Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Green-eyed Wardrobe ❯ Chapter 1

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Standard Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
Ikimono Kohei, Ikimono Miki, Juuman Aremi, and Gekijo Hashin
belong to me.

{} = Thoughts
[] = Chinese
<> = Flashback
|| = English

Green-Eyed Wardrobe
By Dyne

The excitement of Christmas filled the early-December air in
the Nerima District of Tokyo and the smiles of a young, happy couple
was no exception as Ikimono Kohei and Tendo Akane concluded their
date. The two of them had spent an enjoyable afternoon at the skating
rink and the evening with dinner, a movie, and a walk in the park. The
cause for celebration wasn't the well-known Christian holiday, but
rather the younger man's 20th birthday. All he had asked for was a day
together with his fiancé.
The afternoon had passed with minimal interference, until the
Golden Pair showed up. Azusa wanted Kohei's thin ponytail for her
collection and Sanzenin hadn't learned his lesson in not going after
Akane's lips as, since his loss, he had sworn to not kiss another girl
until he had kissed her. The fight that resulted was inevitable, but
because of Kohei's superior speed and Akane's greatly improved skills
since she and Ranma had fought them, it was no contest in their favor.
Their dinner temporarily became a double date as Ukyo had offered to
provide the meal at her restaurant and she had Ranma there as well.
After the main meal, the surprise party that included the rest of Kohei's
family and friends began and lasted until their movie began.
Despite how late the time was when the film ended, the two
walked slowly through the park and didn't say a thing, as they didn't
need to. As she hugged his arm, Akane thought about how much she
had changed since the two of them met. Up through the day he had
suddenly arrived at Furinkan, she had been suffering from the
heartbreak she had experienced when Ranma left her for Ukyo, even
after he had said he loved her at Jusendo, for a full year. She never
learned why his feelings turned to his childhood friend, but she began
to blame herself for his choice because of the way she treated him more
often than anyway else, violently. She didn't want to treat him that way
anymore, so she vowed to never again hit him out of anger and become
his friend. However, she still got angry and jealous at seeing Ranma
and Ukyo together and not being able to do anything about it only made
her more frustrated. By the end of that one year, she was depressed and
isolating herself from her friends. Even though she was able to take her
rage out on Kuno from time to time, she was still being torn apart from
the inside out.
That all changed when Kohei arrived and began to train her in
using her anger as a weapon for her instead of against her and releasing
it healthily. After defeating her blind rage and letting her past with
Ranma go, she saw she had developed feelings for Kohei. And while
she even called him a "baka" a few times in her mind, she was soon
able to overcome that as well, knowing that she would start to believe it
if she kept saying that. The day he proposed to her triggered a
permanent change in Akane that brought out a tiny bit of femininity in
her. True, she was still seen as a tomboy for her love of the Art and
still didn't act like a girly-girl; she was no much more calm and trusting
towards everyone who had earned her respect, even Ranma. For the
most part, things had never been this peaceful in her life since she had
found someone to love.
"Aka-chan," his voice spoke softly, bringing her out of her
thoughts, "we've returned."
Akane opened her eyes and indeed saw that they had arrived at
the gate of the Tendo household.
"You're sure you don't want to come in for a minute?" she
asked hopefully.
"I'm sorry," he shook his head, "I wish that today would never
end either, but we have tomorrow to look forward to."
One thing that had really made their relationship work was
that they respected each other’s independence. If she was working on
something and he asked if she needed help, he would back off if she
said no, but would still be willing if she ended up asking for assistance
with the same task later. Another thing she had come to admire about
him was his wisdom, especially for his age. When she asked how he
knew so much, he simply answered that he knew only what he had
been taught by both his parents and everything else came during his
lifetime study of martial arts.
<"I've learned that all of the mental and physical skills that
one needs to excel in life can be learned in studying the Art," he had
said, "once that person has learned discipline and patience, he can do
anything.">
"You've got a point," she smiled, hiding a sigh of slight
disappointment in her mind, "I'll stop by to see you at work sometime
tomorrow before our training session. Good night and happy birthday,
Kohibito." She finished by giving him a light peck on the cheek.
"Aka-chan..." he spoke soothingly as, for a brief moment, he
slipped his arms around her waist and delivered a loving kiss to her
lips, which she didn't resist at all.
"Wo ai ni," he smiled as he let her go and walked off into the
night. He always said "I love you" to her in Chinese rather than
Japanese as that was always how he'd heard his mother say it to his
father and had picked up that habit from her. Akane smiled again as
her sigh changed into that of happiness as she watched him go.
As soon as she stepped inside of the foyer, a stern voice said,
"Young lady, do you have any idea how late it is?" causing her to
sweatdrop. Before she could give a reason, she turned the light on and
saw the last person she expected sitting on the stairs.
"Ranma!" she exclaimed as she saw her former fiancé but
current brother-in-law. "What are you doing here?"
"Missed the last train," he answered as he took another bite of
the apple that was obviously his snack. His mother lived at the very
edge of Nerima, making it too long of a walk from the Tendo dojo, so it
was much easier to take the train into the next district and backtrack the
one kilometer.
"Your dad is letting me stay the night," Ranma continued, "as
thanks I'll help you guys clean the attic tomorrow morning."
Where she wouldn't have listened to his story before, Akane
now understood that his reason fit the events of the evening and didn't
get angry.
"And I know what you're thinking, 'Ranma offering to help
around the house?' I may as well start making up for all the freeloading
I did."
Akane smiled, "Thank you, Ranma."
"Huh?" he was actually surprised that she wasn't angry, even
though she hadn't hit him out of rage for a long time.
"I said, 'Thank you,'" she kept her smile and, as she passed
him, withdrew a tiny mallet and gave him a light tap on the head that
wouldn't have hurt a fly.
"Hey!" he was slightly annoyed. "Are the sizes of those things
directly linked to how angry you are?"
"You finally figured it out," Akane giggled and headed
upstairs for bed.

