stay her welcome, Akane figured it was best that she left "I 
guess it's best that I leave. There's no real reason for me to stay. Except 
for the fact that I want to be with you" She didn't' dare say the last 
sentence aloud. It was a selfish reason.
  Ranma seemed a bit disappointed when she said no "Oh, okay" He walked over 
to a nearby closet and took out an umbrella, handing it to her "It's raining 
out pretty bad now. Here, take this umbrella. I don't want ya gettin' 
drenched. I'd walk you home, but the kids are asleep"
  "No, don't worry about it," Akane said as she took hold of the umbrella, 
their hands touching each others for a split second. Akane noticed the heat 
that radiated through her causing her body temperature to rise a bit. She 
wondered if she should use the umbrella at all. She needed the rain to cool 
her off "I-I'm all right. I can't make it home by myself, but thanks for the 
offer anyway"
  Ranma walked Akane to the front door and opened it for her. There was a long 
pause as both looked at each other, waiting for the other to do something. 
  Before she knew it, Ranma leaned forward and kissed Akane good night. The 
kiss was soft and warm, but it lasted for a split second. Akane found herself 
silently gasping for air as she realized she was out of breath 
  "G'night, Akane," he said warmly.
  Akane returned the smile.
  "G'night, Ranma,"



Chapter 34

     Akane was jogging down the street, her mind on Ranma, that beautiful 
morning. There was nothing that would really keep her from her morning jog. 
She needed it to clear her mind. The sun was just beginning to peek out in the 
distant horizon as Akane stopped to watch its majestic ascent. Although her 
gaze was on the beauty before her, her mind wasn't. She had been thinking 
about ever since she got home very early in the morning. She had had very 
little sleep that night also.
  She felt this sunken feeling in her heart as she thought about him, 
wondering how he had managed to cope with such tragedies throughout his life. 
When her father had died, she had been devastated. To this day, she never 
stopped thinking of her father, of how wonderful a person he was. And here 
Ranma was, living on as if nothing had happened, carrying burdens much worse 
than she did.
  Akane caught sight of Ranma as he was walking his daughters to school. Her 
heart leapt at the sight of him, despite that he hadn't noticed her yet. She 
looked at her watch and noticed that it was about an hour before school 
started. That meant Ranma must be taking his daughters out for some breakfast.
  Her gaze was held fast on Ranma as he walked down the sidewalk, each of his 
daughter's hands in his own. She smiled as she saw Meggie and Jessie trying to 
play tag against one another, using Ranma in the middle as a shield from the 
other. But what really made her smile was when she saw Ranma smile as he let 
the kids play around him. She couldn't' believe this was the same man she was 
with just a few hours ago, the same man that had broken down to tears. She 
wondered if Meggie and Jessie knew. It was most unlikely.
  Akane found watching Ranma from across the street. Her smiled faded a bit 
when she noticed several females turn their attention toward him as he walked 
past them. Even though Ranma belonged to no one, she couldn't help but feel 
tinge of jealousy. It was just the way she was.
  "Where are we going, Daddy?" Meggie said in her usual cheery self. It looked 
like she had forgotten completely about that nightmare last night.
  "Breakfast, honey," he said in a soft voice. He swung Meggie and Jessie into 
the air as they held onto his arms like they were monkey bars.
  "Hey, it's Chiako," Jessie beeped as she let go of Ranma's arm and ran 
forward, grabbing onto a young black haired girl's leg "Hiya, Chiako"
  Ranma regarded the girl for a second. She was dressed in some simple 
clothes, nothin extravagant. It consisted of sweat pants and a sweat shirt. He 
knew it was the girl who helped Jessie out when she got lost in the amusement 
park. He also remembered hugging her because there were other girls around 
teasing her, and he did that just to get rid of them.
  "Hello, Chiako," Ranma said with a smile, which seemed to make the young 
girl nervous. 
  "H-hi," she said nervously, too scared to look up into Ranma's beautiful 
blue eyes through those thick glasses she wore. She felt extremely self-
conscious of herself as she stood before him. She could feel his gaze on her, 
but for some reason, his gaze seemed warm and soft, not critical like how most 
others looked at her.
  "Daddy, ask her to breakfast with us," Jessie said, tugging at Ranma's leg. 
