Ranma 1. Offerings

Disclaimer: The characters of Ranma ½ belong to Rumiko Takahashi and her licensees. I'm just borrowing them.

Ok, I know, "Yuki" hasn't updated in like 4 years, but this one started brewing in my mind thanks to Trent O'Donoghue (the author of Meeting Later). He and I speak online regularly, and he convinced me to write a fic on an idea that we came up with together.

I was originally going to wait until this story was complete before I posted it, but I'm getting impatient with how slowly I've been writing it. Maybe if there was a deadline I'd work on it faster. As it is, it's probably about 50% done, and I'm currently working on the 14th chapter. If I post one chapter a week, that should be long enough to keep ahead of myself shouldn't it?

Oh, and this is rated M for a reason. There is sex in here, and while I tried to keep it toned down in how explicit it was, I thought it would be safer to leave a note up here for you.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 1

It was the middle of the night, and dark things were a brewin' at the Neko Hanten. A shadowy figure rummaged through the mail stolen earlier in the day, looking for a package.

"Shampoo know it in here," the figure said. "Been waiting on it for months now. Should have come by… Ayah! Here it is!" She pulled out her package from the pile and let the rest fall to the floor. Hurriedly she tore open the paper, and pulled out a stack of small paper pouches, labeled "Jusenkyo Industries". "Hehehe, Pervert Girl is going to live up to her name too too soon!"

* * *

Akane sighed as she sat down in her desk. Ranma was going to be late that morning, and it was all Mousse's fault. He'd attacked shortly after breakfast that morning. The reasons given were the usual: "Give up Shampoo" and all that jazz, so Akane had just left them to it and gone ahead on her own. She had wanted to stay and fight, but Ranma had told her to go on without him, so she just shrugged and left. She didn't want to get attacked by that training potty too, that was just embarrassing.

She was just settling down and opening her bag when she heard a commotion coming from the grounds below. Thinking that it was probably just another round of Ranma vs. Kuno she ignored it, and started to review yesterday's notes. She was about halfway through her notes when the commotion started to increase in volume, but her curiosity wasn't piqued until she heard Ranma shout "WHAT THE HELL AKANE?! I THOUGHT THAT WE..."

Frustrated at being interrupted, she went to the window to shout down at Ranma that he had told her to go on without him, but saw that he wasn't looking up at the building, but instead at something that was going on against the wall along the school boundaries. She couldn't quite make it out for all the people crowded around.

Suddenly the crowd parted revealing a couple at the centre the girl bent over and pushed up against the wall. The boy, standing a little too close for comfort, turned out to be Kuno. Akane flushed bright red when she realized that they were having sex, Kuno pushed deep into his lover from behind. She couldn't quite make out who she was though. Ranma seemed to be pissed though as he approached them through the hole the crowd had made for him.

"HAHAHAHA! It is to laugh Saotome! Finally the fierce tigress that is Akane Tendo has chosen me to be her man!" Kuno shouted as Ranma approached. "Step away now that I might drive out the last vestiges of your influences and plant my heir into her womb!"

Akane's eyes boggled when she heard this. She looked harder down at the girl who was offering herself to Kuno, and could see that her hair style was similar, along with her figure, but she couldn't quite make out the face. Quickly she turned away from the window and raced down the stairs to the front door. Not even bothering to change her shoes, she ran outside. Ranma was still standing by himself in the hole in the crowd, hands clenched at his side and breathing hard as he watched Kuno fuck what he thought to be his fiancée, but at the same time refusing to believe that Akane would rather have Kuno. She ran up beside him, and touched him on the arm to get his attention. He turned to her, and jumped in surprise when he saw what surely had to be some kind of demon doppelganger. "Akane? Are you the real one?"

Akane looked confused for a second, before looking over at the girl getting her row plowed. It was a dead ringer for her, right down to the birthmark on her left butt cheek that nobody knew about. And boy could she see that birthmark, along with everyone else in the school. Her twin had her hands planted on the wall, and was bent over at the waist. The dress of her school uniform was hitched up over her hips, and her panties were down around an ankle, giving everyone a show, and giving full access to Kuno who was currently buried inside her. It was surreal and kind of arousing to see her body being used like that, but then she remembered it was Kuno who was doing it to her. The twin's face was twisted in carnal pleasure, but that quickly changed to surprise when she turned her head and saw the real Akane standing there.

"Oh thank the gods!" Ranma said, completely relieved. He grabbed her in a tight hug. "I knew it couldn't really be you Akane. You'd never let Kuno do that to you." He suddenly seemed to realize what he was doing, and let go, embarrassed.

Akane was also flushed at the rare show of affection from her fiancé, but regained her composure. "Well yeah Ranma, but who is it then? I don't have a twin running around you know." The doppelganger started to look worried, but was unable to break away from her lover's hold to escape.

Ranma looked thoughtful for a while. "Well there was Kiima after all. She took your form to fool me once through that 'Spring of a Drowned Akane'. Only one way to find out."

"Kiima?" Akane was surprised to hear that name again. She'd thought that the phoenix people were going to leave them alone now that they had their hot springs again. Although, it was the only explanation that made sense. She turned towards the fake. "Well I hope you got your jollies Kiima, because now you're gonna pay for them!" She pulled out her emergency hot water Thermos usually kept for Ranma, and threw it on her.

The water hit, and Akane breathed a sigh of relief as the transformation took place. Others in the crowd groaned when they saw that it wasn't Akane after all, but then a gasp went up when they saw who it really was.

"Shampoo? SHAMPOO?" Akane stared in disbelief as her rival was still being fucked by an oblivious Kuno. "Why would you do this?!"

Shampoo tried to answer, but she was, after all, in the middle of something. And despite being caught, the fact that she'd had this huge audience in the first place was arousing beyond anything she'd experienced before, and having her rival and husband watching her just compounded on that Instead of giving an explanation of her master plan gone all wrong, she orgasmed hard. The spasms seemed to do the trick, as Kuno slammed home and started to cum himself. Finally finishing, he fell backwards, and passed out.

Girls were heard in the crowd "tut tutting" at both his speed and his passing out afterwards. Guys were heard arguing over who would be next, and commenting on the fact that Shampoo's hair really was purple. Akane just glared, while Ranma was trying to decide between being angry and exasperated with this latest challenge for his hand in marriage.

Breathing hard, Shampoo stood up and adjusted her clothes, stepping out of her panties and leaving them on the ground. "Was trying to ruin Pervert Girl's reputation, make Airen think she choose another man. Got instant spring to transform into you. Wasn't counting on you being here. Stupid Mousse was supposed to get you out of the way."

She marched through the group, trying to pretend that she still had her dignity in tact. Looking over her shoulder, she sniffed at the pair. "At least Shampoo got a good fuck out of it. Next time it will be Ranma though. Ranma should leave stupid girl who won't ever put out and come to Shampoo's bed. He won't regret it." Everyone just stared at her as she left the school yard and walked towards the cafe.

Ranma just shook his head in disbelief as he watched one of his fiancées walk off after debasing herself like that as if she didn't care. He turned toward Akane, and saw what looked like a bomb about to explode. Her face was scrunched up, an absolute picture of fury mixed with the tears of embarrassment as everyone saw her naked from the waist down. Not wanting to be the target of all that fury, Ranma backed away slowly, and tried to get the crowd under control. "All right people, nothing more to see here!" He shouted while shooing the stragglers away. He looked back at Akane. "You gonna be ok 'Kane?"

"Just leave me alone for now Ranma," she said through clenched teeth. Ranma just shrugged his shoulders and continued to lead people away from Akane to let her calm down on her own. If this was the next stage in the fiancée wars, he didn't want to be around for the battles.

* * *

Shampoo muttered to herself as she walked home, complaining about how her plan failed and trying to figure out the best recipe for duck. She was having a hard time getting a good sulk on though, as she was still suffering the effects of afterglow. A pleasant soreness in her groin spread a warmth throughout her body. She didn't even mind the slight stickiness running down her legs...

"Ta ma de! Stupid Stick Boy came inside me!" She did some quick mental math, counting the days back to her last period, then sighed in relief when she figured that she should be ok. Besides, it wasn't the first time she'd had sex, and she wasn't pregnant yet. Even Mousse got the occasional roll in the hay, but he'd never remember it thanks to good old Formula 411. She'd have to remember to wipe that idiot's mind later, but for now she just wanted to go home and relax in the bath.

* * *

The rest of the morning was tense. Nobody wanted to be anywhere near Akane, the people who sat next to her in class even moved their desks away from hers. Ranma was the only one who glanced her way all morning, trying to make sure she wasn't going to explode. She was still furious, but at least her color had returned to normal rather than the bright red it had been. Ranma sighed as he watched her tear through her notepaper and break another pencil with the force she was using to write. He turned back to his own paper and the doodles upon it. Now, where was that birthmark again?

The bell for lunch rang, and everyone raced out of the room to find good places outside to sit and eat. Ranma took a more direct route and jumped out of the window, and climbed up to the roof where he could get some privacy. He'd just sat down to eat his lunch when the door to the roof opened. Damn, he should have thought to jam it shut somehow. He really wanted to be alone with his thoughts right now. He looked up to see who it was, and was only half surprised to see Ukyo standing there.

"Oh hey Ucchan, what's up?" He asked before turning back to his food. At least she's not going to do something crazy like Shampoo did this morning.

Ukyo fidgeted before turning and jamming a spatula through the clasp on the door, locking it shut. She walked over to him cautiously and sat down beside him, not looking at his face. "So... Um... Quite the show earlier today, huh?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah, I can't believe Shampoo would stoop to such a low," Ranma replied. He was actually kind of relieved to be able to talk about this with someone who wouldn't be going on about Akane's body and if they'd done it yet. He just knew that Hiroshi and Daisuke were itching to ask him those very questions. "As if I'd believe that Akane would let Kuno of all people have sex with her, let alone in front of the entire school."

"Yeah, no kidding," Ukyo replied, still refusing to look at him. She started to fiddle with the buttons on the front of her boy's uniform. "It's just a good thing that she hadn't tried to go after you instead."

"Nah, I'd 'a thought something was screwy if she had come on to me like that." Ranma dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. "Akane really isn't like that at all. Heck I overheard her friends Sayuri and Yuka talking the other day, and she's the last one in her group of friends who's still a vir... vir... whooo boy."

All of a sudden, Ranma was face to face with a lovely pair of naked breasts. Ukyo had undone her uniform's shirt, and seemed to have misplaced her chest bindings somewhere. Her face was bright red, and Ranma could see that the blush ran all the way down her neck and was starting to cover her breasts too. And despite how hot Ranma was feeling right now, it must have been cold outside because Ukyo's small round nipples were standing up tall.

Ukyo finally looked at him. "Watching Shampoo got me all worked up this morning. I have needs you know Ranma, but I've saved myself for you all this time. Even though it has been soooo tempting to stray." She took the shirt off, leaving herself naked from the waist up. "After that little show this morning, I couldn't take it anymore. I knew the next step for Shampoo would be to claim you by sleeping with you, and... and I want to make sure she doesn't get the chance."

She leaned in to kiss Ranma, but only got air. When she opened her eyes, he was on the other side of the roof. "Ucchan, what are you doing?" he asked nervously.

"What's it look like you asshole? I'm throwing myself at you so that Shampoo doesn't get to you first!" Her eyes teared up. "Don't you find me sexy? Aren't I the cute one? Aren't I the one you wanted?"

Dammit, not crying. Ranma couldn't take it when a girl cried. "Look Ucchan, I..." but he didn't know how to finish that sentence. He didn't know what she wanted to hear, nor what he wanted to say to her.

Ukyo seemed to know what she wanted though. She approached slowly, swaying her hips with every step, her confidence seemed to be growing now that she had gotten past the hard part of exposing herself. "I know first times can be scary," she sniffed. "But when it's with someone you love, then it's worth anything. I want my first time to be with you, because I love you." Ranma was now backed up against the fence that surrounded the roof, and she was pressed up against him, her arms wrapped around his neck. She reached up to get the kiss she missed out on previously.

Ranma put his hands up on her shoulders and gently pushed her away, trying not to touch anything. "No, Ucchan, this isn't right. I don't want you to do this."

Ukyo's face faltered, but she quickly regained her composer. "What do you mean Ranchan? I want to do this for you." Her hand snaked down his front to feel at his crotch. She smiled nervously when she felt what was there. "Seems to me that you want to do it to."

Ranma shuddered at the touch, and almost broke down and let her take what she wanted. But then he thought of Akane, and how her day had been going, and about how Shampoo in her form was an exact duplicate of his fiancée, and about that birthmark. No, he knew what he wanted too.

"Ukyo, stop," he said, dropping the nickname. "I'm sorry but I don't want this." He pushed her away more firmly. "I don't want you to be throwing yourself at me like that. I don't deserve it."

The half naked woman looked aghast. She wasn't expecting to be refused. "Don't deserve it? Why the hell not, Sugar?"

"You want to give yourself to me? Why? Name one thing I have done for you that makes me worthy of that Ukyo. If your just giving it away, why should I value it?"

Ukyo looked shocked. "Giving it away? Ranma I love you, you lug! I'm not just giving it away."

Ranma turned away. "Well maybe I don't feel I deserve that love." He sighed. This next part was going to be hard. "Because I don't feel the same way about you. You're my best friend Ukyo, but that's it."

Ukyo looked away, then turned to get her shirt. She buttoned it back up, without looking or speaking to Ranma. Then she grabbed her lunch, and before Ranma could say anything she leapt over the fence, landing neatly in a tree, before jumping to the ground and running off. Ranma watched her go, sighed, then collected his bento and left the roof himself, taking the more conventional stairs.

* * *

According to a Chinese ex-girlfriend, "Ta Ma De" roughly translates to "motherfucker"


	2. Admissions

Chapter 2

Akane sat in class that afternoon and pondered about what she had overheard at lunch. She had been trying to get away from everyone who kept asking questions about what had happened that morning. Thankfully nobody thought she was the one Kuno had fucked any more, but her girlfriends were all asking about Ranma now and if she had put out for him, or if she was going to now that Shampoo had laid down the gauntlet. She just needed a moment of peace to think for a while about how to deal with Shampoo, and probably with Ranma too.

So she had decided to go up to the roof. It was one place where surprisingly few people liked to eat their lunch, most preferring to either stay in the classroom, or to sit under a tree out on the school grounds. When the bell rang signaling the end of the period, she noticed Ranma jump up to the roof himself, possibly seeking the same refuge as she. Well they could hide out together, so long as he didn't open his big yap and try to talk about it.

She got to the top of the stairs leading up to the roof and tried to open the door, but it didn't move, locked from the outside. 'Oh well' she thought to herself. 'I can at least sit on the staircase to eat my lunch, and now I don't have to deal with Ranma.'

As she sat down and opened her bento, she heard voices coming from the other side of the door. She knew Ranma was up on the roof, but who was out there with him? She pressed her ear against the door to see if she could understand what was being said.

It was Ukyo.

Why was Ranma nervous all of a sudden?

She wants to WHAT?

Akane was just about to break down the door when she heard Ranma's response. He didn't love Ukyo? Well she always kind of suspected that may have been the case, but they had always been friends, and he had known her much longer than he had known Akane. Ukyo was always the one she thought might win the fiancée wars.

She then heard footsteps approaching the door. Someone was coming, and it would look pretty bad if they caught her eavesdropping. She quickly packed up her lunch and ran down the stairs before the door opened. She had a lot to think about that afternoon.

And so she found herself in this current predicament. Ranma didn't feel that he deserved any of the affection that was thrown at his feet on a daily basis. Then why did he stay in Nerima? Out of obligation for the promise between their families? She wasn't sure how she felt about that anymore. Sure they had argued and fought a lot, and still did on occasion, but since the fight with Saffron and the ruined wedding, things had changed. There were still arguments, but they had lost their heat. Ranma walked with her on the way to school rather than beside her up on the fence rail. They were even able to have civil conversations over dinner, or watch TV together without fighting.

The big question of course was how did she feel about him. She had been willing to go through with the wedding because she had thought she'd heard him say that he loved her. Even though he had later said he hadn't, she had still been willing to go through with it so that he could get the cure to his curse.

But that was just it. Even if he hadn't said it out loud, she was certain that he at least liked her. His despair over the scene that morning had been a big hint, the fact that he'd hugged her when he found out that it was a trick was another. And then there was all the times that he had saved her life, and protected her, and acknowledged that she was his fiancée...

Holy crap, she loved him too.

Just thinking about all those times where he hinted at how he felt for her made her remember how she felt at those times as well. And then she thought about what her life would be like if Ranma were not in it any more, and it frightened her how lonely she would be without her constant companion.

She loved him, and he probably loved her too.

A slow smile spread across Akane's face and she felt a warm glow spread through her body at that revelation. But if Ranma didn't think he deserved her love, how was she going to prove him wrong?

She spent the rest of that afternoon ignoring her teachers and planning how she was going to do just that.

---***---

Ranma eyed Akane warily on the way home from school. She was WAY too happy for what had happened earlier in the day. A happy Akane after something happened between his fiancées was a dangerous situation. Usually it meant that she was bottling it up to be released explosively later when it could do the most damage to him.

Akane almost laughed out loud at the sight of her fiancé looking like he was about to bolt any second. She was sorely tempted to turn to him and yell to startle him, just to see how high he would jump. She thought she had an idea for a plan, which of course involved blindsiding Ranma with it when he least expected it. It was going to be hard to admit her own feelings after so long of denying that there was anything there to begin with. Maybe she should try to get him to admit it first?

They arrived back home, and Akane went up into her room to change out of her uniform. Ranma went out into the dojo both to get out of her way, and to get some practice in before dinner. He was midway through his warm up when Akane walked in the door dressed in her gi. She didn't say a word, just walked in, and started her own warm up. Ranma decided to let her have her peace and finished his own warm up before launching into his first set of kata.

He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Akane had started her own kata shortly after him. She really was graceful, flowing smoothly from one form to another. It was one thing he always liked about her was that she was a student of the art, and a pretty good one too since she was able to tag him from time to time when he least expected it. Of course he probably should have expected it since it usually came after he said something royally stupid or insulting to her.

Akane noticed that Ranma had stopped to watch her, so she finished up her set, and turned to him. She needed to distract him while she was talking, otherwise he'd never admit to anything. "Hey Ranma, want to spar?" If he was too busy concentrating on dodging her attacks, he might let something slip.

Still wary of her apparent good mood, Ranma just nodded his head, before taking up his usual relaxed ready stance. Akane took up a much stronger stance, before launching into her attack with a hammer punch to the chin. Ranma of course dodged the strike by the faintest of margins.

The battle was entirely one sided, with Akane doing all the attacking and Ranma dodging every one. Rather than let her temper get away from her though, Akane stayed focused on her plan. "So Ranma, what did you think about that show Shampoo put on this morning?"

Ranma hesitated slightly in surprise, and was nearly tagged by Akane for it. He jumped back out of range to allow himself to find his bearings. "Uh... well I was certainly surprised when I saw it," he said, narrowly dodging another attack. "I didn't really believe that it was you though since I knew you would never let Kuno do that to you."

This time it was Akane that face faulted a little as she gagged at the thought of Shampoo's choice of sexual partner. "Yeah, you'd think she'd go for someone more believable. Maybe she just thought he'd be the most gullible and most likely to do it." Ranma nodded in agreement, but didn't let himself get distracted enough to be hit. Akane decided she needed to up the ante. "I really do have a birthmark on my left butt cheek you know." This did the trick as she was able to nail Ranma in the solar plexus.

Ranma backed up coughing as he tried to breath without his unresponsive diaphragm. "That was hardly fair you know," he choked out.

Akane just smirked and said "Anything goes," before starting her attack again. While it was always fun to get Ranma's goat, this wasn't getting her anywhere with respect to what she wanted to learn. "I didn't see you at lunch, where did you go?" she asked. She didn't expect Ranma to be completely forthright with her about what had happened up on the roof, but she figured that she could let it slip that she knew, and then he'd have to admit his love for her.

Needless to say, she was surprised as hell at his reply. "Actually, I went up to the roof. Ukyo followed me and decided that the more direct approach would work better than Shampoo's attempt by trying to have sex with me right then and there." Akane froze, and Ranma took advantage, shouting "An opening!" and poked her on the forehead. She was so stunned that the simple act knocked her over onto her back.

Akane lay there dazed on the floor. Ranma had actually told her the truth about what had happened. She didn't know what to make of this new revelation, so she just lay there looking stunned up at her fiancé.

Ranma eyed her warily. Yeah he'd told her the truth, but he was expecting her to jump up quickly lose her temper at him for what she'd believe was him having sex with Ukyo. He wasn't entirely sure why he baited her like this all the time. There was just something exciting about seeing her all riled up and angry. She was at her most genuine then. Instead of the reaction he was expecting though, she sat up and motioned for him to sit across from her. Cautious, he complied. "Uh... we didn't do it," he said, creeping gingerly onto what he thought was thin ice. "She had her shirt off, and wasn't wearing her bindings, but I told her no."

Akane took his hand in hers. He flinched, but she didn't let him pull away. "I'm glad, but why not?" If he was going to be honest about all this so far, maybe he'll open up more. Unfortunately, he instead clammed up and turned his head away in embarrassment. Akane pressed her lips together determined to get him to tell her what she felt. She slugged him in the shoulder with her other arm to get his attention. "I tried to get up on the roof, looking for some privacy to think things over. I was in the stairwell eating my lunch since the door was locked. I heard everything you said." She smiled as she saw him grow nervous at the implications.

Akane changed tactics, her face becoming more sympathetic. "Look, I know you rejected Ukyo, and that you said it was because you didn't deserve her love. I wondered why is all."

Ranma tried to get away, but Akane had his hand in a death grip. His death if he wasn't careful. "Uh... well... you see... she's kinda like a sister to me. My best friend. I don't really feel that way about her. I kinda don't think she really feels that way about me either."

That was a surprise. Ukyo seemed pretty damned sure about how she felt to her, but she let it slide. The next question was going to be hard. "What about Shampoo?"

This time it was Ranma's turn to look serious. "I can't believe she tried that this morning. Well... maybe I can. But to try to seduce me afterwards was kinda creepy. I just wish she'd leave me alone."

Akane was ecstatic to hear this. She scooted closer to him for this last question, hoping for a hug to come shortly... and maybe a little more. "And what about... me?"

Ranma blushed hard and turned away from Akane. "What about you?" he asked nervously.

Akane's mood dropped slightly, but she continued to push. "How do you feel about me? You seemed pretty relieved when you found out that it wasn't me spreading my legs for Kuno." This seemed to make Ranma blush harder as he worked his mouth open and closed like a fish, but no sound came out. She pushed harder. "If I remember correctly you hugged me in relief." This only served to make him clam up even tighter, but Akane took that as a good sign, and instead decided to wait him out.

Ranma saw no way out. If he tried to insult her to get out of it, she'd just ignore it, she was that serious. If he tried to pull away, she'd just hold on tighter. He didn't know how to handle this. "Well... uh... what about you?" he asked again lamely, this time expecting an answer. "How do you feel about all this?"

Surprised at the question being turned around on her, Akane tried to come up with an answer. All she could come up with though was a stupid sounding "I asked you first."

Seeing Akane start to falter brought back some of Ranma's confidence. "Yeah? Well I've already told you a lot so far, so I think it's time you opened up some too." He grinned, thinking he had found a way out of this. He knew she'd never admit to liking him.

Akane started to look nervous as she felt control over the conversation slipping away. She tried to pull her hand away, but this time it was Ranma who was holding on tightly, not letting her get away. She tried to smile and joke about it, trying to regain control. "Well, I wouldn't have sex with Ukyo or Shampoo either." She tried to put on a smug look, but it came out a grimace.

Ranma was surprised that Akane would go for the sex joke, but it didn't distract him from the matter at hand. He leaned in closer to her, putting himself firmly in her personal space. "That's not what I meant and you know it." He wondered how long this would go on before she got angry enough to hit him and run away, thereby getting them both off the hook.

Akane still looked a little nervous, but she had a sort of determined look on her face as well. "Um... Ranma? Personal space?" She wasn't about to give up yet, but she needed to wrestle with her own emotions first. He was right there, close to her, and she knew that he didn't like the other girls. All it would take to end all the silly arguments would be for her to just... close the distance that was rapidly shrinking.

By then, Ranma was practically nose to nose with her. He smirked at her, sure that she'd break away any minute now. "I'll back off once I get my answer. How do you feel about mfff..." he was silenced by Akane's lips pressing against his. Their first real kiss. He was stunned, barely knew what was going on. Then he realized that his other hand was in her hair, and that he was kissing her back. He let go of her hand, and wrapped his arm around her in a hug, pulling her to him.

Akane just wasn't able to take it any longer. When he gave his ultimatum, she just went for it and kissed him, hoping that he'd return the kiss and at the same time, knowing that he would. She loved him, and now she was showing it. And then he pulled her into his lap, hugging her tightly, and she knew that he loved her as well.

They continued to kiss like that for a while, only breaking away to breathe for a second before diving back in. Ranma's hands somehow found their way up under Akane's gi top, brushing along the skin on her back. But that was ok, because she had opened his shirt as well and was running her hands over his well defined chest. Finally they broke apart, flushed and breathing hard, both grinning like they had won the lottery. Ranma was the first to speak. "I love you too, Tomboy." Akane's face lit up brightly, and she kissed him once more, pushing him down to lie on the floor, and knocking their teeth together when Ranma's head bounced on the floor.

"Ow!" Akane pulled away, and wiped her mouth with her hand, checking for blood. It was then that she noticed a rather prominent bulge under her stomach. She looked up at Ranma in surprise, but he didn't seem to know why. She then smiled seductively. "Ranma, is that a roll of coins in your pocket, or are you happy to see me?"

Ranma had the decency to look embarrassed. "Well, I can't help it you know, hehehe..."

Then Akane got a serious look on her face. "Look, Ranma, I know that you had two girls offer to have sex with you today, but I just want you to know that I'm not ready for that yet. Is that ok?"

"Actually, that's fine," Ranma said. "I didn't really want those other girls. I can wait." He smiled nervously. "The last thing I want to do is screw up a good thing now that I finally got it." This led to an Amazon sized glomp as Akane hugged him hard. He wrapped his arms around her back, savoring the feeling for once.

Akane leaned back slightly to look in his eyes. "Nothing says we can't make out every once in a while though," she said, then laughed as she watched his eyes become as big as dinner plates. She got all serious again. "So what do we tell everybody? Do we tell our family? We'd be married tonight if we did."

"Yeah, and probably have another fiasco of a wedding. No, lets just take it slowly, let them know when we are ready, and when the others can all get a clue."

