Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Three Souls One Heart ❯ Chapter 1

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Imported From: RAAC
From: "David A. Tatum" <desaix@sysnet.net>

WARNING: DO NOT read this fic without reading the Chronological notes
first, or you will get lost.

Ranma 1/2: Three Souls, One Heart
by David A. Tatum

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 obviously does not belong to me, but to its creator,
Rumiko Takahashi (and to the producers of the anime...)

Author's Notes: I've had this in the planning stages for months now. Now
that Return of the Sister's is stalled until a side story is written, I
figured I'd get at least one part of this thing out.

Chronological Notes (kept separate for those people who NEVER read author's
notes): Okay, the Ranma stories I write are always a anime\manga mesh
(unless otherwise noted). Now, the movies are part of the anime-only
collection... and haven't exactly got a set place. So I'm going to set it
immediately after the second movie, but before about a week before they
return from Toma's island. For this fanfics purposes, I will say the
second movie happened AFTER the last manga. (Okay, so Ranma fights a lot
better at the end of the manga than he ever did in the anime- maybe after
he literally tore Saffron apart he couldn't bring himself to fight all-out,
fearing he'd get carried away and do that sort of thing to someone who he
doesn't quite hate so much, like, say, Ryouga. We'll see if I can work
that into the story, as I like doing things with the anime\manga
incongruities (where do you think RotS's Nodoka came from? She's not out
of character, she's just got multiple characters...))

On with the story...
-------------------------

Chapter 1:

Toma glared at the young man standing on the flat of his practice sword.
"Huh... if you had fought that effectively in our earlier battle, Ranma, I
would have given up before we reached the sacred spring, and you would not
have had to destroy it," the young prince snorted, disgusted by his
failure.

Ranma shook his head sadly. "If I'd known your style as well then as I do
now, I probably would have. I still might have, but... well, it's easy
enough to see what mistakes you can make after you have made them."

He surreptitiously glanced at Akane, who was watching the sparring match
with interest, before leaping down from the sword. 'There goes another of
those mistakes,' he thought to himself. 'When we were about to get married
two months ago, she told me that she could go through with it because I
loved her. I denied it, of course- I didn't want her to marry me because
she felt obligated to return my feelings, and I certainly didn't want her
to marry me because our parents made her! But then... in the battle here
last week, she tells me she likes me the way I am. Dammit, if only I'd
known how she felt then! Now, I can't tell her at all, because I've
already denied it! If I-' Ranma didn't finish his thought as pain
exploded from his side.

"Is your mind somewhere else?" Toma asked, surprised himself that the blow
hit. "You would have been able to dodge that even the first time we
fought."

"True," Ranma nodded. "I'm not able to focus, though. Something else is
on my mind." He couldn't stop himself from turning his eyes towards Akane
briefly, something which she missed but Toma didn't.

He smiled knowingly. "Ah, of course. I believe the same thing was on my
mind briefly during our battle. You mustn't let yourself get distracted by
such things, though, or else you will take many more hits than you should."

Ranma thought briefly to the blow he had taken almost a year beforehand as
his eye was caught by a photo of a particular young woman in a yellow gi
that had flown out of a certain kendoist's pocket. "Heh... I guess you're
right. That particular distraction has been getting me hurt for more than
a year now, though I wouldn't want to get rid of it for anything." He
frowned. "It nearly WAS removed in a very permanent way a couple months
ago... and I went crazy and tore apart the person responsible- and I mean
tore apart."

Akane was not completely oblivious. She thought they might be talking
about her, but she didn't know for certain until that last phrase. There
was only one person Ranma had literally dismembered, and that person was
Saffron. As he and Toma continued to pretend they weren't talking about
her, a small voice came into her head. 'See? He does have some feelings
for you. He just said he never wanted you to go away for anything. He
loves you, and he KNOWS that he loves you, but he's just too shy to tell
you.'

'Oh, come on!' another part of her argued. 'I can see how he being shy
could keep him from telling me how he feels, but DENYING it? Besides, he's
a loudmouthed hentai baka- why should I care?'

'Oh, nonsense,' the other voice said. 'You can't lie to me. I know how
you feel- I know everything about you. I know you dream about him, I know
you worry for him in his fights... and I know you fantasize about him when
you're alone and hor-'

'Shut up! That's something which you shouldn't be bringing up when he's
around!'

'Oh?' the voice asked, amused. 'Why's that? Because you're afraid of what
he might think? Or because you might actually say what you feel? Or
because you might forget yourself, tear off your clothes, and drag him to
your bed, regardless of who's watching, like you were dreaming about last
night, hmm?'

Akane blushed. 'H-hey! That's...'

'Right on target?'

She didn't respond for several seconds before a new line of thought
occurred to her. 'Say... who are you, anyway? You've been talking in my
head for more than half a year now.'

'You really want me to tell you?' the voice asked, surprised. 'All right,
fine... but you're not going to like the answer.'

'Try me,' she demanded.

'Well... I suppose you deserve to know that. I'm someone who once tried to
kill that man you love- who, despite your misgivings, seems to love you
more than life itself- much more. After all, while I was here, I did a
little searching of your memories- there was a time he said he'd give up
his life for his martial arts, but he wouldn't give up his manhood. Well,
what did he do when YOUR gender was threatened? Not your life, your
GENDER!? He destroyed what might be his last chance to restore his
manhood!' Akane was silent for a moment, and the voice continued.
'Anyway, I once tried to kill him, but failed. He... you BOTH saved me
when I nearly destroyed myself in that attempt. I doubt you even remember
me, though- though you might remember what I did. I was known as th-'

"Hey, Akane," Ranma broke in, breaking into her thoughts and chasing away
the voice. "Oh, sorry about startling you. Toma and I are done now, so if
you're ready for some practice yourself I'll help you work out a little.
Might as well make use of these training facilities while we can- Toma told
me we should reach Japan in a couple of days."

Akane, a little flustered at the sudden interruption but unable to get mad
at Ranma about it, merely stood up and nodded at him. After all, it wasn't
often Ranma actually VOLUNTEERED to help her work on her martial arts...

* * * * *

Floating in a sealed wooden crate, a once-powerful entity dreamed of what
it once was. It could only dream, however, because even if it were to
escape from its airtight prison it would never be able to return to its old
self- the jailer had made that impossible with the specific ward he had
used, in combination with the powerful spell which had placed it.

This dream had been dreamt by the crate's prisoner since its one-time ally
had betrayed it on the beach and stolen its power before capturing it and
forcing it into the floating... no, hell was better than this prison.

Oh, true, had it had the chance, it would have betrayed its ally as well,
but not until they were nearer to its goal of world conquest. Somehow,
though, their goals were not the same- it wanted power, the ally wanted
wine, women, and food. And it had been 'scaring away the women.'

Like many others this night, however, its thoughts of the past were
intruded upon before they could be completed. However, unlike the others,
this particular being was happy about the intrusion- for the crate in which
it was held was broken open, and the seal was destroyed. Now, all that the
oni had to do was to break the curse of perversion that its one-time ally
Happosai had placed on it.

* * * * *

Hideki Yoshii, a footsoldier in Prince Toma's Royal Guard since the
floating island had last been near Japan three years ago, had been enjoying
himself for the first time since he accepted that advertisement and took
the soldiers job. Sure, employment in any army was certain to have a lot
of hard work, but there was little danger of actually going to war in an
army as small as Toma's, and the job was on a tropical island. Tropical
islands were filled with pretty girls who would be in awe of a 'mighty
warrior,' right?

The true horror of the island 'paradise' was hidden from him until after it
was too late to turn back. Who would have known that there weren't ANY
girls on Toma's island? Oh, sure, there was the Prince's harem, but all
those girls were his 'property,' and so if anyone were to do anything with
them... Well, perhaps it wouldn't have been as bad as he imagined it would
be, but it still probably would be pretty painful. The Prince had shown
himself to be a very... intimidating... fighter.

But finally the girls were 'released' into the custody of his minions, and
so he quickly snatched the nearest girl and dragged her off to his room.
Despite her surprise at the sudden change in her condition, the girl soon
fell to his charms, and nearly two years of his pent-up frustration had
been released in one night. She was now talking about marriage, but...
well, Hideki wasn't too certain he was ready for that just yet. Still, now
that he thought about it, she wasn't a bad catch, and most of his army
friends were getting married to their girls. Maybe it wouldn't be TOO
bad...

"Good-bye, dear," Yoshii said, absent-mindedly kissing his lover on the
cheek. "I'm off to work- I've got beach patrol tonight."

She smiled, grabbed him, and gave him a VERY deep, passionate, and
lingering kiss. "I'll just have to wait till morning then, won't I,
'Deki-chan?"

Nah, probably wouldn't be too bad at all...

* * * * *

Yoshii glanced around his patrol station. Where was the man he was
supposed to relieve? He gripped the army-issued ceremonial trident that
was the symbol of his post (well, largely ceremonial. The steel tines on
it were sharp enough to tear through inch-thick armor) tighter, and looked
around cautiously. Something about this whole situation felt wrong...

"Kyah!" a voice cried loudly, giving Hideki just enough time to leap out of
the way before a different trident would have gone through his chest.

"What in-" Yoshii cried from his knees as the polearm was thrust at him
again by someone who was wearing the same uniform he was. Instinctually
acting on his training, he rolled back and cross-checked the attacker's
thrust to deflect it above him. He felt a sharp blow to his chin as the
back of the weapon's shaft was flicked into his face, and went flying
backwards. He slowly stood up, his vision blurred.

Yoshii blinked, trying to focus. For a brief instant, his head cleared,
and he could see his opponent clearly. 'Are those... horns?' he thought,
seconds before a glint of steel caught his attention. He raised his own
trident defensively, but the blades on his opponent's polearm sliced
through the wooden hilt of his own weapon. Fortunately, though, the
last-second action had deflected the blow a bit, but not enough to stop it.
Just the flat of the metal tip grazed him, but that graze was delivered
with more force than Yoshii had ever experienced. He was sent flying to
his side, colliding head-first into a tree before falling unconscious.

* * * * *

Ranma was slow to awaken. Blinking, he slowly opened his eyes to see
Akane's anxious face as she shook him. Immediately, three things pierced
Ranma's sleep-ridden mind. Akane's waking me up... she's not doing it with
the mallet or a bucket of water... and she looks worried. Hmm...'

He bolted upright. "Akane, what's wrong?!" he asked, a little concern
creeping into his somewhat panicked voice. Not enough that he couldn't
deny it if he had to, though.

"Toma said to join him in the hospital right away- it's an emergency. One
of his soldiers was nearly killed!"

Ranma visibly relaxed, now that he knew none of his friends had been
harmed. "Okay. You go tell him that I'll be with him right after I get
dressed, okay?" Akane nodded and ran out of the room. "Huh... she's not
acting like herself. Must be something serious." He stood up, slipped on
the previous day's shirt and pants (because he didn't think he had time to
recover his one clean shirt from the laundry) and dashed off towards the
hospital.

When he arrived, Akane was standing next to another young woman, her arms
circling her comfortingly as she cried. Ranma looked down into the bed
they were standing next to, and noticed one of the island's Royal Guards
lying unconscious, his head and side covered in gauze bandages.

Toma stepped out of the shadows and whispered to Ranma, "Can I talk to you
privately for a moment?" Ranma nodded, and followed the prince to a small,
isolated room. "You saw Hideki Yoshii- the soldier who was in the hospital
bed. According to his lover, Marie Desaix, she was coming to the beach to
surprise him when she caught what looked like one of our soldiers standing
over him, about to run him through with a trident. The attacker ran upon
discovery, but she was able to get a good look first. What she saw leads
me to believe I might need the help of you and your... friends."

Ranma nodded. "Well, I can't speak for everyone, but I'll help you. What
is it that she saw?"

"Two horns, here and here on his head," he gestured. "Like a man possessed
by an oni."

Ranma stood unmoving for a moment before bursting out into laughter. "Oh,
is that all? We've already dealt with that sort of thing once- I'm pretty
sure we can do it again. Just start getting a bunch of spirit wards made,
and we'll handle it."

* * * * *

'Damn,' the oni, still possessing Master Sergeant Alejandro Perez (a native
of Spain who had joined Toma's band when the floating island had been in
the Pacific seven years before), thought to himself. 'I thought Happosai's
spell had failed, and that I was still able to direct the actions of the
more weak-minded of those who I possessed, but I was forced to run from
that woman. It looks as though I was wrong, though- I can only control the
wills of men with little mental discipline when there are no women around.
Without a host which I can act through, my plans will fail or I will have
to build my strength till I can fight without a host. This is not
acceptable- I am going to have to find a way to end this curse he has
placed on me. It will take too long to build the strength without being
able to react to other women. But how can I force my host to make love to
a woman when I must run from one if I'm in a man? I mean, I suppose I
could possess a woman and find a lesbian, but I can't control females that
easily- they would have to WANT me to influence their actions, or I can't
get them to do more than petty attrocities like that Kasumi girl I was in.'
Alejandro shook his head. 'So what do I do?'

Perez's spirit, a weak little soul but well hardened due to his years of
service in various militaries (he had been a mercenary for some twenty
years now), spoke up in a machiavellian attempt to regain control over
himself. 'Well, you could START by taking over a lesbian, and rape another
woman...'

'No,' the oni thought absently. 'If it isn't consensual, it doesn't count.
What I need are two women ALREADY in love with each other... and what are
the chances of finding two women like that on an island like this?'

'Well,' Perez contemplated. 'It's said the man who stole the Prince's
woman away from him could change his sex with water. Perhaps-'

'RANMA? You mean RANMA'S here?!'

* * * * *

In the hospital room where Hideki Yoshii lay unconscious, two young women
talked. One was in tears, and the other was trying to comfort her. Two
observers watched them from the doorway, unseen.

"I haven't known him for very long," Marie began. "That doesn't mean I
didn't love him as much as if I'd known him for my entire life. I kept
hoping he'd ask me to marry him, but now..." She broke down, unable to
continue.

"You sound like he's dead already," Akane said softly to her friend.
During her brief imprisonment by Toma, Marie and she had talked a lot.
Then, when the whole incident with the spring was over they had resumed
their blossoming relationship. "But he's not, thanks to you. He'll wake
up and, in time, I'm sure he'll ask..."

"But he came so close!" Marie insisted, moisture flying from her eyes as
she spun on the other girl. "I came so close to losing him, it feels like
I have! Don't you know how that FEELS?!"

"Well..." Akane thought back to the time in the martial arts figure
skating contest, when Ranma took the blow from the couple cleaver for her.
He wasn't even breathing when Akane first saw him, and for that brief
instant she had thought he was dead. "Yes, I do. Ranma has taken many
blows in order to protect me, and one of those times he wasn't even
breathing after doing so. I was so scared..."

'True,' the voice which had been talking to her earlier said. 'You have
felt that once or twice. But think of how many times he thought he lost
you? Once he thought you were trapped as a duck (and was willing to marry
you anyway, I might add), three times he thought Saffron had killed you,
once thought you had completely forgotten him when Shampoo used that
formu-'

'ENOUGH!' Akane's mind screamed. 'And weren't you going to tell me who you
are?'

'Well-'

"Then you know how I feel right now," Marie broke in.

Akane frowned. "Ranma and I have had a very rocky relationship, and so
it's easy to forget sometimes what we've gone through for each other.
Ranma's probably thought I was dead- or lost forever- several times more
than I thought he was. We've normally forgotten how we felt in those
instances, though, because we've made each other mad almost immediately
afterwards. But yeah, it does hurt. A lot..." She sighed, and wrapped an
arm comfortingly around the other woman.

One of the two shadows in the doorway slipped away, and the other soon
noticed and followed.

* * * * *

"Ranma, what's wrong?" Toma asked, concerned. Ranma's face seemed to be in
pain, and he had no idea why.

"She's only partly right, you know," he said. "It does hurt- more than I
hope you'll ever know. But she got part of it wrong- I've NEVER forgotten
how much it hurts to think I've lost her. I would rather face a thousand
cats than let anything happen to her..."

Toma, realizing the seriousness of Ranma's words, forced himself to not
laugh at the reference to cats. He had heard of both the fear and the
reason behind the fear, and it seemed so amusing to think of a martial
artist of Ranma's caliber turned into a quivering mass by a common
housepet- or a meal, to some of his people.

However, his words had sparked another thought in him. "Ranma, I've been
wondering for a long time- why were you more interested in the water than
Akane? If, as you say, it hurts so much to lose her, then why-"

"Because," Ranma said forcefully. "Akane should be free to make her own
decision. If she wanted to marry you, I would not have stood in her way.
But if she had asked me to keep you from her, you probably wouldn't be here
right now." He sighed. "If I ever marry her, I'm going to make sure she's
willing to- and not because I might want it, but because SHE wants it. And
if I'm ever sure she does, then heaven help those who might stand in my
way- man or girl, young or old, friend or enemy."

Toma stood back for a moment- Ranma usually looked so relaxed and
easygoing, despite the obvious stress he was under. However, right now
Toma saw a Ranma he had never seen before. Little did Toma know there had
been only one time the world had seen Ranma as he looked that second- and
that was when he had been tearing one of his enemies limbs off for nearly
killing the woman he loved.

"Uh... Ranma?" Toma asked tentatively. "Relax- you look ready to kill
someone."

Ranma took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Slowly he let it out, and
with it some of the tension from his muscles. When he opened his eyes, he
smiled sadly and turned to Toma. "Sorry about that- got a little carried
away. Don't worry- it's unlikely Akane and I will ever really know how we
feel for each other, so it'll probably never happen."

"That's not-"

"Anyway, shouldn't we be trying to find to find the others so we can hunt
down your oni?" Ranma asked.

Looking at him with serious concern, Toma could only nod.
--------------------------
Thanks to my prereaders, Freemage, The Rams, and H-Packrat.
I'm sending this out a little earlier than I'd planned (I was hoping to
wait for a response from my third prereader- though he's more than welcome
to make a response now) because I'm trying to get it out of the way before
papers for my various new fall classes start piling up... Chapter 3 will
be out whenever I have the time and the desire to write it. Chapter 1 is
available on my web page. C&C is STRONGLY encouraged...


Chapter 2:

The island's alarm sounded for the fifth time in two hours. Once more, a
squadron of guards ran off to find the source of the trouble, and once more
they arrived just in time to see a horned man run off, leaving destruction
in his wake.

"Damn," Bird-Man cursed. "He knows just where to strike, and how long it
will take us to respond."

"It means one of two things," Cologne, who had, along with Shampoo,
volunteered to help the patrol for this shift, began. "Either he is both
very good and very lucky... or you have a traitor in your little army who
knows exactly what we are capable of doing."

Shampoo looked at her grandmother strangely. Had she not heard, or was she
hiding what she knew from these men so as not to scare them? Taking
special note that no-one other than Cologne and herself were Chinese, she
began speaking in her native tongue.

"<Great-grandmother, Ranma told me that Toma said the attacker was a man
possessed by an oni... surely he could not be considered a traitor if that
were the case,>" she noted.

The Amazon matriarch nodded. "<Child, I had already heard that the
attacker was an oni, but it is better if these people think of him as a
traitor- they will do their jobs better, and be more willing to do what
might be necessary.>"

Shampoo frowned. "<But... isn't the man who is possessed innocent? They
might kill him, and while I do not mind killing in the field of combat, I
cannot consider him a willing fighter if he's just a puppet of an evil
spirit...>"

"<If he were truly as innocent as you presume,>" Cologne began, "<Then I
would not be telling these people what I have. I am not needlessly
cruel... however, while a spirit may be able to force the possessed body to
fight and even die as its slave, it cannot force a mind to reveal knowledge
as intricate as would be necessary to avoid us this successfully without
killing the original body's spirit. So either the man has cooperated with
the oni... or the oni has killed the man. Since death is the proper
punishment for treason...>"

"<Either he is dead or he deserves to be,>" Shampoo sighed, nodding. "<I
understand, great-grandmother.>"

Cologne nodded. "<I would not worry about it, little one... I don't think
we shall witness it- we shall be off the island before the demon is
captured, I bel->"

Alarms went off again, halfway across the compound. Everyone in the group
sighed, before the inevitable orders came down from Bird-man.

Before he gave them, however, he turned to the two Amazons. "<If what you
say is true, honored elder,>" he began in perfect Mandarin, "<Then perhaps
the man should be killed. But if you ever work with me again, let me know
something this important at the start- as commanding officer over these
troops, I have the right to decide what they should and should not know
about our enemies.>" Leaving the two stunned women behind, he turned to
the rest of the tired platoon. "Let's get going, men... don't worry, we
only have to keep this up for two more hours before our shift is over."

The men groaned when they realized they still had as much time to keep up
the hunt as they'd already given to it, but quickly fell into formation and
moved out.

Cologne turned to Shampoo as the soldiers were about to disappear from
view. "Come on, child, we must not let my having overlooked one person for
the first time in over a hundred years stop us from carrying out our
duties. You heard him, two more hours, then Ranma and Ryouga take over for
us..."

* * * * *

Akane sat, comforting Marie as she watched over Hideki Yoshii's comatose
form. Up until a half hour ago, Ranma had been with her helping her out,
but he'd been forced to leave in order to join Ryouga in the oni patrol.
Marie herself was not very good company at the moment- she had said little,
giving the occasional sniffle as she looked over her lover. It left Akane
a lot of time to think alone- well, not quite alone.

'You know, you still haven't told me who you are,' she thought.

'Every time I've tried, someone interrupts- almost like fate is keeping me
from doing so,' the Voice in her head replied cautiously.

Akane laughed mentally, but tried to keep her outside expressions somber
for her friend. 'Sounds a bit like me and Ranma trying to get closer. I
think we're pretty safe here, though- just you, me, Yoshii, and Marie...
and I don't think either Yoshii or Marie will be wanting to say much to me
for a while.'

The Voice paused for a few seconds. 'There is something else, though,
which can break in. And I think I just sensed it...'

'Oh, give me a break.' Akane was starting to get angry. 'You can't expect
me to believe that-'

'Shh!' the Voice hushed insistently. 'Listen, the Oni is here!'

'Huh, what are you talking about?'

'The Oni! You know, the thing that put Yoshii here- he's outside of the
room and-'

Akane, realizing what the Voice was talking about, leapt to her feet.
"Marie, go, sound the alarm!"

Marie snapped out of her somber mood and blinked at Akane in surprise.
"Huh?"

Akane stood up and tensed her muscles. "No time to explain- just sound the
alarm! GO!"

Marie looked at Akane, nodded once, and ran out a door. It would take her
about a minute to reach the alarm and sound it, she knew- she just hoped
that whatever it was that had worried Akane so much would hold off until
then.

'Okay,' Akane's thoughts demanded. 'I'm ready... now where is this thing?'

'Getting closer,' the Voice replied. 'Akane, maybe... maybe I should take
over your body for this one...'

Akane blinked, this time both mentally and physically. 'Huh? What do you
mean by that?' Suddenly it dawned on her. 'Wait a minute- you don't think
I'm up to this, do you? Listen, Ms. Voice In My Head, I am a martial
artist, and I'm perfectly capable of handling any fighting which needs to
be done!'

'Against ordinary martial artists, yes,' the Voice argued. 'But this is a
case where we have to face an oni- a hostile entity from the spirit world.
You don't know as much about that as I do- after all, I used to live in the
spirit world myself... Besides, last time I took over your body, I was
able to beat Ukyou and Shampoo with ease- I don't remember you ever doing
that unaided!'

Akane frowned. 'Hey, when did you take over my body before...'

* * * * *

While Akane was arguing with the Voice in her head, another man outside her
room was having an argument of his own with a similar adversary.

'It's time we stopped these pointless hit and run tactics- we're wearing
ourselves down faster than we're wearing the patrols down, and those
patrols haven't even given us a HINT that they're giving up. In fact,
they're more determined than ever!' Perez complained. 'I KNOW that you, as
a demon, cannot bring yourself to trust me... but in this case you have
little choice. You cannot, controlling me, even approach her without
sending both of us into a panic... and if you were to try and approach her
without using my body to pin her first, you know she could escape, given
how Happosai's curse has slowed you.'

'Akane Tendou is a better fighter than you alone- the memories of her
sister, Kasumi, showed her defeating hundreds of fighters of moderate skill
every day for nearly two years, before her fiance chased them away. True,
she is among the least skilled of her friends now, if Hibiki's memories are
to be believed, but she should still be more than ten times your unaided
equal. Returning control of your body to you will not help.'

Alejandro growled. 'If you have a better idea, I'm open to suggestions.'

The Oni sighed in Perez's mind. 'No... If I had more time to plan,
perhaps I could, but...' It paused for a moment. 'I will allow you to
assume control, provided you swear to me that you will do everything in
your power, regardless of how this turns out, to aid me in ridding myself
of this curse.'

'Very well, I swear!' the one-time Spaniard vowed. However, as he did, he
briefly considered breaking his oath- honor would not be damaged if he were
to break his word to a demon, would it?

'Ah, you think you may betray me?' The Oni seemed amused. 'Well, I think
you should know that you are required to keep an oath directly made to a
spirit. If you break it of your own free will, you will die and your soul
will be trapped as a ghost forever!'

'Oh, really? I have never heard of a demon keeping his word- does this not
work in reverse as well?' Alejandro did not really care about the answer,
he merely wanted to distract it while he tried to figure out what to do now
that he had literally made a deal with a devil...

'Beings such as myself may twist the wording of any vow so that it can
serve our purposes, but if we completely and totally violate it beyond any
possible interpretation, we will be torn apart and our fragments will be
sealed for all eternity with the thing which causes us the most agony.
Even for one of us, that is enough deterrent to prevent us from breaking
our words without extreme provocation.'

'Oh?' That got Perez thinking. 'Then I make a small request... I ask that
you vow to protect me from retribution- without causing harm to myself-
that may be dealt to me as a result of cooperating with you.'

'And why should I do that?' the Oni asked arrogantly.

'Because otherwise my aid of you shall merely be in my allowing you to
consult my mind when you need to know of how the security on this island
operates... which, with the special properties this island possesses, does
not give you many opportunities to rid your curse if this fails. I can
justify this very easily, as this island's defenses and many languages are
my only area of expertise... However, if you were to make this vow, I
shall agree to leave this island- with you- when we reach Japan, and you
will have a much greater chance of success.'

Laughter echoed in his head. 'Well reasoned, my disciple! Very well, I
swear to protect you without harming you from any danger you may encounter
as a result of aiding me!'

Perez was uncertain if he liked being called the demon's 'disciple,' but
quickly shook it out of his head. Soon, he would regain control of his
body... and immediately thereafter, he would have to fight.

* * * * *

Akane did not have time to receive an answer to her question before the
attacker entered the hospital room. She quickly fell into a much more
defensive stance, noticing his polearm, and slowly sidestepped away from
Yoshii's bed to keep him from receiving further injuries in the fight.

'Akane, listen to me!' the Voice cried, panicked. 'Let me take over- I can
fight him better than you can! I know how he thinks!'

'SHUT UP!' she shouted mentally back at it, just as she ducked underneath a
jab from the trident. 'He's not that good! Just look at that move he
made- he's no more skilled than any of the other petty goons Toma's hired-
I can take him easy!'

The Voice had to admit she was right. It looked almost as if the man had
retaken control over his own body, and was fighting with just his skill
alone- but the demon's presence was still there.

Akane sidestepped another thrust, and caught the weapon just behind the
blade. The horned man yanked at it a couple of times before he realized no
matter what he did it wouldn't budge, and let it go. Briefly, the light in
his eyes flared- panic behind them- before snap-kicking the polearm away
from her and catching it in his hands. The fear was just too much, though,
afterwards, and the now oni-controlled man was only able to do one thing
before bolting away.

"Akane Tendou... You haven't seen the last of us," he cried hideously,
just as the alarm sounded.

* * * * *

'Probably a good thing we left when we did,' the oni thought as it calmed
down from taking Perez's body in a rapid escape. 'If we'd waited much
longer, Toma's forces would have caught us...'

'We have to come up with a new plan,' Perez thought, as his body wheezed
slightly from the exertion. 'She's stronger and faster than I could ever
hope to match, and you could barely stay long enough to recover my weapon
after you took control. We need some way of pinning her down for you that
doesn't involve trying to fight her.' He paused. 'I still don't
understand why you just don't use female Ranma...'

'Something would go SERIOUSLY wrong- Ranma's curse would be activated at
the wrong time, when all four of the women chasing him are around, and I'd
bolt in a panic and never be able to find anyone again. No, it has to be
Akane- less chance for error.'

'If she would just go to bed, you could sneak me in to her chambers when
she slept, but she's too determined to stay by the side of her friends in
the hospital!'

Perez thought for a moment. 'Perhaps... perhaps when we get to Japan...'

* * * * *

"...was going well- I'd caught his weapon and he couldn't pull it away,
when suddenly his eyes flashed and he seemed to triple in strength for that
one kick to my hand," Akane was saying between sips of the tea they had
given her.

'That boost in strength was because the Oni took him over again, you know,'
the Voice said. 'I told you I should be the one to fight him- I would have
looked for that!'

'Will you shut up about it already?' Akane yelled internally. She was
annoyed at herself for letting the possessed man get away, and she didn't
particularly like being scolded like she was.

Ranma, Toma, and Bird-man were all sitting around her as she related the
events to them. Ranma was being surprisingly kind to her (in her mind),
not having once said anything about how she had let the attacker escape and
being especially concerned about her bruised hand- he'd even made sure the
island's doctors had examined it for breaks or other serious injury. Now,
she had a small bag of ice held to her thumb, which had taken the worst of
the damage and was now turning a bruised purple.

"Hmm, you said he was Hispanic-looking?" Toma inquired. When Akane nodded,
he continued, "Bird-man, have we heard anything lately from that man my
father picked up in Spain... seven years ago, was it? Alejandro Perez?"

Behind his face mask, Bird-Man frowned. "He IS on the list of people who
are unaccounted for, My Prince. There was no reason to suspect him any
more than the other dozen or so men that have gone missing in the past few
weeks, though..."

Toma frowned at that. When he had allowed his men to 'do what you will'
with the assembled concubines, almost his entire army had deserted to spend
time with their chosen women. As soon as he had lost Akane and started,
with the help of his advisors, to restore order, they had returned- some
sheepishly, others with a renewed vigor, and still others with bruises on
their cheeks where the women had rejected their advances quite...
forcefully. A few people, though, remained missing. He had suspected that
the Oni was actually one of them possessed, and now this seemed to confirm
it.

"Except for the fact he's the only Hispanic on the island who might be the
right age. See if you can find his records, will you?"

"As you command, My Prince." Bird-man bowed and, with a flourish,
departed.

Toma turned back to Ranma and Akane and nodded once. "I'm done here- I
have a few more things to check out, though, so I'll be on my way. Ranma,
I'm putting Mousse on your shift for a while- I want you to stay here and
make sure that Perez doesn't try to attack Akane again. If he tries to
follow up on his threat, I want to be sure that there's someone here who
can handle him."

"I'm a martial artist! I can handle him myself!" Akane shouted angrily.

"You're hurt," Ranma said simply, avoiding mention of her previous defeat.

"Not badly- I just sprained my thumb."

"And I happen to know you've been staying here with Marie and Yoshii for
the past three days, and that you haven't slept once in that time," he
countered.

Akane blinked. "Three days?"

Ranma nodded.

'Yeah...' the Voice confirmed. 'Normally, I'm not able to talk to you
while you're in the middle of a conversation with someone else, but as
tired as you are, it's impossible for you to focus on the person you are
talking to, and so I can break in every now and then, but you can still
follow what's going on around you.'

"Akane," Toma broke in. "I'll tell you what- if you agree to go lie down
and sleep yourself out while Ranma protects you, I won't put an armed guard
around you twenty-four hours a day."

"But... I can't sleep now!" she argued.

"Then I'll get you some sleeping pills."

"That's not what I meant!" Akane sputtered. "I mean, someone needs to keep
Marie company- she's been through a lot."

"Akane," Ranma said calmly, "If you want, you can sleep in the same
hospital room as he does, and I'll stay in there with you and keep Marie
company while you sleep."

Akane looked at him in wonder. If she didn't know he'd just stammer out
some kind of insult rather than give an honest answer, she'd ask him why he
was doing this. Oddly, though, the exhaustion she was suddenly feeling was
giving her a clarity of thought she never knew she had.

Still... "I... I don't know..."

"Akane, it's that or the armed guards. Your choice," Toma said.

"Oh... all right. Come on, Ranma," Akane growled as she turned towards the
door leading to Yoshii's room.

Behind Akane's back, Ranma mouthed a silent 'Thank you' to Toma and quickly
fell in step behind her.

* * * * *

When Ranma and Akane reached the hospital room, Marie was there again,
asleep in her chair. Two additional beds had been placed in the room, as
well- one for Akane, the other for Marie.

"See, Akane," he whispered in her ear. "You didn't need to worry about
keeping her company after all."

"Let's get her into bed, okay, Ranma?" Akane asked wearily.

Ranma nodded and, very gently, picked the sleeping woman up and lay her in
the bed next to Yoshii without waking her. As an afterthought, he pushed
the two beds a little closer together so she could continue to hold his
hand as she had been doing.

"Okay, Akane, your turn," he said. By now, she could barely stand on her
own, and didn't resist when he wrapped an arm around her waist to support
her as she walked towards the bed.

"Say, Ranma," Akane said deliriously as he helped her up onto the hospital
bed. "You've either been with me or with the patrols since Yoshii was
hurt- how come I'm so tired and *yawn* you're not?"

Ranma smiled, adjusting the sheets over her body. It didn't matter what he
said now, as long as he didn't upset her- she wouldn't remember it when she
woke up anyway. "I don't know, Akane. Maybe I nodded off once or twice
while you were busy with Marie and neither of us noticed it."

"Oh... okay, Ranma." She yawned a few more times. "Good night..."

Ranma waited until her breathing evened out before, after making sure he
wasn't observed, carefully bending down and giving her a gentle kiss on her
forehead. For once, he was confident she wouldn't wake up when he did
that. 'I will protect you, Akane, no matter what,' he swore.

Taking a small bottle of sleeping pills from his pocket, he set it back in
the medicine cabinet where he'd found it. No-one else needed to know that
her tea had been spiked with a sedative, after all...

* * * * *

The third of the four shifts was almost over. Ukyou sighed slightly, glad
that it was over so she could escape the person who had been chosen to
replace Mousse in her patrol.

"Forsooth! The hour in which I may depart draws neigh! Then onward, to
the infirmary!" Kunou babbled.

Ukyou sighed again. There hadn't been a choice, really- Happosai and Genma
had the next shift (a shift which, for the past three nights, had three
times the number of alarms as all the others... primarily because, while
the Oni seemed to be dormant during that period, those two jackasses were
committing a number of crimes themselves) and Soun refused to participate,
so as to keep the demon from taking over Kasumi again. Also, he seemed to
want to keep an eye on Nabiki, who he was afraid might try some... well,
more than improper things to gain some money on an island which knew little
or nothing about women.

"Oh, really, Kunou?" she asked disinterestedly. The Oni hadn't shown up
since it fought with Akane, and so tonight's patrol had been especially
boring. "Why the infirmary?"

"There Tendou Akane rests, guarded by that fiend, Saotome. The foul heathen
is not to be trusted in the presence of her innocence."

Ukyou twitched. Ranma and Akane had been getting closer for a while now,
and she was pretty sure that meant she would slowly be taken out of the
picture. "Oh... really?" Ranma had given her a bit of a dressing down
after the failed wedding- apparently, using explosives powerful enough to
tear his clothing to shreds was too much- Happosai could get away with it
only because Ranma couldn't stop him. Putting on her sweet act, she turned
to Kunou and said "Only one of us needs to stay on duty for this shift,
considering how slow it is. I'm taking off a little early, okay, sugar?"

Kunou nodded once, and Ukyou picked up her spatula and ran off.

* * * * *

"Halt!" one of Toma's soldiers ordered Ukyou as she appeared in the
hallway. She froze. "Approach slowly- prepare to be searched."

Ukyou walked up to the four people guarding the door to the hospital room
cautiously. 'What's going on here?' she asked herself. 'Why is this room
protected more than the others?'

She wasn't frisked, but someone patted her hair down- much to her
annoyance. She drew in a deep breath- it would have been no trouble to
take all four of them out in a second, but she had to keep her temper
despite their liberties.

"Okay, no signs of the oni are detected. We ask humbly that you leave any
weapons you may possess out here, however- unless you WANT us to have to
strip-search you..." the corporal apparently in charge of the detachment
asked.

Sighing, Ukyou started to remove her spatula and bandoleer. "What's with
all the added security?"

"We believe that Akane Tendou, who is currently asleep inside, is the Oni's
target," the corporal answered.

'Well, that explains why Ranma-honey's here... but why the guards?' Ukyou
frowned. "Um, I'd been told Ranma was inside with her. Shouldn't he be
able to protect her himself?"

One of the other soldiers stifled a giggle before the same corporal
answered her. "Ranma justified to Ms. Tendou that she needed to sleep
because she hadn't in three days. However, Toma knew that Ranma was also
just as lacking in sleep..."

"Huh?" Ukyou asked, confused. 'What does that have to do with anything?'

"Oh, well, as Ranma was drugging some tea Akane drank, Toma arranged for
him to be injected with a slower-acting sedative himself. The prince felt
as though they both needed their sleep more than they let on."

* * * * *

"Ranchan?" Ukyou whispered, shocked to see Ranma still awake as he hovered
around Akane's bedside. He was looking very grey and ill, however.

He smiled wearily. "Hi, Ucchan... let's keep our voices down, shall we?
Akane really needs her sleep."

Ukyou frowned. "Ranma-honey, you look as if you need sleep more than any
man I've ever seen has. Why don't I arrange for a bed to be brought in,
and I can watch over the both of you?"

Ranma closed his eyes and shook his head sluggishly. "Can't... I trust
you not to hurt either of us, Ucchan, and to do your best to protect us-
when I can trust that you are you, that is. But, for all I know, the Oni
is hidden somewhere inside you and could force you to attack me or Akane in
our sleep. No, this time, the only person I can trust is myself... and
possibly Akane, here, as she's the one I'm protecting."

Ukyou frowned. His logic was falling apart at the end there- why would the
fact he was protecting her matter? "Ranchan, what do you mean by that?
How can you trust Akane?"

Ranma smiled. "Well, first of all, she's the Oni's target- I seriously
doubt the oni is going to target itself." Well, that at least made sense.
"And if she WAS possessed, I couldn't lift a finger to stop her, because
she's the one I'm supposed to be protecting. Get it?"

Ukyou shook her head. "What do you mean by that? I thought you were just
protecting her from the oni..."

Ranma started to open his mouth, but then shook himself furiously. 'Gotta
remember who I'm talking to,' he thought to himself. 'If I tell her I've
vowed to myself to keep Akane safe, she'll ask why, and I'm not sure I'm
awake enough to convince her that it isn't because I love Akane...'

"Ukyou... just don't ask, okay? I'm not even sure I understand myself at
this point..." he begged.

She didn't miss the look in his eyes, though. 'He really is in love with
her, that's why,' she thought to herself. 'Well... I'm still going to win
your heart, Ranma, whatever it takes! But for right now... I think I'd
better do as you say. I'm not sure how you'd react, as tired as you are.'
She turned to leave, and smiled bitterly. 'For all I know, it's just the
drugs making you think that way. Oh, that reminds me...'

"Say, Ranchan?" she whispered over her shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"I figure you should know- Toma drugged you as you were spiking Akane's
tea. I was expecting you to be asleep in a chair when I came in..."

His eyes widened in surprise as Ukyou continued walking out the door. To
her surprise, Ranma's quiet laughter followed her into the hallway.

'I can't believe he did the same thing to me I did to Akane,' he thought,
trying to control himself to keep from waking her up. Then he started
pacing to keep himself awake- Akane'd only been asleep for about seven or
eight hours, and as tired as she was she shouldn't be awakening for several
more. As tired as HE was, it would be a struggle to stay awake until she
did...

* * * * *

Several hours later, Akane awoke to find Ranma slumped on the floor,
dozing.

"Gotta... stay... awake," he was mumbling in his sleep.

Akane rolled her eyes- here he was worried about her needing rest, and he
had passed out himself from lack of sleep. Nevertheless, she decided he
deserved a more comfortable resting place than he had passed out in, and
tenderly placed him on her old bed, covering him up much as he had covered
her up hours ago. And, like he had done more than half a day ago, she
secretly kissed him on the forehead when she was certain he was asleep,
blushing furiously.

Noticing Marie was still asleep, she headed out for the bathroom. To her
surprise, there were four of Toma's footsoldiers outside her room.

"What's going on?" she asked, concerned.

The same corporal who had talked to Ukyou was still there, and he smiled as
he turned towards her. This time, it was going to be fun to explain
things.

"Well, see, Toma was worried that Ranma hadn't been getting any sleep like
you hadn't, so he drugged Ranma and ordered us to guard you two instead."

Akane's eyes widened. "He DRUGGED Ranma?"

The underling who had chuckled when Ukyou showed up burst out laughing.
"Oh," he gasped, "I don't think Ranma will mind- after all, your fiancee
did the same thing to you for the same reasons!"

Akane very nearly turned and stormed back into the infirmary to get a
confession out of her fiance before the Voice broke into her anger.

'Look, I know what it's like to get mad at someone,' it said, 'But don't
you think getting mad at Ranma for being justifiably worried about your
lack of sleep is at least a BIT uncalled for?'

