Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Nekoken is Out of the Bag ❯ Vengeance ( Chapter 7 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Lord Archive 
Revenge is served.
Anime/Manga: Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Martial Arts / Hentai / Drama / Comedy | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 11.28.2012 | Pages: 6 | Words: 5.5K | Visits: 818 | Status: Completed
Revenge is served.
Anime/Manga: Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Martial Arts / Hentai / Drama / Comedy | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 11.28.2012 | Pages: 6 | Words: 5.5K | Visits: 818 | Status: Completed
Nekoken Is Out Of The Bag!
by Lord Archive
Characters are own Rumiko Takahashi and Shogakukan and are used without permission. All rights reserved.
This story takes place after manga volume 38. While at times darker than canon, this series has its share of Takahashi styled humor.
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Chapter 7 - Vengeance
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Soun, Nabiki, and Nodoka sat in the dinning room. They were in an avid discussion about wedding preparations. Nabiki tried to get them to tone down some of the things they were planning, like cake for five hundred. They all looked up and blinked as Ranma and Akane entered the room and sat down.
Nabiki put on a pair of sunglasses. "I've heard of after-glow, Akane. But that's ridiculous."
Akane was literally glowing with a chi aura of white, red, and pink mixed together. Her blush deepened. "Sorry. I'm just so happy, I can't contain myself." She hugged Ranma tightly.
Ranma fidgeted nervously. "I hope you can contain yourself at school."
Akane sighed. "It's not going to be easy. I'll have to stay away from my friends. As it is I want to run through the streets screaming this to the world."
"Why don't you?" Nodoka asked.
"We still have to work out some problems concerning suitors. It'd be easier to talk to them if it doesn't become public knowledge first, and they deserve to hear it from us first," Akane asserted.
Nodoka reluctantly nodded. "I see."
"When do you want to be married?" Soun pressed. "Sunday should be a beautiful day."
Ranma slammed his hand on the table. "Um, first let us deal with the others BEFORE planning the wedding date."
"Why wait?" Soun almost growled, not wanting his daughter to continue on unwed.
"Daddy, please! Give us time to sort this out first," Akane demanded fiercely. "Or do you want a repeat of the wedding fiasco?"
Soun was taken back by Akane's outburst. "No, you're right. There is no need to rush it now, is there?" He smiled nervously. "Why don't we discuss when to have the wedding Sunday?"
Akane nodded. "We should have a better handle on things by then."
Ranma slouched.
Nodoka gazed at her son. "Ranma, do you know where your father is?"
"Um, er, I got him a temporary job at the zoo," Ranma answered nervously.
"Oh. When will he be back?" Nodoka asked.
"When I pick him up after school?" Ranma meant to sound definite, but it came off more as a question.
Nodoka looked puzzled. "Why would you have to pick him up?"
Ranma laughed nervously. "Well, his job requires him to be a panda."
"What job is that?" Nodoka asked suspiciously.
Ranma grinned sheepishly. "Well, I sorta rented him to the zoo."
Nodoka shook her head, wondering if that was all her husband was really good for.
Akane grinned, barely able to contain her laughter. She liked Ranma's revenge better than the thrashing she gave Genma.
"How could you do that to your father?" Soun demanded.
"How could he teach me Nekoken?" Ranma spat. "I was only six and he mentally scarred me for life! The old man deserves worse than a couple days at the zoo!"
"Nekoken?" Nodoka asked.
Ranma sighed. He had to tell his Mother about it because of how easily he's been going into it. "Nekoken is an ultimate form of martial arts. It is nearly unbeatable. The problem is it also comes with a unnatural fear of cats. A kitten can scare me to death. Whenever I am excessively scared and a cat is present I will mentally shut down and behave as a cat would. Only how I feel about certain people will remain the same."
Nodoka looked aghast. "And Genma did that to you?"
"Yeah, he never bothered to turn the page in the training manual to see it was banned," Ranma muttered angrily.
Soun smiled. "You mean, because you love Akane, you also love her as a cat? You've been in love with Akane since before the first time you went into it."
Ranma nodded firmly. "Yes."
Soun thought for a moment, he knew Ranma had been in love with Akane for some time and his feelings grew deeper as time passed. He then became suspicious as he remembered some of the previous weeks activities. "Now that you're lovers, could that translate into Nekoken? Would you try to have sex with Akane while in Nekoken?"
Ranma paled, failing to think of something to say.
Akane also paled. She decided it would be better if they knew the truth as his cat persona still needed to be trained. "W-while in Nekoken now, he will try to m-mate with me."
Nodoka's and Soun's mouth dropped to the floor.
"Has he... been successful?" Nodoka asked.
Ranma and Akane nodded.
"Was it painful?" Nodoka asked.
"The first time was, but the second time was okay," Akane answered, blushing deeply.
Soun's frown deepened. "The first time was a week ago, wasn't it?"
Akane nodded.
"Was that your first time having sex?" Nodoka asked.
Akane shifted uneasily. "Yes."
Ranma nodded, holding Akane closer to him.
They were thankful when Kasumi arrived with breakfast. Both ate quickly so they could leave. Neither wanted to continue the conversation. There was one benefit, though, Akane was no longer glowing. Nodoka informed Ranma she would join him when he released Genma.
Akane wished she could wear her ring, but kept it in her pocket instead. Wearing it at school would be like raising a neon sign saying, 'I'm really engaged to Ranma now.'
When they arrived at school Kuno, of course, was waiting. Ranma didn't stop to face him. Rather, he ran over the kendo master, dragging Akane along by the hand.
"R-ko runs down Agent K again!" Hiroshi cheered.
"You watch too much anime," commented Daisuke.
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Nodoka waited outside the school gate for Ranma and Akane. She was surprised to see a man wearing Samurai garb and a bokken exit the school, and he looked as if he was waiting for somebody. He seemed familiar, but she couldn't place where she had seen him. She smiled as Ranma and Akane exited the building.
"Hold, vile Saotome, and relinquish the beauteous Tendo Akane and the healthy pig-tailed-girl from your loathsome control!" shouted Kuno.
Ranma stopped his reply as he saw his Mom holding her katana at Kuno's throat.