A few blocks away, Kohei quietly stepped back into the
Nekohanten where he was surprised to find his cousin-in-law sitting in
one of the booths and cradling his sleeping daughter of slightly over a
year in his arms.
"[Mou Su,]" Kohei greeted. He had fallen into the habit of
speaking to him and Shampoo in their native language when he was
speaking with them privately. It was a good way to stay in practice and
dissuade potential eavesdroppers.
"[You look like you enjoyed your date,]" Mousse commented.
"[I did,]" he replied as he took a seat, "[you and Xian Pu
should take a day off to spend together.]"
"[Not a bad idea,]" Mousse chuckled, "[that just reminded me
of when I was doing anything I could to get her to date me while she
was after Ranma.]"
"[Tell me.]"
"[I only succeeded once during that time. I found a relic from
our people called the 'Invincible Glasses.' When I'd put them on,
anyone I looked at would bow down and apologize for nothing. I
decided to use them in a fight against Ranma so I could win Xian Pu
from him. But I realized that it was too dishonorable and turned them
on myself, apologizing to him. Xian Pu was touched by this and said
she'd date me. My biggest mistake was not taking her to a romantic
movie. I didn't know that then, but have since learned.]"
"[Ranma's told me that Xian Pu used to think of you as
nothing more than a spineless weakling.]"
"[I was. I practically worshipped the ground she walked on
and was always like, 'Yes, Xian Pu. Anything you say, Xian Pu.' The
day she renounced her Amazon heritage was the greatest change. From
what I could tell, she was genuinely afraid of her great-grandmother at
that moment. If there was anything I was good at, it was hating the old
mummy. So to spite her and make sure Xian Pu wouldn't be alone, I
left the clan too. As we spent the next year on the road together, she
finally saw the real me. I would only act like that sniveling idiot when
she was around. But as she treated me with respect, I found it easier to
act normally around her. I'm still not sure if she said she loved me as
an escape then, but I know she says it and means it now.]"
"[You allowed your trials to make you strong, Mou Su, and
you used that strength to help Xian Pu in her time of trial and
weakness.]" As he turned his head, Kohei saw Shampoo coming down
the stairs.
"I can't sleep, Mousse," she yawned, not seeing Kohei, "I'll
watch the baby and you can go back to bed."
Mousse shook his head, "That's easier said than done. Look."
He released his hold on his daughter to show that she was clinging so
tightly to his robes that he could have stood up and she wouldn't have
fallen. "She takes after you."
"That looks comfy," Shampoo purred as she climbed into his
lap, leaned her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes.
"I'll let you be alone," Kohei smiled, switching back to
Japanese, "good night, Mou Su." He knew that his cousin-in-law was
too content to hear him as he headed for his room in the attic for a
good-night's sleep.


The next morning, Akane wasn't sure exactly what it was that
awoke her. It was either the shouts of sparring outside or the delicious
aroma coming from downstairs. {Ranma and Uncle Saotome are
probably at it,} she thought as she remembered that her brother-in-
law had stayed the night, {and that smell can only mean one thing:
Kasumi-onee-chan brought Makoto to see his grandpa.} Since there
was no school, she threw on some old clothes and prepared for the
chore ahead that day.
Once she was dressed, she opened the window in time to see
Ranma knock his father into the pond. Genma was the only one who
lived in Nerima who still had his Jusenkyo curse, and rightly so. There
were still times when Akane wanted to sell him to a zoo to pay back for
all of the freeloading he'd done.
"You're gettin' old, oyaji!" Ranma taunted as the panda leapt
out of the water and attempted another attack, only to eat a counter-
attack that sent him back into the koi pond.
"He's no challenge anymore," Ranma dusted his hands.
""That's because he never trains anymore while you work as
hard as ever," Akane commented from her viewpoint.
"Hey, mornin' Akane. Want to go at it for a few rounds?"
"Maybe later if you're still here during my regular workout,"
she was anxious to go downstairs and see her sister.
Sure enough, Kasumi was downstairs cooking breakfast and
her and Dr. Tofu's son Makoto was being bounced on Soun's knee.
"Onee-chan!" Akane exclaimed as she hugged her.
Fortunately, the older Tendo wasn't handling any cookware at the
moment.
"Akane, good morning," she returned the embrace and
noticed, "you're in a good mood."
"Kohei and I went out last night to celebrate his birthday," she
explained.
"My, you two certainly do spend a lot of time together. But
it's only natural for young people."
"Onee-chan, you're only three years older then me. Just
because you're a mother doesn't make you old."
"Yes, you're right," Kasumi smiled her ever-present smile.
{I didn't notice this until now,} Akane thought, {but
Kasumi-onee-chan and Aremi-chan would get along perfectly. They're
both always smiling.}

After breakfast and Kasumi had left, Ranma and Akane began
their work in cleaning the attic.
"Dad just wants me to throw out some old junk that I don't
want anymore," Akane instructed.
"Wasn't he going to help you too?" Ranma asked.
"He and Uncle Saotome are playing Shogi again. Don't expect
to see them for awhile," she hefted a few boxes from their piles. "Well,
let's get to work."
One full hour passed before Akane found a certain box, buried
near the bottom of the enormous pile.
"What's this?" she blew the thin layer of dust from the box,
untied the heavy string that bound it shut, and opened it to find a
Chinese-style battle suit inside.
"Do-chan!" Akane shouted gleefully as she hugged the suit
and, not surprisingly to her, it hugged her back.
{Do-chan!} the name sent a chill down Ranma's spine as
he recognized Akane's nickname for the legendary suit.
"I thought Dad sold you to a second-hand store," she
continued, "but it looks like you've been in here the whole time."
Ranma swallowed hard as he turned around and laid eyes on
the enchanted outfit that allowed its master to fight at his/her full
potential. He would never live the humiliation of having to destroy that
thing down. Not only was it bad enough losing to Akane back then, but
he spent several minutes sitting on a bench that had recently been
painted, the paint still being wet. But it had been worth it to destroy it,
only to have Kasumi sew it back together because she thought it was
cute, making his effort for naught. The suit apparently noticed him as it
leapt to whack him on the head with its sleeve.
"Stop it, Do-chan," Akane rebuked, "Ranma and I aren't
engaged anymore. He's just helping me out today."
The suit halted its attack and extended its sleeve to Ranma.
As he shook its "hand" to solidify the truce, he gave it a look of, "Don't
even think of trying to peep on Akane in the bath anymore." He had to
warn Kohei about this one, because once it knew that he was her
current fiancé, that would only bring trouble.
"Ranma," the youngest Tendo smirked, "did you still want to
spar?" causing him to sweatdrop.

"Let me take that back!" Soun begged as he saw how his bad
move could be used to Genma's advantage.
As always, the panda held up a sign on which "No" was
written.
Soun was about to distract him and switch the board when an
enormous crash shook the house.
"What was that?" Soun exclaimed as he looked outside to see
a dot flying towards the horizon.
"Dad, guess what," Akane called from upstairs as she
practically leapt down to the ground floor, "I found Do-chan!" and
appeared, wearing the legendary suit, causing him and Genma to recoil
in horror.

