Ranma 1/2: New Challenges
Trouble with a Capital `A'

Chapter 7





        "Alright, we have everyone here," Nabiki said. "Ranma and Akane
have gone on a training trip and they didn't tell any of us where. Now
talk."

         Mousse looked around at the assembled Tendos and Saotomes. Tofu
was already around, visiting Kasumi when Mousse showed up. "What I'm
going to tell you is what happened when we returned to China. Shampoo
was still horribly upset that she lost Ranma. She knew there would be a
reckoning when she faced the Amazon elder council. After all, she spent
over a year here and what does she have to show for it? Nothing. In
fact, Cologne died because she came with Shampoo. That loss unbalanced
the council."

        "But, it was my understanding Cologne-san died to save us from
that creature Krynn had become," Tofu interjected. "Shouldn't that mean
something to them?"

         Mousse shook his head. "Maybe, but the consequences were dire.
Cologne was the greatest of the Amazons and held great political clout.
Her main rival, Zhao Len, was almost as powerful, but not nearly as
popular. With Cologne gone, Zhao Len saw her chance and attempted to
seize power for herself. She swayed more Amazons to her cause and the
other three council members were soon powerless to stop her, lest they
risk a civil war. Then Shampoo arrived."

         He paused to gather his thoughts. "She challenged for her right
as Cologne's chosen successor, to claim her seat on the council. She
successfully bested the ten opponents set against her, then argued her
position. She convinced the council that, thought the seat was hers, she
didn't feel ready to take it. Instead, she elected Pu Yon, an old family
friend of her family's, to take the seat until Shampoo felt she was
ready.

         Mousse's head dropped. "But soon after, she became...
different. After her defeat by Akane, she had grown warmer toward me. I
became her friend again by forgoing my pursuit of her, and she opened up
to me more. I thought I was making progress, but one day it all
changed."

         He paused, and the gathered group could see how difficult
recalling these memories wer for the myopic Amazon. "It was back to the
same old thing," he said quietly. "Shampoo began to ignore me again.
Nothing I said got through to her. Even more strangely, was Zhao Len was
arguing that Ranma should either marry into the tribe or be killed for
his knowledge of Amazon techniques and Shampoo agreed. She was all too
eager to marry him again." He shook his head. "I don't know what they
did to her, but once I found out, I tried to stop her. She turned me
into a duck and trapped me in a cage while her, Zhao Len and a bunch of
warriors left for Japan under the council's orders to reclaim Ranma."

         There were several murmurs at this. Amazons were coming here
for Ranma and it sounded like a lot of them.

        "So how did you get here if they locked you up?" Soun asked.

        "You can thank LinLin and RanRan for that," he replied. "They
still don't like the idea of Shampoo marrying Ranma. Together, we
escaped and came here with the purpose of finding Ranma and warning him.
They're off scouting right now, but should be back by tomorrow." He
sighed. "If you don't know where Ranma and Akane are, than chances are
neither does Zhao Len and Shampoo. They're probably scouting the
countryside looking for them. With their numbers, they'll have a better
chance at finding them."

         Nabiki smirked(tm). "They may have numbers, but I have
connections. We'll find them first."

         Genma pushed his glasses up. "How many of these Amazons would
we be facing?"

         Mousse hesitated. "If it comes to direct conflict, we could be
facing anywhere from 50 to 100 amazon warriors, almost a third of the
tribe. While Shampoo may be the best of her generation, there are older
generations which will be tougher opponents. These warriors may stop you
and question you on where Ranma is. Be careful in how you deal with
them."

        "Hey Mousse," Nabiki asked. "Would you say these Amazons are in
the country legally?"

         He thought for a second. "Probably not. They don't plan to stay
long. Zhao Len does have connections as well, but arranging for an army
of Amazons to enter the country would raise some suspicions in the
Japanese goverment. I doubt she'd take that kind of a risk."

        "Then she's probably hiding them somewhere in the country,"
Nabiki reasoned. "If we could find out where they're hiding, I'm sure I
could interested some people in the government..." She left the sentence
unfinished but everyone understood.