Although she would prefer having breakfast with Akane, she still enjoyed the 
company. 
  Ranma gave Jessie a pat on the head "Fine," He then turned toward Chiako 
"So, what do you say? Would you like to have breakfast with us? Jessie here 
insists" 
  Chiako was thinking of an excuse to say no, but she couldn't. As she stood 
before Ranma, her mind wasn't working anymore. She couldn't even think 
straight. The world was spinning. She remembered him offering her dinner at 
the amusement park, but she had declined. But she really regretted her 
decision when she would stay at home, wondering what might had had happened if 
she had actually gone with him. She even fantasized a bit, dreaming of a 
possibility where he would even go as far as to fall in love with her. But 
this wasn't some fantasy. It was reality. 
  "C'mon, Chiako, come eat breakfast with us," Jessie urged, now tugging on 
the young girls pant leg.
  Chiako gave Ranma a meaningful glance, noticing that he just continued to 
smile warmly. There was nothing Ranma could really do. He could tell Jessie to 
stop, but she would still insist. But he had to try.
  "You should leave her alone" he said "She's probably very busy"
  "Oh no," she said "I'm not," 
  Even though it was true, she wished she hadn't said so. She felt just way 
too nervous around Ranma, and the thought of having breakfast with him and his 
kids were too much for her. She wasn't used to something like this. She 
usually ate alone.
  "C'mon, have dinner with us," Jessie continued to insist.
  Ranma chuckled as he shrugged his shoulder "Hey, they're persistent. You 
have to give them that" He took hold of Jessie's arm "Come on, just leave her 
alone. She just doesn't want to have breakfast with us. That's all she 
probably ate"
  "Is it because you don't like me?" Jessie asked as she turned her attention 
toward Chiako, a hurt expression in her eyes.
  "Of course not, honey," she said. She didn't really want to tell the truth. 
It would be too embarrassing for her to tell the little girl that she was too 
nervous being around her Daddy. She tried to come up with the best excuse, 
coming up with nothing. She finally succumbed.
  Although she was nervous and all, being around Jessie seemed to relax her. 
And the thought of making the child happy seemed to ease her nerves a bit, 
allowing her to think a bit more clearly. She brought her eye level down to 
Jessie's and spoke "I'll go with you to breakfast, but only on one condition,"
  "What is it? What is it?"
  "I get to sit next to you," she said, touching the little girl on the nose. 
She couldn't help be smile at just how cute she looked. When she noticed 
Jessie's sister, she smiled again.
  "Well, it's settled then. Let's go eat" Ranma said with a smile "I'm 
starved" He gestured toward Meggie when he saw Chiako regarding her "Chiako, 
this is Jessie's sister, Meggie"
  "Hiya," Meggie said with a smile as bright as her sibling.
  Jessie slipped her hand in Chiako's hands "C'mon, let's go. I wanna eat"
  "You're the boss," Ranma said.
  Together, Chiako and Ranma and his children walked off.
  Akane had watched the entire thing from across the street. Her heart 
plummeted as she saw Jessie give that young girl a hug. She wondered if this 
woman was Ranma's ex-wife. Could she be Meggie and Jessie's parents? 
  She felt threatened, wondering if this was indeed the woman Ranma had 
married. Sure, she wasn't gorgeous or nothing, very beautiful in another way, 
on the inside. And Ranma was beyond something as superficial as look.
  Akane leaned against a building, noticing how horrible her day had just 
turned into. 
  No longer feeling like jogging, Akane headed home.
  
  Ranma entered the dojo shortly after eight-thirty. He looked like he was 
back to his usual self. Akane was in her office when he entered, which gave 
her a start. Her mind had been elsewhere. She had been wondering who that 
woman was the whole time since she had gotten home over an hour ago. She had 
been sitting in her chair the whole time.  
  Akane made herself look busy as she started to look through some papers.
  "Guess who I met today," Ranma said as he made himself comfortable sitting 
in the chair in front of Akane's desk "You remember when we all went to the 
amusement park the other day and Jessie got lost?"
  Akane remembered that day clearly. That was a day she would most likely 
never forget. She had been deathly terrified for Jessie's safety, fearing the 
worst had happened to her. A great burden had been lifted off her chest when 
she found out that Ranma had found her not too long after they split up "Y-
yeah, I remember that day. Why?" She just didn't bother to tell him just how 
vividly she remembered it.