"What gives you the right to claim such garbage?" Nodoka demanded.
Kuno stood firm, but was also sweating. "I am the Blue Thunder, rising star of the Kendo world of martial arts, Kuno Tatewaki, age eighteen. I, who is Tendo Akane's and the pig-tailed-girl's true love, demand he sets them free of his hideous spell."
Ranma and Akane shrugged, vaguely remembering him spout something about a birthday.
"Ranma holds no control over Akane, it is a family promise and love that binds both of them," Nodoka corrected with steel resolve. "And who is this 'pig-tailed-girl?'"
"A fiery creature with flaming passion that sets my heart on fire," Kuno elated.
Nodoka looked at Ranma, seeing him trying to induce vomiting. "You truly are a dense idiot. You shall leave both of them alone. If they have any feelings for you, they'll go to see you. If not, you'll know they don't."
"But what of his spells that entrap them so?" Kuno demanded.
"My son doesn't knows of any love spells. You are interfering in family matters that do not concern you. If you value your own family's reputation, you will leave them alone. Don't make me show you the true path of a warrior." She sheathed her katana. "Come on Ranma, Akane. We have to get my husband out of the zoo."
An audience had formed to watch the confrontation, only a couple people raised an eyebrow at Nodoka's last statement. Nabiki took bets from two students that Kuno would be convinced to stop his pursuit of Akane, fifty to one odds, and another three bet that Kuno would get killed, twenty to one odds.
Kuno remained frozen in place long after everyone left.
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Akane quickly grew nervous as she walked toward the zoo with her fiance and his mother. "Um, I... I've got to, um, go somewhere right now."
"Where would that be?" Nodoka asked.
Akane blushed as she thought of her excuse, "A family planning clinic. I'd like to get some... birth control pills."
Ranma's face turn deep red as well.
Nodoka frowned. "Why would you want to get those?"
"I want to finish high school first," Akane asserted. "I don't want to miss getting an education."
Nodoka nodded shallowly. "I guess I can understand that."
Akane bit her lower lip. "I'll see you later." She pulled out a hidden water gun and handed it to Nodoka. "Here, in case trouble happens." She ran off quickly.
Akane stopped a couple blocks away and looked back. She couldn't see either of them. She hoped they hadn't followed her. She then walked towards the Nekohanten. It was time to make Shampoo pay.
Akane peaked into the Chinese restaurant and did not see Shampoo. She was probably on a delivery so Akane jumped to the top of a nearby building. She put on her engagement ring and waited for her adversary.
With the sound of a bell ringing which was coming closer, Akane prepared her attack.
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Shampoo passed Hiroshi and Daisuke as she made her way back to the Nekohanten. She didn't like having to work on deliveries today. She needed to work on her plans to deal with Akane. Somehow the violent girl had seduced Ranma and she would make that violent girl pay. She couldn't do it directly since he would never forgive her if she killed Akane. So, far her only hope was that someone would come along and deal with that perverted girl, maybe Ukyou or Kodachi could be goaded into killing her. How to do that?
Shampoo's thoughts were cut short as she felt a strong presence of chi moving towards her. She flipped backwards and heard an explosion occur where she was a moment ago. She landed, seeing a cloud of cement dust obscure her attacker. She thought for a moment about why Ryoga would attack her until a figure stepped out of the cloud shouting, "Shampoo, I'll make you pay for what you've done!"
Shampoo blinked, first at what Akane apparently did and secondly at what she said. "What is adulterous girl talking about?"
"HE IS NOT YOUR HUSBAND!" Akane screamed as she charged Shampoo.
Hiroshi looked at Daisuke, "She didn't deny the sex part."
"By Amazon law, he is," Shampoo retorted dodging Akane's attack. She knew she couldn't keep it up much longer, the perverted gorilla had somehow gotten a lot faster and was trying to exploit her fighting style's weak points. She had to remain on the defensive, but that can be used for a dangerous offensive.
"Your laws, not ours!" Akane took leapt away from Shampoo, seeing that Amazon tried to trap her in Hiryu Shoten Ha. "Look at this ring, Shampoo!" She held up her hand. "Ranma proposed to me! He chose me! And you will not take him away from me!"
Daisuke commented, "About damn time."
Akane gathered her anger in between her hands, "AKANE HA!"
"She's a Saotome now," Hiroshi smirked.
Shampoo jumped out of the way of the chi blast. Akane had done some serious training and she wasn't liking it one bit. "Adulterous girl will be one to pay for seducing Airen!"
"Seducing him?! Do you have any idea what happened?!" Akane charged, but as her opponent attempted to jump over her she grabbed hold of Shampoo's legs and slammed her into a wall. "After you sent him into Nekoken, he raped me! Do you understand?! I was raped because you sent Ranma into Nekoken!" She punctuated her words with, "AKANEKEN!"
Hiroshi and Daisuke shuddered, "Ouch."
Shampoo jumped out of the way, deciding now was the time to go on the offensive with a kick to Akane's back. "Violent-girl lie! Nekoken no can cause that!"
Akane's rage didn't allow her to feel the blow and used the cover of a new cloud of concrete to obscure herself. "Nekoken reflects those emotions he normally feels. He sees me as a lover, so in Nekoken he sees me as a mate. He'll act accordingly."
Shampoo attacked the cloud where she thought Akane was, but the perverted girl had moved after speaking. That unfortunately gave away her own position and took a glancing blow from the chi punch to her side. Pain flared in as she staggered back into a wall.
Akane pressed her attack, her fists covered in fiery chi. "I lost my virginity to a cat because of you, and Ranma can't remember losing his!"
Shampoo's blocks were failing as the hits were very painful. Her mind raced for a means to get out of this.
"It ends now! AKANE TENSHIN AMA..." Akane collapsed onto the ground.
Cologne looked down at both girls and tsked. "Here I thought only Ryoga was stupid enough to know of a self-destructive move. It seems Akane has found her own."
"Great-grandmother, why you interfere?" Shampoo asked.
"If I didn't, I'd have to use a squeegee to gather up your remains. You saw how much damage she did with one hit, you couldn't survive if she did so a hundred times." Cologne glanced at the slumbering girl. "Assuming she actually has the speed and control to actually do that. Which I suspect she doesn't. Still a few dozen blows she was likely to land would at least cripple you."