Akane smiled at this suggestion, and nodded her approval. She then gave Ranma one last kiss before standing and walking out of the dojo. "I'm going to take a bath first Ranma. I'll come out and let you know when you can wash up for dinner."

Ranma just smiled at his fiancée, deciding to go for one more dig at her. "Sure I can't join you? I'd like to see that birthmark again." Akane looked angrily at him for a second, but saw his smiling face and realized that he was joking. Instead, she just stuck her tongue out and shook her bum at him before leaving through the door.

"Wow," Ranma said to himself quietly as he watched her leave. "If I knew she could be so cute and sexy like this when she was happy, I'd have admitted that a long time ago."

---***---

Merry Christmas everybody! Chapter 3 comes out next week!


	3. Family Discussions

Chapter 3

"Shampoo is going out for a while Great-Grandma! Will be back in time for dinner rush!" Shampoo called as she left the Neko Hanten. She hopped on her bicycle and rode out into the street. She was off to take care of one small loose end: wiping Kuno's mind of everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. He wasn't a bad lay, but she didn't need him clamoring after her for sex day in and day out now that he had gotten a taste. Along with Formula 411, she had also brought along some Spring of a Drowned Akane, just in case she felt like round two before she wiped him.

Mmmm that didn't sound like a bad idea at all. Shampoo could feel the heat pooling deep in her belly at the thought of getting to use that man again. She hadn't even slept with Mousse in weeks, and had nearly forgotten what it felt like to have a man shoved deep in her snatch. Maybe this time she'd get on top, in the position of power, rather than let him rut with her like an animal. She always preferred to be on top, and only bent over for him before because that would be the most humiliating position for Akane to be found in.

Yes, that was definitely what she would do. First she'd transform, then fuck Kuno again, then she'd wipe his memory of her ever being there. Since she knew it was a safe day, she'd have to take advantage of it. She might even have to order more of these instant packets so she could do this more often. Why only stick with Mousse as a boy toy when she could add Kuno to her little harem. Maybe she could even trick Ryoga the same way!

Shampoo nearly fell off the bike when she imagined all three of them filling all her holes all at once. As it was, she had to wipe some drool from her face. She was used to having to share her men with other women at the village, it was high time that she had men sharing her! She had to keep her mind on her task though. Besides, once Ranma finally worked his way around to seeing things her way, she'd be able to get all the sex she wanted from him, and would have no more use for the others. Nothing said she couldn't have her fun until then though!

She arrived at the Kuno Mansion and splashed herself with the water, changing her form into that of Akane Tendo. She was dressed in her usual Chinese dress rather than the school uniform from that morning, but she figured that Kuno wouldn't focus on her clothes, especially when she took them off. She did wish, though, that there was an easier, or at least dryer, way to transform. Then again, splashing herself with the water had left her with a wet top, and she wasn't wearing any underwear. She smiled at the thought that she was going to be able to get laid again so soon, and so easily! No sneaking around when Grandma was asleep and trying to keep from crying out!

She pressed the button on the intercom, and was met with the face of some servant or another on the screen. The servant asked who she was, but before Shampoo could answer, he seemed to realize himself, and told her to wait one moment for Master Kuno. Apparently the staff was given a picture of Kuno's "beloveds" and told to let them in immediately if they ever showed up, rare as that was.

Shampoo had to wait less than a minute before the door was thrown open and an out of breath Kuno stood there in a bath towel, his hair still soapy as he had been interrupted in the bath. Shampoo smiled at how easy this was going to be, her sex drooling in anticipation as she leapt onto Kuno, giving him an Amazon glomp and a searing kiss, full of tongue. Kuno was so surprised, that he let his towel go, leaving him naked in the doorway. Shampoo was tempted to have him right there, but instead he grabbed her by the arm and led her to his bedroom.

Shampoo had to admit, this Kuno guy was kinda obsessed. All the pictures of Akane and Ranma's girl form all over his room were rather creepy, especially since she looked like Akane at the moment. Kuno told her to wait right there for one moment while he went to wash the soap from his hair, but Shampoo would have none of that. Instead, she grabbed his arm, and with an impressive show of strength, threw him onto the bed. She then undid the buttons on her dress, and shimmied out of it leaving her standing naked before him. Kuno was, for once in his life, speechless as he gazed upon the body of one of his true loves, getting to see her fully naked for the first time. He was erect in no time.

Shampoo didn't say a word, she just climbed up on top, positioned herself, and sat down hard, driving Kuno deep inside. She then started a fast rhythm, bouncing in his lap and loving every minute of it. She started to moan and scream as she drove herself down onto him, switching between Japanese and Chinese words expressing her ecstasy. Kuno expressed his own delight by ranting about how he knew that he would tear her away from Saotome's influence and that she would marry him and the pig-tailed girl would be his mistress and her splendid buttocks could be unmarred with surgery, and blah blah blah. Didn't this guy ever shut up?

She had to admit, though, he was a pretty good fuck. While not the biggest man she'd had, he wasn't too small. He also had calluses on the palms of his hands since he fought with a sword rather than hand to hand. That was a new feeling that she enjoyed very much stroking up and down her sides and over her breasts as she moved. Akane's body also had some subtly different erogenous zones she wasn't used to, and it was a pleasant surprise when his touch set off these new sensations.

But it wasn't quite enough. Kuno was going to cum soon, that much was obvious by the faces he was making and that his ranting was becoming more erratic, and she wasn't quite hitting the sweet spot in order for her to reach orgasm. She realized then that she didn't know this body as well as her own, and didn't know what it would take to get the screaming orgasms she craved. Kuno certainly wasn't going to last long enough for her to explore. Suddenly, she saw the answer, a hot tea kettle had been set out for Kuno so that he could have some tea after his bath. She stopped bouncing for a second, held a pillow over Kuno's face so that he couldn't see her change, and reached over and grab the kettle from the stand next to the bed, and poured it over herself.

That was much better. Not only did the feel of the hot water over her naked body add to her arousal, but her different shape now had Kuno touching other places inside of her that felt delicious. She changed her angle slightly, before starting to bounce once more, this time feeling herself growing closer to orgasm, finally settling down hard on Kuno, and letting out a scream. This was all it took for Kuno, who was a passenger in this entire wild ride, to blow his load as well. Shampoo was a little disappointed that he had passed out again, another round would have been nice, but it would make wiping his memory easier, so she figured it was ok. She stood up from her position on top of him, and went over to her dress on the floor to look for the shampoo in her pocket when there was a pounding on the door.

"BROTHER! Do you have that hussy Akane Tendo in there with you? I thought I heard her voice." It was Kodachi, and she sounded pissed. "I cannot believe that you would debase yourself to rut with that commoner, Brother! I mean really, what if she were to spawn a child? It would completely ruin our gene pool!" Shampoo backed away from the door, ready to jump out the window if Kodachi decided to come in. "I thought you were just spouting nonsense earlier when you told me that you had finally rid yourself of your virginity by fucking that woman this morning, but now I hear her screams of her passion coming from your room, and find it sickening! I mean, what about..." Kodachi seemed to pause as if she had just thought of something. "Never mind, Brother, go back to your little whore, I'll use this to my advantage instead! OH HO HO HO HO!"

Well now that was interesting, Kuno seemed to think that he really had had sex with Akane rather than noticing that it was really Shampoo in disguise. He must have been so out of it when he finally came that he didn't see her transform. She looked over at her lover. Either that or he was an idiot. Shampoo pondered upon this. Perhaps this could be used to her advantage as well. She put the shampoo away, got dressed, and snuck out the window.

* * *

Dinner at the Tendo household was ready soon after Ranma got out of the bath. He sat down in his usual spot next to Akane, looked around to see where people were looking, and stealthily gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Akane was so surprised and pleased with this open show of affection that she broke out into a big grin and was unable to get it under control before everyone else sat down. Nobody else took any notice of it, except for Nabiki, who had seen the spectacle that morning. She was immediately suspicious that something was up since she was so happy after being so embarrassed that morning. "What are you so happy about, Akane?" she asked.

"Oh nothing," Akane replied, trying not to blush and failing miserably.

"Well it must be something big after what happened this morning. Could it be that you showed Ranma how Shampoo did it wrong out in the dojo?"

Akane and Ranma both choked hard on their food, forcing them to reach for their drinks. Kasumi looked confused, having not yet heard the story. "What did Shampoo do?"

Nabiki smiled at getting her sister's and Ranma's goats. She knew there was no way in hell they'd actually had sex, but it was fun to tease. Still, it was weird that Akane seemed to be so damned happy. "Shampoo got her hands on some instant 'Spring of Drowned Akane' and used it on herself so that she could seduce and have sex with Kuno in front of the entire school," she said. "I got pictures." She balked when Akane threw her a dirty look. "Relax Akane, I got pictures of it *after* you changed her back into her real form. I wouldn't want to take pictures if it really was you and mar our family's reputation after all. These are going to nab me Shampoo's tips for months."

Suddenly, Akane had a horrible thought. "You may not have taken any pictures Sis, but did anyone else?"

"No, and I checked," replied Nabiki seriously. "Like I said, don't want to ruin our family's rep. Although, Shampoo didn't seem to care much about hers. She even left her panties behind, and some guy picked them up. I'd hate to think of what he's doing with them now."

"Nabiki, please not at the dinner table," said Soun, turning slightly green.

"Sorry Daddy, but I gotta say it was quite a sight to see. I almost believed it myself for a second. Shampoo's form even had Akane's birthmark."

"Oh you mean that cute little birthmark on her bottom that looks like Shikoku Island?" asked Kasumi. Akane turned bright red at this remark.

Ranma smacked his fist into his open palm in recognition. "THAT'S what it looks like. Thanks Kasumi, I couldn't figure it out, and it's been bothering me all day." He got his face driven into the table for his troubles courtesy of Akane.

Genma winced at his son's lack of tact. He must have gotten that from his mother's side. "So does this mean that Shampoo is no longer chasing after you Boy? That's wonderful news! We can have the wedding this weekend!"

Soun looked less enthusiastic. It was his dojo that was nearly destroyed during the last attempt at getting his daughter married after all. "Perhaps we should wait until the situation with Ukyo is resolved as well before we attempt another wedding. She brought explosive okonomiyaki to the last one."

Akane held her tongue. Telling everybody that Ranma had told Ukyo off would be like giving them a green flag to start planning a wedding. Ranma, thankfully, was still out cold from his earlier comment, and therefore wasn't able to open his big mouth and make things worse. She noticed that Genma seemed less than pleased with her father's suggestion, but he kept his mouth shut. Nodoka on the other hand seemed to be agreeing with Soun, thankfully making it two against one.

Ranma sat up again, and seemed to be about to comment, but Akane pinched his leg under the table and gave him a Look. He quickly got the point and went back to eating his rice. Akane looked satisfied that he wasn't going to say anything and went back to her own food. Maybe he can be taught.

After dinner was over, Kasumi started removing the plates from the table. Ranma moved to go turn on the TV, but stopped when she called his name. "Ranma, could you please come help me wash these dishes?" Being that it is impossible to say no to Kasumi, Ranma stood to comply. He quickly gathered all the dishes from the table, balancing all of them one on top of the other and carrying the rather tall stack into the kitchen. He then went to work at washing the dishes while Kasumi dried for him. He was starting to hum tunelessly when Kasumi turned to him. "What about you Ranma, what do you think about this whole situation?"

Surprised that anyone would ask him about the situation, Ranma dropped the plate he was passing to Kasumi, only to have Kasumi grab it lightning quick before it could shatter on the ground. She smiled and winked at his look of astonishment at her speed, then motioned for him to answer. "Well, Shampoo always was the most.. ah.. aggressive of my fiancées," he said. "She's pretty much put herself out of the running now though. What she tried to do to Akane, ruining her rep like that, that would have been unforgivable if she had succeeded."

Kasumi smiled at his answer. "I always had faith in you Ranma, that you would put off any sexual advances your girls would try. At least until you decided to choose and marry one of them." Ranma heard the subtle emphasis on the word "marry." "I know you'll continue to do the right thing!"

Ranma just nodded in response. It was easier to agree with her now that he had finally cleared up the fiancée situation and started to show, and even better, receive affection from Akane. "No worries Kasumi. I figure you and the good Dr Tofu will get nasty in the sack before Akane and I decide to do anything." Kasumi gasped, blushed hard, and admonished Ranma for even suggesting it, but he saw an amused look in her eye.

Meanwhile, Akane had gone up to her room to start her homework. Nabiki was hanging out in her room, reading through her magazines, but not interrupting her work so she let her stay. She was just about finished with her math assignment when Nabiki spoke up. "So how are you going to win Ranma now?"

Akane turned to her sister and gave her a quizzical look. "Why do I need to do anything?" she asked.

"Well Shampoo has raised the stakes after all. She was willing to put out for Ranma, even if it wasn't FOR Ranma." She paused to allow her statement to take the maximum effect on Akane. "He is a guy after all Akane, he'll soon get fed up with you calling him a pervert all the time, and go to the girl who is willing to spread her legs for him first."

Akane gave her sister a half lidded stare. "Ranma has been offered Shampoo's body more than once and hasn't done anything yet. Somehow I don't think that little display this morning will change anything."

Nabiki looked surprised at her sister. "Well, well, has our little Akane-chan finally grown up some? Has she finally decided she wants Ranma?"

Akane decided to take the mature route and pulled down her eyelid and stuck out her tongue. Something Nabiki had said had gotten to her though. Sure she knew how he felt now, and he knew how she felt too. But what would happen if Ukyo or Shampoo tried again? He was just a guy after all. What could she do to make sure he stayed with her?


	4. Kodachi

Chapter 4

School the next day was boring and uneventful as usual, but Ranma couldn't help but smile to himself for most of the day. When asked about it at lunch, he just said he was in a good mood, and tried to change the subject. His friends all took that at face value since he usually was just a happy go lucky guy anyway.

Akane's friends however wouldn't leave her alone asking about why SHE was smiling so much a mere day after Shampoo tried to ruin her reputation. Akane insisted that she was ok since it was revealed immediately that it wasn't in fact her that was having sex in front of the entire school. Her more persistent friends, notably Yuka and Sayuri, asked if it was because she had joined them in becoming a woman thanks to Ranma. Of course Akane outright denied these rumors, but her bright red face during these denials did little to help her credibility.

"But Akane, once we found out it wasn't you, it was soooooooo hot watching Shampoo take Kuno-sempai like that!" Sayuri said. "I gotta tell you, I very nearly grabbed Daisuke and dragged him off to the supply shed to add some nail marks to his back." She sighed dreamily as the other girls rolled their eyes at their friend who was the only one in their little group who had a boyfriend at the moment.

This was usually Akane's cue to huff and vocalize her distain for all things male and most things sexual, but she surprised her friends by instead blushing and asking tentatively "Umm… is it really that good?"

All the other girls sitting with her all stared wide eyed at their virginal friend. Sure they'd all asked the question at one point in time of the others, usually shortly before finding out for themselves. Akane, though, had always just turned her nose up at them and ignored the conversation. They all thought she was secretly a lesbian, or, considering her absolute hatred of boys, that she had had a very bad experience earlier in life, something they didn't want to dwell on. Akane actually showing interest in sex, with a boy no less, was a welcome breath of fresh air that quashed both rumors.

Squealing in delight, Sayuri began to spill. "Well, the first time wasn't that great. Neither of us really knew what we were doing, it hurt for me, and he finished way too fast, but it was good enough that both of us wanted to try it again. So the very next night we did it again, but first we watched one of his dad's pornos that Daisuke had stolen. It gave us some ideas that worked out great, and we were both able to have an orgasm that time!"

All the girls save Akane screamed in delight with their sister in arms. Akane had a nervous smile on her face, but seemed determined. "W-What kind of ideas?"

"First of all, you're in luck, because the poor guy is so hung up on you that he's going to want to treat you right." Akane sputtered out a denial that she was thinking about Ranma, but she was ignored as usual. "But you need to make sure you take charge since this will also make him really nervous about it too, and then he'll just mess everything up, and probably put you off sex for a good long time." Sayuri scrutinized her friend closely. "You masturbate, right?"

Akane looked aghast. "N-No! Of course not! That's gross!"

Yuka looked smug. "That of course means yes. Poor girl doesn't even know that she's not the only one." Everyone else at the table nodded in agreement. "It's good that you do, it means that you know what you like, and can tell him what feels good, and what doesn't. The most important thing to do though, is don't try to force it to happen. That will just lead to more embarrassment. My first time, I had music and candles and even flower petals. He didn't notice any of it, he finished before the song was over, and the idiot had thrown my bra on a candle flame." She looked to the others for support, and saw them all nod, possibly thinking about their own failed attempts at romance.

Sayuri took over again. "Now, here's what you need to do to make it GOOD." Sayuri leaned in closer to the center of their little group. She explained, and Akane listened and learned.

* * *

Akane was so engrossed in her conversation, and Ranma with his food, that neither of them noticed when a lithe figure leapt through the open window. They couldn't help but notice though, when it landed on Ranma's desk and opened it's mouth.

"OHOHOHOHOHOHO! Ranma darling, I hear that that wretched Akane Tendo has finally forsaken you for my brother! Now there is nothing to keep you from me my love!"

Ranma's head dropped to klunk against the desk at which he was sitting. The one person who was more annoying than Tatewaki Kuno was probably his sister Kodachi, and that was because she was a girl and he couldn't hit her. "Kodachi, that wasn't Akane. Your brother is just being delusional again."

Kodachi twittered. "Oh but my dear sweetums, I heard it directly from the horse's mouth as it were. Her screams of ecstasy were coming from my brother's room last night." She looked over at Akane to see if her implied insult hit the mark. She was disappointed to see that Akane just looked confused rather than angry. "I distinctly heard Akane Tendo screaming her pleasure as she rutted with my brother last night in his room," she explained.

A gasp went up among all the students in the room, while Ranma and Akane sighed exasperatedly. "Shampoo can change into Akane's form with some Chinese magic she sent away for," Ranma explained. "She probably just went back for seconds." Every one in the class settled down when they realized that it was probably true and that Akane hadn't gone crazy after all. The words "What a slut," were heard from many of the girls in the room.

Being an avid browser of such catalogues where one might send away for magical powders, Kodachi was slightly taken aback by this answer, but remained firm in her quest. "Be that as it may, I am sure that it is only a matter of time before my brother ensnares his little whore, so you may as well dump her for me now Ranma darling!"

Ranma stood, and looked as if he was going to finally break his convention of not hitting girls. "Look Kodachi, I ain't in love with you, I don't like you, and I'll never be your darling! Now why don't you just go back to your own school and leave us alone?"

"Oh but Ranma darling, I cannot leave until you receive the gift I brought for you." She quickly pulled out a bundle of black roses from somewhere behind her back. Ranma was so distracted by the fact that she wasn't carrying a bag and didn't have anywhere on her body that could hide the bundle, that he forgot that he was supposed to hold his breath whenever Kodachi presented him with a bouquet, and was subsequently sprayed in the face with a powder. His muscles instantly locked up.

Grabbing her now immobile prey and hoisting him into a fireman's carry, Kodachi raced for the window. "Farewell peasants! When you next see me, I shall be Ranma darling's wife, and carrying his child! OHOHOHOHOHOH!" She threw a glass vial at the floor, causing a great smoke cloud to fill the room, covering her escape out the window.

Coughing, Akane ran out of the door to the classroom, escaping the smoke. Leaning against a wall, she caught her breath. When she stood, she had a determined look on her face. For once the tables were turned, and Ranma was the one who needed saving, and now that they had finally opened up to each other, she wasn't about to lose him to some floozy who had to poison her lovers to keep them from getting away while she tried to seduce them.

* * *

Ranma knew by now that it was futile to struggle against his own body when Kodachi paralyzed him, so he saved his energy. It would wear off eventually, and he'd need all he had to escape when it did. Instead, he just allowed her to carry him wherever she pleased and tuned out her maniacal laughter. Man, did she know what she sounded like when she laughed like that?

It seemed that she was carrying him to her mansion. Well that made sense since she'd need the antidote for her little potion before she was able to get any sort of sexual use out of him. Ranma did find her attractive – she went around practically naked half the time after all – but it was discovered quite by accident that when she paralyzed him that his blood flow was also somewhat restricted, specifically to parts of the body she'd prefer rather engorged. Kodachi found this frustrating, Ranma found it rather hilarious.

There was one thing that was worrying him though: this powder smelled different than the one she usually used. At first he thought it meant it would do something different to him, but then he felt his muscles lock up as usual. Perhaps it was just a new formula to make sure that he would stay paralyzed longer? He was starting to build up an immunity to the old powder after all, and it was taking him less and less time to break free of it's hold.

Boy, he never realized just how far it was from the school to the Kuno mansion, and all the bumping and rubbing against her shoulder between leaps was starting to get to him. In fact he could start to feel himself, rather reluctantly, start to react to it… oh no…

"Oh by the way Ranma darling, I changed the formula of the paralysis powder to include some blue pills I stole from my father. I wonder if you can guess what they do," she smiled knowingly over her shoulder at him as she leapt from a rooftop. She then proceeded to roll her shoulder against his growing erection. "It seems as if it's working already."

Well that was just peachy. Now not only did he not have any control over what she did to him, but the one thing that would help him was now gone. She didn't have to give him the antidote anymore to get what she wanted out of him. How was he going to get out of this?

They finally seemed to reach their destination, entering through a window rather than the front door, which Ranma assumed was her bedroom window. Soon he was placed gently on a large four poster bed, and subsequently had his arms and legs tied to the posts. Kodachi bounced off behind a dressing screen, her leotard flipping to hang empty over the top as she discarded it with scary quickness. "I have something special I've been saving for you Sweetums! I hope you like it!" She stepped out from behind the screen, posing for him in a skin tight and very revealing black teddy.

Oh great, an even more skimpy outfit than the one she usually wore. The problem this led to of course was that between the drugs and the ride and the present view he was being offered, he was stiff as a flagpole and ready to pop at a moment's notice. The last thing he wanted was to submit to this harpy's desires, not only because of his newfound relationship with Akane, but also because he was sure he'd be put off sex for life if Kodachi did have her way with him, and he was kinda looking forward to trying it with his fiancée.

Kodachi walked up to the bed, swaying her hips in what she thought was a sexual way. Ranma was trying hard not to look at her, but he couldn't turn his head, or even keep his eyes closed longer than it took for him to involuntarily blink. She crawled up onto the bed, and on top of him, running her nails over his body, cutting through his clothes and drawing blood in some places. Ranma winced, but didn't cry out, lest she thought he was crying out in pleasure and did it more.

"And now Darling," she said sitting up. "We will unwrap your present for me." She reached for his waist and started to untie the ties on his pants. Once done, she dragged both his pants and boxers down his legs in one motion, exposing his ramrod hard penis to the air. He tried to think about baseball like he heard he was supposed to do to make his erection go away, but it didn't seem to be working. Kodachi squealed in delight. "Oh Ranma darling! Is that for me? It's so big!" She tentatively touched it, then wrapped her hand around it. "It's just so magnificent Dearest!" She leaned over and opened her mouth, but hesitated, a slight look of disgust on her face as she looked just north of what she wanted so desperately.

"Before we begin, I think we must do something about all that hair. I simply will not put my mouth anywhere near it all." Ranma breathed a sigh of relief when she pulled away from him and ran out of the room. He was starting to get some feeling back in his fingers, maybe he could try to work the knots loose so that he could escape once he finally regained control of himself.

Unfortunately, Kodachi appeared too quickly for him to even work the first knot loose, carrying with her a bottle of some sort of lotion. "I use this lotion on my legs to make them silky smooth," she said, lifting a leg and placing it next to his head for his inspection. "It should work rather well on your hair as well Sweetums." She proceeded to add a generous dollop of the goop to her hand, then reached for his crotch again. She slathered the lotion all over the hairs around the base of his penis, and over his testicles. Ranma shivered at the touch, and at the fact that the lotion was really cold! "There, and now we wait for three minutes."

Ranma was curious as to what the lotion was supposed to do. It wasn't even a magic potion or anything, the label was written in Japanese, and it was obviously store bought rather than concocted in Kodachi's lab with all of her other potions and poisons. It seemed to have a foreign name though, 'na-ii-ah' or something like that if he was reading the katakana correctly.

Kodachi seemed to be content to sit there and look at him while she waited the three minutes for something to happen, so Ranma tried to surreptitiously loosen the knots again, but was having no success. It didn't help that he was starting to feel a kind of burning feeling down in his crotch. Just what the hell was that stuff doing?

Finally, it seemed that the three minutes were up, and Kodachi reached over with a towel to wipe away the lotion rather than rub it in. Ranma was still confused as to what was supposed to be happening, until he saw his pubic hair lift away from his body with every pass of the towel. He almost fainted in embarrassment when she finished cleaning him off, leaving him as bald as he was when he was eight years old. How was he going to face the guys in the locker room after gym class?

"OHOHOHOHOHO! You look lovely my dear!" Kodachi shouted. She used a cup of warm water to rinse him off, before grabbing a hold of him once more and starting to stroke. "I'd say you're good enough to eat! So I will!" She opened her mouth again to take him in, but was interrupted by a commotion coming from the hallway. She looked up at her door just in time for it to explode off its' hinges into the room, knocking her off the bed and across the room, before it landed solidly on top of Ranma.

Standing in the wreckage that was once a doorway, surrounded by a multitude of ninja servants lying sprawled out up and down the hallway was Akane. She was breathing hard, had a fat lip and seemed to be favoring her left side a bit, but she was upright, and much more to the point, just in time. It was then that the powder wore off enough for Ranma to croak out "What took you so long?"

Akane just shot her fiancé a dirty look before stomping into the room and over to Kodachi. She grabbed the other girl by the front of her barely there outfit, stretching and tearing it in the process, and lifted her up to sock her in the jaw. Unfortunately she seemed to already be unconscious from the door smacking into her, so she just dropped her in a heap. Akane moved over to the bed and grabbed the door, intending to lift it off her fiancé. "Honestly Ranma, how do you get into these situations?" she asked as she pushed the heavy door off the bed, not hearing his warnings until it was too late.

Akane was entranced by the sight of it. It wasn't the first time she'd seen Ranma's penis, but she wasn't really looking before, nor was it this close, or so hard. She blushed when she realized she was staring, quickly grabbing his pants and yanking them back up his legs, giving him a wedgie in the process. She then made herself busy untying the knots at his wrists and ankles, and trying not to look him in the face.

When she was on the last knot, her curiosity finally got the better of her. "Umm… Ranma… don't boys… you know… grow hair… down there?"

As if this day couldn't get any worse… "Yeah… Kodachi used that lotion over there and it kinda melted off." He indicated the bottle of lotion lying on the floor with his nose.