  "And that I told you I found Jessie with this young girl?" he continued.
  "Yeah,"
  "Well, the girls and I just met her this morning on our way to breakfast," 
he said "And we went to breakfast with her. Jessie seems really fond of her. 
She kept insisting that I allow Chiako, that's her name, join us. Of course, 
Chiako didn't really want to, but I guess she finally gave in"
  Akane listened carefully, almost holding her breath. She realized that Ranma 
must be talking about that woman she had seen. She was hoping he would tell 
her what they meant to each other.
  "Jessie's quite fond of her" Ranma continued "Even though I only saw her for 
the second time, Chiako's a nice girl. She works at that Mizunkan Hospital. 
Remember when we were there visiting Ryoga there, and I went off to talk to 
someone? Well, I wanted to see if she was workin' that night, but it was her 
day off. Anyway, it was nice to bump into her again. Hey, you okay?" 
  "Me?" Akane said as she pointed to herself  "I'm fine. Couldn't be better. 
It's just hat there's still a lot of paperwork to do, that's all. I guess I 
waited a little too long before I decided to get to them" She was having 
trouble hiding the relief that washed over her. She was also a bit embarrassed 
at jumping to conclusions when she had first seen her.
  Ranma reached forward and took hold of some of the paper. He glanced through 
it before turning to Akane.
"If it'll help you any, I can stay here a little later to help you finish 
before I have to go home an get ready. It's no problem. I don't know if I can 
help much, but I'll try" 
  "Get ready?" Akane asked, "Get ready for what?"
  He leaned back precariously in his chair, his hands behind his head. He 
peered out the open office door and saw a student entering, most likely here 
for some extra help with his techniques. He smiled before he got up off his 
chair and spoke right left the room "Hey, I hope you didn't forget about the 
little plan when had from a while back"
  Akane looked at Ranma curiously. What was he talking about? What plans? 
Then, she realized what he was talking about. She couldn't believe it had 
slipped her mind. Ranma was referring it the dinner plans they made several 
nights ago, the plans they made as a way of thanks for her buying all those 
clothes for Meggie and Jessie. 
  Her heart soared as she realized that tonight was the night. He would take 
her out to some fancy restaurant and they would have dinner together. But she 
felt a bit disappointed when she remembered that Ranma would be bringing along 
Meggie and Jessie, but it didn't really bothered her one bit at all. She liked 
being around them. They always brought a smile to her lips.
  She look down at the paperwork. She realized that she now had an incentive 
to work faster to get them done. If she finished early, then that meant they 
could go out to dinner earlier. She quickly went about with the paperwork. 
She'd be done in no time. Two hours tops. But she wondered if she would be 
able to concentrate completely on the task on hand. Her mind kept on wandering 
off on to Ranma for some reason.
  A short time passed, as Akane was left alone to work by herself. But soon, 
the quietness was broken when there was a knock at the door.
  Akane was momentarily startled from the sudden noise. She looked at a nearby 
clock and noticed that only a half an hour had passed since Ranma left, and he 
wasn't supposed to be back for another half hour. The clock read three, and he 
was expected to be picking his daughters up right around now. Why was he back 
at the dojo? 
  "Did you forget something?" Akane said as got up off her chair and proceeded 
toward the door.
  Akane was caught by surprise when she opened the door and realized that it 
wasn't Ranma. It's was a young woman, a very beautiful young woman. 
  "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else," Akane said as she regarded 
the woman for a moment. Akane noticed that the woman looked to be around the 
same age as her. She was clad in a casual brown business suit that with seemed 
to match the color of the beautiful mane of silky brown hair, which hung down 
her back to her shoulderblades. She wasn't wearing any makeup, which seemed to 
make her look even more attractive. Her beauty made Akane feel a bit self-
conscious of herself. 
  "Hello," Akane said, "I'm Akane Tendo"
  The woman bowed courteously and smiled warmly to Akane 
  "Hello, I'm Shori Saotome. I'm sorry to bother you, but is Ranma, here?" 

  "I hope you're going to be hungry later tonight," Ranma said as he and his 
daughters walked along toward their home. He was holding each other their 
hands.