         Genma stood. "Then it's clear. Everyone keep their eyes and
ears open, but no direct confrontations with the Amazons unless you have
no choice. We don't need to risk bringing their wrath down on us just
yet until we have a better handle on the situation. We'll stay in close
contact until Nabiki finds Ranma and Akane. Then we get them back here
and confront the Amazons on our terms."

         Nodoka gazed at her husband with pride, seeing the man she once
knew re-emerging. Everyone else who knew Genma well, looked dumbfounded.
They weren't used to seeing him taking charge and making sound
judgements.

         The meeting broke up then, and Mousse left to check with the
twin girls he arrived with while Tofu headed back to his clinic, but
both Saotome parents stayed. There was safety in numbers. The Amazons
were practicing it, why shouldn't they as well?

         A short time later there was a knock at the door and Kasumi
answered it.

        "Oh, hello!" Those in the dining room heard Kasumi say. "It's so
good to see you again. Why don't you come inside?"

         The group looked up as she led two girls in. Nabiki's jaw
dropped. "Natsume and Kurumi?"

         They bowed and Natsume stated, "We've come to challenge you
once again for the dojo."






         Ryoga concentrated. <I can do this. If Ranma can adapt and
change his moves, so
can I!>

        "Bakusai Tenketsu Ha!"

         He hit the ground with a finger and was reward as a huge rock
twenty meters away blew up with the series of explosions that reached it
in under two seconds. "Success!"

         Akari hugged him. "You did it, Ryo-chan! I'm so proud of you!"

         Ryoga laughed nervously as he put a hand behind his head. "Heh
heh, it was nothin'." His expression calmed down a bit. "When I do the
breaking point, I use a little ki to hit an extremely small spot that
causes an object to explode. With this, I'm sending a faint line of ki
through the ground, hitting multiple breaking points as it travels."

        "So, what are you planning to work on now?" she asked.

        "I don't know. I mean, I suppose can adapt in further and do
something like a small earthquake if I wanted, but that would cause a
lot of collateral damage. I still need a reliable ki blast."

        "Could you do Ranma's?" she suggested.

         He thought about it, then laughed. "Heh, nice thought, but I'd
never match Ranma's ego."

         Akari thought for a second. "Well.... I do know you're as brave
as a pig." Ryoga winced slightly. "Why not try courage?"

         The lost boy was about to say something, but then he closed his
eyes and considered the idea. He did seem to be at his strongest and
best when fighting all out for a cause, throwing personal safety out the
window, especially for Akane. But now, those same feelings seemed to be
getting stronger with Akari then they ever did for the girl who called
him P-chan. He would do anything for the girl who loved him.

         He opened his eyes, looked down into Akari's deep blue eyes,
and smiled. "Stand back and let me try something."

         She nodded and reluctantly released him, taking a few steps
backward. Ryoga turned and found a target, a large, dead tree standing
60 meters away. He concentrated on his feelings for Akari and his desire
to do anything for her. The memory of his first kiss was with her (as a
human anyway).

         He brought his hands forward and cupped them outward.

        "Shishi Hokoridan!"

         A big, red and white striped, comet-like blast roared out from
his hands and impacted the tree a split-second later. Though less
powerful than the Shishi Houkodan, it still was strong enough to blow a
big hole in the thick tree.

         When Akari looked up afterwards, she saw Ryoga had a goofy grin
on his face. She knew that look, and he usually got it after she kissed
him. "Ryoga-chan?"

         At the sound of her voice, he turned and looked at her, grin
still plastered on his face. For some reason, he felt really good and,
acting on something (he didn't know what), he ran over to her, picked
her up, and swung her around in a circle.

         "Yatta!" Ryoga shouted as Akari giggled in girlish delight.

         When he suddenly realized what he was doing, he quickly set her
down and laughed nervously while putting a hand behind his head. Akari,
not wanting to lose the moment, glomped him in monster hug.