Shampoo paled. "But Amazon laws say no interfere."
Cologne looked down upon her granddaughter. "There are times to follow the laws and times to let them go. I do not want to lose you child, so I ignored them."
Shampoo blinked in confusion. "You always say laws are absolute. Now you say not always."
"Laws are a guideline to follow, to keep people in line. There are times when those guidelines are wrong and should not be followed. Wisdom will help you learn what times those are." Cologne's eyes hardened on the girl. "Wisdom that you still lack. So don't go and do something stupid."
Shampoo remained quiet, thinking over her new lesson and a little upset over the last comment.
"Help me take her inside. I must talk with her when she wakes," Cologne ordered with absolute authority.
Shampoo scowled at the demand, but did as she was told.
"I believe some ramen is in order," Daisuke said.
"Quite right," agreed Hiroshi.
Cologne smirked at the boys. She would need their help keeping Akane calm once she wakes.
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Ranma and Nodoka arrived at the zoo and went to where its office was, pointedly avoiding any exhibit with cats in it. They met the weaselly looking person responsible for the bear exhibits.
"Hi, Otonani, I'm here to get Mr. Panda," Ranma said.
"Of course, but I'd like to see ownership papers and proper government papers allowing you to have it, before I can release it into your custody," the official said, looking like a cat who ate a canary.
Ranma hated the smug look the guy had, he had enough of it from Nabiki. "Now listen here. I gave you an opportunity to rent him, there is no way you are going to keep him."
"Without the papers, my hands are tied. You can't leave here with a panda," Otonani asserted devilishly.
"Can we at least visit him and get some hot water?" Nodoka asked firmly, fingering her katana hilt.
Otonani became nervous. "Couldn't hurt." He led them to the back of the bear exhibit where they placed Mr. Panda in a cage.
"Hello, Pop," Ranma greeted the panda.
The panda started to growl turning around to see Ranma. He stopped growling and shuddered as he saw Nodoka. He held up a sign, reading, 'Hello, Dear.'
"I've been meaning to ask you about that. How did you teach him to do that? And where do the signs come from?" Otonani asked.
"Don't know," Ranma shrugged.
"Now Genma, what is this I hear about you training my son Nekoken? Are you insane or just plain stupid?" Nodoka demanded brandishing the Nekoken Training Manual.
"Insanely stupid," Ranma answered for him.
Nodoka scowled darkly. "I am sorely tempted to leave you here."
Genma began to sweat. 'I didn't know what it'd do.'
Nodoka threw the book at the panda, but it was blocked by the cage's bars. "Because you were too impatient to read the whole book. Nekoken was banned for a reason. Now Ranma and Akane have paid for you're stupidity."
The panda looked confused. 'Akane?'
"Ranma's feelings are the same if he's in Nekoken or not. Since his feelings towards her is as a lover, he raped her," Nodoka hissed.
"Mom!" Ranma interrupted her.
"That is what happened, isn't it?" Nodoka snapped.
Ranma reluctantly nodded.
Otonani was completely confused at the strange conversation.
Genma was shocked. 'I didn't know.' He flipped the sign. 'Is Akane going to kill me?'
"She had her revenge in her sparring session," Ranma answered.
Genma looked at his arm, and was rather thankful for rapid healing.
Nodoka allowed him to soak in what she said. "Where is the hot water?" she asked the official.
Otonani pointed at a sink with a hose and some buckets near it. Ranma went to fill one of the buckets.
"What was the purpose of renting him?" Nodoka asked.
Otonani edged away from the woman, afraid of what her reaction might be. "We were hoping to use him to mate with a female panda we have. He refused, so we had to procure the semen samples artificially."
Nodoka scowled at her son. "Ranma, did you know about that?"
"Um, yeah," Ranma said nervously.
Nodoka shook her head. Her son had picked up some bad habits from his father. "Change him back so we can leave."
Ranma splashed Genma with the water in the bucket through the bars.
"We have a lot to talk about, Dear," Nodoka said flatly.
Genma swallowed nervously. "Yes, Dear,"
"You will now release my husband," Nodoka ordered the official.
Otonani fainted dead away. Nodoka got the keys from him and released Genma.
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Akane awoke, finding that she was sleeping on something rather hard. She opened her eyes and was scared realizing she was at the Nekohanten. She sat up quickly, preparing to face whatever the Amazon would throw at here.
"Ah, sleeping beauty awakes." Hiroshi grinned at her. He was sitting next to Daisuke and across from Akane at a booth.
Cologne appeared at the end of the booth they sat at. "Hello Akane. Do not worry, you are safe and Shampoo is on a delivery right now."
"Why should I believe you?" Akane demanded.
Cologne attempted to smile innocently. "Well, have I really done anything to hurt your relationship with Ranma for some time?"
Akane thought for a long moment. "Um, not for the past couple months." She then scowled. "Why did you interfere in my fight with Shampoo?"
Cologne leveled her gaze upon the girl. "I stopped you from killing Shampoo. I doubt you wanted to do that."
"Killing her?" Akane paled.
"You were going to attempt to hit her with Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken combined with... Akaneken was it? That combination of multiple hits with a chi enhanced punch would've killed her if I didn't stop you," Cologne informed her with a deadly serious tone.
"The description she gave Shampoo wasn't very pretty, cleaning up her remains with a squeegee." Hiroshi shuddered.
Akane's face turned a sickly color before she bolted from her seat and ran to the bathroom.
Daisuke smacked the back of Hiroshi's head. "That was stupid to say."
"Someone had to say it. That girl needs to learn control," Cologne said.
Akane returned a moment later, her face devoid of blood. "What am I going to do?"
"You can listen to me. Akane, like Ryoga, your chi attacks are self-destructive. By using your move, you tap into an emotion making it flow easier. Ryoga is more depressed than he should be, and Ranma is more confident. If you use anger, you will become easier to anger until such time you only feel anger," Cologne gravely warned.
Akane shuddered.
