Standard
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and Dragon Ball Z
are not my creations and I am only borrowing their characters for an original
work of my own. I apologize in advance
for anything you may not like and this will NOT be a lemon so anyone hoping so....GET
LOST!
P.S.: Please don't sue me. ^_-
Author's
Note: I have taken a few liberties with my own characterization of Ranma
Saotome. As to the timetable of this
story, it begins after the destruction of Androids 19 and 20 and when Goku is
at home sick.
* * *
Yamucha and Chi-chi watch over Goku
as the pain of his deadly virus tries to overtake him. The Saiyan's body convulses as the terrible
chest pains threaten to take his life from him and his loved ones. As the feverish virus continues its rampage,
Goku receives a vision of what is to come:
A warrior, much like Goku, who is
strong with a desire to battle and protect those worse off than himself is
veiled in the shadows. Goku, despite
all his power, is unable to identify this new person...is he friend…or
foe? However, Goku somehow knows that
this person is not present anywhere in this universe...is he delirious? If this person does not exist then why is he
seeing this mysterious warrior? Then, a
strong blue aura envelops this newcomer and his face is finally in view...a
boy? This is the new and powerful force
that he must find? But what's
this? The boy's aura is shifting...growing...changing
color...the young man's raven-black hair begins to change both shape and
color...his muscles bulge, his eyes become an aquamarine-blue...into...a
SUPER-SAIYAN?
Can it be? Another Saiyan is still
alive? But how could Goku AND Vegeta
not have known for all this time? Goku
knew, as well as Vegeta, that Gohan, Vegeta, Trunks and himself were now the
four remaining beings in the universe with Saiyan blood. Could another TRULY have escaped the notice
of himself, Vegeta AND Freiza? But how?
As Goku began to ponder this
question, his fever began to break as Yamucha administered more of Trunk’s life-saving
medicine. It had been 5 days since Goku
had been transported to Master Roshi's and now the medicine was almost
gone...only a couple more days and then Goku would be back...and stronger than
ever. Yamucha smirked at that thought
and couldn't wait for
Goku to
give those androids the beating they deserved.
* * *
In another dimension of time and
space...an Earth where Saiyans and the Z fighters do not exist, a young man
with a LOT of pre-marital problems is waking up for this last day of his junior
year in Furikan High School. The young
man looks to his right to see that his father, for once in his life, actually
awoke before him. The large indention
in the futon made the young man wonder when it would collapse from the
tremendous weight of the huge panda-man.
Retrieving his clothes from the nearby closet, he descended the small
staircase down to the lower level of his innazuke's home and outside to the
backyard to his waiting father for their daily morning sparring session.
As Ranma Saotome began his stretches
he drank in the early sunlight that escaped the horizon as the sun began to
dawn over Nerima. He quickly finished his warm-up exercises and bowed to his
father who was already waiting in the yard.
The elder Saotome, seeing his son ready to begin, bowed to show respect
for the fighter who long ago had surpassed his expectations as a warrior. Genma had always known that his son, the
heir to the school of Anything-Goes Martial Arts, would be destined for
greatness. However, he had no idea how
true and how costly that would be.
Their respective greetings done, each contender entered into a unique
battle stance leaving no room for an opening in their defenses. Genma was the first to strike, attempting to
knock his son down early with a vicious combination of open palm strikes and
kicks. Ranma paid only partial
attention to his father as he skillfully dodges all his attacks evading them
with a practiced ease that angered his father.
"C'mon, pop. Is that
the best you've got?"
"I'm only warming up, boy. I'm going easy on you right now."
Ranma smirked at that comment,”
That’s what you always say, pop. You're
so bad compared to me that I bet I could beat you BLINDFOLDED."
Genma stopped his assault and smiled
at his son. "So, you think you can
beat me blindfolded? How about a little
wager, then?"
"Huh? What’cha mean?"
Genma took off his bandanna and
spoke to his son, "If you beat me blindfolded then you can decide for
yourself about your engagement..."
Ranma smiled evilly, "You're
TOAST old man!"
Genma raised a hand so that he could
continue his thought, "But if I win, then you and Akane will be married by
the beginning of the next school year AND I get your breakfast this
morning." With that, Genma
extended his hand to shake Ranma's and seal the deal.
Ranma shook his father's hand as he
added, "And if you break this promise, I'm leaving FOREVER. Understand?"
