[Ranma][Fanfic][Lime] Childhood of a Modern Dynasty - Chapter 10: Burning of the Past, The Wedding Before the Storm ======================================================================= Childhood of a Modern Dynasty Chapter 10: Burning of the Past, The Wedding Before the Storm Ranma 1/2 characters/situations created and copyright by Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan/Kitty/Fuji/Viz - Used without permission Childhood of a Modern Dynasty series created, written, and copyright 1998-1999 by Jim Lazar An ongoing series set after the end of the Ranma 1/2 manga and anime. "Speech text in double quotes is spoken as Japanese." E-mail comments and/or criticisms to: jim [at] animeprime.com Make sure to check out my Modern Dynasty website for all released CMD stories, graphics files, and other information: http://www.animeprime/ff/md ======================================================================= This chapter has some darker moments, but not as many as the previous two chapters. ======================================================================= >From the personal journal of James Davidson: July 19th, 2057 I awoke with a naked goddess draped over my chest and smiled. I slowly ran my hand through Hanaki's hair and realized that she was right, ceremony or not, we were married. Not legally, but emotionally, this was what mattered most to us anyway. I realized now that I should have never left after my research was finished for my first book about Ranma and Akane's early years. What was it? Almost a year ago? I had known Hanaki for a year before that. Well, if you want to get technical it was back in 2050, but we only talked for a few minutes and she was just a teenager back then. I should have asked her out last year. My stupid 'can't become involved, have to remain objective for the book' refrain had cost me at least a year of happiness with Hanaki. What was worse, I'd ended up getting too friendly with Akane and the other Tendo family members anyway. My editor kept having to force me to remain objective. Therefore, in the finished book I think Akane came off as being much angrier and more violent that she really was in real life, but it's hard to tell for sure since I didn't know her back then. I do know that she had softened during her second year with Ranma, I've seen the medical bills for Ranma and they dropped off considerably once Ranma and Akane returned from their first training trip together. Although they didn't list who injured Ranma, the occurrences of 'mallet wound' entries vanished. Well... almost vanished. I decided I was going to have to live so I could enjoy more nights with Hanaki. There was no way I could miss more of that. I then heard an angel say, "Morning, James." "Morning, Wife." Hanaki smiled. Then lifted herself from my chest. I blushed as I saw her in the morning light. "You are beautiful." "I bet you say that to all your fiancees." "Just you." "Well, enough about that, let me get my gear together so I can get going before it gets too hot." "All business, as usual," I quipped, earning a sweet smile from Hanaki. "Are you sure you have to go for help?" "Yes," she said simply. She dressed and began to collect her gear. I slid over to the flight controls, not an easy task with my broken leg. I pulled out my palmcard and plugged it into the spacejet's dataport. I keyed in a few commands. "What are you doing?" "Downloading my palmcard's data to the spacejet's system. Might as well review my notes and work on writing the chapters while you're gone," I explained. Hanaki smiled. "All business again." She leaned down and kissed me. "Well, I expect the first four chapters to be done by the time I get back." "Yes, dear," I agreed, since the first four chapters were in draft form already. If not for this little trip, I'd have sent them to my editor already to get him off my back. I pulled the palmcard out from the dataport and handed it to Hanaki. She'd need the GPS in it for her trek across the Utah desert our spacejet had crashed in. "Good. Now take it easy and get some rest," she said, then kissed me again. She grabbed her pack and opened the door. She paused, then looked back at me. "I love you." "Me too. Don't take any chances out there," I replied. "I won't. Um... by the way... I couldn't turn my implant on without my wristpad. I thought you should know," Hanaki informed me, then closed the door behind her. I looked at the door for the longest time. Her implant was off. I guess that made me feel better. At least part of me might continue on, even if it was just my child. -C- -M- -D- It was mid-day before I felt like looking at my notes; even then, my heart was only half in the task. I reviewed what Hanaki had gone over with me the day before. After their first battle with the Buyierfei, Ranma, Akane, and Ukyo had stopped a hijacking on the way back to Japan. Akane had to kill one of the hijackers and, after already losing Ranko and Sanma inside of the monolith, she