"Ryoga has refused to listen to me as he feels he needs the move to compete with Ranma. I'm not too concerned with Ranma, though, he needs the extra confidence he gains in order to fight superior opponents like Saffron." Cologne sighed. "Now tell me Akane, does Ryoga know Ranma choose to marry you?"
Akane shuddered again. "I don't think he knows, but he does know we're lovers. The last I saw him was when I found out he was P-Chan."
Hiroshi and Daisuke looked at each, and were, for once, at a lost for words.
A deep dread filled Cologne. "Is he alive?"
"Of course he is," Akane replied bitterly.
"We must find him," Cologne urgently demanded. "If he lets his depression build up too much he could literally explode, leveling city blocks in the process."
Akane nodded. "Should we get Ranma to help?"
"Absolutely not," Cologne barked. "Ryoga would likely attempt to kill him. Where is the last place you knew where he was?"
Akane took a second to remember. "Dr. Tofu's clinic."
"We'll start our search there. Mousse, tend the restaurant." Cologne hopped out on her staff followed by Akane.
Mousse nodded to a plant and continued to take orders from some customers.
"I think now would be a good time to go on vacation," Daisuke said.
"I don't think so. We're probably safer here as he was just in town," Hiroshi returned.
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Akane and Cologne followed Ryoga's chi as he was depressed enough to leave a trail strong enough for Cologne to follow. The frown elderly woman wore deepened as she stopped by a river.
"Something wrong?" Akane asked.
"His depression becomes more intense from here," Cologne replied.
"Why would that... Oh, no." Akane's face was drained of blood as she looked up a bridge.
"What is it?" Cologne wondered.
Akane pointed down stream. "Ranma proposed to me on that bridge last night. He might have seen us."
"We must hurry." Cologne chased after the chi trail.
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Darkness had descended on Cologne and Akane as they tracked down Ryoga. The teenager was scared, they were using Ryoga's chi trail as a source of light now. The elderly amazon was nervous, if she had to fight the lost boy, she could produce a Hiryu Shoten Ha stronger and with more wide spread damage than any she seen before.
Akane knew their search was over when she saw a large moving mass of light in the distance.
"Remember the plan," Cologne said as she hopped away from the girl.
Akane ran to the light stopping a good distance away from it. "Ryoga?" she called.
"Akane?" Ryoga turned around. His massive aura decreasing slightly and then grew even bigger.
"Ryoga, I'm sorry I hit you after I found out about your curse." Akane looked away. "I was just angry... you know how I get when I'm angry."
His chi aura decreased a little. "I know..."
"We never wanted to hurt you," Akane pleaded. "You are a friend to me, to Ranma..."
Ryoga angrily interrupted. "Ranma is no friend! He cursed me! He keeps me away from home! HE STOLE YOUR LOVE!"
"Ryoga! Him cursing you was an accident. It would never happen if you didn't follow him. You are the one who decided to go after him, preventing yourself from going home. And my love is for me to give. You should be happy I love him, because I would have to marry him even if I didn't," Akane angrily retorted.
Ryoga's mouth dropped. "Ranma would force you to marry him!?"
"No, our parents arranged the marriage. They would force it, even if we didn't want it." Akane sighed. "Ryoga, I'm sorry we hurt you. I wish things could turn out better. This whole mess is hurting everyone, but it had to end sometime."
"I wish you could love me," Ryoga said gloomily.
"I-I do love you as a brother," Akane told him nervously, but sincerely.
"Really? You love me?" Ryoga cries of pain turned to tears of joy, his aura waning.
Ryoga collapsed with Cologne standing behind him. "You were pretty stupid trying to convince him that he's the one at fault. You were supposed to make him happy. He might have killed us all."
"I was hoping he realized how stupid it was to blame everything on Ranma," Akane replied.
"Don't you do that?" Cologne accused.
Akane huffed. "I use to."
Cologne leveled her gaze at Akane.
Akane drew back. "I still do at times, but I'm learning to trust him." She then looked at Ryoga. "What do we do with him?"
"Simple." Cologne hit several spots on Ryoga's back and hands. "I've prevented him from concentrating chi. He can no longer throw a chi blast until someone unlocks the pressure points."
Ryoga's body began to release his built up chi into the air.
"Now, Akane," Cologne began. "You will eventually be in the same trouble he was if you continue to use anger as the basis for your chi attacks. There is one way to avoid it without the pressure points."
"Which is?" Akane wondered.
"Use other emotions. Joy, happiness, hope, your love for Ranma, or any other lighter emotion would be better. They may not be stronger, but better for your continued health." Cologne pointed at the unconscious boy. "Ryoga refused the advice because his depression is so much stronger than his other emotions."
Akane nodded. "I'll follow your advice. I came too close to killing someone today. I never want to be in that position again."
"Good. I'd hate it if you killed Shampoo." Cologne glared deeply at the girl.
Akane nervously shift under the gaze and frowned when Shampoo was mentioned. "You do know that I'm going to marry Ranma. There is nothing that will stop that."
"I realized that at the wedding fiasco. It's Shampoo, Ukyou and the Kuno siblings who haven't. I've been trying to convince Shampoo to let Ranma go, distracting her from him, and keeping her busy," Cologne informed smugly.
"You have?" Akane looked at Cologne in disbelief.
Cologne nodded. "Yes. I've especially did those things when she told me what she saw last week. Ranma has given you his love and no one can change that now."
Akane frowned. "Did you know Nekoken might cause him to mate with me?"
"I knew it was a possibility." Cologne sighed with regret. "It is a rare occurrence from a scarcely practiced art, so I wasn't sure it would happen. I thought I had more time before Ranma's feelings advanced to the point which would trigger it. I was hoping to warn you first."
Ryoga moaned as his eyes opened.
"Are you all right?" Akane asked.
"Ah, yeah." Ryoga looked at arms, which were emitting chi like the rest of his body. "What happened to me?"
"I locked away your ability to concentrate chi," Cologne informed. "You'll be emitting you've built up chi for a couple days."
"Why did you do that?" Ryoga demanded angrily.
Cologne scowled at him in a way only an experienced teacher could do. "I warned you before your move was self-destructive. You became so depressed, if you threw off a Shi Shi Hokadan it would have leveled everything for kilometers around and killing many innocent people and yourself in the process."