Akane picked it up and read the label. "Nair huh? I use this stuff on my legs, but I'd never have thought…"

Ranma thought she had paused to keep from finishing that thought aloud, embarrassed at what she was thinking about, but instead, she turned to him with an evil grin on her face. It seemed as if she had an idea. A real doozy by the look of it too. "Akane, what are you thinking?" he asked, suddenly nervous.

"Oh just a little revenge Ranma, that's all," she replied. She sauntered over to Kodachi, a much more sexy sway to her hips in Ranma's opinion than Kodachi had demonstrated earlier. She uncapped the bottle of lotion and squeezed it all out on top of the prone girl's head, then reached down and massaged it in. "There, she should wake up before it does any permanent damage, and it will keep her out of our hair for a while as well while she hides her baldness." Akane suddenly seemed to realize the pun she had made by accident and giggled behind her hand.

She walked back over to the bed and lifted Ranma up onto her back in the piggy back position. Ranma had regained enough of his strength that he was able to hold on to keep from falling over as she carried her out the door, and over her fallen opponents. Ranma had to admit that he was impressed at the sheer numbers she had defeated in order to save her. Something was missing though. "Where's Kuno?" he asked.

Akane looked around, as if she just realized he wasn't there. "I don't know, he never showed up I guess." She shrugged her shoulders and exited the mansion.

On the way back to school, they ran into Yuka and Sayuri, the latter of which had her boyfriend Daisuke in tow. "Hey! Glad we caught you two," Yuka called out. "School was cancelled for the rest of the day so you might as well go home."

Akane looked confused. "Cancelled? Why?"

"Well it seems that Kodachi wanted to have some privacy with her 'Ranma darling,' cuz she knocked out Principal Kuno and tied him up in his office before she came up to our room, so the teachers decided between that and the smoke damage from the bomb, that the rest of the day was a wash. Your sister said that Kuno-sempai was left the same way."

"Well that explains why we weren't interrupted," said Ranma. That turned out to be the wrong thing to say, as both of Akane's friends gave him a Look.

"And just how far did you two get anyway Ranma?" Sayuri asked. Daisuke seemed to be interested in the answer as well, but for different reasons.

Thankfully, Akane came to his rescue. "They didn't do anything, I got there before she was able to."

"How do you know that?" Yuka asked.

The obvious answer was that Ranma was still hard as a rock and rubbing into her spine, but she wasn't about to say that. "Ranma says they didn't, so I believe him."

Both of the other girls shut up at that comment, and almost looked as if they were about to cry at seeing their friend mature and admit her love right before their eyes. However, Daisuke had to ruin the moment by asking "So did you see her naked at least? Was she hot? Does she really have a tattoo of a rose over her boob?"

Akane interrupted before the conversation could shift to fantasizing about Kodachi. "Anyway, we're just going to go home then. See you tomorrow!" She turned and started to walk towards their house. She blushed hard when she overheard Sayuri suggest that Daisuke needed to stop thinking about other girls naked and only think about her naked instead.

The rest of the walk home was pleasant for Ranma. He was enjoying the weather, and the sort of hug he was getting with his fiancée, even if it wasn't particularly manly to be seen being carried like that. He quickly looked around to see if there was anyone watching, then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks for saving me. We really didn't do anything you know. You were just in time."

Akane blushed again. "I know Ranma. You're welcome." He really could be sweet at times. Unfortunately his show of affection ruined her concentration. She was trying hard not to think about what was rubbing her in the back. Ranma was still hard, and he didn't seem to be going down any time soon. And while she was embarrassed to be feeling it and thinking about it, she was also very curious about it, and how it might feel deep inside of her. She was going to have to take a long bath when she got home. One with her special battery powered rubber ducky she got at a novelty store.

* * *

Ranma was bored. All afternoon he could do little more than sit around the house and wait for the paralysis to wear off. Now that it was evening, he still felt a little stiff, but at least he had his full range of motion.

He was in the dojo, trying to work through his stiffness with a heavy workout, but his mind just wasn't into it. He couldn't get his mind off of what had happened that day, between the kidnapping, the hair loss, and the rescue. It wasn't that he was upset about the entire thing, Kodachi was a loon and had paralyzed him before, it was how he was feeling about the rescue. It wasn't exactly very manly to have been rescued by his fiancée like that. At the same time though, when he saw Akane standing in the broken doorway, the remains of her enemies at her feet, he didn't think he felt any more aroused in his entire life.

…Now that was an interesting thought. It was probably the first time that he'd ever seen Akane as a sexual woman. She'd always been cute, and he'd even fantasized about her from time to time, but never when she was there in the room with him, her hatred for all things sexual and perverted made it hard to think of her in that way. It was another reason why he was able to agree to her request for time before they did anything physical.

Now though, Ranma's blood pumped hotter at the mere thought of his fiancée. Can't really call her unsexy anymore. That was one of his best insults too dammit. He glanced down and knew he'd be in trouble the next time he saw her unless he did something about it. Quickly looking out the door to see if the coast was clear, he closed the doors and undid his belt.

* * *

Akane was still feeling rather… energetic after the rescue. She figured she'd try to work off her aggravations in the dojo, break some bricks like she normally did. She'd save her ducky to wind down before bed.

She was walking out to the dojo dressed in her gi when she thought she heard a noise. I sounded like Ranma was grunting. Maybe he'd be up to some sparring to help her work out her aggressions. She flushed. And maybe they could explore their newfound relationship a little too.

She walked up to the dojo, and tried to open the door, but found it was locked. Hmm, that was odd. Ranma usually preferred to practice with the doors open if the weather allowed it. She circled around to the back door and found it locked as well. What was going on?

Well, there was that hole in the wall left over from the last time Shampoo came to visit. They hadn't quite finished patching it up yet, so there were still a few boards missing. She kneeled down to call through the hole, when she saw what Ranma was doing.

He was sitting in the middle of the floor.

His pants were in a pile on the floor next to him.

Oh gods he was touching himself!

It was like a train wreck, Akane couldn't look away. That feeling of need she was wanting to work out was just getting stronger. Then Ranma murmured "Sexy Tomboy," and that just made it ten times worse. He's thinking about me? He wants to do that with me? Akane couldn't take it anymore. She stood quickly and ran back into the house. She didn't stop running until she was locked in the bathroom, her ducky taken out from its' hiding place behind the loose tile.

* * *

Here's chapter 4, right on time! I thank everyone who has read and reviewed so far! Hope to hear from the rest of you soon!


	5. Alone

Chapter 5

The next day at school Akane had a hard time concentrating. She was just so… well, horny! She surprised herself at her choice of adjective, but that was the best word to describe it. She had had her long bath the previous night and her vibrating ducky was just wonderful as usual, but it just wasn't enough to scratch her itch. She'd almost gone up to Nabiki's room to find that dildo she knew her sister had, but decided that the consequences of getting caught were just too expensive.

The problem was a combination of getting so much sex thrown at her in the last few days between Shampoo disguising herself and doing Kuno in front of everyone, Ukyo offering herself to Ranma – Ukyo still wouldn't even look at him – having to save a half naked and half hairless Ranma from Kodachi yesterday, and then seeing him take care of himself later that night in the dojo. Plus it seemed that since she had shown an interest in the topic, it was all her girlfriends wanted to talk about. The only thing that shut them up was when they saw some of the bruises she had gotten during the rescue while she was changing for gym. A classmate who wasn't very close to her asked if Ranma had given them to her, and then was surprised when Akane vehemently defended him.

The real question was did she feel she was ready for it? She did admit to Ranma that she loved him, and he said he loved her too, so that wasn't the problem. And not two days ago, she had said that she wanted to wait, and he agreed with her, but now she was having second thoughts. She had always sworn that she was going to wait until she was married to have sex, but well, she was engaged to Ranma anyway, and they almost got married once before. What would it matter if they were to have sex before it was official?

It was kind of a scary thought, but at the same time it was extremely arousing. Akane found herself feeling flushed, with a burning sensation deep in her belly. She took a deep breath and tried to get a grip on her hormones before they got out of control. She had to remember what her friends had told her: Don't try to force it or it will only end up bad. She would just let things flow, and if it seemed to be the time, she would let it happen.

Satisfied with her decision, Akane was able to relax and concentrate on her teacher, but she was still squirming a little in her seat with the heat in her lower abdomen. She looked over at Ranma, and noticed that he seemed to be having a hard time concentrating on whatever it was he normally did other than paying attention. He was glancing over at her every so often, trying not to get caught staring, and was fidgeting in his seat as well. Akane decided to take a peek, and looked down at his crotch, finding a rather big bulge in the front showing that he was aroused as well. This of course only served to make her own arousal worse, but at least she knew she wasn't the only one suffering.

The walk home that day started at a slow pace, but Akane had so much energy buzzing through her thanks to her arousal that it quickly went to a fast walk. Then Ranma raised the bar to a jogging pace. Akane quickly caught up and started running ahead of him. This of course turned the mile long walk home into a race.

Ranma just edged out Akane in the final turn through the gate into the front yard. The run left him breathing hard, but he had a big smile on his face. "Great run Akane, think you can go faster tomorrow?"

Akane who was breathing harder than Ranma, just resorted to sticking her tongue out at him in answer before stumbling into the house. She removed her shoes and went into the kitchen looking for Kasumi to announce their return. Ranma followed looking for a snack. They were both surprised to see that she wasn't in the kitchen, and more surprised to see that their parents were nowhere to be found either. Instead, they found a note on the dinner table.

_Dear Ranma and Akane,_

_We were all invited out to dinner tonight by some friends of the family. As we were invited to the Neko Hanten, and we know of your troubles with Shampoo at the moment, we thought it would be prudent to go ourselves, but allow you to decline the invitation. We will be picking up Nabiki from her after school activities before going to the restaurant, so you will have the place to yourselves tonight. Your dinner is almost ready for you, and is in the oven cooking. Please clean up your dishes after you finish._

_Love,_

_Kasumi_

Akane was put off that her family had just up and decided to exclude them from dinner. The choice of restaurant was suspicious as well. "Who could they be meeting at the Neko Hanten of all places?"

"Dunno," replied Ranma. "But I gotta admit I'm kinda glad they decided to leave us out of it considering how Shampoo has been acting lately."

Akane had to agree with that. But she was still bothered by the fact that they were meeting at that particular restaurant. If it were anyone from her extended family or friends, they'd know better since they were all introduced to the fiancée problem at the failed wedding. Who could it be?

Ranma seemed to not be bothered by the entire thing. He went back into the kitchen to check on their dinner. It seemed that Kasumi had prepared baked fish for them, but it wasn't quite done yet. "Hey Akane, want to spar while we wait for this to finish cooking?"

Akane nearly fell over from shock. Ranma was actually asking her to spar with him. "No dancing around? You're actually going to fight back?"

"Well… I'm not going to go all out, but sure. I get the feeling that we're both going to need the training in the near future. Things are never gong to be the same."

Akane eyed her fiancé suspiciously. "Who are you and what have you done with Ranma?" She asked. Ranma gave her a look that showed he was unamused. Still, it was better safe than sorry. She grabbed the kettle that was kept hot for the cursed houseguests and poured it over his head.

"Ack! Hey! What did you go and do that for you uncute tomboy?"

Akane giggled at his reaction, before leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. "Just making sure you're the real deal Baka."

Ranma could feel the love pouring off of her, and knew that the old insult had become a pet name for him. Between that and the kiss, he was starting to feel a little flushed. "Geeze Tomboy, did you have to pick such an uncute nickname for me?" he teased. Akane pouted in mock anger, and tried to smack him on the chest, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. He could feel her heart beating hard against his chest as he leaned down to her face. Akane closed her eyes and closed the distance. They kissed for a good long while, neither wanting to stop, before having to succumb to their addiction to oxygen. Both were breathing hard and smiling when they pulled away. "Why were we so against doing that again?" Ranma asked.

Akane tried to feel indignant about that comment or at least a bit perturbed, but she was just feeling too good right now. She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. Ranma reciprocated and held her, just content to stand there in the kitchen for a while. Finally Akane started to pull away slightly and looked up at him. "I'm going to go get changed. I'll see you in the dojo." She then left the kitchen, practically skipping up the steps to her room.

Ranma just smiled and checked on the fish one last time. He figured they probably had about an hour before it would be ready to eat, so he grabbed an egg timer before heading out to the dojo.

Ranma was well into his warm up when Akane entered the dojo. She started her own warm up, but was still feeling rather sore from her little altercation at the mansion the previous day so she wasn't able to move quite as well as she would have liked. Ranma stopped to watch her stretch and run through her kata for a while, before calling out for her to stop.

"Are you feeling stiff?" he asked. "You look like you can't quite get through your entire range of motion."

"Yeah some of those ninjas yesterday got in some lucky blows," she replied. "I think one of them bruised a rib." She lifted up her gi top some to expose her side, showing a big purple bruise. "How does it look?"

Astonished that she had become so comfortable in his presence that she'd lift up her shirt for him, Ranma just stared for a second before shaking his head and taking on a more clinical demeanor. "Pretty bad actually. I kinda think you should see Doc Tofu about that." He walked up to her, and placed his hands around the bruise, checking to see if she'd protest at the touch. Seeing she wasn't about to call him a pervert, he started to feel around her ribs, trying to massage away the pain. "No ribs are broken, but you're going to be sore for a while." Akane hissed as he hit a particularly tender area. "I got a salve that should help with the pain if you want," he suggested. Akane nodded, trying to keep from crying out in pain as Ranma finished his examination. "Wait right here, I'll be right back."

Akane sighed in relief as he left the room, and sat down on the floor to catch her breath. She reached down to the hem of her shirt and lifted it off over her head. She'd been putting up with the pain all day long, and it was a relief to just let it get some air. She adjusted her sports bra so that the strap wasn't pressing on the bruise, and sat there relishing in the relief.

Ranma reappeared in the dojo a minute later, and was stunned at what he found. Quickly he checked his nose to make sure he wasn't going to bleed all over the place, no he was fine there. "Uhhh Akane?"

Akane just looked back over her shoulder at him. "Well are you going to put that stuff on me or what?"

Ranma swallowed nervously, but took the hint and walked into the room. He sat down beside her and opened the jar. He took out a big dollop and put it against her side. She gasped. "Ah! That's cold!"

"Oops, sorry," said Ranma. "Here, lemme try something." Ranma seemed to be concentrating, and the next time he put his hands on her, the salve was warm and soothing. Akane sighed in relief. "I forced a little ki through my hands, so they should be really warm now."

All Akane could do was moan her agreement as he rubbed her side. She leaned into his touch as his fingers worked their magic, and the salve took the pain away. It burned, but it was a delicious feeling. It was also starting to cause another separate burning sensation to start up in her lower abdomen.

Ranma was trying to concentrate on what he was doing, but Akane kept making all these interesting moaning sounds and it was getting hard for him to stay clinical about the massage. His hands started to wander as he caressed her tummy and up her back, stopping to rub her shoulders. "Mmmmm that feels good Ranma. Could you massage my back please?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied. He stood and went over to one of the closets and grabbed a spare futon used for guests. He laid it out for her, and she went to lie down on her front, but had a better idea. "Ranma, I can trust you right?" she asked.

He looked at her quizzically. "Of course you can."

"Good," she replied. Keeping her back turned to him, she reached down, and pulled off the sports bra, and lay back down face first. Ranma wasn't able to see anything but her back, but it was still much more erotic than anything he'd ever seen in his life. He took a deep shuddering breath, before placing his hands on her back once again, rubbing and massaging her stiff muscles. He remembered to keep a steady flow of ki going through his hands to keep them warm, but all he wanted to do was start up his Soul of Ice technique to get a hold of his emotions. Unfortunately he couldn't do both at the same time.

Akane was fighting a battle in her head. The massage was great, Ranma really knew his stuff when it came to martial arts, and being able to heal on the road usually called for a massage. She couldn't help but to moan her approval for what he was doing, and the fire that had been simmering in her belly on a low burn all day was now a raging inferno. On the other hand she was also trying to fight down the last dregs of her "I hate boys" mindset that was keeping her from relaxing since a boy she was in love with was touching her all over.

Finally she couldn't take it any more. She turned over slightly, keeping one arm over her breasts, she reached up and grabbed his collar. Looking deep into his eyes, she dragged him down into a searing kiss. When she let go, she had pulled her arm away from her chest, showing him her breasts, and wrapping it around his shoulders. "I love you, Ranma," she said, before pulling him into another heavy kiss. Leaning back, she grinned as his eyes dipped down to her chest. "Did I say you could stop?" she said huskily.

Ranma shivered at her tone of voice as she displayed herself for him. This was it. The one girl that he wanted for so long, the only girl he wanted, was giving him the green light. It seemed too good to be true. This of course usually meant it was. "You're not Shampoo in disguise are you?" he asked, only half joking.

Akane gave him a nasty look, but all things considering it was easy to see why he might think that. "The very first day we met, you saw me naked in the furoba, and now you're hesitating when I'm letting you see it up close and touch it?"

That was the proof he needed. Shampoo wouldn't have known about how they met. His mind free of worry, he dipped his head down to kiss her again, his hand sliding up her torso, careful not to touch her bruise, to caress her breast. Akane mmmmed at the touch and leaned into his hand, trying to encourage him to do more. Ranma seemed to get the hint as he broke away from the kiss, to kiss down her neck. He paused to suck briefly on her clavicle, noting the reaction he got as she seemed to like it, before ending up face to face with her chest. He watched it for a second, in awe at her form as she breathed long and deeply in anticipation of his next touch, before leaning in and placing a suckling kiss on the right breast.

Akane jumped and gasped aloud at the sensation. She always did have sensitive breasts, but she never knew they could feel like this! She placed a hand over her mouth to hold in the noises she was making, but then remembered that their families were out, and therefore she didn't need to. She instead put the hand to better use on the back of Ranma's head, guiding his actions.

Ranma was really enjoying himself as he kissed and sucked on Akane's breasts. He was especially enjoying how vocal she was being, every gasp and moan sending a shiver down his spine and through his crotch. He kept going at her tits with his mouth as his hand stroked up and down her side, then moved east to caress her belly. His fingers splayed out as he gently rubbed her stomach in small circles. This was the part where it would get serious. He knew what he wanted, and he was pretty sure that Akane wanted it too, but if she put on the brakes, then he'd need to use good ol' Lefty later on in the bath. Keeping his hand over her pants, Ranma gently moved his hand down to caress her crotch. A tug on his pigtail made him think that he was being told to stop, but before he could reluctantly remove his hand, his head was pulled up to her face by a much more insistent tug on his hair, only to have her kiss him hard on the mouth. Her free hand grabbed his wrist and held it in place.

Well, that was a positive response. Ranma slid his hand up above her waistband, before delving underneath it, under the panties underneath, and touching her directly. She was hot and moist, with wiry hair covering her pubic arch that reminded him of what he didn't have. Oh well, it would grow back eventually. He gently rubbed his middle finger up and down her slit, his palm resting heavily on her clit. Akane had to break off the kiss to gasp loudly at the contact, her entire body shivering. Much to Ranma's delight, she didn't tell him to stop, but instead rolled her hips in time with his strokes.

Ranma backed away from Akane briefly, earning a confused look, and a bit of a pout. It turned to a smile when she saw him start to take off his own shirt. Once that was removed, he knelt down between her legs, and grabbed her waistband in both hands, slowly pulling it down.

Akane was on fire. She wanted this badly, perhaps she had for a long time as well. She knew Ranma was taking it slowly, trying to test the waters with each step, but she was getting tired of such a slow buildup. She wanted him now. She lifted her hips to allow him to pull her pants and panties down. Finally, she was fully naked in his presence. She felt a thrill go up and down her spine just from the feel of his eyes on her naked form. Although, it hardly seemed fair that she was the only one who was naked, so she in turn reached up to his waistband and yanked it down, pulling it to his knees, and taking his boxers with them. This exposed Ranma's penis, which was semi erect and growing by the second. Of course, Akane had to break the mood by giggling.

Ranma looked down at her with a sour face. "What are you laughing at?"

Akane covered her mouth with her hand, trying to get control over her laughter. "I, hehe, I'm sorry Ranma, but it just looks so funny! You're bald!"

Ranma sighed. Damn Kodachi and her lotion. "Yeah well you wouldn't think so if I pulled a Kuno and melted all your hair away."

Getting her laughter under control, Akane thought about it for a second. "Well I dunno Ranma, it might look better than being all hairy. What do you think, would you like to see me shaved and hairless?" She spread her legs allowing him to get a good look.

Ranma looked down at what Akane was offering to him, and had to swallow hard. His confidence was beginning to wane. "Are you sure you want to do this Akane?"

Akane looked confused at first, wondering if she meant shaving herself clean, but then understood what he meant. She indicated with a crooked finger that he should come closer and lie on top of her. When he was on his hands and knees hovering over her, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and gently kissed him on the lips once more. She then reached down with one hand, grabbed him, and directed him to her entrance.

Ranma got the hint. He readjusted himself into a more comfortable position, settling his weight onto her, before he positioned himself again, and slowly pushed in. Both teens gasped aloud at the new sensations they were receiving from their bodies. Akane was more than ready for him, so he slid in easily. She winced with his first few strokes, not used to having such a big invader inside of her, but thanks to her being so aroused beforehand, she quickly went from pain to pleasure.

"Oh gods Ranma!" Akane cried as he started up a slow pace. This was what she had been missing during all her sessions with her ducky: A pleasant fullness that seemed to radiate euphoria from her center to the rest of her body. Ranma was stretching her slightly, a good kind of pain flowing through her thanks to this, and the spot he was hitting on his in stroke was delicious, along with all the times he touched bottom within her. She couldn't help but to moan aloud, sometimes at the top of her voice, as he plunged deep within her.

Ranma had to grit his teeth in order to keep from blowing too soon. Akane was tighter and slicker than anything he had tried before. It almost hurt really, but it was a good kind of hurt. He shifted his balance, putting more weight on his knees thus changing his angle of entry. "Oh gods yes Ranma! Right there!" came the cry from his lover, so he stayed in that position and continued to thrust.

Akane could feel the wave coming. This was going to be a big one. But suddenly Ranma gave out a grunt of his own and pushed in hard all the way. She could feel him pulsating inside her, feel him filling her with the results of his own orgasm, and knew she'd have to take matters into her own hands. Wrapping her legs around his butt to hold him in, she reached down to his hand on her hip, and moved it over to her clit. Ranma took the hint, and began to rub in a circle, applying more pressure than she had ever tried. Between that and the presence of his still hard cock deep in her pussy, the result was an explosive orgasm of her own. The gods themselves probably heard her cries of pleasure, or at least the neighbors.

Ow! Now that had hurt! Akane had squeezed down hard during her orgasm, becoming a little uncomfortably too tight for Ranma's taste, but that was ok. It was something he was sure he'd learn to love. He withdrew from her, then rolled them both over, pulling her on top of him. He reached up to kiss her, and she closed the distance, both feeling satiated and satisfied.

Akane adjusted her body, then lay down her head on his chest. "I love you Baka," she said quietly.

Ranma just held her close, stroking a hand up and down her body. "I love you too Tomboy," he replied.

Suddenly she raised her head up and looked at him mischievously. "I guess you can't call me sexless any more now can you?" she teased.

Ranma's reply was to stick out his tongue at her. "Yeah well you can't call me a pervert any more either since you were the one that started it."

Akane returned the tongue, but just giggled at his comment otherwise. She lay back down again, content to just cuddle. Ranma drew up the discarded blanket over top of them, and held onto his fiancée tightly, closing his eyes to snooze before dinner. Akane noticed on the egg timer that the still had about a half an hour before it would be ready, and settled down to join him in slumber.


	6. Omiai

Chapter 6

As the young lovers sleep contentedly, their families were sitting around a table in an empty Neko Hanten. It seemed that the friends that Soun and Genma were expecting had reserved the entire restaurant for the evening. They had been sitting and waiting now for a good thirty minutes waiting on these friends to show up, and Nabiki was beginning to get impatient. There was so much she could be doing other than just sitting there. She had money to collect, and information to gather. This was really cutting into her profits.

Not only that, but she was beginning to become suspicious. They hadn't seen hide nor cat hair of Shampoo, Mousse had sat them and taken their order. Her father wasn't even telling the others who they were meeting, though it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to think that he didn't know either considering how nervous he got every time Nabiki asked. Genma and Nodoka were there as well, but it seemed as if Genma had just come along for the free food, and Nodoka came because of her husband.

Finally the bell above the door jingled, and they all turned to see who it was. The two younger girls were all surprised to see Tatewaki Kuno stride through the door, followed by his sister Kodachi and a parade of servants. The servants quickly set on the table, arranging it with candelabras, flowers, and gold rimmed dishes. Some went into the kitchen, probably to try to help out, but judging by the stream of Chinese cursing coming from the kitchen, they were just getting in the way.

Nabiki was the first to speak. "Well, well, Kuno-chan, what brings you here? Ramen isn't exactly gourmet food, even if the Neko Hanten serves the best in the area." She figured that one of the Amazons were probably eavesdropping, and it wouldn't hurt to butter them up a little.

Kuno struck a dramatic pose, his ever present wooden bokken held aloft. "I have come to ask for the hand of the fair Akane Tendo in marriage. The spell of the evil sorcerer Saotome has finally been broken, and she has twice shown me the extent of her love for my self."

Kodachi then stepped forward. She was dressed in a wedding kimono, black and patterned with roses. She kneeled in front of the families collected at the table and bowed low. When she spoke, it was softly and demurely, very unlike her. "I have come asking for the hand of the magnificent Ranma Saotome in marriage. He has showed his affection for me as well, and it would have been complete had not the wretched Akane Tendo interrupted us." She then snapped her fingers, and a group of servants filed by laying expensive gifts of electronics, alcohol, and Nabiki thought she saw at least one set of car keys added to the pile. She also noted that Genma was eyeing the pile greedily and had already reached for a DVD player.

Nabiki sighed and hit her head on the table. Only the Kunos would think that they were being shown love from Ranma and Akane. The entire school knew that Shampoo was the one who had been fucking Kuno, and that Kodachi had drugged Ranma and carried him off. Akane had filled in the details about what had happened later. She was ready to shoot down these ridiculous claims when she was interrupted by her father's voice. "Well sit down then Son, Daughter, and we will discuss the future." Genma was sitting next to him, smiling and nodding.

Kuno sat down in across from Soun, but this didn't leave an open chair for Kodachi. She impatiently tapped her foot as one of her servants quickly fetched one from another table. Nabiki's ears perked up at the sounds of angry Chinese muttering coming from behind her. It sounded like Shampoo wasn't expecting this other guest, and wasn't pleased about it either.

Nabiki turned to her father, incredulous at her father's willingness to go along with this farce. Sure she liked milking Kuno for spending money, but there was no way in hell that she wanted to be related to him. "Daddy, you know what really happened the other day, why are you even considering listening to them?"