        "Ryo-chan, I'm so proud of you!" she squealed. "How did you do
it?"

        "Well, when you suggested courage, it got me thinking," he
started. "Before I met you, I only lived to get revenge on Ranma by
fighting him. Over time, I realized, besides that, I had nothing else to
live for and soon didn't care much whether I lived or died."

         Akari's eyes turned sorrowful. "Ryoga..."

         He laughed nervously again. "It's okay, I'm better now..." he
looked away and said in a quieter voice, "now that I have you." But
Akari still heard it loud and clear. He looked into her eyes again.
"You... you give me the courage to live each day now. I no longer think
the world is such a cold and lonely place."

         She smiled. "Oh, Ryoga, I-I feel the same way! I love you so
much..."

         The same tingle went through the lost boy's body, same as
always whenever she said that. Only this time, he had the courage to
respond to it. "Thanks... Akari-chan. I... I lov..." He closed his eyes
and gulped.. "Iloveyou,too," he said quietly.

         Akari gave him a squeeze, then a kiss, then took his arm as
they walked back to the farmhouse. <I said I'd wait for you forever, and
I'm glad I did. I knew you'd come back to me.>

         Ryoga, for once, took pleasure in the warmth the Akari provided
instead of nervous tension. <Akari, thank you. You've given me something
I never thought I'd have. I-I hope I prove myself worthy of you.>








        "Hey Yuri-honey, have you noticed something different Selah-
chan?" Ukyo asked as the two did some cleaning around Ucchans.

         Yuri looked over at the girl in question who was sitting in
booth and coloring in a book. "Now that you mention it, she does seem
more withdrawn. She used to be so happy and bubbly, especially around my
brother."

        "Think it might have something to do with what happened back at
Kodachi's crazy house?"

         Yuri nodded. "We were shot at with several arrows, dropped into
a black pit, then had a ton of dirt fall on us. I think the event scared
her more than she'll admit. Maybe someone should talk to her."

        "Well, Kenji-kun's out training with your sensei, and she sees
me as a rival for him, so I think it should be you," Ukyo reasoned.

         The ninja girl sighed, but reluctantly agreed. She walked over
to Selah who looked up at her and smiled weakly. "Howya doin', kiddo?"
She slid into the booth with the younger girl, though Selah didn't
respond. "Hey, I know something's bothering you. Wanna talk about it?"
She shook her head and Yuri sighed. "You know, the more you keep your
problems bottles up inside, the worse you feel. I should know; me and
Kenji lost our parents awhile ago."

         She looked up. "You did?"

        "Yep. Let me tell you I was feeling pretty bad for quite awhile.
Some friends of my mother's took care of me and tried to help me, but
for awhile I didn't want to talk to anyone. Then Neko, a friend, got me
to talk about what happened and you know what?"

        "What?"

        "I felt a whole lot better. When you share your innermost
thoughts with a friend, especially your sad ones, it makes the hurt go
away some." Her voice became quieter and she whispered, "And just
between you and me, I was pretty scared back there at Kodachi's house."

        "You were?" Yuri nodded. Selah seemed to ponder this for awhile,
then looked down. "I wish my mommy were here, I wanna see her again.
Where is she?" A few tears appeared in her eyes, but she bravely wiped
them away. Yuri put her arm around the girl and Selah responded by
latching onto the older girl.

        "We'll find her, I promise. Nabiki-chan is looking into it. I've
been told that if she can find out anything!" Selah looked up. "Just
remember, you have all of us as family now." Yuri began to stroke the
little girl's hair, hoping to calm her. It seemed to be working. "Now, I
don't think that's all that's been bothering you, is it?"

         Selah stiffened, then nodded slowly.

        "It has to do with the rescue trip?" Nod. Yuri sighed, since
that's what she expected. Selah pretended to put on a brave front, but
after the whole episode was over and the shock wore off, the reality of
what happened hit her hard and she was unable to deal with the traumatic
incident, so she internalized it.