had some trouble coping. She even blasted Kuno and Kodachi with a powerful blast. Ranma thought that anger and depression fueled the blast. I'm almost glad that I had the chance to get this information from Hanaki instead of Akane, since there was one item that Akane had never admitted to me. *********************************************************************** March 1999 - Nerima, Japan "And that's what happened... I killed the hijacker... no big deal." "I think I know you better than that, Akane. You are quite upset over it." "I'm a martial artist. Sometimes a martial artist has to take life to preserve life." "That's Ranma talking, not you." "What's one more killing on my hands?" "We've been over this before, Akane. Shampoo's death was not your fault. She made the decision to fight you and she decided to let go." "And Ranko, Sanma, and Cologne? They sacrificed themselves for me too. What does it matter if they die by my hands or sacrifice themselves for me? I'm still a killer." "No you're not." "Then why can't I get this blood off my hands?" Akane asked, desperately rubbing her hands. They looked to be quite raw, as if from repeated washings and rubbing. "Your hands are clean. You just won't admit it to yourself." "Five people have died." "Yes. That's life. People die." "Why?" "Why what? Why do people die? We're only human." "Why do so many have to die for me?" "Don't you want to live?" "At the cost of six other lives? No!" "Six?" Akane looked downward and corrected herself. "Five. I meant five." "Shampoo, Ranko, Sanma, Cologne, the hijacker... who else, Akane?" "I meant five. Just five." "Could the sixth have been your mother?" "No. She died, but that was a long time ago." "How did your mother die, Akane?" "I told you that already... a long time ago." "Yes, but I want to hear you say it yourself again." "No." "Tell me." "Damn you," Akane hissed, pulling out her mallet. "Put down the mallet. It doesn't solve anything. It's just a release for your anger. Release you anger by talking about it instead." Akane slowly put the mallet down. She looked down at her hands, then said softly, "She... died." "Please describe what happened, Akane. It's the only way you'll get better." "Mother and I were out shopping when I was just a kid. I was admiring some flowers across the street..." Akane explained softly, then stopped and looked at her hands. "Continue, Akane. All of it." Akane sniffled, then said, "I wanted to pick one for my mother... and..." "And..." "I... ran across the street to the flowerbed, but I tripped," Akane said, wiped the tears out of her eyes, then continued, "The next thing I remembered was that I was thrown out of the road. I looked back and saw..." "And you saw your mother..." "And I saw my mother struck down by the car that was going to hit me!" Akane screamed. "The first death of many... all so that I can live!" "Why do you think she did that?" "So that I could live and cause more deaths! It would be better that I died back then! What's one life compared to five others!" "Five? Good, you've accepted that at least one of them wasn't your fault... why not the others?" "You're a bastard... you know that?" "Yes, you've told me several times. Now then... five. So which one wasn't your fault?" "The... hijacker. He would have killed Ranma, Ukyo, and everyone else on that plane." "Good. That's a good first step, Akane. You've realized that not everything is your fault." "Maybe." "Now, let's look at your mother's death. She was struck by a car, saving your life, correct?" "Yes. All so others could die for me as well." "Akane, it was an accident. Your mother saw her child in danger and reacted like any parent would." "That's what I'm saying! She gave her life for me!" "Yes... she did. Because?" "She loved me..." "Yes." "So loving me is a death sentence." "No, it's not." "Three deaths for my love already. How many more?" "Down to three now... good." "Well I doubt Shampoo or Cologne loved me." "No, but didn't they die for your love too?" "Huh? No... Cologne died because she felt guilty for splitting Ranma into three people and Shampoo died because of her stupid Amazon honor." "Let's look at Shampoo first. She let go of your hand so that you and Ranma would live. Correct?" "Yes." "So that you and Ranma could continue your love. Correct?' "Well... yes, but I'm sure that wasn't her intent. It was for her honor." "But in the end she died for you and Ranma to continue loving each other." "Maybe. Just another death for my love." "And Cologne too. She died for your love." "That old hag? Never." "She took Ranma's place so that you could keep one of your lovers." Akane flinched. "No, she just felt guilty about splitting them." "You told me that she said 'At least one of the Ranmas must survive'." "Yes." "Sounds like she wanted you to be able to keep loving Ranma." "Well..." "Don't you see... people have died, true. They have died for you to live and love. If you stop living then they died for nothing." "You sound like Mousse. 