Genma swallowed hard at his son's
words and slowly nodded. He then
proceeded to blindfold Ranma and leap away so his son could not automatically
throw him into the koi pond and beat him.
After leaping away, Genma recovered his original stance and sized up his
son. Ranma had not moved an inch since
the blindfold was put on him. It seemed
as if Ranma was in another world, as if he was connecting with a part of
himself that he never knew existed. It
was then that Genma started his attack.
Ranma knew that without his sight he
would be at a huge disadvantage even against his father. So in order to cope, he stood perfectly
still, gathering all his energy and sending out auric tendrils to help him find
his opponent. He sensed his father's
quick approach and just as Genma was about to sweep Ranma's legs out from under
him, Ranma vaulted over his father and landed behind him. Ranma then delivered
a low spinning roundhouse kick to his father's side that sends Genma flying
into the outer fence. The sound of
Genma's tremendous crash brought the entire Tendo household running outside.
Kasumi was the first to reach the scene of the fight. She dropped the broom she had been carrying
outside to sweep the front walk on the back porch when she saw the scene. Genma was rising out of a pile of rubble
that used to be the outer wall and Ranma was in his normal fighting stance, but
he was...BLINDFOLDED? What was going on
here? The rest of the Tendo clan
arrived at relatively the same time with Akane leading the way. She, like her eldest sister, stopped short
when she surveyed the normally pleasant morning scuffle between Ranma and his
father. She couldn't believe Ranma was
actually defeating his father BLINDFOLDED!
What could've brought on this utter display of insanity? She knew from experience that Ranma could
defeat anyone, but BLINDFOLDED? That's another story entirely.
As Genma finally released himself
from the rubble of the outer wall, he shook his head and silently cursed
himself for letting his son to still get the better of him. Then he noticed something even
stranger...Ranma was actually in a normal fighting stance. Could it be that the boy had already found a
way to cope with his loss of sight?
Unfortunately for Genma, he did not have the opportunity to think that
over because in an instant, Ranma had covered the ground between them and
unleashed blow after blow that connected with his confused father. Ranma then proceeded to throw his father
over to the wall where the koi pond was located and then dragged the now
unconscious man into the pond to declare his victory. As soon as Ranma heard the resounding splash of his father's, now
a panda, form in the pond he ripped off the blindfold and leaped for joy.
Then he looked at his father as he
surfaced as a huge giant panda and said, "You remember the deal pop. Now stop bugging me about this
engagement...understand?"
The panda nodded many times still
not believing that his son had beaten him so thoroughly, so quickly. "Now what am I going to do?"
thought Genma, "He can call off his engagement and I can't do anything
about it. Kami, I pray he doesn't do that."
Ranma burst into the house barely
able to contain his happiness. He
finally had a handle on his forced engagement to Akane, the youngest Tendo
daughter. Now he would be able to
honestly come to a conclusion about whether or not their relationship could
last, and if not he would simply end it and choose another of his two
innazukes. If it came to that, Ranma
knew whom he would pick: Shampoo. Of
his remaining innazukes, he didn't care for Ukyo more than as a friend, and he
was partially indebted to Cologne, Shampoo's great-grandmother because she
taught him the Hiryu Shoten Ha, Kashuu Tenshin Amiguriken, and Mouka
Takabisha. But only time would truly
tell.
The rest of the school day went
rather uneventfully (for once in his existence) and Akane and Ranma started
walking home together as usual. Ranma
decided then and there to talk with Akane about their engagement that
night. As if on cue, Ranma heard the
jingle of bell on Shampoo's bike. Not
wanting to be glomped in front of Akane and have her blow up again, Ranma leapt
off the rail he had been walking on and vaulted onto the sidewalk next to
Akane. Shampoo, seeing her airen evade
her, jumped off her bike as it crashed into the wall and she landed in Ranma's
lap. The saucy Amazon snuggled into her
innazuke's shoulder and spoke, "Ranma take Shampoo on date, yes?"
Ranma sighed, "No Shampoo, I'm
not taking you on a date. I'm walking
home with Akane."
"Why Ranma spend time with
violent tomboy. She not needed."
At this comment, Akane began turning
a deep blood red as her battle aura began to surge. If that Chinese hussy didn't let go of Ranma in about 30 seconds,
both she and that no good pervert would be taking an early honeymoon courtesy
of Akane Airlines.
"Um, Shampoo, can we talk about
this later? Please?"