'B-but he-' she sputtered.

'He was drugged, and yet he was still trying to stay awake when you woke
up- he was looking out for you as much as he could. When I first met you
and Ranma, I learned that he would gladly take any punishment from you and
not think it amiss. He'd throw himself in the path of danger because he
merely SUSPECTED you were in trouble... Maybe he doesn't respect your
ability to take care of yourself as much as he should, but his heart is in
the right place.' Akane was silent for a few moments, so the voice
continued, 'You're too hard on him sometimes... though he DOES sometimes
deserve it.'

Akane started heading for the bathroom, followed by a couple of guards.
'Maybe...'

* * * * *

A day later, both Akane and Ranma were well rested, and had assembled with
the rest of the Nerimites in preparation to leave the island and return
home.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to let us go?" Ranma asked. "I mean, maybe
we should stay until that Oni's caught..."

"No, no need to worry," Toma answered authoritatively. "My men can handle
it... besides, I'm transferring Yoshii to a hospital in Tokyo- they have
better facilities than we do here. Ms. Desaix will want to go with him,
and I'm sure Akane will want to go with her... and I'm just as sure you
don't want her to go back home alone."

"Uh, right," Ranma nodded.

"Good luck, Toma," Akane said, smiling. "I hope we all can see you again,
some day."

"I hope so, too, Akane." He returned his smile. "Maybe when you get
married," he whispered.

"Huh?" Akane blushed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, nothing..."

With that, everyone made their final farewells and boarded the rubber
dinghy that was all that remained of Kunou's yacht, before starting the
engine and motoring off towards Tokyo bay.

Clinging to the bottom of the boat, Alejandro Perez and the oni that
possessed him waited in his scuba gear for the ride to stop. Finally, the
Oni had returned home...

Thanks to Freemage, H-Packrat, and The RAMS who've acted as prereaders for
this fic. I feel a little short of prereaders, so if you're interested,
e-mail me...

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

---
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
desaix@sysnet.net
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis /7872
fanfics available at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7872/fanfics.htm
Chapt er 3:

After 'thanking' him for their impromptu vacation, the Amazons, Saotomes,
Tendous, and Ukyou dropped the unconscious Kunou off into his sister's
care before heading off to the Nekohanten for a brief welcome-home meal.
Marie had taken Yoshii to the hospital alone, following the directions
Akane had given her. Ryouga was sidetracked, and wound up at Furinken High
School instead.

After a short time, everyone had eaten their fill and it was time to return
home. Ukyou left first, mumbling something about making sure Konatsu
hadn't run her out of business. Happosai went on one of his usual nightly
raids. Shampoo had disappeared upstairs- she and her great grandmother had
been on the last watch the Nerima company had participated in, and hadn't
slept in nearly thirty-six hours. Mousse soon followed, not having any
reason to stay up himself with Shampoo gone. With her two helpers gone,
Cologne shooed everyone out of her restaurant, in order to clean it up in
preparation for business the next day. So it wasn't until night that the
Tendous and Saotomes returned home.

"What?" came a scared voice from upstairs as they made their way in through
the front door, coupled with the sound of metal being drawn from cloth
wrappings. "Who's down there?!"

"It's us, Mother!" Ranma called from the bottom of the staircase. "We're
home!"

"RANMA!" Nodoka's voice cried from upstairs. The sound of steel hitting
the floor was followed by her bounding down the stairs and giving Ranma a
crushing hug. "When I heard about that storm, I didn't think much of it,
but when you didn't get back.... Oh, I was so worried!"

"Hey, relax," Ranma soothed. "We were just stranded for a while... but
everyone's okay now. You should know by now you don't have to worry about
me...."

"Ranma, my son, I can't help but worry... because of my stupidity in
sending my husband out to turn you into a man, I lost you for ten years of
your life!" she cried. "When I began to think that the storm could have
sunk your boat, I was afraid I lost you for the rest of it...." Ranma was
shocked to feel one of his mother's tears fall onto his neck. "And that I
wasn't there for you when you might have needed me, just because I get
seasick...."

* * * * *

'Oh, so THAT'S why she didn't want to go with us,' Akane, who had been
standing in the doorway during the entire exchange, thought to herself.

'Looks like ALL the Saotome's have problems with water, Akane,' the Voice
suggested. 'Guess that makes you perfect to join them...'

Akane blinked. 'Eh? I don't have any problems with water...'

'Oh, really? When was the last time you went swimming?'

Akane couldn't answer that one, though having some weird voice in her head
which STILL hadn't told her who or what it was point out her flaws was not
making her happy.

She was about to start listening in again before a gruff "Out of the
doorway" was sent her way by Ranma's father. Sighing, she moved on inside
and up the stairs, pretending not to pay any attention to Ranma and his
mother as she passed them.

* * * * *

Genma had not seen what caused Akane to stop in the doorway, but when he
did he paused himself. Hesitantly, he caught his wife's eyes and held his
arms open. They had not... completely... reconciled since his return, but
she was his wife still.

Nodoka considered things for a little bit, before releasing Ranma and
giving her husband a brief hug. It would be quite some time before she
completely forgave him, but she had to admit that he still had whatever it
was that initially attracted her to him... and that he would probably be
quite warm to cuddle up to as a panda. "Welcome home, dear..." Looking
back at Ranma, who was shifting uncomfortably, she smiled at Genma and
asked, "So, dearest, why don't we let our son take your bags up to our room
while you tell me about what happened on your little boat trip."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ranma grabbed his and Genma's bags and darted
up the stairs in a blur.

* * * * *

Alejandro Perez groaned in frustration as his body cowered in the alley.
'We are getting nowhere, fast,' he complained. 'Every time we start to
move through the streets, we encounter a woman, and you run away from her
in terror. Why don't you leave my body? Or let me take control of it? We
could move much faster then!'

The oni sighed. 'No, we couldn't. For one thing, you don't know where we
are going, and I wouldn't be able to tell you. More importantly, though,
is what Happosai's curse has done to me- it has weakened me and slowed me
down. I can move quickly for short distances, like I did when I possessed
you, but until the curse is lifted I won't be able to move very far outside
of a host. Besides, if anyone were to see me it would give away our
intentions. No, we must move together, and just try to avoid... women...
until we reach the Tendou's house.'

'And then?' Perez asked.

'Then we separate... you cause a distraction, and I sneak into Akane's
room. Once I am inside, you must run and hide.'

Perez frowned. 'We won't be able to avoid women in the daytime- not in a
busy city like this. We should wait until it's dark out, at least. And
even then, you should give me as much control as you can- that way, we
might be able to stop before we get too far off course.'

'Moving at night will take a long time- we might not arrive at the dojo for
another day or two.'

'If we don't move at night, we'll never get there- we can barely stay
inside the city limits as things stand now.'

'True,' the Oni acknowledged. 'Very well, we shall do as you suggest. In
the meantime, though, your body is very tired. Let us rest until
nightfall...'

* * * * *

Ranma finished putting away his and his father's packs and lay down on his
futon. 'It's about time Mom and Pop started to act like a married couple
again. I was starting to worry there... But why was Mom so worried about
me? I mean, yeah, there was that storm and all, but she should know by now
there isn't anything I can't face....'

"Ranma?"

'Well, almost anything I can't face,' he grinned ruefully as he sat up.
"Hi, Akane. What's up?"

"Are you settled in?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ranma nodded. "Why?"

'Indeed, why?' she asked the Voice.

'As I already told you, it's a good opportunity to get him alone for a
while and ask him about why he was still so uncomfortable around his
mother.'

'But why do I care about that?' she asked defensively.

'Because you want to be able to help him... and because you KNOW you're
curious.'

'Well... yeah, I am curious,' she acknowledged, refusing to admit she
wanted to help him. 'But I'll only do this if you agree to tell me who you
are!'

'I promise to tell you next time you're alone and not about to fall
asleep... but right now, I think your fiancee is beginning to wonder why
you haven't told him what you're doing here, and it's beginning to make him
nervous.'

Akane was mildly surprised to see that Ranma was, indeed, looking at her
rather nervously. 'Probably thinks I'm mad at him or something...' she
thought, and decided to try and make him realize she wasn't.

"Ranma, do you want to go out for ice cream?" she asked.

That made Ranma even more nervous, after waiting a full minute for her to
say something. It was almost like she was building up her resolve in order
to ask him something very important to her, and with what she asked...
'She wants to go out for ice cream? Does that mean she wants to go on a
date or something?' He swallowed. "Uh... now? Isn't it a little late?"

Akane frowned. "Well, maybe a little, but I was thinking that, with
Shampoo and Ukyou at home resting from the trip..." She paused. 'Which we
probably should be doing, come to think of it. Still...' She cleared her
throat. "Well, we wouldn't have too many distractions and we could... talk
privately."

'It sure sounds like a date to me, but at least she's not calling it one...
yet.' Ranma nodded slowly, saying, "Okay... give me a minute to freshen up
first, and I'll meet you downstairs."

As Akane left the room, she asked the Voice, 'Do you have any idea why
Ranma's still so nervous?'

'He thinks you asked him on a date,' it said.

'A DATE? But... why? And how do you know this?!'

'You just asked him out for ice cream at an ungodly hour so you and he
could have some time alone together. If I were he, I'd think it was a
date, too.' Before Akane could object, the Voice continued, 'And as to how
I know this... well, his mind shouted in panic "It sure sounds like a date
to me."'

'Last time you said you heard his mind speak was when you said he wanted to
tell me he loved me- after the battle with Saffron. You were wrong then,
how do I know-'

'HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU, I WAS NOT WRONG!' The voice shouted
in anger. 'He thought the words... maybe he didn't say them, but he
thought them.'

'Oh? Considering how he acted when I confronted him about it, I can't
really say I believe you.'

The voice just sighed.

* * * * *

Akane knew something was wrong with Ranma when he didn't go overboard
ordering his ice cream. However, she didn't know whether it was because of
his parents or because of something else. Curiosity, eventually, overcame
her shyness, and she had to know.

"Ranma, what's wrong?" she demanded.

"Wrong?" he looked up, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"I mean..." Akane didn't want to come right out and ask about his family
problems, so instead she noted, "Er, you aren't eating your ice cream with
your usual... gusto. Is there something wrong with it, or are you upset
about something?"

Ranma seemed surprised. "Er, well... I just didn't want to upset you by
eating like a pig again," he admitted. He had decided that, whether it was
officially one or not, this sure seemed like a date to him, and he wasn't
going to do anything to mess it up if he could help it.

That explanation didn't give Akane the answers she wanted, however. 'Fine,
I guess I'll have to come right out and say it,' she thought. "Oh... I
thought it might have something to do with why you were so nervous around
your mother earlier today."

"Huh? No, not at all... I've got no problems with my mother right now.
It's just going to take me a while to get used to being around her. For
several months, every time I was around her I had to watch what I said,
what I did, how I acted, and how I... looked, or else I was going to die.
That's no longer the case, but she still makes me... nervous, if you know
what I mean."

Akane frowned. Of course, that was the obvious explanation, but it still
didn't explain why he was so nervous now. She decided to press the issue,
certain that his relationship with his mother was the cause. "Are you
certain that's the only reason you're nervous around her?"

Ranma shrugged, figuring Akane was just trying to keep a conversation going
without letting it drift off into another one of their arguments. "Well, I
suppose it worries me a little that my mom thinks the ideal man would be
Happosai," he joked, managing to get a chuckle out of Akane despite
herself.

"Oh, she's not that bad," Akane grinned. "At least, she isn't when she's
not trying to get you to peep on me."

Ranma surprised her by not taking the opportunity to insult her figure, and
the night proceeded smoothly for them from that point on. Akane was
essentially satisfied for the moment, and moved on to discussing other
things. They talked casually, their earlier light teasing of Ranma's
absent mother relaxing them a bit, and managed to avoid insulting each
other the entire time.

As they headed home from the ice cream parlor, Ranma looped his arm through
Akane's and laughed happily, grabbing her hand and squeezing with delight
that the evening had gone so well. Akane was too tired because of the late
hours and too happy with herself to remember that she should blush, and
just returned the squeeze affectionately.

They were lucky almost everyone else had passed out with exhaustion by the
time they'd gotten home, because they had forgotten to let go of each other
until they were at the duck sign by Akane's door.

"Thanks, Ranma." Akane smiled up at him, grinning. "Tonight's been
great."

There was no goodnight kiss, which was not how Ranma had always thought his
first real date with her would end, but she still gave him a smile that
would happily haunt his dreams for days.

* * * * *

The one other person in the house still awake watched the little exchange
at Akane's door before turning around and heading right back down the
steps. P-Chan sighed with loss, regret... and acceptance. He had much to
apologize for...

* * * * *

"So..." Toma said, frowning. The Nerimites has left the previous morning,
and he'd had a hard time sleeping since then. But it wasn't a lack of
sleep that was worrying him this time. "We haven't had a single incident
since we let our friends leave for Japan, and all of those soldiers
unaccounted for have been found EXCEPT Alejandro Perez. You have scoured
the entire island, and found no trace of him or the oni... You believe he
left with Ranma and his friends?"

Bird-man nodded. "I'm not certain how- he certainly wasn't on their boat-
but it appears as if he has given us the slip. The only place where he
could have done that would be Japan."

Toma thought for a moment. He had been in training to be ruler of
Tokenkyou since he could remember, and that training kept him from
embarrassing his kingdom, but even he knew he could sometimes make stupid
policies resulting from his youthful arrogance and immaturity. The two
years he had spent looking for a wife by stealing hundreds of women from
various countries had been such a policy, as he now realized. So his next
action would require SERIOUS thought... and maybe some words from his chief
advisor.

"Bird-man... should I order the island to return to Japan so we can help
our friends with this oni?"

"Of course, My Prince, if you so desire it- you are the ruler of Togenkyou,
after all."

"No, Bird-man," Toma admonished, sighing. "I don't want you to answer me
like that. I don't want you telling me I'm doing the right thing just
because I can. I..." Toma hesitated. He had always been told by his
parents never to admit failure. This would be a serious failure he would
be admitting to... but if he did not admit to it, he would not be able to
get the advice he needed. Bird-man had been his father's advisor for a
year before his father died, and yet Toma had not sought his advice in the
two years since he had taken the throne. Perhaps it was time... but he had
to explain himself, first. If he didn't, he would never get the help he
needed. But that would mean admitting to a failure...

"My liege?" Bird-man prompted patiently.

"When my father d..." Toma's voice trailed off. He cleared his throat, and
tried again. "When my father d-died in that hurricane that destroyed the
Government House... I was so lonely. I wanted... someone to help me. I
was not READY to rule- I wasn't even supposed to be able to until I turned
eighteen and could be crowned king. But... along with my father, the
regent and most of his advisors were killed. All that was left of the
Royal Court was you, me, Dog-man, and Monkey-man. I needed... someone to
talk to. Monkey-man was a good diplomat, and most of his duties at the
time consisted of keeping us from foreign intrusion. Dog-man is...
incoherent. And you... you reminded me of my father too much, at the
time."

Bird-man's mask concealed his entire face except for his eyes, but these
now flashed with visible concern. "I..." He didn't know what to say.

"I wanted... well, I wanted a mother," Toma continued. "I was twelve- I
knew mothers did not grow on trees- mothers were people who married
fathers. So, without asking anyone for advice on how to proceed, I ordered
our island to begin collecting as many women as possible so I could find
someone to marry me... a mother, really, who would be joined to me as my
wife. When Akane Tendou approached me, slapped me, and admonished me... I
knew I found someone who would be a good mother. She did not strike me
harder than I could take, or harder than was justified; she just...
corrected me, like my REAL mother used to do." He chuckled a little. "I
admit, my mother used to slap me in a bit different location- one which
would sometimes not let me sit down comfortably for days- but it was still
the same idea- discipline." He sighed. "And then I learned that I cannot
always have what I want, no matter how badly I want it. She did not love
me, she loved another... and so she betrayed me to help him. And I was so
petty about it I nearly destroyed her. Talking to her later, I realized I
would never have gotten what I wanted even if she had not loved Ranma- if I
had succeeded in forcing her to marry me, she likely would have lost what
she needed in order to give me that discipline- her free will."

"Wh... why are you telling me all this, My Prince?" Bird-man asked,
hesitantly.

"I have yet to ask for any help ruling this kingdom, despite knowing I am
not really capable of doing so alone. I have already made one major
mistake by trying to find a new mother when doing so was impossible. I
want someone to help advise me before I send this nation on another foolish
errand- and before I do something to destroy my kingdom. I nearly left
with Akane and the others to find a new bride in Tokyo- and would have,
too, if I hadn't suddenly realized that doing so would be abandoning my
responsibility to my people... we can thank the oni for that. But now, I
wonder if I would be abandoning a responsibility to our friends if we don't
turn around and help them capture the oni which escaped us- which we said
we could take care of. But I don't know... Bird-man, is turning around the
island and returning to Japan the right thing to do?"

Underneath the mask, Bird-man smiled. It was about time the Prince started
asking for help. "It will take a fortnight to return, My Prince- turning
around an island this big is no easy task, but yes, I think it is
appropriate. However, perhaps we should try to open communications with
the Tendou residence, and inform them that the Oni has escaped us and is
loose in Tokyo, in case they are still unaware of it."

Toma smiled. "Get Monkey-man to send the Tendou residence such a warning
and then send off the orders to get us turned around. And... thank you,
Bird-man."

* * * * *

Akane woke to a light tapping on her door. "Akane? You've overslept....
You'd better get up now if you want to join us for breakfast," Nodoka's
voice echoed into her room. "If you hurry, you can still take a bath."

Akane quickly slipped out of bed, and noticed she'd fallen asleep before
changing clothes the previous night. Sighing, she quickly rushed to her
wardrobe and found some shorts and a T-shirt she could quickly slip on, and
dashed out to the bathroom. Haphazardly stripping and tossing her previous
night's clothes into the laundry hamper, she slipped into the bathroom and
began cleaning herself with the buckets of cold water. After soaping up
and rinsing down, she slid into the hot water of the furo, hissing in
sensuous pleasure as the heat warmed her up. Closing her eyes, she leaned
back and relaxed. She had rushed faster than Mrs. Saotome had expected,
probably, so maybe she had time to ask that mysterious voice in her head to
do what it had promised and let her know who or what it was.

"Ack!" Or maybe not. "Oh, no, not again! Sorry, Akane, really! Sorry,
sorry...." Ranma's female voice echoed as she streaked naked from the
doorway, down the hall, and probably back into his room. Akane looked in
the direction he had departed and very nearly darted up to chase after him,
giving him a good pounding for peeping on her like he did. However, she
was too relaxed to get up right away, and that split second gave her time
to realize it was partly her fault- she had been in such a hurry she hadn't
put out the sign. As she thought about it more, she realized it might have
even been another attempt by Ranma's mom to make him show some more
'manliness.' She shook her head and laughed- poor Ranma. Caught between a
fiancee who would pound his head in if he looked at her funny and a mother
who might chop his head off if he didn't occasionally try and look at said
fiancee while she was naked, and his own shyness which caused him to panic
and shout insults instead of admitting feelings. For once, she actually
realized he WASN'T trying to look at her, and it really had nothing to do
with her appearance, either. Maybe she hadn't figured out the real reason
why Ranma was so nervous last night, but his jokes about his mother's views
on manhood were still ringing in her ears, and she knew....

Sighing, she realized she had to get out of the tub before Ranma and his
father sat down to breakfast, or there would be nothing but miso soup to
eat again. Without thought, she grabbed a towel and headed out into the
changing room. She'd just have to ask that voice about itself later.

* * * * *

Akane sat down at the table, surprised that she was the first one ready for
breakfast. Nodoka followed her in, sitting down a couple of places away
from Akane to leave room for her husband and son. Soun, Nabiki, and Genma
all strolled in after her, taking their usual seats and waiting for Kasumi
to show up with the food. Akane turned her eyes to the kitchen doorway
expectantly.

"Ranma!" Nodoka's voice cried out sternly. Akane spun to look at her
fiancee, who was still female. "Why are you still in that form!? Did you
not take that bath when I told you to?"

'I was right! She knew I was in the bath, and she sent Ranma in after me-
she WAS trying to get him to walk in on me!' Akane realized. 'And now she
thinks he didn't... well, maybe I could help him out some...'

Akane slowly stood up, allowing an angry expression to mask the devious
smile that was trying to come to her lips. "Ranma... no... BAKA!" she
cried as she grabbed him by the pigtail and slammed him towards the ground.
She let up at the last second, however, and only tapped him to the ground-
though to all outside appearances, it looked as if she had pounded him just
as hard as she usually did. "Quit sneaking in when I take a bath!"
Turning around, she walked back to the table and sat down, not risking a
glance at Nodoka until she was seated. As she expected, Mrs. Saotome was
beaming at her slightly crumpled son with pride.

Ranma recovered and returned to the table just as Kasumi walked in.
"Breakfast, everyone!" she called, setting the food out. Ranma looked at
Akane strangely for a moment before digging in.

* * * * *

Akane had just finished breakfast when the phone rang. "I'll get it!"
Kasumi called, darting to the phone with her usual grace. Akane picked up
her dishes and took them to the kitchen, setting them in the sink for
Kasumi and Nodoka to wash later before returning to the dining room. By
the time she had returned, Kasumi had finished her conversation.

"Oh, my... Everyone, that was a message from Toma. Apparently, the Oni
isn't on his island anymore. He thinks it followed us here to Tokyo,
though he's not sure how. He said he's on his way to help, but it will
take at least two weeks for him to get here."

"Hmm... this could be bad. Remember the last time the Oni entered our
home, Tendou?" Genma asked nostalgically.

"Yes, I do, Saotome," Soun nodded. "Let's start making wards..."

With that, the two fathers left the room, grabbing a couple of bottles of
sake as they went. Akane sighed- if those two succeeded in making more
than one legible ward, it would be a miracle. Still, they WERE the only
ones who seemed to care about the news.

"Well, I'm going out," she said. "I promised Marie I'd go see her at the
hospital."

"If you wait a minute, I'll go with you."

Akane looked at Ranma in surprise. She had been hoping again to have a
chance to talk with that voice in her head while strolling on out to the
hospital- she hadn't had a moments peace since she went out with Ranma for
ice cream- but as pleasant as last night was she wanted her fiancee's
company as well.

"You know, Ranma," Nabiki began casually, inspecting her nails
meticulously. "I didn't know you particularly cared about Ms. Marie or
that young soldier she keeps watch over. Why would you want to go along
with Akane?"

Ranma glared at Nabiki before turning back to Akane. "Um... er... well,
uh, there is that oni out there, and he did swear to attack you again..."

"I can handle myself, Ranma," Akane growled.

"I know you can beat it," Ranma admitted. "After all, you chased it away
when it attacked you the first time. But it DOES have the ability to
possess individuals, so if it were able to surprise you... I really don't
think ANYONE should go out alone until this thing is caught."

'I don't think it really would be able to surprise me, with the Voice's
sixth sense, but I don't think I'd mind his company.' Akane shrugged. "If
you really want to, I guess you can come."

Ranma nodded, and turned to get ready. "Kasumi, would you call Ucchan's
and the Nekohanten to let them know about the oni?"

"Of course, Ranma," she said, smiling. "I'll see if I can get in touch
with the Kunou's, too."

Ranma nodded. He didn't really care about them, but the more people who
knew, the better. "Nabiki, can I talk to you a minute?" he whispered.

That caught Akane's attention. Looking at the pair, she tried to see what
they were saying. She didn't hear anything outside of a mumble, but she
did see Nabiki mouthing "How much," and shortly thereafter hand Ranma
twenty thousand-yen notes.

'Twenty thousand yen? What's he planning on using that for?' Akane
wondered. Her musings were cut short as she noticed Ranma approach her.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

She nodded, and they were on their way. They were silent all the way to
the fence, and Akane tensed, expecting Ranma to leap up on to it. She was
surprised when he didn't- the times he walked beside her instead of above
her were very rare indeed, and usually only happened when he had something
really important to talk about.

"Ranma?" she asked tentatively.

He was silent for a moment. "What was all of that fuss you made this
morning about my walking in on you?" he blurted out. "If you were really
mad at me for it, why didn't you hit me as hard as you usually do? And if
not, why not? And why the show?"

Akane smirked a little. "Well, don't take it as permission to walk in on
me whenever you want. No, I wasn't mad at you for this morning- actually,
I was trying to help you out."

Ranma blinked. "Help me out?"

Akane nodded. "Your mother set you up, Ranma. She KNEW I was in the
bathroom, and sent you in after me. She was trying to see how manly you
are again... The show was just so you didn't get in trouble with her. I
forgave you because you seemed so sorry about it, and it was partially my
fault, anyway, for not putting out the sign to let you know I was in there.
But, like I said, don't take that as permission to walk in on me whenever
you want..." She frowned. "By the way, why did you borrow so much money
from Nabiki?"

Ranma laughed a little nervously. "Er, actually, I didn't 'borrow' that
money. It's money Nabiki owes me..."

Akane's eyes widened. "Nabiki owes YOU money?!"

"Er, well... yes and no. See, when Nabiki started that mail-order company
with those napkins of my female form, she was trying to blackmail me into
giving her permission to use my likeness. I don't even remember what she
was blackmailing me about- I think it was about my debts to her, or
something like that- at any rate, I couldn't just plain refuse her or else
I was going to be in serious trouble. Anyway, I didn't agree to just give
it up to her without getting SOMETHING out of it. So I made her a deal- I
get ten percent of the net profits in return for the rights to my likeness.
Kasumi helped me look over the contract to make sure there weren't any
loopholes or anything like that. The money I made was to go to paying off
her blackmail and any loans I had, but Kasumi noted that there was a chance
the business would make enough that it would more than pay all that off.
So, I included the clause that Nabiki would keep any profits past those
debts in trust for me to use later, either to pay off future debts or to
take for future debts."

Akane wasn't certain she followed all of that about clauses and loopholes-
it sounded like Nabiki sometimes did when she was trying to confuse her out
of a few thousand yen- but was able to figure out the gist of what he was
saying. "You out-manuevered Nabiki? How much money have you made?"

"Well... actually, Kasumi out-manuevered Nabiki for me. She said something
about how I let Nabiki take advantage of me too often, and that I should at
least be getting something back for it. At any rate, her business
skyrocketed. Ten percent of the profits amounted to about a million yen,
but with all my debts I only have about seven-hundred and fifty thousand...
er, make that seven hundred and thirty thousand, now that I've made this
withdrawl."

Akane's eyes widened. For one thing, she would never have expected Kasumi
to act that way. For another, she was amazed that Ranma had that kind of
money at his disposal. "If you've got that much, then how much does my
sister actually have?"

Ranma shrugged. "It's been a while since I've seen her books- the last
time was a few months ago when I cleared into the black, and wanted to
check and make sure she hadn't charged me for things I didn't need to pay
for. The mail-order business makes most of her money, by far, but I'd
guess by now she has about fifteen million yen saved up. Half of that she
has in a trust fund in the bank for her future college tuition and
expenses. I don't know about the rest- it's just labeled in her books by
'project number.'"

Akane shook her head in disbelief and they continued walking. After a few
moments of silence, she looked back at him. "Say, you still haven't told
me why you got all that money out..."

Ranma blushed a little. "Oh, well... see, I was thinking that when we were
done visiting Marie, we might go around town and do some things- eat out,
catch a movie, you know- make a day of it."

Akane was about to object- after agreeing to let Ranma walk her to the
hospital, she had decided she would talk to the Voice after she got back
home. However, she could do that later- she might as well spend as much
time with her fiancee as possible while he was still in this pleasant mood
of his. "Sure thing, Ranma," she agreed, smiling.

Ranma smiled back. She'd asked him on one unofficial date- now he'd
reciprocated. If this kept up, they might unofficially be more than
friends before too long.

* * * * *

Ranma sighed and leaned back, giving up on his attempt to read the dull
article on sports injuries he'd found in one of the hospital's decades-old
waiting room magazines. The staff had decided that Akane could go in with
Marie, but that he should stay behind so that Yoshii wasn't too crowded.
So, he was stuck alone with nothing to do until Akane finished her visit.
Thankfully, he knew that the visit couldn't last TOO much longer- the
hospital staff had said the patient was doing fine, but that they could not
allow extended visits by anyone other than Marie (who was listed as
Hideki's 'Significant Other'). Still, that meant he could be here for a
couple of hours.

Suddenly, an all-too-familiar voice called out to him from down the
hallway. "Ranma! Come over here- I want to talk to you!" Ryouga boomed.

Ranma leaped up and darted down the hallway, carefully avoiding the
doctors, nurses, and patients along his path. "Ryouga, you idiot," Ranma
growled. "Keep your voice down- we're in a hospital!"

Ryouga looked around him as Ranma guided him to the waiting room, and
realized for the first time that he was, indeed, in Nerima General. "What
are you doing here, Ranma?" he asked.

"I walked Akane here from the dojo- she's keeping Marie company for a
little while. The oni escaped Togenkyou with us, apparently, so I don't
think it's a good idea for anyone to go out alone."

Ryouga nodded. "Good idea..."

Ranma sat back down and leaned his head back. It looked as if his quiet
day with Akane would be ruined. Sighing, he decided to get it over with
quickly. "So, you wanted to talk to me?"

"Um, yeah," Ryouga began nervously. "I wanted to... um... apologize for my
behavior when we were shipwrecked." He took in a deep breath, noticing
Ranma's confused look. "While we were on the island, I thought... well, I
thought we weren't getting off- at least not for a long time. So, I
returned to my old behavior, and started once again trying to win Akane
from you. I... haven't been doing that in a while, because I realized that
the two of you love each other, and because... well, I was turning into
Kunou. I love Akari... yet at the same time I was going after Akane... I
eventually chose Akari, and have been... comfortable with my decision. But
when we were stuck on that island, I thought..."

Ranma chuckled. "Relax, Ryouga. To tell you the truth, I barely noticed
it- you weren't acting all that different." Then he narrowed his eyes a
little. "But why do you assume Akane and I love each other? I mean, true,
we don't hate each other as much as we pretend to, but we barely get
along..."

Ryouga laughed sadly. "Ranma, give it up. I know already, alright? I was
with you at Jusendo when you thought she was dead, and I know that you
sacrificed our cure for her at Togenkyou. And I saw you when the two of
you came home last night, mooning at each other like a pair of lovers.
Trust me, Ranma, I know you love her."

Ranma's eyes widened. "Um... hey, it's not like we kissed or nothing...."

Ryouga laughed again, with a little more humor this time. "Oh, please.
You both are just too shy for your own good. I wouldn't be surprised if
you considered the kiss at the altar your honeymoon when your parents
finally get you hitched- you two would be two embarrassed to try anything
else!"

Ranma winced, knowing it was probably true. "Well, maybe...." After a few
uncomfortable moments of silence, he decided to change the topic before
things got even more embarrassing. "So, anyway, have you got any ideas for
what to do about the oni?"

Ryouga shrugged. "I don't see what we can do until it shows itself, except
travel in groups and try to keep an eye out for it."

Ranma sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. In fact, let's try and get
you... hmm, well, the dojo doesn't really need any more fighters between my
parents, myself, and Akane... how about I take you to Ucchan's and you keep
an eye on things there?" Ryouga nodded, and Ranma got a nurse to get Akane
for him.

"What's up, Ranma?" Akane asked, before glancing over his shoulder. "Oh,
Ryouga! Hi, nice to see you!"

Ryouga blushed and stuck a hand behind his head. "Uh, hi! Akane...."

Ranma sighed, realizing Ryouga still wasn't over her yet. "I was going to
take Ryouga over to Ucchan's so he can help look after her during this oni
mess. I'll be back right after dropping him off- I just wanted to let you
know where I was going in case you got done before I got back."

"Oh, well, if you want I'll..." Akane stopped. She was just about to
volunteer to go with him on the way, but she couldn't just leave Marie like
that. She'd been talking non-stop since Akane had gotten there, and really
needed someone to comfort her. She couldn't just abandon her friend like
that. "Never mind. I'll be here when you get back."

Ranma led Ryouga out of the hospital as Akane slowly walked back to
Yoshii's room. Why had she so casually forgotten her friend, just to spend
some more time with Ranma, who she seemed doomed to spend the rest of her
life with, anyway? The Voice was buzzing, trying to tell her, but she
didn't have time to listen to it right then. Shaking her head to clear it,
she stepped back into the room. She didn't have time to sort out all of
her feelings right then; she needed to help out a friend.

* * * * *

Akane smiled as Ranma led her home, holding her hand. Night fell nearly
three hours ago, so there was no worry of being caught, and that just
helped her to relax. It had been a wonderful night.

Ranma had gotten back to the hospital just as she'd finished visiting
Marie- who looked hopeful when Hideki said something in his sleep just
before she left. Ranma had proceeded to treat her to an excellent dinner
at a fancy French restaurant, noticibly restraining himself from pigging
out too much. The food was all the more delicious because niether one of
them had eaten lunch (Ranma hadn't even had a snack okonomiyaki at Ucchan's
when he dropped Ryouga off). Then they had gone to the movie.

The movie, America's latest blockbuster 'Titanic,' was sad and romantic-
not Ranma's first choice, Akane knew. But he had given her choice of
movie...

In the middle of the movie, Ranma had shocked her by hesitantly putting his
arm over her shoulder, pulling slightly to hint she should lean into him.
The whole experience was... delightful. He didn't even tease her for
tearing up at some of the sad parts... though Akane noticed his eyes
glistening more than usual during one or two of those scenes as well.

After the marathon of a movie ended, they wound up in a small coffee house,
eating and talking much like they had the previous night in the ice cream
parlor. Finally, they started on home, and he clapsed her hand in his as
they went out the door.

Akane felt the strangest desire to kiss him... but she couldn't find the
right moment. The mood was right, the night had gone well... but there
wasn't really any opportunity to meet his lips. Sighing contentedly, she
relaxed, realizing that it wasn't yet the right time. Still, she kept her
eyes open- something inside her wanted this to be the night....

* * * * *

'Hah! We made it!' the oni proclaimed, staring at the wall of the Tendou
residence. Night had fallen two hours ago. 'I'll separate from you, and
hide in Akane's room. If I need one, I'll call for you to cause a
distraction.'

'And if you don't?' Perez asked.

'Then keep an eye out for Happosai and warn me if he shows.'

Perez nodded, then waited as a small, floating beachball with horns emerged
from his head. It took a few seconds to regain his equilibrium, but when
he did, he saw the oni still floating before him. "Good luck," he said.

The oni nodded, floating out from him and through a window on the second
floor of the dojo. Taking cover, Perez began to wait.

* * * * *

Smiling, Akane withdrew her hand as she and Ranma passed through the door.
They both started upstairs, slipping past their parents unnoticed, and
headed for Akane's door. As they moved, Akane heard the Voice buzzing
inside her, but she shut it out. She knew that it was probably telling her
this was a now-or-never moment with Ranma, and that she had a rare
opportunity, but if she stopped to hear it out she was afraid of zoning out
at a critical moment. Stopping at her doorway, she turned to Ranma and
smiled brightly.

"Thank you, Ranma... this evening has been lovely." With that, she leaned
over to him, standing on her toes as she wrapped her arms around the back
of his neck, and pulled him in for a brief but sweet kiss on the lips.
Ranma's arms went around her, and he started returning the kiss, but the
fear of getting caught kept both of them from continuing it for long.
Releasing him, Akane smiled and rocked back onto the balls of her feet.
"Good night, Ranma," she whispered as she turned and went into her room.
The buzzing in her head was getting incessant now, but she couldn't listen
to it until she'd finished closing her door. She smiled at the blank but
happy expression on Ranma's face as she slip it shut, and then went over
and sat down on her bed.

'Okay, what is it you're trying to tell me?' Akane thought to the Voice.

'...Oni! The Oni is HERE!'

That was all the warning Akane had before she was possessed.

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

---
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
desaix@sysnet.net
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis /7872
fanfics available at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7872/fanfics.htm

Chapter 4
Dedicated to the three people who all had the identical comment: "I was
hoping Akane's possession would be more drawn out."

Ranma closed his eyes and leaned against the door frame into his room.
Akane had kissed him! And for the second day in a row, they had gone out,
had a great time, and not gotten into any fights! For the first time since
he'd been cursed, life was good.

His brief reverie was broken by a scream emanating from Akane's room that
broke off abruptly. Without any hesitation, he darted down the hall,
slammed the door to his fiancee's room open, and burst inside her room.

There, he saw Akane, sitting up in bed, looking very... strange. At first,
Ranma couldn't place it- then he noticed the horns on her head. 'Oh, gods!
She's been possessed!' Not taking his eyes off her for a moment, he
waited until he heard others approaching.

"Go, get some of the spirit wards Pop was making! We have to get this
thing out of her, fast!" he shouted.

"Your father got drunk and passed out before finishing even one," Nabiki
replied.

"Then someone make one! Hurry!"

"What, and get my hands dirty?" Nabiki continued. Ranma clenched his fists
angrily, but couldn't break his eyes off of the girl already in front of
him.

"I'll do it," Kasumi's terrified voice echoed back.

"Ranma, what's going on?" Nodoka asked.

Ranma continued to study Akane, ignoring his mother. The oni horns
sometimes grew larger, and sometimes grew smaller. Her eyes sometimes
looked like her own, and sometimes grew devilish- and sometimes seductive.
Frowning, he knew he'd seen that expression on her before, but she hadn't
been possessed by the oni last time. What was going on?

* * * * *

Inside Akane's head, three separate powers clashed. Akane was very
confused- she seemed to be in a very dark plane. On one 'wall' was a
picture of Ranma standing in her room, shouting something she couldn't
hear. To her left, a being which was obviously the Oni stood, looking like
the beach ball with horns she remembered. On her right, however, was a
figure she didn't recognize. In fact, she could hardly see it- it looked a
bit like a beautiful female body, but it was so obscured by mist that
nothing distinct could be made out.

"I really wish you'd been listening to me, Akane," the mist-like figure
sighed.

Akane recognized it right away. "You're the Voice! Well, it's about time
I got a chance to see you... but apparently, I can't do that- I can't see a
thing through that mist. What's going on?"

"Yes, that is what I want to know," the Oni growled, turning towards the
Voice. "What IS going on, and who are YOU?"

"Don't bother," Akane snorted. "I've been trying to get her to tell me
that for months now, and she still wouldn't tell me."

"Well, actually..." the Voice began. "Yes, I will. My name is... was...
Iria. You have heard of fallen angels becoming demons? Well, when a demon
falls, he or she does not become an angel- they become something like what
I was. A vengeful spirit."

Akane's eyes widened. "You were the-"

"Yes, I was the doll at the inn," Iria admitted. "I am sorry for what I
did to you- I was not then what I am now. Now I am... well, I suppose you
could call me your guardian angel- but like I said, I am not truly an
angel. Perhaps you could call me a guardian demon."

"What class?" the Oni demanded.

"Eh?"

"What class of demon are you?"

"I WAS a succubus... and it was as a succubus that I fell. I grew to love
one of my assignments, and could not betray him to the horde of Jigoku. In
return, I was banished to the become the Curse of the Vengeful Spirit Doll.
The only way to break myself from that curse would be to find a target who
did something worthy of forgiveness."

"A former succubus, eh?" the Oni said. "Do you still have any of your old
traits?"

Iria glanced at Akane briefly. "Well, I was nearly able to use Akane's
body to seduce the man who loved her when I was still a vengeful spirit,
but I'm-"

"Good! Then you can help me."

"Help you?!" Akane screeched, not quite believing all that was going on.

"Help you?!" the one-time succubus echoed. "I was planning to stop you
from possessing this girl! After all, I am her guardian!"

"Well," the oni explained, pointing to the view of the outside world on the
wall. "I was thinking you might want to help me stop that!"

* * * * *

Kasumi rushed into the room, waving a strip of paper. "Ranma, here! The
ink's still wet, but I think you can use it!"

Ranma grabbed the ward without looking. "Okay, Akane... hold on for just a
second." With a swift motion, he sped the ward at Akane's head.

An arm reached out from Akane with speed he had previously not seen and
grabbed his hand securely by the wrist, stopping his motion. Ranma's eyes
widened.

"Ranma..." Akane answered, her eyes momentarily becoming the seductive set
and one of the horns momentarily growing larger. "Please... not yet. Let
me... try... and handle things on this end first."

"Why should I listen to the thing which is possessing Akane?" Ranma cried,
trying to jerk his hand free. Akane's grip held fast.

"If you use that ward, you will harm more than the Oni... please, trust
me!"

Ranma looked into Akane's eyes.

* * * * *

"What're you doing!?" Akane, pinned by the oni, cried out to Iria. "I
thought you were trying to help me!"

"I am, but..." The misty figure turned towards her and gestured for the
Oni to release her. To Akane's surprise, it did. "If you let Ranma put
that ward on your body, the oni will be chased away, yes... but, with
nowhere to go, I will be destroyed. So, please... help me get Ranma to at
least give us a few minutes to figure out what to do?"

Akane looked at her guardian demon, looked back at the oni, and sighed.
"Can we control him enough to let Ranma do this if we can't figure out what
else to do?"

Iria nodded. "Probably."

"Okay, then..."

* * * * *

Ranma saw the transformation take place as he watched- the horns receded
and the eyes became their normal selves. Suddenly, he wasn't sure if he
should use the ward or not.

"Ranma... I'm in control at the moment... hold on to it, I may need you to
slap it on me later, but if you use it now, a... friend... will die. I am
talking to it now... we might come to some agreement soon. Unless you want
to hit me, though, that's all we can do for now...."