'If you don't live your life to the fullest, you'll dishonor Shampoo's memory'." "He sounds like a nice guy." "He's a jerk actually, but he did sometimes make sense. Just like you." "Hmmmm, so how many deaths were your fault?" "None of them and all of them. I'll have to live with it... won't I?" "Yes, otherwise..." "I'll dishonor their memories." "And..." "I'll never forgive myself if I dishonor their memories." "Well, I think you've made great progress today. I'll see you again in three days." Akane wiped the tears out of her eyes and said, "Thank you, Doctor." "No problem. You've come a long way since we first talked after the destroyed wedding," Doctor Higawa said. "Yes... but at what cost?" "Hmmm, you'd better think about the good things that have happened in the past year on your way home... and you know there have been some good things." "Okay, Doctor," Akane said. She made her way out of the office. "Good luck, Akane," Doctor Higawa said, making some notes in Akane's file. Then she called for someone to replace the roof that Akane had blown off earlier in the session. she thought, sadly shaking her head. -C- -M- -D- Akane thought. She fingered the engagement ring on her finger as she walked, smiled, and then looked up at the blue sky. A frown crossed her face. Akane shook her head. "I still have the man I fell in love with," she declared aloud. She sighed. Once again, Akane had to remind herself about Sanma. She had split from Ranko only a couple days before she died in the Monolith, so it was sometimes hard for Akane to picture her as a separate person. Akane was worried that she might forget about Ranko in the same way, so she continually had to remind herself that all three of them were Ranma and that she loved them all. Time known as separate people didn't matter in this instance, she had known them all for over two years. Akane stopped walking as she reached the canal and stared off into the distance. After several seconds, she hit a streetlight hard, knocking it over. "I LOVE RANMA!" Akane screamed at the top of her lungs. "I love you too, Akane." Akane started and looked around for the source of the voice. She spotted a figure sitting by the canal with his arms wrapped around his legs. "Ranma?" She slid down the embankment towards him. Ranma looked up and smiled as Akane sat down next to him. He slid his arm around her and gave her a kiss. "What brings you down here?" Akane paused for a second. Not wanting to tell him she was just at her therapist, since only Nodoka knew she was going to one, Akane just said, "Coming to terms with myself and my life." "Oh, deep. I'm part of that life, right?" Akane smiled. "You, my sweet perverted idiot, ARE my life." "I've been thinking..." Ranma trailed off, as he wasn't sure he wanted to bring this up. "What?" "Err... I want you to be happy." "I'm happy, with you. I may have lost two people I loved dearly, but when it comes down to it I still have them all within you." Akane patted Ranma's chest and cuddled up to it. "Akane, I'm going find out if there's any spring of drowned girl water left anywhere and use it so you can have Ranko and Sanma again." Akane's eyes went wide at hearing this and she looked up at Ranma. "I don't think we can spilt without Cologne, but at least..." Akane cut off Ranma's offer with a long kiss. She was smiling after she broke the kiss. "That's okay. I appreciate the offer, but it wouldn't be the same." "No, I want you to be happy... if I have to be cursed for your happiness, it's okay." Akane snuggled into his arms again as tears started to flow from her eyes. "I am happy. I'll miss your female side, separate or not, but Ranko and Sanma were unique people when they... died. I can't, and won't, replace them with copies. It'll take me time, but I won't let their sacrifice be in vain." "Okay, but it wasn't just for you... I sort of miss having Ranko around. Even Sanma, despite the fact that she was only around for a couple days." Ranma avoided mentioning his other reason. The fact that Cologne had knocked him out and taken his place didn't minimize the guilt he felt at not being able to save them. At least being cursed again might help him think that he saved something. Akane grinned. "I guess I can understand that, you miss your 'sisters'." Ranma nodded. "We didn't get along that well, but I had gotten used to having Ranko around." "Well, Nabiki and I used to fight all the time when we were growing up. That's what siblings do." "Not Kasumi?" Akane giggled. "Nope, never could get mad at Kasumi for anything. Not even when Dr. Tofu liked her more than me." "The good Doctor doesn't know what he missed out on," Ranma said, pulling her into a deep kiss. The two lovers held each other and watched the sun set in the distance. -C- -M- -D- In the weeks that followed their return from Australia, Akane slowly got better with the help of Doctor Higawa and with the love of her family and friends. The Tendo and Saotome