"Humph, I guess I'm not NEEDED
HERE, Ranma, I'll just see you at home," said Akane as she began to storm
off towards home.
"No, Akane...wait up!"
"Leave violent girl alone, she
not worthy of Airen."
At that comment, Ranma who had just
about enough of Shampoo for right now began glowing a deep blue as his battle
aura began to take shape. Shampoo had
never had her Airen be this mad at her before, so she instantly let go and
stared in awe at the display Ranma was making. The look in his eyes at the
moment was one of pure vehemence as Ranma bounded off towards home, his battle
aura still raging.
He leaped from rooftop to rooftop at
blinding speed. In fact, he reached the
Tendo dojo before Akane and was in the backyard when she arrived. Ranma was so mad at the moment that he
decided to waste all his excess energy into a massive ki blast so he could calm
down.
Ranma put his hands at his side as a
massive blue ball of energy began to form between them, "Mou..." the
ball of energy doubled in size, "ka....Ta..ka" the diameter of
Ranma's sphere of pure energy was now well over three feet as he began to
finish the channeling phase of the attack,
"bi....SHA!"
With that he raise his hands to the sky and a massive beam of pure energy
ripped from his fingertips. Ranma, now
very weak from the huge amount of energy he had exerted, collapsed onto the
lawn and breathed in shallow gasps.
Akane, witnessing this display from the back porch quickly ran to
Ranma's side, as he lay on the grass unable to catch his breath.
"RANMA!, Look at me...LOOK AT
ME!" pleaded a helpless Akane as she watched the one person she ACTUALLY
lo-...cared for lapse into what she might have considered death. She saw Ranma's glassy eyes and feared the
worst. She remembered the day her
mother died, and her eyes looked the same way; distant and unable to
focus. She didn't know what to do and
all of a sudden, she began to glow as her aura began to manifest itself. Akane started to cry and the more she cried,
the brighter her aura became. Soon her
aura flared and enveloped Ranma completely and began to bathe Ranma in its
energy. Slowly, Ranma turned to Akane
and blinked himself back to reality as the energy of Akane's aura replenished
the reserves which Ranma had unknowingly depleted as he focused his blast.
Ranma blinked one more time and
stuttered, "A...Akane? W-what're
you DOING here? W-why are you CRYING?"
"H-huh? What?" Akane's
aura dissipated instantly and she stopped her sobbing realizing Ranma had
returned to her. "RANMA! YOU'RE
OK!!" She hugged her innazuke tightly around the neck as she whispered,
"I thought I'd lost you."
Ranma, taken aback from Akane's
words, only stared into her eyes and said, "We need to talk about some
things. You want to go to your room or
mine?"
* * *
Back on Goku's Earth, the battle for
the planet and the continuation of Goku's life raged on. Kami and Piccolo stood atop Kami's Lookout
as they sensed the life force of a greater evil than even Androids 16, 17, and
18 combined. Piccolo looked at his
father's other half with disdain. He
knew the consequences of what he was about to ask and if anyone died
afterwards, then they would not be able to be revived by the Dragonballs.
"Kami, I have a question for
you."
"Yes, Piccolo, what is
it?"
"Do you love the Earth?"
"Why are you asking me this,
Piccolo? You already know the answer to
that question. That is the reason that
I became the Guardian of the Earth."
"Because I think that in order
to defeat these Androids and save the planet you love so much, then we must
unite as one and defeat this menace once and for all."
Kami was taken aback at Piccolo's
request. Both Nameks knew what would
happen if they fused. The Dragonballs
would become useless stones and the Eternal Dragon could never be summoned
again. "I - I don't know
Piccolo. But there is something that
you DON'T know."
"Hmm? What is that?"
"That for the past four years I
have been sensing the presence of an evil that is greater than Freiza or all of
the Androids put together. Also, you
must know that if we were to merge, then the Dragonballs would be useless. If anyone were to die after we merged, then
they would not be able to return to this dimension. If this great evil were to kill anyone then the Earth would be at
a great disadvantage without the Dragonballs. You understand of course."
Piccolo nodded in his
agreement. He knew the calculated risk
that he would be taking on the Earth's behalf if he and Kami merged. However, with the child Kertatz finally
whole again, he would have tremendous power with which he might be able to
defeat this great evil. "You know
of course that with our combined power, PLUS that of the Namekian I merged with
back on our home planet we might just have a chance at defeating this
monster. And I give you my word...I am
doing this completely for the betterment of the planet you love so much.