        "Now you know why we wanted you to stay here," Yuri said at
last. "We care about you and didn't want to see you get hurt." She bent
down to whisper in the little girl's ear. "And I'll tell you a secret:
Ukyo-chan cares about you, too."

         Selah looked up, her deep blue eyes blinking sleepily. "Sh-she
does?"

         Yuri nodded as she looked out the window. "We all do. You're
among friends here, so you don't have to hide your feelings. Until we
find your family, we'll take care of you..." As she trailed off, she
looked down to see the little girl had fallen asleep. Smiling and
shaking her head, she picked up the sleeping bundle and took her to
Ukyo's room.

         Placing her on one of the spare futons, she pulled a blanket
over her and left.

        "You've got quite a way with kids, Yuri-chan," Ukyo stated when
the other girl returned. "The little squirt trusts you."

         Yuri smiled. "She's not so bad, ne?"

         Ukyo grumbled. "I wouldn't say that. She's soaked too many of
my clothes for me to like the little squirt. I'm still keeping my eye on
her."

         Yuri just laughed.






         In her bed, Selah was actually still awake, thinking back to
when she had last seen her mother...

         They were camped in forest, resting from their many days of
travel. Selah could sense something was wrong, since her mother always
seemed worried about something but wouldn't tell her daughter what it
was. Her mother also insisted on a fast pace of travel.

         It had been like that ever since they were forced to abandon
their home in the Tiebtan mountains. Selah remembered awakening to her
mother's urgent shaking, saying they needed to leave. There were screams
and yelling outside their house, and when they departed, she could see
most of the other houses in flames. Her mother told her they were
escaping east, that they'd be safe from the danger there.

         But what danger did her mother mean? Obviously, it was the one
that threatened their village, and that her father had gone to fight
along with several others. She never saw her father again, though her
mother said he had died to protect them and that he wouldn't want them
to be sad.

         Selah resolved not to be sad, for her father.

         All of a sudden, her mother perked up as they sat around the
small fire, as if listening to something.

        "What is it, momma?"

         All color drained from her mother's face and Selah heard her
whisper silently, "They've found us." She looked at her daughter and
tried to smile. "It's going to be okay, baby. Mommy's just going to do
something. Here," she handed Selah a photograph. "This is a picture of
Soyokaze Kenji."

         Selah beamed. "He's cute! He's my fiance, isn't he?"

         Her mother had no time to argue and nodded. "He'll take care of
you. Now, I want you to run back out to the road and follow it. It will
take you to a town named Nerima. Kenji should be there, staying at a
restaurant and attending school." She put out the fire with a minor
water blast as she hustled her daughter along.

        "But what about you, momma?" A scared Selah asked.

        "I'll be fine." Mrs. Lenwith dropped to her knees in front of
her daughter. "In these next few days you must learn to be brave and
take care of yourself. Can you promise me you will do that?"

         Selah, despite how scared she was feeling, nodded bravely.

        "Good. I love you, sweetie." She gave her daughter a hug. "Now
please go and don't look back. And don't come back no matter what you
may hear or sense. I'll try to catch up with you as soon as I can." She
stood up and gave her only daughter a push.

         Selah began to run. "I'll be brave, momma, I promise!"

         And she ran and ran down the road as explosions and gushing
water sounded behind her, never looking back, tears running down her
face.





         Now, alone in her futon, Selah allowed her tears to run down
her face once more. "I'm sorry, momma, I promised to be brave... but I'm
so scared."






         Kenji glanced around the park, his eyes focusing on nothing.
<He's here somewhere.> He turned his head slightly. <There!> He reached
into his shirt and pulled out a handful of shuriken, then flung them at
the tree.

         His sensei easily leapt out of the way of the projectiles and
Kenji rushed to intercept and attack. A clang of metal against metal
resounded as Bo met staff. Kenji vaulted over his teacher and aimed his
landing. When Kenji's sensei turned around, his opponent was gone.