"Well, if that's our only option," Nabiki's voice surprised Ranma from
behind him. A feminine fist sped its way towards Akane's head. With
astounding ease, Ranma caught it before it could hit.

"Nabiki, no-one is going to hit Akane. You got that? Not while I'm
around," he ordered. "I can't sit around while Akane's body is hurt when
there's something else we can do. If there's no choice... then maybe."

"Oh? Then there IS another choice? What is it?" the middle sister asked.

"Do nothing, at the moment, and let her try whatever she has planned," he
said, ignoring Nabiki's protests as he pushed her back slightly before
releasing her and turning back to Akane. "I'm going to give you five
minutes... if you can't settle things by then, I'll have to use the ward.
Okay, Akane?"

Akane nodded. "Okay, Ranma... and thank you."

Akane's eyes went blank and the horns receded even further. Akane's
breathing slowed, and Ranma began to fear he'd just made a deal with a
devil- literally. But he said he'd trust her for five minutes, so five
minutes it was.

"Nabiki, start timing. Let me know EXACTLY when five minutes is up."

"Five minutes, no more. Got it, Ranma..."

* * * * *

"Okay," Akane said, turning away from the wall and walking towards the
other two beings. The images of the outside world slowed and faded behind
her as she approached Iria and the Oni. "It seems he won't try to knock
you out of me with a punch, but I got him to give us five minutes before he
uses the spirit ward. Now, can we try and reach some agreement before our
time is up where you'll leave us alone?"

The Oni shrugged. "Maybe. Are you willing to help me break a curse that
Happosai placed on me?"

Akane blinked. "Happosai placed a curse on you? And it worked?!"

"I cannot gain strength from possessions, like I normally can," it
explained, "And, when in a male body, I feel an irrational fear of women
that will make me run from them in terror. Why it doesn't effect me when
I'm in a female body, I don't know, however."

Iria snorted. "That isn't a curse- being forced inside a little doll as a
vengeful spirit for over a thousand years, now THAT'S a curse." She shook
her head. "So, if we help you lift this curse, will you SWEAR to leave
Akane's body, never to return?"

The Oni smiled. "Oh, yes..." it hissed.

"AND would you swear that, regardless of what happens, you will never harm
myself, my family, or Ranma?" Akane added. Iria nodded- that was always a
good addendum to include in any bargain with an Oni such as that one.
That, and she seemed to be willing to protect Ranma from this thing, as
well- a good sign that their relationship was progressing well.

"Er..." it hesitated. "Suppose what was involved with the cure were to
cause some small degree of harm? The cure may cause you some small degree
of pain, but it is something you would need to agree to of your own free
will, anyway."

Akane blinked, and looked at her guardian. "Um... you're more experienced
at this, what do you suggest?"

Iria thought about it for a minute. "How about if it promised not to harm
them without their freely given consent, and ONLY for what they give their
consent on?"

Akane frowned. "Well, that might work... then again, it IS a demon. Can
we trust it to keep its word?"

Iria nodded. "Yes... a demon may not break its word without a severe
punishment which even the more masochistic of them would not dare to risk.
It WILL, however, try and twist its promises as much as can be allowed
without breaking them."

"Well, that's not too much of a surprise." Akane seemed to think it over
for a few minutes before turning to the Oni. "Make your oath, and I will
see if it is strong enough for me to be willing to help you."

It nodded. "Very well. Akane Tendou, I hereby swear that, if my curse is
lifted and you try to help me do so, I will leave your body forever, and
never harm you, your family, or Ranma Saotome without their direct, freely
given consent for the abuse received from the one who I am to harm."

Akane blinked, and turned to Iria. "Well?"

"Interesting," she said, still facing the Oni. "Are you that desperate?"

The Oni shrugged. "Not really- it doesn't have to be Akane- or anyone in
particular, for that matter. But if Akane were to help me, then it would
destroy Happosai, for I would have used his curse to do something he could
only dream of.

Iria turned to Akane. "He was very careful to fill any loopholes I might
find. It seems he feels he cannot afford to do without your help."

"Hm... Oh, okay. I suppose I can bring myself to help an Oni who's down
on its luck, if it means saving a friend. What do you need me to do?"

"Oh, it's a very simple task- one which I suspect you've wanted to do for a
long time... and one which your ex-succubus friend should have no trouble
helping you with."

Akane waited patiently for a full half-second of time before snapping out,
"Well? What is it?"

The Oni grinned. "I need you to have sex with your fiance."

"WH-"

* * * * *

"-AT?!" Akane suddenly shouted, startling Ranma. Her eyes were still
completely empty, and the horns on her head were still at their smallest.

Ranma twitched. "How much longer, Nabiki?"

"NO!" Akane shouted, making Ranma jump again.

Nabiki's arm and watched appeared in his view. "Four minutes thirty
seconds. Relax, Ranma- if you're going to be so nervous that you'll ask
every thirty seconds, then find another time keeper, because I can't handle
that."

"What?!" He shouted, turning on her. "She's your sister, dammit! Aren't
you worried about her, too?"

Nabiki snorted. "Oh, please. Just be thankful I'm not charging you for
helping her out, this time. You've dealt with worse, and always managed to
pull her through. This is something anyone could solve, just by tapping
her on the head once. Maybe I will charge you for this, after all."

Ranma sighed. "Nabiki, I know you hate me. I know that the REAL reason
you stopped the wedding was because you shuddered at the thought of me
being an actual part of your family. I know you keep the never-ending line
of would-be suitors coming after us night and day because you don't care
what it does to me and you want to try and break Akane and me up. But does
your hatred of me extend to not caring what happens to your own sister?"

Nabiki twitched. "I don't know where you're getting that ridiculous notion
from, Ranma. Everything I did in those cases, I did for money."

"Bullshit," Ranma said evenly. "Even Kasumi can see that you hate me for
some reason." Nabiki blinked when the woman who Ranma mentioned made no
move to correct him. "Why do you think she helped me out on that napkin
thing? She got tired of seeing you take advantage of me for no reason.
She got tired of seeing you hate me just because of who I am. And I can't
even talk to Akane about it, because it would just hurt her. Why would it
hurt her? Because you're letting your hatred of me turn on her, as well.
Remember the fake cure for her coma?"

"B-but-" she started.

"Shut up. Just keep an eye on that watch, and let me know when the five
minutes are up."

With that, Ranma turned back to his vigil on Akane. Not knowing what to
say, Nabiki started watching the time again, just like Ranma had asked.
Three minutes to go.

* * * * *

"-AT! Have sex with THAT pervert?!" Akane shrieked, stunned. "Nuh-uh, no
way, deal's off! Possess one of his OTHER floozies and do what you will
with the idiot, but you are NOT getting me into bed with him!" She paused
for a moment. "Or any other guy."

Iria sighed. "Akane, maybe you're not ready for sex with him yet, but you
don't have to insult him like that. He doesn't deserve it."

"Who's side are you on, anyway?" Akane growled angrily. "And he most
certainly does deserve it! Maybe he's been getting better lately, but that
still doesn't excuse all the times he walked in on me in the bath, or all
the times he's snuck into my room at night!" She looked thoughtful for a
moment. "Maybe when I'm sure he's over his perverted streak, but not until
then."

A weird noise vaguely resembling stifled laughter erupted from the Oni.
"Oh, really? Suppose I were to convince you that he had no perverted
intentions most of the times he snuck into your room or walked into your
bath?"

Akane snorted. "That would take a LOT of convincing."

Iria looked from her to the Oni and back again. "Oddly, Akane, while I
don't approve of his motives or methods, I want you to take the Oni's
challenge. If it is able to convince you that Ranma is not the pervert you
accuse him of being, would you promise that you would make love to him?"

Akane's eyes bulged. "Wh- what? You're asking me to PROMISE that I
would... sleep with him?" she stuttered.

The misty figure looked at her sternly. "Akane, you DO want to marry him
eventually- even you can't deny that. When you do, you will need to sleep
with him probably most of your nights. If you were convinced that Ranma
was not such a pervert, that one of his worst qualities in your mind was
not nearly as bad as you thought, wouldn't that mean that there was one
less thing you needed to worry about before you are ready to marry him?"

"Uh, well...."

"And if you DO get closer to marriage, aren't you going to want to find out
what marriage is like?"

"Well, maybe...."

"So just think of it as finding out what marriage to Ranma would be
like...."

"But this is such a big step-" Akane began.

"And that kiss YOU initiated wasn't? Okay, maybe you'll be going pretty
fast, from first kiss to passionate sex in less than an hour, but you're
doing it to save me... and besides, I happen to know you've fantasized
about him before, so it's not like you'd be doing something you didn't want
to do in the first place...."

Akane was silent.

"Well?" The Oni growled. "Will you accept my challenge or not?"

She looked down. "It would take me a long time to build myself up to...
doing something like that."

"Well, that's no problem- Iria can take over, and she'd give your Ranma a
night he would never-"

"NO!" Akane snapped. "If Ranma is going to be... with my body... then I'M
going to be the one in control." She steadied herself and continued. "It
just might take some time before I'd be able to do it, is all. A day or
two, maybe."

"Oh, so you are agreeing to the challenge? If you kept it under a week,
that would be perfectly fine," the Oni grinned.

"M-maybe," Akane stuttered. "What would you do to convince me that Ranma's
not a pervert?"

"I'll do more than show you he's not a pervert. The last time I was here,
I possessed a number of people. His father, your oldest sister, and two of
his rivals all hold many memories of him- memories which I can show you,
and compare to your own memories. I'll show you him from a different point
of view... and I'll show you secrets he had no choice but to keep from
you... AND I'll show you some of the things your families have kept secret
from the both of you." It chuckled. "Ranma's self control is amazing. If
you had put Ryouga through what you put him through, he'd have killed you
by now."

"Hey!" Akane protested. "Ryouga wouldn't hurt anyone.... Well, maybe
Ranma, but only because Ranma deserves it for picking on him so much."

"He DESERVES it?" the Oni laughed. "All Ranma does is tease him. What
Ryouga does is far... FAR worse."

"Oh? What does he do? Why do they fight all the time?" Akane asked,
anxiously.

"Do you accept the challenge, then?"

"I...." Akane was still uncertain. She REALLY wanted to know what the Oni
could tell her, and she wanted to chase it out of her body without hurting
Iria... but was she willing to lose her virginity to do so? She needed
more time to think... TIME! "Aren't we about to run out of time? Ranma
only gave me five minutes."

The Oni laughed. "We're having this conversation FAR inside of your
subconscious. In real time, only about twenty seconds have passed so far-
and time for us is slowing. Much like you can have a dream which seems to
be many hours when in fact it is only a few seconds, our discussions here
can last days with only minutes passing in the outside world. We have
plenty of time."

Akane was out of ideas. She looked desperately at Iria, but the former
succubus only nodded at her. Akane nearly kicked herself when she
remembered the spirit wanted her to agree to this challenge, anyway.

"I give up. Yes, I accept your challenge- if you can show me that Ranma is
a significantly better man- meaning at least less perverted- then I
currently believe him to be, I will... I will seduce and sleep with him in
order to lift your curse... after having some time to prepare myself for
it, which will not last more than a week."

The Oni grinned. "Excellent. Shall we begin?"

"Remember your promise not to harm her...." Iria eyed the Oni warily.

"Or her family, or Ranma. Yes, I know... I will be careful," the Oni
sighed, obviously annoyed at the continued delay. "It's not like I'm going
to dump their entire memories on her- I'm just going to show her scenes of
Ranma's life from some of the people around him. I'm not even going to do
it too quickly. In fact, I'm not going to show her any of Kunou's
memories- his mind is so demented that it might hurt her. Satisfied?"

"For now," the guardian demon nodded.

"Okay, I believe we should start with Ranma's childhood, as remembered by
Genma."

The world around Akane slowly melted into... Kansai? "Huh? What's going
on?" she asked, astonished. "And how are memories of Ranma's childhood
going to make me think him less a pervert?"

"I thought you said to show you Ranma was a better PERSON than you believed
him to be... I'm showing you his past relations with the other women who
claim him, in order to demonstrate why he has had such a hard time breaking
up with them. Now hush, or you'll miss something important."

A slightly younger Genma appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. "Where is
that idiot boy?" he growled. "If he doesn't show up in the next five
minutes, maybe I'll give him a refresher course in the cat fist."

"Huh?" Akane began, startled. "I thought he stopped training Ranma that
technique when he found out about it being banned. Why is he threatening
it again...."

"Well, he only did it once or twice after that. He used it as a severe
punishment."

Akane clucked. She knew Genma treated his son pretty harshly when he was
growing up, but that was even worse than she thought.

"Ah, there he is!" Genma's voice attracted Akane's attention. The scene
had changed a little- they were now just outside an alley in Kansai. "Oh,
this looks interesting... might be good to see what the boy will do when
challenged."

Akane saw a six-year old Ukyou holding a pair of mangled little spatulas, a
bruise on her eye, as a man dressed in dark clothing towered over her.

The man laughed. "I told your father to keep his little okonomiyaki stand
off of that corner, and he didn't listen to my warnings! Now he'll see
what defying the yakuza means!"

"The YAKUZA?!" Genma gasped as he (along with Akane and the two spirits)
watched his six-year old son approach the attacker from behind. "No, boy,
don't stop him! I don't want the yakuza after our family!" he whispered.

Little Ranma, however, didn't hear his father. "HEY! Don't pick on people
who can't fight!" he shouted, jumping at the man with a flying kick. The
man spun around and caught Ranma by the foot.

"Oh-ho! What's this? Another little child, interfering in things he
shouldn't!" The Yakuza man slammed Ranma into the ground. "Get away from
me, little child, before I decide to kill you, too."

"NO!" the little boy shouted defiantly, leaping and sending another kick to
the man's knee. A crack was heard as the kneecap shattered.

"ARGH! Now you DIE!" Akane was horrified as little Ranma was picked up
again, and slammed back into the ground several times.

Ukyou, recovering, saw what was going on and went running, screaming,
"DADDY, DADDY! HELP!" as Ranma was battered more and more.

"Damn! The boy's a goner," Genma lamented. "I'd better get out of here!"

The scene slowly faded around them. Akane blinked. "Oh, my god...."

"According to what Genma was told, Ranma was rescued by Ukyou's father. He
lived with Ukyou and her father for several months before Genma found him
again. By the time he got back, Ranma had practically been adopted by
Ukyou's family, and even Genma saw he thought of her as his sister... er,
brother," the Oni narrated. "Which is probably a big reason Ranma couldn't
hurt her when she showed up again." Akane was silent. "Incidentally,
before this incident, Genma recalls Ranma as always asking where his mother
was. After it, Ranma didn't even seem to remember his mother when Genma
brought her up."

"I knew Ranma and Ukyou were childhood friends, but this...."

"Ukyou probably saved Ranma's life, Akane," Iria intervened. "Now,
remember how you actually ran away from him in order to show your gratitude
to Shinnosuke, just because the forgetful boy saved yours, despite that
incident happening years ago? Ranma has yet to leave you for Ukyou."

"I...." Akane didn't know what to say.

"The next incident I think you should see," the Oni continued as the world
changed again into that of the Tendou dojo from right after Ranma showed
up. "Is from nearly ten years later. It's very short, but shows how often
he's been tricked into walking in on your bath. This was shortly after you
hit him over the head with a table...."

She was transported to the guest room, where a female Ranma was lying on
his front while Kasumi and Nabiki sat nearby. Moaning, Ranma started to
rise to his knees.

"Oh, she's awake," Kasumi began. "Are you okay? Don't think too badly of
Akane- she's really a very sweet girl. She just a little... high
spirited."

"Oh, good, Kasumi- like that explains everything," Nabiki said
sarcastically.

"Don't you want to take a nice hot bath right now?" Kasumi continued. "Or
maybe I should go and boil another pot of water..."

"No... a hot bath sounds great... maybe it'll help me with this headache,
too," Ranma groaned, slowly getting up and leaving the room.

Nabiki watched him go and then turned to her older sister in surprise.
"Isn't Akane supposed to be in the bath?"

"Yes, she is. You know how nervous she gets around men- I think if she
were to be seen naked every now and then by the man she's supposed to
marry, she might be able to deal with him better. As long as she doesn't
take it too far- and I think there's no danger of that happening for a long
while- it will probably do her good. And it will just make it more certain
that he's the one that marries her and not us... but we have to be careful-
they aren't married yet, after all...." Kasumi's voice, and the world
around them, faded away.

"My sisters were trying to get him to see me naked? But...."

"Akane, even you saw that Nodoka was doing the same." Iria said.

"But that's different! Ranma's mom is weird!"

"Well, I won't argue with you there, but that just goes to show you it
isn't THAT unbelievable."

"Still...."

"Now for some of the biggest questions you've had regarding Ranma. Why do
he and Ryouga fight so much? Why does he pick on your little pet? Why did
Ranma really try and sneak into your room those times, if he wasn't trying
to do something 'perverted?' And how are all these things connected?"

"They're connected?" Akane asked, surprised.

And the world dissolved again, and the first of many similar scenes began.

* * * * *

Ryouga fell into a Jusenkyou spring, and Akane blinked.

* * * * *

A female Ranma, in the bathroom with a naked Ryouga, tells of his promise
not to reveal the secret of P-Chan.

Tears started to form in Akane's eyes.

* * * * *

The first night Ranma snuck into Akane's bedroom with the teakettle ended
with Ranma flying out the window. A single tear dripped down Akane's
cheek.

* * * * *

Many scenes of Ryouga, as P-Chan, using his closeness to Akane to annoy
Ranma, such as the time he rubbed his head against her breasts as she held
him following the Bakusai Tenketsu training, flashed in front of the girl.


"Ryouga no baka," she whispered.

* * * * *

The final scene the Oni showed her, where she hit Ranma hard for trying to
stop Oni-Ryouga from raping her, caused Akane to collapse onto her knees.
"I hit him for... that?" she asked, tears now covering her face.

Iria came over to her and hugged her. "Shh... you didn't know. It's not
your fault...."

"Yes it is!" Akane cried. "Ranma's been trying to tell me for so long, but
couldn't because of his promise.... All those times he's called him
P-Chan, and that bandanna... oh, sure, I didn't have any way to know about
Ryouga trying to rape me, but still, all those other times...."

The Oni didn't care about her tears, though. She wasn't really harmed-
this was something she needed to have seen. And it had never promised to
keep Akane happy. "So, are you convinced Ranma is a better person than you
originally believed him to be?"

"I... yes, I am," Akane admitted.

* * * * *

Ranma turned back to his vigil on Akane. Not knowing what to say, Nabiki
started watching the time again, just like Ranma had asked. Three minutes
to go.

Intelligence returned to Akane's eyes just as he turned back- and they WERE
Akane's eyes that Ranma saw. A second later, tears formed in those same
eyes.

"Ranma," Akane sniffed. "The Oni has made a deal. You and I need to
talk... privately. The Oni will cause no trouble for now."

Ranma looked at her for a moment. Something- maybe it was her eyes- made
him believe her. "Okay. Nabiki, will you please leave for a bit?"

"What?!" Nabiki screeched, not believing her ears. "You mean to tell me
you still trust her when she's po-"

She collapsed on to the floor as Ranma tapped one of her pressure points.
"Kasumi, can you take Nabiki away for a little while?"

"Oh, my!" she exclaimed. "Yes, Ranma, but do be careful!"

Kasumi dragged her unconscious sister away, and shut the door behind her.
"Okay, Akane," Ranma began. "What deal is this, and why did you need to
make it?"

* * * * *

"You really painted an unfair portrait of Ryouga, you know," Iria said,
still deep in Akane's subconscious with the Oni.

"Yeah, I know. I didn't have much choice- if I didn't give Akane a target
for her anger, she would have taken it out on herself much more, which
would have caused her serious harm. I would have broken my oath."

"That, and you wanted to get her to seriously hurt Ryouga when she sees
him," the former succubus guessed. "You just love to cause trouble, don't
you?

"Well, yes, of course. I AM an Oni, after all."

-------------------------
*Note: I've been trying to avoid including lots of authors notes in this
series (due to the complaints about the notes in Return of the Sisters),
but since I've recieved several messages on the matter... No, it is NOT
said in the manga or the anime that Ranma tells Ryouga of the promise he
makes. However, it IS possible that he did so anyways, 'off camera.' For
the purposes of this fanfic, yes, he did.

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

---
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
desaix@sysnet.net
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis /7872
fanfics available at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7872/fanfics.htm
Chapt er 5:

Akane shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't entirely sure how Ranma would take
this.

"Okay, the deal is this. If you and I remove a curse that was placed on
the Oni, it will agree to leave me forever and never do anything which
would harm you, me, or my family without our freely given consent."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "We haven't exactly been able to lift very many
curses in this town- how many Jusenkyo victims wander the streets of Nerima
on a regular basis?" He thought about it for a little longer. "In fact,
that whole story sounds funny- how can an Oni get cursed? Don't curses
generally serve evil spirits?"

"Well..." Akane began, smiling slightly. "I seem to remember we found that
the evil in Happosai overwhelmed the evil in the Oni last time it was here.
And Happosai was the person who cursed it, so...."

"It's serving the greater evil," Ranma finished. "All right, doesn't sound
too bad- what do we need to do to lift a curse from a demon? As long as it
doesn't involve too much travel or something like human sacrifice, I'll
probably be willing to help it out, if it really will get the oni out of
you without forcing me to hit you."

"No, no HUMAN sacrifice," Akane blushed. "Just... I have to give up my...
er, WE have to...." Akane couldn't find her voice to continue.

"What?" Ranma asked.

"You and I have to have sex together!" she blurted out, her face flaming an
even deeper red.

Ranma was silent for a minute, almost in shock. "Are you really Akane, or
the Oni?" he asked, speaking very slowly. This couldn't be Akane- it just
couldn't. Though if it was, he'd probably be getting hysterical right now,
but it wasn't. In fact, he'd make whoever it was controlling Akane admit
it. "Swear an oath that it was Akane who agreed to something like that,
and I might keep talking."

Akane looked at him for a moment, then sighed. "I suppose this possession
thing does make it pretty hard to trust what I'm saying, and I need you to
trust me... hold on."

The life in her eyes once again faded.

Seeing it, Ranma could not help but be concerned. 'That looks bad... I
hope I'm doing the right thing in giving her this chance.' Worriedly, he
looked at his hand, just to make sure he was still holding the ward.

* * * * *

"Hey, you guys still around here?" Akane called out, looking through the
dark recesses of her own mind. Somehow, she'd gotten used to walking
around here, but she wasn't exactly sure how she was able to just pop in
here like she did.

"Yes?" the Oni said, appearing out of nowhere. "What is it?"

"Is something wrong, Akane?" Iria asked, showing up seconds later.

"I need to explain things to Ranma, and I need him to trust me completely.
He won't believe me while you're here, so...."

* * * * *

Akane's eyes snapped back to life a second after Ranma finished his glance
at the ward in his hand. "Okay, I... 'talked' to the Oni. It's willing to
leave me long enough for us to talk about all of this, but only if you
promise not to attack it, as long as it makes no aggressive moves and stays
in this room."

Ranma blinked. "Why is all this necessary? Why shouldn't I just use the
ward on you now?"

"I've already said- you'll harm not just the Oni but someone else close to
me."

Ranma frowned. "You'd better explain that better- but I want to talk to
Akane about this, and I'm not sure I'm doing that right now. Okay, I
promise."

Akane nodded. "Thank you, Ranma," she said, moments before she closed her
eyes and fell to her knees. Ranma rushed forwards to help, but she waved
him off. Ranma was almost sickened as he saw the Oni emerge from the back
of her neck, and float back into a corner of the room. When the Oni had
completely left her, Ranma steadied her and helped her to her feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked. He shot a furious glance at the Oni, a little
surprised it still looked like a beachball after having possessed Alejandro
Perez and Akane for so long.

"Fine... that just felt REAL weird. Like a part of me was being torn
away," Akane gasped. "Ranma, I can't let you use that ward, if it's at ALL
possible. It'll kill someone very close to me."

Ranma nodded. "Uh-huh. You said that. I just don't understand it- who
would be hurt, and how?"

Akane looked thoughtful for a moment. "Ranma, you and I have had a lot of
adventures since you arrived here, wouldn't you say?"

He shrugged, uncertain of where this was going. "I suppose, yeah."

"Suppose I were to say that, on one of those adventures, we rescued a
spirit... and that spirit had nowhere to go but inside me. Suppose that
spirit has since become a sort of... advisor for me. That ward would
merely chase the Oni away, but it would destroy her."

"And how would I know that this supposed spirit wasn't controlling you?"
Ranma asked.

Akane's mouth opened and closed a few times. She had no answer for that
one.

She felt the buzzing in the back of her head that indicated Iria wanted to
talk to her, and sighed. "Hold on, Ranma."

'Akane? You there?'

'Yes, Iria, I hear you,' Akane answered. 'What do you want? I'm trying to
have an important talk with Ranma right now, and DON'T particularly want
you interrupting.'

'You think I don't know that?' Iria asked, exasperated. 'Look, I know
you're stressed out about this, but I think you need to know that I've
NEVER taken over your body without you being aware of it. I'm not powerful
enough to any more, even if I wanted to.'

'That's fine, and I believe you, but how do I prove that to Ranma?'

'I don't know,' the spirit admitted. 'You can tell Ranma the entire story-
everything I told you, and everything you remember yourself- but, while he
might believe you, that wouldn't tell him that I wasn't controlling you.
You could swear that you were in control, but he wouldn't necessarily take
you at your word- after all, you're possessed by me, so why would I let you
tell him the truth- or at least that's what he feels about the situation.'

'Might he believe me if you're not in my body? If you possess him?'

'He might, if I could do it,' Iria answered. 'I severely weakened myself
when I returned you to this body. I wasn't prepared to do it, and burned
myself out to the point where I can no longer go to another body.
However....'

'However?'

'That gives me an idea. There might be a way for him and you to talk
spiritually, using me as a conductor. It wouldn't be TOO great a drain on
me to do that, I think....'

'But then who would watch the Oni?' Akane asked.

'Actually....' Iria paused for a moment. 'We could let the Oni return, and
ask HIM to be the bridge. That way, Ranma can keep an eye on him, you two
can talk with even greater privacy than before, and I won't be harming
myself.'

'But couldn't the Oni take over Ranma that way?'

'The Oni isn't going to take Ranma over while he's in his male form-
remember, when he's possessing a male he has to run in fear from any
females. But if you want reassurances, he can use the ward...'

Akane blinked a few seconds later as she ended her conversation, and noted
Ranma's concerned face before her. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I was just talking to that spiritual advisor I mentioned, trying to
think of a way to get you to trust me. Ranma, wrap the ward around your
wrist- I'm going to call the Oni back, and then I want you to hold my hand
so we can talk without interference. The ward will keep the Oni from
possessing you."

Ranma blinked. "I'm not sure I understand, but okay...." He folded the
piece of paper into a loop around his wrist, tucking the ends together so
that it would not fall off.

The Oni, realizing what was going on, returned to Akane, and then the newly
repossessed girl held out her hand. Ranma took it, and seconds later
everything went black for both of them.

* * * * *

"Akane!" Ranma cried through the darkness. He couldn't see where he was,
he couldn't see Akane, and worst of all, he couldn't see himself.

"Ranma, over here!" her voice called to him.

The moment Akane started speaking, he was able to see the scaly exterior of
the Oni's more powerful form. There were two other people in the room,
however.

"Akane? There are two of you!" he exclaimed. The other two people in the
room looked exactly alike, except for their eyes and their clothes. One
had very seductive eyes- familiar to him, but he couldn't place them. That
Akane was wearing a stylized robe that he remembered she bought at some
resort they had gone to. The other Akane- which had the eyes Ranma was
used to- was wearing nothing. Well, it sometimes wore nothing- sometimes
the blue school dress she wore seemed to materialize over her body, staying
on for a split second before disappearing again.

"Huh?" one of the Akane's- the naked one- asked, astonished. She looked
around. "What are you talking about? I'm here, the Oni's here, and my
spirit guide is here- no one else. And why aren't you wearing a shirt?"
Ranma was wearing the same drawstring pants he always wore, but his shirt
was off, and his body was steaming and glistening with moisture like he
just walked out of the bath. Kind of like he appeared in some of her
fantasies- not that she would admit it.

"Perhaps I can explain," the other Akane intervened. "Ranma, I am Akane's
'spiritual advisor,' as she called me. My name is Iria. This world we are
in... well, it is your subconscious and Akane's subconscious linked, but it
is also the spirit plane. In this world, you see other people as you best
remember them looking." Both Ranma and Akane blinked, but Akane was the
most surprised- she never realized she thought of him like that so much.
"Akane probably sees me through a cloud of mist, because it was almost
impossible to see me as anything more than a vaguely female figure when she
first knew me. You probably see me as Akane, because I had possessed Akane
when you and I knew each other, Ranma- I'd taken over her body to kill
you."

Ranma's eyes widened. "You're the vengeful spirit doll?!" he cried
incredulously.

"I was," she admitted. "I used to be a demon- a succubus, a being whose
sole purpose was to make men fall in love with me, and turn that love into
a weapon with which I could deliver them to Jigoku. I betrayed my position
when I fell in love with one of my assignments, and as punishment was
stripped of many of my powers and stuck as the power behind the curse of
the vengeful spirit doll. Your attempt to sacrifice yourself to protect
Akane released me, but in order to save Akane's soul I had to burn out most
of my energies. I am now a 'free agent,' if you will- a spirit that is
neither an angel or a demon. I consider myself to be Akane's guardian
now."

Ranma frowned. "Her guardian? I doubt it- I've never seen you do anything
for her."

"Well, I helped sustain her when she was turned into a doll during the
Jusendo incident. I've given her a lot of advice- some of which has
improved your relationship with her. I warned her that the Oni was about
to attack when we were on Toma's island, and tried to warn her before she
was possessed. I might have succeeded, too, if your date hadn't gone as
well as it did."

Ranma looked to the other Akane to see if there were any indications that
Iria was lying, but didn't. "Fine... I guess I believe you. But why does
my view of Akane herself keep... flickering."

Akane, Iria, and the Oni all blinked. "Flickering?" Iria asked. "Well, if
two pictures of her show up in your memories of her equally, I suppose your
mind could interpret it as flickering between the two pictures."

Ranma flushed a bit, but not too much. He didn't want Akane to know that
he thought of her that way as much as he did. He looked away. "I see."

"Anyway, I think you and Akane have a lot to talk about, so the Oni and I
will leave you alone for a while. Akane, the ward on his wrist won't let
you show him pictures like we were able to, but that doesn't mean you can't
share some thoughts will him- if you really want, you can communicate your
emotions to him."

"Um... okay," Akane nodded, and Iria dragged the beach-ball off, leaving
her alone with the half-naked Ranma. Realizing her situation, she got a
little nervous. Thankfully, Ranma wasn't looking at her, so couldn't see
her blush.

"So... um, you made a deal with the Oni?" Ranma finally said, breaking the
silence that had descended upon them.

"Yeah, I did," Akane replied. "Didn't you ask me this already?"

"Well, I wasn't sure that it was you I was talking to," he answered. "The
deal was for you to help lift its curse. That, I'll believe- it sure
seemed to be weaker than it should have been, considering how long it was
inside... what's his name, that Perez guy. That it was Happosai that
cursed it, I'll also believe. I'll even believe that one of the ways to
end the curse is for us to... um, you know." His blush grew to the point
that Akane could see it, despite the darkness of their surroundings.
"After all, that sounds like the sort of thing Happosai would set as a
condition for a curse- though I'm surprised underwear isn't involved, too."
That was able to bring a slight chuckle out of Akane. "But I can't
believe you would agree to curing the Oni THAT way."

"I didn't think I would, either," Akane smiled slightly. "When they told
me what I needed to do, I shouted 'What!? Me have sex with that pervert!?'
And so, they made another deal with me. If they could prove to me that
you weren't the pervert I thought you were, I would agree to... well, to
seduce you. After taking some time- at most a week- to build myself up to
it, of course."

"How were they able to do that?" Ranma said, his voice breaking. He
couldn't imagine someone being able to do that, especially considering what
he saw when he looked at her.

"They told me some things I didn't know. About your past. About Kasumi.
And... about the connection between Ryouga and P-Chan."

"I- I can explain!" Ranma cried, panicked. "I knocked him in, and then I
promised to-"

"Ranma, I know why you kept this a secret from me," Akane interrupted
sternly. "And I'm not happy about it. But I understand why you did it-
which is much more than I can say for Ryouga."

Ranma was uncertain what to say for a second, but then remembered the
conversation they'd had in the hospital, and decided to try and defend the
lost boy. "He thought he was in love with you, and he hasn't done it in a
long time, so don't be too hard on him when you see him next, okay?"

"Well... I'll think about it," Akane growled.

"At least leave him intact for Akari's sake," Ranma bargained.

"Hmm... that might be the perfect punishment," Akane considered with a
glint in her eye. "Let Akari know all about her precious pig of a man."

"Anyway," Ranma began, trying to change the subject. "What did you learn
about my past? And what in the world would you learn about Kasumi that
would make me less of a pervert in your eyes?"

"Well, I learned that you lived with Ukyou's family for several months when
you first met her. And I learned HOW you first met her."

"Oh, really?" Ranma couldn't really remember how he first met Ukyou
himself, and might have asked, but he also wanted to know what it was
Kasumi had to do with him being a pervert.

"Uh-huh. And then I learned that Kasumi was... well, at least partly
responsible for all the times we've bumped into each other naked in the
bath."

Ranma blinked. "No way- Kasumi?! The girl who worked you up so much about
how improper my possibly seducing you was that you tried to turn me into a
pin cushion when those hypnosis mushrooms started making me hug you?"

"I have a hard time believing it myself, but... well, it seems like it
might make sense. She's the one who's always filling up the bath and
getting it ready for us, so she'd know when we were in there better than
anyone. And she's frequently the one who suggests we take a bath when the
other's in the tub...."

"That makes sense, but... why?" Ranma asked uncertainly.

"To make me feel less... shy, I think." Akane frowned. "Though why she
felt it would make me less shy, I don't know...." She looked at Ranma,
noted the 'freshly-bathed' look she was seeing, and couldn't help but
imagine that was the reason.

"I don't know why she would, either," Ranma nodded. He couldn't help but
glance at her occasionally naked form and wonder if Kasumi had planned it
so that he would remember Akane that way. "So, you no longer think I'm
such a pervert. Does that really mean you're going to try to seduce me?"
he said, desperately searching for a way to change the subject again. He
couldn't help but wince when he realized what he changed it to.

"Well... not until I'm ready to. But I'm going to have to get ready to
within a week. I was given a challenge, and I made a vow, so...."

Ranma shook his head. "I don't have to agree. I've been able to resist
Shampoo, Ukyou, and Kodachi's attempts to seduce me, I think I can resist
yours."

"What, you think I can't do it?" Akane growled. It almost sounded to her
as if he was saying the others all had a better chance than she did.

"I don't think anyone could do it if I didn't want them to," Ranma shot
back. "So right now, I'm going to ask you something. Something
important."

"What is it?" Akane asked.

"How do you feel about me?" Ranma asked, his eyes staring straight into
hers.

"You mean... do I l... love you?" Akane watched Ranma nod before
continuing. "Well, I... I... I..." Akane sighed- she couldn't say the
words, how would she let him know? She tried to think of some way, and
almost gave up when she remembered what Iria told her right before she'd
left. "You want to know how I feel about you? Here- let me show you!"

Ranma was almost assaulted with a wave of emotions Akane sent into him. He
staggered, unable to sort them all out while they were hitting him, and it
took him almost a full minute to start recovering. Akane watched over him,
concern in her eyes, wondering if she'd hurt him. Finally, however, he
stood back up and smiled, tears in his eyes. "I'm just as confused as you
are, sometimes, Akane. It's hard to sort it all out, sometimes... but...
Akane, that felt a lot like how I feel about you." With that, he sent back
to her his own emotions.

Akane was buffeted by Ranma's own emotions. Akane was very happy- and very
surprised, when after she was able to sort them all out, she found they
were similar to how she felt about him. But that did not answer her
question- one she did not want to ask, especially having shared such
intimate feelings with him. She needed to, anyway. "So, are you going
to... to let me..."

"Am I going to let you seduce me? I don't know, Akane. If you didn't love
me, I sure as hell wouldn't. Do you really want to do this?"

"I think I do... want it to happen. Some day. If it weren't for the Oni,
that day probably wouldn't be for several months- or even years- but...
some day, I do want it to happen."

"Then I guess... if you want it to happen, I'll let it happen. If you
hadn't been willing to... well, I'd feel sorry for Iria, but I couldn't let
you do something you didn't want to."

They were both quiet for a few minutes, before Akane broke the silence.
"I'm not going to be able to do it right away, you know."

"I expected that," Ranma nodded. "I'm not ready for it, either- after all,
we only had our first kiss... what, a few minutes ago? We're going to have
to do some things to build ourselves up to it." With that, they started
discussing plans to bring themselves that much closer in a week's time.

Iria appeared a few minutes later. "Hi, you two. The Oni sent me to warn
you guys that he's going to have to break the connection shortly, so finish
up soon."

Akane and Ranma looked at each other and nodded. "I think we're done,"
Akane said.

"Good," Iria nodded. "Oh, Ranma- if you want to know who is in control of
Akane's body...."

"Yes?"

"Look at the eyes. You know what I mean."

Ranma nodded. "Thanks."

"So, what did you guys decide, anyway?" Iria's voice faded away.

* * * * *

Ranma blinked. There he was, back in Akane's room, holding her hand. A
few seconds later, she blinked, and he looked into her eyes. Akane was
there.

"Well... now what?" Akane asked, nervously.


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

Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
desaix@sysnet.net
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis /7872
fanfics available at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7872/fanfics.htm

From: "David A. Tatum" <desaix@sysnet.net>


Chapter 6:

"Ready, Akane?" Ranma asked. During their all-too-brief planning session
in Akane's mind, they had decided to do three things: get used to touching
each other, get go out on a few dates together, and get everyone they could
to leave them alone for the next week or so. Their first target for that
last one was a certain annoying group of relatives.

With a deep intake of breath, Akane nodded. It was time for all of the
people interfering in their lives to go away, anyway, and this situation
with the Oni was perhaps just the motivation they needed to get started.
'In a way,' she thought idly, 'This whole mess is a good thing for us... IF
it doesn't rush us too much.'

"Akane?" Ranma asked, looking into her eyes to make sure he was speaking to
the right individual.

"Huh? Oh, yeah... time to face the music."

They stepped through the doors to where Nodoka had gathered the family.
After Nabiki had been dragged off by Kasumi, Nodoka stationed herself at
the doorway to Akane's room, just to make sure no-one interrupted them- and
to make sure Ranma had someone to back him up in case there was trouble.
She was rather surprised when she was asked to assemble the families
(conscious, if possible- which meant she had to wake her husband and Soun
from their drunken slumber) in the dojo so they could announce what was
going on. She was also disturbed by seeing the horns of the Oni still
stuck on Akane's head.

Ranma grasped Akane's hand gently and led her inside. Akane found herself
forced to ignore the shock of his sudden tender touch, and blushed as she
realized she'd have to get used to MUCH more than that before the end of
the week. The thought nearly made her despair- why did she have to agree
to rush things? Why couldn't she and Ranma ever have a NORMAL
relationship? It had finally looked like they were going to have one, and
then this whole situation with the Oni happened... Akane felt like she
needed a release, but controlled herself. Right now, she was standing in
front of her family, holding hands with her fiancee and future lover, and
she needed to stay strong for the next few minutes. When she was alone and
this mess was over, then she could cry, but not until then.

Ranma could almost feel Akane's distress, and vaguely wondered if that
could be a side effect of the link they'd shared. Deciding not to question
whatever it was that was allowing him to discern her mood, he gave her hand
an extra reassuring squeeze before releasing it and facing their family.
Everyone in the room was too distracted by the horns still on Akane's head
to notice that they'd ever been touching- which was fortunate, since it
would have probably resulted in the two fathers wrecking the meeting with
cries of joy at the future union of their two families. Not that they
wouldn't have been justified, for once.

"So, Ranma," Nabiki growled, displeased at being knocked out, and even more
displeased at the results of their little chat where he'd accused her of
hating both him and her own sister. Whether that was because it was
untrue, or because it hit too close to home, Nabiki herself didn't know.
"Why haven't you freed my sister yet?"

"Because I can't yet," Ranma answered.

Soun, suffering a hangover, was not willing to shout at Ranma, but
nonetheless found a way to express his displeasure. With a barely
controlled growl of anger, Soun said, "Would you mind explaining that,
son?"

"I can't use a ward to free her- it would harm another spirit which has
latched itself onto her as her protector." He glared at everyone in front
of him. "And I will NOT hit her or let her be hit by anyone else, if I can
help it."

Akane's father raised an eyebrow and nodded approvingly at that last point.
He wouldn't let anyone hit his daughters if he could help it, either.
Perhaps it was a good sign that Ranma was finally standing up for his
fiance.

"Then how are we going to return Akane to normal?" Nodoka asked, trying to
get to the heart of the matter.

Ranma and Akane looked at each other one time. Akane nodded, and he
returned his attention to the families. "We've made a deal with the Oni.
It will release Akane forever and never harm any of us, but in return Akane
and I have to remove a curse Happosai placed on it."