Kami's eyes widened at his other
half's last statement. With a slight
resignation in his eyes, the elder Namek said, "Very well then,
Piccolo. For the betterment of the
Earth...we shall merge and fight the evil."
* * *
Ranma sat on Akane's bed as he gazed
into the soft features of his one true innazuke. From what Akane had told him about his condition after firing his
ki blast, Ranma Saotome was lucky to still be alive. He hadn't realized it since he had been so incredibly pissed
earlier, but the extra adrenaline that had been pumping through his system had
actually allowed him to gain access to the life-sustaining reserve energies
that allowed him to do the most basic functions. His heightened state had allowed him to gain access to the
unfathomable energies that he had begun to tap into during his blindfolded duel
with his father. Now that he was
healthy again, Ranma felt stronger than ever and he now wanted the final piece
of his life resolved...his engagements to his three innazukes.
Ranma sat cross-legged on top of
Akane's bed as he spoke, "Akane...were you worried about me earlier
today?"
Akane wasn't sure what Ranma was
getting at, but she decided it was the best to tell the truth at this
point. "Of course, silly. Who wouldn't be worried if they saw a person
collapse and more or less stop breathing right in front of them."
Ranma looked slightly sullen. That hadn't been what he'd wanted her to
say. He stared into the bedspread, deep
in thought. His eyes began to moisten
as he decided to try a different approach.
He knew this would be it...he was putting everything on the line and he
didn't like the idea of that. But he
knew it had to be done. He looked up as tears began to form in his eyes, his
voice trembling. "W-what I
m-meant, was...would it have m-mattered to you if I had...d-died today? Do you care about me...like THAT?"
The message had more than got
through to Akane this time. This was a
side of Ranma NO ONE had ever seen. He
looked utterly miserable and EXTREMELY vulnerable. That was something Ranma NEVER did; and were those...TEARS? Could he really be crying? It must have taken all his control just to
formulate that question...let alone ASK IT.
She decided it was time to let her true feelings on the matter be
known. "I would have committed
seppuku right then and there." The young girl looked Ranma dead in the
eyes as she continued, "I can't imagine a world without you in it
Ranma...I - I love you. There I said
it. I love you Ranma Saotome."
Ranma beamed the largest smile in
the young man's life. Ranma couldn't
remember a happier moment in his young life up that point. "Well, I
lo-love you too, Akane. I was hoping
you felt the same way and I'm glad you did.
I hope that you can forgive me for all the pain and suffering I've
caused you this past year and I'll try to make up for it from now on."
The young woman returned her innazuke's
smile as she realized what this all meant...Ranma and she and finally come to
terms with their relationship and they could now start to get on with their
lives. Then her face soured as she
realized that something was still wrong.
"Ranma, this is all wonderful and all, but how are you going to
break it to the others?"
"I - I don't know." Ranma
realized that he had never thought past finding out about Akane's feelings and
what would happen if he stayed with her.
"Well, Ukyo is easy...I'll just tell her I can't marry her. She'll have to understand. If she doesn't, maybe pop can make her a
part of the family so her honor isn't lost." The young man shrugged in defeat.
"I have NO IDEA what to do about Cologne.
She has NEVER been able to get it through her thick skull that I'm not
going to marry Shampoo. BUT...maybe I
can do this and even get out of THAT.
Akane, I'll be back in a few hours."
"W-what? Why? Where are you
going?"
"The Nekohanten. I'm going to take care of this
TONIGHT!"
* * *
Outside Master Roshi's house, Gohan
was practicing his exercises in preparation for the battle he would have
against the Androids when the three metal monstrosities would arrive to claim
the life of his father. As the young
boy practiced his kata on the island's small shoreline, waves of water split
apart as Gohan's energy projected outward with each movement. The young Saiyan had been training hard
behind his mother's back and at night while she was asleep so that if Androids
17 and 18 ever showed at Master Roshi's he would be able to come to his
father's defense. He had been feeling
his energy growing with each passing day and he hoped it would be enough to
finally put a stop to the Androids once and for all. As he was finishing his morning routine, he felt two strong
powers hurtling toward the island at incredible speed. He got in a battle stance, ready to take on
the worst. Then, just as he was
preparing to power up, he recognized the power levels as those of Trunks and
Krillin.