        "Very good, my pupil," he commended. "You are learning. You are
well on your way to mastering the ninja art of hiding and invisibility,
as well as detecting those that are hiding. Now you must learn when and
how to strike, and since all opponents are different, you will need to
learn how to read them." He pointed his staff at a small shadow. "By the
way, you can come out of there now, the lesson is over."

         He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Kenji standing
behind him. The old sensei laughed. "You surprise me, boy, and that's
not an easy thing to do. I shall now tell you my name. I am Satsu." He
bowed.

        "So, does this mean I passed?" Kenji asked.

         Satsu chuckled. "Oh my, boy, no. You've just reached a certain
level. Now, we work on your fighting skills. Ninjas are first taught to
hide and move silently, then to fight. I see you prefer the Bo, why is
that?"

         Kenji hefted the weapon in his hands and twirled it. "It's
generally non-lethal."

        "Hmmm. I may have to break you of that line of thinking. On the
battlefield, you may not be given a chance to decide if your enemy
lives. And the Bo can still break bones and cause fatal injury if used
right." He shook his head. "But that's enough for now. I shall leave now
and come for you when it's time for you to train again."

         He disappeared into the night and Kenji shook his head. The
ninja trainee had learned quite a bit in the few training sessions he
been in with the old master. His awareness to his surroundings had
increased and he now had the ability to hide in shadows. He could also
move from shadow to shadow without being detected.

         He was so proud of his new abilities, that when he was a block
away from Ucchan's and sensed he was being followed, he decided to turn
the tables. Kenji ducked around a corner and merged easily with the
blackness cast by the light from the full moon. A pair of figures
appeared above him and glanced down. He could hear one of them swear,
then they began to speak in a language he didn't understand.

        <Two women speaking Mandarin,> he thought to himself. Satsu had
told him that the Amazons were in town, and Nabiki had informed the
Ucchan gang about them as well. <And that means Amazons. Well, this is
my chance to find out where the're hiding out.>

         When the women left, Kenji leapt to the roof and began to
follow them, staying in the shadows and hanging back far enough to avoid
alerting them. He was surprised at how young they looked, and briefly
wondered if he could fight them if it came to that. <Older women are a
definite threat, but these are little girls!>

         Nevertheless, he continued to follow them into the night.





         Satsu entered the abandoned building that served as his
temporary home while he trained the Soyokaze siblings. He made his way
to the partially demolished attic and over to the twin bird cages.
Sitting down at the desk, he began to write a message. It was in code so
even if it was intercepted, it wouldn't be understood. To the receipant
however, it would read like this:

Oka,
You were right. Kenji shows remarkable potential, and he turns into a
wolf. I know a Jusenkyo curse wasn't what we expected, but then what
were we expecting? There are several more exceptional people here, many
of them powerful fighters. Two in particular interest me: A boy named
Saotome Ranma and a girl named Tendo Akane. Sound familiar? I believe
our ancient texts speak of the Saotome and Tendo families. Ranma is one
of the best I've ever seen, and Akane is just beginning to tap her full
potential. I think you know what this means. I suggest you go back over
the ancient records.
Satsu



         He broke the message into two parts and placed one part on a
carrier pigeon and let it loose. When it was gone, he placed the second
message on a second homing pigeon and sent it on it's way.

         Then he relaxed, stroked his goatee, and did some more
thinking.






        "Did you find anything?" Mousse asked. The two sisters shook
their head.

        "Zhao Len hides too too well," LinLin said. "We no can find her
in city."

        "We think she hide in country, but is big place," RanRan added.
"We maybe no find unless have big search party."

         Mousse sighed. "Just as I feared. We'll have to rely on Tendo
Nabiki's connections, or else wait for Zhao Len's first move." <Or
Shampoo's,> he added silently. "We'll head back to the Tendo Dojo for
now and wait."

         The two younger sisters of Shampoo clutched their weapons
tightly and nodded.






        "Okay, Akane, one more try and then we head back," Ranma said.