Genma blinked. "How do you remove a curse from an Oni? For that matter,
how do you PLACE a curse on an Oni?"

Akane smiled slightly. "Ranma asked almost exactly the same thing. The
curse is serving the greater evil...."

"And the Master is more evil than the Oni," Genma finished, nodding. Then
he looked curiously at Akane. "Or should I say, the Master is more evil
than YOU? I don't know if your kind likes being referred to in the third
person or not."

Akane was momentarily confused, but soon figured out what Genma was talking
about. "Uh, you should just call me Akane. The Oni isn't in control right
now- Ranma knows how to tell if it's me or not, so just ask him if you're
unsure."

They all looked at Ranma, who nodded. "The trick is to look into her
eyes," he explained.

"'Eyes are the windows to the soul,'" Nodoka quoted. "But that still
leaves half the question unanswered. How do you remove a curse on an Oni?"

"Well, um," Akane began, looking at Ranma desperately. "You fulfill the
conditions of the curse."

"And those conditions are?" Nabiki asked, making it plainly obvious Akane
would not get away with hiding anything.

Ranma looked back at Akane, who nodded in return. Sighing, he looked at
the families. "If anyone says anything about how good a thing this is,
expect an extended trip to the hospital," he warned. That drew confused
looks from everyone.

"Why would we say this is a GOOD thing?" Soun asked.

"Because..." Ranma began. "The cure to the Oni's curse is to be in the
body of someone while they have sssss... sssss..."

"Sssss?" Nabiki parodied.

"While they have sex," Akane finished. "I agreed to seduce Ranma for the
Oni."

Kasumi, who had (as usual) been standing quietly in the background,
blinked. "Oh... my."

Soun and Genma gasped, and almost expressed their joy at Akane's
pronouncement until they saw Ranma's face, and wisely kept their mouths
shut. Nodoka merely smiled proudly at her son. Truly, he was a manly man-
or if he wasn't, he was about to become one. Akane would see to that.

Nabiki needed a few seconds to recover, and looked at Ranma angrily. "Then
we have no choice, do we?" she said... and, for the second time that day,
threw a punch at her younger sister.

Ranma was taken by surprise, but Akane wasn't. She caught the fist before
it hit- more out of instinct than anything else. Nabiki's other hand came
around... and Akane saw another ward in it.

Ranma was not taken by surprise, that time. Faster than anyone could
blink, he deflected the path of Nabiki's arm and tore the ward out of her
hand.

Nabiki backed off and narrowed her eyes at Ranma. "I knew it- the ward
would have fixed the whole problem, but you don't care, do you? I bet you
knew what the Oni would ask her to do- that's why you didn't let us get rid
of it before, and that's why you don't want us to get rid of it now- you
just want to get inside my little sister's panties!" she screamed.

"You think I WHAT?!" Ranma cried in shock. "What are you talking about?
You heard us say the reason we couldn't use the ward would be because it
would destroy a friend of hers- a guardian spirit! And I am in NO rush to
get into her panties!"

Akane looked at Ranma, a little hurt. That almost felt like one of his old
insulting reactions to the allegations his friends made about him and Akane
sleeping together before.

Nabiki, on the other hand, didn't believe him one bit. "Oh, come on-
you've wanted her from the moment you first saw her! I don't care one damn
about that spirit you keep talking about, and I don't believe my little
sister would, either!"

"Nabiki!" Soun cried, having recovered enough from his shock to finally
speak. "You're being irrational!"

"If it weren't for that spirit," Ranma growled, "You wouldn't have a
younger sister to disbelieve right now! She would have died at Jusendou."

"Oh come on!" Nabiki snorted, turning to appeal to her family. "Don't you
people see it? Where did this Oni come from? Why did Ranma make that
mistake on those wards the first time it showed up, anyway? How come Ranma
listened to a POSSESSED Akane in the first place!?"

"Nabiki..." Kasumi began. "While I think that Ranma and Akane doing this
is... improper... I believe you're letting your hatred of Ranma cloud your
judgment. Ranma cannot control evil spirits or curses, and you're acting
like he does."

Nabiki glared at her older sister, and turned to her father. Ranma started
whispering something in Akane's ear as Nabiki said, "Am I the only one who
sees what's going on around here?"

Soun just shook his head sadly at her outburst. What was wrong with his
two older daughters? Could they not see how good this would be for the
family?

Nabiki squawked as she felt her wrist firmly grasped and something wrapped
around it. Looking in the direction of her attacker, she saw Ranma
wrapping the ward he had taken from her on her wrist... much like the one
she just noticed which was on HIS wrist. When he was done, Akane came
forward and took her hand, and in a moment, the world around her faded
away.

* * * * *

"Where am I?!" Nabiki screamed. "What's going on?"

"Hi, sis." Akane's voice caught her attention. Nabiki looked in her
direction, and saw a beachball with arms she recognized as the Oni, Akane
with her long hair in her school dress, and a small doll she couldn't
place. "Ranma thought you might want to talk to me alone. You know, he
was initially even more reluctant to let me stay possessed than you were,
but he was patient enough to give me a chance to explain- something I was
sure you would have been. I guess I don't know you as well as I thought."

"Akane?" Nabiki blinked, confused. "Where are we? What are you talking
about?"

"Let me tell you about the discussion he and I had when you left...."

* * * * *

"Oh, my!" Kasumi exclaimed. Everyone was a little unnerved by how Nabiki
and Akane had suddenly slumped to their knees while their eyes glazed over.

"What's going on?" Nodoka asked her son, seeing how he seemed to be the
least concerned of them all.

"MY POOR CHILDREN!" Soun cried, restrained from rushing to his two younger
daughters by Genma.

"Relax, everyone," Ranma soothed. "The multiple possessions gave Akane an
extra ability or two, and one of them is to talk to other people in their
heads. I admit it is a little... disturbing... to see it out here like
this, but it'll be over in a moment. Oh, and the ward is to keep anyone
from manipulating Nabiki's mind."

"Ranma," Kasumi began. "About what Nabiki was saying-"

"Wait," Ranma said- almost ordered. "Akane and Nabiki will snap out of
this any second now- you can talk for hours like this and it will only take
a minute or two."

"Ranma," Nodoka asked slowly. "How do you know the Oni will keep its word
and leave Akane after she seduces you?"

Ranma grinned. "You don't live my life without learning a few things about
spirits. One time, when I was going through some books Dr. Tofu lent me
trying to find a cure for my curse, I discovered that even evil spirits
have to keep oaths they make- they can twist those oaths, and find
loopholes, but they can't break them."

Nodoka blinked. "Who is Dr. Tofu?"

"Oh, that's right," Ranma realized. "You've never met him. He was the
Tendou family doctor for a while... to tell you the truth, I don't know
what happened to him. Do you, Kasumi?"

The only Tendou sister still conscious shook her head. "I'm sorry, Ranma-
no, I don't. I wish I did, because I've still got a few books I borrowed
from him, but he closed his clinic a few months ago and I haven't seen him
since."

Ranma blinked. "Not even a note on the door?" Kasumi shook her head.
"That's odd...." Still wondering, he turned his attention back to the
other sisters, and waited.

* * * * *

Nabiki frowned. Akane had just spent hours explaining everything, but some
of the details still bugged her. "Okay, I understand now why you don't
want to let us use the wards, and I understand that you... THINK... you
love Ranma enough to be able to stand sleeping with him, if there is no
other choice-"

"I don't THINK I love him, Nabiki. I showed you how I felt about him- you
should know that."

"Well, maybe," she answered nervously. The truth was Nabiki had been
overwhelmed by the emotions even more than Ranma had- she'd never
experienced feelings that intense before, and to have them dumped on her
like that.... "But, anyway, I still don't understand why you won't let us
try just knocking the Oni out of you."

Akane sighed. "You couldn't if you tried. The Oni and Iria have enhanced
my speed and skills a lot- more than even Dougi-sama did, and they'll keep
me from letting you hit me. The Oni, because that would disrupt its plans,
and Iria, because she WANTS me to do this." Nabiki grimaced- she didn't
exactly like how much her little sister still trusted this former succubus,
and Iria's desire to see Akane sleep with RANMA, of all people, made her
even more uncomfortable about it. "The only person who could, and who I
trust to do so, would never be able to bring himself to hit me."

"You mean Ranma," Nabiki commented. After waiting for Akane to nod, she
continued, "I still don't see why you think he wouldn't, if you asked him
to. After all, didn't he get into a fight with you in order to stop that
very same Dougi you mentioned? And you didn't even want him to, then!"

Akane nodded. "Yes, but you weren't fighting him, were you? He was
SERIOUSLY limiting himself in that fight- he was only going for that
yin-yang symbol, and I could tell he was pulling his punches so they were
feather-light. They wouldn't be hard enough to effect the Oni."

"I still don't buy it," Nabiki frowned. "He MUST know it will hurt you
more to be forced like this than it would to be hit ONCE. I mean, you
could explain it to him- how this is almost like rape-"

"IT ISN'T LIKE RAPE!" Akane hissed. "If I wasn't willing to do this with
him at some point, it might be like rape, but I have... wanted to... for a
while now. I don't think we're ready, but-"

"That's just it!" Nabiki shouted. "You AREN'T ready- and he should know
this. YOU know it will hurt more in the long run...."

"Well," Akane hesitated, trying to say something she didn't want to admit.
"No, I don't. I think... I mean, this will... I mean, this might have
several advantages to waiting."

Nabiki blinked. "What?"

"It would mean he was MINE!" Akane exclaimed. "I mean... if he and I were
to... then the other fiancees couldn't take him from me. This is just
an... excuse for rushing things."

"Akane, you know it would be safer not to let this happen- who knows what
strings are attached to deals with Oni!" Nabiki bargained desperately.

"Nabiki...." Akane hesitated. How to explain what she wanted? "I love
Ranma. A lot. I can't really say it out loud yet, so when you and I break
this connection I probably wouldn't admit it if you were to ask me
directly, but I do. I wish we weren't forced into this, but... I want it
to happen. I don't want to rush things, but I also worry what would happen
if I don't." She sighed. "Ranma loves me. A lot. He doesn't like
hitting me if there is any choice that he can see... but he would if I told
him it hurt me more to not be hit by him. But I'm not going to do that,
because I WANT this to happen, if as nothing more than an excuse to do
something I WANT to do."

"Akane," Nabiki started slowly. "You're babbling- and you still haven't
said anything about the possible strings attached. Tell you what- if you
want, I'll get rid of the other fiancees. No charge, even. Don't let the
Oni stay in you, just get Ranma to punch it out. We'll catch it, send it
on its way, and I'll let you and Ranma build yourselves up to this at a
more normal pace, and have... well, I don't think I'll have any
complaints."

Akane shook her head. "I want to make up for the lost time the other
fiancees have taken from us, and I'm willing to take the risks. I WANT a
normal relationship with Ranma, but no-one would ever let us have that- you
hate him, our parents keep trying to force us together, all the girls keep
trying to steal Ranma from me and all the guys keep trying to steal me from
Ranma, we're always getting involved in these dangerous problems involving
people like Happosai, Tarou, Saffron, Toma.... No, there's no way Ranma
and I can have a normal relationship. His curse alone presents problems- I
don't want to be thought of as in love with a girl! But... I'm in love
with him, so doesn't that mean his girl side goes along with that?"

"Akane-"

"No- let me finish!" Akane breathed. "We can't have a normal relationship.
We can't even have a somewhat normal relationship. For that reason,
whatever the risks, I'll take anything I can get that can give us a BETTER
relationship."

"Akane...." Nabiki hesitated. "I can see that you aren't going to believe
me when I say this is a terrible idea. I don't trust the Oni, I don't
trust Iria, and I don't trust Ranma- and so I don't want this to happen.
But if you want... there's nothing I can do to stop you."

"Thank you, Nabiki... you won't tell Ranma about anything we've talked
about here, right? He doesn't know why I didn't ask him to just knock it
out of me, and I'd like it to stay that way."

Nabiki looked at her younger sister and shrugged. Trying to break the
tension, she answered, "Five thousand yen."

Akane grinned lopsidedly. "Ranma's my fiancee, and he's supposed to turn
over control of his money to me when we're married, right? Well, take it
out of his account, will you?"

Nabiki laughed. "My pleasure. Now, let's get back to the real world,
okay?"

* * * * *

Nabiki and Akane blinked and stood up, releasing their hands. Grinning
slightly, the elder of the two turned to Ranma. "Five thousand yen."

"Huh?"

"Hush money," Nabiki explained, turning to wink at Akane. "Five thousand
yen. I've accepted that there's no other way for you two to do this, but
if you don't want me telling the world about what I learned, you'd better
pay up.


Ranma, not sure WHAT, exactly, he was hushing up, nodded nervously. "Take
it from my account."

"Wait," Kasumi interrupted. "I don't agree with this. It isn't proper for
Ranma and Akane to... do that before they're married-"

"Oh, stow it, Kasumi," Ranma countered, annoyed at Kasumi for perhaps the
first time in his life. "Akane and I KNOW that you arranged for us to walk
into the bathroom on each other."

Kasumi blushed. "Well, you can look, but you shouldn't touch...."

Soun looked at his oldest daughter in shock as she basically admitted to
Ranma's accusation. He'd never heard of her doing such a thing before, and
he couldn't picture his sweet and innocent Kasumi doing that.

"Something I don't understand," Genma began. "Why did you two feel the
need to get us all together and tell us? You didn't need to. You could
have just done the deed without any of us the wiser. You don't want to get
married first, do you?"

"No, we don't- not yet. And no, we couldn't just 'do the deed,'" Ranma
replied. "We weren't ready for it- we still aren't. We're going to need
to build ourselves up to it- and we aren't going to be able to for a
while."

"Part of building ourselves up to it," Akane continued for him, "Is dealing
with some of the problems in our relationship. And, frankly, you people
have been one major problem."

Kasumi and Genma looked confused, Soun started crying, and Nodoka... looked
on curiously. Nabiki was not surprised at all- she knew that everyone in
the families had been a problem for their relationship, but since she
hadn't approved of that relationship she never did anything about it.

"My youngest daughter hates me," Soun sobbed while being patted on the back
sympathetically by Ranma's father.

"Relax, dad, I don't hate you- we don't hate any of you. But you are...
annoying," Akane explained.

"Every time you saw the slightest hint of an attraction between us, you
people blew it out of proportion, videotaping it, and basically getting in
the way and breaking it up," Ranma continued for Akane, returning the
favor. "I figure getting you to promise to leave us alone won't be enough.
I also figure it's too dangerous for Akane and I to, say, go out and have
a training trip alone, because... well, quite frankly, we're still not sure
what the Oni can or will do. If it causes trouble, it better be here in
Nerima where there are a number of people who can come and help contain
it."

"So you want us to leave," Nabiki deduced.

"Yes and no," Ranma answered. "We want most of you to leave. Not
everyone- mom, you can stay. We need someone who can cook, so we don't get
into a fight over Akane's cooking, and Kasumi is too against this...
solution... for our comfort."

"But I-" The oldest sister began, looking stricken.

"Kasumi," Akane began. "I'm not certain why you acted like you did- when
you get back, I'm going to want a full answer. But don't think we're mad
at you- we just don't trust you for this."

Soun couldn't believe how harsh the two of them were being to Kasumi- no
one EVER spoke to her that way before, and to think that Ranma and Akane
were doing so now....

"We made arrangements before this meeting," Ranma continued. "With a
friend of Akane's whose family has a home in Kanazawa. This house is
currently unoccupied because it is undergoing renovations, but there is
habitable room for four, and working water, gas, and electricity. We want
the four of you to go to that house, and stay there for a week while Akane
and I get ready to... remove this curse."

"What about school?" Nodoka asked.

Ranma's eyes widened. He'd forgotten that classes started up again before
their preparatory week would be over. "Well... I guess Akane and I will
have to miss it."

His mother frowned. "But it's the first week. If you miss it, you'll miss
so much!"

"Yes, well," Ranma began, looking at Akane's horns. "It might not be a
good idea considering how our rivals seem to act."

"Your rivals will find you whether you stay home or go to school," Soun
answered, assuming his fatherly pose. "Ranma, you may not care about your
own, but what about Akane's education?"

Nabiki smiled- Ranma and Akane had never even considered this one. Perhaps
there was a chance this deal with the Oni would be ruined, after all....

Ranma sighed, not sure how to deal with this. In desperation, he looked
over at Akane. "Do you want to go... as you are?"

"As I am?" Akane asked, looking over at Ranma suspiciously.

"Well, those Oni horns are kinda hard to miss."

Akane felt her head, as if realizing for the first time the demon in her
showed. "I'd completely forgotten about them... oh, no."

"You could always wear a hat," Kasumi suggested helpfully.

"Hats aren't part of the school uniform," Nabiki answered for her younger
sister.

"Oh, how many people have gotten into trouble for not wearing the uniform,
anyway?" Akane replied after a minute. "Kunou, Ukyou, and Ranma never
have. A hat it is."

Ranma sighed- he was worried Akane would decide to go, and it looked like
he was right. "Akane, you know this is going to cause problems. Shampoo
will glomp me on the way to school, like she almost always does. Kunou
will try and fight both of us for a date. Ukyou will-"

"Yes, Ranma, I know it will cause problems," Akane said, dismissing them
with a hand. "We'll have just as many problems when those same people come
by the home to find out why we weren't in school, and we'll have Ms. Hinako
on our backs as well."

Ranma grit his teeth, annoyed that she wasn't seeing things his way, but
gave up. He never could get Akane to do what was good for her- that was
probably one of the reasons he cared about her so much. "Fine. School it
is. But if it looks like it'll be more problems than it's worth, we're
going to stop going, got it?"

Akane nodded. "Deal." A car horn was heard beeping out front. "Wow- it's
here already. I think that's the taxi we ordered for you guys. Hurry up
and get out of here- we'll talk more when you get back."

"Taxi?" Genma asked, confused.

"To take you to Kanazawa- hurry up! We don't want the taxi to leave
thinking it has the wrong house, do we?"

* * * * *

After a quick explanation to the driver of the taxi, Nabiki, Kasumi, and
the two fathers packed up in a hurry and boarded the van. In less than an
hour, only Akane, Ranma, and Nodoka were left in the Tendou estate.

"Well, time to go to bed," Nodoka said. "I'll see you in the morning.
Good night."

"Good night," the two fiancees chorused. Slowly, they trudged up the
stairs. Ranma started to break off in the direction of his room before
being caught by the back of the shirt by Akane.

"Where do you think YOU'RE going?" she asked.

"To my bed- to sleep!" he answered, not understanding her problem.

Akane sighed. She knew Ranma sometimes let things slip from his mind, and
decided to forgive him- this time. "Remember the plan? To get accustomed
to touching each other and being near each other?"

"Oh... yeah," Ranma answered nervously, and followed her to a familiar
doorway with a duck-shaped plaque on it. "Phase one then, huh?"

Akane nodded, opening the door. "Phase one." She lead Ranma into her
room, closed the door behind them, and looked at her bed. "Phase one is
easy, remember? We just... slip under the covers, and go to sleep."

Ranma looked at her. "You aren't in your nightclothes," he noted.

"Oh, right," she giggled nervously. "Um, step outside for a minute...
remember, we don't start... showing each other things... until tomorrow.
Um, you get ready for bed, too, and I'll open the door a crack when I'm
ready."

"Okay...." He started to head to the door when he remembered something.
"You know I normally sleep in my underwear, right?"

Akane's eyes widened. "Oh... right. I forgot about that... well, can't be
helped. I want you to be comfortable, so... go ahead and get ready to
sleep as you usually do. I think I can deal with it."

Ranma nodded and left the room. Akane looked at her pajamas, and nearly
selected the set with the cartoon cats decorating them before she realized
she needed to consider Ranma's phobia. "Well, guess I won't be using those
again for some time," she said to herself as she pulled out another set
with little pigs on them- and frowned realizing they reminded her too much
of the whole P-Chan thing. Finally, she took out the last piece of
nightclothes she had- a little yellow nightgown that she had almost
outgrown. 'Well,' she thought, considering the hem line it showed. 'If
he's in his underwear, I might as well be in this thing. That way, he
won't have an unfair advantage.

Finished changing, she opened the door a crack. Ranma had been waiting for
her, and finished opening the door before she could retreat to her covers.

Akane couldn't help but notice how well Ranma's undershirt showed off his
muscular chest, and Ranma likewise couldn't resist a brief glance at
Akane's long legs, but they both passed it off with a mere blush, trying
desperately to not say something the other would think was perverted.
Akane led him inside, closing the door behind him again, and took him to
the bed. They stared at the bed for several minutes, saying and doing
nothing.

"Well... we'd better get to bed, or we'll have trouble waking up in the
morning," Akane finally said.

"Um, yeah, I guess," Ranma acknowledged intelligently. They both continued
to stare at the bed.

"Oh, this is stupid," Akane spat, flipping up the covers and crawling into
the bed. "Come on in- I don't plan on biting."

"Uh...." By this point, Ranma's brain had almost completely shut off, but
what remained of it followed Akane's orders and slipped him under the
sheets next to her.

"Um... could you reach over and turn off the lamp?" Akane asked. Again,
not really thinking about what he was doing, Ranma reached over and pulled
the cord, shutting off the lights. Akane adjusted the sheets so they were
both well covered, and turned her face towards him. "Good night, Ranma,"
she said sweetly.

"Good night," he answered automatically. He was still unable to comprehend
what he was doing... and because of that, he fell asleep in only a matter
of minutes.

Akane listened to his steady breathing for a few minutes before smiling and
leaning over towards him. "Thank you for doing things the way I wanted you
to," she whispered, kissing him on the cheek. Shortly thereafter, she too
was asleep.

Sometime after she fell asleep, her arm reached over and pulled him closer.
For some reason, Ranma, whose dreams were starting to turn into a
nightmare about dangling from a bridge holding onto nothing but a thin red
string wrapped around his fingers, suddenly was soothed into a deeper and
much more pleasant sleep.
---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------

---
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
desaix@sysnet.net
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis /7872
fanfics available at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7872/fanfics.htm

From: "David A. Tatum" <desaix@sysnet.net>
Subject: [Ranma][FanFic] Three Souls, One Heart Chapter 7


Chapter 7

Some time during that night, the covers were worked off of Akane's feet.
Whether it was Ranma's fault or hers would never be determined, but what
happened when she woke up was definitely something she had done- and
neither the Oni nor Iria had anything to do with it.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAH! THAT'S COLD!" Ranma screamed as she placed her cold feet
on his bare legs. Akane would always CLAIM that the Oni and Iria were
responsible for it, however.

Regardless of who was responsible, however, it effectively woke Ranma up.

"Ah, good, you're awake," Akane noted with a sly smile on her face. Her
smile fell a little before she continued. "Ready for the next part of our
little plan?" she asked nervously.

"Uh...." Ranma had momentarily forgotten why he was in Akane's bed, but
the moment she mentioned the plan he recalled everything about the previous
night. And he recalled the next part of the plan- to share the morning
bath... with certain conditions so that it wouldn't be any worse than those
times they had walked in on each other. "Not really, but I doubt I could
work myself any closer to being ready, so we might as well do it now."

Akane nodded. She felt much the same way. "Well... who should go first?"

Ranma thought for a second. "Why don't you? That would feel more...
natural."

Akane raised an eyebrow, slightly annoyed. He was right, though- as often
as Ranma had walked in on her instead of the other way around, it DID feel
more normal to have him join her instead of having her join him, so she
nodded before leaving for the bathroom, Ranma following her. She stepped
into the changing room, stripped, used the toilet, and stepped into the
bath.

Ranma knocked a minute later before entering the changing room himself. He
took off his clothes, walked over to the door. "Akane? Let me know when I
can come in."

A couple minutes later, after Ranma had brushed his teeth and got as ready
as he could for the day before his bath, a call came out from the bathroom,
and Ranma walked in, blushing badly. The lights were dimmed a little, as
they had agreed previously, but it was still bright enough to illuminate
all of his features. He couldn't look up to see her face as he sat down
and rinsed himself in cold water, changing into his female half and
scrubbing away any dirt with his pumice-based soap before turning towards
the furo to join Akane.

He was a little surprised to see Akane facing away from him. "Uh... I'm
coming in."

Akane nodded and turned to face him. Her eyes were the seductive ones.
"Hurry on up and get in the tub, Ranma. Akane made me take over her body
until your lower half is under the water."

"Uh... right," he answered as he stepped into the water, changing back to
his male form. He felt Iria-through-Akane's eyes on him as he sank down
into the steaming hot water.

"Akane's one lucky girl," the controlling succubus said, smirking, before
she blinked and Akane resumed control. Her comment, however, had reduced
Ranma to a mindlessly blushing mass.

The two young people stared at each other from opposite ends of the furo.
The dim lighting, the slightly rippling water, and the steam rising above
it were all doing their parts to distort the features below the surface,
but it was still clear enough that neither Ranma nor Akane felt very
comfortable. After all, the only thing they would have to do to see
something would be to TRY and see it....

They just kept staring into each other's eyes, neither one willing to leave
the bath first, staying as far away from each other as possible. No words
were spoken for a long time, each waiting for the other to start talking,
or move, or do SOMETHING.

"All right, this is ridiculous," Akane growled after almost a full hour of
staring at Ranma. With a determined expression on her face, she slid
across through the still-hot water towards him. Ranma's eyes widened as
she got closer and closer, until she finished moving, right next to him.
"If we're going to stay in the tub like this, we might as well talk about
SOMETHING, so... are you ready to start back to school tomorrow?"

Ranma twitched with the closeness of a naked Akane. "Well," he began, his
voice cracking, "I'm as ready for classes as always, but... I'm not sure
I'm ready to face down all of our classmates. Especially if they find out
what we're about to do."

Akane didn't say anything for a few seconds. She was worried about the
same thing. However, she decided to help Ranma forget about his
concerns... by teasing him. "What? Are you worried about losing to
Kunou?"

Ranma, though, wasn't in the mood. "Of course not- I doubt he even goes to
Furinken any more- isn't he in Nabiki's grade level? Shouldn't he have
moved up to college by now?" As he talked, his nervousness slowly left
him. "I'm worried about... well, my friends- and yours, too, I guess.
Ucchan... she's a great friend to both of us- maybe even more to you than
me, despite the past she and I share- but she showed at our failed wedding
that she won't let that stop her if she feels like she's about to lose me.
And Hiroshi and Daisuke will tease me endlessly about it- they already ask
me if you and I've done it every day. And your friends- Yuka and Sayuri,
is it? I'm not sure about how they behave to most people, but they don't
really seem to like me. I don't know how they'd react to hearing that you
HAVE to sleep with me, but...." He sighed, not able to finish. "I really
wish you'd decided to just skip school this week. We wouldn't have had to
deal with any of this."

Akane, not thinking about what she was doing, put an arm around her
troubled fiancee and gave him a squeeze. "I made the decision to face
this, Ranma, and I was prepared to face the consequences. Except for
Ukyou, it seems to me that all of the problems you mentioned deal with how
our friends look at ME- and I am ready for them, and willing to take
whatever they give. Don't worry about it."

Ranma, his senses suddenly aware again of Akane sitting next to him,
tensed. However, he still returned the favor, and placed an arm of his own
around Akane, and hugged her to him. He'd expected their relationship to
go fast over the next few days, but he had never expected to get this close
to her this soon. "Akane, I can't help but worry about it. You know how I
feel about you- I don't like seeing you hurt. And if this mess causes you
to lose all your friends...."

Akane melted inside at his concern, and she just hugged him tighter,
leaning her whole upper body against his chest. They stayed like that in
silence for some time, holding on to each other in the bath tub. They both
got more comfortable with each other and eventually Akane, the heat of the
water relaxing her muscles and feeling more content then she had in years,
drifted off to sleep, her head slumping onto Ranma's shoulder. He started
to get pretty sleepy himself, and nuzzled his head on top of Akane's,
closing his eyes.

It was right about then that the door suddenly slid open and Nodoka walked
in, startling Ranma enough that he jumped. Akane was awakened by the
movement of her living pillow, and blinked herself awake.

"Mom!" Ranma gasped, turning his face away from his naked mother- and into
Akane's naked chest as she started to stand up. "Ulp!"

Akane knew she was showing herself off, but just bore it with a bad blush.
After all, the plan called for her and Ranma to change in front of each
other after the bath, so he'd soon be seeing her in all her glory, anyway.
"Auntie Saotome! What are you doing!"

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Nodoka apologized sincerely. "I heard you get up a
couple hours ago, and was sure you would have been out by now. You two
REALLY need to remember to put out the sign." She smiled at Ranma, who was
transfixed by the sight in front of him. "Don't worry, Akane- I'll leave
you and my manly son to finish whatever you were doing." With that, Mrs.
Saotome stepped on out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Well, that ruined the mood," Akane sighed, stepping out of the furo a
moment later and heading to the door. She looked back and saw Ranma still
sitting in the tub, his eyes still where she had been a minute before.
"Ranma! Get out of the tub- we need to get dressed. It's a good thing we
don't need to go to school today, or we'd already be late!"

Ranma blinked, stood up, and followed Akane to his room (both of them
grabbing robes as they went, just in case Nodoka showed up again). He felt
extremely nervous as Akane forced herself to watch him shed the robe and
slip on his clothes, and it showed as he almost put his boxers on
backwards. When he had finished dressing in a dark green silk shirt and
his usual black drawstring trousers, he followed Akane to her room, where
she slipped on her clothes as well- a bra, some polka-dotted panties (she
teasingly asked him which pair she should wear, and all he could do was
mention one of the only pairs he knew she owned), a blouse, a mid-length
skirt, and a vest. Ranma twitched so much through the whole thing that
Akane once contemplated tying him down.

* * * * *

The rest of the day went along uneventfully, for the most part. Ranma and
Akane stayed near each other for the entire day, except when one of them
had to use the bathroom. They ate sitting next to each other, watched
television with their arms wrapped over each other's shoulders, and,
shortly before bedtime, they went out to the dojo and performed katas
together (doing a fairly basic kata that they both knew well), just to keep
themselves in practice.

When it was time for them to go to bed, they both automatically went to
Akane's room, and changed into their night clothes. It was fairly easy for
Ranma- all he had to do was to take off his shirt and pants- he'd been
exposed to Akane in his underclothes often enough that he wasn't too
concerned. Akane, however, had to strip all her clothes off so she could
change into her nightgown.

Akane's nervousness left her quickly, however. As she slipped off the vest
and started unbuttoning the blouse, she recovered the confidence she had
gained that morning, and finished undressing in a sort of comic strip-tease
sort of way, twirling each article of clothing in her hands before she
tossed it across the room and into the dirty clothes basket. She grinned
slightly as Ranma gawked at her, enjoying his reaction.

"Akane..." he squeaked, searching her eyes to make sure it wasn't Iria who
just gave him the show. Akane slipped on the nightgown, and crawled into
bed. Ranma, much like the previous night, had to be told to join her and
turn off the lights.

Soon, both were asleep again- though this time, Akane cuddled up to him
BEFORE she fell asleep.

* * * * *

Ranma and Akane woke up to the alarm the next morning, and hurriedly
prepared for school. They once again entered the changing room and bathing
room separately (after all, sharing a bath is one thing, but some things
still needed to be done in private) but this time they just washed and
slipped into the furo with few reservations. They started sitting together
in the tub from the start, but they didn't hold on to or lean against each
other like they had the previous day- they were more comfortable with
themselves, but they still weren't totally relaxed.

If they'd had longer to soak, the warmth of the water might have lifted the
nervousness from them and they might have wound up like they had the last
time, but both were trying to limit their time in the tub in order to get
ready for school. They ran to change into their school clothes- first
Akane's room, this time, and then Ranma's.

At breakfast, while his mother was taking some of the dishes back to the
kitchen, Ranma looked sorrowfully at his fiancee. "It's not too late- you
can change your mind if you want."

Akane blinked, a small bit of anger growing in her. "What? Do you think
I'm not attractive enough for you or something?" she growled.

Ranma was startled by her reaction. "Huh? What are you talking about?" he
wondered, backing off slightly. "What does how attractive you are have to
do with going to school?"

Akane deflated. "Uh, school? Oh, sorry, I thought...."

"You thought I was talking about sleeping with you," Ranma finished,
grimacing. Quickly checking to make sure his mother was still in the
kitchen, he reached out and gently squeezed her shoulder. "Akane, I won't
lie to you about this- I'm scared. I mean, a week ago, just doing
something like this," he gently caressed her hair, "Would have been
impossible- I couldn't have brought myself to do it, and you wouldn't have
let me even if I tried." He grinned. "If I seem reluctant, it has nothing
to do with how you look."

Akane smiled nervously. "Ranma... am I... attractive?"

"Well," he began, swallowing. "You aren't cute, normally- no, wait! Let
me finish!" Akane, who had nearly broke down in angry tears, glowered at
Ranma but didn't say anything. "Like I said, you aren't normally cute.
When you're happy and smiling, it shows all through you. THEN you look
cute. Also, your hair is very cute, and so is your nose when you wrinkle
it the way you do when you're teasing me- heck, even those little horns the
Oni's placed on you look cute," he grinned. "Like I've said in the past,
you're cute when you want to be." He took a deep breath before continuing.
"But how cute you are has nothing to do with how attractive you are. You
can be as uncute as you want, but that won't effect the fact that you're...
that you're a very beautiful woman."

"Ranma..." Akane whispered, her angry tears turning to happy ones. The
hand cradling her hair pulled her towards Ranma as his other arm wrapped
around her waist, bringing her into a sympathetic hug to allow her to cry
on his shoulder.

At the sound of the kitchen door opening, they broke apart and quickly
returned to their seats. A few minutes later, Akane grabbed a sun hat,
tucked her horns under it, and started out to school, Ranma walking next to
her.

Ranma was on his toes for the entire trip to school- every step of the way,
he was looking towards the ceilings and the alleys, warily searching for
any sign of an attacker- probably one of Amazon origin.

Akane, on the other hand, was viewing the walk as a nice relaxing stroll
through the neighborhood- it was the first time out of the house for her
since her possession, it was warm and sunny, and the time she and Ranma had
saved by taking their bath together allowed them to get to school early
despite walking at this slow pace- even if Ranma got doused along the way.

Ranma's heightened awareness allowed him to dodge the old woman watering
her sidewalk and the bucket of water tossed out of someone's window. It
also allowed him to notice Akane's mood, which, despite his concerns, put a
smile on his face. If Akane was happy, he'd be happy.

While they knew they had left early enough so that they wouldn't be late,
they hadn't realized that they would be so early that their classroom door
would still be locked. Deciding to take the opportunity for some peace and
quiet, they sat down next to each other and chatted. While they talked,
Akane unthinkingly leaned against Ranma's shoulder, much like she had while
they were watching television the previous day, and he absently put his arm
around her, again like they had much of the previous day. They kept
talking, not even aware of what they were doing.

"Well, well!" a child-like voice burst into their world. "I never thought
I'd be seeing you two here this early- especially not sitting together like
that."

"Urk!" Ranma gurgled, as he jumped away from Akane.

"We're sorry, Ms. Hinako!" Akane apologized, flustered.

"No need to apologize, Akane- I don't mind if you and your fiancee show
your feelings for each other during non-class hours. Just don't disrupt
class with it." Hinako smiled. "But you might want to remove your hat,
since we're inside right now."

Akane grabbed her hat as if to keep Hinako from taking it. "I, uh...." she
began.

"Akane's too embarrassed to remove her hat, Ms. Hinako- she got a bad
haircut recently, and she doesn't want it to show," Ranma intervened,
finally recovering his head. Akane glared at him.

"Oh!" the teacher mouthed, unlocking the door. "I see. Well, I'll let you
keep that hat on for a while, Akane, but you have to sit in the back row so
as to not distract the other students."

Ranma leaned over to his fiance as they followed Ms. Hinako into the
classroom. "What was that 'look' for?" he whispered.

"If you're going to come up with a lie, Ranma, at least come up with a
convincing one. What's going to happen at the end of the week when I lose
the horns, huh?"

"Um," Ranma began nervously, suddenly seeing the problem. "Get a bad
haircut?"

Akane growled. "I happen to like my hair the way it is, thank you very
much."

"Er... I'd still love you," Ranma said, trying to make his suggestion seem
more palatable. Akane just looked at him, trying desperately to keep a
stern expression on her face when all she wanted to do was burst out
laughing. "Um... okay, sorry. Stupid idea. How about keeping the hat
until the next time you get your hair trimmed? That way, you can say the
mistake was corrected?"

Akane frowned. "I suppose that would work- though I still don't like it."
Then she smiled, and glanced to make sure that the only other person in the
room still was Hinako before leaning over and kissing Ranma's cheek. "And
I'd still love you, too."

Ranma, stunned, fell back into his seat. Akane giggled, and settled into
her own seat next to him. A few minutes later, other students started to
drift inside the classroom, and soon Ms. Hinako began her morning lecture.

* * * * *

Ranma and Akane sat down together at a tree for lunch, hoping no-one would
join them. So far, several people had commented on Akane's hat, and many
people were wondering what her 'bad haircut' looked like. Up until that
point, they had avoided the questions, but the constant harassment was
starting to get to them. Not to mention that they kept hearing whispers
about how they seemed to be acting a little differently towards each other.

Unfortunately for them, lunch would not be the peaceful break they were
hoping. Seconds after they opened their bento boxes, an enthusiastic
okonomiyaki chef bounced into their meal.

"Hi, Ranchan!" Ukyou began, kneeling down to join them. "Hi, Akane! How
are things? I haven't seen either of you since that night we got back from
Toma's island, and the people who came up with our class schedules didn't
put us in a single class together! Have you two been avoiding me?" she
admonished. "Akane, I heard you got a bad haircut- what happened? Is her
haircut really bad, Ranma?"

"Hi, Ucchan," Ranma said, forcing cheerfulness through his fear that the
Oni would be discovered in front of Ukyou. "The haircut's not that bad-
Akane's just a little upset about it, so could you not mention it any
more?" he begged, rubbing his head as if Akane had pounded him several
times for bringing it up.

"Oh, of course. Sorry, Akane," Ukyou apologized, winking to Ranma as if
she got the message. "So, either of you want one of my deluxe specials?"

Ranma, despite his recent desire for privacy with Akane, smiled. "I'd love
one, thanks!"

Akane grimaced at Ranma's casual acceptance of food from her
sometimes-friendly rival for his affections, but said nothing then. "I
don't want any, thanks," she answered instead. "Auntie Nodoka fixed a
delicious meal, and I'll barely be able to finish it all."

Ukyou, however, was completely ignoring her. "So, how's the food,
Ranchan?"

"Good as always, Ucchan," Ranma replied, wiping some sauce off of the
corner of his mouth.

"I just KNEW you'd like it," the okonomiyaki chef replied, wiggling herself
in a very girlish manner.

"So, how's Ryouga doing, now that he's sleeping in your store?" Ranma
asked.

"Oh, you wouldn't BELIEVE what he did the other day...."

Akane started to growl. True, she knew about Ranma and Ukyou's past, to
some extent, but the flirting was going too far. The problem was, she knew
she couldn't pound Ranma for it- for one thing, that would ruin all the
progress she'd made so far with him, and besides, he seemed totally
oblivious to Ukyou's attentions. All he was interested in was the food.

She also couldn't lash out at Ukyou- after all, the girl WAS a friend, and
besides, she might accidentally knock her hat off if she started something.
Running off would also be a bad idea- part of the reason they had agreed
to spend all the time they could together was that neither of them trusted
the Oni, and she needed Ranma to keep an eye on her in case it tried
something funny. So, all she could do was sit, growl, and work herself
into a bad mood.

After what seemed to be hours to Akane (but was, in fact, only a couple of
minutes of Ranma and Ukyou talking), the bell rang ending the lunch period.
She started stomping off to class before Ranma, intent on showing her
displeasure any way she could. Suddenly, Ranma grabbed her by the arm,
dragged her off into an empty room, and spun her to face him.

"Sorry about that," he apologized. "But it would look AWFULLY strange if I
were to refuse to talk to Ukyou, you know."

"I know, apology accepted," Akane said in a tone which indicated the
apology WASN'T accepted. "Let's go to class, okay?"

"No, it's not okay," Ranma growled. "Not until you actually DO know.
Haven't you heard all the people whispering about how much we've changed?
Didn't you notice Ukyou was pressing for attention FAR more than usual?
Haven't you noticed the people staring at us?"

"Well..." Akane began. She had noticed, but she didn't see what that had
to do with anything.

"Akane, look. We absolutely MUST keep our closer relationship secret from
this school for at least this week- if it was discovered that you and I
were now admitting our love to each other, and that we were doing things
like taking baths together and sleeping in the same bed, then we'd be
mobbed, and there would be no chance of keeping those two little horns of
yours from the people who want to separate us- and once they found out that
we're being coerced into having sex with each other, there would be no way
to convince them that we loved each other afterwards. None. Which would
mean they would NEVER give up trying to break us apart."

Akane frowned. "So you're saying... we need to pretend we hate each other
still?"

Ranma's lips curled in amusement. "Sort of. I might not know too much
about people or dates or foreign languages or anything else I might learn
in school- I wasn't raised to care about such things. I WAS raised,
however, to know everything possible about fighting and warfare- so when I
discovered how determined you were to come to school this week, I decided
to view the next week as a war plan- and one of the primary tenets I can
think of is: 'When strong, feign weakness. When weak, feign strength.'
Right now, our relationship is very strong, so we have to pretend it's
weaker than it is so as to get our enemies to ignore it. If I can keep
everyone concentrated on me instead of on breaking you AWAY from me...."