  "How come?" Jessie asked, staring up at her Daddy with those beautiful 
chocolate brown eyes of hers.
  "Cause we're going to eat out tonight," he said, "Remember those clothes 
Akane got you? Well, we're going to take her out to dinner to show her our 
thanks. How does that sound?" He smiled to himself, looking forward to 
tonight. The thought of having a nice dinner with Akane seemed to make his 
entire day brighter, despite the fact that his wife never came to wish their 
kids a happy birthday last night "I'm going to come pick you up at around six, 
so can you two please be ready? We're just going to stop at home for a short 
while to pick up some of your clothes, and they'll we'll head on over the 
grandma's"
  "But I like what you cook, Daddy," Jessie said, tugging at Ranma's pant leg. 
She wanted him to pick her up and carry her. Ranma did so without needing to 
be told twice. He had her sit on top of his shoulders, one arm held tautly 
over Jessie's legs so she wouldn't fall while his other hand was holding one 
of Meggie's.
  "Well, Daddy needs a break every now and then," he said, "And maybe if 
you're lucky, you might get a new Mommy" He never said the last words, but 
thought of  it. It was so evident on his face of what he was thinking that he 
might as well said it aloud. Luckily, none of his daughters saw the expression 
on his face.
  Together, the three of them headed for home.

  Shori followed Akane into the dojo office and she sat down in the chair in 
front of Akane's desk. She crossed her slender legs, adjusting her skirt so it 
would conceal her legs a bit more appropriately. 
  "Are you his sister?" Akane asked. She noticed that Shori had the same 
family name as Ranma. But for some reason, there was this ache in the pit of 
her stomach.
  Shori looked at Akane for a second "Um, yes, I am. Is my brother here?" She 
knew Ranma had feelings for Akane. That was why she hid the truth. Shori 
still loved Ranma, and she knew that if she told the truth, it might cause 
some definite complications between Ranma and Akane, and he didn't want to 
hurt him in the least bit. Not ever. Not again. 
  Akane felt a wave of relief wash over her. For a moment, she thought this 
woman was Ranma's wife. Akane felt a bit embarrassed for even thinking that. 
It was absurd that something like that would cross her mind. He wasn't 
married. If he was, he would have told her. She never saw him wearing a 
wedding ring, and he never indicated that he was married. If he were, then he 
wouldn't had done the things he did, like that passionate kiss in the bathtub, 
the kiss in front of her house, and that kiss last night. Those were things a 
married man shouldn't be doing, and since Ranma was a very honorable person, 
he would never commit any form of adultery.
  Shori smiled inwardly to herself. She could tell that Akane was in love with 
Ranma also. She knew that Ranma seemed to have this affect on women. She 
remembered the nights she spent home alone, wondering if Ranma was cheating on 
her with some woman, only to feel like a fool when she would realize that he 
probably stayed out late because he wanted to pick up some groceries one the 
way home.
  "Hm, it seems you have a thing for Ranma, right?" Shori said was a warm 
smile. It was none of her business really to ask personal question like that. 
Actually, it was her business. She was married to the man. But she wasn't the 
kind of woman to ask something like that.
  Akane blushed beet-red. She couldn't believe Ranma's sister read her like a 
book. Was it that obvious? Was she that obvious around Ranma? Probably not 
because he would have acknowledged it.
  Shori laughed, "I guess that proves it. Don't worry, I won't tell him"
 Akane tried to will her blushing away, but it was futile. Her cheeks were 
flared bright red, and there was nothing she could do about it.
  "Anyway, is Ranma around?" Shori asked, changing the subject. She wondered 
how happy Akane's life would be if she and Ranma wed. Akane would probably 
live a happy life. That is, if she could handle the extra baggage Ranma came 
with, Meggie and Jessie. Shori would still be with Ranma to this day if it 
weren't for the kids. She just wasn't good with kids, and it knew it. She 
loved Meggie and Jessie with all her heart. She even missed them. But she made 
the choice to leave Ranma and the children behind to pursue her career. She 
knew she wasn't cut out to be a mother, and it showed. She didn't want Meggie 
and Jessie to be raised by someone like her. Her career took precedence over 
family, meaning she would rarely ever be home to care for them. She might as 
well be considered a stranger in their lives if she ever did try to stay with 
them.