Kasumi weighed in as well. She discretely whispered to Soun. "Father, you know how much Akane dislikes this boy, and that it was discovered that that Shampoo girl was the one who was having intercourse with him."

Soun waved off his daughters' concerns. "Let's just hear what they have to say before we jump to any conclusions." Nabiki noted that he had already uncorked the gift of expensive Japanese whiskey that one of the servants had placed before him and was pouring a generous portion for himself. He motioned for Kuno to speak first. "So young man, what can you offer my daughter should you marry her?"

Kuno drew up tall in his seat. "Your daughter shall want for nothing for the rest of her life. My family is wealthy, having descended from noble daimyo blood that can be traced back to before the Sengoku Jidai. I can provide her with everything her heart desires, and she will bring our children into a world of wealth and privilege." He paused to take a sip of water from a goblet on the table. It was promptly refilled by a servant. "Of course her family will also be well taken care of for the rest of their lives as well."

Soun smiled and nodded at his answer. Nabiki looked like she was about to kill someone, but couldn't decide between her father or her classmate. She opened her mouth to protest once more, but was interrupted by Genma. "And what about you, Lady Kodachi, what do you have to offer my son? I notice you are a nun, are you going to give up that lifestyle for him?"

Kodachi kept her head bowed in front of her prospective in-laws, but gritted her teeth at the question. Nabiki had to hide a giggle behind her hand, as it seemed that Nodoka had taken Akane's revenge to mean Kodachi was a nun. "I too am wealthy, as I am Tatewaki's sister. Ranma will want for nothing for the rest of his life, and will be free to travel as he pleases to keep up on his training. I would only ask that he return once a year to give me a child, to help strengthen the clan line." She looked Genma dead in the eye and dropped what she felt would seal the deal with him. "My dowry of course is quite large."

Nabiki noticed Nodoka's eyes light up at the mention of children. Uh oh, she was falling for it too. It was easy to see why their fathers were falling for it, but Nodoka was supposed to be the intelligent one of the family, excluding some of her own eccentricities. It was time to end this now. "We're sorry to the both of you, but we won't be accepting your offers." She stood to leave, but was interrupted by Shampoo bringing out the main course, seven bowls of ramen all balanced along her arms, on chopsticks in her hands, and even one on her head. She happily placed each bowl in front of one of the diners, but conspicuously avoided eye contact with any of them.

Tatewaki gave Nabiki a dirty look. "You do not speak for your family, my future sister-in-law, nor do you speak for my bride to be. I see no reason as to why you are even here."

"Because I am the only one who has proof of your infidelity my future nothing-in-law," Nabiki sniped back. She reached into her purse and pulled out a photo, clearly showing Kuno having sex with an ecstatic Shampoo in the school yard. Out of nowhere, Shampoo grabbed the photo and promptly tore it into tiny pieces, eating the scraps. Nabiki nearly laughed out loud at the antics of the girl trying not to get caught. "I have more copies you know," she said.

"More copies of what?" came a question from the direction of the kitchen. Everyone turned to see Mousse standing in the doorway wiping his hands on a towel. He walked over to the table to see what all the commotion was about. Shampoo cursed when she saw he actually had his glasses on. She tried to grab Nabiki's purse, but she was tripped up by something when she made her way over. She looked up to see a blushing Kasumi trying to hide her face in shame, her foot stuck in Shampoo's way.

Mousse took one look at the picture, and immediately broke out in tears. He turned to his love. "How could you do such a thing! To cast aside my love for you like that!"

Shampoo rolled her eyes. _"Oh relax Mousse, I've had sex with you lots of times,"_ she replied in Chinese. This of course stopped him in his tracks, distracting him long enough for Shampoo to splash him with a bucket of water, and hit him over the head with the empty bucket. Once he was unconscious she tossed the duck back into the kitchen. She'd have to wipe him again later, or else she'd never get another moment of peace.

Kuno harrumphed as he looked at the picture himself deep inside of Shampoo. "This is obviously a forgery. I have never been with any woman other than the beautiful Akane."

Nabiki just sighed and glared at her father, daring him to say another stupid thing that would commit her baby sister to a marriage she'd hate. At least she didn't despise Ranma anymore. She shouldn't have bothered, since he was already drunk from all the expensive whiskey he was drinking, and thus anything he would have said was stupid. On the other hand, this gave her a good excuse. "As you can plainly see Kuno, my father has enjoyed a little too much of your gift, and thus he won't be able to make a well educated decision. Might I suggest that we reconvene at a later date?"

Kuno gave Nabiki another dirty look. This was the one fly in the ointment, that in marrying Akane, he would also be related to her mercenary sister. His sister on the other hand looked as if she might be about to arrange her own marriage, when there was a protest from an unlikely source. "I'm afraid I need to agree with Nabiki and ask for a delay on a decision," said Nodoka. "I cannot in good conscious arrange a marriage with you, Kodachi, unless your parents are present as well. Perhaps we can meet again at a later date."

Kodachi frowned deeply. "I'm afraid that our father has left for Hawaii this morning, and isn't due back for a month. Our mother is no longer around."

Nodoka looked sympathetic. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"She left Father for her personal trainer. He had hair so long he could sit on it. Father always insisted on short hair for all of us."

"Oh. Well, then lets set another omiai for a month from today when he returns to Japan."

Kuno snapped his fingers, and one of his servants approached holding a date book. "We are available again on the twentieth of April, and our father should have returned by then."

"Very well. We shall meet here again on that date. I thank you for your invitation tonight, but I think we should be going."

Kuno looked puzzled. "Invitation? We were under the impression that you invited us?"

Nabiki looked suspiciously over at Shampoo, who was looking anywhere but at the people sitting around the table. She'd have to keep an eye on her.

* * *

The next day at school was interesting. Both Ranma and Akane couldn't help but have big smiles on their faces the entire day, despite hearing about their omiai with the Kunos last night. It also affected their schoolwork. Well, not Ranma so much as he daydreamed anyway, but Akane was having an exceedingly hard time concentrating on anything. Her friends had noticed as well, and interrogated her during lunch.

"So did you and Ranma finally do the deed then?" asked Sayuri, subtle as a bomb.

Akane couldn't help herself. She blushed hard and looked down, her body language telling her friends all they needed to know. They started to squeal excitedly, but Akane shushed them into silence, looking over at Ukyo to see if she was looking at them. "Look I'll give you details if you swear not to tell ANYONE. So help me if Ukyo finds out you're going to be eating through a straw for weeks," she threatened, waving her fist under their noses. They all nodded excitedly and waited for their friend to spill.

Ranma was having to deal with his own group of nosy friends, but at least his reputation showed that if they bothered him too much that he would actually follow through on his threats. On the other hand, some of the things they were asking about were giving him ideas to try. That sixty-nine thing sounded like it might be fun.

Finally the day ended and Ranma and Akane were allowed to go home. It was then that Ranma noticed something that would probably lead to their downfall: Akane was walking funny, still feeling sore from the night before. What was worse, someone else seemed to notice as well, Ukyo had a look on her face that could melt steel, and was storming over to them. "So you finally did it," she accused Akane. "You finally stole Ranma away from me."

Akane schooled her face, trying not to blush. Now was not the time for a fight. "What do you mean Ukyo?" she asked, trying her damnedest to sound innocent.

"I've seen how you've been walking all day today Akane. If it was just for an hour or so, I'd have just thought that you had a wedgie or something, but you never stopped. You and Ranma had sex last night, and you're still feeling sore aren't you?"

Akane looked to Ranma, but he was of no use, completely locked up thinking that they had been caught. Akane, on the other hand, had an idea. "It's not what you think Ukyo. I went to rescue Ranma from Kodachi the other day right? Some of her servants got in a few good blows." She looked around, before dragging Ukyo off behind the storage shed. When they returned, Ukyo was the one looking embarrassed. She apologized to Akane, but still didn't speak to Ranma. Ranma was confused. "What did you say to her?"

"I showed her the bruise on my side and explained that someone had gotten me in the groin as well, and that was why I was walking funny."

Ranma breathed a sigh of relief. "Good thing that worked. I'm not sure when we should tell her the truth though. She's already angry at me rejecting her the other day, telling her that you and I had sex might push her to do something drastic. Remember how she was before she decided that she wanted to be my fiancée again?" Ranma shuddered. "I don't want to have to fight her, and I don't want you to either. I just want us to be friends." He suddenly got a lecherous look in his eye. "Maybe tonight I can kiss it better for you and you won't walk so funny tomorrow."

Akane gave her lover a death glare, but then remembered that she wanted him to touch her now, so instead settled for smacking him upside the head. "Not where people will hear you Baka!" she whispered. Still, it was always nice when he said things like that that assured her that she was the one he had chosen. But she also felt bad for Ukyo and the situation she had been thrust into. She wasn't sure how, but someday she'd make it up to the chef for lying to her about this.

* * *

Nodoka thinks Kodachi is a nun because she is bald (remember Akane's Nair shampooing?) According to the manga "Love Hina," nuns shave their heads bald. When I had first written this scene I had forgotten about Akane's revenge, and that was an easy way to fix it.


	7. Choices & Consequences

Chapter 7

One month later…

Ranma found himself in an increasingly familiar place, lying on the futon out in the dojo, with Akane cuddled up to him. Oh, and they were both naked. That was an important little detail. She was also snoring rather loudly, hence why he wasn't sleeping himself. She always seemed to do that after sex. She'd go at it like a chainsaw for about an hour, before she'd shift in her sleep, and suddenly be breathing quietly again, so he'd just have to wait it out. At least she didn't toss and turn in her sleep anymore like she used to, although she had taken to clutching onto him in a death grip instead.

Ranma got some of his best thinking done during that hour, and usually used it to reflect on the days events. This entire month had been a little too eventful if one were to ask him. Once the floodgates had been opened with Akane, she had been almost insatiable. He had moved out of the spare room with his parents and into the dojo, citing the need for his own space rather than having to share it with his parents. He implied to his father that perhaps a little privacy might help with his relationship with his mother as well, hoping the want for sex after so many years of celibacy would make his father agree with him. It worked.

So he moved his meager belongings out to the dojo, but only enough that he could shove it all in the closet when they needed the dojo for its' primary function. His move had the added benefit of having a place for Akane to join him at night. They had once tried to have sex in her bed, but Akane is what is known in the bedroom as a screamer. The one time they had done it in her room had left them so worried that they had been heard that they hadn't even looked at each other at home for a week. Of course this led to other interesting trysts.

Akane had a bit of an exhibitionist streak in her. At school, they'd done it in the janitor's closet, the equipment shed, on the roof, and that was just during the day. They'd even snuck onto school grounds late at night and did it against the wall where Shampoo had started the entire mess. Then there was that time where she had wanted to do it in the park, but they got interrupted just as he pulled his pants down by a surprise rainstorm, and then Kuno who saw his pigtailed goddess without her pants on and chased her across town. He was a little worried that Akane almost wanted to get caught. As it was he needed to cover her mouth to keep her from making too much noise in the closet.

Not that he was complaining. He always got excited whenever Akane got that look in her eye at about ten in the morning, and he knew he was going to get desert with his lunch. Buying all those condoms was really starting to eat into his spending money, but it was certainly a sacrifice he was willing to make.

He was almost sure that Akane's friends had found out, if not had been outright told by her when they did it the first time. They would give him sly glances every so often and giggle when he noticed them. It was kind of weird, but if Akane was bragging about her big, studly, fiancé, who was he to argue?

The one thing they hadn't tried yet – he was both curious about it and scared shitless about it – was doing it while he was a girl. Sure Akane was getting more and more into some kinky ideas, she'd shaved her own pubic hair and insisted he stay bald as well, and they'd done all the positions they could think of and even invented some that most people couldn't do unless they were both as strong and flexible as Ranma and Akane were, but he'd never asked her if she'd like to do it as two girls. He was a little afraid that she'd hate him for asking, or worse, that she'd go for it and he'd like it too much.

Suddenly Akane woke with a start and looked around, seemingly forgetting where she was. She sighed contentedly once she figured it out and snuggled in closer. Ranma hated to break the mood, but there was something that they had to discuss. "We got that omiai with the Kunos in a few days. How do we want to deal with it?"

Akane groaned that he had to bring it up now, when she was feeling so good. It was the night that they first made love that their parents had come home from a "meeting with friends" which had turned out to be an omiai, possibly set up by Shampoo, with the intention that they would be wed to the Kunos. Akane couldn't believe how stupid their fathers were being by even considering the idea. Her own father had claimed that it would still be joining the schools since they would be in-laws, and since they were so against marrying each other that this would be a viable solution. It took all of her willpower not to kick her father over the horizon after that comment.

Fortunately her sisters were on her side, knowing about all the hardships she'd had to put up with due to Kuno. Surprisingly, Ranma's mother also seemed to be on their side as well, despite her early intentions to agree with it since Kodachi was promising her at least one grandchild a year. However, once she was sat down by the Tendo women and explained the situation, along with pictures of Kuno having sex with Shampoo and an embarrassed Akane telling her what Kodachi had done to her manly son's hair, she was dead set against the arrangement. Of course, Akane didn't tell her that she had asked Ranma to keep it clean.

"Ranma, we'll go to the thing, and tell them we aren't interested in marrying them. They aren't going to listen, but we'll just ignore them like we always do. If our fathers try to decide for us, Auntie has said that she'd help to convince them otherwise. With her katana. Now can I go back to sleep?"

Ranma just sighed and gave her a squeeze. Akane lay there for a second before looking up at him, and giving him a long kiss on the lips. "I love you, Baka," she said before putting her head down again.

"I love you too Tomboy," he replied, and settled himself down to sleep as well. Maybe if he fell asleep first he wouldn't notice her snoring.

* * *

Shampoo was sick. She'd woken up that morning and just didn't have the energy to get out of bed. When Cologne came up to check on her, she said she didn't have a fever, and therefore had no excuse to get out of working for the day. So she dragged herself out of bed, and jumped in the shower to wash up for the day. She nearly fell asleep on her feet standing under the hot water, which resulted in Cologne yelling at her to move her slow ass or else she'd be made to wait on the women customers all day rather than the men. This of course was considered a bad thing since it meant she'd be getting fewer tips. She didn't even have the energy to beat up on Mousse when he hugged her. She had to settle with stomping on his instep instead.

When she sat down for breakfast, she felt queasy. When Cologne served her breakfast, congee and you tiao made just how she liked it, her stomach turned. She couldn't even drink down the rice gruel. Instead she stood from the table, and went out into the dining room to prepare the tables. Just the smells of the kitchen were making her woozy.

It didn't get any better as the day progressed. By the time they had opened for lunch, she felt like she was just one second away from emptying her stomach. The only thing that kept her from doing so was the fact that there was nothing in it. She tried to put on a happy face for the steady stream of customers coming through the door, but she just couldn't hold it for long. Many of the regulars commented on how green she looked and that she should go lie down. Some of the more lecherous ones suggested that they had the cure and that she should allow them to administer it orally… or anally… or vaginally. Since these customers were also the biggest tippers, she just ignored their advances.

The final straw came when she had to serve the first dish of the day, fish ramen. The smell of the meat in the soup hit her with a wave of nausea that she just could not keep down. Halfway to the table she felt the bile rising in her throat, and quickly tossed the bowl onto the table in front of the customer. This earned her a round of applause as the soup landed without spilling a drop, but she couldn't hear it as she had already raced into the bathroom, and was dry heaving into the toilet.

Shampoo stayed kneeling with her head resting on the bowl of the toilet, the cold porcelain feeling good against her forehead as she tried to catch her breath. Why was she feeling this sick? It just came on all of a sudden, yesterday she was feeling fine. She was sure the chicken last night was cooked thoroughly, she had grilled it herself. She hadn't gone out drinking last night since she knew she had to work today, that and she didn't have a man to buy her drinks at the moment. She hadn't even snuck some of her Grandma's opium in weeks. Why was she sick?

Cologne entered the bathroom behind her granddaughter, less than pleased that she was short one worker for the day. She wasn't completely heartless though. "Are you all right Shampoo?" A non-committal grunt is all she got in reply. Cologne walked up to her and felt her forehead, it was cool. "You don't have a fever, so it's not the flu. If you're hung over I'm just going to make you go back out there you know," she warned.

Shampoo just shook her head. "No Great-Grandmother, haven't had anything to drink in a long time. Shampoo not know why she is feeling sick today."

Cologne grabbed her wrist to check her pulse. She also placed her hands on Shampoo's neck, chest, and stomach, checking her over. She couldn't quite tell what was wrong with her, but it was obvious that she wasn't faking. There was certainly something out of alignment in her ki, and it was making her nauseous. "Perhaps the chicken you ate last night was bad, and you just have food poisoning. Why don't you go upstairs to rest and I'll come check on you in an hour.

Shampoo nodded, and dragged herself up the stairs to her bedroom. No sooner did her head hit the pillow, she was asleep. It only seemed like a second that she was out before Cologne was shaking her awake. "I need you to stand up so I can examine you Shampoo," she said.

Shampoo noted that she didn't feel quite so sick anymore, so she stood up, and let her grandmother look at her. She knew that she was observing her ki patterns, looking for any kind of change that would explain the sickness.

Cologne had to say she was somewhat baffled. Shampoo's ki was wildly different, but her body didn't seem to be preparing to fend of a disease. It was then that she realized that there would be one reason other than disease that would cause her ki to look this way, and make her sick as well, and if this test came back positive, it would either be a glorious day, or one that Shampoo would rue for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, considering how much Son-in-law had been avoiding coming to the restaurant lately, she was guessing it was going to be the latter.

Shampoo was starting to look nervous as Cologne took on an almost angry stare as she examined her. Finally she spoke. "Shampoo, when was your last moon flow?"

This question caught her by surprise. She had to think about it for a second before she answered. "Shampoo think it was about five or six weeks ago." She blinked at the revelation. She wasn't always regular, but that seemed a bit long.

Cologne frowned deeper. "Wait right here." She left Shampoo standing in her bedroom, going off to her own, and rummaging around in her chest of jewels. There was one in here that would tell them the answer. Ah, here it was. She held up deep blue sapphire on a long golden chain. Hurrying back to Shampoo's room, she handed it to her granddaughter. "Put this around your neck, and let it hang down," she instructed. Shampoo complied. The chain was long enough that the jewel at the end of it hung down to her belly. Cologne watched as it changed color. Green. Damn. "Shampoo, who have you been sleeping with?" she asked.

Shampoo's face turned white. Was that it? Did she catch some sort of venereal disease and it was just now showing it's ugly head? Still, it wasn't exactly something she could admit to her grandmother. "Shampoo not sleep with anyone Great-Grandmother. Am saving self for Ranma."

Cologne sighed and shook her head, before looking angrily up at her granddaughter. "Don't lie Shampoo. The gem turned green. Had it been red, I might have believed you. You're pregnant, and there is only one way to catch that particular disease. Now who was it!" She jumped up onto her stick in order to look Shampoo more in the face. "And don't try to tell me it was Ranma. Your last statement tells me that you haven't been sleeping with him."

Pregnant? PREGNANT? That was impossible! She hadn't slept with anyone in weeks! She hadn't touched Mousse in a long time. There were those two cute customer boys that came in from time to time though, but even they'd been too busy to fool around.

Wait a minute. The last time she had sex was her failed plan to ruin Akane. That was about a month ago wasn't it? Oh no…

"TA MA DE! Not him!" she shouted.

Cologne grabbed the chain around Shampoo's neck and dragged her down, her face an inch away. "Who is the father? Is it Mousse?" She could just about stand it if it was, at least he was an Amazon who knew his place.

Shampoo averted her eyes, and shook her head. "Kuno," she mumbled.

Cologne nearly fell over. "Kuno? KUNO? You chose that idiot to bed with?"

Shampoo tried to explain. "Was in Akane's form! Was trying to ruin Akane's reputation by rutting with stupid Stick Boy in front of the school in her form using instant Jusenkyo spring. But Shampoo's plan failed when real Akane showed up and dumped hot water on Shampoo. Kuno finished inside of me, but Shampoo thought it was a safe day!"

"Idiot!" Cologne cried, rapping Shampoo over the head with her staff. "The rhythm method doesn't work!" She rubbed her head in exasperation. "Are you sure it is Kuno?"

Shampoo nodded. "Could be a couple other boys, they regular customers, but Shampoo not see them in a while. Kuno only man since last moon flow."

Cologne could kill her granddaughter. "You sleep with the customers?" Small wonder she got so many tips. "Just how many boys have you slept with Miss Saving-it-for-Ranma."

Shampoo stopped to think about it. She didn't know herself. She just shrugged, but that seemed to only aggravate Cologne further. The one thing that would have trapped Ranma into a marriage with her, and she was risking getting pregnant with who knows how many guys, and had finally lost that gamble. She smacked Shampoo over the head again. "Lie down and take a nap. I'll bring you some ginger tea in a little while. That should cure your morning sickness. Today you can rest, but tomorrow, you're back to work understand?" Shampoo just nodded and moved to comply. "I'm going to go see that Kuno boy and find out for sure if he is the father of your child. The child which you are keeping by the way. I'm going to make you carry that child to term as your punishment for fucking our entire plan up."

Shampoo laid down in her bed to do just that. If Great-Grandmother was cursing like that, then she must have really screwed up. Damn! If only she'd figured it out first, she could have taken care of the little problem before it became a big one! Now she was being forced to carry the idiot's child, and was probably going to lose Ranma over it as well. She closed her eyes and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

Cologne was hopping madly along on her stick, racing to the Kuno estate. Her one glimmer of hope was that this idiot wasn't really the father, that one of Shampoo's other friends might be. Of course, considering how afraid Shampoo had been that it was Kuno didn't bode well for that plan.

Finally she arrived, and promptly rang the doorbell. When it was answered by someone on the intercom rather than in person, she took it as an insult, but kept her temper in check. "I wish to speak with the boy," she said to the man on the screen.

"I'm afraid that Master Kuno is terribly busy at the moment and is not taking any visitors," came the reply from the speaker.

"I'm afraid it is a matter of the utmost importance," she replied. "I suspect that he has gotten my great-granddaughter pregnant, and I wish to be sure."

The man on the screen was taken aback. The entire staff had heard the cries of pleasure coming from Kuno's bedroom, but they had all assumed that he was watching another one of his "movies". The fact that the only woman who had come to visit Kuno… well, ever… was Akane Tendo, who had since then fought tooth and nail to rescue Kodachi's paramour, it was just astonishing to think that it was possible that the young master had actually lost his virginity. "Wait right there, someone will be down shortly to take you to Master Kuno," he said.

The door opened and a young servant girl bowed low to Cologne before leading her into the house. Cologne took note of the peculiar weaving path the girl was taking along the straight hallway, almost as if she were avoiding something. Figuring it must have been for a good reason, she followed the same path. She didn't want to have to waste her time by needing to destroy any traps that might be placed in her way.

Finally they reached Kuno's room. The servant girl knocked quietly on the door and waited for a response. She opened the door when prompted, and bowed low. "This woman wishes to speak with you Master Kuno," she said keeping her eyes averted.

Kuno sneered at her. "I told you I didn't want to be interrupted today," he said. It looked as if he were trying to do calligraphy with a large brush on a sheet of paper at his feet. His penmanship was so poor that Cologne couldn't make out what the character was supposed to be. The walls of the room were covered in an odd wallpaper that had the faces of both Akane Tendo and Son-in-law's female side smiling at the people in the room. Cologne had heard stories about how devoted this man was to his two "loves", but this was rather creepy.

The servant kept her eyes averted. "I know Master Kuno, but this woman says that she has a matter of honor that she needs to speak to you about."

"Oh? Well then she may speak if she is brief," he replied. He waved the servant away, before tuning to face Cologne for the first time. "And what matter of honor do you bring to the most honorable Tatewaki Kuno?" he asked.

Cologne held out the jewel on the long chain that she had used to test Shampoo. The gem was still green. "Put this on around your neck and let it hang down."

Puzzled, Kuno complied. "I do not understand what this has to do with honor old woman. I do not wear jewelry such as this. If you are looking for a person with a similar figure to my own magnificent self who does wear such gaudy baubles, then I wish you luck in your search."

Cologne was ignoring the stream of nonsense that was spewing from his mouth, and concentrated on the gem. It was turning back to blue. Well damn. If it had stayed green, then it would have meant he wasn't the father. As it was now… "I'm afraid that I have indeed found who I am looking for Sonny. The stone has changed color. You are the father of the child my granddaughter is carrying."

Kuno, for once in his life, found himself speechless. Father? "Then you are the grandmother of the fierce tigress Akane Tendo? Oh joyous day! I promise you my good woman that I shall do the right thing and wed her at once!" He started to dance around the room.

Cologne was flabbergasted. "No, I am the grandmother of the idiot Shampoo. You know, long purple hair, Chinese, works in the restaurant downtown."

"Oh but that is impossible, for I have only been with one woman, and that woman is Akane Tendo. I would never debase myself so much to lay with a gaijin. Surely you are just being senile in forgetting who is your offspring. Now if you will excuse me, I have a wedding to plan." He ushered the older woman out of the room, and slammed the door behind her.

Cologne was amazed at how stupid this boy truly was. She knew that Shampoo had said that she was in Akane's form when she had slept with him, but for him to take it so far as to believe she didn't know her own granddaughter? She expected him to be confused, and then have it demonstrated for him before he understood, not just completely ignore everything he didn't want to hear. His obsession with the Tendo girl was a step beyond unhealthy to the point where Cologne felt concerned for the girl.

Well, this was a mess made by Amazon magic, it would just have to be cleaned up with Amazon magic as well. Cologne would hire some extra help around the restaurant and have Mousse spy on Kuno. When the boy went to claim Akane for his own, claiming that she was having his child, she'd go along to prove that she wasn't even pregnant. She didn't particularly like the girl, but she wouldn't wish this man on any woman.


	8. Omiai Part 2

Chapter 8

Akane couldn't remember a time when she was happier. Ever since she and Ranma had finally admitted their feelings for each other, she just found it harder and harder to get angry. Oh sure they still had fights, he still refused to eat her cooking damn it, but they always made up later that night, and angry sex was beginning to become Akane's favorite.

Mmmmm, just the thought of lying with Ranma, all hot and sweaty and naked, was making her wish she could take him right now. Unfortunately there was still an hour before the end of the school day. She didn't understand why she felt so horny all the time, she was getting it every night, and most days during lunch as well. It was just such a great feeling that she felt she had to make up for lost time. Why had she been so against doing this?