A few blocks away, Ukyo was warming up the grill as she got
ready to open up for a full day of business when she heard something
fall through the roof of her building and the ceiling of the first floor.
Utilizing her martial arts instincts and reflexes, she drew her battle
spatula and caught whatever it was before it could damage the grill.
When the dust settled and she saw what had fallen inside, she couldn't
believe it.
"Ranchan," she exclaimed, "what happened to you!"
The pig-tailed martial artist, balanced on the weapon on his
head, stammered as he answered, "A-Akane... legendary s-s-suit... f-full
potential..."
"What are you talking about?" she lifted him over a stool and
turned her weapon to dump him onto it. "What's this about Akane and
a legendary suit?"
After Ranma had recovered, he told her the account of when
he and their parents had bought the suit, how it had chosen Akane as its
master, and the chaos the ensued.
"No wonder you don't like it," his fiancé remarked, "you do
hate to lose."
"That thing had it in for me from the start," he fumed, "and
after all I went through to destroy it..."
"How did you?"
"There are two ways: Make it consume itself in jealousy or
undo the latch behind the belt."
"Let me guess, you failed the first way and had no choice but
to undo the latch." From his expression, Ukyo knew that she was right.

{I missed doing this,} Akane took a deep breath as she
felt the win rush through her hair while she leapt along the rooftops,
{and with Do-chan I can finally convince Kohei to go all-out on
me.}
Part of Akane's training was working with Kohei on various
levels of skill. When she would improve a little, he would increase the
level of severity of his attacks and defenses until she had learned to
defeat him at that level. However, she had never gotten him to the
point of using his full abilities against her. She knew that they would
eventually reach that level, but for now there was a nice shortcut.
{He was the one who saw my hidden potential,} she
thought again, {he'll be glad to see what it looks like.}
Akane arrived at the Nekohanten and, even though it hadn't
opened for business yet, the front door was unlocked. Only one person
was in the front room sweeping the floor.
"Akane-onee-chan!" Miki greeted happily upon seeing her,
"what brings you here this-" she noticed her outfit. "Where did you get
that suit? It makes you look like you were born in our village."
"Thanks, Miki-chan. It's a battle suit my Dad bought a while
ago and only fits me. It was put up in the attic and I found it just a few
minutes ago."
"It does look good on you," the half-Amazon complimented,
"did you want to show it to big brother?"
"Yes," her sneaky grin could have easily rivaled Shampoo's
whenever she would plot something.
"Okay, I'll go get him," the tall girl ran into the kitchen and
soon returned with her brother.
"Aka-chan, good morning," Kohei greeted, "where did you
find that battle outfit?"
"I told her that it makes her look like she was born and raised
in Ryuchiezu," Miki remarked before the short-haired girl could
answer.
"It does," he turned back to Akane. "Do you feel more
confident in your skills when you wear it?"
"I do," Akane wanted to test him before she told him about the
enchantment. "Want to test me?"
"I'd be glad to," he could sense her confidence as he escorted
her to the small lot behind the Nekohanten with Miki following behind
to watch.
"Kohibito I want you to start with everything you've got," she
entered her battle stance.
"As you requested, Aka-chan," was all he said before he began
his offensive using his blinding speed. He feinted a blow to her
stomach, but executed a low kick to knock her feet from the ground.
With her abilities enhanced because of the suit, she saw the fake-out,
leapt over his attack, and landed on her hands behind him and. As he
turned around, but before he could react, Akane grabbed around his
neck with her ankles, flipped forward, and slammed him into the
ground with such force that his body left a shallow crater in the dirt.
The resulting shaking of the ground nearly caused Miki to lose her
balance.
"Now!" a voice inside of Akane's head shouted. A
grim smile appeared on her face as she threw a downward punch, using
all of her power and weight, into his stomach, causing him to lose wind
and even cough up a spurt of blood.

From her point on the sideline, Miki stood with eyes widened
as she couldn't believe what had happened. She couldn't tell what was
more surprising: the fact that Kohei had been beaten so easily or the
way Akane had acted. She'd never seen her big sister act in such a
manner.
"Akane-onee-chan..." she managed to speak after a few
seconds, "what did you just do?"
The short-haired girl blinked a couple of times before she
looked down and realized exactly what she had done.
"Kohibito!" she exclaimed as she fell to her knees next to him.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to go that far!"
"He's unconscious," Miki informed her as she hefted his arm
around her shoulders.
"Let me help you,' Akane grabbed his other arm and shared in
carrying the weight.
"He's going to be fine," Miki assured both of them, "he's
wearing his weighted clothes so they helped to protect him. Let's get
him inside."
When the two re-entered the Nekohanten, they found Aremi
sweeping up some shards of broken bowls that were on the floor.
"Are-chan," Miki asked, "what happened?"
"That earthquake just now knocked a few bowls from the
shelf," the blue-haired girl explained. "Didn't you feel-" she asked as
she turned her head and dropped her broom upon seeing what had
happened, "Ko-chan!"
"I got carried away in our spar," Akane admitted.
"Quickly, get him to the back room. There's a cot there."
Aremi directed as she opened the door for them.
All three of the girls sat by Kohei for the next twenty minutes
as they waited for him to awaken. During this time, Ranma and Ukyo
arrived.
"Ah, crap, we're too late!" he observed.
"You really let him have it, Akane," Ukyo commented.
"I-I didn't mean to," she stammered, "i-it was the suit."
"What is so special about that suit?" Miki asked.
"It's enchanted so that whoever wears it will always fight at
full potential and power," Ranma explained, "and it chose Akane as its
master."
"I just wanted to test Kohei and see what his reaction would
be," Akane explained again, "I didn't mean to hurt him."
"He's had worse," Aremi assured them.
"So the legend is true..." Kohei suddenly spoke weakly as
everyone leaned in.
"Big brother!" Miki was the first to speak.
"Don't you remember, Miki?" he asked between breaths, "Our
parents told us the story of an enchanted suit when we were children.
They had also claimed to have gone on a journey to find it before I was
born. Who knew that it was still in Japan?"
"Kohibito, I'm sorry," Akane apologized again.
"You're forgiven," he still hadn't opened his eyes, "but I wish
to speak with you alone, Aka-chan."

Once the next few seconds in which everyone left passed,
Kohei did open his eyes slowly and looked at his fiancé's face.
"That was the most enjoyable spar I've had in a long time," he
smiled, "seeing you fight at the potential I first saw in you, even under
the influence of a magical suit, was satisfying."
"I still didn't mean to hurt you," she said quietly, looking away
from him.
"Don't worry," he raised his hand and placed it on hers, "but
I'd like to ask you something."
"What's that?" her gaze turned to meet his.
"I hope to not sound selfish, but I'd like to ask you if you'll
wear the suit every other day during our training sessions. I only get to
spar with Ranma once or twice a month, and unless I constantly
practice with those whose skills exceed mine, I could never hope to
improve beyond my current level."
Akane was taken aback. Here she's just beaten him into
unconsciousness and he asked that he train with her while she still had
the skills to do that. After thinking for a few seconds, she answered,
"Okay, but if I hurt you like this even one more time, I'm never going
to wear this suit again."
As she heard Kohei's, "Thank you, I look forward to it," she
could have sworn that she also heard a scream of agony from
somewhere.