families had a small wake for Ranko and Sanma and added their names to the Saotome family grave. Dr. Tofu and Ukyo, being the only other people who knew about the split, also attended. One night, Akane, Ukyo, and Ranma were studying in Ranma's room. Ukyo suddenly hit Ranma over the head with a book. "Pay attention or you'll fail your finals!" she yelled. "Geezzzzz... all right already," Ranma muttered. "Adolf Hitler's bitch." Akane checked her book. "Correct. Although, the book just says female dog." "Ranma, it's only a week till our finals. With all the time we lost in China and Australia we have to cram as much of this stuff into our brains as we can!" Ukyo insisted. "Yes. I'm not going to marry a high school dropout," Akane informed Ranma. "I'm working as hard as I can!" Ranma said, then dropped the martial arts manga he had hidden behind the textbook he was holding. "Baka!" Ukyo and Akane chased him around the garden before they managed to tackle him and force him to learn the entire history of the European War by heart. -C- -M- -D- That night, Ranma stared up at the ceiling trying to fall asleep. Something about the reminders that Kasumi or his mother kept writing on the ceiling panels kept tugging at the back of his mind. Ranma sat bolt upright, then exclaimed, "Akane's eighteenth birthday! We missed it while we were inside the monolith. Shit!" He jumped to his feet, ran up the stairs, and tapped on Akane's door. There was no answer. He tapped again. Still no answer, so he opened the door and went over to the sleeping Akane. He looked down at her and debated if he should wake her or not, but finally decided to let her sleep. He brushed some red hair out of her eyes, then sat down next to the bed and fell asleep holding her hand. -C- -M- -D- Akane woke up and stretched. She slipped out of her bed and tripped over the still sleeping Ranma. "Huh?" she muttered as she looked around and saw Ranma. "Ranma? Ranma, wake up," she said while shaking him. Ranma opened his eyes, saw Akane, and smiled. "Happy birthday, Akane!" "Birthday? That was back in February... it's March." "Nope. Today is February seventeenth! You deserve a happy day!" Akane smiled weekly. "That's sweet, but we missed my birthday... no big deal." "Yes, it is," Ranma insisted, then pulled Akane into a big kiss. "That's one. You get seventeen more kisses today." "Thank you, Ranma." Akane smiled, then glanced at her calendar. she thought, pondered the date a second, then said aloud, "March fourteenth is YOUR birthday." Ranma frowned slightly as he realized that he was so worried about Akane's birthday that he had completely forgotten about his own. "That can wait, ladies first." Akane smiled and then gave Ranma a deep kiss. "That's one for you. You also get seventeen more kisses today." "Thirty-four total, huh? Sounds good," Ranma declared. "Need to work on your math homework some more. It would be thirty-six total," Akane smugly corrected him. "Um... I meant thirty-four more to go," Ranma insisted, trying to cover up his blunder. "Right. Well then, today is both our birthdays. Time to wash our birthday suits," Akane said, winked, then dragged Ranma downstairs to the bathroom. He didn't resist. -C- -M- -D- Ranma scratched his head. He looked at all of the jewelry in front of him. "Ummm... which one do you think Akane would like?" he asked. Nabiki looked at the case Ranma was examining and said, "None of that cheap garbage. I'm lending you the money for this gift, it should at least be something good." "Thanks again, Nabiki." "Well, just be glad that the reward from the airline for you dealing with those hijackers covered your old debt with me." "Yeah, but I never saw any of it," Ranma muttered. "You still have the free plane tickets," Nabiki reminded him, as she guided Ranma over to the real diamonds. "Yeah, whatever. Hmmmm, what about that bracelet?" Ranma asked, pointing out an elaborate diamond studded bracelet. "Your credit with me isn't that good," Nabiki commented, looking at the extremely high price tag. "Oh. Um.. Wait... that one." Ranma pointed to a simple, but beautiful, bracelet with four small diamonds on it. Nabiki thought. "Looks nice. Miss, can we see that bracelet with the four diamonds?" Nabiki said. The saleswoman took the bracelet out and handed it to Nabiki. Nabiki took out a jeweler's eyepiece and examined the bracelet closely. The saleswoman scowled when she saw the eyepiece, since she knew she wasn't going to be able to get the list price now. "Miss, can we see a similar one without flawed diamonds?" Nabiki handing the bracelet back. The sales woman nervously dug out another bracelet from under the counter and handed it to Nabiki, who again examined the diamonds with the eyepiece. "Why this one?" Nabiki asked. "Four diamonds. One for Akane and one each for her three lovers," Ranma replied. The saleswoman looked confused. "You're getting pretty good at this sappy romance stuff, you know?" "Really? Well, I know she'll