"I see.... I'm sorry, Ranma," Akane said, sounding much more sincere this
time. She hadn't realized that he had put that much thought into the
situation.

"That's okay. Now we better hurry, or we'll be late for class."

* * * * *

The rest of the class day was fairly uneventful- outside of a few more
stares, and Ranma and Akane getting into a staged fight which stopped most
of the people whispering behind their backs. They headed home, and
thankfully were not attacked by Shampoo.

They went to Akane's room upon entering the dojo and started their
homework. They didn't have to work long on it- after all, it was only the
first day of school. Then they went to the dojo, where Ranma taught Akane
a new kata, before plopping themselves in front of the television and
cuddling like they had much of the previous day.

"You know," Akane began, rolling Ranma's pigtail around her fingers. "I
think I'm getting too used to this."

"Huh?" was his intelligent response.

"I think I'm getting too used to holding you. We almost got caught this
morning, because I forgot we weren't supposed to hug each other in public."

Ranma wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that, and so just shut up and
watched television.

* * * * *

A few hours later, Nodoka showed up and ushered them off to bed. Ranma and
Akane went back to what they were starting to consider 'their' room, as
opposed to just Akane's.

They both took a deep breath. This was going to be their biggest step
before the final one- this time, they were going to sleep together NAKED.

"I'm not sure I'm ready for this," Akane said.

Ranma chuckled nervously. "I haven't been ready for ANY of the steps we've
taken- until after we've taken them. But if you're that worried, we can
always hold off for a day."

Akane looked hopeful for a moment, then sighed and shook her head. "No...
I'd better save those extra nights we scheduled for when we finally... go
all the way. I'll need them for that."

Ranma nodded. "Okay... if you're sure you can handle this."

Akane got a determined look in her eye, and started stripping. Ranma
followed her example a few seconds later, and hopped into bed before Akane
was able to get her underwear off- mainly to hide his embarrassment.

Soon, she followed him in and turned off the lights. They avoided touching
each other for several minutes, too afraid of what might happen. Finally,
much like she had in the bath the morning before, Akane decided she'd had
enough with being nervous, and rolled over to cuddle with him like she had
the previous night.

The second she did, she jumped back, unconsciously letting the sheets fall
off her shoulders. "Ranma! You- you're...." She blushed furiously, not
able to continue.

"I'm?" Ranma asked, not realizing what Akane was talking about. She
pointed, and Ranma started blushing himself. "Oh... yeah. Well... it's
not exactly something I can control, you know? I mean... here I am, in bed
with the girl I love, and neither of us have our clothes on...." Ranma
trailed off- not just because he didn't know how to finish what he was
saying, but also because he suddenly realized how easy it was to tell Akane
how he felt about her now that he knew she felt the same.

Akane frowned. "You know I'm not ready for that step yet."

Ranma nodded. "Of course I do... but it doesn't mean that I don't... er,
get excited." He looked at Akane, still frowning. "I'm not sure what we
could do to stop this- I could put on my boxers, I suppose- it wouldn't go
away, but you might not notice it as much."

Akane sighed, and shook her head. "No... I'd better just get used to it.
I was just... surprised." With that, Akane curled up next to him again,
but was more careful of where she touched.

Ranma smiled slightly as he looked at Akane's face, resting on his chest.
'You aren't going to be ready, are you? But you'll probably try to force
things the next couple of days... well, you can try, but I'll just tell you
I'M not ready yet. It'll mean we need to use those extra days, and it'll
mean having to take more precautions... but I'm not going to let you force
yourself more than you can handle, Akane. Not when I can do something
about it....'


----------------------------------------------------- ----------------------
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
desaix@sysnet.net
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis /7872
fanfics available at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7872/fanfics.htm

From: "David A. Tatum" <desaix@sysnet.net>
Subject: [Ranma][FanFic] Three Souls, One Heart Chapter 8


Just a warning... the chapter following this one is a lemon. You can skip
it, if you want, however...

Chapter 8

Ranma woke up the next morning before the alarm clock went off because of
some hair tickling his nose. He was tempted to swat it away, but decided
instead to open his eyes and see exactly whose hair it was.

Seeing the top of Akane's head brought him back to his senses. She was she
was writhing around and giggling happily in her sleep. He kissed the top
of her head, right between the horns, and desperately tried to ignore the
sensation of her naked breasts rubbing against his bare chest. 'Sheesh,'
he thought to himself. 'Resisting her tonight is going to be harder than I
thought. But she isn't ready yet, so I've GOT to. I'll just tell her I'm
not ready yet... shouldn't be too hard to believe. I mean, we've only
kissed a few times, so far. It shouldn't be TOO unreasonable that I'm not
willing to go much further than making out a little at this point, right?'

The alarm went off, and Akane reached over and slapped it off. She yawned,
looking up at Ranma. She smiled sleepily, and moved in to kiss him.

As she deepened her kiss, Ranma sighed and abandoned himself to it. 'Okay,
maybe it will be more difficult than I think.'

* * * * *

Akane sighed happily as she leaned back against Ranma's chest in the
bathtub. While she knew intellectually that the water in the furo was much
hotter than his body, his touch somehow warmed her more.

Akane was stunned to realize, as Ranma put his arm around her, that she was
ready. Despite her protests from the previous night, she... she WANTED
him. Badly. For a second she thought that she might try seducing him
right then and there, and to hell with classes. However, she knew that
would be a bad idea- as skittish as he had been the past few days, such a
move would likely cause him to freeze up. However, this coming night WAS
the first scheduled 'seduction attempt,' and he seemed pretty comfortable
right now....

Akane smiled in amusement- a small change from the contented smile she had
been wearing. She'd imagined the greatest obstacle to getting rid of the
Oni's curse was bringing herself to make love to- no, they were making love
right there, just being in the same bath together and feeling so wonderful
being in the other's presence, holding each other like they were. Making
love was the wrong term. She'd imagined the greatest obstacle to getting
rid of the Oni's curse would be bringing herself to have sex with Ranma.
But she was more than willing to do that, now- if she'd felt this way
before, she might have tried it even without having to worry about the Oni.
No, now she realized the biggest obstacle would be actually bringing RANMA
to the point he'd be just as willing.

She wriggled in a little closer, closing her eyes.

"Ow!" Ranma cried.

Akane sat up in surprise. "What did I do?" she asked, confused.

Ranma rubbed his chin painfully. "You nearly speared me with those horns
of yours. Watch it."

Akane fingered the ornaments attached to her head self-consciously. "Oops,
sorry. I'm not used to them...."

Ranma sighed. "Don't worry about it, Akane. You shouldn't need to be used
to them. Come here..." he invited, holding out his arms.

Akane, a little surprised, let herself be guided by his hands to sit on his
lap, straddling his legs. He slid her back, creating small ripples in the
surface of the water that lapped at her chest when she was settled in. The
part of him that told her he was physically ready for what she had been
thinking about was trapped between them, but that was something she tried
to ignore. After all, only seconds before she had wanted to seduce him,
which would probably have resulted in her feeling the same... item.

He helped her lean back into his chest, until Akane felt his chin resting
on the top of her head. "We've still got nearly fifteen minutes until we
need to get out of the bath. Let's just relax and enjoy them." His arms
wrapped themselves around her waist, and he nuzzled her hair, bumping
lightly into the two horns that framed his chin.

Akane giggled a little at the slight tugging sensation that went through
her every time one of the horns was touched. It was almost like what she
felt when stretching a kink out of a sore muscle.

Another being, the true owner of the horns, was a little startled by that
same sensation. The Oni couldn't get it out of its head that the feeling
of someone placing their head where Ranma had placed his was so... right,
so enjoyable- just like the feeling that morning, when he had kissed the
spot right between them.

The Oni knew of a very simple explanation for the feeling. It just didn't
want to believe it.

* * * * *

Ranma couldn't stop himself from touching Akane after the bath. He was
walking to school with his arm over her shoulder, holding her close. She
had her own arm around his waist, and was looking up at him almost
adoringly.

Ranma sighed. 'What the hell am I doing? Akane isn't ready for me, and
there I was, getting all excited and pulling her towards me and hugging her
so much. Now I'm still holding on to her, IN PUBLIC, as we walk to school.
If I'm not able to stop myself from touching her now, how am I going to
resist her tonight?'

Ranma was too preoccupied with his problems to be paying much attention to
what was going on around him. That was why Shampoo was able to get the
drop on him.

"Ranma want take Shampoo on date?" she asked, tearing him away from Akane
and grabbing him in a world-class glomp.

Ranma struggled as much as he usually could bring himself to, but was
unable to break free from her grasp. He tried to say something to make her
let go, but was being held too tightly to speak. Desperate, he looked at
Akane in the hopes that she'd get him loose- even if the release WAS from
the usual pounding.

What he saw in her eyes gave him the chills. The Oni had taken over,
obviously, and looked mad as hell. 'Damn!' he thought. 'Why the hell did
Akane have to let that thing take charge NOW? And, for that matter, why is
the Oni mad at me anyway? Akane, I understand. She's the jealous type,
after all. But the Oni?' He broke off his thoughts the second he saw
Akane-Oni moving in. 'This looks dangerous, and I don't know what it's
capable of. I GOTTA get out of this grip.'

Ranma struggled desperately, but Shampoo only redoubled her efforts. Ranma
would have sighed if he could. He had no real choice now- he HAD to break
away or else he would get hurt- and the way the Oni was acting, Shampoo
might get hurt as well.

He strained as hard as he did- any harder and he'd probably injure Shampoo,
considering how powerfully she was holding on. Just by virtue of his
struggles, Shampoo's grip tightened. Then, suddenly, he relaxed every
muscle in his body and kicked his legs out from underneath himself. He
dropped out from Shampoo's arms, and rolled away before she could grab hold
of him again.

"Go away, Shampoo! I don't have time for your silly games- I need to get
to school!" Ranma shouted. He knew he sounded harsh, but he was doing his
best to reassure Akane that he wasn't interested in Shampoo. He briefly
glanced in her direction to make sure she had gotten the message.

Akane-Oni was still growling. "Shampoo, I don't want to see you touch
Ranma ever again. He is MINE, got it?"

Shampoo blinked. The Akane she knew never acted that way before. 'Maybe
Akane actually realized she liked him after the whole Toma island incident.
Well, whatever the reason, she needs to be taught a lesson now. NO-ONE
defies the Amazons.'

Shampoo pulled her bonbori out and looked menacingly at Akane. "What
Violent-Girl talking about? Airen is Shampoo's!"

Reddish-blue chi started burning in Akane's hands. "Get it through your
thick Chinese skull. Ranma is not bound by your laws, he does not love
you, and he will never marry you. If you do somehow kidnap him and take
him back to your village, he would hate you. The only reason he hasn't
said anything before this is because he doesn't want anyone hurt."
Shampoo, taking the words as a challenge, started to move in. Akane-Oni
continued, "Well, I don't care if anyone's hurt or not. JIGOKU NO RAIJIN!"
[Thunder of Hell]

A ball of lightning flared out from her hands and crashed into Shampoo,
sending the Chinese girl flying into the wall of a nearby house. Shampoo
fell to the ground unconscious, and Akane-Oni started to move in for the
kill, chi still flashing around her.

Ranma blinked at the scene, and rushed to stand between the two girls.
"You idiot! Let Akane back in control before you kill someone!"

Akane-Oni grinned. "What makes you think Akane DOESN'T want to kill
someone?"

Ranma paused for a second. He knew that, in its current condition, the Oni
couldn't just take Akane over without her permission. Akane very well
might have wanted Shampoo dead... but that didn't fit in with what he knew
of her. It just didn't make sense.

"Akane is not a killer," Ranma answered. "I know her. She might have
briefly thought about killing her, but she wouldn't have really meant it."
Akane-Oni just smirked. "Okay, I can see you don't care. Well, how about
this- attacking Shampoo with that chi blast just gave away your position,
and all of my friends are looking for you. Killing her would just make
them more dedicated to your destruction- especially Mousse and Cologne- and
their response would be to tear Akane apart, thinking you were inside her.
You could escape, she couldn't. I will not allow you to put her in that
position, got it?"

"And what would you do to stop me?"

Ranma stood there for a moment. "I don't think I have to. You need me- if
you don't do as I say, you lose my co-operation."

Akane-Oni looked outraged for a moment... and then deflated. "You are
right. But, as you said, my attack will lead the others to me- what do you
suggest we do? They'll be after me, anyway...."

Ranma nodded. "You should have thought about that before you threw that
chi blast." He sighed. "All right- here's a plan. We can spar.... I
can't really bring myself to hit Akane, but I can tap her in such a way it
looks like a hit, if I have to. When Shampoo wakes up, I can tap you and
you WILL leave Akane. Return to the dojo, and wait there. As much as I
hate the idea, we did agree to help you, so when we get back you can return
to Akane and we'll continue to work on your cure."

"I don't like it, but I guess I have no choice. Very well. Let's begin."
Ranma narrowly avoided a blow as she attacked, and continued to dodge as
the fight raged on. He flipped off the hat she was wearing, and was a
little interested in how the horns looked larger and more dangerous than
the cute little things he had been having fun with that morning in the
bath.

A few minutes later, Shampoo slowly blinked her eyes open. What she saw
was something she had been wanting to see for some time- Ranma actually
standing up to Akane's constant pounding and returning some of the blows.
She sighed when she noted that the probable reason he was fighting involved
those two horns on her head.

Ranma glanced over and saw Shampoo was finally awake. "All right, Oni!
Release Akane now or else!" he cried. His acting was bad, but the Amazon's
Japanese wasn't good enough to tell. Before she could get up and attack
Akane, Ranma threw his fake punch into her chin. The impact, while not
usually hard enough to remove the possession, was enough to direct the
Oni's departure out of the top of the head instead of out the back of the
skull, like it usually preferred. Out and away the beachball-sized
creature flew, running away from the three teenagers.

Akane blinked as she recovered. Ranma reached out and steadied her. "Are
you okay, Akane?"

She blinked. "Uh... yeah, I think so."

Shampoo, still too dazed to rush the couple, noticed the way Ranma was
comforting Akane. She remembered how they had looked when she had burst in
upon them. She remembered what the Oni had said. The resulting conclusion
of all those thoughts led her to only one possible conclusion- but she had
to know for certain. "Ranma... was demon telling truth?" she asked softly.
"Is Ranma Violent-girl's?"

Ranma blinked. "Well... I really don't like being thought of as a piece of
property, but I suppose that's a good way of putting it. In a sense, my
heart belongs to Akane."

"And Ranma not tell Shampoo before because he no want Shampoo hurt?"

"That's part of it, yes."

Tears started forming in her eyes. "Then... then Shampoo no want Ranma,
either. Bie liao."

With that, the Chinese girl leapt away, disappearing so fast neither Ranma
nor Akane could track her. "Well... that went better than I'd thought,"
Ranma said.

"Huh?" Akane replied, confused.

"Well, I was planning to tell the other girls that I wasn't interested in
them at some point. I always thought Shampoo would try to kill one of us
for it, though." He looked at his fiancee and sighed. "Akane... why did
you let the Oni try to kill her? When it asked me how I knew you hadn't
wanted her killed, I couldn't come up with any reason other than I don't
think you would ever really want anyone dead."

Akane looked down, embarrassed. "Well... I got really mad at her for just
tearing you away from me like that. The Oni said 'Do you want me to take
care of her for you?' and without thinking I said yes. Iria warned me
afterwards what that meant, but it was too late- the Oni was in charge and
already attacking Shampoo."

Ranma sighed. "Akane, I love you, and have for a long time, but the one
real complaint I have is that you have too much of a temper. A little of
it is okay, in moderation- I sometimes liked to get you mad just because
your anger can make you look even more attractive than normal, if you don't
start fuming and stomping around, but sometimes you take it too far. It
takes away your judgment, for one thing- you wouldn't have agreed to that
if you were thinking clearly, I'm sure."

Akane sighed. "I know. I keep worrying that I'll completely lose control
of it one of these days and hurt someone." She looked up into his eyes.
"Now, I guess I'd better be extra careful with it while the Oni's inside
me. That someone could be you, and considering how much power that Oni
just gave me...."

Ranma didn't say anything for a few minutes. The wait went on several
minutes before a bell rang in the distance. He blinked. "Isn't that-"

"The warning bell for classes? Yes, it is! We're going to be late!" With
that, Akane grabbed him by the arm with one hand, picked up her hat and
held it to her head with the other, and started running off, dragging Ranma
behind her. They made it just seconds before the final bell rang.

* * * * *

Akane sat through her mythology class, bored. She didn't really need to
pay attention- she'd MET some of the characters the teacher was talking
about, and knew fairly well who the other characters were- she expected to
meet them as well, given how her life had gone, and so had studied up on
them outside of school. She didn't need to worry about this course.

Her eyes- and her mind- drifted off to Ranma. Despite her outburst against
Shampoo earlier that morning, he'd given her hand a gentle squeeze after
getting to school, just to let her know that he wasn't mad at her.

She started thinking about the coming night. She knew the Oni was waiting
at home for her and Ranma. It knew that this night was the first scheduled
attempt for them to have sex. Akane briefly wondered at this unscheduled
bit of freedom she and Ranma had. She was very aware that Ranma didn't
quite trust her while the Oni was inside- she didn't entirely trust
herself, after that fight with Shampoo. What she didn't know, and
desperately wanted to, was whether or not he realized she loved him despite
its interference, and not because of it.

Akane suddenly realized that there was a way he could be sure. But she had
to arrange it before she got home....

* * * * *

Mousse returned to the Nekohanten from one of his usual delivery runs, and
approached Cologne, concern written all over his face.

"Is she still crying?" he asked.

The Amazon elder nodded. "Yes- and I still haven't got a single word from
her as to why. All she does is sit and cry."

Mousse growled, "Saotome's probably to blame for this. I should go and get
vengeance for her!"

"Perhaps he is," Cologne nodded, absently using her staff to keep Mousse
from leaving the room. "Perhaps he isn't. We should wait until we find
out what, exactly, she's crying about. That is in your interest as well as
mine."

Mousse frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, if Ranma isn't the one who caused her to cry, you and he might need
to work together to avenge her. It would not do to have the two of you
quarreling more than normal because you rashly jumped to conclusions."

Mousse sighed, thinking that he was perfectly capable of avenging Shampoo
on his own. "And if it IS Ranma who hurt her?"

Cologne shrugged. "Then you'll go after him a few hours later. If he did
hurt her, you can do what you want to him, and I won't stop you- he would
stop you, however, since you aren't even a challenge for him one on one."
Mousse snorted at that, but the old woman continued. "Besides, if what I
suspect happened actually happened, you may want to thank him and not hurt
him."

"What would I ever want to thank Saotome for?" he asked, sulking.

"Well, if he dumped Shampoo as I think he did, you might want to thank him
for giving you an actual opportunity to win her heart." She smiled. "She
mentioned something about how you'd nearly killed yourself saving her while
on Toma's island. I think she was impressed with you. If you don't
mishandle this situation, you might actually convince her to marry you one
of these days. But be warned- I will stop you from trying if you move in
on her before she's given up completely on Ranma."

Cologne went back to serving the customers, leaving a gaping Mousse in
shock behind her.

* * * * *

Nodoka moved from room to room, cleaning anything she could. She went
through the various rooms, not really expecting to find anything to clean
but bored enough to do work that didn't need to be done.

She moved on into Ranma and Akane's room, wondering briefly when they would
do something that would force her to change the sheets- not that she
couldn't change the sheets now, anyway.

She was shocked when she saw the flash of color that had the same horns
she'd seen before on Akane speeding towards her.

* * * * *

It was lunchtime at Furinken, and Akane smiled her best smile at Ranma
before he had a chance to open his bento box. She was a little nervous
that he wouldn't go along with this, but she had to try. She had to let
him know how she felt.

"Say, Ranma- do you want to skip classes for the rest of the day?"

He blinked. "Sure... but didn't you want to go to all your classes this
week?"

Akane nodded. She hadn't quite expected that question, but it didn't
really surprise her. "Well, with the Oni gone for the day, I thought we
might go out and do something together, like we occasionally did before it
showed up."

Ranma blinked. Akane was asking him out on a date again. "I'd love to-
you want to go see a movie or something?"

Akane's smile widened. "Or something. Do you have any money?"

He shrugged. "I probably got a little over five thousand yen left over
from that twenty thousand I got from Nabiki."

'Hmm... I have about four thousand myself... that should be plenty for a
couple hours in a decent love hotel.' Akane nodded happily. "That should
be plenty for what I have in mind. Come on, let's go."

Ranma started to leave with her before looking at his hand, still holding
the bento box. "Um... what about lunch?"

Akane frowned a little. 'Trust him to be thinking with his stomach,' she
thought. Iria, however, was able to break in on those thoughts with an
interesting suggestion. Akane's smile returned.

"Bring it with you," she said. "We'll eat it when we get there."

"There?" he asked, surprised. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see, Ranma. You'll see."

------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
desaix@sysnet.net
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis /7872
fanfics available at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7872/fanfics.htm

From: "David A. Tatum" <desaix@sysnet.net>
Subject: [Ranma][FanFic][Lemon] Three Souls, One Heart Chapter 9

This chapter (and this chapter alone in this fanfic- at least, so far) is a
LEMON. Be warned...
Chapter 9

"So," Ranma said, trying to peer over Akane's shoulder, "Where are we
going?"

Akane closed the phone book, using a finger to make sure she kept her
place. "It's a surprise," she said, sticking her tongue out at him.
"You'll see when we get there." She wasn't mad at him for trying to
eavesdrop- she was in too playful a mood.

Ranma, on the other hand, was getting frustrated. She had already taken
all his money to pay for whatever it was they were going to do, and she
still hadn't even given him a clue of what she was planning.

"Can't you at least give me one hint?" he begged.

Akane giggled. "Now why would I do that? Don't worry- we'll both have
fun, trust me." Opening the phone book again, she warned him, "Now, don't
peek!"

Ranma sighed. Acting as she was, he couldn't refuse her anything. He just
hoped he wouldn't regret it later- who knew what Akane considered 'fun?'
After all, she was always trying to get him to hit her while sparring, and
she also seemed to enjoy torturing- er, cooking for him. Fortunately, her
school dress wasn't good to fight in, and they had brought their lunch with
them. What WAS she planning?

"Ah, found one!" Akane cried happily, closing the phone book. "Come on,
Ranma, follow me!" Grabbing his hand, she led him off.

* * * * *

"Now where is it?" Akane said to herself, absently. She was glancing from
door to door, looking at the signs. Ranma was following behind, almost
being dragged by the hand.

"You know, if you were to tell me where it was we were going, I could help
you look for it," Ranma suggested.

"Hush, dear- you'll find out when we get there," Akane said absently.

Ranma probably would have tried to ask again, except for that little term
of endearment she used. That one 'dear' totally silenced him.

A couple of minutes later, Akane spied what she was looking for. "Ah,
there we go. Come on, Ranma!" With that, she jerked his hand to pull him
closer, and wrapped her arm tightly around his. Ranma couldn't break free
from the hold if he wanted to- which he didn't.

When he finally saw what Akane was leading him towards, though, he froze
and gasped. "That's a... a love hotel!"

"Uh-huh," she said, smiling hopefully. "Ranma... I'm not sure about you,
but I think I'm ready. I realized I was this morning, in the bath, but was
planning to wait until we got home."

Ranma was stunned. "Why... why now, then?"

Akane fingered the pleat of her school dress nervously, staring at the
ground. "Well... we've got a few hours without the Oni around, and I
thought.... Ranma, I want you to know that I'm not doing this just because
of that deal, and I want to know that you don't just want to do this just
for the deal, either."

Ranma hesitated. This seemed to be very important to her, and to be honest
he wanted to know as well. 'Maybe she IS ready now... but I can't tell for
certain. But whether she's ready or not, she'd be upset if I refused her
now... what do I do?'

Akane looked up with just her eyes. "I'll understand if you aren't ready-
we can just eat in the park and go out to see a movie instead, but... I
really want this to happen."

Ranma looked at her standing there, playing with the hem of her skirt, head
down, eyes up, one leg hooked behind the other, and almost trembling as she
waited for an answer. 'Aw, man- how am I supposed to refuse that?' he
thought.

* * * * *

Akane and Ranma looked around the room after closing the door (and making
doubly sure it was locked). There was a large bed, a night table, plush
carpeting, an empty closet with a number of coat hangers, a small
refrigerator, a microwave, a television with a built-in VCR, and a cabinet
full of assorted 'trinkets.' Another door lead to the bathroom, where they
had been told a sink, western-style shower, and toilet were located. On
one wall near the bed there was a control panel that apparently dimmed the
lighting.

Akane, remembering that they only had two hours in the room, took Ranma's
and her bento boxes and stuck them in the fridge. She moved on to the
cabinet, blushing briefly as she saw all the dildos, vibrators, and bondage
devices while looking for the contraceptives. She pulled out a handful of
the complimentary condoms and tossed them onto the bed.

Ranma stared at them oddly. It hit him for the first time exactly what it
was they were about to do, and that it might not be Akane but HIMSELF who
wasn't quite ready yet. "Um... do you have any idea how we're supposed to
go about... this?"

Akane nodded slightly. "I have a few ideas- I was talking with Iria in
Mythology class." She glanced at the bed, and realized they weren't quite
ready to use those condoms yet. "First, let's just take a shower," she
suggested, heading over to the closet and unbuttoning her blouse.

"A shower?" Ranma could handle that- the baths they had taken together
were nice, and he was definitely ready for that level of intimacy. When he
could bring himself to move again, he followed Akane and removed his shirt,
hanging it up beside the blouse and dress she had already removed.

Akane finished undressing, and walked over to the bathroom door, waiting
for him. Soon, he followed, and headed on into the shower with her.

Ranma adjusted the water to his liking- and Akane made the temperature just
a little higher, grinning at him evilly as she did so. "I want this to be
HOT, Ranma."

"Uh, right," he answered, checking to make certain Akane was in charge of
the beautiful female body in front of him and not Iria. Reassured, he
reached for the soap, and started to build up a lather with it. He set
down it down, and was about to start scrubbing when Akane reached over and
grabbed his wrists.

"Why don't you wash ME off?" she said. Without waiting for his reply, she
pulled his hands over to her breasts and started moving them in circles,
letting his fingers run over her hardening nipples.

Once she was sure Ranma knew exactly what she wanted him to do, she grabbed
the soap herself, ignoring the tingling feeling that his hands were giving
her. Once she had lathered herself up as well, she started soaping up his
chest. "Start at the top, and work your way down," Akane breathed, looking
up into his eyes. "Move with me, if you want."

All he could do was nod, and follow her instructions. He continued to
massage Akane's breasts until she was satisfied with running her fingers
over his chest and moved down his stomach.

He followed her movements down her body. She did not stay at his
midsection nearly as long, and steadily worked her way down to his hips.
Slowly, she slid her hands together, meeting at his balls.

Ranma, mirroring her step for stop, managed to keep himself from freezing
until his hands also met, cupping them over her finely haired mound.

Actually, they both froze- Akane was unable to bring herself to do more
than gently caress him at the moment, and Ranma was in shock that he'd been
able to get that far without fainting- or at least without a nosebleed.
They sat there, holding on to each other, paralyzed, as the painfully hot
water rained down upon them and washed away the suds.

Akane was able to collect herself first. "Ranma," she said, her voice
trembling slightly. She'd been trying to bring herself to say this since
they stepped into the shower stall together, and now she had bite the
bullet and actually say it. "I... I want you to stick a finger inside me."

Ranma's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "Wh- what?" he stuttered.

Feeling a lot more confident after having said it once, Akane repeated
herself. "I want you to stick a finger inside me. You know what I'm
talking about- you're female sometimes. Just DO it!"

And so Ranma did it. With his index and ring finger, he slowly pried her
petals apart, and slid his middle finger all the way up to his knuckle.
Probing around briefly, he discovered her hymen was long gone (not that
Ranma expected to find one- he'd torn his chasing Genma around Jusenkyo.
It was probably the only thing that had saved his father's life that day)
before slowly rubbing his finger along the upper part of her tunnel.

Akane, for her part, was enjoying his attentions. She'd been meaning to
return the favor to his manhood during this part, but found that she had to
use her hands to brace herself, steadying herself by gripping his
shoulders. While this was... very pleasurable, Ranma was ignoring
something important. She was about to correct him on that point when he
fixed the situation himself.

Ranma decided to match his thumb to his forefinger action, and so brought
it up to make little circles along Akane's clitoris. She bit her lip to
cut off the whimper that almost escaped- she couldn't go around moaning
just yet, Ranma still needed to be told what to do. Though he certainly
seemed to know what he was doing right then- he'd probably practiced on
himself before.

Akane took his free hand and moved it up to her breasts again, hoping to
increase the tingling sensation which had been building in her body for
some time. What Ranma was doing was little more than what she had done to
herself from time to time, in bed while fantasizing about him, or in the
bathroom when she could be certain of privacy. However, just that it was
coming from HIM made it all that much more powerful.

Ranma was really getting into it, now. He stepped closer, and spun Akane
around so he could press his body to hers as he brought her off, never
breaking contact once. He could tell by how much she was straining to keep
from moaning that she was close, and he wanted to feel it as the ultimate
sensation rippled through her body.

Akane knew she was close, as well. She grit her teeth, not wanting to lose
control just that moment, and dug her nails DEEP into Ranma's forearms in
front of her. She could feel his member pressing against her back, but she
didn't care- the longer she could hold on, the better, and little details
like that would just distract her. She struggled and struggled....

Ranma's lips to her neck finally did it for her. Perhaps it was because
her pleasure senses were already heightened to their fullest, or perhaps it
was because the gentle sucking sensation was enough to convince her
subconscious deep down to the core that this was NOT a dream, and that it
really WAS Ranma fingering her off, but whatever it was she could not hold
it in any more. She came....

And screamed. Louder than either of them had imagined possible for her-
loud enough to actually hurt Ranma's ears. But Akane didn't care- all of
her worries, all of her fears, all of her stress disappeared in that one
orgasm. She sighed and nearly collapsed against Ranma, relying on him to
hold her up. He withdrew his hand from her, and gently supported her.

The scream, however, had knocked Ranma completely out of his trance. He
stared at her as he held her, wondering if this really was the Akane that
he knew and loved. He was only just starting to realize that HE had sent
her into that state of coital bliss, and the whole situation scared him.

Less than a minute later, Akane was standing on her own, and Ranma had put
his arms down, uncertain of what to do next. He wasn't in the mood any
more, his erection disappearing the second Akane started shouting. "Well,"
she said, shutting off the water, "I think that's enough showering for one
day. Let's head back to the bedroom, and I'll warm up your lunch for you.
Then we can decide what else we want to do."

They left the bathroom, Ranma wrapping a towel around his waist. Akane
didn't bother, and strolled over to the refrigerator while nude. She
pulled out his bento box and opened it up.

"Well, looks like a bowl of udon- shouldn't take more than a minute or two
in the microwave."

Ranma thanked the gods that Akane had been studying with his mother since
she had moved in with them. Already, she had succeeded in duplicating
her... somewhat edible curry, and could still boil water with the best of
them. Recently, she had taken up using the microwave to reheat leftovers,
and had actually gotten pretty good at estimating how long a particular
dish would need to heat.

When it was done, she pulled out a pair of chopsticks and walked on over to
the bed. Sitting down, she smiled at Ranma. "Why don't you come over here
and I'll feed you." As he approached, Akane took one of the items on top
of the noodles and readied it for him.

She held the fish sausage up with the chopsticks. She knew what she was
about to do was EXTREMELY perverted, but who cared at this point? She was
with her future husband and lover, and anything she could do to encourage
him would be worth it.

With that thought in her mind, she lay down and spread her legs as wide as
her excellent flexibility brought on by a lifetime of martial arts allowed.
Using the hand which wasn't holding the fishcake in the chopsticks, she
spread her own vaginal lips open. Using the chopsticks to help her push it
inside her, Akane slid the fish sausage up her love tunnel, and then
removed her hands. She shuddered as it went up her passage, and it felt
very... weird... being held there, but she didn't care. The pressure
crushed the sausage, but she still didn't care- it would just take Ranma
longer to clean it out of her... besides, putting it in had been a lot of
fun. All she cared about was getting Ranma involved.

"Hungry?" she asked, smiling up at him.

Ranma nearly choked watching Akane with the fishcake. When she made her
invitation, he wasn't quite sure what to do. Part of him wanted to run- he
wasn't ready for ANY of this. Another part of him wanted to faint, and yet
another part of him was wondering what had happened to the innocent little
Akane he knew. When he'd collected himself, however, he ignored all of
those parts and knew exactly what to do- anything Akane said.

Ranma knelt down and placed his mouth on her vulva. Tentatively, he gave
her nether region a soft lick. Akane shuddered, anticipating more.

Ranma gave her more. Licking her again, deeper this time, he pulled out a
small piece of fishcake. He quickly swallowed, and stuck his tongue back
inside her, searching for the rest.

Akane's head rolled back as he continued slurping the food from her crotch.
His attentions weren't focused on it, but he was frequently bumping into
her clit, and every time he did a wave of feelings washed through her that
made her grit her teeth so that she wouldn't moan out loud.

Akane knew she was close again, but she couldn't let go. She knew that, if
she did, she'd scream out like the last time, unable to hold onto her
control any more. Screaming out would scare Ranma off, deflating him like
when they were in the shower. Anyway, this time she wanted to come with
him. She wrapped her legs around Ranma's body, squeezing in an attempt to
hold the sensations off.

When she felt the last crumb of fishcake leave her body, she knew she had
to do something if she wanted to bring Ranma to orgasm as well. Picking up
her chopsticks again, Akane considered bento box with the bowl of udon she
had set on the night table. The udon itself showed only noodles, liquid,
and tempura, while the rest of the bento box held a few pickles and some
rice. The rice was useless, and the tempura didn't look too promising.
Coming to a decision, she picked up a couple of the thick noodles and held
them over her breasts. The warm liquid that had been carried with them
dribbled over her nipples delightfully as she maneuvered them into a
spiraling design on her left breast. She grabbed another few noodles,
again dribbling the juice over her nipples, and placed them onto her right
breast to match. Setting down the chopsticks, she grabbed one of the
condoms she had tossed onto the bed earlier, and tore open the package.

"Ranma," she said, catching his attention. "Do you want anything more to
eat?"

Ranma looked up at the two mounds of noodles, then back down at her crotch,
then up to her face. "But this tastes better," he whined.

Akane giggled at his answer, causing the noodles to slide around on her
breasts, smearing the soupy liquid that clung to them around the nipples.
"Oh, come on, Ranma- you need to build up your strength, after all."

Almost reluctantly, Ranma abandoned his attentions and crawled up into the
bed with her, holding himself above her on his hands and knees. He took
one end of a noodle resting on one of her breasts into his mouth, and
sucked.

Akane almost gasped as it zipped around her nipple, stimulating her
further- though not quite as much as he had been when eating her out. He
repeated himself with the rest of the sticky strands, and maneuvered every
noodle to go sliding across her aereolas deliciously.

As Ranma licked up the remaining broth from her tits, Akane realized it was
time to get him ready to move ahead to the next step, and pulled the condom
out of its packet. Akane squirmed in ecstasy when Ranma lightly bit her
nipple, and considered asking him to play a little rougher in the future.

Bringing herself back to the task at hand, she ripped Ranma's towel off of
him and clumsily rolled the condom down his length. Deciding to play the
food angle one last time, she picked up her chopsticks again and grabbed a
pickle from the tray.

Satisfied that Ranma had cleaned her breasts satisfactorily, Akane called
for his attention again. "Ranma," she said, holding the pickle in front of
his eyes. "Let's split this one."

Now knowing the drill, he followed the chopsticks as they took the morsel
and placed it halfway into her mouth. Biting down to hold it, Akane tossed
the chopsticks away as Ranma moved in to receive his portion of the pickle
from her. She grabbed his manhood as he slid over her, and guided him down
to her lower lips.

Ranma was too absorbed by what they were doing to question it, and let her
place his length inside her as he bent down and kissed her fiercely, biting
into his half of the pickle.

Akane reached around him and grabbed his butt, then pulled. She returned
his kiss fiercely to keep from gasping as his entire length popped into her
at once.

Soon, they started moving together. Ranma was pulling himself out slowly
before driving back in hard. There lips were locked together, and Akane
brought her legs up to wrap them around his back.

Her breasts were rubbing against his chest, jiggling slightly. Akane had
not noticed before, not even when she was soaping him up, but his skin was
gritted with the calluses brought about by his martial arts training and
rough to the touch. That rough skin caught and pulled on her nipples as if
they were running over sandpaper. It wouldn't be entirely pleasant by
itself, but with the passion-induced euphoria she was feeling it reminded
her of the little nips Ranma had delivered while licking away the udon
soup.

Akane was really grinding her teeth to keep from losing control by that
point. Desperate, she dug her fingernails into Ranma's back and bit down
on his shoulder hard enough to draw blood. She had to wait for him, but
she could barely hold on. Ranma had to finish up quickly.

"A-akane... I'm not sure how to tell you this, but..." Ranma began, voice
trembling.

"Finally!" she almost shouted, knowing what he was trying to say. "I've
been waiting for you!"

Ranma was a little unnerved by that statement, but was too far gone to say
anything else. With a lone grunt, he let go his seed.

"Oh... oh god... oh woOOAH! YAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHhhhhhhh!" Akane finally
let go and shrieked, digging her nails even deeper into Ranma's back. He,
on the other hand, continued filling the condom, grateful for the release.
Finally empty, he collapsed against her, no longer able to support himself.

Akane would have been caught up in the lethargy, too, if she could breathe.
However, with her mouth and nose covered by his shoulder, she found
herself struggling underneath him. Ranma soon realized her distress and
rolled off of her, pulling out with a 'pop.'

"That was... a LOT better than the last one," Akane gasped. Leaning over,
she kissed him. "Thank you, Ranma. I love you... love you lots."

He smiled slightly. "Heh... after that, I find it very easy to believe
you." He reached over and kissed her, too. "And I hope you realize that I
love you, too. It's hard to say, sometimes, but it's how I feel."

Akane beamed at him, and returned the kiss. They started necking for a
little while, and she began to wonder if she might want to grab another of
the condoms when she noticed the clock over his shoulder.

"Ranma," she gasped. He kissed her again, and Akane pushed him away
slightly. "Ranma, we don't have much time left, and I'm feeling awfully
sticky, despite the excellent job you did cleaning me," she grinned. "We
should probably take another shower before we go."

It took him a few seconds to realize what she was saying, but when he did
he sat up and nodded. "Sure thing." He nodded to the condom in her hand.
"I'll take a rain check, okay?"

Akane blinked- she hadn't even been aware that she had grabbed another one
until he pointed it out.


-------------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
desaix@sysnet.net
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis /7872
fanfics available at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7872/fanfics.htm

From: "David A. Tatum" <desaix@sysnet.net>
Subject: [Ranma][FanFic][Lime] Three Souls, One Heart, Chapter 10

Oops! I've been forgetting to send stuff out to the RAAC, haven't I?
Well, here's Chapter 10. Chapter 11 will be out next month, and then I'll
try to get back to the regular posting...

Chapter 10
STRONG LIME

"How is she?" Mousse asked, a slight panic in his voice.

"Asleep- she couldn't say anything more than 'Ranma' before breaking down
into another flood of tears, and wore herself out crying." Cologne shook
her head. "I don't think I've ever seen her that upset- either Ranma
dumped her, or he died. I just wish she'd taken my advice and let me go
with her- if she had, then maybe I'd know what was going on."

Mousse blinked. "Ranma... dead? I hadn't thought of that before, but...
well, I certainly couldn't see him just dumping her without something
extraordinary happening, and there was that chi blast we all heard this
morning...."

Cologne blinked. Mousse almost looked... panicked... at the thought of his
rival's demise. "I, too, doubt that Ranma would just dump Shampoo for no
reason at all. Then again, he and Akane WERE getting somewhat closer while
we were at Toma's island, and he did almost go through with that wedding a
few months back. Perhaps he finally decided to make a choice, and Shampoo
was not the one for him."

"But that chi blast-"

"Was not nearly powerful enough to kill him. It wasn't even as powerful as
one of Ryouga's usual Shi Shi Hokodans, and Ranma has taken several of
those before. No, I suspect half of Nerima would be leveled if someone
killed him in a fight." Cologne comforted, sizing Mousse up curiously.
"Why are you so worried about it, anyway? I thought you WANTED him dead?"

Mousse shook his head. "Not really... I just want my Shampoo," he said
mournfully. His expression got more serious. "I hate to say it, but Ranma
is a much better fighter than I am. If he were to have been killed in
battle, I and any of the rest of his... associates... would be in serious
danger. I... was worried."

Cologne raised an eyebrow curiously. She was not expecting Mousse, of all
people, to make an admission of weakness such as that one. She thought it
rather brave of him, and decided to give him a small piece of advice as a
reward.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that my great granddaughter is just mourning her
rejection. I have often wondered why Ranma would deny a woman like her,
considering how affectionate and desirable she is. Perhaps it was because
she pursued him too hard." She looked into Mousse's glasses, hoping to see
if her words were effecting him. "Perhaps Shampoo refuses you for the same
reason. Maybe you should back off of her a bit, and she'll get a little
warmer towards you. I understand you saved her life back on Toma's island
in a very impressive manner. You may stand a chance with her now... IF you
don't mess it up."