"Oh," Ryoga uttered remembering why he was so depressed. "Akane, do you really love me?"
"As a brother," Akane replied. "Come on, you can stay at my house tonight."
Ryoga smiled weakly as he took some comfort that Akane loved him. He just wished it was a different kind of love.
by Lord Archive
Characters are own Rumiko Takahashi and Shogakukan and are used without permission. All rights reserved.
This story takes place after manga volume 38. While at times darker than canon, this series has its share of Takahashi styled humor.
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Chapter 7 - Vengeance
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Soun, Nabiki, and Nodoka sat in the dinning room. They were in an avid discussion about wedding preparations. Nabiki tried to get them to tone down some of the things they were planning, like cake for five hundred. They all looked up and blinked as Ranma and Akane entered the room and sat down.
Nabiki put on a pair of sunglasses. "I've heard of after-glow, Akane. But that's ridiculous."
Akane was literally glowing with a chi aura of white, red, and pink mixed together. Her blush deepened. "Sorry. I'm just so happy, I can't contain myself." She hugged Ranma tightly.
Ranma fidgeted nervously. "I hope you can contain yourself at school."
Akane sighed. "It's not going to be easy. I'll have to stay away from my friends. As it is I want to run through the streets screaming this to the world."
"Why don't you?" Nodoka asked.
"We still have to work out some problems concerning suitors. It'd be easier to talk to them if it doesn't become public knowledge first, and they deserve to hear it from us first," Akane asserted.
Nodoka reluctantly nodded. "I see."
"When do you want to be married?" Soun pressed. "Sunday should be a beautiful day."
Ranma slammed his hand on the table. "Um, first let us deal with the others BEFORE planning the wedding date."
"Why wait?" Soun almost growled, not wanting his daughter to continue on unwed.
"Daddy, please! Give us time to sort this out first," Akane demanded fiercely. "Or do you want a repeat of the wedding fiasco?"
Soun was taken back by Akane's outburst. "No, you're right. There is no need to rush it now, is there?" He smiled nervously. "Why don't we discuss when to have the wedding Sunday?"
Akane nodded. "We should have a better handle on things by then."
Ranma slouched.
Nodoka gazed at her son. "Ranma, do you know where your father is?"
"Um, er, I got him a temporary job at the zoo," Ranma answered nervously.
"Oh. When will he be back?" Nodoka asked.
"When I pick him up after school?" Ranma meant to sound definite, but it came off more as a question.
Nodoka looked puzzled. "Why would you have to pick him up?"
Ranma laughed nervously. "Well, his job requires him to be a panda."
"What job is that?" Nodoka asked suspiciously.
Ranma grinned sheepishly. "Well, I sorta rented him to the zoo."
Nodoka shook her head, wondering if that was all her husband was really good for.
Akane grinned, barely able to contain her laughter. She liked Ranma's revenge better than the thrashing she gave Genma.
"How could you do that to your father?" Soun demanded.
"How could he teach me Nekoken?" Ranma spat. "I was only six and he mentally scarred me for life! The old man deserves worse than a couple days at the zoo!"
"Nekoken?" Nodoka asked.
Ranma sighed. He had to tell his Mother about it because of how easily he's been going into it. "Nekoken is an ultimate form of martial arts. It is nearly unbeatable. The problem is it also comes with a unnatural fear of cats. A kitten can scare me to death. Whenever I am excessively scared and a cat is present I will mentally shut down and behave as a cat would. Only how I feel about certain people will remain the same."
Nodoka looked aghast. "And Genma did that to you?"
"Yeah, he never bothered to turn the page in the training manual to see it was banned," Ranma muttered angrily.
Soun smiled. "You mean, because you love Akane, you also love her as a cat? You've been in love with Akane since before the first time you went into it."
Ranma nodded firmly. "Yes."
Soun thought for a moment, he knew Ranma had been in love with Akane for some time and his feelings grew deeper as time passed. He then became suspicious as he remembered some of the previous weeks activities. "Now that you're lovers, could that translate into Nekoken? Would you try to have sex with Akane while in Nekoken?"
Ranma paled, failing to think of something to say.
Akane also paled. She decided it would be better if they knew the truth as his cat persona still needed to be trained. "W-while in Nekoken now, he will try to m-mate with me."
Nodoka's and Soun's mouth dropped to the floor.
"Has he... been successful?" Nodoka asked.
Ranma and Akane nodded.
"Was it painful?" Nodoka asked.
"The first time was, but the second time was okay," Akane answered, blushing deeply.
Soun's frown deepened. "The first time was a week ago, wasn't it?"
Akane nodded.
"Was that your first time having sex?" Nodoka asked.
Akane shifted uneasily. "Yes."
Ranma nodded, holding Akane closer to him.
They were thankful when Kasumi arrived with breakfast. Both ate quickly so they could leave. Neither wanted to continue the conversation. There was one benefit, though, Akane was no longer glowing. Nodoka informed Ranma she would join him when he released Genma.
Akane wished she could wear her ring, but kept it in her pocket instead. Wearing it at school would be like raising a neon sign saying, 'I'm really engaged to Ranma now.'
When they arrived at school Kuno, of course, was waiting. Ranma didn't stop to face him. Rather, he ran over the kendo master, dragging Akane along by the hand.
"R-ko runs down Agent K again!" Hiroshi cheered.
"You watch too much anime," commented Daisuke.
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Nodoka waited outside the school gate for Ranma and Akane. She was surprised to see a man wearing Samurai garb and a bokken exit the school, and he looked as if he was waiting for somebody. He seemed familiar, but she couldn't place where she had seen him. She smiled as Ranma and Akane exited the building.
"Hold, vile Saotome, and relinquish the beauteous Tendo Akane and the healthy pig-tailed-girl from your loathsome control!" shouted Kuno.
Ranma stopped his reply as he saw his Mom holding her katana at Kuno's throat.
"What gives you the right to claim such garbage?" Nodoka demanded.
Kuno stood firm, but was also sweating. "I am the Blue Thunder, rising star of the Kendo world of martial arts, Kuno Tatewaki, age eighteen. I, who is Tendo Akane's and the pig-tailed-girl's true love, demand he sets them free of his hideous spell."