         She nodded in grim determination and concentrated on the stream
once more. She was recovered enough from the tiger attack of nearly a
week ago, and with the speed training she had been receiving, Ranma felt
her ready enough to attempt it. The weights came off and Akane felt so
much lighter and faster then ever. Still, her first nine attempts at the
current move had been slightly under the goal.

        "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" she called out. Her hands lanced
into the river at blinding speeds, and fish began to pile up next to
her. After five seconds, Ranma called stop.

         Akane glanced at Ranma expectantly and awaited his verdict. He
looked from the pile of fish to the stopwatch and then back to her. A
big grin appeared on his face. "You did it." Akane shrieked and hugged
Ranma tightly. "Whoa! I'm proud of ya too, but leave some air in my
lungs."

        "Gomen," she said, lightening up.

         They stood up, gathered the fish, and headed back to camp. "The
move was still a little on the sloppy side, but you got the basics
down," he reported. "You just to need to work on perfecting it." He
grinned. "And I got the perfect way for you to perfect it."

        "The perfect way?" she asked confused and not a little bit
hesitant.

         He didn't say anymore as they entered the camp and began
preparing their dinner. He built a fire while she put some rice into a
pot and filled it with water. Ranma gutted and cleaned the fish, then
set them over the fire to cook along with the rice.

         After dinner, Ranma annouced it was time for the final test.
She watched in understanding as he placed several chestnuts into the
fire, then removed them at blinding speeds using the Amaguriken
technique. He looked at Akane who nodded with determination that she was
ready.


         He replaced the chestnuts and said, "If you can do this, then
I've got a surprise for ya. I won't tell ya until you do it."

        "I'll show you!" she stated, then turned her focus to the fire.
Some of the chestnuts were partially buried and it would take all of her
concentration and skill to remove them without being burned.

        "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" she called out once again. Her hands
blazed into the fire, and when she was done, she held all the of the
chestnuts in her hand. They were pretty hot, but for some reason, she
didn't notice.

        "You've definitely got it," he said, impressed. "Now, there's
something I gotta tell ya." She nodded slowly, puttng the chestnuts
down, and waited for him to continue. He turned toward the fire. "I've
kinda got a confession ta make... about our engagement. I've never
really liked the fact that it was our parent's idea. I don't wanna get
married, just for honor."

         Akane, however, only heard the "I don't wanna get married"
part, and her heart dropped into her stomach. <I... I thought he loved
me...> She felt so cold and shakey all of a sudden. Her mouth opened,
but nothing came out.

         Ranma inhaled, completely oblivious to her reaction, and pulled
a small box out of his pants pocket. He turned and presented it to
Akane. "We should break our parent's engagement, and replace it with our
own." He opened the box revealing the yin-yang ring. "I-I want us to be
fiancee's for real." Ranma felt as if he was shaking almost as much as
it looked like Akane was. "That is, if you want to."

         The cold wave running through her body suddenly turned white
hot. "R-Ranma, y-you mean it?" she asked, tears forming in her eyes.

         Ranma's nerve was beginning to leave him. <No! Not until I get
this out!> "Akane, will you... will you marry me?"

         Akane was in a state of shock. First from his seeming break up,
then from the ring in the box that was now in front of her. She began to
shed tears and, since she couldn't find her voice, she held up her hand
and nodded fiercely as Ranma slipped the ring onto her finger. She then
wrapped her arms around him and found her voice again. "YES! Of course
I'll marry you, Baka! Just don't scare me like that again!"

        "You know I'd never willingly leave ya," he said softly.

         She kissed him passionately as a response, then sat back,
wondering if her face was as nervous looking and flushed as his. She
smiled slightly. "So, when?"

         Ranma blinked, then turned partially away from her. "Um, if
it's all right with you, I wanna wait awhile. I don't know too much
about this stuff, but I don't think I'm ready to be a hu-husband just
yet."

         She leaned into him then and, wrapped her arm around his waist,
understanding. "Well, since I was partially responsible for the last
wedding, I'll let you decide the next one." Her smile grew a bit. "Just
don't keep me waiting too long. I don't want to be an old maid before I
get married."