As the two fighters landed on Master
Roshi's island, Gohan let out the breath he hadn't noticed that he'd been
holding. He looked over his two friends
with curious eye and noticed something amiss. "Hey, what's up? What's the matter?" The two fighters
looked at the young warrior as Trunks spoke to him, "On our way here,
Krillin and I sensed an enormous power level in Ginger Town. The only thing is, is that we sensed it as
Goku. We came here to double check and
make sure that he was still here since my cure should not have acted that
quickly."
"Umm...he should still be
upstairs...c'mon, let's go check." With that, Gohan leapt into the air and
floated to the window of the room in which his father rested. Satisfied with his inspection he returned to
his friends. "Yep, he's still there.
Are you SURE that it was my dad's power you were sensing and not another
Saiyan's?"
"I'm positive, Gohan. Your dad has a very distinctive auric
pattern and I sensed it. There was no
mistaking that it was his."
"Alright, then do you want to
go check it out?"
"No, not yet, I asked for Tien
and Chiatsu to meet us here so that we could go check it out and someone would
still be able to watch your dad."
Gohan understood and returned to his
practices as he waited for his friends to arrive.
* * *
Ranma arrived at the Nekohanten
shortly after leaving the Tendo Dojo.
He wanted to make this outing short and painless. He also didn't want to have to listen to
that dried up mummy for longer than his temper could hold, and after the failed
wedding and Saffron's death his temper was wavering on atom-bomb levels with a
two-second time delay from detonation.
The only person it seemed that this did NOT apply to was the person that
seemed to be causing the most grief overall...Akane. But that was all in the past.
They had finally come to an understanding and were ready to be
married...just not yet. Ever since Jusendo
Ranma had been trying to figure out a way to rid himself of his other
engagements and he thought he had figured them all out...he hoped. He knew that all Cologne wanted was his
bloodline in the Amazon tribe. This
meant that he had to marry a person that was part of the tribe or marry and be
adopted into the tribe. He was going to
try to remind Cologne of that and see if she would allow him that option.
As he entered the Nekohanten he
scanned the dwindling dinner rush patrons for any sign of the Amazon
Matriarch. Then, from the kitchen the
familiar sound of an old woman screaming in Mandarin was heard. Not thinking twice, Ranma casually pushed
the door to the kitchen just in time to see Cologne splash Mousse with a glass
of cold water. The duck looked up at
Ranma and squawked menacingly as Cologne put the duck-boy in his cage for the
moment. Without turning around, the
matriarch spoke to him, "So, son-in-law, what can I do for you
today?"
Unperturbed by the all to familiar
verbal jab, Ranma simply stated, "We need to talk about my engagement to
your great-granddaughter...Honored Elder."
"Aah, so...you have finally
come around have you? When would you like the ceremony to be then?"
"Never, Honored Elder. That is what we must talk about."
"Before we do, son-in-law,
answer me one question: what happened
to the normal verbal taunts you throw my way?"
"I figured that if I'm to get
what I want, then I should show the proper respect."
"I'm glad to hear that. Now what about your engagement?"
"I would like it annulled. I love Akane and she loves me. We wish to be married. Even though your laws do not affect me, I
don't want any bad blood between you and I since you took the time to train me
in the Amazon's secret techniques. I
know of the other part of the law to become a part of the Amazon tribe...the
part by which you can be adopted into the tribe. Well, I would like the Saotome clan to be adopted into the
Joketsuzoku. Once I'm married to Akane,
we will be the protectors of the tribe and come to your aid when necessary. Would this be a acceptable plan of action
Honored Elder?"
Cologne's expression became one of
joy mixed with bewilderment and shock.
She could not believe that Xian Pu's husband-to-be had successfully
countered every argument to him marrying Akane in his short soliloquy. This would allow Ranma's line to be entered
into the tribe and there would be no more hassles about it. Ranma would do it willingly. However, there was one more thing she had to
know. "It is acceptable,
Ranma. You marriage to Xian Pu is
hereby annulled. Her honor will not be
lost and you may start your tenure as a protector of the Joketsuzoku following
your marriage to Tendo Akane. I have a
few requests of you however. First,
your children will live in the village for the three years after their tenth
birthday. This will allow them to fully
learn our customs. Second, you and your
offspring will be required to journey at least once a year to the village for
our annual tournament. You will be given enough prior notice so you will not
miss it and can make plans around it. I
say at least once because we have festivals that you may attend, but protectors
of the tribe do not have to attend.