Ranma and Akane shrugged, vaguely remembering him spout something about a birthday.
"Ranma holds no control over Akane, it is a family promise and love that binds both of them," Nodoka corrected with steel resolve. "And who is this 'pig-tailed-girl?'"
"A fiery creature with flaming passion that sets my heart on fire," Kuno elated.
Nodoka looked at Ranma, seeing him trying to induce vomiting. "You truly are a dense idiot. You shall leave both of them alone. If they have any feelings for you, they'll go to see you. If not, you'll know they don't."
"But what of his spells that entrap them so?" Kuno demanded.
"My son doesn't knows of any love spells. You are interfering in family matters that do not concern you. If you value your own family's reputation, you will leave them alone. Don't make me show you the true path of a warrior." She sheathed her katana. "Come on Ranma, Akane. We have to get my husband out of the zoo."
An audience had formed to watch the confrontation, only a couple people raised an eyebrow at Nodoka's last statement. Nabiki took bets from two students that Kuno would be convinced to stop his pursuit of Akane, fifty to one odds, and another three bet that Kuno would get killed, twenty to one odds.
Kuno remained frozen in place long after everyone left.
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Akane quickly grew nervous as she walked toward the zoo with her fiance and his mother. "Um, I... I've got to, um, go somewhere right now."
"Where would that be?" Nodoka asked.
Akane blushed as she thought of her excuse, "A family planning clinic. I'd like to get some... birth control pills."
Ranma's face turn deep red as well.
Nodoka frowned. "Why would you want to get those?"
"I want to finish high school first," Akane asserted. "I don't want to miss getting an education."
Nodoka nodded shallowly. "I guess I can understand that."
Akane bit her lower lip. "I'll see you later." She pulled out a hidden water gun and handed it to Nodoka. "Here, in case trouble happens." She ran off quickly.
Akane stopped a couple blocks away and looked back. She couldn't see either of them. She hoped they hadn't followed her. She then walked towards the Nekohanten. It was time to make Shampoo pay.
Akane peaked into the Chinese restaurant and did not see Shampoo. She was probably on a delivery so Akane jumped to the top of a nearby building. She put on her engagement ring and waited for her adversary.
With the sound of a bell ringing which was coming closer, Akane prepared her attack.
-------------------
Shampoo passed Hiroshi and Daisuke as she made her way back to the Nekohanten. She didn't like having to work on deliveries today. She needed to work on her plans to deal with Akane. Somehow the violent girl had seduced Ranma and she would make that violent girl pay. She couldn't do it directly since he would never forgive her if she killed Akane. So, far her only hope was that someone would come along and deal with that perverted girl, maybe Ukyou or Kodachi could be goaded into killing her. How to do that?
Shampoo's thoughts were cut short as she felt a strong presence of chi moving towards her. She flipped backwards and heard an explosion occur where she was a moment ago. She landed, seeing a cloud of cement dust obscure her attacker. She thought for a moment about why Ryoga would attack her until a figure stepped out of the cloud shouting, "Shampoo, I'll make you pay for what you've done!"
Shampoo blinked, first at what Akane apparently did and secondly at what she said. "What is adulterous girl talking about?"
"HE IS NOT YOUR HUSBAND!" Akane screamed as she charged Shampoo.
Hiroshi looked at Daisuke, "She didn't deny the sex part."
"By Amazon law, he is," Shampoo retorted dodging Akane's attack. She knew she couldn't keep it up much longer, the perverted gorilla had somehow gotten a lot faster and was trying to exploit her fighting style's weak points. She had to remain on the defensive, but that can be used for a dangerous offensive.
"Your laws, not ours!" Akane took leapt away from Shampoo, seeing that Amazon tried to trap her in Hiryu Shoten Ha. "Look at this ring, Shampoo!" She held up her hand. "Ranma proposed to me! He chose me! And you will not take him away from me!"
Daisuke commented, "About damn time."
Akane gathered her anger in between her hands, "AKANE HA!"
"She's a Saotome now," Hiroshi smirked.
Shampoo jumped out of the way of the chi blast. Akane had done some serious training and she wasn't liking it one bit. "Adulterous girl will be one to pay for seducing Airen!"
"Seducing him?! Do you have any idea what happened?!" Akane charged, but as her opponent attempted to jump over her she grabbed hold of Shampoo's legs and slammed her into a wall. "After you sent him into Nekoken, he raped me! Do you understand?! I was raped because you sent Ranma into Nekoken!" She punctuated her words with, "AKANEKEN!"
Hiroshi and Daisuke shuddered, "Ouch."
Shampoo jumped out of the way, deciding now was the time to go on the offensive with a kick to Akane's back. "Violent-girl lie! Nekoken no can cause that!"
Akane's rage didn't allow her to feel the blow and used the cover of a new cloud of concrete to obscure herself. "Nekoken reflects those emotions he normally feels. He sees me as a lover, so in Nekoken he sees me as a mate. He'll act accordingly."
Shampoo attacked the cloud where she thought Akane was, but the perverted girl had moved after speaking. That unfortunately gave away her own position and took a glancing blow from the chi punch to her side. Pain flared in as she staggered back into a wall.
Akane pressed her attack, her fists covered in fiery chi. "I lost my virginity to a cat because of you, and Ranma can't remember losing his!"
Shampoo's blocks were failing as the hits were very painful. Her mind raced for a means to get out of this.
"It ends now! AKANE TENSHIN AMA..." Akane collapsed onto the ground.
Cologne looked down at both girls and tsked. "Here I thought only Ryoga was stupid enough to know of a self-destructive move. It seems Akane has found her own."
"Great-grandmother, why you interfere?" Shampoo asked.
"If I didn't, I'd have to use a squeegee to gather up your remains. You saw how much damage she did with one hit, you couldn't survive if she did so a hundred times." Cologne glanced at the slumbering girl. "Assuming she actually has the speed and control to actually do that. Which I suspect she doesn't. Still a few dozen blows she was likely to land would at least cripple you."
Shampoo paled. "But Amazon laws say no interfere."
Cologne looked down upon her granddaughter. "There are times to follow the laws and times to let them go. I do not want to lose you child, so I ignored them."