         Akane felt, rather than heard Ranma chuckle, his chest
vibrating wonderfully against her cheek, and his arm hesitantly went
around her shoulders. "I won't. I... I just got a lot of thinkin' to
do."

         No more talk took place around the fire that evening as they
contented themselves with just the feel of each other's presence. Each
knew an another important milestone had been reached that night, similar
to that night where they told each each of their love. Then, they had
decided to actively pursue the relationship, to see where it would go.

         And right now, Akane realized, it was going very well. She knew
Ranma was holding something back, some fear about marriage, but she
decided not to pry and let him tell her when he was ready. After a year-
and-a-half of living with him, she learned to tell when something was on
his mind.

         They seperated an hour later and Akane headed into the tent
while Ranma, his heart still trying to break the sound barrier, cleaned
up outside and put the fire out. When he was done, he entered the tent
to find a sight that that he wasn't expecting.

         Akane was in her pajamas and had just finished zipping the
sleeping bags together. She turned to glance coyly at him, her face beat
red and a curious look in her eyes..

        "A-Akane!?" he asked. "What'd you do that for?"

         She held out her hand, he nervously took it, and she guided him
to kneel beside her. Her eyes dropped down, her fingers playing
nervously with her ring."Well, it is going to be a cold night tonight
and we are officially engaged now. I just thought that, well... I just
wanted to hold you tonight." She looked up at him through her eyelashed.
"If that's okay with you?"

         Ranma gulped nervously, but nodded. He stripped off his pants
and shirt, leaving him in his boxers and muscle T-shir as he slipped
into his sleeping bag, laying down on his back. Akane followed suit,
working her way under his left arm resting her head on his chest, where
she could hear the rapid beating of his heart. She settled one of her
arms across his stomach and pressed her full body against him, feeling
the heat his body generated.

         "I've wanted to do this for so long," she whispered contentedly
into his chest. "Ranma?"

        "Hmmm?" he answered while resting his eyes.

        "Can I ask you a question?" He grunted affirmative. "Do you find
me... well, attractive?"

         He raised his head and opened his eyes to see her looking
intently at him. He turned a slight shade of red as he nodded. "Uh,
yeah. You look fine ta me. Always did."

         She blushed as well and then asked, "Then why did you always
call me uncute?"

         He sighed while he internally debated his answer. "Akane,
uncute was never about how ya looked. It was always about the way you
acted. The way you'd get mad and hit me with giving me a chance to
explain, and when you'd get jealous and yell at me."

         She accepted that answer as several scenes flashed through her
head, all of them dealing with her delivering pain instead of listening
to him. She looked down, somewhat chastised. "I-I'm sorry, Ranma. I'll
try not to get jealous and hit you anymore."

         The pig-tailed martial artist shrugged, as as much of a shrug
as he could manage in his current position. "It ain't no big deal,
really. I don't mind ya hittin' me, it's just part of my life and it's
somethin' I can deal with." He grinned. "Plus, I don't what my life
would be like without my brutal tomboy..."

        "Ranma?" Akane asked, confused. "Then, do you really think I'm a
tomboy?"

        "Yep." He smiled at her fallen expression. "Hey, I like
tomboys!" She looked at him disbelievingly. "No, I'm serious. How do I
explain it." He thought for a moment. "Weak and dainty girls like Kasumi
or Nabiki aren't my type. Well, until recently I never thought about
that stuff like that. But ever since I got engaged to you and spent time
here with all those girl's after me, I began to think about what kind of
wife I'd want. It seemed seemed I'd end up married one way or another. I
decided that she would have ta be a martial artist, of course." He
grinned at her. "I think you come close at any rate."

         That earned him a soft slug in the arm. "Baka."

        "That's another reason. It's not the hittin' so much I mind, I
can take that. In fact, whenever we fought and ya hit me, I... well, to
me it showed ya cared enough to get mad. I've been fighting all my life,
so it's a part of me. You always gave me a good fight, but you never hit
me when I was down, and you hardly ever let me be lonely."