Finally, you must give your children the OPPORTUNITY to wed one of the
males/females of the village. If your
children do not wish this, then the same thing will happen with them, their
spouse will be adopted into the clan.
Is this acceptable Saotome-san?"
Ranma nodded his approval. "It is fine with me, but let me talk
with Akane first. She doesn't know
ANYTHING of what I was going to say in this meeting, but she shouldn't have too
much of a problem with it. I'll give
you my final answer after school tomorrow." He bowed deeply to his
superior. "Thank you, Honored
Elder."
"You are quite welcome. Now go to your wife before she becomes
suspicious. Oh, and Ranma before I
forget I have one more favor I need to ask?"
"Yes?"
"Can I help with the
wedding?"
Ranma simply nodded his approval and
left the Nekohanten.
* * *
Piccolo sped to Ginger Town at
supersonic speeds to fight the great evil that had surfaced. No one knew who or what it was, but he
intended to find out. When the Namek
arrived at Ginger Town, a haunting image greeted him. Thousands of sets of clothing were strewn across the landscape,
crumpled and discarded. It was
unsettling to say the least. He scanned
the area for any sign of life but found none...except a faint, and familiar
power level...Goku? He sped over to
where he sensed Goku's power to find something horribly different. A creature that looked like the difference
between a giant cicada and a human was walking around and at the moment was
dragging a man around the streets.
"You there, who are you? Let him go if you know what's good for
you."
"Why hello, Piccolo. Why, I'm sorry I was just indulging in a
little snack, I need the life energy of these humans to help me complete my
evolution."
Piccolo looked at the hideous
creature with wide eyes. "What do
you mean, 'complete your evolution'?"
The creature only smiled and looked
at the man he was carrying, and threw him down in disgust. As the man tried to run away, the creature’s
tail pierced the man in the back and before Piccolo's eyes, the man seemed to
be sucked INTO the creature. The
creature smiled evilly at the evident shock on the Namek's face as he
explained, "My name is Cell, Piccolo.
I was created as the perfect fighting organism by my 'father' Dr.
Gero."
The name of the head of the Red
Ribbon Army effectively knocked Piccolo out of the stupor he had been in the
last few seconds. "I hate to
disappoint you, but we just killed Dr. Gero not too long ago. Whatever plans you had for him are
gone. And soon, I'll make sure that
you'll join your creator." Piccolo
smirked as he unconsciously began to power up.
* * *
Back in Nerima, a black and red blur
can be seen hopping from rooftop to rooftop heading back to an all-too-familiar
dojo. Ranma landed on the roof of his
surrogate home and smiled broadly. The
talk with Cologne had gone better than he had expected. Even with his case about the marriage law, he
was sure he would've had to fight Cologne to rid himself of the marriage to
Shampoo. Luckily that was not the case,
and they even reached a rather interesting settlement. Now it was time to run the idea past
Akane. If this didn't go well, then he
might HAVE to fight Cologne after all.
In the back of his mind, he shuddered at the thought. Despite growing in power since Jusendo, and
then again just recently against his father, he wasn't sure he could defeat the
Amazon matriarch. Pushing such thoughts
to the back of his mind for the time being he carefully reached the window to
Akane's room and expected her to be asleep at this late hour. To his surprise, as he hung from the upper
part of the roof, he found a bedside lamp on and his innazuke sitting on her
bed staring towards the window. It
almost looked like she was waiting for him.
Hopping down from the upper roof onto the lower portion next to Akane's
window as she opened it for him to enter.
As he entered the room, he shut the
window with his right hand and looked at his innazuke with slight scorn on his
face. "What are you still doing
up?"
She smiled brightly at him;
"I've been waiting up for you to come back from the Nekohanten,
silly."
His heart melted when he saw her
smile like that. Every bit of anger he
felt at the moment disappeared. Knowing
he won't be reprimanding her tonight, Ranma asked, "So, do you want to
know how it went?"
"Of course I do. Why do you think I stayed up?"
"Good point."
"So?"
Ranma put a hand behind his head and
smiled nervously. "It went ok I guess."
"You guess?"
"Well, I'm no longer engaged to
Shampoo, but there are a few conditions to it."
To say that Akane was a little more
than annoyed was an understatement. She
glared at her innazuke as a small battle aura began to form. "LIKE?"
"Shh! Calm down. They're
nothing horrendous. But they are just
so that when we have kids, they have the opportunity to be part of the tribe
like we are."