She yawned and had to stifle it with her hand. That was the only problem with all the fun she'd been having. The only way for them to get any privacy at all was for Akane to stay up late at night and sneak into the dojo when everyone else was asleep. Then she had to get up early and go back to her own bed before even Kasumi woke up in the morning. She was running on perhaps five or six hours of sleep a day, and it was starting to get to her. She was even starting to feel a little sick. She was sure Ranma would understand if she told him that she needed to rest tonight.

Ranma. It was amazing how different he had become in such a short while. He no longer pointed out her every flaw and picked on her all the time. He was training her in the art, and it was really beginning to show both in her skill, and in her body, Akane was loving what all that exercise was doing for her thighs, butt and abs. He also had his own sweet way of showing his affection for her, too shy to be open about it, but still would sneak in quick kisses every so often when nobody was looking, sometimes when she least expected it. It was those times that she really felt the need to pounce on him.

He also had this little game he liked to play which he called "Shikoku." Any chance he got, usually when she was naked, but sometimes when they were just alone in a room, he'd smack her on the ass and cry out "Shikoku!" It was always in the same spot too, right where her birthmark was, which was why he'd call out the name of the island when he did it. At first Akane found it extremely embarrassing, and thought he was teasing her about her mark, but then she figured out that he was doing it because he thought the mark was sexy, and liked to bring attention to it. Once she realized this, she found the game downright erotic.

Well… maybe it wouldn't hurt for them to fool around again tonight. After all, they had that farce of an omiai with the Kunos tomorrow, and she wanted to be as relaxed and stress free about the entire thing as possible. If nothing else, that was the greatest benefit of all, was that she always felt relaxed afterwards. She'd need all the help she could get to get through the omiai without killing someone.

* * *

Oh gods, Ranma loved it when Akane was on top. Not only did he not have to do any work, but he got to see her entire body on display for him from her face scrunched up in ecstasy, down past her bouncing breasts, down to her clean shaven pubic area, mashed up against his own. He could reach up and touch any part of her that he liked, and really drive her wild. Right now he was grasping onto her breasts, massaging them as she bounced. They seemed to be getting more and more sensitive lately, so he played with them as much as possible. He was also almost certain they were getting bigger too.

Finally Akane let out a scream and sat down hard, her orgasm causing her to squeeze tightly on his cock. It always hurt a little, but he never complained since it was his big signal that he had done his job properly. He was even starting to enjoy it, and it caused him to fall into his own orgasm. Exhausted, Akane fell down on top of him, and he held on to her as they caught their breath. Ranma pulled out of her, and removed the condom, tying a knot in it and setting it aside for disposal later. He kissed his fiancée and held her tight.

He could hear Akane's breathing begin to slow as she started to fall asleep, but there was something he wanted to ask first. "Akane? You awake?"

"Mmm," came the non-committal grunt.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Mmm."

"I don't really want to wait anymore. After we tell off the Kunos tomorrow, I think that will mean all our other commitments have been dealt with. Will you… will you marry me?"

"Mmm."

Ranma boggled at his fiancée. "Uhh… Akane?"

"Mmm."

Ranma couldn't tell if she was really too far gone asleep that she didn't hear what he asked or if she was pulling his leg. He gave her a gentle shake. She stirred and looked up at him. "What is it Ranma?"

He smiled at her. "Didn't you hear a word I said?"

Akane looked miffed that he had woken her up. "You were asking me a question. Can't it wait until tomorrow?" Akane settled down on his chest to fall asleep again, when her brain finally caught up to what her ears had heard him say. Suddenly she was wide awake and looking at him wide eyed. "You want to get married? For real? To me?"

Ranma just smiled. "Is that a yes?"

Akane's answer was to kiss him hard on the mouth, more electrifying than anything they'd experienced before. When she finally pulled away, she said one word: "Yes." Then she reached for the box of condoms.

She said yes many more times before they finally fell asleep.

* * *

The next day found the collective Tendo, Saotome, and Kuno families all gathered in the Neko Hanten once more. This time, however, Ranma, Akane, and Principal Kuno were also in attendance. Nabiki was kind of surprised that her sister had even bothered to show up, but then again, maybe the Kunos would actually understand they were being rejected if it was done formally and traditionally.

All assembled had dressed in their very best. It was odd seeing Principal Kuno wearing a suit and sans his trademark sunglasses and palm tree. On the other hand it also looked as if he wasn't conscious either, despite the fact that his eyes were open. He didn't seem to be focusing on anything. The big lump on his forehead was just more evidence to suggest this.

There was one thing that was weirding Nabiki out though, and that was the demeanor of her younger sister. If Akane's smile was any wider, the top of her head would fall off. She also seemed to be hiding something in her hand. Nabiki normally wouldn't have taken any notice, but Akane was playing with whatever it was clutched between her hands, constantly rubbing her thumb over something. She couldn't guess what it was.

The parents were once again lavished with many expensive gifts, this time there seemed to be two sets of keys in the pile. Genma was practically drooling over it, but one quick glance at his wife's angry face told him he'd better keep his hands to himself. Soun for his part was trying his damnedest not to even look at it, lest he fall to temptation. He could feel Kasumi's hard face on him, making sure he didn't.

Finally Kuno spoke. "As you can see, our father is present today and so we may continue with our discussion of a month ago." He waved to the pile in front of him. "This is but a small gift for my future in laws. Now please tell me your answer."

Kodachi, once again dressed in the wedding kimono, addressed the Saotomes, passing them a check covered in zeroes. "This is my dowry, please accept it as a token of my appreciation for allowing me to join the noble Saotome clan." She bowed low, but Nabiki noticed that she had to put a hand to her head. It seemed that she was trying to keep her hairpiece in place.

Ranma snerked at the adjective "noble." Not when it came to his father it wasn't. This entire thing was beginning to get out of hand. He was about to say something snide, when his mother spoke up. "I'm afraid that we must decline your generous offer Lady Kodachi," she said. "My family already has an agreement with the Tendo family to wed our son to their youngest daughter."

Genma got a look at the number on the check and paled at his wife's declaration. "But… but No-chan! Just look at this check!" He picked it up to show it to her, only to have it fall apart in two pieces in his hand. Nobody saw the Saotome family blade move, but they heard it as it slid home into its scabbard.

For his part, Soun needed no more intimidation than what was being offered by the face of his oldest daughter. "The Tendo family is going to have to decline as well. My daughter is already engaged to wed the Saotome son." On the other hand… "Perhaps you'd be interested in marrying one of my elder daughters?" For that remark he earned a kick in the shins under the table from both of his other daughters.

Kuno didn't seem to notice. "Nay, though it is good of you to offer so that our families may still be joined, I do not wish to marry any save the fair Akane. Especially since she carries my child."

Stunned silence was the only response to this declaration. Since Kuno was used to people being stunned in his presence, he continued to speak. "Only yesterday, the grandmother of Akane Tendo came to my abode and informed me that her granddaughter was pregnant, and that I, Tatewaki Kuno, The Blue Thunder, was child's father. Being an honorable man, I at once pledged to her that I would do the right thing and wed the fair Akane." He drew himself up into a dramatic pose in an effort to show his sincerity and magnificence at doing what was honorable.

Akane laid him flat with a right cross to the jaw. "What on Earth are you talking about you idiot? I have never in my life slept with you, nor will I ever even consider it! And both of my grandmothers are dead!" She reared back to kick him in the stomach while he was down, but Ranma intervened and pulled her back into a hug. Nabiki's eyes boggled as she saw him calm her little sister by holding her. Since when did they get so close?

Then they heard a voice coming from the kitchen. "I'm afraid that young Master Kuno got the wrong idea when I went to visit him." Cologne stepped out of the kitchen, Shampoo in tow. The younger Amazon had her head bowed, Nabiki thought she looked a little green.

Cologne held up the blue jewel. "This jewel is an ancient family heirloom," she said. "It has mystical powers in that it acts as a pregnancy test, much more accurate than anything available on the market today." She placed the chain around her neck, and the gem turned red. "When placed around the neck of a woman who is not pregnant, the sapphire turns red." She removed it and put it around Shampoo's neck. "About the neck of a pregnant woman, it turns green." Everyone gasped when they saw that indeed the jewel was green. Nabiki started to see yen signs at this implication. She had many bets on the fact that Shampoo would be the first to bed Ranma and get pregnant. This made all those bets losers in her book.

Cologne then turned to Kuno. "So you see Sonny, my granddaughter, SHAMPOO, is pregnant, and she claims that you are the father."

Kuno rubbed his sore jaw. "That is preposterous. I would never debase myself to lay with a gaijin such as your daughter."

Shampoo looked up and glared daggers at him. Cologne was less than pleased with this boy's attitude as well, but she had one more ace up her sleeve. "Shampoo has told me that she had used magic to take the form of your Akane Tendo to seduce you in an effort to ruin her reputation." She removed the jewel from about Shampoo's neck. "If this jewel is worn by the father of the child she is carrying then it will return to blue." She called for Mousse. He came into the dining room, a defeated man. He obviously hadn't slept last night, and wouldn't even look at Shampoo. "Put it around your neck to demonstrate, please." Mousse complied, and saw that the gem stayed green. Cologne sighed sadly before she offered the necklace to Kuno. "Now you."

"This is madness! I refuse to take part in this farce. Your granddaughter may be pregnant, old woman, but I guarantee that the child is not mine." For all his protests, all Kuno received was a smack on the head from Cologne's stick, and had the necklace placed around his neck anyway. Everyone gasped when it turned blue once more.

Akane smiled. Finally Shampoo made a fatal error, and was no longer an obstacle. With any luck, Kuno might not be either. She sighed in relief and leaned back against her fiancé who was still holding her. Now they could come out in the open, show everyone her new engagement ring, and eventually get married.

Suddenly, Ranma had an idea that might get Kuno out of their hair for life. "Hey Kuno! You got Shampoo pregnant because I used my 'demon magic' to make her look like Akane while you had sex with her." Shampoo gave him a look that said "don't do me any favors."

Suddenly it all made sense. Of course, the demon Saotome used this poor gaijin woman to fool him and trap him! He moved to draw his bokken and kill the demon in vengeance, when he felt a hand over his. "Brother, you may have rutted with that foreigner once, but don't forget that you were with the Tendo girl later that night. Perhaps the genuine article that time?"

This got Kuno's attention, and before Akane could deny anything, he had removed the necklace and placed it about her neck. Akane looked annoyed, and lifted the jewel up to show him that it hadn't changed color when she noticed something odd.

The jewel was green.

"Aha! You see!" Kuno cried. "She is carrying my child after all!" He turned towards the door. "Fear not dear Akane! I will soon return with the family blade and with it I shall kill the demon before us and free you to marry me!" He ran out the door before anyone could stop him.

"Ohohohohoho! So the fair Akane Tendo isn't so fair after all!" laughed Kodachi. "Ranma is mine at last!"

Ranma was still in a stupor. His lover was pregnant. He snapped out of it when he realized what Kodachi was saying, glaring at the laughing woman. He still had an issue with hitting her, but he had a new idea. He slipped into the umi-sen-ken briefly, and Kodachi's wig disappeared.

"My hair!" Kodachi screamed, trying to cover her fuzzy head with her arms. She ran screaming from the restaurant, following her brother. Neither Kuno noticed that they had left their father still unconscious at the table.

Akane was still staring at the green jewel, near tears at the fact that she was pregnant. Her father finally found his voice. "Well Akane," he asked sternly. "Is the Kuno boy's claim true?"

Akane stared at her father, incredulous that he'd even suggest such a thing. Thankfully Ranma seemed to know what to do. He gently took the necklace off of Akane's neck, and placed it around his own. The jewel turned blue. He then reached out a hand, caressing her cheek, before pulling her in close, and kissing her gently. Akane responded in kind, lifting her left hand, she showed her family the simple silver ring that they had picked out that morning.

Which is when both were tackled by an overly enthusiastic Nodoka.

* * *

Hey guys, Doc here. Just wanted to thank you for all the reviews. Glad you're enjoying the story!

I had one person say that he hoped I wouldn't make Akane pregnant after it was revealed that Shampoo was, but while it would have been an interesting idea, it was too late to implement. Maybe next time I'll try something like that.

The story ain't over yet! I still have five chapters before I catch up to myself, and who knows how many after the fact! Stick with me!


	9. Kuno Attacks

Chapter 9

Back at the Tendo house, the combined Saotome and Tendo families were all gathered in the living room discussing what had happened last month which finally brought the youngest members of the families together. Akane was snuggling in Ranma's lap, trying to draw on his calmness. Her hand was resting on her stomach, and she was concentrating on it, trying to see if she could feel her baby.

Ranma for his part was trying to stay alert to everything in his surroundings. He knew Kuno would be coming for him soon, and he wanted to make sure he was ready. He also could tell that some of the people in the room were less than pleased that he had gotten his lover pregnant.

Finally the discussion turned to the future. "Well, Son," said Soun. "What do you plan to do about my daughter?"

Ranma looked Soun dead in the eye, his determination flowing off of him in waves. "I plan to marry her of course. I asked her last night before we knew about her being pregnant, and she said yes. I… I love her, and she loves me." He gave Akane a little squeeze.

Kasumi spoke up next, visibly upset. "But what are you going to do about the baby? Neither of you will be out of school when it comes, and you won't be able to take care of it. You'll probably have a hard time getting a job in order to buy everything it is going to need for that matter."

Ranma hadn't thought of that. At least he did have one thing going for him though. "I have the art. I'll start teaching classes in the dojo to help pay for everything." He turned to Soun. "If that's ok with you… Dad."

It was the "Dad" that did the trick. Soun teared up and nodded, elated that his dreams of uniting the families were coming to pass. "Of course you can… Son," he managed to squeak out before he was too overwhelmed with emotion.

Akane let out a big yawn. "I think I'm going to get to bed, it's been a long day." She turned in her seat to give Ranma a quick kiss, before getting up and walking out of the room. Ranma just smiled as he watched her go. Nabiki had to pick up her chin off the floor at how comfortable her sister was with Ranma. She shook her head, and excused herself as well, needing to get up to her room to see who she could collect from in the morning.

Kasumi stood as well, but didn't go to her room. She turned to go to the kitchen instead. "Ranma, could I speak with you privately please?" she asked. Ranma looked up at her, and saw that she was still upset. He gulped nervously, and followed her.

Kasumi was standing at the sink washing dishes, her back turned to Ranma as he walked into the room. The fact that the dishes already seemed to be clean tipped off Ranma as to how furious she was with him. He cleared his throat to get her attention.

Kasumi slammed the dish into the drying rack, shattering it. She looked down at her hand in surprise, as if it had done that on its own. She closed her eyes and took a deep shuddering breath before addressing to her new brother-in-law, her back still turned to him. "I'm very disappointed in you Ranma," she said in a low voice. "I thought you'd be honorable enough to wait until you were married to Akane before you started doing… that. Now my sister is pregnant before she's ready, before either of you are ready, to take on the responsibility of a child."

Ranma wanted to defend himself. It wasn't COMPLETELY his fault. She'd seduced him! It was hard to talk back to Kasumi though, so he tried for placating her instead. "I know, and I'm sorry Kasumi. It just kinda happened. I didn't force her into anything, and we always used protection."

Kasumi rounded on him now. "Every time? Are you sure about that? Even if you are, condoms aren't 100 percent effective Ranma, nothing is, save not doing it."

Ranma had to think about that. He was pretty sure that they'd always used a condom Ever since she gave him one to put on that first time they'd done it in her bed. Wait… that was the day after… ah hell.

Ranma averted his eyes, not able to look his new sister in the eye while she was tearing him a new one. Especially since he now had a pretty good idea how Akane got pregnant in the first place. Then he heard Kasumi sigh, and close the distance between them. She put her hand on his shoulder. "I know you didn't mean for this to happen, and that it's not completely your fault. I just wish it hadn't happened this way." She pulled him into a hug. "Welcome to the family, little brother." Ranma returned the hug, thankful that he was being let off easy. When Kasumi pulled away, she grabbed his collar and looked him dead in the face. "If you hurt her or leave her," she said, "I will make you wish you never set foot in my house." She then turned her back on him, and started to clean up the broken plate. Ranma nervously made his escape.

On his way out to the dojo, he saw a shadowy figure leap from the wall. He instantly took a ready stance, thinking it was Kuno come to exact his revenge. When it came to a landing in front of him, he relaxed when it turned out to be too short to be Kuno. The presence of the walking stick allowing him to relax further since it proved it was Cologne rather than Happosai. "What is it Cologne?" he asked.

"I have just come from the Kuno mansion. You don't have to worry about either of those crazy suitors any longer," she said with a chuckle. "You remember the Xi Fa Xiang Gao technique don't you? Shampoo told me she used it on your lover once."

Ranma frowned. "Yeah, and it didn't work. Akane was able to get her memory back."

Cologne waved away his concerns. "That's because my granddaughter doesn't know the meaning of moderation. She always goes too far. I didn't make them forget who you are, since if they were reminded enough the amnesia wouldn't take hold, like it did with Akane. I just made them forget all about the omiai, and the fiction they believe about that boy sleeping with your girl. Since nobody will remind them of this falsehood, they will never remember."

Ranma was relieved to hear that he didn't have to try to convince Kuno that the child wasn't his. He didn't know what would happen once Akane started to show, but he figured they'd cross that bridge when they got to it. Still, there was something odd about all this. "Why are you doing this for us?" he asked.

Cologne had a sad look on her face now. "Shampoo has failed in her pursuit of you. Her mistake in getting pregnant by another just seals her fate. She is considered an adulteress now since she got pregnant by one other than her husband, and therefore you have the option to sue for a divorce." She scrutinized him briefly. "Unless you don't want one."

Ranma quickly shook his head and held up his hands. "Nonono, I want the divorce."

"Then it's done. You two are no longer bride and groom." She sighed sadly. "I had hoped to bring your genes and your knowledge of the art into the tribe, but now I see that that was just a dream. Since you have professed your love for Akane, I figured the least I could do to make up for this debacle would be to help you with the Kunos."

Ranma was stunned that his ordeal with Shampoo was over. He wondered if there was a way he could have helped this to happen a long time ago. Oh well. "Thanks Cologne," he said. "Um… What's going to happen to Shampoo now?"

"Her punishment is that she will carry her child to term and raise it on her own. Our family has always had difficult pregnancies. Perhaps after nine months of sickness and hormone swings she will see the error of her ways." She shook her head. "If only she'd seduced you rather than every other man in town…" Ranma was taken aback at this statement, but said nothing in reply. "Oh well. Good bye Ranma." With that, she leapt onto her stick, and bounced off into the night.

Ranma looked up at the moon for a while, sighing a bit at the fact that nothing was ever going to be the same again. He entered the dojo, and shut the door behind him. He stripped down to his tank top and boxers, and walked in the dark over to where his futon was laid out. He was surprised to see there was already a lump under the covers. He turned the light on, and was even more surprised to find Akane was that lump, blinking awake in the light. "Ranma? You coming to bed?"

"Uh, what are you doing in my bed Akane?" he asked.

"I figured since everyone knew about us now, it would be ok for us to sleep together all the time rather than try to sneak in and out every night." She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "And… I… I need you to hold me… please?"

Ranma's answer was to pull the covers back and get into bed with her. Akane clutched onto him desperately, so he held her gently, rubbing her back and whispering soothing noises to her. Finally, Akane seemed to calm down enough to fall asleep. Ranma joined her shortly thereafter.

* * *

Breakfast the next morning wasn't as tense as Ranma was dreading it to be. Kasumi was still visibly miffed, but was still able to put on a smile for her family and join in the morning's conversation. Soun hid his face behind the morning paper as he always did, only dropping it from time to time for a bite of food. Genma looked as if he wanted to say something, but one look from his wife put him in his place.

It was Nabiki who seemed to be the most animated out of everyone. She'd been up late into the night figuring out who owed her how much on the bets on when Ranma and Akane would hook up, but that didn't seem to slow her down now that the hour of collection was at hand. Akane glared over her sister, a sour look on her face. "And just how much money are you set to earn thanks to people betting on my sex life?"

Nabiki giggled maniacally. "I could put a very large down payment on a car with what I'm making today, my dear sweet sister," she replied. Finally she just couldn't take the wait anymore, and jumped to her feet. "I'm going to school early so that I can set up. I'll see you there!"

"Nabiki, wait a moment and I'll get your bento!" Kasumi called after her. She rushed into the kitchen, and came out with the lunch, meeting Nabiki at the front gate.

"Thanks Sis! Gotta run!" Nabiki said, but she stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up the arm to see that it was indeed attached to her demure older sister. "Um… Kasumi?"

"Nabiki, please don't tell everyone about your sister today," she said. "She'll tell people when she's ready to, and then you'll be able to collect."

Nabiki tried to pull away, but her sister's grip was like iron. "I wasn't going to tell them that Akane was pregnant, just that she and Ranma have finally done the deed."

"Even so, I'm sure Akane could do without the stress today. She just found out yesterday that she is pregnant, and she is scared. Just give her some time."

Nabiki gave Kasumi one of her coldest stares, but was met with one equally cold on Kasumi's face. Finally she rolled her eyes and sighed. "OK, you win. I'll let them tell people on their own." She pulled her arm out of Kasumi's grip. "Since when did you get all scary anyway?" she asked. Kasumi just gave her sister an enigmatic smile and shooed her on her way.

Akane and Ranma ran out of the door soon after. Akane waved goodbye to Kasumi, but Ranma avoided looking at her. When Akane looked at him quizzically, he just shook his head, asking her to drop it.

They arrived at school early for once. They were hoping to avoid the overexcited crowds of people wanting to confirm what Nabiki had told them, only to be surprised to find that nobody was even paying attention to them. They looked up at the balcony where Nabiki was looking down at them. It was obvious by the look on her face that she was less than pleased. "I wonder what her problem is," said Ranma.

"I dunno," replied Akane. "Maybe someone didn't want to pay up."

Ranma was about to reply, when all the sudden Kuno came out from behind a tree. "Aha!" he shouted as he leapt from his hiding place. "My lover has come to stand by my side against the evil demon Saotome!"

Akane sighed at the antics of her upperclassman. She was going to ignore him and just continue walking into the school, when she noticed a look on Ranma face. "What is it?" she asked.

"He's not supposed to remember that," replied Ranma.

"And how is it that I would not remember the dear, sweet, Akane joining me in my chambers for a night of bliss."

Akane also looked confused at run the statement. "Cologne came to me last night and told me that she had used the Xi Fa Xiang Gao technique, and made him to forget that he had slept with Shampoo," he said. "It was supposed to be better than when Shampoo used it against you since she wasn't trying to make and forget you all together, only that you had slept with him." He turned to Kuno. "Did you wake up this morning feeling refreshed?"

Kuno looked confused at the question. "Yes I did, but I put it down to my dear sister experimenting upon me again. She is always trying her new potions out on me before she use them against an enemy." He smirked. "Unfortunately for her I have built up an immunity to her potions from long exposure to them."

"Oh brother," mumbled Ranma. "Come on Akane, lets go home. I don't need this right now, and neither do you." He put his arm around her shoulder and started to lead her away, his fiancée blushing at the sudden show of affection, when they were stopped cold by the continuing ranting of the lunatic behind them.

"Halt!" Kuno cried, unsheathing a real katana. He screamed as he dashed after the pair, an overhead strike intending to remove Ranma's arm from her shoulder, and from his own as well. Ranma turned at the sound of his scream, and shoved Akane out of the way, knocking her to the ground. "Dammit Kuno, you almost hit Akane!" he cried. He winced as he remembered the baby, but hitting the ground was better than getting cut by that sword.

Kuno didn't seem to realize what was going on. "You shall no longer hold sway over the mother of my child!" he screamed as he renewed his attack, slashing quickly over and over. Ranma managed to dodge the attacks, but since he didn't want to risk a block against the katana, he was unable to effectively counterattack. He backed away from the crazed kendoist, trying to lead him away from Akane. Finally, Ranma had Kuno right where he wanted him. A duck under a side slash left the katana stuck fast in the trunk of a tree. Ranma used the opening to follow up with an uppercut, lifting his opponent off his feet. Kuno didn't get back up.

Ranma took a deep breath, shuddering as he let it out. This maniac nearly killed Akane, and yet he professed to love her? It took all his willpower not to do more permanent damage to the prone kendoist. Instead, he looked over at the sword still embedded in the tree. Grabbing the hilt, he pulled down on the sword until it snapped in half. He tossed away the broken hilt, leaving the blade stuck in the tree. He walked over to his fiancée who was watching from the sidelines. He surprised her by pulling her into a tight hug, holding her silently for a while. Akane was startled at first, but soon returned the hug, ignoring the gasps and chattering from the people watching them. "Lets go home," he repeated. "I don't want to deal with this guy today, and I don't want you to have to deal with him either."

Akane just nodded, well aware of how close she had come to death that day. She leaned up and kissed Ranma on the cheek, earning an even larger gasp from the onlookers. She no longer cared. "Nabiki!" she called up to her sister. "Go ahead and tell them!" She then turned her back on the crowd, and walked out of the yard, her arm around Ranma's waist.

Nabiki gawked at her sister as she left school, but then the words that had been shouted up at her registered, and she saw yen signs. "I hope you all brought your wallets, folks, because the results are in!"

* * *

"Are you sure you're ok?" Ranma asked for the third time. "Maybe we should go see Dr Tofu." Akane was struggling to keep her temper in check. He was only saying it because she took a rough fall, and he was concerned for her and for the baby. He wasn't trying to be annoying.

"Yes, I'm fine Ranma. I just scraped my knees a little," she replied. She grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Thanks for worrying though." Maybe if she placated him like that he'd shut up.

Ranma looked like he wanted to say more, but the look in her eyes suggested it might be prudent to hold his tongue. Besides, he had other things to worry about. "I wanna go see Cologne before we go home," he said, dead serious. "She told me that she had taken care of Kuno for us. I want an explanation."

Akane pondered this for a second. "I think we already got one Ranma," she replied. "Remember what he said? He's immune to Kodachi's potions. The Xi Fa Xiang Gao uses an herbal shampoo along with the massage to remove memory. It might not work on him."

Ranma thought about it and had to admit that the idea had merit, considering that he himself was working up a bit of an immunity to Kodachi's potions. "In that case we need to think about what we can do about him. He's too focused on you now that he knows you're pregnant. He'll only end up hurting someone, if not you or me, then maybe the baby once it's born."

That statement left Akane feeling sick to her stomach. She was still new to the idea that she was going to be a mother, but already she knew she would do anything to protect her unborn child. She clutched Ranma's hand tighter. "What do we do?"

"Well, if giving him a shampooing didn't do the trick, maybe Cologne knows some other trick that might make him forget about you. Lets go see her."

Akane nodded, leaning up to give Ranma another kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for saving me this morning," she said.