Shampoo blinked in confusion. "You always say laws are absolute. Now you say not always."
"Laws are a guideline to follow, to keep people in line. There are times when those guidelines are wrong and should not be followed. Wisdom will help you learn what times those are." Cologne's eyes hardened on the girl. "Wisdom that you still lack. So don't go and do something stupid."
Shampoo remained quiet, thinking over her new lesson and a little upset over the last comment.
"Help me take her inside. I must talk with her when she wakes," Cologne ordered with absolute authority.
Shampoo scowled at the demand, but did as she was told.
"I believe some ramen is in order," Daisuke said.
"Quite right," agreed Hiroshi.
Cologne smirked at the boys. She would need their help keeping Akane calm once she wakes.
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Ranma and Nodoka arrived at the zoo and went to where its office was, pointedly avoiding any exhibit with cats in it. They met the weaselly looking person responsible for the bear exhibits.
"Hi, Otonani, I'm here to get Mr. Panda," Ranma said.
"Of course, but I'd like to see ownership papers and proper government papers allowing you to have it, before I can release it into your custody," the official said, looking like a cat who ate a canary.
Ranma hated the smug look the guy had, he had enough of it from Nabiki. "Now listen here. I gave you an opportunity to rent him, there is no way you are going to keep him."
"Without the papers, my hands are tied. You can't leave here with a panda," Otonani asserted devilishly.
"Can we at least visit him and get some hot water?" Nodoka asked firmly, fingering her katana hilt.
Otonani became nervous. "Couldn't hurt." He led them to the back of the bear exhibit where they placed Mr. Panda in a cage.
"Hello, Pop," Ranma greeted the panda.
The panda started to growl turning around to see Ranma. He stopped growling and shuddered as he saw Nodoka. He held up a sign, reading, 'Hello, Dear.'
"I've been meaning to ask you about that. How did you teach him to do that? And where do the signs come from?" Otonani asked.
"Don't know," Ranma shrugged.
"Now Genma, what is this I hear about you training my son Nekoken? Are you insane or just plain stupid?" Nodoka demanded brandishing the Nekoken Training Manual.
"Insanely stupid," Ranma answered for him.
Nodoka scowled darkly. "I am sorely tempted to leave you here."
Genma began to sweat. 'I didn't know what it'd do.'
Nodoka threw the book at the panda, but it was blocked by the cage's bars. "Because you were too impatient to read the whole book. Nekoken was banned for a reason. Now Ranma and Akane have paid for you're stupidity."
The panda looked confused. 'Akane?'
"Ranma's feelings are the same if he's in Nekoken or not. Since his feelings towards her is as a lover, he raped her," Nodoka hissed.
"Mom!" Ranma interrupted her.
"That is what happened, isn't it?" Nodoka snapped.
Ranma reluctantly nodded.
Otonani was completely confused at the strange conversation.
Genma was shocked. 'I didn't know.' He flipped the sign. 'Is Akane going to kill me?'
"She had her revenge in her sparring session," Ranma answered.
Genma looked at his arm, and was rather thankful for rapid healing.
Nodoka allowed him to soak in what she said. "Where is the hot water?" she asked the official.
Otonani pointed at a sink with a hose and some buckets near it. Ranma went to fill one of the buckets.
"What was the purpose of renting him?" Nodoka asked.
Otonani edged away from the woman, afraid of what her reaction might be. "We were hoping to use him to mate with a female panda we have. He refused, so we had to procure the semen samples artificially."
Nodoka scowled at her son. "Ranma, did you know about that?"
"Um, yeah," Ranma said nervously.
Nodoka shook her head. Her son had picked up some bad habits from his father. "Change him back so we can leave."
Ranma splashed Genma with the water in the bucket through the bars.
"We have a lot to talk about, Dear," Nodoka said flatly.
Genma swallowed nervously. "Yes, Dear,"
"You will now release my husband," Nodoka ordered the official.
Otonani fainted dead away. Nodoka got the keys from him and released Genma.
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Akane awoke, finding that she was sleeping on something rather hard. She opened her eyes and was scared realizing she was at the Nekohanten. She sat up quickly, preparing to face whatever the Amazon would throw at here.
"Ah, sleeping beauty awakes." Hiroshi grinned at her. He was sitting next to Daisuke and across from Akane at a booth.
Cologne appeared at the end of the booth they sat at. "Hello Akane. Do not worry, you are safe and Shampoo is on a delivery right now."
"Why should I believe you?" Akane demanded.
Cologne attempted to smile innocently. "Well, have I really done anything to hurt your relationship with Ranma for some time?"
Akane thought for a long moment. "Um, not for the past couple months." She then scowled. "Why did you interfere in my fight with Shampoo?"
Cologne leveled her gaze upon the girl. "I stopped you from killing Shampoo. I doubt you wanted to do that."
"Killing her?" Akane paled.
"You were going to attempt to hit her with Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken combined with... Akaneken was it? That combination of multiple hits with a chi enhanced punch would've killed her if I didn't stop you," Cologne informed her with a deadly serious tone.
"The description she gave Shampoo wasn't very pretty, cleaning up her remains with a squeegee." Hiroshi shuddered.
Akane's face turned a sickly color before she bolted from her seat and ran to the bathroom.
Daisuke smacked the back of Hiroshi's head. "That was stupid to say."
"Someone had to say it. That girl needs to learn control," Cologne said.
Akane returned a moment later, her face devoid of blood. "What am I going to do?"
"You can listen to me. Akane, like Ryoga, your chi attacks are self-destructive. By using your move, you tap into an emotion making it flow easier. Ryoga is more depressed than he should be, and Ranma is more confident. If you use anger, you will become easier to anger until such time you only feel anger," Cologne gravely warned.
Akane shuddered.
"Ryoga has refused to listen to me as he feels he needs the move to compete with Ranma. I'm not too concerned with Ranma, though, he needs the extra confidence he gains in order to fight superior opponents like Saffron." Cologne sighed. "Now tell me Akane, does Ryoga know Ranma choose to marry you?"
Akane shuddered again. "I don't think he knows, but he does know we're lovers. The last I saw him was when I found out he was P-Chan."