Mousse blinked. Cologne had never given him advice of any sort before, but
here was one of the leaders of the Amazons, giving him tips on how to win
the woman he desired. It certainly was not something that happened very
often, regardless of WHO the man was.

"Thank you, Honored Elder. I will not forget this."

Cologne smiled. "See that you do not."

* * * * *

Akane stuck a couple of condoms from the cabinet in her purse, and smoothed
out her slightly rumpled dress. Looking around the hotel room in which she
lost her virginity, she smiled slightly and turned to the bathroom. "You
ready to leave just yet, Ranma?"

The pigtailed martial artist walked through the doorway, half-naked. "Not
quite, but I will be in a minute."

Akane took one last look at his battered but muscular chest, and sighed as
it disappeared from view when Ranma buttoned up his silk shirt. Then she
smiled, remembering that she'd have plenty of opportunity to see it again
tonight. When he nodded at her to show he had finished getting dressed,
she walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Let's get going."

Ranma nodded, but pulled her towards him in a tight hug instead. "I wish
we could have stayed longer," he said awkwardly.

Akane leaned further into the hug. "Pervert," she whispered lovingly,
kissing him under the ear. "Come on, we have to go before we get charged
for another hour." She lead him out the door and turned to leave the
building, but Ranma held her back. "What's wrong?" she asked, turning
towards him.

Ranma was not looking at her, but instead back at the room they had just
left. "Nothing. I just wanted to get the room number... in case we ever
decided to come back here again."

'Ya know,' Iria began, talking to Akane for the first time since they'd
left Furinkan, 'I never would have though of him as a sentimentalist.'
There was a slight pause. 'You went further than I ever expected you to.'

'What do you mean?' Akane growled. 'I only did what you told me to!'

'I only said to use the food to encourage Ranma to participate. I meant as
a bribe... but what you did was perfectly fine! Worthy of one of my kind!
I'm fairly sure none of your rivals would ever think of doing something
like that,' Iria teased.

Akane blushed. "Akane?" Ranma asked, noticing.

Her blush deepened. "Um... I love you, Ranma," she answered, not wanting
to explain herself.

Ranma smiled brightly, and put an arm around her. "I love you, too,
Akane."

Akane returned the favor, and leaned into him. Holding each other tightly,
they left the love hotel, and started on home.

* * * * *

Ukyou looked around the classroom as the bell rang ending the period.
Frowning, she turned to one of the people she'd seen hanging around Akane
from time to time.

"Where were Ranchan and Akane? I thought I saw them this morning, but I
couldn't find them during lunch and they weren't in class," she asked.

Sayuri shrugged. "I don't know- I think Yuka said she saw them heading out
for lunch- maybe they just ran late and decided not to come back." The
teenage girl was intelligent enough not to say the rest of what Yuka had
told her- that Akane was hanging all over Ranma and that he seemed to be
returning it.

Ukyou nodded. "Maybe. Still, I thought they were going to walk me back to
the restaurant today...."

"Well, maybe they forgot," Sayuri suggested.

"Normally, though, they don't forget for situations like this," Ukyou
muttered. Walking her home had been something she'd suggested to Ranma the
previous day to minimize chances of possession by the oni. True, he had
been a little distracted during that conversation by something he'd refused
to talk about, but this was important. "Oh, well... I'll have to remember
to have a little chat with Ranchan tomorrow, though..."

* * * * *

Ranma and Akane, still holding hands but doing little more than that as the
realization of what they had done started to hit them, walked into the
front door of their house and walked into the main room looking for Nodoka.

"We're home!" Akane called from the doorway. Then, seeing the scene in
front of her, she blinked. At the table Nodoka and the Oni were drinking
tea together.

"Hello, Akane dear. You're home early- how was school?" she asked calmly.
Her eyes, though, traced over her son with concern.

Akane missed it, though, as her eyes were also tracing over Ranma's body-
though for a very different reason. She blushed and said, "It was, um,
enlightening."

Nodoka grimaced. "Akane... can I talk to you privately for a moment? I
have some things I want to ask you before this honorable Oni returns to
you."

Both of the teenagers raised their eyes at her address of the demon. "Uh,"
Akane hesitated, glancing at Ranma. He shrugged and nodded. "Sure," she
continued. "Ranma, why don't you go fix us both a snack or something?"

Ranma nodded once, looked uncomfortably at the Oni, and left. The Oni
disappeared as well, floating up and through the ceiling, into what Akane
knew to be her room. Satisfied that they were alone, Nodoka cleared her
throat and began.

"I know you and my son have been sleeping together the past few nights, and
have seen each other... undressed... frequently in the past few days," she
began nervously. Only her tone kept Akane from blushing. "I was wondering
if you might have seen any... marks... on him."

"Marks?" Akane asked, confused.

Nodoka bit her lip. "You know, scars, serious bruises, signs of long
untreated injuries..."

"Well, yeah. He's a martial artist who gets into lots of fights- I've seen
several scars from battles he's fought to protect me, I've seen a number of
still healing bruises that he received recently from the battle with Toma,
and he's got a number of calluses on his chest from all the fighting he's
done since even before I've met him." Akane's blush showed unchecked that
time, as she had just discovered most of those scars and calluses earlier
that day.

"Of course he would- how stupid of me..." Nodoka muttered to herself.

"Why?" Akane asked.

"Has Ranma ever told you of the Cat Fist training?" Nodoka replied.

"Well, yeah, sort of. It was kind of hard not to find out about it when
Shampoo showed up on our doorstep as a cat."

"And do you know what that training consisted of?"

Akane nodded, unsure of what Nodoka was getting at. "Well, yeah- tying him
up in fish sausage and tossing him into a pit of hungry cats. Why?"

"Has my hus.... Has Genma ever apologized to my son for it, or done
anything to try and correct his mistakes?"

Akane frowned. "I don't know- Ranma doesn't talk about it much, and Genma
rarely says ANYTHING about Ranma's past, even to Ranma, unless he has to."
She looked up at the older woman. "Why? What's going on?"

"I just found out today, from the Oni, some of the things which my son has
been put through. But I guess you've known for some time," Nodoka said
dismissively. "Never mind, then- I suspect by now Ranma has finished
fixing your snack, so go on and enjoy yourself."

Akane opened her mouth to say something, but Nodoka turned away, looking
almost... annoyed at her. 'Weird,' Akane thought as she turned to leave.

* * * * *

Soun looked over the board carefully, searching for a way out of the trap
Genma had set. His mind, however, was on something other than the game,
and soon even his opponent noticed. A piece made its move, another soon
followed, and then the game was over.

"Nice match, Saotome," Soun said absently.

"No, it wasn't. You aren't yourself, Tendou- what's on your mind? I feel
like this trip our children sent us on is a pretty nice vacation, but your
mood the past couple of days has been spoiling that."

"Mmm," Soun hummed. "A number of things, I suppose. First of all, my baby
girl is about to become a woman..."

Genma nodded, waiting for the right moment to stop his friend from his
usual outburst. After several days of repeated scenes similar to this one,
he had been able to discern the exact moment at which an interruption would
stop the downpour of tears that was sure to otherwise be said. 'Three...
two... one...' he ticked off mentally.

"Tendou, you've mentioned that several times since we left as concerning
you, but you appear to be more disturbed than even that has made you," he
broke in, successfully heading off the waterworks. "Surely you aren't
still concerned that our families may not be united? After we return home,
surely it will be much easier to convince our children to get married..."

"No, Saotome, I am not worried about that any more. In fact, it is BECAUSE
I am no longer concerned that I have been so distracted the past few days.
I was wondering if it was possible to take Akane down to her grandparents
for a week... without Ranma. Then I would bring her and her grandparents
back with us, and they could meet him...."

Genma's eyes widened slightly. "Your parents are still alive?" He
frowned. "But why weren't they at the wedding? And why don't you want
Ranma to go along with you?"

"Well, they have yet to find out about the curse, and I was hoping to have
you and that son of yours cured before I had to introduce him to the rest
of our family." Glaring up at Genma disapprovingly, Soun growled, "As it
now seems that the last chance for a cure has been destroyed, I figure they
have to get to know their future in-laws as they are. I figure it would
take a week to get them used to the idea."

"And you will be taking Akane because?"

"It will make it easier to get them used to the idea if Akane shows them
how much she misses him... and she WILL miss him- as the saying goes,
'absence makes the heart grow fonder.'"

Genma nodded thoughtfully. "True, true... a good idea, Tendou. We should
have thought of this sooner!" Silence reigned for a few minutes before he
looked back at the shogi board. "Another game?"

In answer, Soun started setting up the pieces.

* * * * *

Akane, once more possessed by the Oni, was trembling slightly, staring at
the bed. Ranma, standing next to her with an arm over her shoulder, looked
rather uncertain himself.

"Well... here we go again, I guess," he said to break the ice.

"Yeah, about time to get rid of these horns," she answered, voice trembling
slightly. They continued to stare at the bed together.

"Haven't we already done this before? Why are we still so..." Ranma asked,
his voice trailing off when he couldn't think of how to finish his
question. "Did we go too fast, and scare ourselves away from this?"

"Well," Akane answered, moving out of his arms to sit down on the bed,
unconsciously adjusting the robe she wore. Wearing them had been another
of Iria's suggestions- a way to add an element of foreplay. Akane,
however, was more grateful of the small amount of modesty it granted her by
that point. "I don't think so. I think what happened earlier today was so
spontaneous, and this is so... premeditated... that it feels different."

Ranma nodded, sitting down next to her and taking her hand, stroking it in
little circles with his thumb soothingly. "I hope that's all it is."
Akane leaned into him, and he nuzzled his cheek in her hair, carefully
avoiding the horns so as to not repeat that morning's bathroom incident.
"If you want, we don't have to do this tonight, you know. We've still got
several days...."

Akane shook her head shyly. "No... it has to be tonight for me. I
wouldn't have said that this morning, but now that we've already, um, done
it, I have to say having this thing inside me scares me more than any of...
this."

"Well, I know I couldn't resist you even if I tried," Ranma replied,
grinning weakly, "So I guess I might as well go along with it." Releasing
her hand, he reached down for the tie holding her robe closed, and tugged
nervously. "You lead earlier today, so whadya say to letting me lead this
time?"

Akane smiled, turning her whole body to him. "I'm all yours," she said
softly. Her nerves were still present, but for some reason that little
gesture relaxed her enough to let everything else take over. And
everything else was screaming that she wanted him.

* * * * *

About halfway through Ranma and Akane's love making, Iria felt something
was wrong. She had been transfixed on the activities they were performing-
being a former succubus tended to give one, if nothing else, a professional
interest in all forms of sex, including voyeurism, and Iria was no
exception. However, it was about then she remembered she wasn't alone in
Akane's head.

"Say," Iria asked, diverting some of her attention to the Oni, "Shouldn't
you be out of here by now? Surely they've done enough to remove your curse
by now, haven't they?"

Said Oni pretended to look innocent. "Oops- did I forget to mention
something? See, in order for my curse to be lifted, the two lovers have to
be...."

* * * * *

An arm shot out from the pair on the bed, unnoticed either by its owner or
its owner's lover. It grasped onto a small glass of water, and brought it
back over the both of them. Pouring slowly so as not to disturb either
part of the couple, the arm dribbled water down the back of one of them.

Ranma and Akane were too far gone to notice that something important was
now missing.

* * * * *

Iria was in shock, but there was nothing she could do. "They're going to
destroy you," she warned.

The Oni shrugged. "If they even realize it. They might not, and even if
they do I don't have to leave until both my curse is lifted and they're
done making love- and how can I tell that they're done making love until
they're asleep? I'll be long gone before either of them wake up, and they
won't really be harmed. Besides..."

"Besides?"

"They might like it!"

* * * * *

Ranma blinked as he suddenly realized what the problem was. "Akane, when
did I turn into a girl?"

Akane blinked, realizing she was holding the small glass of water she kept
by her bed at night. "Uh... I guess I accidentally splashed you when we
were, uh..."

Ranma sighed and nodded. "Well, it figures. Now I'll have to go
downstairs to get some hot water... what an annoying interruption."

He started to get up, but after a moment of indecision, Akane held him
back. "Ranma, wait..."

"What?"

"Well..." She bit her lip nervously. Talking quickly, though, she was
able to force out what she felt she needed to say. "This might be the
perfect opportunity to... uh... see what it's like this way. I mean, I
think by now it's safe to say we love each other, will get married to each
other whether we want to or not, and share the same bed for much of the
rest of our lives. Perhaps we should find out now what to expect if...
well, if you ever get stuck that way again or something- I mean, we've
already been... doing this... as girls for who knows how long now- why not
just finish it out, and see where it takes us?"

Ranma blinked. He didn't really want to try this, but if Akane did,
then....

"I... well, I guess that makes sense. I mean, I'm not nearly as... well,
ready now as I was when I thought I was still a guy, but... yeah, maybe now
IS the time to try this."

* * * * *

"See? They didn't even realize it was me!" the Oni declared. "And I can
feel the magic of the curse dissipating as I speak."

"Are you still planning to wait until they're done to leave?" Iria asked.

"Well..." The Oni hesitated. "I don't want to stay in a body I can't take
anything from longer than I have to, but..." he stared out of Akane's eyes
at the now female Ranma. "I think I want to experience this." In order to
cover up its motives, it said, "After all, as a former succubus you must
have felt sensations like this all the time, but I've never experienced sex
before... But in return, I'll give these two a little extra gift. A
little something I can justify by claiming I'm just fulfilling part of my
end of the oath..."

* * * * *

"Well?" Akane asked, recovering.

"Um... I dunno. How about you?" Ranma asked. The two of them were cuddled
up together, still female, under the blankets. Both still had some fires
inside them, but neither felt up to continuing.

"It was certainly... different. And some things were different that I
would never have expected to matter. You're smaller than me like this, you
know?"

Ranma nodded. "Yeah... I think that's really about the only thing I liked
about this whole thing. You were able to hold me tighter, which makes
cuddling like this pretty... comforting. Still, all the other
sensations... they were all wrong." He sighed. "I suppose if I had to, I
could get used to it, but I really don't enjoy it at all right now."

"I hope you never have to- I know how upsetting it is for you to get stuck
as a girl," Akane commented. "And I didn't really enjoy it that much,
either."

Neither spoke for a few moment, before Akane giggled slightly.

"What?" Ranma asked.

"Oh, just thinking about what Kunou would do if he saw us right now..."

Ranma started chuckling as well. "Yeah- that would be pretty funny. It
would probably break his already-warped mind, though." Ranma sighed
happily, and placed his head on the natural pillow Akane's body provided.
"Wouldn't be worth the trouble it would cause, though," he yawned.

"Yeah..." Akane agreed, also starting to yawn. "It'd probably break
anyone's mind, though- not just Kunou's. I mean, I can't think of anyone
who wouldn't be shocked by us being together like this..." It was then she
noticed her lover was asleep, and she smiled slightly. "Goodnight, Ranma,"
she whispered, kissing him on the top of the head, much like he had done
that morning. Then she joined him in sleep.

A few minutes later, a small black tattoo of a ward appeared on her breast,
and the Oni left her. Disappearing into Ranma, another identical ward
showed up on his still female shoulder. After lingering for a brief time
in his body, the Oni finally decided it was time to go away, and slipped
out the window, looking back as it went.

* * * * *

Cologne continued to tend her great granddaughter all night, and was
starting to fall asleep in her chair by the time Shampoo finally stirred.

"Great-granddaughter?" she asked.

Shampoo's eyes opened slowly, and she turned her attention to the elderly
woman. "Yes, great grandmother?"

'Hmm,' Cologne thought, studying her great-grandchild's face. 'She's not
still hysterical, and she's also not her usual buoyant self. Okay, she
remembers what happened yesterday, and she's not still in tears about it.'

"Why are you so upset, child?" she asked.

"Ranma," Shampoo sniffed, "Ranma dump Shampoo. Pick Violent-Girl instead."

"I'm sorry, great-granddaughter," Cologne said, wrapping her up
comfortingly. Inwardly, though, she chuckled a bit at how Shampoo was
still using Japanese to talk- they'd been in Tokyo so long that she no
longer used her native tongue instinctively, apparently. "Tell me all
about it."

"Shampoo see Airen and Violent-Girl acting all nice-nice to each other, so
try to break them up... but Ranma not like hug, and yell at Shampoo, and
then Akane yell at Shampoo, and throw chi-blast at her."

Cologne's eyes widened. 'Since when has Akane had a chi blast?' she
wondered.

"When Shampoo recover, she see Airen and Violent-Girl in battle, and still
have hope, but see Oni horns on head of Akane."

With that, Cologne stopped listening as Shampoo described the fight and its
aftermath, instead thinking about that one statement. 'Oni horns...'

"...And now Shampoo lose Airen forever!" Shampoo finished with a wail.

Cologne completely ignored her, standing up and grabbing her staff. "Come,
child. We must prepare for battle."

Hope shone in the younger girls eyes. "We go recover Airen now,
great-grandmother?" Shampoo asked, recovering from her tears.

"No," Cologne answered harshly. "You remember what we were saying about
the Oni back on Toma's island?" Shampoo shook her head. "An Oni cannot
gain enough control over a person to make Akane react to Ranma the way she
was unless she had made a deal with it- and from the way you say he was
acting, Ranma knew of this arrangement as well. Considering what I've
heard and seen of this Oni, making such a deal would be tantamount to
betraying humankind."

Shampoo was stunned. "So... what Shampoo and Great-Grandmother going to
do?"

Cologne grimaced. "Well, first, we're going to go demand some answers.
And if those answers are what I think they'll be, those answers are likely
to result in some... heated arguments."

------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
desaix@sysnet.net
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis /7872
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From: "David A. Tatum" <desaix@sysnet.net>
Subject: [Ranma][FanFic] Three Souls, One Heart Chapter 11


Chapter 11

Akane awoke the next morning with a sudden chill. Sleepily, she sat up.
For some reason, she felt that something was missing- something important.
A quick glance at the
other side of the bed showed what, exactly, that something was.

"Ranma?" she wondered, tossing the comforter onto the floor and leaping out
of bed. Grabbing her robe, she wrapped it around her and stepped out of
her room. "Ranma," she called quietly, searching for him. Akane was
getting a little concerned- the previous couple of nights, Ranma had either
outslept her or waited in bed for her to get up first... but yesterday,
they had finally done MORE than just sleep in the same bed. Did the sudden
change in their relationship scare him? Did he wake up that morning,
realize what he'd done, and run away because he couldn't handle it? Where
had he gone? "Ranma!" she cried out, desperation starting to appear in her
voice.

She checked the bathroom, the kitchen, and Ranma's old room, but didn't see
anything. "Great," she muttered to herself worriedly, not knowing where
else in the house he might have gone. "He just had to run off... I guess
I'd better go chase him." Akane stepped out the door of the house- and
then instantly turned around and went right back in. "But not until I get
dressed..."

Ranma foremost on her mind, she dashed back to her room, running for her
closet. She didn't get there, though, as she tripped over her comforter
and went crashing into the pile of cloth.

Akane tried to get back up, but couldn't- her legs were tangled up, and
something moving underneath the covers kept throwing her off her balance.

"What?" she asked herself, and then tore the covers off the ground and
tossed it onto the top of the bed. Staring down at the figure underneath
the bed, Akane blinked.

Ranma blinked as well, trying to get the sleep out of his feminine eyes.
"Huh? What's going on, Akane?"

Just hearing his voice brought tears to Akane's eyes, and she hugged him
tightly to her body, ignoring how his female breasts were being crushed
against her own. "I woke up, and you weren't there, and you weren't
anywhere in the house, and I thought you'd left me, and... and..."

"Hush," Ranma whispered comfortingly, returning her hug gently. "I'm here,
don't worry. I won't ever leave you... don't cry." His face, though,
showed his utter confusion. What was going on? And why wasn't he in bed,
anyway? He came up with two possibilities- he rolled out of the bed in his
sleep (which he sincerely doubted, considering how sound a sleeper he was)
or Akane had unknowingly shoved him off the bed.

When Akane had come to her senses, she relaxed her hug and sniffed.
Leaning back, she smiled to reassure him.

Ranma reached up and delicately wiped a tear from her eye. "Now what made
you think I might have left you? And why would I have done something like
that?"

"I thought... I thought you might not be able to handle what we did
yesterday and ran off... I mean, I woke up, and you weren't in the bed,
and I didn't see you, and..." Tears started to form in Akane's eyes again.

"Well, none of that happened, so just relax..." Smiling slightly, he
nodded to the bed. "If either of us have a right to suspect the other of
second thoughts, I think it would be me. I mean, you're the one who pushed
me out of the bed and buried me in blankets..."

Akane blushed. "Er... I guess we need to get a bigger bed if we're going
to keep sleeping together."

Ranma's eyebrow twitched. "If? Akane, I don't ever want to spend another
night without you in my arms."

Akane giggled happily. "That might not be possible, but I'll think about
it. I don't know, though- I mean, that bed IS rather small- I might not
want to share it all the time."

Ranma stuck his tongue out at her quickly before helping her to her feet.
Donning a robe of his own, he brushed a strand of hair out of Akane's
mildly reddened eyes. "Come on, let's go clean you up and get ready for
school, okay?"

* * * * *

Ryouga was searching his backpack for something as Ukyou came down on her
way to school. She blinked at him before heading over to the fridge
pulling out some batter she had made the previous night for a few breakfast
okonomiyakis.

"What are you looking for?" she asked, turning on the grill.

Ryouga sighed. "Akari's phone number. I know I put it in here somewhere,
but I just can't find it. I hope she isn't too worried- I just realized
today that she hasn't heard from me since that day we got on Kunou's boat,
and thought she might want to be reassured that I didn't drown."

Ukyou raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were after Akane again?"

Ryouga sighed. "I was, when we were shipwrecked and it looked like I'd
never see Akari again. But that was stupid... I knew it was over when I
realized I cared more about the cure than I did about Akane. Or should
that be when I nearly got killing mad at Ranma when I found out that he had
sacrificed our cure just to save her from becoming a man. If I hadn't been
so shocked at myself, I think Ranma would have been in serious trouble."

Ukyou sighed, and nodded. One more weapon in the campaign to claim Ranma's
heart was no longer available to her. "Oh, well." Thinking back, she
glanced at him as she tested the grill's heat. "Not since before our boat
trip, you say? You'd better find that number quick- most girls hate it
when their boyfriends don't talk to them often enough."

"I will," Ryouga proclaimed as Ukyou poured the ingredients onto the
grill's surface. "But it might take a while- I can't find anything in this
bag."

Ukyou bit back her reply, and got a spatula ready to flip the okonomiyaki
when it was ready. "Do you want one or two?" she asked casually.

"One... I'm not too hungry," he answered, pulling some junk out of his
pack.

"Coming up," she said, turning the okonomiyaki over. Glancing over at
Ryouga again, she saw the huge pile of stuff he had already retrieved from
his bag. "Um, do you want me to get Konatsu to help you search through all
that?"

Ryouga shook his head. "Don't bother- I'll find it eventually."

Ukyou sighed again. 'Yeah- in another couple of days,' she thought to
herself. "Here you go, sugar, one breakfast special, right off the grill."
She tossed the disk of food towards him, and he caught it with his mouth,
chewing it up and swallowing absentmindedly. "So... outside of calling
Akari, got any other plans today?"

Ryouga shrugged as Ukyou poured some more batter on the grill. "Konatsu
offered to train with me, but that's about it. Not much to do around
here."

Ukyou nodded. "Would you mind helping out around here when I get back?
It's not much to do, but it's something, and I'll even let you keep tips."

Ryouga shrugged, tossing three of his trademark umbrellas behind him.
"Sure, why not?"

Ukyou flipped her breakfast with a spatula. "And could you clean up when
you're done looking for that number, sugar? Your stuff is covering the
floor..."

Ryouga blinked and glanced around, noticing all of his stuff lying about.
"Oops... right. Will do."

Ukyou pulled the okonomiyaki off the grill, slid it into a travel box, and
smiled. "Thanks, sugar. I'll be back after school."

Ryouga raised an eyebrow. "You leaving already?"

Ukyou nodded. "I need to talk to Ranma, and he's been coming to class
early the past few days, so..."

"Right... well, see you later," Ryouga said. With a smile and a nod, Ukyou
was gone.

* * * * *

Akane relaxed against Ranma in the bathtub, his arms loosely draped around
her. She knew that if they stayed like they were, they'd be late for
classes, but the way she felt she didn't care.

Ranma nuzzled his chin against her hair. "Ya know, it's both a good thing
and a bad thing that the Oni's finally gone," he whispered. "It's a good
thing because I can do this without worrying about being speared, but it's
a bad thing because those horns looked so cute on you."

Akane smiled, feeling a little mischievous. Slipping out of Ranma's arms
and turning to face him, she cocked her head suggestively. "Sure I can't
convince you I'm plenty cute without them?"

"Oh," Ranma gulped. "I'd say I'm pretty convinced already, but if you
think I need more, well..."

Akane considered it for a minute, but then sighed in disappointment. "We'd
better not start something we can't stop."

Ranma sighed as well. "True, we do have classes today. It's a shame,
though- you can be really cute when you wanna be. It would have been...
interesting... to see you trying to be your cutest."

"Interesting?" Akane pouted teasingly, moving in on him. "Is that all?"

Ranma smiled, putting his hands on her shoulders, stopping her. Glancing
her up and down, he answered, "Perhaps interesting is the wrong word.
Perhaps I should have said..." He stopped and frowned. "Um... Akane, did
I put that mark there, or have I just not noticed it before?"

"Mark? What mark?"

"Er... that one," Ranma said, rubbing the spot in order to see if it was
just dirt.

Akane slapped his hand away. "Hey, I said not to start something we
couldn't stop!" she protested, then glanced down where Ranma had been
touching her, blushing slightly at the intimate location of the spot.
"It's not anything I've noticed before... but it looks too distinct to have
happened when we were... together... last night, and I don't think you
could have made it any other way." She looked back up at him and smiled
shyly, unconcerned. "You must have been looking real closely to notice
something that small."

"Er... well, uh, they are kinda worth looking at," he stammered in reply.

Akane's smile grew, and she slid back into Ranma's lap while facing him.
"Pervert," she whispered affectionately, and started kissing him under the
ear and down to his shoulder. Ranma's hands were running circles along her
back, and Akane was tempted to just forget about school and spend the day
with him. She knew they couldn't afford to spend a whole day away from
school, though, and so opened her eyes and started to push away. She saw
something on Ranma's shoulder as she went, however, and stopped.

Ranma noticed this, and pulled her back in concern, turning her head to
look into his eyes. "What's the problem?" he asked, concerned.

She pointed to his shoulder. "That mark- you've got the same mark as I
do."

Ranma blinked, twisting his neck to see what she was pointing at. "Weird.
You don't think it would have anything to do with us... er, last night? I
don't know any other of us cursed people who've... done the deed, yet-
maybe some additional effect of Jusenkyo?"

"Could be, but I would expect it would have shown up before now if so,"
Akane answered.

Ranma nodded. "Same here. But my curse has surprised me before, and what
else could it be?"

"I dunno... but maybe Iria might. Hold on."

As Ranma nodded, Akane concentrated in an attempt to reach the former
succubus which resided in her body. She soon found it not very hard at
all, as Iria was desperately trying to talk to her as well.

'Sheesh!' Iria complained, 'I've been trying to break through since you
woke up this morning! Ranma's REALLY had your attention so far today.'

Akane blushed faintly. 'Well, you DID want me and him to get together.'

'I'm not saying it's a bad thing. It just gets a little annoying when I
have something to say. And actually, I've been wanting to tell you about
those little tattoos you're about to ask me about.'

'Then you know what they are?' Akane asked.

'Not exactly. They were made by the Oni as he was leaving- he said it was
a gift of some sort. I think they're wards in the demonic tongue, but
lower ranked demons such as myself weren't schooled in identifying ones
like these. It looks to me like some sort of protection ward, though.'

'Protection wards? Protecting us from what?'

'I'm not sure. They were usually used by powerful demons to keep other
powerful demons off of THEIR target, but that doesn't seem to make sense-
there are no other demons I know of after you two. It wouldn't effect me
because they weren't concerned with weaker demons, generally.'

'That worries me... how do these protection wards work?'

'I don't know... I don't think they're in any way harmful, though,' Iria
replied. 'But these wards aren't the only thing I wanted to let you know
about- the Oni was the one that turned Ranma into a girl last night. He
didn't let us know that one of the conditions was that the two people
making love both had to be women, and made you splash him in the middle of
your foreplay.'

Akane paused for a moment and blinked. 'Well... I guess that makes sense.
I mean, considering what happened when Toma let his men loose on his harem,
the Oni should easily have been able to find another couple which might
agree to help it, if it didn't need the couple to be two women.'

'You're... not mad?' Iria asked tentatively.

'Mad? No, Ranma and I needed to try it out anyway- even if we DID decide
we didn't like it.'

'Hmm... making love to Ranma has really calmed you down.'

'HEY!' Akane protested, showing a flare of her temper.

'Um... I could give you some ideas that would make it better for you two
when you have to make love as girls in the future,' Iria said, trying to
distract Akane.

'We don't want to do that ever again,' Akane said, shaking her head. 'I'd
better let Ranma know what's going on before he gets worried.'

'Okay... I'll talk to you later.'

Akane blinked, and found she was still leaning against Ranma in the
bathtub. "Well, I know what it is, now," she said.

Ranma nodded. "Good- what are they?"

"Protection wards of some kind left by the Oni. Iria says they're
harmless."

Ranma sighed in relief. "Well, that's good." With the crisis over for the
moment, Akane relaxed into his shoulder and closed her eyes. Ranma shook
her slightly. "Hey, get up- we should get going. While you were talking
to Iria, my mother peeked in through the door as if she expected us to be
out already. I think we're going to be late for school."

Akane sighed. "I wish we could just stay here, but we missed half of a day
of classes yesterday already, and we really shouldn't be missing ANY this
early in the year."

"Ah, we miss school all the time. We could always say something important
came up..."

"Like what?" Akane asked, releasing him. "What excuse could we use that
they wouldn't have heard from us before?"

Ranma thought for a moment, taking time to look at his fiancee carefully.
Suddenly, much like Akane had in her Mythology class the previous day, he
felt the desire to do something rather... impulsive. "We could elope," he
suggested, his voice level enough that it could either be taken seriously
or as a joke.

Akane was almost certain that he was joking, but felt a small kernel of
hope that she was wrong. "Are you... serious?" she asked, stunned.

Ranma nodded slightly. "Maybe.... I don't think any marriage ceremony our
families might try to put together would ever work out, simply because my
father's an idiot and Nabiki hates me. And it might make it easier to deal
with Kodachi and Ukyou when the time comes, if we were already married."

"But... what about our families? I know what it feels like, sort of, to be
involved in a ceremony like that... as the bride... and I don't want to
experience it without the people I love around me."

"Well... we could always hold a ceremony afterwards- maybe after we
resolved some of the feuds which would tear the wedding apart otherwise. I
want Ukyou there, and maybe even Shampoo... I can imagine you might want
Ryouga to attend..."

"That pig?" Akane growled, tensing up.

"... or not. At any rate, Nabiki would probably have to concede the fact
and wouldn't actively be trying to destroy it. My father... well, he'll
still be an idiot, but it would be stupid to think that getting married
would solve all our problems. Still, don't you want to?"

Akane's face softened, and she looked up into Ranma's eyes. "Of course I
do- you know that. You know how I feel."

"So... is that a yes for eloping?"

Akane grinned. "Depends- will you take me on a honeymoon?"

Ranma blinked. "Um... I don't think I'll have the money for anything
elaborate until Nabiki gets back, but we could always go on a camping trip
or something..."

Akane kissed Ranma on the nose. "Never mind- I'll wait till after the
ceremony for the real honeymoon. But... well, I'd love to elope with you.
Let's get out of here- I want this done so that we can celebrate." With
that, she started to rise out of the water and headed to the towel rack to
dry off, Ranma right behind her.

"Celebrate?" he asked, curious. He followed her into the changing room and
donned his robe after applying some deodorant.

"Well, I can pool together enough money for the marriage license and
another few hours at that love hotel, so I was thinking that I could take
you on a honeymoon this time, and you could take me on one NEXT time...."

* * * * *

Ukyou sighed, slightly concerned. Ranma had not shown up that morning, and
no-one she had talked to had seen him since he and Akane left for lunch the
previous day. If he didn't show up soon, she'd head over to his house and
see if anyone there knew where he was. Maybe at lunchtime.

Resolved in her decision, she turned her attention back to the mythology
teacher, who was droning on about Okuninushi's marriage to the storm god's
daughter. That was when the wall exploded and three Chinese Amazons
stormed in the classroom.

"Where are Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendou?" Cologne demanded.

The teacher, who was as immune to shock as all the other teachers at
Furinken, merely checked her attendance booklet. "It appears he was listed
as absent in homeroom today, and he hasn't shown up here since then."

Cologne nodded and turned to go. Ukyou, however, was not going to let them
just leave like that. Jumping up from her seat and grabbing her weapons,
she leapt over to the Amazon matriarch. "Hey, why are you after Ranma?"
she asked angrily.

The old woman regarded the young one carefully. "You won't like it."

"I already don't like it that you and Shampoo are after him," Ukyou
answered. "Tell me."

Cologne sighed. "Yesterday, my granddaughter confronted Ranma on the open
road. Akane struck back- aided by the Oni we have all been looking so hard
for. It appears as if those two have struck a deal with it. Why, I don't
know, but to make any sort of deal with a being such as that, regardless of
the reason, could be considered betraying all of humanity."

"What?" Ukyou cried, gawking. She couldn't believe her ears.

"You heard me, child. Ranma and Akane have betrayed humanity by aiding an
evil spiritual being."

"Hmm... interesting," the mythology teacher considered. "Perhaps Ranma and
Akane deserve extra credit for that..."

"I don't believe it," Ukyou complained. "Ranma wouldn't betray humanity-
at least not intentionally. There's more to this than what you're saying."

"We are going to discover the truth of what happened," Cologne continued.
"If you wish, you may come with us, but I caution you that we are hunting
the Oni. If we discover it inside someone there, well... you may not like
what we do."

"I still think I'll go- I don't trust you," Ukyou said.

"Very well- but don't say I didn't warn you," Cologne sighed and shook her
head. 'She might as well find out that Ranma's made his choice.'

* * * * *

"I now pronounce you... husband and wife."

* * * * *

The phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hello, Akari?"

"Ryouga? Is that you?" Akari asked, shocked.

"Yes, it's me."

"Ryouga! You're alive! Are you okay? I haven't heard from you in so
long, and I knew you'd gone out on that boat during that hurricane, and-"

"I'm all right, Akari. It's a long story- why don't you come down here and
I'll tell you all about it."

Akari grabbed a pencil and piece of paper. "I'll be right down- where are
you?"

"I'm in Nerima- Ranma asked Ukyou to put me up while I'm here, so I'm here
at the Ucchan. Oh, bring Katsunishiki to protect you- there's something
dangerous in the area you should know about..."

* * * * *

Nodoka was taking clothes down off the clothesline when, behind one of
Ranma's and Akane's sheets from the previous night, three young people and
one old matriarch appeared.

"Oh, dear- I didn't hear you come in," Nodoka apologized. "Can I help
you?"

"Where are Ranma and Akane?" Cologne demanded.

"Last I saw them, they were running off for school," Nodoka smiled. "They
were in a hurry, too- they didn't even remember their books."

"They never made it," Ukyou said. "I was looking for them, but apparently
they skipped today."

"They did?" Nodoka gasped happily. "Oh, Ranma must be acting manly with
Akane again!"

Ukyou choked. She knew exactly what Nodoka thought manliness meant, but
couldn't picture him doing that with Akane.

Shampoo, on the other hand, knew exactly how things had changed. A tear
dripped down her cheek as she realized her dreams of being with Ranma were
now over, and in the worst way possible.

Mousse had no idea what Nodoka was talking about. Cologne didn't either,
but she didn't care. "Are you aware that Akane has been possessed for the
past couple of days?"

Nodoka smiled and nodded. "Yes, by that honorable Oni who I had that
informative conversation yesterday. She isn't anymore, though- Ranma
fulfilled their deal with it when he was manly with Akane last night."

Cologne looked at Nodoka like she'd grown a third arm. "Um... do you
happen to know what the bargain was between Ranma and the Oni?"

Nodoka laughed. "Oh, it wasn't between Ranma and the Oni, though it
wouldn't have worked if he hadn't agreed to it. The Oni asked Akane to
remove a curse that my husband's old sensei, Happosai, placed on it. The
curse required that the Oni possess a woman when she made love to a man."

"WHAT?!" Ukyou cried. "And Ranma went ALONG with this?"

"Well, he wanted to use a ward to remove the Oni from Akane, but apparently
that was rather dangerous to her. I'm not sure of all the details..."

"That's okay," Cologne sneered. "I think we have enough for me to know
Ranma isn't treacherous, just stupid." Turning to the others, she said,
"Come on, back to the Nekohanten. We have to make plans."

"Good bye," Nodoka said to Cologne, seeing her start her way out of the
house.

"We'll be back later to talk to Ranma," the Amazon matriarch said. "He'd
better be here."

----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------
desaix@sysnet.net
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
fanfics available at
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From: "David A. Tatum" <desaix@sysnet.net>
Subject: [Ranma][FanFic] Three Souls, One Heart Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Nodoka smiled, pouring herself a cup of tea. Suddenly, she felt an intense
tugging coming from her feet. It traveled all the way up her body, through
her head, and finally the Oni was free.

"I'm afraid there is a problem," the Oni, slightly stronger than it had
been after leaving Akane that night, said. "I'm no longer going to be able
to help you punish your husband for his treatment of Ranma."

Nodoka scrunched her toes, trying to readjust the empty space in her
slippers so that they would no longer be compensating for the tiny horns
that had been acting as a set of sixth toes. "And why is that, Mr. Oni? I
hope you aren't worried about those Amazons showing up. You made a
promise, you know..."

The Oni nodded. "Yes, I know. I hope you will release me from it, or else
I may be punished for violating an oath. Cologne worries me a little- I
think she knew I was here, but wasn't willing to say for some reason. But
that is not my major concern- no, I have a previous deal conflicting with
it."

Nodoka blinked. "Oh? What conflict is that?"

"Well, Akane included in my vow a promise to never harm her, Ranma, or any
member of her family," the Oni answered.

"Ah, but my husband is not a member of her family," Nodoka pointed out.

"That was true when I made the promise to her, and it was still true when I
first made the promise to you, but it is not true any more. Halfway
through your conversation with Cologne, the powers granted me to prevent
conflicts in my contract with Akane told me that she and Ranma swore vows
of matrimony, bringing both you and Genma into her family..."

Nodoka's eyes widened. "They... WHAT?!"

"Ranma and Akane are now married. They swore vows and signed the legal
documents needed... congratulations, Mrs. Saotome, you now have a new
daughter."

Nodoka was shocked. She'd pretended to be overly happy about Ranma and
Akane's new sex life in order to shock the other fiancees, but she truly
was delighted that they were drawing so much closer. But this news...

"But... why? I realize Ranma is attracted to Akane, and she to him, but
after seeing what you showed me about their relationship and upbringing, I
didn't think they could possibly love each other enough to want to get
married voluntarily- especially after I found out that Akane has done
nothing about Ranma's fear of cats."

The Oni snorted. "I can't believe you think that... Akane loves Ranma and
he loves her, I assure you. Enough to almost sicken me, at times... and
Ranma has been spectacularly loyal. Other women have been trying anything
they could think of to land him in the sack, yet he has resisted each
attempt despite being quite attracted to most of those women. And Akane
might have been oblivious to certain things, but when she noticed that
Ranma needed help, she did everything she could think of to help him. I
agree with you that she didn't do enough, though," it said with a snort.

"I... well, maybe that's true... but without their families present?"
Nodoka said, grasping at straws. "I mean... I wanted to be there..."

"I do not pretend to know their motives behind what they do, just that they
have done it. I am sorry, but I should leave now- if I don't soon, then
the Amazons may return and attack me."

Nodoka opened her mouth, many questions on her mind. However, she soon
realized the Oni would not be able to answer any of them. "I... very well,
then. Good-bye, Honorable Oni. I hereby release you from your promise..."

* * * * *

Akane sighed, watching Ranma put on his shirt. The honeymoon would
continue in her bedroom that night, but she didn't really want to leave the
hotel room right then. "We've been here twice in two days... I'm going to
miss this place."

"I just wish our home offered us as much peace as this one room does. I
think if we could rely on our not being interrupted at just the wrong time
there, we wouldn't feel too bad about leaving here."

Akane nodded. "True," she agreed. "What ARE we going to do about that?
Your fiancees and enemies, my suitors, both of our parents- any one of them
will just burst into our private moments whenever they feel like it. We're
married now, but will that get them to leave us alone?"

Ranma shook his head, buttoning his last button. "No. Maybe our parents
will slow down- AFTER they're certain we're really sleeping together- and
Shampoo has given up, but... well, Kunou will be even more determined to
kill me, and... you remember how Ucchan acted when she first showed up in
Nerima?"

"Vengeful, determined to kill you, obsessed? At least until you called her
cute..."

"Right. Now that I'm unreachable, she'll be mad enough to kill me, too.
And, well... there's Nabiki..."

Akane frowned. "Ranma, why does she hate you so? And how do you KNOW that
she hates you?"