"You should have seen her, Are-chan," Miki conversed with
her best friend as the two of them, plus Akane and Ukyo, sat on the
stools in the public baths and were all soaping up. "Akane-onee-chan
was even faster than big brother." As luck would have it, the baths at
all four girls' homes were out of order. The Nekohanten had simply
burst a pipe. The Tendo's was broken when Genma, in panda form,
slipped on a bar of soap and landed directly on the faucet, breaking it
and nearby pipes. And the water heater at the Ucchan was damaged
when Ranma fell through her roof that morning. Three of them had
come together after their evening training session and had met up with
Ukyo halfway. Now all four of them were sharing some girl-talk as
they washed.
"It would have been interesting to see Akane-sempai in action
like that," Aremi commented. The blue-haired girl was a rare sight as
her hair was, at the moment, completely undone. This now revealed
then when she fully stood up, it reached all the way down to the ground
and the ends still laid a good half-meter behind her feet. Needless to
say, it took a while for Aremi to wash.
"There was one thing that surprised me though," Akane
mused, "actually I see it a lot but it still surprises me. Kohei never
seems to have any trouble losing a fight. Shouldn't it affect his male
pride a little?"
"Haven't you heard what we were taught," Miki asked. "Our
parents taught us that we should always enter a battle with a great
determination to win, but expect to lose just as much."
"That sounds pretty defeatist," the youngest Tendo remarked.
"You're comparing his attitude to Ranchan's," Ukyo stated,
"while the two are a lot alike they're also very different."
"But he wants to train with me whenever I wear Do-chan, and
he knows he'll lose."
"Maybe, maybe not," Miki shrugged, "big brother's favorite
thing to do is improve himself for that battles that truly count. But
winning all of the time doesn't lead to improvement and he knows that.
Remember when he still had his curse? He would only use it to fight if
it was absolutely necessary."
"Ranchan's the same way," the chestnut-haired girl
commented, "but when he loses he becomes so obsessed with revenge
that it becomes the reason behind his determination."
"Oh, Mi-chan," Aremi didn't mean to change the subject, but
she'd noticed something, "I'll scrub your back if you're ready for it."
"But Are-chan," the tall girl countered, "you're not done
washing your hair."
"I'll wash your back, Miki-chan," Akane volunteered.
"Go ahead if you want to, Akane-sempai."
"I grew my hair out longer than my sister's once," she smiled,
"and it did take a while to wash."
As Akane moved over behind the youngest of their group, she watched
as Miki gathered her hair that draped down her back and over her
shoulders into one bundle to lay over her right shoulder. However,
during the second while Miki's shoulder was briefly exposed, Akane
saw something about her "little sister" that made her gasp in surprise.
"Akane-onee-chan?" Miki asked.
"Miki-chan, what's that on your shoulder?" Akane pointed at
what she'd seen, even though Miki's hair was again covering it.
"Oh, you've finally noticed it," Miki sighed and moved her
hair over to her left shoulder, revealing a deep scar that ran along the
right.
"Miki-chan," Ukyo had seen it now too, "what happened?"
The green-haired girl looked at the floor, "It's not something
I'm proud of."
"That's the reason why she doesn't fight with weapons that
have blades," Aremi explained.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Akane apologized, "you don't have to tell us if
you don't want to."
"No," Miki shook her head then took a deep breath, "I would
have had to tell it to the two of you sooner or later. It was the result of
an accident with a sword when I was a little girl. I had seen how
skilled Mother and Are-chan were with a blade, and I wanted to be that
good too. One night, I borrowed Mother's sword and attempted to only
swing it, but it was too heavy and I ended up giving myself this." She
reached back and traced along the scar with her hand, "It was a deep
cut that nearly severed the muscle, I fainted and nearly died from blood
loss. The reason you haven't seen it before is because I always keep it
covered, but even Xian Pu still doesn't know about it."
"Poor girl," Akane began washing her back, "you've had so
much happen to you."
"That's because I'm so accident prone," Miki genuinely
laughed as she began to cheer up. "And just because I don't use blades
doesn't mean I'm no good with any other weapon."
"And that also doesn't mean that neither Ko-chan nor I have
done foolish things," Aremi defended her friend.
"You mean Kohei's done stupid things?" Akane asked.
"Of course," the Amazon girl smiled, "we all do when we're
children."
"Oh," Miki realized and asked, "are you talking about big
brother's incident with the Amaguriken?"
"There's nothing better to use as his example."
"What happened?" Akane and Ukyo asked simultaneously.
"For someone who always talks about letting nothing distract
you," Aremi was giggling, "Ko-chan made a big mistake in that while
training with the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken. His mother called out
to him and he ended up leaving his hands in the fire. They were
bandaged for half of a month."
After the laughter subsided, Ukyo spoke, "That reminds me of
when I first tried to teach Ranchan how to cook an okonomiyaki when
we were kids."
"You knew Ranma-onii-sama as a child?" Miki asked.
"Yep," Akane answered for her, "Ukyo is his only childhood
friend."
"And you two are getting married soon?" Aremi asked.
"That's so sweet to spend your entire life with your oldest and best
friend."
"I tried to teach him how to cook one," Ukyo related the story,
"but he didn't use any spatulas! Not only that, he tried to flip it over too
early. So the hot batter got stuck to his fingers!"
As the four girls finished washing and made their way over to
the soaking pool they spent the next hour sharing stories about and
laughing as they discussed the two men they all admired and loved.

Later that night, long after Akane had gone to bed, a dark
presence was observing her in her sleep. Never before had this
presence found a more fitting girl as its host. However, there was one
obstacle that prevented its establishing complete control over her mind
and body. She wanted to be strong, the greatest martial artist ever and
she was willing to do anything to achieve that goal. The presence fixed
its gaze upon Akane's face as she rolled onto her side. She was
obviously dreaming.
"Kohibito..." she spoke softly.
If it had had a face, Do-chan would have scowled. While it
could not have completely overtaken her right away, the control it
would have now would be enough as her conscious mind was asleep. It
made a decision and moved to put itself on her body.

Downstairs, Soun was enjoying a late night cup of tea. As he
held the cup in his hands, he heard a loud <b>SNAP</b> as it suddenly
developed a large crack, then shattered completely.
{It's an omen!} the Tendo patriarch thought as his
surprise caused him to ignore the pain of the hot liquid on his palms.
{Could the Master have returned? Or...} The sound of shattering
glass from upstairs answered the question he hadn't asked.
"Akane!" he shouted as he dashed upstairs and threw the door
to his youngest daughter's room open. Indeed, her window had been
broken through and a figure wrapped in a crimson aura was leaping
across the rooftops in the district.
"Why didn't I burn that suit when I had the chance?" Soun
cursed in his mind as he leapt though the whole before he could lose
the trail.