They walked towards the café in silence, only broken once when Akane noisily broke wind. "Sorry. I've had the worst gas this morning," she said blushing hard. Ranma just tried to keep his laughter quiet, glad for something to lighten the mood.

* * *

Sorry I didn't get this out on Friday. Been rather busy, and the Olympics started up, so I completely forgot. Here it is though in all it's glory!

And while Akane is having a somewhat easy pregnancy sickness wise, she's showing symptoms elsewhere, hence the gas. Plus it made for an amusing way to end the chapter :P


	10. Problems

I found the laws about marrying someone from Japan on line a while ago, but this site won't let me put the link up. I assure you they're legit, I got them from the American Embassy in Japan's website

Chapter 10

"I'm afraid I don't have good news for you," Cologne told the two teens seated in front of her. "Any other techniques I might try require some sort of potion or herbal mix to work."

Ranma frowned at this news. He was quickly running out of options. If Kuno wouldn't back off, then someone was going to get hurt, and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure it was the crazed kendoist if it came down to that.

Akane was getting desperate too. "What about Shampoo? It's her fault he's like this now, and SHE'S the one carrying his baby. Can't she do something to distract him?"

Cologne gave her a hard look. "First of all, that boy has already utterly rejected my granddaughter simply due to her heritage. Secondly, Shampoo is being punished enough for her indiscretions." She was interrupted briefly by the sound of Shampoo retching violently in the bathroom above them, making her point. "Thirdly, I wouldn't wish that young man on any woman."

Akane had to concede the point, but was still at a loss as to what to do next. For his part, Ranma was much more angry with the situation. "If he comes after Akane with that sword again, I'm going to have to put him down hard. No more holding back."

Akane placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping to calm him. "Ranma, please don't think about that. The police let Kuno get away with things because he's rich and has influence. They won't let you get away with something like that. And I need you here." She started to tear up.

"Well what do you want me to do?" Ranma asked frustrated.

"I might have a suggestion," replied Cologne. "You can leave Nerima."

This stunned the two teens into silence. "Leave?" asked Akane. "I can't leave! My family is here! My friends are here! Where would we go? I'm going to have a baby in eight months! I can't be traveling!" Cologne reached over with her stick and poked her on the forehead, and Akane promptly fell over sideways against Ranma, falling dead asleep.

Ranma looked up in protest, but Cologne waved off his concerns. "I've just put her to sleep. She was panicking, and was starting to hyperventilate. That would not be good for her or for her child." She waited until Ranma calmed down enough to listen before she continued. "That boy is dangerous. He's wealthy enough that the police won't do anything about him, and determined enough that he will not rest until he gets what he wants, by any means necessary. If you were to stay here, the only option for you would be to kill him. If you do not wish to do that, then your only course of action is to leave Nerima until Kuno gives up on her." She pointed to the sleeping woman in his arms. "She _is _fit for travel you know. She's only a few weeks along. There's no reason for her _not _to run."

Ranma pursed his lips as he thought hard about the idea of leaving. "No," he finally said. "I won't ask Akane to leave her family and everything she's ever known. It's only Kuno, we'll deal with it." He gently picked up his sleeping fiancée, excused himself, and left the restaurant.

Cologne sighed as she watched the pair leave. Things would only get worse for that couple before they got any better.

* * *

Akane awoke later that morning, she quickly took stock of where she was, and was startled to find that she was in bed spooning with Ranma. She relaxed and melted into his arms. "So now what?" she asked.

Ranma sighed. "I dunno. It's just Kuno though. It's not as if we haven't dealt with him before. Just gotta make sure he doesn't get his hands on another katana."

Akane snorted. "If he doesn't already have a big collection of them, he's just going to buy more you know."

Ranma hugged her closer. "Yeah well, it's not as if he's hit me with the wooden ones before anyway, so I should be ok." He hesitated briefly, choosing his words. "So um… do you want to get married?"

Akane giggled. "Ranma, you already asked me and I said yes. You don't need to ask me again."

"No, I meant today. We'll go downtown and fill out all the paperwork this afternoon. That way we won't have to worry if anyone finds out you're pregnant."

Akane felt her heart skip a beat. "You want to get married today? But… but…"

"But what? What difference will it make, now or a year from now? Besides, maybe it will give us some leverage against Kuno if he doesn't get off our backs."

Akane turned in his arms to face her fiancé. "Ok then," she said. "Lets get married this afternoon." She then leaned in and kissed him firmly. She then surprised Ranma by reaching down and grabbing him by the ass. She smiled into the kiss as she felt Ranma gasp at the contact. "How about we start the celebration a tad early hmmm?"

Seeing the familiar look in her eyes, Ranma knew that he was about to have some fun. He pulled out of her embrace. "Let me get a…"

Akane yanked him back down onto the futon. "I can't get any more pregnant baka, we can go bareback for a while." She had to hold back a giggle as she saw the lustful look in her lover's eyes, but she broke out laughing as she had to grab his hands to prevent him from destroying her uniform in his haste to remove it.

* * *

Kuno expelled the deep breath he had taken slowly. After having been set back at school that morning, he had returned to his home so that he might meditate on how to finally defeat the monster Saotome. He was locked in his private dojo practicing his sword technique on a dummy wearing a red shirt, slicing it to pieces using only his usual wooden bokken. "I must find a way to remove Saotome from my fair Akane's presence for good," he said to himself. "Sasuke!"

Kuno's diminutive servant appeared out of nowhere, an impressive feat considering the door was locked. "Yes Master?" he asked.

"Go to the Tendo compound and keep an eye on Saotome. Keep me appraised of his movements and of his plans. I must discover a means to remove him from the presence of the beauteous Akane Tendo."

"Yes Master Kuno," Sasuke replied. He turned to leave, but hesitated before disappearing into thin air. "If I might make a suggestion master?"

"Yes, yes, what is it?"

Sasuke motioned for his master to lean down closer. Kuno sighed in exasperation, but complied. He stood there pondering for a second, his stance reminiscent of a samurai general overseeing the battlefield. "Hold, Sasuke!" he ejaculated suddenly. "I have come up with a brilliant plan!"

"Oh brother, here it comes," muttered the ninja under his breath.

"Bring me a phone so that I might contact Uncle Daisaburo."

Knowing that discretion was better for his state of employment, Sasuke decided to let it slide, as he always did. Instead he just pulled out his cell phone and handed it to his master.

* * *

Ukyo was concerned. Ranma and Akane hadn't been in class all day. Considering all the rumors that were running rampant today, she had to figure that they were together. But Those were just rumors right? Ranma wasn't actually sleeping with Akane. She was the cute one after all.

Still, it might not be a bad idea to go check on him. If he was skipping school he must be feeling sick. It wasn't as if he got sick often, and Akane would force him to at least attend school every day, regardless of how much he paid attention.

Then why was Akane absent? Was she sick too? Maybe she was the one who gave him the disease he was currently suffering. Ukyo wouldn't put it past her, she was always hanging around him like a shadow. They were practically the same person. Well, maybe if Ukyo could prove that she was able to take care of him when he was sick, while Akane was the one who got him sick, it would give her a leg up on the competition.

She thought back on to the _last _time she tried to get a leg up, and blushed that she thought that spreading her legs might have been the solution. What was she thinking? Ranma still didn't quite look at her the same way, and she hadn't been able to speak to him much in the last month to try to get him to change his mind about the whole "friend" thing. She also had to figure out how to make him think he deserved her body. How was she going to do that?

The bell rang signaling the end of the period. Ukyo always made sure that she took a study hall during the period before lunch so that she could set up her shop for the lunch rush. If she hurried, she should have enough time to Rush over to the Tendo house to make Ranma his favorite okonomiyaki as a get well gift. Maybe with a little privacy they'd be able to have a serious talk about their relationship too.

Ukyo quickly changed into her street shoes, and raced out the door. She was sure that if she made Ranma his favorite for lunch, and apologized again for her behavior that day on the roof, then things would return to the status quo. And if that didn't work, well, she was getting pretty good at shedding tears on command. Konatsu fell for it every time.

She reached the Tendo home and knocked on the door. She was surprised when nobody came to answer. Perhaps Kasumi and the fathers were all out for lunch? That seemed like a rather irresponsible thing for Kasumi to do, even though she wouldn't put it past Soun and her future in-law.

Suddenly she overheard a scream coming from the dojo. It sounded like Akane. Funny, she didn't sound sick. Maybe she was taking care of Ranma since the others were all gone. Ukyo felt a burn of jealousy rush through her, but clamed herself. It wouldn't do her any good to get angry at Ranma over this. All she would have to do is prove that she was the better caretaker, and Ranma would be like putty in her hands.

As she approached the dojo, she heard someone breathing hard, along with a rhythmic slapping of skin. Were they sparring? In Ranma's condition? This was going to be easier than she thought. She quietly sidled up to the door of the dojo, and opened it slowly, hoping to catch them in the act and have the opportunity to chastise Akane for getting Ranma out of bed. Here eyes widened as big as dinner plates as she witnessed the activities going on inside the dojo.

Akane had gotten Ranma out of bed alright, he was hanging by four ropes tied to the rafters of the dojo. Each rope was tied to one of his limbs, suspending him four feet off of the floor and face up. Akane sat straddled across his hips.

Oh, and they were both naked, Ranma buried to the hilt inside of Akane.

Ukyo gave a sharp gasp at the site of her fiancé being ravaged by her rival, Akane's screams and the rhythmic slapping sound now making sense. She went weak at the knees and fell on her butt as she watched the carnal display in front of her. She had to admit, Akane had a great body, and they both were giving an amazing display of strength to be able to move at all while in that position, let alone have sex. She was fairly sure she'd be able to lift herself using the ropes for leverage like Akane was.

Wait a minute! Ukyo shook her head and clamped down on her ravaging libido. Akane was screwing her fiancé! And he was enjoying it! Her rage finally started to bubble up from the depths. She clutched the door so hard that it started to creak and crack in her hand. She reached back and grabbed her battle spatula, ready to squish both lovers flat, when she paused as an idea struck her out of nowhere.

Her father's old saying "Don't get mad, get even" came back to her. She'd lived by this mantra for so long that she was amazed she'd even forgotten about it during the months since she found Ranma again and decided to become his fiancée again. Now it seemed like it was time to take up that mantle again, and she knew just where to start.

* * *

"What do you mean we can't get married?"

The aged woman behind the desk looked over her spectacles at the irate girl in front of her. "Well for one thing young lady, you're already married." She turned the computer monitor around to show the couple.

Jaws dropped as Ranma and Akane read the screen in disbelief. Both were unable to believe what they were reading, but there it was right there glowing in black and white. Akane Kuno.

Akane found her voice first. "No! It's not true! I never agreed to this! Our parents never agreed to this! How the hell did this happen?"

The woman looked at her in confusion. "Whatever do you mean? It says here that the paperwork for your marriage to Mr. Kuno went through yesterday."

"But… but… I didn't sign anything! My hanko is right here, who else could have used it?" Akane was grasping at straws, she knew, but this was impossible! Tears started to pour down her face. "You don't understand, Kuno is a nightmare!"

The older woman eyed the younger skeptically. She certainly did seem distraught over this matter. Perhaps it was a computer error? The way that the young gentleman with her was trying to comfort his tearful companion seemed to be evidence to the fact that they were together, but it didn't explain anything about this Kuno boy who was her husband. "Well… perhaps it was a computer error. I can look into it for you if you like, but I can't guarantee anything." Akane sniffed, and nodded her thanks, a small smile creeping across her features. "Unfortunately, this means that you two still won't be able to get married for six months."

This time it was Ranma's turn to shout in surprise. "What? Why the hell not?"

"Well, according to civil law, a woman cannot get married again for six months after the dissolution of their previous marriage. It's to prevent mix ups when it comes to determining the paternity of any children that might result from the previous marriage."

Akane nearly fainted. "But my baby is Ranma's, not Kuno's! I've never even…" she quickly clamped her hands over her mouth. Her face turned beet red when she realized what she had just admitted to a stranger.

The woman was taken aback at this declaration. "Well… perhaps this is all just one big misunderstanding. I'm sure it's just a computer error, and we should be able to get it fixed no problem. If it is, then we should be able to help you kids get married sooner anyway. You are both of age right?"

Ranma looked confused. "We got our parent's permission, isn't that enough?"

"Well, no, not really. Miss Tendo needs to be 16, and you need to be 18"

This time it was Ranma's turn to look embarrassed. "Uhh, actually, we're both 17. I don't turn 18 for a couple of months."

By this point the older woman was really starting to pity the young couple. She put on a grandmotherly smile. "Well, let's just take this one crisis at a time. I'll investigate this little problem, and when it's all straightened out, you come back to me and I'll help you sort it out so that you can get married anyway."

Both Ranma and Akane were relieved to hear that one thing in this crisis was going their way. They thanked the woman profusely before leaving the office. The woman watched them go with a sad look in her eye, before she turned back to the computer and tried to figure out what had gone wrong.

* * *

Kuno hadn't shown up for school that morning. It was for the best though, because Akane was itching to take his head off for marrying her behind her back. Of course this just meant that wasn't able to release all the pent up rage she had accumulated since finding out she was now Mrs. Kuno. She was sorely tempted to use her usual punching bag, Ranma, but hell she loved the lug now, and he knew it. Of course, now there were other more fun ways to get rid of her frustrations…

Ranma knew that look in her eye, and he was getting aroused just thinking about it. Unfortunately for him, the bell chose that moment to ring. Flashing Akane a roguish grin full of lust, he grabbed her hand and started to run up to their class. It was only a matter of time before they'd be able to escape to a hiding place together.

Sitting down at his desk, Ranma was settling in to wait for his lover to make the first move when a man dressed in a business suit entered the room. He obviously wasn't a new teacher, he was dressed too well for that, so what was he doing here? He approached Ranma's desk. "Saotome Ranma?" he asked.

Ranma eyed the challenger warily. "Who wants to know?"

The man reached into his breast pocket, but Ranma was faster, reaching up and grabbing his wrist before the man could pull out his weapon. He applied pressure, letting the sound of the man's bones creaking and groaning waft through the now silent room. Ranma had to admit he was impressed that the man hadn't cried out in pain, though he noticed that he had broken out into a cold sweat. "I'm unarmed," the man said through clenched teeth. "I'm here to serve you." He heard Akane gasp.

"Serve me?" Ranma let go of his arm. "…Uh, ok, I'll have a hamburger then." Akane smacked her head with her hand, in awe at the simplemindedness of her fiancé as the man in the suit pulled out an envelope and handed it to Ranma.

"You're due in court in two weeks," the man said, straightening his tie, before quickly leaving.

Ranma watched the challenger leave, wondering what the hell had just happened, and realizing that he wasn't going to get that sandwich after all. He looked down at the envelope in his hand and opened it. Reading the contents to himself, he suddenly stood, groaned out something that suspiciously sounded like "not again," then bolted out the door, leaving the letter behind on his desk. Akane grabbed the letter, read it herself, before rushing out to follow, now knowing where he was going.

Breakfast was always the slow meal of the day at the Ucchan, usually college students trying to kill a hangover. As it was, Ukyo only had one customer right now sitting in the back corner, and he was almost finished. Konatsu could take care of him so she could get ready to go to school. If she got out of there in the next five minutes, she'd be able to arrive on time for her first class during second period.

Her spirits fell slightly when she heard the door open. Oh well, holding buckets was good exercise. She pasted on a smile and turned to her new customer, but her smile vanished when she saw her ex-fiancé standing in the doorway. "I have nothing to say to you Ranma," she said coldly.

It was the fact that she used his real name rather than "Ranchan" that hurt the most. "Why?" was all he could say.

"Why? You have the gall to ask why? After leading me on for so long, you have to ask me why I no longer pine for your affection?" She waved her copy of the notice of suit in his face. "Between you and your bastard of a father, you have made my life hell, so I'm gonna sue your pants off as compensation for my dowry, and for years of pain and suffering."

Ranma sighed and threw his arms up in the air in exasperation. "Ukyo we've been over this! You're my best friend! I don't think of you like that!"

Ukyo rounded on him. "I know that you asshole! I saw you and Akane fucking yesterday." She laughed bitterly. "I gotta say, I was impressed with the lengths you two go to for a thrill, what with all the ropes and all. Was that my problem Ranma? Am I not kinky enough for you? Guess you'll never find out how kinky I can be now huh?"

Surprised at having been caught, Ranma was unsure what to say next. Then an idea wiggled it's way up to the front of his mind. "We're minors Ukyo, you can't sue me because we're not old enough yet!" If he couldn't get married, surely he couldn't be sued either.

Ukyo laughed darkly. "Shows what you know. I've been emancipated from my family for a long time now. In the eyes of the law, I am an adult. How did you think I was allowed to run this restaurant?" She pointed at Ranma. "Turns out you were emancipated from your parents as well. Don't ask me how because I have no idea, but it allowed me to make you pay for all the suffering I've been through."

Ranma didn't know why, but he certainly knew how: his damned father doing things behind his back and getting him into trouble _again. _Before he could think of a response however, he was interrupted by the lone customer in the restaurant. "Dost mine ears deceive me? The scoundrel Saotome has been having relations with my wife?"

Both of the arguing teens turned to see Kuno standing up from his table. He was dressed in the typical suspicious man disguise: trench coat, aviator sunglasses, and fedora. Apparently he didn't like to be recognized when he was slumming it for some "commoner's food." Removing his disguise in one fell swoop, he stood before them, a look of rage directed at Ranma. "I thought that you might at least have the decency to leave a married woman alone, but I can see that you indeed have no honor. Count thy blessings that I have left mine sword at home lest I arouse suspicion, or I would carve you once for every rope you used upon the fair Akane Ku..."

A leg extension holding Kuno's mouth shut, Ranma opened his own mouth and promptly put his foot in it. "Hey, she wasn't the one tied up..." His entire body blushed bright red when he realized just what he had admitted to.

Fortunately for him, he seemed to be ignored as Kuno turned to Ukyo. "You, serving wench, have you a lawyer for thine lawsuit?"

Ukyo was this close to smashing Kuno flat for that "serving wench" remark, but her curiosity was piqued. "Yes, why?" Choosing a lawyer had been the hardest part of this plan. They were all so expensive, and if she lost the suit, she'd probably have to sell her business.

Kuno handed her a wad of cash. "Release him of his duties and pay him with this. I wish to provide you with the Kuno family lawyer, free of charge. Anything to put this dirty cur in his place."

Ranma and Ukyo's eyes bulged out at the generous offer. Since when was Kuno such a philanthropist? Ukyo didn't seem to care as she greedily eyed the stack of money waving in her face. This could save her business, but it was like making a deal with the devil. She also noticed that Ranma was looking slightly more apprehensive about this new turn of events. The idea of Kuno actually getting over himself enough to team up with someone else in an effort to take him down unnerved him more than he'd admit.

Ranma closed his eyes and took a deep breath before addressing Ukyo. "Ucchan, please don't do this," he all but begged. "You're my best friend, almost like my sister. I don't want to lose you. Not like this."

It was then that Konatsu came up behind Ukyo and placed his feminine hand on her shoulder. It always kinda freaked her out how he would pop up like that out of nowhere. He said nothing, but shook his head in an effort to persuade her not to continue down this path. He had always liked Ranma after he had helped him escape from his step-mother and step-sisters. But perhaps he was also trying to keep her from making a big mistake. Looking back and forth at the two most important men in her life, Ukyo was wavering. She just didn't know what to do.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Akane staggered inside, out of breath from her chase from the school. Ukyo frowned. Akane was the last person on Earth she wanted to see right now. She was about to ask her to leave when Kuno interrupted. "My dear wife! How I've longed to see you since our marriage!"

"'Wife'?" Ukyo asked.

Ranma just shook his head. "This delusional freak somehow managed to get himself married to Akane without her consent. We're trying to get her out of it."

This of course didn't help Kuno's case any. What the hell kind of man does that to a woman? And she thought her situation was bad? Still, she didn't want to let Ranma off the hook so easily.

Of course, once Kuno got rolling, there was no stopping him. "Thou should not be running around so much, Wife, lest you harm my baby."

"WHAT?" Ukyo exploded, eyes locking on the newly arrived girls stomach, even as Akane's hand touched it, her brown eyes looking to Ukyo's former fiancé.

"She's PREGNANT?" her voice snarled at the pigtailed boy, her thoughts churning, 'After all I did for him, after he rejected MY body!' reverberated in her head.

Her glared turned back to the girl, "You spread your legs for him, and got yourself pregnant. No wonder he wants to break it off with me! His honor won't let him leave you now! Well fine, fuck you then."

She turned to Kuno. "I'll take your offer Kuno-sempai. It's time I get my due." She accepted the money and a business card from Kuno with the lawyer's number on it. She then turned to her former fiancé and his lover. "Now get out of my sight and stay out of my restaurant."


	11. Weddings

Chapter 11

Akane didn't know what to do. The last time she'd seen Ranma so down was back when he'd lost all his strength due to the moxibustion point Happosai used on him. At least then there was the hope that there was a cure. Akane couldn't see any way for the old friends to reconcile. She felt a pang of guilt since it was partly her fault…

They had decided to take another day off of school, knowing full well they'd never be able to concentrate on anything after such a bomb was dropped on them. They also needed to figure out what they were going to do about this lawsuit. The last thing they needed with a baby on the way was massive debt from legal fees and awards to be paid.

Akane reached over and grasped her fiancé's hand, squeezing it to give some modicum of comfort. Ranma looked up at her and gave a small smile, but didn't say anything. He was glad for her support, but all the support in the world wasn't going to help him get out of this mess. What were they going to do?

As the dejected pair slowly walked home, they didn't notice the white duck circling above them turn and fly off. A white duck wearing really thick glasses.

* * *

Kasumi was outside hanging laundry to dry when the two teens walked into the compound. She was surprised to see them home already, but noticing the defeated looks on both of their faces she was quickly able to figure out that there was probably another run in with the suitors that ended badly. Since it was Ranma who was looking so dejected, it was probably Ukyo this time.

Quickly she ushered the two into the kitchen and served them tea. When she figured they'd calmed down enough, she gently asked them what had happened. She was saddened that Ranma's oldest friendship was being destroyed over something that wasn't entirely his fault, and also that she really didn't know what kind of advice she could provide that might help. "I'm sorry Ranma, I don't know what I can do to help you."

Shaking his head, Ranma waved her off. "It's OK Kasumi. I'll think of something." He stood to leave. "I think I'm going to go out to the dojo, try to clear my head." He reached out and touched Akane's face before leaving. Both women were astonished at the open and intimate gesture, Akane feeling somewhat flushed. He wasn't ready to kiss her in front of others yet, but that simple touch had pretty much the same meaning behind it.

Kasumi shook her head to clear it of the shock she'd just received. Then she remembered something important. She gasped and ran after Ranma, calling his name. Akane soon gave chase, wondering just what the hell was going on. She found out when she reached the dojo. Kasumi looked distraught, and had a hand over her mouth. Their parents were all there sitting formally at a low table. And Ranma…

Ranma was a tower of boiling rage. His face was bright red he was so angry. Akane followed his gaze to see what was pissing him off so much, only to find the short haired Kodachi sitting on the opposite side of the table, a certificate was sitting in the middle of the table, and Akane could just make out the word "marriage" written across the top, along with her hanko stamp on the bottom.

"As you can plainly see," Kodachi said. "Akane here has already married my brother. It is all perfectly legal and binding. Therefore Ranma no longer has any obligation to her," She turned to sneer at her rival. "Even if it is his bastard child she carries." She turned back to the parents. "As such, I offer this check to buy out the Saotome side of the contract to marry the two schools, and instead, Ranma shall be wed to me."

Genma and Soun's eyes nearly flew out of their sockets and rolled around on the floor trying to count all the zeroes that followed the one written on the check. Ranma didn't think his father even knew the name of such a large number. Thankfully though, Nodoka had seen this trick before, and since the previous omiai attempt, she'd been against the Kunos. "I'm sorry Lady Kodachi, but I'm afraid that the contract just isn't for sale. I'm sure Akane had her reasons for marrying Kuno," she ground her teeth at the thought of how they had managed to pull that off without Akane's knowledge, "but that doesn't alter the fact that Ranma has to marry a Tendo." Genma tried to stutter out a rebuttal, but was shot down by a glare and an inch of steel exposed from its scabbard.

However, Kodachi didn't miss a beat. "Very well Mrs. Saotome," she said as she plucked the check from the distraught fingers of the two fathers. "I'm sure you and the Tendo family can cover all the legal fees yourselves then. Whom have you chosen to represent yourself in the lawsuit?"

"Lawsuit?" asked Soun, twitching slightly.

"Why yes, didn't you know?" Kodachi feigned surprise. "It seems that dear Miss Kuonji has decided that she wants compensation for the yattai that was stolen by your husband and son all those years ago, in addition to pain and suffering she has experienced since finding your son again, and being led on by him. And since Ranma has been emancipated from his parents for some reason, she can bring a lawsuit against him." She smiled evilly as she closed the trap. "If Ranma were to be married to me, I could provide him with a legal team, and money to pay the legal fees that would be incurred over the months, or even years, that the suit lasts." Smiling even wider as she watched the grown ups sit there like fish gasping for air, she pushed forward another sheet of paper, a contract by the looks of it. "This is a contract formally changing the betrothal over from one of the Tendo daughters to myself. It states that we will be wed immediately. If you'll just apply your stamps here, we can be rid of this entire mess."

Even Ranma wasn't fast enough to prevent what happened next. Terrified of going to court and potentially losing, or even having to pay someone so that they _didn't _lose, Genma whipped out his hanko and quickly signed the document. Ranma was on him in an instant ready to strangle his coward of a father, but couldn't get his hands around the panda-man's neck due to a sword being pressed into the skin, drawing a thin line of blood.

"I thought we'd already decided not to force our son to marry this woman _Dear_," Nodoka said, her voice dripping with venom. "And what's this about emancipating my son?"

"It was so he could get married before he turned 18!" he choked out. But then rather than acquiescing to his wife's desires as usual, Genma actually used what little spine he had to motion to his friend. "Hurry you fool! Sign the damned contract! If Ranma marries one of your other daughters, you'll be caught up in the suit as well! You'll lose the dojo!"

Soun blanched. The dojo had been in the family for generations. His ancestors would be so ashamed of him if he were the one who had lost the livelihood of the Tendo line due to a small misunderstanding that didn't even have anything to do with him. Ignoring the warning glares his daughters were giving him, Soun applied his hanko to the contract as well.

Quick as a blink, Kodachi had snatched up the contract barely after Soun had lifted his stamp from the surface, and folded into her purse. She started laughing long and loud in that grating voice of hers, finally the victor. Ranma was too stunned at how quickly it had all transpired that he hadn't been able to move to prevent her from taking the contract.