Akane just blinked in total
shock. "We're in the tribe? How in
Kami's name did you pull that one off?"
Ranma smiled evilly, "One
word..........Research."
Akane facefaulted at that. The thought of Mr.
Never-does-a-lick-of-schoolwork researching something was almost too painful a
concept to think about. Therefore, she
simply continued the conversation.
"And? What did you find?"
"That outsider males can be
adopted into the tribe if they already have a previous marriage
arrangement."
"Well I'll be damned."
Ranma chuckled. "Yea, no
kidding. Well, I presented that to
Cologne and said that I wanted my engagement to Shampoo annulled and the
Saotome clan to be entered into the Joketsuzoku. She said that was fine on a few conditions."
"What were they?" The concern in her voice and face were
unmistakable.
Ranma smiled at that. He didn't think that the conditions were too
horrible, and he'd say so to Akane. "Well, for one thing, the family will
have to enter the village tournament every year. Cologne said that we would be given prior notice so that we can
make proper arrangements. Also,
concerning when we had kids (he saw the evident blush in Akane's cheeks at the
mention of the subject), she said that after each of them turn ten, they have
to remain in the village for three years to learn the customs. And when they come of age, then they must be
given the opportunity to wed someone in the tribe. If they don't decide to do that, then whomever they marry will be
entered into the tribe as a member. Is
all this ok with you?"
A long awkward silence ensued
between the young couple. Akane stared
straight at Ranma, almost looking as if she didn't want to speak for the fear
that her words my betray her. Finally,
mustering enough courage, she said, "Yes, Ranma. It is perfectly ok with me.
There is only one problem. Why
are we not required to move to the village?"
Ranma almost fell over from
question. "I am such a baka. I forgot to fully explain our position in
the tribe. We are its protectors,
Akane. We will be asked to assist the
tribe in times of war and such and protect the matriarchs as a first line of
defense. Also, every protector of the
tribe, both male and female, is seen as Amazon warriors and therefore has one
of the highest statuses in the village.
The only people that would outrank us would be the matriarchs."
To say that Akane's mouth had done a
good impression of an opening cash register drawer would be an
understatement. After recovering her
wits she said, "I'm all for this deal.
When do we start?"
"The day we're married."
Again, Akane's mouth did a marvelous
impression of a cash register drawer.
Then, a conniving glint entered the young martial artist's eye. "Ranma, how much do you love me?"
Perplexed by the question, he
answered truthfully, "I love you more than the Art and a cure to my curse
combined, and that's saying a lot."
"It certainly is." Now a
mischievous smirk accompanied the glint in her eye. "Would you like to get married soon?"
Now it was Ranma's turn for the cash
register routine. "You're kiddin'
me."
"No, I'm not."
Without one hint of hesitation
Saotome Ranma kisses Akane with all the passion he can muster. Akane, taken slightly aback by this,
hesitates a moment before kissing back, welcoming the experience and glad that
no one was awake to ruin it for them.
Once the kiss is finished, Ranma looks deeply into Akane's eyes before
saying, "That's my answer."
"When would you like the
wedding?"
"As soon as we enter Ucchan
into the family. I'll talk to my mom
about it tomorrow."
"Good, I'll be glad to have
this fiasco behind us. Won't you?"
"Yep. Well, goodnight Akane."
He gets up from where he was sitting and started towards the door.
"Ranma...wait."
The young martial artist turned
towards his innazuke.
"Please stay the night...I
don't care what our father's will think, I just want to be near you right
now."
Too shocked to speak, Ranma only
nods and lays on the floor next to Akane's bed.
"Ranma, what are you
doing?"
"I'm sleeping near you."
"No you're not, Ranma."
Ranma swallows audibly as he
understands EXACTLY what she meant. "Are you sure about this?"
"As sure as my decision to
marry you."
"Alright." Ranma climbs into the bed next to
Akane. It's a tight fit since the bed
is only a twin. The pair lay next to
each other in the bed and bask in each other's warmth. After a few hours, the duo finally goes to
sleep.
* * *
Upon regaining consciousness, Ranma
took in his surroundings. The first
thing he noticed as he did so was that he was not alone in bed, nothing new
there. The futon he was sleeping on was
uncharacteristically light. Maybe Oyaji
went to bed as a human for once. Just
to make sure, and without opening his eyes, he carefully placed a hand on the
body next to him in the bed. It was
small, even for his father, he thought.