miss Ranko and Sanma," Ranma said, looking sadly at the ground. "Doesn't it bother you that she's so upset about losing two girls when she still has you?" Nabiki asked. The saleswoman looked really confused now. "Nope. I know she loves me and I miss my girl side, too." "Really?" "Yes. I never thought I could, but a part of me misses her, err... them." "Well, big brother, I have some great nude photos of them," Nabiki commented, winking. The saleswoman's head was spinning trying to keep up with the conversation. "I wish we had a group shot of the four of us, but there was never time before..." Ranma said, trailing off before mentioning the monolith. Nabiki nodded her understanding, then started to haggle with the dizzy saleswoman over the price of the bracelet. In the end, she got it for a third of the list price. -C- -M- -D- The table was on fire. Well, that was what it looked like. There were two cakes on the table, each of which had eighteen lit candles on them. Akane and Ranma looked at the two cakes and smiled. Then as one, they blew the candles out. It looked like they got them all, but then the candles flared back to life. They blew them out again. They lit up again. After a couple more tries, Ranma grabbed the edge of his rectangular cake and spun it around. "Hiryu Shoten Ha!" he yelled and trust a cool arm into the swirling hot air surrounding the cake. The cake was smashed by a small whirlwind and sent into orbit. The candles were still lit when the cake landed on the Kuno mansion and set the roof on fire. As Satsuke fought the flames, Kuno realized that he should have spent the extra money and bought fire-resistant roof tiles. At the same time, Akane pulled out her mallet and smashed her cake flat. She smiled at the flattened cake in triumph, but then noticed that the candles were embedded in the mallet and still lit. With a defeated sigh, she looked at Ranma just in time to see the tornado sending his cake away. "You know, you're really going to have to teach me how to do that." Ranma grinned and nodded. The assembled Tendo and Saotome family members all looked around confused and then wiped off the frosting that had spattered over them. "Um... whose idea was it to use trick candles?" Ukyo asked, glaring around the table. "That would be my brilliant husband," Nodoka informed them all. Seconds latter, a panda was seen soaring through the skies of Nerima. Akane and Ranma looked at each other and started laughing. They playfully wiped the frosting off each other, ignoring the other people at the table. Nodoka smiled. She was glad to see Akane in such high spirits. She had been very worried about Akane's condition for the first two weeks after they had returned from their trip to Australia. The therapy was helping Akane cope immensely. Soun started crying. "Oh, my little Akane is all grown up and is almost a married woman now." Kasumi had gone to the kitchen and returned with another cake. "Here we go." Ranma finished licking the frosting off Akane's lips then looked at the new cake. "Why did you have another cake?" Nabiki answered for Kasumi. "Are you kidding? With this family something was bound to happen to at least one of them." Everyone laughed, then dug into the cake. -C- -M- -D- "Here, Akane," Ranma said, handing a small gift bag out to Akane. They both sat on the roof of the Tendo house, enjoying the night air. "Thank you, Ranma," Akane said, opening the bag. She gasped, then smiled as she pulled the bracelet out and put it on. "It's beautiful." She kissed Ranma deeply. After the kiss, Ranma adjusted the new Chinese shirt that Akane had gotten him. It was a very fancy silk shirt with a red background and a three-headed dragon on it. Ranma didn't have to ask what the three-headed dragon represented. They spent an hour or so making out on the roof before they made their way down into the house and to their respective rooms. Akane looked at the bracelet again and smiled, then she glanced at the picture that Nabiki had given to her. It showed Ranma and Akane posing together. Ranko and Sanma were at their sides as well. Akane was shocked when Nabiki had given it to her, because there is no way for that photo to exist. Nabiki explained that it was a computer composite of various photos. The pain was still there, but Akane now had a picture of all three of her lovers to remember them by. She touched the photo softly, then smiled as another thought crossed her mind. -C- -M- -D- Ranma took off his shirt and pants then lay out the futon on the floor. He was about to lie down, when Akane opened the door to his room. Ranma looked over to the doorway. "Akane?" Akane smiled seductively. "I thought we could practice for the honeymoon." She let her robe slip off her shoulders, revealing the skimpy black lace teddie that she had borrowed from Nabiki's collection. Ranma gasped as he saw the teddie that Akane was wearing, barely. He smiled and drew Akane into his arms and kissed her deeply. "Our parents