He was about to completely go against all of his morals and hit a girl, one who wasn't even attacking for that matter, in an effort to get the contract, when Kodachi abruptly shut up and pitched forward. Standing behind her, rubbing her knuckles, was Shampoo, obviously the reason Kodachi was now unconscious. "Stupid girl giving Shampoo a headache," she murmured to herself.

"Thank you Granddaughter, she was beginning to give me a headache as well," came a voice from behind everybody. Cologne was standing in the doorway, Mousse in tow, rubbing her temples. "I swear, why doesn't somebody lock up that entire family in an asylum somewhere?"

Ranma was speechless. He'd just been saved by the Amazons. However, he wasn't completely useless. He quickly rummaged through Kodachi's bag and pulled out the contract, forcing a little ki into his hands, he made the contract burst into flames, before sighing in relief. "Thank you Cologne," he said bowing low. He turned to Shampoo and bowed again. "And you Shampoo. You just saved me from a fate worse than death."

Shampoo felt a surge of emotion as Ranma thanked her and finally treated her with the respect she felt she was due, but quickly tamped down on it. He was no longer hers, another woman had laid her claim on him while she was out sleeping with half of the town. She had no right to hope. "Is nothing Ranma," she replied. "Shampoo would not wish that woman on worst enemy."

"Indeed, but she is not the reason we came," added Cologne. "After our last encounter, I had Mousse keep an eye on you two to make sure that Kuno wouldn't press the issue more drastically. It seems that he has, and that he has gotten others to press as well."

Ranma clenched his fists and looked away. "I don't know what to do. We're trapped in a corner, and don't have anyone on our side. There's Ukyo's lawsuit, Kuno managed to somehow get himself married to Akane behind her back, and now this." He laughed without humor. "Damn good thing you guys aren't still in on it, or else we'd be in _real_ trouble."

Cologne nodded, thinking things through now that she had all the information. "Well Ranma, I'm afraid that my previous suggestion of running away seems to be the only solution left to you."

"That's right boy! The old Saotome Secret Technique!" Genma choked out. His wife still had her sword pressed up against his jugular, and judging by the look on her face, she was trying her damnedest _not_ to succumb to her desires and remove his head from his body. If nothing else, she didn't want to make a mess for Kasumi to clean up.

Face screwed up in determination, Ranma was about to loudly deny that he was going to take the coward's way out and run away, when he felt the hand of his fiancée on his shoulder. He looked over at her, and watched her sadly shake her head. "It's just become too much Ranma," she said sadly. "With the baby on the way, we can't afford the lawsuit, or for Kuno to attack us again."

"But what about you?" Ranma argued. "I'm fine with going on the road, been on the road most of my life." He gestured around the dojo. "This place is your life. Can you leave it? Maybe I should just go myself."

Akane decked him. "It's just a home Ranma, I can live without it for a while. Nobody said we'd have to go forever anyway, just until things have cooled down. Probably a few months after the baby is born. Besides…" she teared up. "I don't want our baby to grow up without a father."

Ranma sighed. She was right. And hell, he wanted to be around for the little guy too, knowing himself what it was like to grow up with only one parent. "OK, so we go. Where do we go? And for how long?"

"Joketzuko," came the suggestion from behind him. Ranma turned to find that Mousse was the one who made it. Of course it was kinda hard to tell at first since he was speaking to a practice dummy. "Have Akane become a member of the tribe, and Ranma can come with her to the village."

Cologne was surprised that Mousse would make such a suggestion, and yet it both made sense, and lead to a result that she had been after for a long time now. The idea certainly had merit. "Yes, I think that would be an excellent idea. The two of you would become members of our tribe, and may stay as long as you like. You would have a home, food, and help for when the baby comes. We would also do our best to protect you should anyone find out where you have gone." She smiled evilly. "And if they were to set foot on our turf, you would have license to defend your family as you saw fit."

Ranma was taken aback at the offer. He'd always been adamant about not joining the tribe, but the offer had always been to join it as husband to Shampoo. This would be as husband to Akane. It also had the added benefit of being in a separate country altogether, somewhere it would be harder for Kuno to track them down. And once the baby came, who else would know better about childbirth than a tribe of women?

The alternative was for the two of them to go off on their own as if on an extended training trip. Always moving from one place to another, living off the land, the only shelter from the elements would be a tent. And once the baby came… Ranma didn't even want to think about what might happen if Akane went into labor while off in the mountains all alone.

Ranma turned to his fiancée. She seemed to be going through the same thought process he had, and came to the same conclusion. It was the best idea anyone had come up with so far. "On one condition," Akane said. "When the baby is born, she belongs to Ranma and I, not the tribe. I'll appreciate any help, but we will raise our child as we see fit, not how anyone else thinks we should."

Cologne scowled. "Do you think us barbarians? Of course you will raise your own child. The Amazons never took to the teachings of Mao Ze Dong. The family is sacred to us."

Akane gave Ranma a nod. "Alright then," he said. "It's settled. When do we leave?"

Cologne nodded. "As soon as possible. I will arrange for the café to be sold in our absence, and we can leave in two days. I suggest you keep your goodbyes to a minimum lest someone finds out where you are going."

Ranma put an arm around Akane to comfort her, finally knowing that he was doing something to protect her. He noticed that everyone was watching in great interest, still not quite used to seeing the two actually express affection for each other. Everyone except Shampoo, that is, who noticeably turned away. That was going to be a big problem he could tell. What did Shampoo think about this arrangement, and was she going to try to use it to her advantage. Ranma got the distinct impression that he was jumping out of the proverbial pan and landing in the fire.

* * *

If there was one thing Ranma had always hated about living on the road as a child, it was packing. The few times where they had stayed at one dojo or another, there was always the hope that this might be the last time, that they might actually settle down for good. But hope was always shattered when they inevitably packed up and moved on to the next one. It had gotten to the point that Ranma no longer unpacked when they arrived so that he wouldn't have pack it all away later. After having spent a few months at the Tendo dojo, he'd finally decided to unpack his meager belongings. Now he was packing them again, in order to go somewhere he'd vowed never to go again. Of course, the situation had changed, and now he was going there so that he could be with Akane.

Akane. She was up in her own room packing, not having moved in permanently with her lover yet. While it was rather hard for Ranma to leave this place that had become a real home for him, this had been her home for her entire life. She was giving up everything for him. He'd never understand why she was willing to make the sacrifice, but he'd damn try to make the sacrifice worth it.

He heard the door open behind him, and his fiancée was standing in the doorway. She had a big camping backpack slung over her shoulder, already full of the things she was going to bring. She was lit from behind, so Ranma couldn't see her face, but he could see the heavy bag trembling. It took him a second to realize that it was because her shoulders were trembling as she silently sobbed. He rushed over to her, took her heavy pack, and pulled her into a tight hug, letting her sob into his shirt. Akane let loose as soon as she was in his arms, bawling loudly, each sob sounded as if it was ripped from her body. Ranma did his best to soothe her, but figured after a while that she just needed to cry it out.

It took some time, but Akane finally calmed down. "I'm so sorry Akane," said Ranma as he stroked her hair. He didn't know what else to say to her. There had to be something he could say to her that would help her cheer up, at least a little. Then it struck him. It was something so easy, he didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before. "Lets get married."

Akane looked up at him, her face stained with tears. "What? Married? We tried that already remember? They won't let us because you're not old enough and I'm technically already married."

"Well yeah, as far as the government is concerned we can't get married, but that doesn't mean we can't get a priest to do the job anyway. It won't be legal, but…" Ranma couldn't finish his thought as Akane had plastered her lips to his. When they finally came up for air, Akane had tears in her eyes again, but this time she had a smile on her face.

Unknown to the two lovers in the room, they were being watched. Kasumi and Nabiki had followed their sister out to the dojo, trying to figure out a way to cheer her up, and found that her fiancé had beaten them to it. Nabiki looked up at her older sister, and noticed that she too had tears in her eyes. She gave her sister a quick hug. "I think they're going to be fine Onee-chan."

Kasumi retuned the hug. "Yes, they will. But I'm afraid that things are going to get much harder for them before they get any easier."

* * *

The next day Akane sat in the dojo with her sisters, dressed in her mothers wedding kimono. Kasumi had helped her find it in the attic that morning, and both of her sisters had helped her dress. Akane was glad to be having the wedding here at home so that she could have that moment with her sisters. She didn't know how long it would be before she saw them again, if ever.

She shook her head to expel the thought. She _would_ see them again, possibly in as little as a year or two. The government would eventually figure out that Kuno had somehow forged their marriage, and Ukyo would eventually get over Ranma and get on with her life. They'd wait for the all clear from home, then go back, sign all the papers, and inherit the dojo as a family.

Family. That word was more and more becoming something she was associating with Ranma and herself and the child that was growing inside her. She was certain that she could feel it, feel her child's ki, feel its life growing stronger every day. Their child was going to be very strong indeed.

At least they'd be a family if he ever got here. She looked over at the priest sitting in the front of the room and gave him a shrug. The priest rolled his eyes and checked his watch. This wasn't the first time he'd been called for a wedding at the Tendo dojo after all. He still wasn't certain it was gong to go be the last time either. At least the bride seemed willing for once.

Akane could just about kill Ranma for being so late. This was his idea after all. Where the hell was he? She hadn't seen him since late last night, and he hadn't slept in his bed. She knew because she had been there waiting for him to join her. A small part of her mind wondered if he'd been out with some of his other girls last night. She quashed the thought down. He loved her. He only slept with her. And it wasn't as if she'd ever let _that _be boring. So where the hell was he?

There was a loud thud against the door, followed by a scraping sound. All four people in the room looked up as the door was slowly opened, and in staggered Ranma followed by the fathers. All three men were uproariously drunk. Akane moaned in exasperation and put her head in her hands. She looked her fiancé in the eye, or at least tried to while he swayed. "Mind telling me why you felt you had to get drunk the morning of our wedding?"

"He didn't get drunk this morning," came a scratchy voice from outside. "The lightweight is still drunk from last night!" Happosai followed his students into the dojo, sober as a priest on Sunday. "After I heard about your approaching nuptials, I decided I had to give the boy a bachelor party! Especially since you're going to that wretched village tomorrow. I couldn't have the poor boy go off into the world feeling as if he'd missed something before he got tied down after all!" He cackled.

Akane wanted to strangle the old man, but she had bigger concerns at the moment. "Ranma, you need to concentrate for me here." She gently slapped his cheek. Then for good measure, gave him a hard whack across the face. "Better? Good, sit over there."

The slap did help to sober Ranma up somewhat, though his head was still spinning. How had the older men convinced him to drink so much last night anyway? Something about a new technique, but he already knew drunken boxing…

Right, the wedding. Gotta do the wedding. Akane needs this wedding. H'okay, you can do this. Ranma took a deep breath and tried to find his center. It helped him to balance himself slightly, but the room was still spinning. He hoped he didn't projectile vomit onto the priest.

The wedding started fine. The priest did his introduction, and they managed to get through the vows easily enough, though Akane's gas got the better of her while she was saying hers, and Ranma's were rather slurred. When it came time to drink the sake though, Ranma's alcohol soaked mind recalled something about pregnant women not being allowed to drink. He took it upon himself to keep her from doing so, by insisting that he drink her sake as well. This of course led to more slurring on Ranma's behalf. It also led to his already queasy stomach deciding enough was enough, and emptied its contents all over the priest. Having had enough, the priest quickly wrapped things up, said "There, you're married," and went off to have a drink himself.

Ranma leaned over to Akane to give the bride the kiss he knew was supposed to happen at the end of a wedding. Akane took one look at his face, and moved out of the way, lest he decide he needed to puke again. This resulted in Ranma kissing the floor as he fell over, passed out.

Akane sighed again. Great, she was married. She glared over at Happosai who was happily sharing a drink with the priest. He must have felt the daggers she was shooting him, because he looked over at her innocently. "What? It's not my fault he can't hold his booze. I didn't even make him do anything heavy."

Akane rolled her eyes again, knowing that to Happosai, a "light" drink was an entire bottle of scotch. Well, it could have been worse. At least they got through it this time.

* * *

The march through the woods the next day was tense. Cologne had insisted that they take an overland route to the ship waiting for them on the coast. The less they relied on others to travel, the less people would be able to follow them by asking around after all. Cologne was leading their motley parade through the forest, hopping along on her cane in order to stay ahead of the taller travelers. Behind her trudged Shampoo, obviously still feeling the effects of her morning sickness. Three thousand years of Amazonian knowledge of pregnancy didn't seem to be enough for her to keep her breakfast down. Akane followed her ex-rival, no worse for wear, a fact that rankled Shampoo to no end. If anything, pregnancy seemed to be agreeing with Akane, and she was immensely enjoying the effects it was having on her skin and hair. Of course the fact that Akane was so gassy all the time was something she could do without.

Ranma and Mousse brought up the rear, the men carrying most of the bags for the entire party. Mousse hadn't said a word since they left. Ranma was willing to bet he hadn't said more than two words, except for suggesting this trip, since it was revealed that the love of his life was pregnant with another man's child. He'd even heard from Cologne that he had tried to challenge Kuno for Shampoo's hand, but Kuno had refused on the grounds that he didn't know what Mousse was talking about. Mousse had nearly just beaten him up anyway, but he'd been waylaid by thirty ninjas as soon as he pulled out his first weapon.

Ranma hitched up the packs he was carrying higher on his shoulders and caught up to Akane. "How are you doing?" he asked. He winced when his wife just ignored him. It seemed that Mousse wasn't the only one who was mimicking a mime. The only word she'd said since they started the trip was "Here," as she handed Ranma her heavy pack as they departed.

He looked up as he heard the unmistakable sound of someone using a staff as a pogo stick approach. Cologne was the only one in their party who actually seemed to be happy, which got on everyone's nerves. She was getting Ranma for the tribe after all, even if Shampoo wasn't the one marrying him. Still, with all the strife he'd put her through, Cologne couldn't resist poking the bear. "Whatever is the matter Ranma? You were married yesterday! Why aren't you bowlegged and exhausted?" Ranma glared at the older woman, but it was nothing compared to the one eyed death stare Akane gave her over her shoulder. Cologne just cackled. "Your wife isn't all that bowlegged either! Is something the matter?"

Ranma sighed in frustration. "Happosai decided he had to throw me a bachelor party last night. Someone spiked the sake."

If anything, Cologne's smile grew wider. "Ranma, I hate to tell you this, but sake already has alcohol in it. You can't spike it."

"Trust me, he managed somehow. I was still drunk when I showed up at the wedding in the morning after only having two drinks."

Cologne burst out laughing. Ranma even thought he heard a snicker from Mousse, but when he turned to look, the man's face was perfectly straight. Finally the matriarch decided to have mercy on her new tribesmen. "Well, perhaps we can do something about that."

Ranma gave Cologne a skeptical look. He still wasn't quite used to Cologne being nice to him. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well, now that the two of you are going to be a part of our tribe, as a matriarch, I have the power to wed the two of you."

Ranma was so startled, he nearly stopped in place. Akane, who was eavesdropping, was so startled that she did. Ranma found this out when he ran into her, knocking the both of them to the ground. Ranma was the first to regain his bearings. "I don't get it, you _want_ to marry us now? What about Shampoo?"

Now it was Cologne's turn to look downcast. "Shampoo is pregnant with a child who is not of her husband. As far as you're concerned, her fate is sealed. She demonstrated that she did not care for you by laying with another. Perhaps there is another man out there for her, but it will be hard. Especially with a child on the way." She gave Ranma a hard look. "It isn't everyday that we get an outsider male show up at the village and defeat one of our girls, you know. Most Amazon women have to attract their mates through other means."

Ranma had the decency to look sheepish at that comment. He then glanced over at Akane, who was still in his arms from the crash. She certainly looked intrigued at the proposal, if a tad skeptical. He gave Akane a meaningful look, and she gave him a tiny nod. "All right, we're in. What do we do?"

Cologne smiled. "Good. We can start immediately. Shampoo and Mousse can serve as your seconds."

That brought the couple up short. "Wait… What seconds? Why do we need seconds?" Akane asked.

Cologne waved her off. "It is merely for the ceremony, similar to a best man or maid of honor in a western wedding." She stood on a stump by the path, and motioned for the four teens to stand in front of her.

Shampoo, who seemed to know her role better than Akane did, pulled out one of her chui maces and handed it to the bride. "To protect your family," she said.

Akane looked at the weapon in awe, and then up at her former rival. "Thank you, Shampoo," she said breathlessly.

Mousse then reached into his robes and rummaged around for a moment. Finally he came up with a bouquet of flowers, which he handed to Ranma. When Ranma gave him a quizzical look, Mousse just shrugged, a smirk crossing his face. Cologne too was trying to hold back her laughter. "I'm sorry Ranma, but that's how it works in an Amazonian wedding. The male gets the bouquet." Ranma scowled at the older woman, but said nothing. He turned his scowl on Akane when he heard a giggle escape from behind her hand.

Cologne cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "Very well, now we may begin." She held out her arms, tilted back her head, and let out a bloodcurdling scream of a war cry. Ranma and Akane jumped, while their seconds joined in. Akane leaned in towards Ranma to whisper to him. "Maybe this wasn't the best idea after all."

Ranma was about to agree with her, when the three Amazons suddenly stopped. "We welcome the goddesses whom we have called to witness this union of this woman with her man. If any woman care to challenge the bride in a battle to the death for the man, speak now, or hold your tongue."

It seemed to Akane that Cologne paused for an inordinately long time as if to allow someone to actually answer the rhetorical question. Of course, when it came to an Amazonian wedding, the question probably wasn't rhetorical at all. Still, she looked over at Shampoo to see what she would do. The girl in question said nothing, and instead studied her feet. Akane sighed in relief at that.

"Since there are none who wish to challenge the validity of the union," Cologne continued, "then may the vows be said so that it may be blessed by all the goddesses in the heavens. Akane, daughter of… er…" She hesitated. "What was your mother's name, child?"

Akane felt a lump form in her throat. "Kimiko," she supplied.

Cologne gave her sympathetic smile. "Akane, daughter of Kimiko, do you take this unworthy man to be your husband? To plant his seed in you so that you may give the tribe daughters? To love and support you in your later years, until the Reaper comes for your souls?"

Slightly embarrassed at the vow, Akane nonetheless nodded her head, and gave an enthusiastic "I do."

Cologne then turned to Ranma. "And you, Ranma, son of Nodoka." Ranma had to hold in a laugh at the fact that his father was being left out. "Do you take this warrior to be your wife? To give her daughters so that the tribe might grow stronger? To love and obey her through your later years, until the Reaper comes for your souls?"

This time, Akane couldn't hold her laughter. Ranma looked rather indignant at the "obey" part, and was seriously considering arguing the point, but the fact that Akane was no longer mad, made the entire thing worth it. "I do," he said, somewhat grudgingly. He felt his qualms melt away as Akane gave him a radiant smile. He was about to lean in for the kiss that he assumed was to come, when instead, Cologne addressed the other two teens.

"And do you, Shampoo, daughter of Lipstick, and Mousse, son of Talcum, do you two promise to… do your duties as seconds in this wedding?"

"I do," came the reply in stereo.

Both Ranma and Akane felt a chill run down their spine as they heard the vow their one time rivals were being asked to take. Even worse, the fact that Cologne hesitated, and quite possibly changed the wording, made the couple wonder if they might have just walked into some kind of trap.

"This marriage is blessed, for already you carry a child. It shall be written into the lore of the Amazons on the birth of you're first daughter. You may go and consummate your union."

* * *

About an hour later, Ranma and Akane were in their tent after having taken Cologne's suggestion to heart, not that they weren't embarrassed beyond belief when she made it in the first place. What's worse, was as they tried to enter their tent, Shampoo and Mousse tried to follow, claiming that it was part of the vow that they took as seconds that they needed to witness and support the first coupling. The newlyweds both started to glow an interesting shade of blue, making them decide that perhaps discretion was the better part of valor.

Akane lay on top of Ranma, basking in the afterglow. Ranma was gently stroking her hair as he caught his breath. "I'm sorry about yesterday," he said quietly.

Akane looked up at him in surprise. "Who are you, and what have you done with my husband?" she asked.

Ranma looked indignant. "What I can't apologize for something I did?" He was silenced as Akane giggled, and kissed him on the mouth. "Besides," he continued. "I think you're the doppelganger. My fiancée was an uncute, unsexy tomboy, my wife doesn't fit that description at all." He laughed when Akane couldn't decide if that was a compliment or insult. She decided to smack him anyway.

Akane was about to relax and go to sleep, when a thought nagged at her. "What is it exactly we let Shampoo and Mousse promise to do anyway?"

Ranma sighed nervously. "I dunno, but somehow I get the feeling we're not going to like it." He gave Akane a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I'm sure it won't be that bad. And if it is, we can threaten them like we did tonight. Now lets get some rest. We're gonna need it for tomorrow."

Akane gave her husband a searing kiss. "We can rest later, for now, lets do our duty as Amazonian newlyweds."


	12. Arrival

Chapter 12

The trip across the Sea of Japan and China was long and somewhat arduous. Cologne had arranged for a ship to transport them to the mainland, a journey that took a few days. Then it was a hard march across the country to the wilds in the West. The two pregnant women slowed their progress down somewhat, although since both were only one month along, it was more because of the worried father in the group who insisted on taking it easy. Even Akane would say that she was fine to go on, but Ranma would refuse to continue on until they took a rest. In the end they'd taken a series of trains for most of the way, rather than hiking. Cologne grumbled about the cost, but considering how much it increased their progress, she didn't complain too loudly.

Ranma and Akane were using the time on the road as a sort of honeymoon. Granted it wasn't very private, but they managed to find enough time for themselves. They learned to set up their own camp or get their own room in a hotel after their wedding night. Akane's enthusiasm was heard by everyone in the camp, and she had to endure some good natured teasing from Shampoo and Cologne.

"Shampoo wishes that Akane had let her do her duty as shield sister and help with wedding night. Sounds like Akane had a lot of fun!"

"Humph, why not? She's done it with everyone else."

That was the other reason this trip was so long. Mousse had finally broken his silence, but it seemed like everything he said was some sort of jab at Shampoo. The relationship between the two of them had been tense ever since the wedding.

Shampoo just ignored the comment, though it was obvious that it had struck a nerve. Akane on the other hand went from being embarrassed about Shampoo's comment to mad at Mousse in under a second. She was about to give him a piece of her mind, when Ranma interrupted. "Wait, what's a 'shield sister?'"

"It's sort of like a backup to the wedding. Shampoo is there in case you and Akane are having problems in bed. Shyness or impotency or something to that effect," replied Mousse. "As your shield brother, I was to help in the same way if required. It's an honorary title to help make sure that the marriage is consummated, ensuring that children will be born."

Akane's curiosity got the better of her. "What kind of help?" she asked nervously.

Mousse just grinned

"Yeah that's not going to happen," replied Ranma. "For either of you."

* * *

The remainder of the trip alternated between fun and tense. Even with taking the trains, it still took about a month to cross the continent Ranma and Akane spent much of that time getting to know their companions better, and learning basic Chinese.

It was with great trepidation that Ranma and Akane walked into the village that would be their home for the foreseeable future. As far as Ranma was concerned, it was like walking into the lions den, even if that lion had promised not to eat him. In Akane's case on the other hand, there might just be a lion in the den who resented what she had done to the alpha female of the pride.

As they entered the clearing where the village was located, Ranma felt like he stepped back in time to his first visit shortly after being cursed at Jusenkyo. There was the suspended log where he had fought Shampoo and started the entire mess with her. And… oh hell, there was the table, once again full of food, waiting for the winner of the tournament that was about to start. They just had to show up today of all days didn't they?

They were greeted as they entered the village by a couple of well armed women. The guards instantly recognized Cologne and stood at attention, saluting her with a fist to a well endowed chest. "Welcome home Honored Elder," one of them said in Chinese. "We received your notice of your return and have arranged the tournament in your honor." The guard glanced over at the new additions to their party. Ranma felt uneasy as the look she gave him seemed more like the look a farmer might give a cow before determining if it was to be taken to the slaughter. "I see you have succeeded in your quest at returning with the Saotome boy, but who is the woman with her? Someone you recruited into the tribe while out on your travels?"

Ranma was surprised when he noticed Cologne's smile falter ever so slightly. Unfortunately, he couldn't understand half of what was being said. "Something like that," Cologne replied. "All will be explained tonight at the council meeting."

The guard nodded, and gave Akane an appraising look. "Well then, I look forward to testing her mettle during the tournament. She will be entering won't she?"

"Actually, Akane will not be participating in the tournament, as she is pregnant."

It was almost as if the guards turned into a completely different group of people. Their faces went from being serious and somewhat suspicious, to happy and excited. There was a collective gasp and then an "Ohhhhhhh!" that came from all of them. Ranma took a defensive stance as they all rushed to dote on his wife, but they quickly put away their weapons before they got to her, so he relaxed a bit.

Akane found herself in the middle of a group of women who obviously were happy for her for some reason, unfortunately not knowing what that reason was. Shampoo leaned in close to her. "Great-Grandmother just explained to the guards that Akane is pregnant, and they offer congratulations," she translated.

Akane was stunned at the attention that was being heaped onto her. It was the first time that someone had responded positively to the news of her pregnancy. "Why are they so happy for me? They don't even know me."

"Is great honor for woman to be pregnant in Amazon village. A baby is future of the tribe. Means our way of life will continue."

Akane flushed at the sentiment, embarrassed at the attention all the women were heaping upon her. It didn't mean she had to endure it by herself though. "What about you? Why don't you tell them you're pregnant too?"

"Because Shampoo has been shamed," interrupted Mousse. "Her child is not of her husband. Had she not been defeated by Ranma, her indiscretions would not have mattered so much. Single women have children all the time in our culture. Married women on the other hand, must remain faithful."

Akane gave Mousse a hard look. She understood why he was upset of course, but his words and his tone of voice seemed to indicate something more. "And what about your actions?" she asked him. "You wanted to take Shampoo away from her 'husband,' and even slept with her yourself."

"'I was being used!" came the heated reply. It was a bit of a sore spot with Mousse that he had indeed slept with Shampoo on a number of occasions, now that Cologne had reversed the mind wipe Shampoo had placed on him. "She told me that she was tired of waiting for Ranma to make up his mind, and invited me into her bed as thanks for being loyal to her! And then once she got what she wanted, she hid her lies and stole the memory from me!"

The guards looked upon the heated debate with interest, unable to understand the words that were being said. They were, however, able to understand the look Mousse was giving his former paramour, and the significance behind it. Everyone in the village knew about his infatuation, and seeing him spit venom at the woman now was quite a development.

"In any case, let us escort you to your home Elder. It has been left as you left it since your departure." The guard led the way into the village while her companions continued to congratulate and dote upon Akane.