Carefully he ran his hand slowly and lightly up the body just to double
check that elicited an unconscious moan of the person sleeping next to him, a
highly FEMININE moan. With that, his
eyes darted open as the adrenaline began pumping into his system. His heart rate increased dramatically as his
mind tried to process how a girl could have gotten into his bed without him
knowing it. Next problem, if this isn't
Akane, then he had to make sure that he got whomever it was OUT of the bed and
the house before anyone found out.
Third problem, if this WAS Akane.
Then he hoped to Kami that when she woke she was in a good mood.
First thing's first: check out who's
in the bed. It's Akane. Ok, breathe a sigh of relief. Next step:
Where am I? Answer: Akane's room.
Uh-oh, not good. Last step: Am I
wearing anything? Answer: No. At the
end of that mental checklist Ranma blinks.
He knew he was so tired last night that he got into bed fully
clothed. When did he take them off, and
did he do...THAT? Oh brother, NOT GOOD.
Ranma therefore got out of bed to see if he could find his clothes
before Akane incurred her wrath.
Still lost in thought, Ranma did not
notice the stirring in the bed behind him.
If he had, he would have known that Akane had finally woken up and was
now going through the same mental checklist.
The her emotions rage, more out of habit than anger, as she reaches the
end of it and realized what happened last night. Her battle aura flares as she glares the naked form of her
soon-to-be-dead innazuke who was presently searching for his clothes.
Ranma immediately recognized the
all-to-familiar surge of chi from behind him in the bed. Not wanting to turn around, he stood erect
and kept his back to the bed as he spoke in a sullen tone, "Go on,
Akane. Do your worst."
The soon-to-be Amazon warrior was
about to do just that except for two things.
One: she didn't know where her clothes were at the moment either and
two: she was GOING to soon be an Amazon warrior. When the last part popped in her head, she realized what was said
and done last night and her aura completely faded. But in its wake was a sorrow larger than any amount of anger
could conjure. It was then and there
that Akane broke down. And in true
Tendo style, Akane attempted to flood the house with her sobs.
* * *
After the encounter with Cell, the Z
fighters returned to Master Roshi's to find Goku beginning to retrain his body
after the debilitating disease. He
tells them about the visions he's had and the new Saiyan. All are dumbstruck by the news and the fact
that Goku is not only going to FIND this mysterious warrior, but attempt to
become even stronger than a Super Saiyan.
After all this was explained to them, Goku rounded up Vegeta and Trunks
and told them to train in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber on Kami's Lookout while
he went in search of the new Saiyan. Once his was done, Goku teleported to King
Kai's planet.
The bulbous martial arts master
looked at Goku as though he had just seen a ghost. "Goku, what are you
doing here? You should be combating
that evil force still on Earth. This is
no time for a social call."
"I know King Kai, which is
precisely the reason I'm here." He noticed his master's perplexed
expression and continued. "I need
you to read my mind and see if you can sense the Saiyan that I envisioned
during my recovery from my virus."
The eternal martial arts master
nodded and went to work scanning the known universe for the fighter only to
come up empty. "I'm sorry Goku,
but I don't sense that presence anywhere.
Are you sure you weren't hallucinating?"
"I'm SURE of it King Kai. However, I did have the feeling that he
wasn't from the known universe somehow.
Is there another universe out there somehow?"
The Kai nodded. "There is actually. Now that you told me that, I know how to
look for him. I was only searching
through THIS continuum and not any others.
Give me about thirty minutes and I'll find this lost Saiyan."
"Alright. I'll be meditating in the meanwhile."
The Kai went back to his work and
the sky around his planet began shifting out of the normal lavender/pink
surrounding Goku was used to seeing. It
shifted to a spectrum of colors and King Kai searched the spectrum for the
presence of the new Saiyan. He finally
found it and shifted the color of the sky to match the color for that
universe. Once he finished he awakened
Goku from his meditative state.
When Goku looked around, the sky of
the 'Other Plane' was now a deep jungle green rather than the lavender/pink it
was when he arrived. He pushed his
senses to where he thought his Earth would be and could not sense any of his
friends. He DID however sense his kindred Saiyan.
"Thanks King Kai. I've found him."
Kai nodded. "You must be back
by the end of the third day on that Earth for you to not have to wait for me to
reopen the gateway to this universe. I
must rest five days in between the openings and by that time, your friends and
the world as you know it may not be there any longer."
Goku nodded. He then concentrated on the presence he felt
and teleported to it.