Hiroshi and Daisuke looked at each, and were, for once, at a lost for words.
A deep dread filled Cologne. "Is he alive?"
"Of course he is," Akane replied bitterly.
"We must find him," Cologne urgently demanded. "If he lets his depression build up too much he could literally explode, leveling city blocks in the process."
Akane nodded. "Should we get Ranma to help?"
"Absolutely not," Cologne barked. "Ryoga would likely attempt to kill him. Where is the last place you knew where he was?"
Akane took a second to remember. "Dr. Tofu's clinic."
"We'll start our search there. Mousse, tend the restaurant." Cologne hopped out on her staff followed by Akane.
Mousse nodded to a plant and continued to take orders from some customers.
"I think now would be a good time to go on vacation," Daisuke said.
"I don't think so. We're probably safer here as he was just in town," Hiroshi returned.
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Akane and Cologne followed Ryoga's chi as he was depressed enough to leave a trail strong enough for Cologne to follow. The frown elderly woman wore deepened as she stopped by a river.
"Something wrong?" Akane asked.
"His depression becomes more intense from here," Cologne replied.
"Why would that... Oh, no." Akane's face was drained of blood as she looked up a bridge.
"What is it?" Cologne wondered.
Akane pointed down stream. "Ranma proposed to me on that bridge last night. He might have seen us."
"We must hurry." Cologne chased after the chi trail.
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Darkness had descended on Cologne and Akane as they tracked down Ryoga. The teenager was scared, they were using Ryoga's chi trail as a source of light now. The elderly amazon was nervous, if she had to fight the lost boy, she could produce a Hiryu Shoten Ha stronger and with more wide spread damage than any she seen before.
Akane knew their search was over when she saw a large moving mass of light in the distance.
"Remember the plan," Cologne said as she hopped away from the girl.
Akane ran to the light stopping a good distance away from it. "Ryoga?" she called.
"Akane?" Ryoga turned around. His massive aura decreasing slightly and then grew even bigger.
"Ryoga, I'm sorry I hit you after I found out about your curse." Akane looked away. "I was just angry... you know how I get when I'm angry."
His chi aura decreased a little. "I know..."
"We never wanted to hurt you," Akane pleaded. "You are a friend to me, to Ranma..."
Ryoga angrily interrupted. "Ranma is no friend! He cursed me! He keeps me away from home! HE STOLE YOUR LOVE!"
"Ryoga! Him cursing you was an accident. It would never happen if you didn't follow him. You are the one who decided to go after him, preventing yourself from going home. And my love is for me to give. You should be happy I love him, because I would have to marry him even if I didn't," Akane angrily retorted.
Ryoga's mouth dropped. "Ranma would force you to marry him!?"
"No, our parents arranged the marriage. They would force it, even if we didn't want it." Akane sighed. "Ryoga, I'm sorry we hurt you. I wish things could turn out better. This whole mess is hurting everyone, but it had to end sometime."
"I wish you could love me," Ryoga said gloomily.
"I-I do love you as a brother," Akane told him nervously, but sincerely.
"Really? You love me?" Ryoga cries of pain turned to tears of joy, his aura waning.
Ryoga collapsed with Cologne standing behind him. "You were pretty stupid trying to convince him that he's the one at fault. You were supposed to make him happy. He might have killed us all."
"I was hoping he realized how stupid it was to blame everything on Ranma," Akane replied.
"Don't you do that?" Cologne accused.
Akane huffed. "I use to."
Cologne leveled her gaze at Akane.
Akane drew back. "I still do at times, but I'm learning to trust him." She then looked at Ryoga. "What do we do with him?"
"Simple." Cologne hit several spots on Ryoga's back and hands. "I've prevented him from concentrating chi. He can no longer throw a chi blast until someone unlocks the pressure points."
Ryoga's body began to release his built up chi into the air.
"Now, Akane," Cologne began. "You will eventually be in the same trouble he was if you continue to use anger as the basis for your chi attacks. There is one way to avoid it without the pressure points."
"Which is?" Akane wondered.
"Use other emotions. Joy, happiness, hope, your love for Ranma, or any other lighter emotion would be better. They may not be stronger, but better for your continued health." Cologne pointed at the unconscious boy. "Ryoga refused the advice because his depression is so much stronger than his other emotions."
Akane nodded. "I'll follow your advice. I came too close to killing someone today. I never want to be in that position again."
"Good. I'd hate it if you killed Shampoo." Cologne glared deeply at the girl.
Akane nervously shift under the gaze and frowned when Shampoo was mentioned. "You do know that I'm going to marry Ranma. There is nothing that will stop that."
"I realized that at the wedding fiasco. It's Shampoo, Ukyou and the Kuno siblings who haven't. I've been trying to convince Shampoo to let Ranma go, distracting her from him, and keeping her busy," Cologne informed smugly.
"You have?" Akane looked at Cologne in disbelief.
Cologne nodded. "Yes. I've especially did those things when she told me what she saw last week. Ranma has given you his love and no one can change that now."
Akane frowned. "Did you know Nekoken might cause him to mate with me?"
"I knew it was a possibility." Cologne sighed with regret. "It is a rare occurrence from a scarcely practiced art, so I wasn't sure it would happen. I thought I had more time before Ranma's feelings advanced to the point which would trigger it. I was hoping to warn you first."
Ryoga moaned as his eyes opened.
"Are you all right?" Akane asked.
"Ah, yeah." Ryoga looked at arms, which were emitting chi like the rest of his body. "What happened to me?"
"I locked away your ability to concentrate chi," Cologne informed. "You'll be emitting you've built up chi for a couple days."
"Why did you do that?" Ryoga demanded angrily.
Cologne scowled at him in a way only an experienced teacher could do. "I warned you before your move was self-destructive. You became so depressed, if you threw off a Shi Shi Hokadan it would have leveled everything for kilometers around and killing many innocent people and yourself in the process."
"Oh," Ryoga uttered remembering why he was so depressed. "Akane, do you really love me?"
"As a brother," Akane replied. "Come on, you can stay at my house tonight."
Ryoga smiled weakly as he took some comfort that Akane loved him. He just wished it was a different kind of love.