* * *

That evening, Cologne addressed the entire village at the opening of the tournament. A cheer went up as she took the podium off to the side of the suspended log where the battles would take place. Ranma, Akane, and Shampoo were all standing off to the side of the podium, waiting to be introduced. She held her hands up for silence, and began to address the crowd.

The newest members of the tribe were at a loss as to what was being said. It was obvious that they would have to learn to speak Chinese rather quickly. Akane leaned in close to Shampoo. "What is she saying?" she asked.

"Great Grandmother is thanking everyone for their support of our struggle in Japan, and declaring that the mission was a success." A bigger cheer went up at this declaration.

Ranma groaned and hung his head, once more feeling like nothing more than a piece of meat. "This was a bad idea," he murmured.

Cologne continued to speak. "Now Great Grandmother is telling tribe about Akane, and about how you have been accepted into the tribe. She is telling of your history as a warrior, and of your pregnancy. Now entire tribe know that you will have a healthy and strong baby." Akane blushed bright red again at the cheer that rose up from the crowd at the news of her pregnancy. She doubted if her blood was going to leave her face for the remaining seven months if they kept this up.

The mood of the crowd took a decided turn as Cologne continued her speech. Shampoo herself became choked up, but continued her translation. "Great Grandmother is now telling tribe that while Ranma has agreed to join us, it is because he is married to Akane, and not Shampoo." She paused to take a shuddering breath. "And now is telling everyone about Shampoo's baby, and her shame."

Akane started to tear up herself. She had to admit some sympathy for her former rival. Life back home was going to be hard for her now that everyone knew the parentage of her child. She reached over and gave the crying woman's hand a squeeze in sympathy.

Shampoo looked down at the hand in question, undeniable surprise in her eyes. She looked up at Akane's face, and seeing a friendly smile, she broke down in tears. That of course set off the other hormonal woman, and Akane broke down as well. The two women shared a hug, prompting a reaction from the crowd. Shampoo was supposed to be shunned by everyone until the baby was born. Didn't this newcomer know that?

Cologne looked back at the two crying women, and had to hold back a smile. Perhaps Shampoo's period of shame wouldn't be so bad after all. She addressed the crowd once again. Shampoo started crying harder once she heard what her grandmother was saying. She answered Akane's questioning look. "Great Grandmother tell tribe that Shampoo is Akane's shield sister. Is great honor for Amazon to help the marriage of a friend. Grandmother is helping to save some of Shampoo's honor, but Shampoo does not deserve this. Shampoo knows that Akane didn't have a choice when she was married."

This of course set Akane off once more. "I know we haven't been the best of friends in the past Shampoo, but now that we're going to be living together, maybe we can start over? I know I could use a friend while we're here, and I think you could too." She hugged her former rival. "And I'm honored to have you as my shield sister. As long as you know that I can take care of my marital duties just fine without you." Shampoo laughed at this, but nodded her agreement.

Ranma couldn't quite hear what was being said between the two young women, but they were smiling. He let out a small sigh of relief. They were getting along. The last thing he needed was for there to be tension between the two. Heavens knew what two hormonal pregnant women would do to each other. While there were certainly advantages to staying in the village, he had come up with a contingency plan to convince Akane to leave if things got too hairy for one reason or another. Between the cheering crowd, and now this, it looked as if he wasn't going to have to do that after all.

* * *

"This be home of Akane, yes?" asked the guard. She had led Ranma and Akane to a small hut in the residential area of town. It was tiny, but it had separate rooms for the kitchen, toilet, and living quarters, and it was surprisingly modern as well. Ranma realized that in his previous visits to the village that he'd never actually been inside one of the huts before. He'd assumed that the simple mortar and stone buildings were one room affairs with dirt floors, and no indoor plumbing. It turned out that they had a foundation, wood floors, a full kitchen, and even electricity generated by a small diesel generator out back. The only thing that was different from the house he'd been living in for the last year was the lack of a bath, but that had been a luxury to begin with.

"Yes thank you for showing us Soap," Akane replied. Soap was chosen to be their guide while they were getting settled in, mostly because she had a rudimentary understanding of Japanese. She bowed to Ranma, then placed a hand on Akane's stomach, and said something in Chinese. This had already happened to Akane many times while they were watching the tournament, so she knew that Soap was saying a blessing for her child, but it was embarrassing every time, especially since she didn't really show yet.

"Well, here we are," Ranma said he eyed the room they were standing in. "So, uh… wanna break in the bedroom? Or would you rather I make something to eat first?"

Akane sighed in exasperation. "Honestly Ranma, all you think about anymore is sex and food. In that order." She walked over towards the bedroom, pulling off her shirt and bra as she went, making Ranma's jaw drop as she walked past. "Well? Are you coming?"

"But you just said…"

"Ranma, my hormones are all over the place right now, and if you don't come and make love to me right now, I'll…" her threat was interrupted as a red and black blur wooshed by her and rematerialized into her naked husband lying on the bed.

"So are we doing this, or what?"

* * *

Mousse downed the last of his whiskey, then motioned to the bartender to fill it back up. The man just shrugged and poured his compatriot another drink. He'd seen that look on a man before, dejected and angry at the same time. It was obvious this guy had just been dumped by his girl, He could tell when the man had walked in the door. So he'd gotten out his special watered down whiskey to make sure the poor sap didn't poison himself. He'd wait until the younger man was good and soused before he tried to give the guy any advice, lest Mousse object to his interference with sharp implements.

The door burst open and in strode the slender yet strong figure of a young woman. She was tall, had long jet black hair, and wearing the armor of the Village Guard. The long poleax she was carrying completed the image of a woman who would sooner kill you than give you the time of day.

The bartender frowned as the woman strode purposefully up to the man who was drowning his sorrows. It was rare that a woman came into this bar. Not that they weren't allowed to, but the Dog House had always been a refuge for the men of the tribe, especially after they had been dumped. It was more the atmosphere of the bar that kept the women out rather than any rule. It was dark, the roof leaked, the floor was dirt and straw, and the air was full of tobacco and opium smoke. Most women, even the hardiest of the warriors, refused to enter the place on principle.

The woman sat down next to the long haired man drinking the watered down whiskey. She set her poleax down and leaned it against the bar, and motioned for a glass and some of what Mousse was drinking. Of course she didn't get the same thing Mousse was drinking. The last thing the barman needed was for the Guard to come in and investigate him for price gouging.

The woman eyed Mousse briefly, before downing her drink in one gulp. Slamming her glass onto the bar, she exhaled noisily. "No wonder you men come here all the time if you are served such fine alcohol!" She nudged Mousse with her elbow as if sharing an inside joke. "I should tell the other women in the Guard about this place! Some of them are even single and on the hunt for a suitable mate. Or in a pinch, a good roll in the hay!"

Mousse shifted his stool away from the boisterous woman, trying to enjoy his obviously watered down drink in peace. Unfortunately, it seemed as if she wouldn't take a hint. Instead the woman clapped a hand on his shoulder and addressed him as if noticing him for the first time. "You certainly look like you could use a good roll yourself. What do you say? Buy me a drink and perhaps I'll show you what a _real_ warrior is like in bed!"

"What do you want Conditioner?" Mousse asked.

The jovial and slightly seductive smile on the woman disappeared as she realized that her subtle ploy wasn't working. "Fine then, I have a different proposition for you. The entire village is buzzing about the new arrivals and the situation that Shampoo is in, but it seems that since this Akane is willing to forgive Shampoo, that is ok for them to forgive her as well. I even noticed a few women giving Shampoo the prenatal blessing!" She leaned in closer. "You may have noticed that I won the tournament today. In fact, ever since Shampoo left I've been the champion in every tournament, which is how I managed to receive the honor of lieutenant in the Guard already at my age."

Conditioner stood, and turned Mousse around in his seat to face her. "I worked my ass off in order to get to where I am today, while that slut had everything handed to her on a silver platter. And now that she's finally made a fatal mistake, she's weaseling her way out of her punishment! I want to see Shampoo go down, and I think you can help me do that."

Mousse turned around in his stool and took a drink. "Sorry not interested," he said sourly.

"Why not? Everyone knows how you felt about her before she left, and its obvious that she completely shunned you in favor of some random jerk who she felt would be a good fuck. He wasn't even her husband! Surely if she was that desperate for a man she could have given you a chance! A man who fawned over her, who would do anything for her. A man like you is hard to find Mousse, and she let you slip away without even a sympathy fuck."

"I'll have you know I slept with Shampoo a number of times," replied Mousse, wondering why he was even remotely defending his former paramour. Sullenly he added "I just didn't remember it until recently."

Conditioner's eyes widened. "Really? She fucked you and then used Formula 411 on you so that you'd forget? Honestly, if her husband wasn't satisfying her, there are other ways she can scratch that itch that don't take advantage of the men."

Mousse must have been more drunk than he thought, because the things Conditioner was saying were starting to make sense. He gave the woman a cautious look. "If I help you, what's in it for me?"

Conditioner's smile once again grew seductive. "I'm sure we can work something out."

* * *

Sorry about the delay in getting this chapter out. I was actually really busy this weekend.


	13. Tradition

Chapter 13

It was noon, and Ranma was still dead to the world. Akane had kept him awake late into the night for the most of the past month, "breaking in" the entire village. It seemed as if her adventurous streak was still there, if anything it was stronger than before. They'd done it everywhere, on the roof of their house, on the roofs of all their neighbors' houses, in front of Cologne's house, and in the village square. They'd wait until midnight or later to go out and find their next spot so that they wouldn't get caught, but they soon found out that it was significantly harder to get away with it in a place where there was a standing guard.

It was when they were doing it on the challenge log, arguably the place where the whole mess started, that they finally got caught. A guard patrolling the area happened upon them while they were in mid-coitus. The worst part was that the didn't realize that the woman was there until she hopped up on the log behind Ranma and whispered a question into his ear. He wasn't entirely sure what she'd asked, but he was pretty sure he had an idea. Especially since when he turned around, he saw that the guard wasn't wearing her armor, or anything else for that matter.

The embarrassment only increased exponentially when word got around about what had happened, and other adventurous couples were caught having some fun on the log late at night. The Saotomes even walked in on one such couple themselves while out for a stroll after dinner. Despite the fact that the guards didn't seem to mind – mostly because they were the perpetrators themselves half of the time with their significant others – the elders didn't appreciate the sanctity of the challenge log being tarnished in such a way, and ordered it to be taken down until the next tournament. There were rumors that the next time it was put up again, it would be guarded by eunuchs.

Akane sighed as she watched her husband sleep, bored out of her mind. That was half of the reason she had been jumping his bones so often, there was just nothing else to do! The women of the village had accepted her presence, but there didn't seem to be a place for her in the society quite yet. Since she was pregnant, she wasn't allowed to join the village guard, she still didn't know enough Chinese to be able to get a job as a clerk or secretary in the village council, and Cologne had made sure that she was kept far away from helping in the kitchens. So instead, she spent most of her days watching Chinese TV with poor reception, exercising on her own, and jumping Ranma at night.

Ranma, to her extreme annoyance, was fitting in very well. Despite his lack of knowledge of the language, he was being put to work teaching martial arts to some of the more advanced members of the tribe. It usually meant he was out of the house from sunup to sundown, leaving Akane to entertain herself. The only reason he was still in bed was because it was his day off.

Akane sighed and got out of bed, not even bothering to get dressed, and heading out to the living room to watch more TV she barely understood. If she didn't figure out what to do with her time soon, she was going to go crazy, and she wasn't going to be responsible for her actions when that happened.

There was a knock at the door. Akane looked up from what she assumed was a soap opera and called out "It's open!" She was pleasantly surprised to see Shampoo walk into the house. Her shield sister was also having a hard time fitting in her home village again, and therefore had been spending a lot of time with Akane. The two women had become fast friends, and it was one of the few things keeping her sane. She stood to greet her guest. "Hey Shampoo how are you today?"

Shampoo's eyes widened in surprise when she saw her friend stand to greet her naked as the day she was born. Three months into her pregnancy, and Akane still wasn't showing yet. For that matter, it barely looked like she'd put on any weight at all, other than the obvious increase in bust size. Shampoo didn't think that was particularly fair considering she herself had already gained five kilos. "Ummm, Akane?" She gestured towards her friend's nudity.

Akane looked down, apparently noticing for the first time that she wasn't wearing anything. "Meh," she grunted. "I just got out of bed and didn't really feel like getting dressed yet. She returned to the couch and pulled a blanket around her torso, covering herself.

Shampoo sighed at her friend's lack of caring. At least she had a reason to be naked in bed. She shook her head to clear away the jealousy. "Shampoo have good news! Found us a job! But Akane will have to learn Chinese faster."

Akane sighed and laid down on the couch. "I already tried at the Elder House. They won't let me work there unless I have complete fluency of the language, and the dialects of about ten surrounding villages."

"Is not at Elder House," replied Shampoo. "Only need to know a little more Chinese. Will be learning rest with clients."

Akane sat up and gave the Amazon a confused look. "What clients?"

* * *

Akane bowed again to her new boss, thanking him profusely for the job. She then reached down to the toddler who was grasping on to the hem of her skirt and picked her up to take her back into the play room. Now why didn't she think to look for a job at the daycare a month ago? She was going to need the practice after all.

Shampoo had been anxious about asking for the job at first, even if she had suggested it. It was "man's work" after all. Akane didn't care about the reversed social mores. If it meant she was going to get out of the house for most of the day, she'd muck out the stables.

Setting the toddler on the changing table she smiled at the thought that she basically _was_ mucking out a kind of stable. At least they were cuter than horses.

Finished with changing the diaper, Akane set the little girl back on the floor, and watched her toddle away. She untucked her shirt from her skirt, placed a hand on her belly, and concentrated. She was sure she could feel her own child within her womb if she concentrated hard enough. Cologne had seen her do this once and had encouraged her to keep it up. Apparently it was something that all warrior mothers did in the tribe. The theory went that it helped with the baby's chi growth, and forged a stronger bond between mother and child. She'd even gotten Ranma to do it from time to time so that he could bond with the baby as well. He'd even said that he could feel the child getting stronger as he did it.

Akane shivered as if struck by lightning. Just the thought of Ranma laying his hands on her was enough to stoke her fires. He wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.

* * *

Akane waved to the last child to leave for the day and turned to help her coworkers clean up for the night. Shampoo was taking the diaper bag out to the laundry down by the river, so she was left with the other men, picking up toys and sweeping and mopping the floor. Akane lifted a big box of toys up and onto a high shelf, her shirt rising, exposing her navel, as she lifted it over her head. One of the men who was sweeping the floor next to her suddenly cried out and started babbling in Chinese too fast for Akane to understand. She turned to another one of the men whom she knew understood at least some Japanese. "Trimmer, what did he say?" she asked.

"Gel say Akane-san not have her mother tattoo yet," he explained.

"Mother tattoo?"

"Yes, is tradition for Joketsuzoku mother to get tattoo on belly when she find out she pregnant. Is made to honor father, and to honor the child's heritage."

Slightly wary, but intrigued none the less, Akane motioned for more details. "What kind of tattoo is it?" she asked.

"Anything that remind mother of father. Something that show how much she honor the father. Is a great honor for Joketsuzoku male to have his tattoo on a woman. Gel upset that you not honoring Ranma-san because you not have tattoo."

Akane was taken aback at the accusation. With the help of Trimmer, she explained in her own broken Chinese that she didn't know about the tradition. This seemed to placate the man, who smiled at her and got back to work. Glad she dodged the bullet, but aware that it might come back again, Akane thought long and hard about something she'd never even considered before.

* * *

The next day Ranma was back at work, training his new students. He stifled a yawn as he watched them run through a kata over and over again, Akane having kept him up late into the night once again. Not that he'd ever complain of course, since the activities he was kept awake for were immensely fun.

He surveyed his class, trying to gauge their progression. Already he'd had half of the original members drop out due to not being able to keep up with his regimen. He had expected there to be some dropouts of course, but he hadn't figured on losing so many. After all, he was only doing what his father did to him when he was 10 years old.

"All right," he called out in Chinese. "Pair up to spar!" It was one of the few phrases he specifically learned so that he could get his message across. A lot of the rest of his directions had to be mimed to them so that they'd understand what he wanted them to do. He watched as his students immediately started to use what they had learned in mock battles. His best students were paired up with each other in the back, and he wandered over to them

Nobody was less surprised than Ranma was that Mousse turned out to be a great martial artist. Having fought him on numerous occasions, Ranma knew that the blind man was more skilled than many in the village would give him credit for. He was currently sparring with a woman whom Ranma only knew as Conditioner, who was also one of his best students. He watched them fight for a while, before calling them to a halt. "Good job you two," he said in Japanese, knowing that at least Mousse would understand him. He gave Conditioner a thumbs up.

"Thank you sensei," replied Conditioner in Japanese, surprising both of the males with her. "Your training regimen is unorthodox, but it is obviously effective. Where did you learn such methods?"

Baffled, Ranma took a moment to gather his thoughts to respond. "My father taught me since I could walk by using methods similar to this. Considering some of the training methods Joketsuzoku use, I'm surprised you think this way. I haven't started swinging rocks at you or made you stick your hands into a fire yet"

"Those are only used for the most advanced techniques," responded Mousse. "The basic classes are rather benign compared to what you went through.

"Huh," Ranma said, amazed. "Well I came over here because I'm going to need you two to take on some extra responsibility in this class. Cologne is finally going to start teaching me some of the more advanced techniques, so I'm going to be training with her for half of the day, and teaching the class for half. I'm going to need you two to take over for me in the mornings starting next week."

His students looked at him astonished, both bowing low to him. "Thank you sensei!" said Conditioner. "We won't let you down!"

* * *

Akane was still pondering the idea of a tattoo on the way home when she was stopped by Shampoo. "What did Akane think of first day at work?" she asked.

Akane couldn't help herself, she hugged her friend tightly. "Thank you _so much_ for finding me that job! I was going insane with cabin fever from staying at home all day with nothing to do. Honestly, with most of your women acting as warriors, and restrictions on what warriors can do when they're pregnant, how do they keep from going postal?"

Shampoo smiled. "Shampoo was coming to talk to Akane about that. Come! Follow!"

The purple haired girl led Akane to a discrete building on the edge of the village. Obviously it was a bath house, but it was different from the communal one she and Ranma had been using for the past month. The architecture was fancier, rather than utilitarian like the other buildings. There were many exotic plants and trees in the front, and Akane could hear the sound of running water and soft music coming from inside. "What is this place?" she asked.

"Is special bath house Great Grandmother told Shampoo about today. Only tribe members who are with child are allowed inside. Come! We go in!"

The two women walked in through the front door and were greeted by an older woman who was obviously the proprietor of the place. "Welcome to the House of Chuang-Mu," she greeted in Chinese. Akane relied on Shampoo to discretely translate. "We've been expecting you for some time now. Please, follow me." She led them into the change room. "You may remove your clothes in here, then follow the hallway to the left to the massage room. Later you have facials and full body wraps scheduled, and then a nice long soak in the hot spring." She stood there waiting to take their clothes while the two women undressed. "Will you be getting your tattoos today as well?" she asked when she noticed the bare bellies of the two women standing before her.

Shampoo looked at her feet, embarrassed at the idea. She didn't wanting to think about the father of her child, let alone honor him by marking her body. Akane on the other hand was still intrigued by the idea. "I don't think we will today," she said with Shampoo's help. "But soon I might want to." Shampoo looked surprised at her companion, amazed that this outsider would want to honor her tribe's customs in such a way.

"Very well then," replied the owner. "Your masseuses are waiting for you down the hall."

* * *

Akane moaned loudly in pleasure as the woman massaging her back worked her magic. A job that got her out of the house and now this? If this was what happened when women became pregnant in this village, she might try to convince Ranma to have a big family, Chinese law or not. Besides, it seemed that Joketsuzoku was remote enough that the government in Beijing left them alone to their own devices. Now that she knew what they meant, Akane had started to look at women's midriffs for the tattoos, and found that many had two or three or more on their belly. She even saw a woman who had a whole constellation of stars across her front.

"Ayah," Shampoo teased. "If Akane make this much noise while getting back rub, how much noise does she make during cào cào?"

Akane clamped her mouth shut at the jab. She wasn't entirely sure what the words meant, but she certainly had a good idea. Especially with the way the two masseuses were trying to stifle their laughter.

"Maybe Akane should get tattoo of Ranma's jūju on her belly if she have that much fun with it!" This time the masseuse working on Akane's back had to stop what she was doing to cover her mouth to keep from cracking up. Akane started to wonder why she was bothering to learn Chinese at all if everybody seemed to speak enough Japanese to understand the conversation. It was probably just as well that she didn't know what a jūju was.

On the other hand, it brought up a topic she had wanted to discuss. "What about you Shampoo? Are you going to get a tattoo?"

Shampoo clammed up at the question, and turned her head so that she was looking away from her friend. "Shampoo not proud of what she has done. Will have baby, and love her very much, but Shampoo have no reason to honor father with tattoo."

"What about what people will say? Won't the men give you a hard time for not honoring the father?"

Shampoo sniffed in derision. "Shampoo already has no honor left. What could they say that would make her feel worse?"

Akane wanted to feel sorry for Shampoo, but couldn't. After all, she got pregnant by trying to convince Ranma that she was sleeping with Kuno, but there had to be something she could say to help her friend. Suddenly, she had an idea. "Well what about other unwed mothers in the village, what do they get done?"

Shampoo thought about it. "Still have to honor father. If he is unknown, then mother get tattoo of a star."

Akane's eyes bulged, remembering the woman she saw with all the star tattoos. "Well, maybe you could get one on the small of your back. You can honor your child by showing you know her heritage, but dishonor the father by showing that he was unworthy to be on your belly."

Shampoo blinked audibly at this idea. "Is a good idea!" she proclaimed. She stood, thanking her masseuse, before reaching over and grabbing Akane by the arm, pulling her off the table.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" Akane shrieked as she was dragged out of the room.

"We go get our tattoos now! Akane had great idea!" Shampoo chirped.

"Wait I wasn't sure I wanted to get one yet! Stop! Help!"

* * *

Conditioner and Mousse were sitting at the bar in the Dog House at the end of a long day of training. Mousse still wasn't quite sure what Conditioner was doing there, but he was at least glad for the company. "So tell me again how teaching Ranma's classes for him is going to get revenge on Shampoo for us?"

"It's very simple Moussey-Woussey," Conditioner replied using her pet name for him. "In taking over Ranma's classes, we are gaining his trust. His wife Akane is Shampoo's only friend in the village right now. We gain Ranma's trust, then get him to turn his wife against Shampoo."

Mousse turned red at Conditioner's use of a pet name, but he wasn't about to tell a woman who was carrying two daggers that he could see along with all the hidden weapons he'd been teaching her that she couldn't call him such things. "So she loses her only friend. Big deal. The rest of the village is still being civil to her."

Conditioner patted his head, as if addressing an naïve child. "That's only step one Moussey-Woussey." She put on her sexiest smile, knowing that it would make his heart race. "How about we go over to your house right now, and we can discuss step two?"

* * *

Ranma came home to find the house empty, but he was expecting that. Akane had sent word from the spa where she was and when she would be home. He had to admit, a nice massage after a long day's work sounded like a good idea, and he envied his wife. Well he'd have to ask her to help him out when she got home. He went into the bedroom to get changed.

He was a little apprehensive that she was out with Shampoo though. He wouldn't say anything to Akane, but there was just too much history between himself and Shampoo that he doubted he could ever completely trust her again. The fact that Akane got a job at the same place as her old rival, and was spending so much time with her rubbed Ranma the wrong way a little. He trusted Akane's judgment, and knew that while his wife had chosen to forgive Shampoo for their past, she had not forgotten it. Akane was a big girl, and she could take care of herself.

That didn't mean he wasn't going to worry though. He sighed with relief when he heard the door open and close in the main room. "Hey Akane! I'm in the bedroom! Come in and tell me how your first day at work went!"

Akane had a light step, so Ranma didn't hear her as she slowly shuffled into the bedroom while his back was turned. When he turned around five minutes later to see if she had come in after all, he found her standing there staring at her feet, her face as red as a tomato. "Akane? What's wrong?" he asked.

He wasn't sure where it was coming from, but Akane's body seemed to find some more blood to pump into her face, as she started to turn purple. Hesitantly she reached down to the bottom of her shirt and lifted the hem. Emblazoned on her stomach, just above the navel, was a picture of a rearing horse, maybe two inches tall and done in black. The skin around the tattoo was still red, not quite healed from the process of applying the ink. Ranma fell over in surprise. "What the hell made you get that?" he asked from the floor.

"It's… kind of an Amazon tradition. One of the men at the daycare asked me why I didn't have one. He seemed rather upset about it so I thought about getting it. Then Shampoo took me to the spa, which turned out to be a spa for pregnant women, and they offered to do the work for us, so Shampoo talked me into it."

"Tradition?" Ranma asked, still too surprised to get up off the bedroom rug. "What kind of tradition is that?"

"It's a symbol to honor the father of my baby. See? It's a wild horse. For Ranma."

Ranma finally picked himself up off of the floor. He was stunned that Akane would mark herself for him like that. Then he had a rather disturbing thought. "Umm, what did Shampoo get?"

Akane smiled. "She did a blue lightning bolt, but had it done on her spine just above her rear. It's done to honor her child, but dishonor the father."

"Heh, yeah I always said Kuno was a real ass." He smiled at her. "Thank you for this. And for the baby. You have no idea how much this means to me." He placed his hand on her stomach.

"Ouch!" Akane complained. "Be careful, it still hurts a bit." She pulled a bar of soap out from her pocket. "I have to wash it with this special soap for a week so that it heals right."

Ranma got a lustful look in his eyes and started to undo the buttons on her blouse. "Well why don't we get started on the first dose. Here, I'll help you." Akane smiled and helped him by undoing the button on her skirt, and allowing it to fall to the floor.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Chuang-Mu is the Chinese Goddess of the Bedchamber, and everything that happens within them such as sleep, sex, love, and childbirth.

Cào means fuck in Mandarin, and jūju means penis. I had originally wanted to have her call it "snoo snoo" after what the Amazons in Futurama say, but it just didn't sound right for a Chinese girl to say it. I figured this was a good compromise.

The way I imagine it, Akane's tattoo looks like the rearing horse on the Ferrari symbol.

Ok, so if you remember right, when I started posting this story back in December I told you I had 13 chapters done, giving myself a 13 week buffer to get my act together and write the rest. Well, I still haven't finished chapter 14 yet... I know! I know! And I'm sorry! So I'm going to try to get the next chapter out next Friday as per my regular updating schedule (the muse has come back somewhat) but no guarantees.


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