         Akane's gaze softened. "Ranma..."

        "You always gave me your honest opinions, not caring what I
thought about it. Ukyo, Shampoo, or Kodachi hit me, just agreed with
everything I said. And the only times they turned violent, were against
each other and any other girl that came too close to me." He shivered
slightly. "Talk about jealousy..." He looked at her and decided to turn
the tables. "So, what about you?"

         "Me?" She was surprised at the redirection, though she knew
what he meant. "Well, you remember Kuno and his stupid `Defeat Akane and
date her' proclamation? And how I had to beat up all those stupid boys
every morning?" Her fist clenched in anger at the memory.

        "Uh, Akane? Your aura?"

         She suddenly realized that reddish-orange light flooding the
tent was coming from her, and toned it down. "Oops, sorry. I was just so
mad at that, I mean, who wouldn't be? How would you feel if fifty people
tried to beat you up every morning?" She sighed. "Especially since if I
was beat, it basically meant he was... free to do what he wanted with
me. And if he was strong enough to do it, there was a chance I wouldn't
have been able to do anything about it..."

         She shivered involuntary. That was something she had never
really admitted to anyone before. "And then you came along, a boy who
could beat me easily..."

         Ranma suddenly understood. "But I never would've done anything
like that to ya..."

        "I know that now," she replied in a quiet voice. "But that fear
was always there. So I responded by trying to control you, so you
couldn't hurt me. I realized later that you wouldn't, and that you only
wanted to protect me, so I guess that's when I started to fall in love
with you." She found his right hand and gave it a squeeze.

        "But then the other girls started showing up," she continued in
somewhat disguested voice. "And it seemed they were all better than me,
and better looking, and I was always afraid you would leave me for them
because I couldn't measure up."

        "I never really wanted them," Ranma told her softly. "Kodachi's
just plain scares me, and Shampoo ain't much better. I was always
worried they were gonna drug me or use some other kind of mind control.
Plus, Shampoo tried to kill both me and you. As a martial artist, I
don't mind gettin' into fights, but I don't really feel right `bout
someone who tries to kill. That just ain't right."

         Akane bit her lower lip. <He didn't mention the other one.>
"What about Ukyo?"

         He was silent for a moment, and Akane feared the response he
was going to give. "Akane, how can I tell you this? I thought Ukyo was a
guy, a friend sorta like Ryoga, and I ain't `about to marry Ryoga."

         Akane surpressed a giggle at the sight of Ranma-onna in a
wedding dress with Ryoga as the groom. Ranma didn't seem to notice as he
continued.

        "The thing is, she shows up years later tryin' ta kill me. That
hurt, like with Ryoga. She seemed all mad that I left her behind, so I
told her she was cute in the hopes it would calm her down." His eyes
closed. "I tried to go back to being her friend after that, but it
was... I don't know, different. More obsessive. I had so few friends,
that Ukyo almost seemed like family, and then she goes and destroys my
momma's house and the weddin'..."

         Akane was silent while she analyzed what he had told her. <I
guess I can understand that.> She yawned, the combination of deep
thought and Ranma's warm body lulling her to sleep. A part of her mind
noted that Ranma's heart had slowed and was beating normally. The rest
ignored it as it drifted off.

         Ranma realized absently that his left hand was stroking her
hair as she leaned against him. For the first time in his life he felt
so at peace and - what's the word?

         Oh yeah - happiness. Somehow, he felt more complete with her by
his side. He looked down and realized her eyes were closed and her
breathing soft; she had fallen asleep.

         He closed his eyes as well and soon joined her.


------------------------------------------------

Author's notes:

Ryoga's new techniques:
Bakusai Tenketsu Ha - Blasting point wave
Shishi Hokoridan - Lion's Pride Bullet - Based on courage

Yamesenken - Deadly techniques invented by Genma. Sealed because they
were too dangerous.

Kijin Rashuu-dan - Fierce God Assault Bomb, part of the Yamesenken