will freak if they find out," he said after they broke the kiss. "Let them. They are the ones who pushed us together in the first place." "No. We found our love despite their pushing." Akane smiled then slipped her hands under Ranma's T-shirt. She rubbed his chest for a moment, then pulled the T-shirt off. She stroked and nibbled his chest for a while and then slid her hands down his stomach. -C- -M- -D- Akane awoke in her lover's arms and realized how much she had missed that feeling. After the incident with the monolith, they had slept in the same bed several times, but had never made love. At first, it was too painful for Akane to even consider being intimate with Ranma, but she knew she couldn't close off her heart to the man she loved forever. She missed Ranko and Sanma, but in a certain way they were still a part of Ranma. So, when she was making love to Ranma, she was making love to all three of them. Without the breasts and other bits, of course. "Good morning, Ranma," she said to him, as he awoke. "Morning, Akane," Ranma replied and gave Akane a long kiss. Akane got up and collected her discarded teddie, then slipped her robe on. She kissed Ranma again, and slipped out to go to the bathroom. She wasn't paying attention and walked right into Nodoka. "Err... um..." "Good morning, Akane. Nice to see you're so energetic this morning," Nodoka commented, then walked into the kitchen. Akane looked at Nodoka's back. she thought, walking to the bathroom. -C- -M- -D- When she finished cleaning up, Akane walked upstairs and into her room. She was shocked to find it almost empty. "Huh? Where did my stuff go to?" she asked to no one in particular. "We moved it all downstairs to your new room," Nodoka's voice said from behind Akane. Akane turned around. "Huh?" "I can't say I approve of you spending the night with Ranma before you are married, but I can't say it's a surprise," Nodoka said. "If the wedding wasn't already planned for next Saturday, I'd insist you get married today." Truth be told, Nodoka suspected that Akane and her son had become intimate already, but hadn't wanted to press the issue while they were dealing with the problems caused by the split. Without that problem, Nodoka probably would have had them married back in January. "I'm sorry if my actions have caused my family any shame," Akane said, bowing her head. "Not at all, but there is no need to sneak around anymore. You and my son are in love. No need to hide anything from the family that loves you." "Yes, Auntie." "Akane, I'll understand if you don't want to, but could you call me Mother?" Akane smiled. "I would be honored... Mother." "Good," Nodoka said, then lowered her voice and whispered to Akane, "And, Akane dear? You might want to try being a little more quiet. My husband and I are right above Ranma's room you know." Akane blushed from head to toe. "Yes, Mom." Up until then, Akane had assumed that Nodoka had found out when she bumped into her earlier. She exhaled in relief, at the calm conclusion to the confrontation over last night and at being able to call Nodoka 'Mother'. It had taken several sessions with Doctor Higawa for Akane to prepare herself for that step. She went back downstairs to Ranma's room. she corrected herself. When she walked in, Kasumi and Nabiki were putting her stuff into the closet. "Thanks guys." "It's our pleasure, Akane," Kasumi said, while hanging up some dresses. "By the way, I have a present for you on the dresser." Akane looked over and saw the box of condoms on the dresser. She blushed deeply. "Err... thanks." She quickly slipped the box into a dresser drawer. "Kasumi, I'm sure the super-large economy pack she already has will last her for a long time," Nabiki casually mentioned. Akane gasped. "You found that?" Nabiki almost choked on her tongue. "Err... I was kidding, Akane." Akane looked nervously around. "Yeah.... so was I." Nabiki wasn't convinced and smirked, while Kasumi just blissfully continued folding clothes. Nabiki approached her younger sister and held up a cassette tape. "Here's an early wedding present from me." Akane took the audiotape and looked at it oddly. "What is it?" "Something I recorded last night. I'd never have guessed that you were a screamer," Nabiki whispered. She winked and left the room. Akane blushed, then thought about adding some soundproofing to the room. -C- -M- -D- The final day of Ranma and Akane's Junior year had arrived, although they were more nervous about their wedding that was to take place the next day than about their classes. Ranma had done well so far on his finals, but they wouldn't know the final results for a few days. The final bell rang and the students all swarmed out of the classrooms and then out of the school. Ranma and Akane strolled slowly out of the school and were sharing a quick kiss when they were suddenly doused with cold water. "C... c... cold," Ranma said, a shiver flowing down his spine. "Pigtailed girl! I must talk to you!" Kuno cried