A few blocks away, in the attic of the Nekohanten, Kohei was
deep in meditation after the busy day. He had been unable to fall
asleep and decided to calm himself spiritually before trying again. His
martial arts senses triggered and he rolled out of the way in time to
avoid a downward punch aimed at his head that ended up putting a hole
in the floor.
{Xian Pu isn't going to be happy about that,} he thought
as he spoke, "Who's there?"
A soft giggle was his answer as he saw Akane, who was
wearing her enchanted suit and bathed in her battle aura, step forward.
"Aka-chan, what are you doing so late at night?"
Her soft laughter became slightly louder as she walked closer
to him.
"Kohibito," she spoke seductively, "come with me," then
began to step backwards towards the window.
"Aka-chan, is something wrong?"
"Come with me," she continued to beckon as she approached
the edge.
"What happened in here!" Shampoo suddenly burst through
the door to see what had caused the hole to appear in her ceiling.
"Xian Pu," Kohei didn't turn his head, "something is
happening to Aka-chan."
"Aiyah! It's that legendary suit again!" She had obviously
been informed about the incident that morning and maybe about the
first episode with that suit.
"Kohibito," Akane spoke again, ignoring Shampoo, "come
with me." The short-haired girl had reached the edge. She then spread
her arms and fell backwards from the window.
"Aka-chan!" Kohei shouted and, without hesitation, leapt out
of the building to catch her before she hit the ground, "what's
happening to you?"
The older girl only giggled again, but this time at a much
lower pitch as she wrapped her arms around his neck and asked, "Do
you love me?"
This question had caught him by surprise, but he didn't
hesitate to answer, "Of course. You know that I love you, Aka-chan."
"Come with me," she beckoned again as she leapt from his
arms and took to the rooftops.
"Xian Pu!" Kohei called up to his cousin, "I'm going after
her!"
"Wait!" the purple-headed one also leapt from the window to
join him. "I'm going with you. I have a bad feeling about this."
"Thank you," he nodded and the two of them followed after
the other girl.

"I knew this was going to happen," Ranma lowered his
binoculars as he saw the flash of light depart from the Nekohanten.
"Why do these things always happen to Akane?"
"You've answered that question before, Ranchan," Ukyo was
standing next to him on the roof of her restaurant, "you once told me
you thought she was cursed to attract trouble like this."
"After all we've been though, I don't doubt it anymore,
Ucchan," he saw where the battle aura-covered Akane had stopped.
"Let's go."
The long-haired girl nodded and the two of them jumped from
the roof together to follow after their friend.

When Kohei and Shampoo finished tracking Akane, her trail
had led them to the vacant lot where she was sitting on an old pipe.
"Wait here," Kohei instructed, "if she sees you then anything
could happen." He walked into the open lot and stood a few meters in
front of his fiancé.
"Sit with me, Kohibito," she cooed, "sit with me."
"Aka-chan," his vocal tone was one of seriousness, "now isn't
the time for this. Go back home and rest."
"But you said you love me. If you did you would sit with
me."
"We sit together every day at school. You're starting to worry
me with the way you're acting."
"Sit with me now," Akane purred, "I want you to sit with me
now."
"If I sit with you, will you go back home?" he asked, trying to
reach a compromise.
"Yes," she answered.
Kohei didn't want to appear distrusting, so he approached her
without hesitation and sat next to her.
"Now I know that you love me," she smiled as she leaned up
against him and slowly slipped her arms around his chest.
"Aka-chan..." a red tinge appeared on his face.
"It's too bad that because of that love you have to die now,"
she said to finish her previous sentence and began to squeeze with
enough force that would have made Ryoga's strength seem infantile.
Kohei gritted his teeth and did all he could not to cry out in
pain as he felt his ribs being crushed, "Aka-chan! Wake up!"
"Can't you see that I'm already awake, baka?" she grinned
evilly as she squeezed harder, causing him to not be able to breathe.
"Put him down!" Shampoo shouted as she leapt over the wall
and charged towards the other girl.
"You followed us!" Akane accused as she dropped Kohei, who
fell in a crumpled heap on the ground from his air loss and began
coughing heavily.

Shampoo had now produced her bonbori, "You're not Akane!"
"You're correct," she replied, "but her body is perfect for me."
{What do I do?} Shampoo asked herself in her mind, still
watching for an opening, {If I attack I'll hurt her, not what's
possessing her.} She then suddenly recalled Ranma's story about
the first incident with this suit.
<"There was a latch behind the belt that, when it was
undone, destroyed the suit,"> he had said.
Shampoo heeded the memory and ran in to reach for the
mentioned latch. She utilized her full speed, hoping to catch Akane off
guard and have enough time to reach behind the belt. However, she
was the one taken by surprise as Akane kneed her in the stomach and
executed a series of kicks to her chest, knocking her all the way back
against the wall with the final one. Akane simply laughed as she
grabbed Shampoo by the throat before she could fall over and held her
in the air.
"You're an obstacle between me and my goal," she mocked,
"and as your people say, 'Obstacles are for killing.' Not like you ever
had the guts to really kill anyone. Me on the other hand..." She didn't
even get the chance to begin to squeeze as a mini-spatula came tearing
through the air and cut across her arm, causing her to drop the Amazon.
"|Thank you,|" Ranma, who had now arrived, stated in English
as he caught Shampoo and leapt out of the way.
"You again!" Akane growled. "Don't think you can stop me
this time! All I have to do is destroy-" she turned back towards Kohei,
only to stop in mid-sentence.
"My little girl would never do such a thing to her fiancé,"
Soun declared as he had hefted the half-Amazon man onto his back and
began to retreat.
"Ojii-san, did you already forget when I was engaged to her?"
Ranma asked. "That's all she did to me!"
"Fools!" Akane ran to attack her host's father to break though
to Kohei's open body, but had to begin dancing to avoid another volley
of Ukyo's attacks.
"Have a wheat flour bomb!" the okonomiyaki chef shouted as
she threw the packet into Akane's face while she was distracted by
looking over at her. The resulting smokescreen gave all of them
enough time to withdraw.