  "He went out to pick the kids up, he'll be back in a little while," Akane 
replied. She looked at the clock for a moment before turning her attention 
back to Shori "He should be back any minute now"
  "I'll go wait in front for him," Shori said, quickly getting up off her 
seat. 
She bowed politely to Akane "It was nice talking to you" She wanted to go out 
front so there was no chance Akane could accidentally hear what she and Ranma 
had to say to each other. Although Ranma never mentioned that she keep quiet 
about their marriage, she knew it was the least she could do for someone she 
still loved. 
  There was no reason for Akane to know that Shori and Ranma were actually 
married. And besides, Ranma had been through a lot through the years, and he 
deserved to be happy. Even though Shori and Ranma were legally still  married, 
they considered themselves divorced. But now, it was about time they actually 
went through with it and actually got a divorce.
  Akane looked out one of the windows in her office, catching a glance of 
Shori right before she disappeared through the front gate. She stayed there 
for a little longer, ecstatic that Shori wasn't the person she thought she 
would be. 
  The thought of the dinner date they were going to have tonight entered her 
mind, bringing a smile to her face. She looked down at the papers still 
stacked on her desk, knowing that the sooner she would be finished the sooner 
she and Ranma can go eat. Sighing upon noticing that she still had a long way 
to go, Akane went about with the paperwork.
  
  Shori felt her heart beating rapidly when she caught sight of Ranma. 
Although she was steeling herself for that natural reaction, she still 
couldn't keep that nervousness from enveloping her. He was clad casually in 
some regular streetclothes consisting of jeans, a sweatshirt and a light 
winter jacket. She hadn't seen him in years, and he looked more handsome than 
the last time she saw him. She tried hiding her nervousness by leaning against 
the out wall and looking casual, one of the legs up and bent, the bottom her 
foot pressed to the wall.
  "It's nice that you actually made it," Ranma started, leaning up against the 
wall next to Shori. He had noticed that she looked more beautiful than ever, 
which he had to admire since her job was very stressful, what with being the 
president of an airline corporation.
  Shori swallowed the lump forming in her throat and spoke, only a slight bit 
of nervousness in her voice "Um, I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the party on 
time. Something really important came up," Even though it sounded more like a 
pathetic made-up excuse, she was still telling the truth.
  Ranma looked at her for a moment, slightly disappointed "You mean something 
important pertaining to your job, right?" He sighed, knowing that Shori would 
never change. Her job took precedence over her family. She was just that way.
  Shori didn't say anything. She could easily say something like the private 
jet couldn't take off that afternoon because of the terrible storm, but she 
didn't want to lie to Ranma. There was no reason to lie. And besides, she 
would feel guilty lying to someone she still loved.
  A long silence ensued, both of them saying nothing to each other for a 
moment. Then, Ranma spoke, "I assume you met Akane, what with you being here"
  Shori nodded "She's very nice, just like you mentioned on the telephone that 
day" She found her heart feeling heavy as she said those words. She had missed 
Ranma terribly over the years, and she yearned to reach out and grab hold of 
him, but she couldn't let those feelings take control. It was too late for 
her. He had given her a second chance so many years ago, but she blew it.
  "So she knows we're married," he said.
  "No, I told her I was your sister," she said. She knew that if she were in 
Akane's shoes and found out that Ranma had never told her that he was married, 
she would never forgive him "I didn't want to make things complicated. You 
said you would like to explain it to her anyway. Besides, if I were her, I 
would much rather hear it from you anyway"
  "I'll be right back. I'm going ask Akane that I'd like to have some time to 
be alone with you" Ranma said, opening the gate and disappearing. He 
reappeared several moments later "How about we take a short walk, like we used 
to"
  Shori walked along side Ranma as they headed off toward nowhere in 
particular. 
  A cold wind blew, causing Shori to shiver. She rubbed her shoulders, trying 
to warm herself up, but it wasn't much help. The wind seemed to chill her to 
her bones, and Ranma had noticed. 
  Shori felt tears threatening to burst from her eyes as she saw Ranma take 
off his light winter jacket and placed it over he shoulder. The warmth from 
Ranma's jacket made her forget completely about how cold it was before "T-
thank you"
  She felt her emotions rising. She missed this attention. No one remotely 
compared to Ranma when it came to his generosity and kindness. He always 
treated her kindly, yet she was the one who left. She regretted that decision, 
but she knew it couldn't be changed. 