out and separated Ranma and Akane. He pulled Ranma into a tight embrace. Suddenly, he frowned and pushed Ranma back from his embrace. "What has thou done with my lovely pigtailed goddess?" He felt Ranma's chest with his palm to make sure there were no breasts there. He was very disappointed to find none. Akane's eye twitched, and she held back the scream that was forming in her throat. "Kuno! You are supposed to keep your distance! Get the hell away from us!" Ranma shouted, swatting Kuno's hand away. "I only wanted to gaze upon my pigtailed goddess once more before I went to university. What has thou done with her?" Kuno punctuated his question by putting his bokken to Ranma's throat. Ranma shook his head sadly. "She's gone forever and you should have realized that after Akane blasted you a few weeks ago that you will never be a match for us. If you value your life, go now!!" "So all this time it was a trick to keep me from my pigtailed goddess! This so called 'curse' you deceived us with was a clever ruse to part us from our wealth. Agreement or not, I shall smite thee for your misdeeds!" Ranma prepared for the bokken strike, but it never came. Before he could react, Akane shouted, "Aikizuna Mokoutsu!!!" She held her hands in front of her forming an upside down heart with her fingers. Ranma looked at Akane quizzically, since he had never heard of this technique before. A blast of red chi energy flowed from Akane's outstretched hands in an oscillating wave pattern. The wave of energy hit Kuno in the chest. And nothing happened. The energy just seemed to wash across his chest without causing any noticeable damage or reaction from Kuno. "What?" Akane and Ranma gasped at the same time. Akane followed her gasp by muttering, "Knew I shouldn't have gotten over my depression." "Ha! Nothing can hurt the mighty Blue Thunder of Waseda University!" Kuno declared. Nabiki walked up behind Kuno and smacked him on the back of the head with her bag. He crumpled to the ground. "Damn, I was afraid he might end up going to the same college as me," she said. "What did you hit him with?" Ranma asked, kicking Kuno to make sure he was unconscious. "A wad of cash that I picked up from his lawyers this morning." "What for?" "For breaking the agreement to stay away from you two. This incident will cost them some more. You're not the only ones in this family with special attacks, you know," Nabiki informed them, winking. She turned and made her way out of the schoolyard. Before leaving their earshot, she turned around and said, "Don't forget the bonfire tonight." "We wouldn't miss it. We'll be back after we have dinner with the gang," Ranma said, putting his arm around Akane's shoulders and leading her away from the fallen Kuno. "You okay, Akane?" "Why didn't it work?" Akane asked softly. "Huh? You mean that Alkaseltzer Mokosake thing? That was pretty neat." "Aikizuna Mokoutsu. But it didn't hurt him. I practiced that after Doc... I decided not to use anger or depression as attacks anymore." "That's good, it isn't good to draw on those feelings. We can work on that attack some more, you should have told me you were trying to develop a new chi blast." "I wanted to surprise you. When I blasted Kuno and Kodachi a while back, I felt something click in my mind. I did some practicing and found that concentrating on my love for you-not just my confidence in the love, but my actual feelings of love-allowed me to focus my chi better than before with the Moko Takabisha. It seemed to cause damage when I tried it on some dummies." "When did you try it on me?" Ranma quipped. Akane smiled at the joke. "Silly." "We'll work on it. Have all that time in Hawaii for our honeymoon, don't we?" "I'm not planning on doing too much training on that trip," Akane insisted, then pulled Ranma down into a kiss. "Break it up you two, your wedding is tomorrow," Ukyo's voice interrupted their kiss. Ranma and Akane looked up to see Ukyo and the gang from school standing in front of the restaurant they had picked to have their celebration dinner at. "Hi guys, give us a second," Ranma said and returned to the interrupted kiss. -C- -M- -D- A fierce bonfire blazed away in the Furinkan High schoolyard. The students all gathered around it and watched it burn. Every now and then, a student would throw his or her Hawaiian school uniform into the fire. The cheep uniforms that they had been forced to wear for the past year turned out to be VERY flammable and had caused the bonfire to burn hot and bright. Gosunkugi was dressed only in his underwear since he had forgotten to bring a spare set of clothes like most of the other students had. He was roasting marshmallows on the fire. Actually, upon closer inspection they were actually straw dolls of Ranma. The impending marriage of Ranma and Akane had become common knowledge; some were taking it better than others were. Ukyo tossed her Hawaiian girls uniform into the fire along with a picture of her and her 'Ran-chan' as kids.