Ranma snorted. "Like I'm supposed to know why. All I know is that she
does... I can't really explain it, but I'm pretty sure you'd realize that
she did if you knew all of what she's put me through."

That didn't exactly satisfy Akane, but she took it in stride. It was
obvious Ranma wasn't going to say any more than that, and besides... she'd
rather discuss other things. "Okay, so what do we do about it? Our
marriage is just going to make a lot of things worse for you- the pig and
the wannabe samurai will be even more out for your blood, and Ukyou might
be as well if she ever finds out. Plus, our fathers are going to be
overbearing until our wedding celebration, and... well, what are we going
to do?"

Ranma thought for a moment. "I dunno. Maybe if we had a little more time
to think about it, we could think of what to do with the Kunous, and I
could let Ukyou down a little easier... but our parents? They'll be
hounding us to hold the formal celebration from the moment they hear we've
gotten married, and that'll attract EVERYONE who might want to attack
us..."

Something of a plan formed in Akane's head. "Ranma?"

"Hmm?"

"What if we didn't tell anyone we were already married? Not our parents,
not our friends, no-one..."

Ranma shook his head. "Now that it's happened, I don't want to hide this
from the world. I love you, Akane, and you are my wife- if anyone wants to
object to either of those things, they'll have to deal with me."

Akane sighed. "I wasn't thinking about hiding it forever- just until we
dealt with all the people who we know will try and stop us. Our family,
which already knows we're sleeping together, isn't going to smear our honor
by accusing us publicly of anything improper. Then, when we manage to stop
everyone from pursuing us, we let people know that we're married, and hold
the ceremony."

"We'd be hiding it for our entire lives. At SOME point, our rivals and
parents need to know that we got married, or else they won't stop- but I
was hoping to soften the blow before they found out."

Akane thought about that for a moment. "Okay. I think I've got an
idea... we tell Auntie Saotome... er, that is, 'mother,' about our
marriage. We ask her to secretly arrange for the wedding celebration,
making certain that she doesn't let on to anyone else we know about the
wedding until we're ready to hold it. While she handles that, we take care
of 'softening the blow' for the others?"

Ranma frowned. "I still don't like it... What if one of our rivals finds
out we're having sex before we tell them."

"Well... as long as they don't go spreading rumors about us, we try and
keep the problem between us and them. If they go trying to ruin our honor
with it, we let them know we've gotten married, and pray our parents don't
find out and try and take over the wedding celebration from us." Akane
grinned lasciviously. "Don't worry, we can still sleep together."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Like I'd care if I couldn't sleep with a tomboy
like you," he said teasingly.

Akane, however, failed to note the humor in his voice. "Wh- what? You
mean you-"

"Whoa!" Ranma cried, seeing the tears forming in her eyes. "Akane, calm
down- I was just teasing you." He grabbed her into his arms. "I told you,
I don't want to spend another night without you in my arms, and I meant
it."

"Then why did you just say that?" Akane growled angrily, shoving away from
him.

Ranma sighed. "Akane, learn to take a joke. If you can't, we're going to
be having a lot more fights than we should as a married couple, because I'm
gonna be teasing you a lot. And I expect you to tease me, too."

"You shouldn't be teasing me about things like that," Akane sniffed. "Even
if you don't mean what you say, it hurts."

Ranma sighed, looking at the clock. "I'll try, Akane, but I'll probably
slip up a lot. Sometimes my mouth works like my martial arts- if I see
anything I can take advantage of, I strike." He picked up his school bag
and gestured with it. "Ready to go? They're about to kick us out."

Akane grabbed a hand full of condoms and stuffed them in her purse. She
felt a little guilty about taking so many, but she decided she would rather
feel guilty taking some free condoms from a love hotel than feel
embarrassed buying them in a convenience store where she'd be surrounded by
other customers and store clerks who could see exactly what she was
purchasing. "I guess. So... are we going to keep our marriage a secret or
what?"

"I guess we can try it your way for a while." He put his arm around her
and led her out the door.

Once out the door, Akane shrugged his arm off her shoulders playfully.
"Hey, we just had a fight- we have to make up before you can cuddle!"

Ranma blinked. "We did? I do?"

Akane nodded, smirking. "Sure we did- you expect me to just forgive you
like that for the tomboy comment? No way!"

"Er...."

"Now, let's see- what can I get you to do to make it up to me, hmm?"

As Akane started listing the ways Ranma could satisfy her whims, he sighed.
'Ya know, I think I liked it better when she just hit me and got it over
with,' he thought.

* * * * *

Ukyou was boiling mad. She wanted to find Ranma and Akane so that she
could... she could... well, she wasn't entirely sure what she would do when
she found them, but she was certain that whatever it was would be a hell of
a lot more productive than wasting her time with the China gang as they sat
eating in the Nekohanten.

"Why aren't we out looking for them?" she growled.

"Them?" Cologne asked, knowing exactly what Ukyou was talking about. "Them
who?"

"Ranma and Akane, of course! We need to stop them!"

The Amazon matriarch favored her with a placating smile. "Stop them from
what? If what Mrs. Saotome told us is true, they have already slept
together. Nothing we could do would change that."

Ukyou gawked at her. "B- but..."

Cologne's expression hardened. "If you want, you can deal with them later.
Shampoo has already given up, however, and I suggest you do the same...
but for now, we have more important things to worry about- like that Oni."

Ukyou snorted. "Bah! How do you expect us to find it? Since Ranma and
Akane apparently gave it what it wanted, the Oni probably traveled half-way
across Japan by now, already."

"It was at the Tendou dojo as recently as a half hour ago. I doubt it's
gotten far," Cologne said over Ukyou's protests.

"And another thing, we need to... er, what was that?" Ukyou blinked.

"While we were at the dojo, I was able to sense the Oni's presence. I
believe it was inhabiting Mrs. Saotome at the time, but I couldn't be
absolutely certain. At any rate, it was there when we left, and I doubt an
Oni could run very far in just a half hour- assuming it has even tried to
escape. I doubt it would, considering it has an apparently willing host
right now."

Shampoo chose this moment to enter the conversation. She had been moping
about silently since hearing Nodoka confirm that Ranma was beyond her
reach, but that did not mean she was inattentive.

"If Oni in dojo, why we no get it when there?" she asked.

Cologne smiled. "What makes you think I didn't try?" Everyone looked at
her oddly.

"I may have bad eyesight," Mousse said, entering the conversation. "But I
don't think I would have missed a battle between you and a powerful being
from the spirit world."

"You wouldn't. There wasn't one. However, I did issue a spiritual
challenge with my chi. There was no answer, and thus no battle, but I did
try." Cologne frowned. "It probably knows I saw it- I doubt it would have
missed what I did."

"Why would Oni ignore great-grandmother?" Shampoo asked.

Cologne thought for a moment before saying, "I'm not entirely sure.
Perhaps it was sensing something else that effected it more powerfully, and
was too distracted or confused to safely enjoin me in battle. Or perhaps
it had been too weakened by Happosai's curse to confidently engage me. Or
perhaps I made a mistake in issuing the challenge, or it didn't recognize
it as a challenge due to the differences between the protocol of demons
that the Amazons deal with and the demons of Japan. Regardless of the
reason, it ignored the challenge, and so we must consider additional
action."

"Great-grandmother no explain why we no fight Oni- we know it in airen's
mother, so why we no just hit her and no bother with challenge?"

"Because, child, I want to find out if what the Oni said was true- that
Happosai was able to place a curse on it, and that Ranma and Akane removed
it from him. I also want to find out WHY it was dangerous to place a
spirit ward on Akane. If I were to harm Ranma's mother, I doubt he would
be very willing to answer my questions."

Turning over what Cologne had said in her mind, Ukyou sighed. "I suppose
it would be forgivable for Ranma to... do it... with Akane if he thought
her life would be in danger. But he's going to have to do a lot to make it
up to me..."

Shampoo looked over at her. "Shampoo see Spatula-girl no know when to give
up. You no have chance be first wife."

"So you're just letting him go? Doesn't seem like you...."

Shampoo's eyes twinkled. "It not. Shampoo no let Ranma go- just realize
he no hers. Yet. Can no go home without Airen, but perhaps Shampoo
convince Pervert-girl let Ranma take second wife."

Ukyou looked at her like she'd grown a third arm. "That's sick. You'd
sleep with him, knowing he'd probably slept with another woman only days or
even hours before you?"

Shampoo smiled. "Good man rare in Amazon village. Not uncommon find many
women marry same man- what difference if other wife not Amazon?"

Ukyou just shook her head. 'She didn't even realize what I was saying...
Two women with one man? Yuck... I'm not going to share my Ranchan with
anyone.'

"None of this matters now," Cologne boomed. "Come, we must find Ranma and
Akane... and perhaps we may want to collect Ryouga, as well- if this thing
with the Oni ever does come to a battle, we'll need all the help we can
get."

* * * * *

"Well, we're effectively out of money, now... at least until Nabiki gets
back home," Akane said, looking at the few coins from her and Ranma's
pooled financial resources- the change from two separate trips to a love
motel and the movie they had just departed from (a rather sappy one
imported from America and poorly subbed that Ranma had to 'endure' with
Akane as part of his penance). "Barely enough left here to buy a can of
soda from a machine."

Ranma looked slightly relieved, remembering that the other thing Akane
wanted him to 'endure' watching for her was a live performance of some
Kabuki theater- which he knew would really bore him to tears. At least he
was able to stay awake through the movie- there were a couple of
half-decent jokes he could laugh at, and the music was mildly entertaining.
He suspected Kabuki would put him to sleep rather quickly.

"Then do you want to go home?" he asked hopefully. A nice, relaxing (or
possibly exciting, depending on your attitude going in) bath, a delicious
meal prepared by his mother, and a night of, er, Akane would certainly be a
delightful end to his wedding day, if Akane decided to head back. 'Well,
my first wedding day,' Ranma reminded himself, thinking of the ceremony his
mother would have to plan for them. 'Though it will probably be a good end
for the second one, as well.'

His new wife raised a defiant eye with a humorous twinkle at him. "Oh, you
aren't getting out of your punishment that easily. You'll STILL have to
promise to take me to see the Kabuki theater, once you can afford it, and
there were a couple of things that I wanted you to do for me that didn't
require any money at all..."

Ranma sighed, but smiled at Akane. "Yes, dear. I promise," he said in a
voice which made it obvious he was only humoring her. "So, which do you
want to do first, the walk in the park or the hospital visit?"

Akane glanced at a nearby street sign and thought for a moment. "Let's go
to the hospital first- I haven't visited Marie or Hideki in several days,
and it's on the way to the park from here, anyway."

Ranma put his arm around Akane. "Sounds like a plan. Le-"

He was unable to finish. Instead, he was forced to dodge the strike of a
bokken wielded by an angry young would-be samurai.

"Ranma Saotome, how dare you-" he began, but was stopped before he could
finish by a rather powerful blow delivered by Ranma's free arm. Kunou went
flying and collapsed into the wall of a nearby restaurant, slid down to the
ground, and fell unconscious.

Akane sighed. "Oh, great. He's been quiet since we got back- why does he
have to show up on our wedding day?"

Ranma shook his head. "I dunno, Akane, but I've got an idea how to get him
off your back. Actually, I've had it for a while, now, but this is the
first time I've ever felt like actually trying it."

"Oh? What idea is that, and why haven't you done it before now?" Akane
sounded dubious- Ranma's plans were usually pretty ridiculous. They rarely
worked right, but every now and then they succeeded in doing what was
planned.

"Well-" Ranma began.

"Ohhhhh...." Kunou moaned, slowly sitting up.

Ranma turned to him, mouthing the words 'play along' to Akane. "Hiya,
Kunou... welcome back to the land of the living."

"Ranma Saotome," he growled. "Must you stand there and gloat?"

Ranma smirked. "Yep. Say, Kunou... there's been something that's bothered
me since the first time I met you. I heard you once said that whoever
defeated Akane could date her- what if the person who defeated her was not
someone who either you or she approved of?"

Kunou frowned. "Well, I could not go back on my word- I would not be
allowed to stop the man from dating her. If, however, she decided that the
prospect of dating someone other than myself was too repulsive for her,
than I could act as her champion and drive the fellow out- though she would
have to bond herself to me in order to give me my right to act."

'Huh,' Iria thought. 'You know, Akane, his plan actually made sense. If
someone you hated beat you, the only way out for you would have been to
engage yourself to Kunou.'

'Hmph,' Akane replied angrily. 'Maybe so, but it had one fatal flaw: I
can't think of anyone who I would pick Kunou over- even Happosai would be
easier to accept. At least I wouldn't have to put up with all that crappy
poetry.'

"But if Akane made no such request, then you would have to accept it, and
NOT interfere with the two of them dating?"

"Yes, I suppose," Kunou said doubtfully. "But I cannot imagine Akane being
willing to date anyone other than myself, so she'd surely ask me."

"Hmm," Ranma pondered. He turned to face Akane, a twinkle in his eye.
"Say, if I beat you in a formal challenge and demanded the right to date
you, would you ask Kunou- or anyone, for that matter, to intervene and stop
the date?"

"Of course not! I'd rather date you than him, any day!"

Kunou looked stricken, but Ranma smiled. "Oh, good. Akane, I hereby
challenge you to a contest in Anything Goes Martial Arts. If I win, then
Kunou must accept you and me dating. If I lose, then... well, I guess
Kunou won't have to."

Akane frowned. "Are you sure you want to do this, Ranma? I know you can't
bring yourself to hit me, and I don't think Kunou will accept you dodging
every blow of mine as you beating me..."

Ranma's smile grew. "Yes, I'm sure."

Akane nodded. "Then I accept your challenge."

Ranma turned to face their observer. "Say, Kunou- do you want to referee?
I want to make sure this battle is acceptable to you?"

Kunou nodded numbly, and Ranma took a position facing Akane, settling back
comfortably and nodding his head to indicate he was ready.

A look of determination crossed her face as she took her fighting stance.
'Okay, a sparring match. Haven't had many of those since we got back...
but I can't afford to beat him, and I don't see how he's gonna beat me. I
don't even know how to convincingly throw the match- what does Ranma think
he's gonna do, anyway?'

"Ready?" Kunou called nervously. It had only just started to sink in to
him what was going on, but he couldn't see any way of preventing it with
his honor intact- he'd let the crowds at Furinkan make their attempts at
Akane without interference every day before Ranma had arrived, so
interfering now would make him hypocritical. He could not let Saotome get
away with this- but what else could he do? "Begin!" he cried.

Akane threw a couple of weak punches Ranma's way, which to her surprise he
blocked. She looked into his eyes, which seemed to show disapproval.

"Akane, just go all out. I'm not sure Kunou will think this match is
official if you don't."

Taking a few steps back, she nodded, grimacing with determination. "All
right, here I come!" she announced, and charged in.

This time, her blows were at full strength and Ranma was dodging them. He
smiled as Akane got more and more into the fight, throwing her punches
harder and faster. Before they got too far away from Kunou, he leapt over
her and waited for her to turn around. She spun swinging, but Ranma snaked
in past the blow and was right up in her face. He smirked, gave her a
quick kiss (infuriating their referee) and rolled behind her. As Akane
recovered from her missed punch, Ranma grabbed her from behind and put his
arm around her neck in a slightly modified sleeper hold.

Akane struggled ineffectually for a moment. Ranma, deciding enough was
enough, lean in and whispered, "Relax- I don't think you can get out of
this. Just let yourself fall asleep, and we'll go visit Marie and Hideki
when you wake up."

Sighing, Akane decided to listen to Ranma and relaxed. "Okay," she
whispered back. A few minutes later, she continued with, "But you'll owe
me another favor." Then, smiling, she fainted.

Ranma gently laid her on the ground and rolled her over. Alarmed at a
small bruise forming on her neck, he checked her pulse. Once he was
convinced she was fine he smiled. "Okay, Kunou- I fulfilled your stupid
little condition. I beat Akane fair and square- and she's already said she
wouldn't ask you to stop me from dating her. Are you going to live up to
your end of the bargain, or," and here Ranma's eyes got fierce, "Did I hurt
her for nothing?"

The would-be samurai's anger flared, forcing a train of thought bordering
on dementia into his mind. "Your defeat of her could only be brought about
by evil sorcery! For that reason, your match is forfeit!"

Ranma's fury increased. "And why is that?" Kunou froze, his jaw forming a
word that would never come. "Look, Kunou- I'm not admitting to using any
evil sorcery. I don't have any evil sorcery- or any magic of my own, for
that matter. If I did, my life would probably be a LOT easier.... At any
rate, whether I beat her using 'dark sorcery,' pure skill, or just plain
ordinary luck it wouldn't matter. Anything Goes Martial Arts- which is
what I challenged Akane to- means just that: ANYTHING goes. Dark sorcery
included. Akane accepted the terms of her own free will, and you had no
objection at the time, so you shouldn't have any objection now. I won, and
now you have to leave me alone.

Kunou opened his mouth and closed it a few times, but eventually gave up.
Sighing, he turned. "Very well, Saotome... you may date with her. But if
you ever mistreat her, I shall kill you." He slowly walked away. Ranma
was astonished at his quiet departure, until, at the top of his voice,
Kunou called out, "But wait! If Akane is no longer in my grasp, then the
true path is clear! Now I must find the pig-tailed girl, for surely now
that I can devote my whole self to her she will date with me!"

Ranma shook his head at the would-be samurai's fleeing back. Some things
never changed.

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From: "David A. Tatum" <desaix@sysnet.net>
Subject: [Ranma][FanFic] Three Souls, One Heart chapter 13

Chapter 13

Ranma sat on the roof top, cradling Akane in his lap, stroking her hair
delicately. She had not yet regained consciousness after their duel, and
he was a little concerned. He hadn't done anything TOO dangerous, but
there were a couple of small bruises around her neck. Every time Ranma
caught sight of one of those bruises, he had to blink to keep his eyes from
watering up.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, squeezing her gently.

"You're forgiven- but like I said, you owe me another favor," Akane
whispered back, her eyes closed.

"Akane?"

She smiled and opened her eyes, sitting up. "Well, maybe getting Kunou off
my back is enough of a consolation prize for losing to you. You don't owe
me a favor after all... but that doesn't cancel any of the other things you
owe me."

"One date for a kabuki play, one trip to visit people in the hospital, and
one walk through the park coming up," Ranma said. "And are you sure you
want to forgive me for that favor? I kinda, uh, bruised your neck when I
knocked you out."

Akane's eyes widened. "Is it obvious?"

"Um... if you wear a high collar, it might hide it."

Akane nodded slyly. "Oh... well, then, we're even for the hickey I gave
you that I didn't tell you about."

Ranma looked confused. "The what? What's a hickey?"

Akane's face quirked up in disbelief. "Ranma... you can't tell me you
don't know what a hickey is..."

"Er... I can't? Um... why not?"

"Because... because... you should know already! I mean..." Akane looked
around. They were still on the rooftop. It was the top of a REALLY tall
building. She blinked. "Why are we sitting on top of a building? And...
where are we? We seem to be a little high up."

Ranma smirked a little. "Well, I carried you on to the hospital while you
were still, er, resting. I figured if you wanted to have time today to
both visit Marie and go to the park, we needed to get here pretty quick."
Standing up and offering Akane a hand, he continued, "So, what, exactly, is
a hickey again?"

Akane shook her head. "I still don't believe you don't know what a hickey
is- are you sure you aren't just trying to embarrass me?"

Ranma blinked. "Er... no, I'm not."

"Fine," Akane said, blushing. Ranma noticed Akane's eyes lose a little
focus. "Yes, yes, good idea," she muttered and started searching through
her purse for a mirror.

'Ah,' Ranma thought. 'She's chatting with Iria about something. And she's
blushing. And she said it was embarrassing....' Slowly, as the
implications started to hit, he blushed as well.

Pulling out a small compact, Akane looked at him, a sly glare in her eyes.
"Okay, Ranma- you want to know what a hickey is? Let me demonstrate..."

With that, she grabbed Ranma and started suckling his neck. Ranma was too
shocked to respond at first, and then found that she had pinned his arms in
such a way he couldn't reciprocate. All he could do was concentrate on
that one particular spot Akane was working, and enjoy it.

When she finally stopped and leaned back a little, she inspected his neck a
little. Smiling, she opened the compact and handed it to him. "Look at
the spot I was kissing you. The mark you'll see is the hickey."

Ranma's blush grew, but he looked anyway. "Oh, those... I think I gave you
a few of those as well, but no-one should see them... um, unless you, um,
take off your clothes." He paused. "I hope no-one notices any of the ones
that are in plain sight- that could cause a lot of problems."

Akane smiled. "Well, Kunou didn't notice anything wrong- you shouldn't
have anything to worry about."

"Er, you think there's nothing to worry about because KUNOU didn't notice
anything?"

"Good point," Akane agreed sagely. "But most people miss that sort of
thing unless it's REALLY obvious or unless they're looking for it.
Besides, it goes away in a few days, anyway." Retrieving her compact, she
smiled up at him. "So, ready to visit Marie and Hideki?" She held out her
arm.

Ranma took it, and they (figuring that climbing in through a window might
be frowned upon, since the windows didn't open) walked down to the lobby
and went up the elevator to the room their friend was in.

"Hi, Marie," Akane said. Marie looked somewhat tired and unkempt, but she
stood up happily and greeted them anyway.

"Hi, Akane! Ranma. Haven't seen you for a few days, so you missed the big
news- Hideki woke up for a while."

"Oh, he did?!" Akane exclaimed. "That's great! Tell me everything..."

Ranma sat down and quickly lost interest in the conversation. Soon, with
little else to do, he decided he'd just relax and admire Akane,
daydreaming. He remained totally oblivious to everything else until he
heard his name.

"...and Ranma been the past couple of days? I thought you were planning to
come and visit every day!" Marie was saying.

"Oh, well," Akane blushed, looking over at Ranma. "Well, a few things
happened and we kinda were too busy with them to think about anything else
for a while."

Marie looked from Ranma to Akane and back and smiled impishly. "Let me
guess- you two started making out and lost track of time for several days?"

Both Ranma and Akane blushed deeply. "Wh... why do you say that?" Ranma
asked.

Marie smiled. "Well, for one thing, Ranma, you've been mooning over Akane
since you got here. For another... well, those hickeys are pretty, um,
obvious. And I seriously doubt you would be here with Akane if she WASN'T
the person who gave you those hickeys, so I kinda realized why you two had
been missing for the past few days from the moment you walked in."

Ranma gagged. "Argh...." He turned to Akane, raising an eyebrow. "This
is all your fault," he accused mockingly.

* * * * *

"Um, Ukyou?" Ryouga asked as she stormed into the Ucchan. "What's, uh,
what's wrong?"

Ukyou growled at him, grabbing his umbrella and backpack and tossing them
at him. "Come on, Ryouga. Cologne wants us to help track down the Oni."

Ryouga blinked. "I thought that Ranma and Akane were handling things..."

"They were. But they can't be trusted any more- so come on," she said,
grabbing him by the elbow and dragging him along.

"But I'm waiting for Akari to arrive! She told me to stay right where I
am!" he protested, digging in his heels. "And what do you mean that Ranma
and Akane can't be trusted?"

"You don't want to know."

Ryouga hesitated. "What do you mean I don't want to know?"

Ukyou sighed. "I don't have time for this. Are you coming, or not?"

"No- at least not until after Akari gets here. Maybe after she
arrives...."

Ukyou fumed. "Fine- if you won't help, you won't help. Bye." With that,
she stormed right back out of the restaurant.

Ryouga blinked. "What the hell just happened?"

* * * * *

Akane and Ranma slowly finished their stroll through the park.

"Okay, Ranma... you're forgiven now."

Ranma relaxed a little. "So we can just go home and finish off our wedding
night there?"

Akane nodded. "We will have to explain our decision about not letting
everyone know of our marriage to your mother, first, but I certainly don't
have any problems with ending our day on a, er, pleasant note."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Then the sooner we get home, the better, right?"

"Well, I guess, yeah."

"Okay." Ranma picked Akane up into his arms, holding her to his chest.
Instinctively, Akane put her arms around him. With a leap, the two of them
started hopping from roof to roof, heading straight towards the Tendou
Dojo.

Ukyou, grumbling angrily about Ryouga, failed to notice the couple leaping
over her head until after it was too late to follow them, but the sight of
Ranma cradling Akane merely added to her rage. With haste, she sped back
to Cologne. The sooner this was all over and she could 'talk' with the two
of them, the better. In the meantime, it was better to channel her anger
into something more productive. Like destroying the thing that caused all
the mess in the first place.

That Oni was going to suffer.

* * * * *

Nodoka tensed a bit as she heard the door opening. She hoped it wasn't
Cologne and her charges coming back- she didn't want to have to explain
without having the Oni there to help protect her if they decided to attack
suddenly.

"Hi, mom!" Ranma called, rounding the corner into the living room. "We're
home!"

Her attitude changed. 'Ah, good- now I can ask them about their
marriage... and tell them about Cologne's visit.'

"Ah, good... Ranma, Akane- how was your day?"

Ranma and Akane smiled at each other. "It went... rather well," Akane
said.

"Yeah... and we've got something to tell you," Ranma added.

"Oh?" Nodoka said, amused. "Let me guess- the two of you got married."

"Huh?!" both of them said, puzzled. "How in the world did you figure that
out?" Ranma blurted out.

Nodoka smirked, deciding to tease them a little when she noticed a certain
mark on her son. "Well, you've got the signs written all over your face-
or should that be neck?"

Ranma glared at Akane. "I TOLD you this would cause problems!" he accused,
pointing at the hickey.

Akane flushed. "Well, I didn't know this would happen..." Muttering under
her breath, she added, "I still don't believe that it's too obvious." Then
another thought occurred to her. "Besides, your mother already KNOWS we've
been intimate for a while- seeing a hickey shouldn't make her think that
we're married!"

Ranma frowned. "You're right..."

Nodoka let a giggle escape her. "I'm sorry, you two- it wasn't because of
the hickey Akane gave you, Ranma. I was just teasing you. No, it really
was because one of my friends told me..."

Akane blinked. "Oh? Who? We haven't let anyone else know yet..."

"Well," Nodoka hesitated. She didn't want to let them know about the Oni
just yet, but she didn't want to lie either- it wasn't honorable to lie,
after all. "While my husband was... away... I had to make some decisions
that required I cultivate a relationship with various legal officials- some
of whom were in charge of filing marriage certificates."

Ranma and Akane looked at each other uncertainly. "Well," Ranma began, "We
were planning to tell you anyway. But, um, does anyone else know yet?"

Nodoka smiled. "Not that I know of- I certainly haven't told anyone." Her
smile fell slightly. "But those two nice young girls who wrecked my house
stopped by with one of their great-grandmothers, and I'm afraid that I let
them know of your recent, er, intimacy."

"Ack!" Ranma cried. "Why'd you do that?"

"Um... I wasn't entirely myself when I did, and they caught me off-guard."

"Well, that'll make everything more difficult," Ranma complained. "But at
least no-one knows we're actually married yet."

Akane hesitated. "Well... maybe it'll be a good idea to let everyone work
out their anger now. Before the ceremony."

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me," Ranma began. "Akane and I would like to keep
our marriage a secret for now.... We want there to be a ceremony that you
and Pops and Akane's family could all see and enjoy, but we're afraid that
if Pops and Mr. Tendou find out we're planning this ceremony they'll ruin
it."

Nodoka seemed confused. "How will keeping your marriage a secret prevent
people from interfering with this ceremony?"

"Simple," Ranma said. "If we keep telling everyone we aren't getting
married, then they'll continue to try and convince us. Everyone will be
too busy trying to get us married to worry about planning the wedding. We
wouldn't have time to plan our own wedding ourselves, but we were hoping
you could do that secretly while we deal with everyone else."

"But if they know we're ALREADY married," Akane added, "then we won't be
able to use that, er, diversion."

Nodoka nodded happily. "Of course I'll help you plan your wedding! But I
can already see one flaw. You and my son are already sleeping together- I
can't see how you can convince any of the people who already know this that
you don't want to be married."

Ranma looked over at Akane. "Well, we were talking about that. We came up
with something to say that just might work...."

* * * * *

Cologne continued to pace. Ukyou had not arrived back yet. That, however,
was not what was worrying her. What WAS worrying her was that she had lost
all sense of the Oni being anywhere in the area- stretching her senses to
the limit should have found it anywhere in Tokyo, but she didn't catch a
whiff of it... and if it wasn't in Tokyo, then it was out of her reach.
That was unacceptable- there had to be some way of bringing it back, so
that she could destroy it once and for all.


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From: "David A. Tatum" <desaix@sysnet.net>
Subject: [Ranma][FanFic] Three Souls, One Heart Chapter 14

Hmm... just realized I've been neglecting my RAAC posting for a while. I'm
trying to look back and realize where I left off last time... I think the
last part of 3S1H I posted was 13, so here's chapter 14... Sorry if it's a
duplicate.
Chapter 14

Nodoka awoke to yet another of Akane's pleasure-filled screams. Ranma was
indeed a very manly man, but perhaps she should discuss with the loving
couple techniques which would allow them to be a little quieter when he
demonstrated this manliness. Preferably before everyone else came home the
next day.

Sighing, she got out of bed. This was the fourth time that night that they
had woken her with their passion. Trying to go back to sleep seemed to be
pointless, so she might as well get up and do something. She checked the
clock by her bed- four thirty in the morning. It was only a couple of
hours before she'd need to start breakfast, anyway. Assuming, of course,
Ranma and Akane were actually planning to get up for school. Considering
what they were doing, they might just decide to skip classes for another
day to recover, which would mean they'd be getting up later than usual.
Well, SHE was going to have breakfast at the time that she was used to
having it, regardless of their decision... and if they weren't awake to
join her, that was their loss. They'd woken her up several hours earlier
than she was planning to get up- she was entitled to be a little cranky.

Grabbing a bath robe, Nodoka made her way down to the changing room. One
advantage to getting up this early was that she'd have a chance to use the
furo before her son and daughter-in-law did- which was probably an
especially good thing today. She made a mental note to clean the furo
after Ranma and Akane used it- they were probably going to make it a bit
messy.

Making absolutely certain to first put the occupied sign out in a place
where the loving couple wouldn't miss it even if they were blind (with
lust), she showered herself clean and slipped into the tub. Relaxing into
the sensual heat of the tub, she sighed, and reflected on the past week.

A week ago, she'd feared that her husband, son, and their friends were all
dead, or at least lost at sea. On that joyous day when they all returned,
Nodoka had been very happy. Her son was back, she and her husband seemed
well on their way to reconciliation, and Ranma and Akane seemed to have
gotten a little closer. All seemed right with the world.

But her son and his fiancee went out that night, and didn't come back until
she was asleep. And the next morning, they left for the whole day, as
well. All Genma did during that time was sleep, eat, drink, and play shogi
with Soun. Kasumi did the things that Nodoka herself was used to doing-
cooking, cleaning, and that sort of thing. Nabiki... well, Nabiki was as
unapproachable as ever.

It felt like people were ignoring her. People she cared about. After that
initial hug upon coming home, Genma had done nothing to try and reconcile.
Ranma, after being so relieved to finally be able to face her as a man so
many months ago, seemed to pay attention to no-one but Akane unless he
didn't have a choice. Kasumi took away from her the chores she had to do
of cooking and cleaning- something Nodoka never thought she would miss,
before. And any other friends she had... well, after her house was
wrecked, they tended to avoid her, as if they were scared of being caught
up into the same destructive forces that hit her.

She was lonely.

She had thought that, being left alone to take care of her son and his
fiance, she'd be able to relate to them a bit more- at least as much as
they did to Kasumi. However, they were too concerned with their own
problems to notice that it was her, and not Kasumi, who was doing the
cooking and cleaning. She couldn't be certain, but she could have sworn
that she heard Akane say "Thank you, Kasumi," when she gave her their bento
box lunches for lunch a few days before.

But things had started looking up again. First, the Oni had possessed her.
That was... well, scary, at first. After all, being possessed by a
demonic being was NOT her idea of a good way to spend your time. But once
she got to talking to the Oni, she started to realize it wasn't really so
bad, after all.

To start with, the Oni wasn't really so bad, after all. Oh, sure, it was a
member of a race of beings that were evil incarnate, was obsessed with
world domination, and didn't really care who it hurt... but it wasn't that
bad.

Now that she had some time to think about it, she knew that the Oni told
her about Genma's evils to try and get her mad at her husband, but that
didn't mean that what the Oni told her wasn't helpful. Without its
influence, she no longer wanted him dead... in fact, she realized, deep
down, she still loved her husband. Why, even she didn't know, but she did.
He did need to be punished for what he had done to her son, though. There
was no excuse for abandoning Ranma to the Yakuza, or performing on their
son the horrific tortures of the neko-ken training, or any number of other
things. Killing him, however, wasn't the right thing to do. Neither was
divorcing him. No, she'd be in a much better position to punish him as his
wife. And once she had judged him sufficiently punished... well, then
maybe they could go back to trying to reconcile.

Regardless of all that, the Oni paid attention to her- something no-one had
done in a long time. And the evil in it, she could tell, was less than the
evil of several people she knew. Her husband for one (she knew he wasn't
exactly a nice guy when she married him), and her husband's master,
Happosai. She was able to get along with them- why shouldn't she be able
to get along with the Oni, just because it was supposed to be 'evil?'

Then the Oni had returned to Akane for its curse to be lifted. Once the
Oni left Akane, it approached her AGAIN, and joined with her so she could
continue to talk with it. In fact, it almost seemed like the Oni was
lonely, itself. It kept saying how 'unusual' the experience it had in
Akane was. She could have sworn that the Oni was trying to say it liked
the couple who had just helped lift its curse, but wasn't entirely sure how
to do so. Nodoka gave it a host with which it could remain close to them
on the pretext of 'getting revenge' on Genma.

But then her son and Akane eloped, and took that pretext away from the Oni.
With no reason to stay with Nodoka that the Oni could accept, her
companion had decided to leave. And so Nodoka feared that she'd be lonely
again.

But when her children came home, and they didn't just ignore her. They
NEEDED her for something! They wanted her to plan their wedding ceremony
for them, which undoubtedly would require that they talk with her more
often. And- this was the big one- they wanted her to help them keep their
marriage a secret until the wedding.

The remarkable thing was that despite the fact that she knew she wouldn't
be lonely any more, she wanted the Oni back. She didn't want it to feel
the same loneliness that she had to endure for so long, and if the Oni
returned to her then maybe it could help out, and lose that loneliness.
How could she feel something like that for a demon, though? Even if it
wasn't as evil a being as it was advertised to be...

Nodoka's thoughts were disturbed when, despite the sign on the door, she
heard someone entering the bathing area. Peeking over the edge of the tub,
she saw a very shy Akane walking in.

"I hope you don't mind if I join you," Akane said quietly as she grabbed a
sponge and walked over to the shower. "There were some things I wanted to
talk to you about. About certain aspects of married life."

Nodoka almost couldn't speak she was so full of emotion. It seemed odd,
but again- someone was trying to talk with her. They were bringing her
their problems, and asking her to act like... like... a parent? A friend?
A member of the family? Whatever it was, they weren't ignoring her any
more. "Of course you may, Akane," she said, keeping her voice as quiet as
Akane's. After all, it WAS rather early in the morning. "Where's Ranma?"

"Asleep," Akane said, smiling wistfully. "With the help of certain...
techniques... Iria suggested, I was able to wear him out before he wore me
out."

'Hmm, maybe I WON'T need to clean the furo today,' Ranma's mother thought.

Neither of them spoke as Akane cleaned and rinsed herself off. When she
finished, she slipped into the furo on the other side from Nodoka.

"Funny," Akane said, closing her eyes and relaxing in the warm water.
"This is the first time in almost a week I've taken a bath without Ranma."

Nodoka smiled, watching her daughter-in-law. "You really DO love my son,
don't you?"

Akane nodded. "Of course. I wouldn't have married him if I didn't. Nor
would I have even thought of sleeping with him."

Nodoka sighed in relief. "I was worried about that."

Akane opened her eyes. "You were? Why?"

"Well, I found out about a few things that my husband did to my son- like
the neko-ken training that Ranma was put through. So when I asked you if
you knew about the neko-ken, and you seemed so unconcerned about it, I
feared that you didn't care about his well-being." Nodoka paused. "Not to
mention how you used to get mad at him so often."

Akane smiled nervously. "I don't get mad at him like that any more. I
used to jump to conclusions about him, and I still do sometimes- but it
helps knowing how he really feels about me." She sighed. "His curse
didn't make things any easier, either- before he arrived, I'd never found a
guy I wanted to go out with. Every boy at school wanted to date me so
badly they were trying to force themselves on me- by beating me in combat-
and I certainly didn't want that. However, my... reluctance... gained me
the reputation of being someone interested in girls. Ranma turned into a
girl- if I actually LIKED him, it might make some people think I was trying
to find a girl to marry instead of a guy."

Nodoka nodded. "My son's curse has caused a lot of problems, hasn't it?"

Akane laughed. "To put it mildly, yes. My concerns about being thought of
as a... a lesbian, his father forcing him from you, some of our troubles
with Shampoo, and a lot of other things. His curse has been quite a
problem-causer."

Seeing that Nodoka wasn't going to pursue that line of questioning, Akane
closed her eyes again and settled down deeper into the tub. For her, this
was the first break she'd had from Ranma since the Oni first possessed her.
Not that she really needed one- she still wanted to be with him, even
then- but it was nice to talk with someone other than Iria or Ranma every
once in a while.

But Nodoka wasn't done, she had just been trying to think of a delicate way
to phrase her next question. "By the way, why WERE you so unconcerned
about the neko-ken training?"

Akane thought about it for a moment and opened her eyes again. "I'm not
sure, really. If it had been something which happened to any other person,
I think I would have been horrified. I guess part of it was that... so
many things have happened to Ranma in his past that just one more thing-
like the Neko-ken, like being stuck as a girl by Cologne at one point,
like... like the possibility of him being forced to commit seppuku by his
mom, like anything which affected Ranma- didn't seem to be so surprising
any more. Looking back on it, I'm still not able to feel much anger
towards Genma about the Neko-ken training... I don't know what it was like
for him; for all I know, he doesn't even remember it. I think I'm more
annoyed that the Nekoken made it impossible for him to remember our first
kiss." She shrugged. "Ranma doesn't open up much about his past, so I
don't think much about it. Maybe I should, but who would I ask to find out
about it? He doesn't seem to remember most of it, his father doesn't say
anything unless he has to, and no-one else has been there for most of it.
It's the things that hurt Ranma NOW that worry me- I can't do much about
the past."

Nodoka relaxed, feeling a burden go off her shoulders. Akane hadn't been
ignoring Ranma's pain- she was just more concerned with the present than
the past. Considering that Ranma seemed to be happy at the moment, perhaps
that was all that was needed.

"I understand," Nodoka said.

Akane nodded. "Good," she said, closing her eyes once again. "Now, about
the reason I'm here..."

"You said you wanted to talk about 'certain aspects of married life,' as I
recall." Nodoka paused. "Are you sure I'm the best person to turn to? I
mean, my husband and I aren't, exactly, on the best of terms."

"That's perfect," Akane noted, smiling slightly. "Ranma and I get into so
many fights we'll NEVER be on the 'best of terms.' We probably won't get
into QUITE so many fights any more, but we'll not be the most peaceful
couple ever, either. I've accepted this, and so has Ranma. Who better to
talk to about marriage, then, than a married couple more experienced in
being married without always getting along?"

Nodoka wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. "Well... perhaps. So
what do you want to talk about?"

Akane sighed. "Cooking. Ranma hates my cooking, and won't even try it
without a lot of complaint."

"You have to admit, Akane," Nodoka said, "That you are far from the best
cook Ranma knows. I've been working with you, and it's taken me several
months just to get you to make a nice curried rice on a consistent basis.
Most people can learn to do that in only a few days. That, and Ranma's
been spoiled between my, Kasumi's, and your former rivals' cooking."

Akane growled slightly, but the relaxing warmth of the bath water kept her
temper from rising. "Isn't a wife supposed to cook for her husband,
though? I mean, Kasumi keeps calling it 'bridal training.' I thought you
were supposed to cook to be a good bride."

Nodoka laughed. "Kasumi is a little old-fashioned, dear. My cousin's wife
has never cooked a day in her life- he has to do all the cooking in the
family. My own mother shared the cooking duties with my father. Do what
you're good at, not what you think you're supposed to be good at, or else
you'll end up annoying your husband and making yourself unhappy."

Akane hesitated. "What AM I good at, though? My one real skill before
Ranma showed up was martial arts, but I'm nothing compared to him in that
regard... and he doesn't seem to respect my skills very much, either."

"Ranma doesn't want you getting hurt, dear, and martial arts is quite risky
in that regard. But perhaps you could apply the skills you know from
martial arts to helping your husband out. Certainly you know how to treat
minor injuries such as splinters, cuts, scrapes, bruises, and the like from
the times you've accidentally injured yourself. You can probably help
nurse him when he gets injured... he'll probably appreciate that."

"But that's just one thing... and I still want to BE a martial artist like
him, but it just seems so hopeless...."

Nodoka sighed. "Have you ever told Ranma any of this? Asked him what he
wants you to be as his wife, or told him what you want from him as a
husband? You have skills, Akane, that I am sure he will appreciate. I am
just as certain that he has skills which will compliment yours greatly.
You might even be able to convince him to help you get better in those
things which you feel you are lacking in skill- such as your martial arts.
If he agrees to help you, you may become the great martial artist you wish
to be as opposed to the slightly-less-great martial artist you are now. If
he doesn't... well, then send him to me. He'll listen to his mother... or
else."