"This didn't happen last time," Ranma leaned against the wall
in the alley they had hidden in. "Who'd've thought that suit had the
power to possess its master? but Ojii-san, thanks for your help. You
can stay composed when-" he turned towards Soun.
"Oh my poor baby!" he was bawling and flooding the
sidewalk and street with his tears.
"Never mind," Ranma sulked.
"Ranchan," Ukyo called as she stood up from behind the pile
of junk she and Shampoo had hidden behind while she applied salve to
the enormous bruises on the Amazon woman's body, "how are we
going to stop it?"
"The only way is to undo that stupid latch," Ranma shook his
head, "but that's almost impossible, especially since Akane's stomach
stops anyone from getting behind the belt."
"There is another way..." Kohei, who had finally begun to
regain his breath, spoke.
"If you're talking about making it overly jealous, I don't think
Akane's going to have any say in what she's feeling towards anyone."
"The suit's control over her isn't complete," Kohei continued,
"I believe the reason why it's trying to kill me is to establish that
complete control."
"You told Miki that you knew about the legend of the suit,"
Ukyo remarked. "Is it any different from the one Ranchan knows?"
"All I know is that is chooses its own master and lets her fight
at her full potential," Ranma shrugged.
"You don't know it's origin?" Kohei inquired.
Ranma, Ukyo, and Shampoo all shook their heads.
"The legend is written as follows: Several hundred years ago,
a young man had shown considerable talent in all known styles of
martial arts that existed at that time. He was unbeatable and very
honorable. He was in love with a woman from his village whose father
was the master of one of the schools or martial arts. However, despite
the man's abilities and trustworthiness, he forbade their marriage unless
she, not he, defeated him in combat. Knowing this and how cruel the
demand was, especially since his love was not a disciple of the arts, he
pleaded with the gods to make his wish come true; the wish that his
abilities would be given to her. The gods granted his wish and
presented him with the very same battle suit that Akane is wearing
now. However, there was a hidden clause in their contract. To embed
the suit with his abilities, his soul had to be placed inside of it, thus
giving it its enchantment and making it complete. But without her
love, she had no reason to wear the suit and soon consented to marry
her arranged husband. The suit was soon sold and has traded owners
many times since that day. But ever since then, every night, the
trapped soul within cries for his love. With what's happened tonight,
the enchantment has obviously now become a curse."
"Hmm, I was told that it cried for its master," Ranma spoke
thoughtfully.
"The story could have changed over the years," Kohei added,
"but the suit's chosen master could very well be one who looks like his
lost love. Or the years of hate that formed inside of it could have
created a lust for all women and simply wants one who will fit into it."
The half-Amazon man got onto his feet.
"Kohei?" Shampoo began.
"What are you going to do?" Ukyo finished.
Kohei began walking towards the street, "I'm going to remove
the curse and destroy the suit by causing the man's soul inside to
consume itself with jealousy."
"Wait," Ranma called, "we'll go with you."
The younger man stopped and only turned his head back,
"Thank you, but I can't allow you this time. I must go alone now that
we've confirmed that Aka-chan's body has indeed been possessed and
that the suit only wants me. It could have killed Xian Pu and I don't
want any of you placed in that kind of danger when I am the target."
Despite the fact that he was at risk of having some cracked or broken
ribs, he walked away from the group and nearly had to wade through
the street that was still being flooded by Soun's tears.

It didn't take long for Kohei to find Akane again as the amount
of chi she was emitting from her battle aura acted as a lighthouse
beacon for any trained martial artist to follow. She stood in the middle
of the field behind Furinkan High School.
"I knew you would come looking for me," Akane laughed, "it
was only a matter of time."
"Why are you doing this to Aka-chan?" Kohei asked.
"Simple," she answered, "she is the only one in the past 100
years who fits me perfectly. It was painful to not experience the touch
of any woman for so long. I've had many hosts that I could take control
of and enjoy their touch until their deaths, but this one continues to
resist."
"Release her," Kohei demanded, "she is not your lost love!"
"Silence!" Akane's battle aura flared with such intensity that it
formed a small crater beneath her feet. "I was abandoned by her and
from that day could no longer consider her as a lover! But this girl's
body is mine! All that stands between me and complete control is your
life!"
{This isn't good,} Kohei thought, {I have to find a way
to break through to Aka-chan without hurting her or allowing it to use
her body to kill me. I love her too much to bring harm-} He cut
himself off, {That's the answer!}
"What are you going to attempt that will surely fail?" Akane
taunted.
"Wait and you will see," Kohei smirked as he rolled up his
sleeves and removed the black bands along his wrists, {20 kilograms
each.} He then removed similar bands from his ankles, {Also 20
kilograms each.} Finally, he removed a large shirt that he wore
beneath his uniform, {40 kilograms.} Once he was finished, he
entered the fighting stance of his mother's people, "If you wish to fight
with me, I will fight you with all of my power and speed!"
"As I have lost my love for all time so shall you!" Akane no
longer sounded like the kind, compassionate, determined, albeit
stubborn girl he had fallen in love with and had become the hate-filled
soul of the cheated martial artist. With her body forced to fight against
him, she charged. Kohei had no idea if she was actually aware of what
she was doing, but he was intent on freeing her mind from the curse or
perish in the attempt.

"Shin Raimei Kyakugeri!"