  "You okay?" Ranma said, noticing the tears swelling up in his Shori's eyes 
"Did I do something wrong?"
  "Why do you have to be like that?" Shori pleaded, her tears now starting to 
flow "Why do you have to be so nice to me, after what I did to you?"
  Ranma was silent for a moment before speaking 
 "Because...you're my wife" he said softly. Even though he still felt pain for 
her leaving him and the girls behind to pursue her career, the pain had gone 
mostly away. All that remained was this dull ache, like something a person 
would feel after getting over someone they once loved.
  Shori, although always in control with her life, couldn't keep her emotions 
for Ranma. As if instinctively, she faced Ranma, and took hold of him, her 
head pressed into the crook of his neck and shoulder "Oh Ranma, I missed you" 
She was willing to risk it all at that moment. She felt like her heart would 
shatter when Ranma didn't return the embrace. It proved that he had no longer 
cared for her. But to her surprise, she felt his warm arms embrace her.
  "I missed you too, Shori" he said softly into her ears "I never stopped 
thinking about you"
  Shori wanted to be in his arms forever. But she knew that would never last. 
Ranma had gone on with his life, and he had fallen in love with someone else. 
And since she loved him so much, she didn't want to cause him any pain. She 
gently pulled back "I'm sorry, it's not my place to do that anymore" 
  She noticed that the tears just won't stop flowing. She tired to wipe them 
away, but they wouldn't stop.
  Ranma regarded her with soft eyes. He didn't want to do this to her. He 
still cared for her and it pained him that she still hadn't gotten on with her 
life, like he did. Even though it pained him, he still had to go through with 
what he was going to do. He wanted to take her back, to give her another 
chance, but he knew he would never love her the way he used to. He now loved 
someone else.
  "Shori, it really pains me to say this, but..."
  Shori knew what he was going to say. That was why she wanted to be here in 
person. She wanted to be here when he said those words. She wished with all 
her heart that it would never come to this, but it was inevitable. She and 
Ranma should had gotten a divorce years ago. And it was all her fault. She 
should had never left him. But because of her decision, and the path she took, 
this was how it was going to end.
  "I want a divorce," he said, "I'm sorry"
  Although she was expecting it, she never realized how much hearing those 
words would hurt. It felt like her heart was going to stop. As much as she 
wanted the words to not be true, she knew she deserved this. 
  Shori looked down toward the ground, too ashamed 
"How long are you staying here?" Ranma asked, changing the subject. It pained 
him and Shori too much to continue down that path of their conversation. They 
needed to talk about something else.
  "I'll be leaving within the hour" 
  Ranma felt a heavy feeling in his heart "That means you won't be able to see 
Meggie and Jessie"
  "I'm sorry,"



Chapter 35

     "Well, I'm gonna go home and pick up the kids now" Ranma said with a 
smiled "I'll be back real soon" He and Akane had finished their paperwork 
several minutes ago. It had taken them a few hours to get all of it done. It 
was now somewhere around seven. 
  Ranma knew he would have to rush home to get his kids for dinner. Since 
Meggie and Jessie tended to fall asleep at around nine, that meant they had a 
good two hours before they're too tired to do anything else, which was plenty 
of time for a nice dinner.
  "Sure," Akane said with a smile. She had been looking forward to this all 
day, so forward that it actually slowed her down with her share of the 
paperwork since she had trouble concentrating on anything but what was coming 
up.
  She stopped Ranma for a moment to ask him what kind of restaurant they were 
going to.
  "A five star restaurant. Dress formal," he said with a warm smile before 
leaving.
  Akane found herself giggling like a school girl. It was as if she had just 
been asked out to her high school prom. Actually, this felt more important.
  She quickly ran up to her bedroom to get changed. She knew exactly what 
dress she wanted to wear. It would know Ranma's socks off. She would go the 
distance. She would put on make-up and eye liner and blush, doing her hair, 
putting on lipstick, the works. Ranma was in for a surprise.
  Tonight would be special.

  "They're asleep?" Ranma said to his mom after he heard what she had just 
told him. He wasn't expecting them to be asleep now. Sure, they sometimes fell 
asleep early, but he had no idea today would be one of them.