Akane chuckled. "I suspect just the threat will cause him to surrender,"
she said.

Together, the two women rested in the furo. All that they had needed to
talk about had been discussed, and so they could just enjoy the peace and
quiet for a time.

Several minutes later, there was a tentative knock on the door. "Akane,
are you in there?" Ranma's voice asked from the other side.

"Yes I am, but don't come in. Your mother's here with me."

"Okay," Ranma answered. "I'll just head back to bed. Wake me when you get
out of there."

"I will," Akane replied.

"No, wait!" Nodoka called. "I need to get out and fix your breakfast soon,
anyway. Just wait a moment, and you can join Akane if you like." Akane
smiled up at Nodoka gratefully.

"Sure thing," Ranma called back. "I'll be waiting outside the changing
room."

Nodoka got up, toweled off, and dressed. Nodding to Ranma as she passed by
him, she went to the kitchen and started fixing the miso soup and rice for
breakfast.

A few minutes later, Akane's loud, pleasure-filled shrieks rang through the
house.

"Looks like I'll have to clean the furo, after all," Nodoka sighed.

* * * * *

The Oni sighed as it approached the Gates of Hell. It still had to give
Happosai its just vengeance, but right now it needed a short vacation. All
these confusing feelings it was having, together with the stress of having
to arrange for its curse to be lifted, was a huge strain. What it needed
right now was a nice, comforting bath in the lava pits to restore its
strength. Then it could go hunting for Happosai.

As it walked through the gates, a voice called to it from the guard post.

"Eubuleus? Is that you?"

The Oni, called by its true name, turned in surprise. "Charon, is that
you?"

"Who else would be here on a day like this?" the other demon, a much more
powerful one, asked. "I heard you were trapped in a box."

Eubuleus grinned ruefully. "I was. What was worse, after being released
from the box, I was cursed by an even more powerful evil."

Charon chuckled. "Is that so? Who was it- Hades, Lucifer, Loki?"

Eubuleus shook its head. "No. Happosai."

Charon scratched his chin in puzzlement. "Happosai? Never heard of a
demon named Happosai. Is he one of the Japanese Shinto pantheon? I've
never been too good at remembering them..."

"Er, no," Eubuleus said.

"Who is he, then?"

"He's a... a... he's a human."

Charon was silent for a moment, before he burst out laughing. "A HUMAN put
a curse on you? Bwahahahahaha! That's one of the funniest things I've
heard of in years!"

Eubuleus growled, and shot a powerful energy bolt at Charon. "Shut UP!"

Charon deflected the bolt casually. "Man, you're pathetic. I didn't even
feel that. So, you still have this curse?"

Eubuleus shook his head. "No... I managed to arrange a deal that allowed
me to lift the curse, thanks to a fallen succubus."

Charon froze. "Did you say a... fallen succubus?"

Eubuleus nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"What... what was the succubus' name?"

"Um... Iria, I think."

Charon darkened. "Iria? Does she know who you are?"

Eubuleus blinked. "Um, no- she just knows me as the 'Oni.' Why?"

Charon nodded. "Do not make contact with her again. That is an order from
the Lord of Terror herself."

Eubuleus frowned. "I wasn't planning to. Why is this order made?"

"You are not permitted to know. Just obey."

Eubuleus narrowed his eyes. "And what punishment is there if I DO make
contact?"

"Your complete and total destruction."


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From: "David A. Tatum" <desaix@sysnet.net>
Subject: [Ranma][FanFic] Three Souls, One Heart Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Akane sat at the breakfast table, waiting for her husband and mother-in-law
to arrive. Ranma was still getting dressed, and Nodoka hadn't quite
finished fixing all of the food. She was bored, and decided to spend a few
minutes in idle conversation with Iria.

'Hello, Iria.'

Iria laughed. 'I wondered when you would start paying attention to me
again. It seems that now Ranma's showing his love for you, I'm not needed
any more.'

Akane was abashed. 'I'm sorry, Iria- I don't mean to be ignoring you.
It's just that... well... it's all so new, and-'

'I understand- it's that honeymoon period still- I went through one myself,
a long time ago. I wasn't expecting you to pay any attention to me at all-
in fact, I'm surprised you're talking to me right now.'

Akane flushed faintly and tried to turn the subject off of her. 'That's
right- you were put into that cursed doll because you fell in love with
someone. What was he like?'

Iria hesitated. 'I'm not entirely sure I want to talk about it...
especially not right now. Ranma will be here soon, and Nodoka could be out
any second. Ask me again when you have more time to listen... it's a long
story, and, well, I don't like talking about it. Please... ask me later.'

Akane heard the discomfort in Iria's voice, and acquiesced. 'Okay, Iria.
I'll wait until you're ready to tell it... but I think you probably should
tell me about it at some point- it certainly helped me to have someone to
talk to during these last few months. I'd like to return the favor.'

'I will, Akane... but not right now.'

"Akane?" Ranma asked. Akane had not even realized he'd come in.

"Ranma! Um, hi..."

"Talking with Iria again?"

Akane nodded, almost guiltily. "Yeah."

Ranma quirked an eyebrow at her. "She's been giving you some interesting
ideas. Care to tell me what you were talking about, or am I gonna find out
later?"

Akane flushed. "We weren't talking about THAT, pervert!" she exclaimed.
"Believe it or not, we DO talk about other things- some of them not
involving you at all. And some of them are between us only."

Nodoka walked in at the end of Akane's tirade, and looked at her son.
Ranma looked suitably chastised, and so she didn't worry about
interrupting. "Breakfast is ready, you two."

Ranma smiled at his mother. "Thanks, mom! Come on, Akane, let's eat...
school's in a couple hours, after all. Don't wanna go there hungry."

* * * * *

Ukyou stormed in through the doors of the Nekohanten. She was, by no
means, a happy okonomiyaki chef. In fact, she was downright angry. After
Ryouga had refused to help her despite her pleas, she had spent the entire
night out searching for the Oni on her own. Well, searching wouldn't
really be the right word- it would imply that she actually was looking for
the Oni in places where she might expect to find it. It might be better
described as wandering aimlessly as she worked out some things.

She still hadn't worked any of those things out, she hadn't found any sign
of the Oni, and she'd lost a night of sleep for her troubles.

Cologne watched her as she came in. "Ah, good," the elderly Amazon said.
"I was wondering where you were. Was Ryouga unavailable?"

Ukyou grumbled something unintelligible.

Cologne smirked. "I'll take that as a yes. You don't look so good, girl-
are you feeling well?"

"Didn't get any sleep last night."

"Ah... well, you can get some sleep now. Shampoo, take Ukyou to the guest
room and let her sleep there for a couple of hours. I'm heading over to
the Tendou dojo to ask some more questions."

Ukyou's eyes flashed. "I don't need sleep. I'd rather go with you to the
Tendou's- I'd like to talk to Ranma for a bit."

Cologne sighed. "You get a couple of hours sleep. I'll call to make sure
you're up in time for school, and I'll make certain that Ranma and Akane
BOTH go as well, today. You can have whatever discussion you want with
them later, but right now you need your rest." She nodded slightly, and
Shampoo snuck up behind Ukyou and pressed a small point on the back of her
neck. The okonomiyaki chef collapsed. "Sweet dreams," Cologne chuckled as
Shampoo carried her off.

Mousse frowned. "We aren't looking for the Oni?"

"No, it isn't in the area right now, I don't think. There are a few other
things we can look for, but not until I've had a chance to look into a few
things. In the meantime, we should go about as if nothing unusual had just
happened- when Shampoo gets back, start readying this place for business.
And make sure Ukyou is awake by seven, all right?"

Mousse nodded. "Yes, honored elder."

Cologne made her way to the door, smiling slightly. Apparently, that
little bit of advice she'd given him had really affected him- he was even
addressing her as 'honored elder' instead of as 'dried up monkey.' Quite
an improvement. Maybe she'd actually toss another word or two of advice
his way- he wouldn't necessarily be a bad husband for Shampoo, after all.
If he could control himself until the girl was over Ranma, that is.

* * * * *

"...transfer over to my younger cousin, Komatsu's, school. I mean, I've
heard that that one of his classmates is just as much of a ladies' man as
Ranma is, but that this guy has these really cute sisters. He's also got
information on every girl in his school... most of whom are probably as
cute as Yuka and Sayuri are. It would be a shame to have to start over
with some new girls, though. Are you sure you want to get out of Furinkan,
Daisuke? Um... Daisuke? Dai-su-ke! Hey, Daisuke, are you listening to a
word I'm saying?" Hiroshi asked his friend.

"Um, you wouldn't happen to know why there might be a two story tall pig
with a cute looking girl riding it this way, would you?" the other teenager
asked.

Hiroshi blinked, and looked over his shoulder. Slowly, he nodded and
turned his head back to Daisuke. "I believe that's Ryouga's girlfriend-
she's supposed to be into pigs, from what I've heard. So, anyway, as I was
saying, how quickly do you think we can leave Furinkan anyway?"

* * * * *

Cologne arrived at the Tendou dojo while breakfast was underway.
Cautiously, she approached the three unaware residents.

"Well, boy, seems like you made a choice," Cologne crooned. Ranma, Akane,
and Nodoka all turned their heads in surprise at hearing her. "I think we
need to talk about a few things, though."

Ranma eyed the elder warily. There weren't many people who he didn't feel
comfortable using his trademark bravado with, but Cologne was one of those
few. Cologne was sly, powerful, intelligent, focused, and maybe even a
better fighter than he was- maybe. If she was mad about his choice of
Akane, he would have a difficult time dealing with her.

"Yes, Mother told me you talked to her yesterday. Are you here for some
sort of revenge?" he asked, getting ready to grab Akane and get her the
hell out of there if Cologne tried anything.

Cologne laughed humorlessly. "Boy, if I wanted to hurt you or your girl,
you'd both be in the hospital by now. Or worse. No, I'm here to talk
about other matters- matters which aren't nearly so trivial." She paused.
"However, while we are on such an unimportant topic, I'll give you a fair
warning- Shampoo realizes that Akane will be your first wife. She,
however, is still planning to pursue you- perhaps to become your SECOND
wife in the Amazon tradition... which is vaguely similar to a formally
recognized position of concubine here in Japan. However, she will not be
targeting you, Ranma- she'll be targeting Akane. Akane must give her
consent for Shampoo to court you as her second wife."

Ranma's eyes widened, while Akane clenched her face up in growing anger.
Nodoka, on the other hand, took it in stride- she would certainly not force
anything on her son that he didn't want, but he most likely was manly
enough to satisfy more than one woman, if he so desired. Akane's own
screams testified to that.

"You'd better not even be THINKING about considering any such offer,
Ranma," the girl growled through clenched teeth.

Ranma could have chosen tact (he was getting better at it, recently-
perhaps it had something to do with him getting older, or perhaps it had
something to do with having been beaten over the head so often that he was
starting to learn when not to say certain things, or perhaps there was
another reason altogether- he wasn't sure), but decided against it. Things
were too tense- he needed a release. Even if it resulted in serious pain.

"Why would I have to think about it? You're the one she'll probably start
glompin', now."

That thought made Akane feel ill. She made a half-hearted attempt to smack
Ranma, and he let her connect. It wasn't very hard, though, and he glanced
at her with concern. Obviously, his wife feared that what he suggested
would really happen. Oh, well... he tried. Maybe he should find a way to
teach her how to take a joke.

Cologne chuckled, mentally applauding Ranma for his small wisecrack. She
knew he was still on his highest guard, but he was still able to appear
relaxed. Her bit of news apparently put him a bit more at ease, too,
because he lowered that guard a notch a moment later.

"All right, so you haven't come here to talk about me and Akane," Ranma
noted. "So what ARE you here for?"

"That foolish deal you made with the Oni," Cologne stated. "I need to know
the details, and I mean all of them. You should never have made that deal,
but since you did I need to know everything I could possibly use to destroy
the creature."

Nodoka's eyes flashed. "What, precisely, do you have against the Oni? I
found it to be an honorable and highly intelligent conversationalist."

Cologne paused, examining the Saotome matriarch closely. "Indeed. Did it
happen to suggest any activities it wanted you to participate in?"

"It encouraged me to murder my husband- something which he might even
deserve, as it turns out, but of course I will not do such a thing. I did
not say that it was innocent, I merely asked what you felt was so horrible
about it that it deserved to be destroyed."

Cologne coldly stared Nodoka straight in the eye. "It was born. That is
reason enough to destroy one of its kind."

Akane was shocked. "Just because it's an oni? But... isn't there a way to
change Oni? I've heard of other types of demons being tamed or
reformed...."

Cologne nodded. "Yes, any kind of demon can be reformed. However, the Oni
have done something unforgivable to the Amazons, something which can only
be rectified through their complete destruction."

"What was their crime?" Nodoka asked. "I do not believe we should help you
until we are convinced that your cause is just."

Cologne looked at each of the three present and sighed. She could tell
that they would not stop pressing for an answer until she gave them
something specific. "I can only say if all of you swear on your word of
honor to not reveal this to any entity outside of those of us gathered
here."

The three looked at each other and nodded at each other. Nodoka turned to
Cologne and raised her right hand. "On behalf of those of us here present,
I so swear it."

"Very well," Cologne said, nodding. "If it gets me the answers I need, I
will tell you." Taking a deep breath, she said, "It starts with something
that may surprise you- Mousse is almost certainly the most powerful male
Amazon-by-birth in the past four thousand years. There is a curse upon the
Amazons, levied by the Oni four thousand years ago, that makes all Amazon
women bear cripples. It was the origin of many of our marriage laws, as we
were driven by necessity to both find a way to defend ourselves and to
bring new males into the fold. We don't just take those who defeat our
women in battle- Shampoo's father, for example, was a fighter from Tibet
who we saved during the initial Chinese occupation- but all of our fighting
men are Outsiders. All except for Mousse, who learned to fight despite his
blindness in order to win the love of his Shampoo." Cologne smirked. "I
used to think he was rather foolish to try and defy the curse, but his
recent actions have given me cause to reconsider my initial feelings."

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, Mousse is a helluva fighter- not in my league, but a
helluva fighter... well, when he's attacking the right target, that is."

Nodoka frowned. "And what, pray tell, did the Amazons do to receive this
special curse from the Oni? Surely even demons do not make so direct an
assault without at least claiming some sort of provocation on your part."

"That is true," Cologne admitted. "We did offend the Oni, but we were
merely protecting a visitor to our village. A rebel demoness, as a matter
of fact, though this was a western demoness that was hoping to find refuge
with us as she was protecting her human lover."

Something clicked in Akane's head. "Um... did this demoness have a name?"

Cologne looked at her oddly. "Yes, she did. I believe, if I recall the
legend correctly, that the demoness called herself Iria."

Akane nodded. There was a buzzing in her head, letting her know that Iria
was trying to say something, but she didn't want to give away the
ex-succubus' position until she knew how Cologne would react to knowing
that Iria was right there. "What happened?" she asked, clapping a hand
over Ranma's mouth to keep him from saying anything stupid.

"Iria stayed with us for a few months, and taught us many things. We had
some defenses against attacking demons set up, though nothing that would
keep them out permanently- we were not equipped at the time for that, as
Iria's very entry into the village showed. She helped us to strengthen
them, and began to give us the rudiments of things like chi manipulation-
though nothing as powerful as the techniques which I, or even you, Ranma,
have mastered now. The development of those techniques took several
millennia.

"Ultimately," she continued, "We believe that Iria was intending to use us
as a fortified refuge against her pursuers, but they arrived much too
quickly for her preparations to be completed. The Western demons struck,
and with our new skills and wards, combined with her powers, we were able
to drive them off... but at a terrible cost to herself. She wasn't strong
enough to go on. Her lover took her and departed our village, hoping to
spare us from a second attack." Cologne paused. "Unfortunately, the
Western demons returned- this time with a huge number of Eastern demons in
reserve. Finding Iria gone, they proceeded to strike out against us in
revenge.... We were defeated soundly, but the demons were too rushed to
utterly destroy us as they wanted. Instead, they just cursed us. We have
done as much research as we possibly can, and the only way we have found to
lift the curse is to destroy the demons powering it... which were the Oni,
as most of the Western demons had been eliminated in the first assault, and
the other Eastern demons lacked the power to place such a curse on us."

Akane paused, still holding her hand over Ranma's mouth. "Cologne... can
Ranma and I discuss a few things in private before we decide if we want to
tell you what happened or not?"

Again, the Amazon matriarch looked at Akane oddly. "You may, but don't
take too long."

Akane nodded, grabbing Ranma by the pigtail and dragging him upstairs to
her room in a run as Cologne watched her go. She turned to Nodoka with an
expressionless face.

"Let me guess... Akane and your son have run into Iria before?"

* * * * *

It wasn't until they reached Akane's room that the hands came off of
Ranma's mouth and pigtail. He looked at her darkly, rather annoyed at the
rough treatment.

"What's goin' on?" he grumbled. "Ya damn near suffocated me, there!"

"Sorry," Akane apologized breathlessly. "I couldn't let you tell Cologne
about Iria until I had a chance to talk to her myself."

Ranma sighed. "Gimme a little credit, Akane- I know better than that."

"Sorry," Akane said again. "I just had to be sure."

"Right... so, anyway, whadya wanna talk about?"

Akane flushed guiltily. "Well, I just wanted time to talk to Iria in
private, and I also wanted to keep you from saying anything stupid-"

"Hey!"

"-so I just used you as an excuse to get out of there."

Ranma looked at Akane sternly for a moment, but then gave up and sighed.
"Yeah, okay. So get to chattin' with Iria, already. We haven't got too
long before we have to leave for school."

Akane cocked an eyebrow. "Ranma? You sure YOU aren't the one possessed?
It sounds like you're worried about your education!"

"Bah- I ain't worried about MY education, I'm worried about YOUR education,
tomboy! There ain't no way my wife ain't gonna live up to her potential.
Now, get to spirit talking so we can get outta here."

Akane smiled slightly at his concern before closing her eyes and looking
inward for Iria.

'Good- you're finally listening,' the ex-succubus said. 'You needn't have
worried- once I realized that Joketsuzoku was THAT village, I knew that
Cologne would bear me no ill will. It was under a different name when I
passed through it, but no member of the tribe of people who lived there
will harm me. They all made an oath to protect me and to instruct their
descendants to protect me, so Cologne cannot harm me. You will be safe
telling her about me.'

'That's good, but how much of what she said is true? Could it be that she
might blame your leaving the village for the curse placed on it?'

'I doubt it. At any rate, she wouldn't risk harming me, regardless- many
of the defenses I set up are STILL protecting her village to this day, I
believe. It is why they and the few other states in that region have been
able to maintain their autonomy for so long, even with the several thousand
years of Empire followed by the several decades of Communist Dictatorship.
Destroying me would destroy those wards, and mean the doom of her people.'

Akane relaxed. 'Good. Then I can tell her about everything without
worry.'

'Yes, but...' Iria hesitated. 'Try not to give away anything that would
lead to the Oni's immediate destruction. I think your mother-in-law was
right- it IS an honorable Oni. It treated you and your family a LOT nicer
than any normal demon would. I think maybe it's long captivity may have
dulled the inherent evil in it, or something... but considering what it
could have done- and SHOULD have done, being an Oni- I think it deserves
some mercy for how it treated you.'

'Really?' Akane sounded dubious. 'I mean, it never told us that Ranma and
I had to both be females, and it placed those weird marks on our bodies,
and-'

'Yeah, I know. But those are little things- a really nasty demon would
have found a way of cheating the two of you and remaining inside your
body... and possibly would have attacked me, since I'm now not just a
fallen succubus, but a REBEL fallen succubus now that I've left the cursed
doll. And a weak one, at that. It should have just torn me apart when you
weren't looking for the sheer spite of it, but it didn't.'

'And you never warned me about this before BECAUSE?'

'Um... well, I figured he wouldn't strike until he didn't need you any
more, and you wouldn't have been able to help even if I had. I figured you
didn't need to worry about it while you were worrying about your, ahem,
'first time' with Ranma.'

'That shouldn't have mattered! You're a friend of mine- I don't want you
to keep things like that a secret from me! If I can ever help you in any
way, LET ME KNOW.' Akane paused. 'We'll talk more about this later. I
need to go down and deal with Cologne right now.'

'Okay, Akane... we'll talk later, okay?'

'Right- we'll talk later,' Akane replied hurriedly. She didn't want to be
walked in on by Cologne in the middle of this talk. 'Bye.'

Blinking, Akane turned back towards Ranma. "Okay... Iria trusts Cologne
with her secret. Let's go downstairs and tell her... but we need to be
careful. Iria doesn't want us leading Cologne to destroy the Oni...
something about how your mother was right about it being honorable."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Well... I don't really think there's anything we
could say that would help Cologne, anyway, so I guess there's no problem
with that. Now, let's get this over with so we can get ya to school on
time today, okay?"

Akane nodded. Leaning over, she gave him a kiss on the lips- a sweet one.

"What was that for?" Ranma said. They were more intimate, but that really
didn't seem like the sort of time for a kiss to him.

"For worrying about me and my education. I'd do more to thank you, but I
don't want to make you worry more...."

* * * * *

Genma glanced around the room he'd been staying in, making sure he hadn't
forgotten to pack up anything. They were finally going home the next
morning, and he was anxious to get going. Finally, Ranma and Akane
wouldn't be able to claim that they didn't want to marry each other-
finally, the lines would be joined. Finally, he could retire.

Soun walked in, looking very nervous. Genma blinked- it wasn't often that
Soun just barged in. In fact, once Genma thought about it, he realized
Soun rarely did anything but sit in the living room and cry about things...
unless he was dragged out by friends or forced out by circumstances (such
as his youngest daughter and her fiancee kicking them out). His rushing in
seemed rather... strange.

"Saotome, my friend," Soun said in a mildly panicked voice. "Have you seen
Kasumi? She isn't in her room, she isn't in the kitchen, and she isn't in
the living room. Where is my little girl?"

Genma frowned. Soun was always overprotective of his daughters. How were
they going to get strong if their father kept coddling them? Soun should
do something to build them up a bit, like strapping weights to their legs
and making them run marathons, or something that would help them build up
their strength. Anything but panicking about them twenty-four hours a day.
Still, Kasumi WAS the only cook of the family- perhaps she did deserve a
little extra looking after.

"Sorry, Tendou- haven't seen her since last night. Why?"

"I thought she was cooking breakfast when I woke up this morning, but she
hasn't been here all day. She didn't tell me she was going out.... Oh,
no- my darling girl's been KIDNAPPED!"

Genma blinked. It was a bit of a stretch to come to that conclusion, but
considering recent history (like Toma's Island) it wasn't THAT much of a
stretch. "There, there, Tendou... we'll find her. Maybe she just found
that she needed to get something from the market before fixing our
breakfast, and that something kept her longer than she was expecting."

Soun sniffed. "Are you sure?"

Genma shrugged. "It isn't very likely- I mean, we certainly didn't hear
anything. What kind of kidnapping is so quiet that two master martial
artists like ourselves don't hear anything?"

Soun perked up at that. "That's true... but then, where is she?"

Genma looked around. "Um...."

* * * * *

Kasumi stared hard at the piece of paper in her hand. She knew that the
place they were staying at seemed familiar, but now she knew why. Now if
she could just find the address that she had gotten out of the phone book,
maybe she'd have a chance to fix things and have one last chance....

------------------------------------------------------- --------------------
desaix@sysnet.net
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
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From: "David A. Tatum" <desaix@sysnet.net>
Subject: [Ranma][FanFic] Three Souls, One Heart Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Cologne stormed into the Nekohantan, a rather uncertain look on her face.
Shampoo and Mousse were waiting for her, finishing up the morning
preparations for the day of business.

"Great-grandmother!" Shampoo exclaimed. "You back fast! Learn anything?"

"Yes and no," Cologne answered, frowning. "They told me a lot of things,
but none of it is likely to be useful in helping us with the Oni problem."

"What they say?"

"Mostly what we already knew- that the Oni possessed Akane, and agreed to
release her only if Ranma would have sex with her while she was still
possessed." Shampoo flinched, much as Cologne expected, but being blunt
was best in her case. "There was a curse placed on Happosai, the nature of
which none of them knew, but it was present." Then Cologne paused. "Oh,
yes... and Iria currently resides inside of Akane's body."

"Iria?!" Shampoo exclaimed. To Amazons, Iria was a divine protector. The
myths involving her were not exactly favorable- after all, she was
partially responsible for the curse on all the menfolk- but she was all the
Amazons had when it came to a defense against demons and other supernatural
beings. The Pheonix Mountain tribe and the Musk dynasty both were unable
to pass through the defenses established by the ex-demoness. That she
really existed, and that she was INSIDE of one of her greatest rivals, was
an extreme shock.

"Indeed, though she is much weaker than she was when she travelled through
our village. She is the reason Ranma could not remove her through...
ahem... more conventional means."

"Were there any useful bits of information that you could gather from the
discussion? Any leads we could follow to pursue the Oni? You said nothing
which is LIKELY to help, not that there was absolutely nothing...." Mousse
asked, changing the subject. He was not exactly one of the more
enthusiastic supporters of the Irian cult- of course, few Amazonian males
were.

"There was, perhaps, one thing which they did not say which may give us a
lead. They said nothing about the man who initially held the Oni-
Alejandro Perez. It makes me wonder what became of the man... he may have
something useful to say, if we could find him."

"So should we start looking for him now?"

"No," Cologne answered sharply. "Not now, later. Now, we awaken Ukyou,
send her off to school, and open up the restaurant for business. I cannot
keep it open on my own, and our customers will not appreciate it if we are
closed for the day. The hunt continues tonight."

* * * * *

Ranma and Akane's attempts to 'keep up appearances' regarding their
relationship consisted of teasing each other as they walked the path to
school that morning. It was a useless attempt, however, and they knew it-
the more they teased each other, the more they realized they were just
flirting with each other.

Still, as long as no-one paid too much attention to the way they were
saying the words to each other, it would seem like just a typical contest
of wills between them.

"I guess you're right- it's not like you'd have the guts to try it!" Akane
teased, sticking her tongue out at Ranma in a somewhat provocative way.

Ranma's eyebrows waggled suspiciously. "Oh, really? Wanna bet?"

"And actually ENCOURAGE you to be more of a pervert than you are? Are you
kidding?" she shot back, winking at him.

"Well, if you think that I'd be sneaking into the girls locker room just to
peak at you, you don't need to worry about that!" he growled. Glancing
around to check and make sure that no-one they knew had seen them yet, he
leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Of course it's you I'd be peaking at!"

Akane couldn't stop herself from laughing and taking a playful swing at him
with her bookbag. "Ranma Saotome, I swear, sometimes I think I c-"

Outraged female shrieks and shouts from a side street a few blocks in front
of them interrupted their interplay. Ranma and Akane exchanged serious
glances.

"Happosai?" Ranma suggested.

"Probably," Akane agreed.

"Should we get involved this time?" he asked.

Akane sighed. "If we don't, who will?"

Ranma grimaced. "Good point. I'll be the bait- you just get ready to
crush him, 'kay?"

Akane raised her nose and sniffed disdainfully. "Nonsense. You're a guy
right now, and I have no intention of letting you become a girl, today, if
I can help it." She unbuttoned the top three buttons of her schoolgirl
blouse, parting the fabric slightly to show the edge of her lacy bra.
"I'll be the bait."

Ranma's eyes bugged out slightly. "Hey! Button that back up, will ya?!
People will see!"

Akane chuckled dangerously. "Why? You don't have any feminine modesty,
why should I?"

Ranma looked into Akane's face hard, then frowned. "Iria, does Akane know
what you're planning?"

Akane, who Ranma now knew was being controlled by the one-time succubus
inside her, pouted sexily. "Aw, you figured it out. But you know I
wouldn't be able to do this if Akane didn't let me- she wants to do this
for you, she just wanted to put me in charge so she wouldn't have to
experience being groped by the old freak." Iria smirked. "In my former
career, I had to endure numerous... encounters which were significantly
worse than anything Happosai has ever given to anyone around here. I can
deal better than either Akane or you."

Ranma hesitated. "Maybe so, but it's still Akane's body, and I really
don't like the idea of that being used to attract Happosai."

Akane's eyes shifted to show her natural expression, and one hand
unconsciously rose to hold her shirt together. "Ranma... that's sweet, but
don't worry about it." She paused. "You COULD use it as a training
exercise- just like Cologne used the Pheonix pill to get you to learn the
Tenshin Amaguriken, you could use protecting me as motivation to come up
with some trick that'll really work against Happosai... WITHOUT turning
yourself into a girl first."

Ranma was still uncertain, even though he could tell it was the real Akane
trying to reassure him this time. "And... you're sure Iria can handle it?"

At that, Akane grinned. "She was a sex demon, Ranma. I'm pretty sure she
can handle it- probably even better than you could." Before he could
challenge that assertion, she continued, "And it's no shame that you aren't
the best in that field. After all, you aren't female like she is, and
she's been training for this sort of thing for thousands of years longer
than you've been alive, while you haven't really been training for it at
all."

Ranma did not look amused. "Yeah, well... I still think I could handle
it," he muttered.

Akane raised an eyebrow. "You know, it's starting to sound like you WANT
to be groped by Happosai. Maybe you really ARE a pervert, after all!"

The shrieks of the victims down the street rose in pitch, attracting the
couple's attention. "Gah- okay, whatever, we'll do it your way!" Ranma
growled. "But only because we don't have time to argue- let Iria take
over, and then let's go." He glanced at her. "I still don't intend to let
him touch you if I can help it, though."

Akane, now controlled by Iria, winked at him coyly, adjusting her blouse to
show more of her cleavage again. "If you really want to, though it might
be fun if he did."

Ranma stumbled slightly, then shook his head. "Sheesh- you're supposed to
distract HAPPOSAI, not me!" Diverting his attention to the chaos ahead,
where Happosai was approaching them at full speed, he crouched down into a
fighting stance. "I have a plan- get ready!"

"Plan?" Akane-Iria echoed, turning to glance at him quizically.

Before he had a chance to explain, Happosai was upon them, the hoarde of
outraged girls behind him. "Akane! Wow- you need to dress like that more
often!" he chirped, leaping for her chest.

Before his withered old form had even reached her, Iria felt the bra
disappear from her chest with a sensation similar to rugburn. It didn't
appear to have been Happosai's doing, however, as the perverted creature
wasn't holding it as he approached her.

Happosai was inches away from Akane's body when he noticed several very
unusual things. First, the bra she had been wearing seconds before wasn't
there any more. Not that this would normally make his attention to her any
less pleasurable- just the opposite, in fact- but its sudden disappearance
was a surprise. The second thing he noticed was that there was some wierd
aura eminating from her chest.

His fingertips grazed the sides of her breasts, and suddenly he was in too
much pain to care. Something felt like it was melting his hands off of
him, and the unpleasant fire from whatever it was he was touching seemed to
be shooting through him to his very core- almost on a spiritual level, in
fact.

It was with great relief that he felt the bra strap wrap around his neck
and tear him bodily off of Akane's chest, almost before the pain of the
touch even reached his brain.

Happosai was whipped into the road with a sickening *thud* before the bevy
of girls following him caught up to the scene of the confrontation and
began stomping him as always.

Akane recognized the bra used to lasso Happosai, and wrenched control of
her body back from Iria. "Ranma! You pervert!" she snarled, genuinely
annoyed at him. "WHAT, exactly, did you do?"

Ranma looked at her, looked at the bra in his hands, and then looked at the
horde of girls obviously too absorbed with pounding the old man to care
about what he and Akane might say to each other.

He shrugged. "Eh, I figured I didn't have a chance to stop him before he
got you- or your bra- so I figured you'd rather I got it first. I needed
it as a weapon, anyway." He paused. "Er, do you really think that was
perverted? I mean, we ARE... um..." he motioned to her ring finger, not
willing to speak of their marraige near such a crowd, whether people were
paying attention to them or not.

Akane exhaled through her teeth in frustration. 'Well, I don't really
think of him as a pervert any more- at least not that he's intentionally
being one, anyway- but he REALLY needs to learn a thing or two about proper
behavior in public.'

"Ranma," she growled, glaring at him angrily and yanking the bra out of his
hands. "We are going to have to have a serious discussion about this when
we get home. In the meantime, don't do ANYTHING just because you think our
new... status... allows it, okay?"

He stuck a hand behind his head and fidgetted with his pigtail, looking
suitably chastized. "I'm sorry, Akane... I don't really know what I did
wrong, but I'll try not to do it again."

Akane sighed, seeing the puppy-dog expression of guilt on his face. "Don't
worry, Ranma- I'm not TOO mad at you. But we DO need to talk." She
stuffed the bra into her pocket, deciding she'd wait until she was in the
school (and could slip into the bathroom for some privacy) to put it back
on.

"Talk- gotcha." Anxious to get off the subject (and a little purplexed at
the fact he hadn't already been driven into the road for whatever it was he
did wrong- the fact that he wasn't eating dirt made him fear that it was
something much more serious than their usual playful spats), he glanced
over at Happosai. "Hmm... doesn't he usually recover from these sorts of
things by now?"

"Say, you're right! Maybe you hurt him more than you thought... I guess we
have to check on him, don't we?"

The crowd of angry girls had started breaking up, and the ancient pervert
looked even more dazed than usual. "Well, he IS kinda our responsibility,"
Ranma said relucantly, kicking him idly to turn him face-up. "We should at
least take him to the nurses station at Furinkan. And we'd better make
sure the MALE nurse is on duty, today."

Reaching down, Ranma moved to pick him up. He yanked on the old man's hand
to get him to stand up, but despite being unconscious Happosai convulsed at
the touch as if he was being electrocuted. Surprised, Ranma dropped him.
"Wierd- what's wrong with him?"

Akane shook her head, amazed. "I don't know. Maybe his hand's injured."

Ranma shrugged, deciding to pick the ancient martial arts master up by the
collar on his gi, instead. His comatose form didn't seem to mind, so it
was that way that Ranma carried him as the could moved on into the high
school.

As he walked in the front gate of Furinkan High School, he barely avoided
being decapitated by an oversized spatula wielded by one very angry
okonomiyaki chef. "Ranma!" Ukyou growled.

"Ucchan!" Ranma exclaimed, dodging the blow. "Um, hi!"

"'Hi?' Is that all you have to say to me, 'HI!?'" Ukyou screeched. "You
and I have some talking to do, mister!"

Akane, stepping in behind Ranma, immediately recognized the danger signs.
"Uh, I guess you want to talk to us," she intervened. Ukyou's eyes flashed
to her wildly. "Right... can we get Happosai to the nurses office first?"

"Lunchtime," Ukyou stated, brokering no argument. "The soccer field. You,
me, and Ranma. We've DEFINITELY got some things to... 'talk' about." With
that, she spun around and stormed off in the direction of her classroom.

Ranma swallowed. "Well, at least she didn't try to kill YOU at first
sight," he said nervously.

"Did she you?" Akane asked.

"Oh, she just swung at me once with her battle spatula. No big deal.
She's done worse before."

"Are you okay?" Akane asked, concerned. "I know she didn't hit you, but...
I mean, I know she means a lot to you, and-"

"Relax, Akane," Ranma said gruffly. "I knew this was going to happen."

She studied him for a moment. "Yeah, maybe. That doesn't mean it hurts
less."

Ranma shook his head. "Nothing's happened yet. Everyone I know's been mad
enough to kill me at one point or another. Maybe she'll calm down before
lunch. No need to worry just yet."

Akane sidled up to him, grabbing his arm and patting it soothingly.
"Ranma, if something bothers you, let me know, okay? That's what yesterday
meant- we tell each other when something's wrong, we share in each others
happiness, and we help each other get out of trouble. If you can't talk to
me about this sort of thing, then what happened yesterday didn't mean
anything."

Ranma sighed. "Akane, I mean it. I'm fine. This doesn't bother me." He
paused. "No, what happens at the soccer field at lunch is what matters.
We'll talk after that, okay?"

Akane looked up at him curiously. "Promise?"

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, promise."

They continued on together to the nurses station, arm in arm, never
noticing that a gawking Yuka had seen the entire incident.

* * * * *

Eubuleus the Oni was seething. He gone through the records pertaining to
him and the succubus Iria, and found nothing. He talked to his colleagues
in hell, and heard nothing. He tried to make an appointment with the Lord
of Terror herself to discuss the situation, but was refused. What in hell
was it that would keep him from communicating with Iria?

It is true that he had no plans to harm the Tendo-Saotome clan any more-
after all the punishment the humans had put him through over the previous
thousand years, he had no desire to see what the worse hell could do to him
would be if he were to break an oath. However, if he approached them in a
peaceful manner, he was fairly sure that Iria (and therefore Ranma and
Akane, since he was also fairly sure if he could convince her to help him,
she would be able to bring the love-besotted couple around), Nodoka, and
possibly others would be willing to aide him in his quest to gain revenge
on Happosai. But now he was instructed to stay away from Iria, with no
explanation given, and so his hands were tied. All he wanted to know was
WHY they were tying his hands, and he'd be satisfied, but apparently no-one
knew except the Lord of Terror herself, and she wasn't answering.

He knew the earliest stages of his plans were starting to work as planned.
Happosai had already made contact with both Ranma and Akane, and his wards
were definitely effective on the human. He had worried a little about
that- those wards had not been designed to effect those who were not of the
spirit world, and had never been tested on humans before (there never being
a human evil enough that a demon would WANT to test them on, before).
Apparently, however, they worked as planned. Happosai would never be able
to glomp either Ranma or Akane again- and that little problem, by itself,
would torture the pervert for the remainder of his days....

Or so Eubuleus had planned. His next step was supposed to have been to
trap Happosai within an area from which he could not avoid running into the
couple frequently enough to upset him- and he had been planning to do it
with Iria's help (after all, the succubus had experienced enough of
Happosai's perversions to want a little revenge, herself, most likely).
Without her, however... well, all of his plans would fall apart.

Which was okay. Demonic plans only had about a fifty percent success rate,
anyway. It wasn't all THAT likely it would have succeeded as he had
planned. But to have his plan forcibly shut down in that manner, well...
that was most upsetting. After all, what was to say he couldn't use these
plans to bring the succubus back into the fold? Such things weren't
unheard of, after all...

But no. He was forbidden from communicating with Iria at all. Completely
forbidden. With no explanation.

Eubuleus gave the demonic equivalent of a sigh. Maybe he should just take
a sabbatical until the apocolypse.

* * * * *

Alejandro Perez was panting heavily, after a rather lengthy pursuit by some
wierd guy in white robes. He would have likely been captured, had he not
been able to lead the man into a very crowded area and knock his glasses
off. With the man virtually blinded by that loss, he was able to blend in
with the passerby's and escape.

The problem was, he had no idea why the man was so angry at him. He looked
vaguely familiar, but from where he could not recall. All he knew was
that, when he sat down in that Chinese restaurant- the Nekohanten, he
thought it was- he was suddenly attacked by an enraged waiter. Well, that
place would never have HIS business, again.

Alejandro was miserable. The Oni had just abandoned him outside of that
dojo, and he waited for over two days for some word. When none came, he
decided he'd better leave before someone noticed him and started asking
questions. He was quite surprised that no-one had, already.

Since then, he realized that he'd made a big mistake when he left the
island. While he'd brought a large amount of money with him- more than
enough to last him for some time in Toma's kingdom- he'd forgotten that
some countries required you use native currency in making purchases. On
Toma's island, Yen, Yuan, Kroner, Dollars, Francs, Rubles, Pounds, and all
sorts of other foreign currency were accepted (largely because there WAS no
native currency- it was all imported). He didn't have any yen- most of his
money was in British Pounds, and therefore he couldn't buy anything like
food or clothing or rent a hotel room.

Finally, he'd found a money exchange and managed to convert what he had
into something more useful. His first stop was a public bath, and that had
gone nicely. It was a bit different from what he was used to- he'd always
taken private showers, before- but he was able to get clean and that was
what was important.

Then, he found himself a small hotel. He didn't really WANT to know why it
had both hourly and nightly rates, he just wanted sleep. After a good
night in a VERY comfortable bed (with a number of features he never risked
trying), he went in search of a good meal.

And, of course, the moment he sat down to eat, some maniac wielding swords,
chains, knives, spears, naginata, and all sorts of weapons attacked him.

Thankfully, however, it appeared as though he had finally given the lunatic
the slip. Maybe, once he caught his breath, he could find somewhere else
to eat, and then he could find a way to get out of Japan and back to his
native Spain. It would be nice being home again....

The tap on the back of his neck was barely noticible. Suddenly, he fell
forward, unable to move a muscle in his body. He was rolled over by the
point of a wooden staff, and there, standing over him, was a three foot
tall wrinkled old hag.

"My, my, my," she said in a gravelly voice. "It looks as though my waiter
has finally proven himself useful as a watchdog. I was about to launch a
search for you, but it seems you decided to make it easy on an old woman
and walk right into my restaurant. Thank you, sonny.... Now, we've got
some serious things to discuss- namely, a certain demon you've been
cavorting with." Motioning out of his view, she said, "Shampoo, help me
with this poor excuse for a human being. And remember, child, to thank
Mousse for his quick action when we get back... if I thanked him, he'd let
it go to his head and I wouldn't hear the end of it for a week."

----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------
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Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
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