The soul within the suit was more than surprised to find each
of its repeated flying kicks blocked as Kohei only had to step back as
he parried each blow to stop the next one.
"You weren't this fast before!" Akane shouted.
"Exactly," Kohei's smirk returned, "those clothes and bands I
removed are heavily weighted. My true speed is exemplified without
them."
"Hmph," she growled and renewed the assault of flurried kicks
and punches only to have them dodged or blocked. "You may think
that you're facing this girl's full potential, but in truth they are my own
skills. They are more than enough to wear you down and destroy you!"
"That will only happen should I allow you the opportunity,"
the young man told her as he turned to the offensive. As he expected,
she could not easily keep up with his increased swiftness. He wasn't
attacking to defeat, but to distract using his chi-based assaults that
would knock a person back but not deliver any pain until he had the
right opening.
"Fool!" Akane yelled as she flipped onto her feet and punched
into the ground, creating a large shock wave that would have caused
Kohei to lose his balance and fall had he not leapt into the air and
landed in front of her. She looked startled when she looked up and saw
him standing there.
"An opening!" he declared as he raised his fists, but switched
tactics as he continued to lean his head forward and suddenly kissed
Akane's cheek!
"What are you doing?" Akane stammered as she stepped back
a few paces in surprise.
"You stated that I was the only obstacle between you and
complete control of Aka-chan's body," Kohei informed her. "Do you
wish to know why? It is because we are in love with each other. In
only a few short months we'll be wed as husband and wife to spend the
rest of our days together. While you may have temporary control of the
mind at this moment, the body is still that of my beloved Aka-chan."
Akane simply stood there for a moment and looked as if she
was struggling to speak, "K... Kohi..." The voice suddenly changed
again, "She is mine!" and attacked another time. This assault was very
reckless and gave Kohei and easy opening to kiss her other cheek.
"You can purge him, Aka-chan," he supported, "everyone's
waiting for you to return to normal. I'm waiting for you most of all."
Again, she was taken aback at his action and looked like she
was about to fall to her knees as she fought to awaken her mind and
regain control of her body. She gripped her head as her internal raged
on.
"Get out of my boy!" Akane shouted in her normal voice.
"I can make you the strongest martial artist in the world!" her
other voice shouted again.
"I don't want to!"
"You will be unbeatable and I will have what I've always
wanted!"
"That's not what I want!"
"I can make you invincible!"
"Do-chan no baka! I don't want to be invincible!"
"What could you want that isn't supreme power?"
"I want to live a happy, peaceful life with my family! I love
Kohei and want to be with him!"
This final statement was what the cursed soul had been
dreading to hear. As both voices from Akane howled in pain, she
became bathed in a white light that forced the blackness of the curse
into the night sky.
"Aka-chan!" Kohei quickly ran over to catch her as she did
fall to her knees this time.
"I’m okay," she breathed heavily, "but that spirit wasn't
destroyed by his jealousy, only exiled from the suit."
"She's correct!" a loud voice from above declared. "Now that
I am free from that accursed suit, I can take my revenge on the gods!"
Kohei looked up to see the true form of the spirit, that of a
young man, indeed the same from the legend, who wore the same battle
suit that he had cursed and that Akane still wore.
"Don't allow your hatred to control your emotions!" Kohei
warned, "Let your pain go and enter the next world peacefully!"
"Shut up!" the spirit fired a seemingly invisible blast.
"Look out!" Akane shouted as she tackled her fiancé and
carried the two of them to safety as another hole appeared where Kohei
had stood.
"Thank you, Aka-chan," he whispered, then stood back up and
declared, "I've met one like you before. His desires fueled by hatred
and instilling fear into others became his downfall. But he was my
opponent." He turned back to Akane, "This one is yours."
"What?" the youngest Tendo was taken aback.
"Her?" the spirit laughed, "She is nothing without my skills!
She's never defeated anybody on her own ever since that pig-tailed man
arrived and ruined her life!"
"This is your battle, Aka-chan," he ignored the spirit and told
her again, "this victory will forever conquer your desires to become
strong without taking the time to properly train. Use what I've taught
you to defeat him."
Akane blinked at first, then nodded as her face returned to that
of an expression of battle as she cupped her hands together at her side.
"Are you going to attempt a ki-based attack on me?" the spirit
taunted again, "Very well, I'll allow you one free shot!"
"Focus your power and base it on your confidence, your
determination, your love for your family," Kohei instructed. "Use any
positive emotion and draw from the potential I've seen in you."
Akane didn't have time to be surprised as a white sphere
appeared in the palms of her hands as she was too busy staying
focused.
"At the final moment, just when you can feel those emotions
and they're about to consume you, release them."
The short-haired girl nodded and knew what to do. The
moment came when she was prepared and unleashed her first, but very
powerful-

"MOUKO TAKABISHA!!!"

The white light of the blast engulfed the surprised spirit as it
began to disintegrate within the blast of Akane's positive emotion.
"I CAN GRANT YOUR WISH OF POWER!!!" it shouted in
pain and as a last ditch effort to tempt her with strength, but could only
continue it's mournful howl as the blast suddenly intensified.
"It's not worth it to become a great fighter by selling your
soul!" Akane retorted. "Do-chan no baka! I can only reach my full
potential by hard work and intense training as I've always been taught!"
Another moment passed before the full blast cleared and the
vengeful spirit was completely eradicated. The young woman had
drained so much of her ki that she no longer had the strength to stand.
But as she fell back, Kohei was already there to catch her.
"You did it, Aka-chan," he congratulated.
"Kohibito, thank you," she smiled, "now I understand why
you're always working so hard. That's the only real way to improve
your skills and keep yourself."
"Don't thank me for that victory," he laughed, "thank Ranma.
He's the one who developed and taught me the Mouko Takabisha. I
only passed the knowledge on to you."
The short-haired girl began to laugh as well, but soon stopped
as she slowly looked down at the formerly enchanted suit she still wore
on her body, "This was my fault. My whole like I was used to being
the best martial artist around, but when Ranma and everyone after him
showed up, my jealousy overcame me. I was always telling them, 'I'm
a martial artist too,' but they were always improving their skills while I
stayed in one place. When the suit chose me, I got the greatest feeling
when I finally had found a way to beat all of them, especially Ranma
because of the way he treated me back then. Then the suit disappeared
and I was back to where I was. I think that when I found it again, that
desire to win at any cost surfaced with it, allowing the spirit to possess
my body." She sighed.
"We all make incorrect decisions, Aka-chan," he assured her,
"but they are opportunities to give us experience and learn from them."
"I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused because of this," she
looked away from him and at the ground.
"You're forgiven," he smiled, then asked, "what do you plan to
do now?"
"Continue my training, of course," she looked at him again,
"that's the only way I'll ever reach that full potential you saw in me.
It'll be long and hard, but that's how I want to reach it."
"That's the path of a true martial artist, Aka-chan. No matter
what anyone says about you, there is no crime in wishing to purify
yourself by learning the Art." He looked at her again, "What do you
plan to do with the suit?"

"I don't know," she looked glanced down at it.
"I think that you should keep it."
"Kohibito?"
"Look how light and durable it is," he observed, "it would be a
waste to simply throw away a battle suit created by the gods."
"You've got a point," Akane mused.
"And," his voice softened as he slowly blushed, "it does look
like it was made especially for you."
She knew him well enough to know that his statement truly
mean, "It looks very nice on you," and giggled. "Thank you, I will
keep it."
"Don't let my opinion influence your decision," he said
hurriedly.
"But you're right. It is light and comfortable and doesn't
hinder my movements at all. And with the curse removed there's
nothing to worry about, and nothing should happen if I undo the belt."
"As long as you have no regrets," he smiled again.
Akane simply nodded and began to get on her feet, but her
legs gave out completely and she fell backwards, again prompting
Kohei to catch her.
"What's going on?" she asked as she suddenly yawned, "I feel
so tired now."
"You are tired," the green-haired man assured her, "fighting at
your full potential before you've reached it must be exhausting, and that
Mouko Takabisha must have taken whatever was left. Come, I'll take
you home."
"Thank you," she raised her head to give him another peck on
the cheek, but her head fell onto his shoulder as her body shut down
and she slept soundly as he carried her home.