  Nodoka nodded, "They fell asleep about an hour ago. They were playing so 
hard with that pet piglet you bought them that it seems they wore themselves 
out. Heck, even the piglet seems worn out. It's sleeping in the little bed and 
made it in the kitchen"
  "Man, what am I going to do then?" Ranma said to his mom, following behind 
her as he entered the house. He followed her to the kitchen and noticed P-chan 
sleeping soundly "Hm, you're right. It's strange P-chan would be asleep. 
Around this time, that's when he's at his liveliest...at least that's how he 
is when he's trying to bite me"
  Nodoka chuckled softly, "That piglet down there? Are you sure? That's got to 
be the nicest and kindest pig I ever saw, especially when it's around Meggie 
and Jessie. They seem to adore each other"
  Ranma pulled up one of his sleeves. There were several bite marks on his 
forearms. There weren't any breaks in the skin, but some indentation of the 
teeth marks "Well, I have the marks to prove it doesn't like me. What do you 
think I should do?"
  "What are you talking about?"
  "I'm talking about the dinner date with Akane tonight," Ranma said, "The 
three of us were expected to all go out to dinner tonight. I even told them I 
would come by around now to pick them up. I'm not too sure what I should do. 
Akane's expecting the children to be coming along with me. What do you think I 
should 
do?"
  "What do you think?"
  "Well," Ranma said, "I think I should go to dinner with her even though the 
children aren't comin' along. Afterall, she is expecting me to come back, and 
I'm pretty sure she's not goin' to appreciate it if I cancel the date on her. 
She'll probably be angry cause she's probably getting dressed right now"
   "Don't you dare cancel that dinner date," Nodoka said, "If I were her, and 
someone canceled on me on the last minute, I'd be furious. And I'm pretty sure 
you don't want Akane to feel that way also"
  "Okay, I get your point," Ranma said, "I'll go on with the dinner date. I 
just hope she isn't disappointed when she finds out they fell asleep"
  "Hm, I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure she won't be all that 
disappointed," she replied with a smirk. She almost wanted to bop her son on 
his head for thinking of something like that. Sure, having the children around 
was very nice, but she was sure that any girl would like spending time alone 
with just Ranma. Most girls would jump at the chance. But since Ranma 
preferred to always be with his children, he was rarely alone. Akane was the 
only person who actually spent a prolonged period of time alone with Ranma 
"And while you're at it, don't bother coming home so early. This is, what, the 
second time you ever went out with a woman since Shori. You should go out 
more. Even if you are married..."
  "Fine, I get your drift. I'm going already," Ranma said, "I'm going. I'm 
just going to say goodnight to the kids"
  Ranma went upstairs and entered the room Meggie and Jessie always slept in. 
He smiled as he gazed down on their innocent and angelic features. He wondered 
how tonight would turn out. Even though his children won't be coming alone, he 
was sure he'd have a nice time with just Akane.
  Ranma kissed them goodnight and silently left the room and headed back 
downstairs.
  "Well, mom," Ranma said, "I'm off to dinner"
  "Don't worry about me," Nodoka said, "I won't be waiting up"
  Ranma chuckled a bit, "I'll see you later"
  Nodoka watched as Ranma disappeared around a corner as he headed toward 
Akane's house. After a few moments, she entered the house and walked upstairs 
and entered the twin's sleeping quarters. She leaned up against the doorjamb, 
a smile on her lips.
  "Did Daddy leave yet?" Meggie said, snapping wide awake.
  Nodoka nodded, "You're very devious things, aren't you? How'd you come up 
with a plan like that, acting like you fell asleep by accident? Also, how'd 
you manage to teach P-chan to pretend he was sleeping? You've only had him for 
a short while. I think that's what kept Ranma from getting suspicious"
  Meggie and Jessie giggled before Jessie asked "Do you think Akane will 
become our new Mommy?"
  "Who knows," Nodoka said, "She seems like a sweet person. She seems right 
for you and your Daddy"
  "I hope she becomes our Mommy," Meggie said, "I like her lots. She's very 
nice"
  "Well," the elderly, albeit youthful looking, grandmother said with a smile 
"all you can do is cross your fingers"
  Without any hesitation, Meggie and Jessie crossed both of their fingers.