The next morning brought the signs of a peaceful day as
Ranma and Ukyo ran towards school. The cold air of oncoming winter
was definitely beginning to have an affect on the residents of the
district as many of them were now wearing warmer clothes. But that
didn't affect the two martial artists at all.
"So what do you think happened last night, Ranchan?" Ukyo
asked.
"No idea," he responded as he rested his head on his hands,
"but something did." The two of them and Shampoo had seen the pillar
of white light from the field behind Furinkan. But when they arrived,
no one was there. Questions were immediately asked: What happened
to Akane and Kohei? Was he able to destroy the suit or did she kill
him? Where did they go? None of them were answered.
The three spent another hour searching for the two of them,
but still found nothing. However, as they turned the corner in front of
the gate, they saw Akane, who was all smiles, walking in from the
opposite corner.
"Hey, you two," she greeted upon seeing them.
"Akane, are you all right?" they both asked.
"Sure, why wouldn't I be? I never slept so well in my whole
life last night."
Ranma and Ukyo blinked at each other before the pig-tailed
man said, "Don't you remember anything? The-"
His cute fiancé quickly cut him off, "The two of us noticed
that you're looking a little pale. Are you getting sick?"
"No," the youngest Tendo responded, "but thanks. I want to
talk to Yuka and Sayuri before school so I'll see you two later." She
passed by the two of them and stepped into the building.
Ranma scratched his head, "What's up with her?"
"She doesn't remember anything about the incident," came
Kohei's voice from atop the wall where he had stood, awaiting their
arrival.
"What happened last night?" Ukyo was the first to ask the
question.
"I managed to remove the curse on the suit," the half-
Chinese/half-Japanese warrior explained as he leapt down, "she was
able to destroy the soul of the man who gave the suit its enchantment.
But the drain on her energy was so severe that she lost all memory of it.
Though the energy she expended last night was still nothing compared
to how much she lost when shielding me from Hashin's Shishi
Hokodan."
"What about the suit?" Ranma asked.
"I thought that by causing it to be consumed with jealousy
would destroy it, but that was what expelled the warrior's soul. I
showed it to her before school, but because of her memory loss she
thought it was a gift from me. She does remember everything about
yesterday that has nothing to do with the suit, but what's odd is that she
also doesn't remember the first incident with it."
"It's control over her probably began from the first time she
wore it," Ranma thought aloud. "Her memory loud probably has
nothin' to do with how much energy she used to fight."
"What is she going to do with it?" Ukyo questioned again.
"Without the essence of the martial artist inside of it, it's
simply another battle suit. But it was made by the gods, making it one
of the most dependable battle suits on earth. She decided to keep it last
night before she fainted, and of course kept it when she thought it was a
gift. But please do not mention anything about the enchantment from
now on. I've already made this request from my family, Tendo-san,
and your father, Ranma." He began to walk towards the building, but
stopped and looked at the older man, "Also, Ranma, she has mastered
the Mouko Takabisha. That may be the one thing from the incident of
last night she didn't lose." He said nothing more as his feet carried him
towards his class.
"That was my trademark move, Ucchan," Ranma sulked.
"Aww, cheer up," she gave him a hug as the two followed
their friend.

Later that evening, at the Tendo dojo, Kohei was working with
Miki for the moment while Akane sparred with Aremi. The blue-
haired girl was unarmed so the match was much more even.
Akane loved the new battle suit that Kohei had given her that
morning; it was unbelievably light and at the same time repelled
attacks. She didn't know why, but she felt that this suit was meant to be
worn by her. What had really made her feel like a true warrior was
how the other two girls had commented that she looked like she had
been born in their village and how natural she looked with Kohei when
they stood together. True, she still thought she looked like a martial
artist in her normal gi, but it still felt nice to fit in.
"Hya!" her opponent shouted as she unleashed a heavy punch.
The knowledge and instincts in Akane's mind triggered and, rather than
dodge the attack, she was able to catch Aremi's arm and use her
momentum to flip her over and onto the ground. As the saw the
younger, but more experienced girl on the floor, Akane couldn't believe
what she'd done.
"I... won?" she asked. She'd never beaten any of the three of
Kohei, Miki, or Aremi from the time she started training with them.
"You did," Aremi smiled as she stood up and brushed the dust
from her combat dress. "You saw the opening and countered."
"But how?" she was still in disbelief.
"It's the result of your training with Ko-chan. Didn't you think
that you'd never be able to defeat us?"
"But all of you have been training your whole lives. I didn't
start learning martial arts until my mom died."
"That doesn't mean you could never defeat us. You have a lot
of potential, Akane-sempai, and Ko-chan expects you to one day beat
him just as he does Mi-chan and me."
"Kohibito..." she spoke his nickname softly as she turned to
look at him and listen to him remind his sister that relying entirely on
kicking would only be a disadvantage to her.
{I remember someone once saying that when the student is
ready, the master will appear,} Akane thought as she recalled the
day of her first meeting with the man who later became her current
fiancé and how he'd offered to train her before that day was over.
{There was also one about how the training is complete when the
student surpasses the master.} A serious look appeared on her face.
{If that's what you want, Kohibito, then I'm not going to give up!}

"I saw your victory against Are-chan," Kohei told Akane later
that evening after the other two girls had left. "You're beginning to
realize your full potential, Aka-chan, and I'm pleased with your
progress, especially with mastering the Mouko Takabisha."
"I know why you worked me so hard before you taught me
any ki attacks," she smiled, "I was so tired last night after using it that I
slept like a rock."
Kohei returned her smile as he thought, {I don't know if I'm
worthy to be your master or your future husband. But the day you, my
sister, and Are-chan defeat me in combat will be the most fulfilling of
my life.}
"And thank you for teaching me," she looked at the ring on her
finger then up at him, "I never would have been able to get this far
without you." Akane slowly slipped her arms around his neck and
pulled his head forward. Had he been able to speak the words that
came to his mind as their lips met, she wouldn't have been able to
understand as they were in Chinese. But she would have had a pretty
good idea.

THE END

Author's Notes:
-Once again, if you haven't read my fanfic, Results, this story
won't make much sense.
-I've been told that my three characters can easily be described
in terms of the other Ranma 1/2 characters: Kohei as a respectful, both-
parent raised version of Ranma. Miki as a soft-hearted and impatient
Shampoo. And Aremi as a non-dense, fighting Kasumi.
-The story of the enchanted suit choosing Akane as its master
is in volume 32 of the manga. She also wears it in Ranma 1/2: Battle
Renaissance for PS1.
-No origin of the suit is given in the official series, so the story
that Kohei tells is my idea.
-Kohei wears the weighted clothes to improve his speed more
than his strength, and btw, one kilogram is about 4.2 pounds.
-The Raimei Kyakugeri is simply one of Akane's special
moves in Battle Renaissance, it's simply a move that sends her flying
forward with both a left and right kick. The Shin Raimei Kyakugeri is
a more powerful version with more kicks.