[Ranma][Fanfic][Lime] Childhood of a Modern Dynasty - Chapter 17: The
Wedding in the Eye of the Storm
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Childhood of a Modern Dynasty
Chapter 17: The Wedding in the Eye of 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 angle brackets is thought by character.>
"Speech text in double quotes is spoken as Japanese unless otherwise
identified as Mandarin."

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
=======================================================================
>From the personal journal of James Davidson:


September 19, 2057

     When I awoke this morning, Hanaki was already gone. "Locate
Hanaki," I called out as I rose from our futon. A holographic map of the
Compound appeared in front of me. She was in the small dojo near the
South Building. In this case, small meant it only had one level and only
four practice rooms, unlike the multilevel main dojo that had more rooms
that most small hotels. She must be training again. Ever since the crash
in the hoverjet a couple weeks ago, she had been training much more
often. When I asked her about it, she just said she needed to put more
training time in. I hope the crash isn't still bothering her.

     "Clear." The holographic display disappeared as I casually walked
through it to go to the bathroom.

     After I had cleaned up and ate the breakfast that Hanaki had left
out for me, I left our suite of rooms in the south building and strolled
the short distance to the dojo to say good morning to my wife. As I slid
the door open, I saw my wife jumping around the dojo landing punches and
kicks to several padded dummies. I stood hypnotized by the graceful
movements of her workout. I had seen her workout before, but for some
reason, this one mesmerized me. It might have something to do with the
tight little leotard she was wearing, instead of the gi she usually wore
during her workouts.

     I don't really know how long I stood there watching, and only shook
myself out of my trance when a small hand tugged on my shirt. I looked
down to see little Daijiko dressed in her gi. "Hi, Rugrat."

     "James, you here to train too?" Daijiko asked, while holding up her
arms in an obvious clue that she wanted to be picked up.

     I smiled and picked her up. "Nope, just came to find my wife."

     "I'm going to be as good as Hannie one day," Daijiko said,
carefully following Hanaki's movements with her eyes.

     "I'm sure you will." I gave her a little peck on her forehead.

     A thump startled me. I looked up and saw that Hanaki had landed in
front of me. She gave me a long kiss. "Jealous?" I quipped after the
kiss ended.

     "Of course. After all, this little cutie stole Takma from me, so I
have to be careful," Hanaki replied, ruffling Daijiko's hair. Then she
grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off her forehead and chest.

     I assumed she was kidding since Takma was only six or seven years
old. "Is that why you married me, to steal me from Daijiko?"

     Hanaki threw me one of those charming smiled of hers that usually
made my legs go weak, which they did. "No, because I love you." We
kissed again, but we were interrupted by a small voice that we had
forgotten about.

     "Icky."

     We both smiled at Daijiko. Then Hanaki took the small child in her
arms and gave her a big hug. "Someday you'll like kissing boys."

     "Why?" was Daijiko's innocent reply.

     "You'll see. You really should get to school, young lady," Hanaki
said, and patted Daijiko on her backside.

     "But I want to train with you!"

     "Tomorrow, just come an hour earlier so you can get to school on
time. Okay?"

     "Okay, Hannie! Bye-bye!" Daijiko said, as she skipped out of the
dojo.

     I watched her run off, and then I turned to my bride and finished
the interrupted kiss. "Good morning. That was some workout," I said
after the kiss ended.

     Hanaki wrapped the towel she was holding around her neck and then
took my hand and walked towards the door. "Well, in a week I'm no longer
a pilot trainee. I'll be on the active pilot and combat rosters, so I
have to be prepared for anything."

     "Looks like you are," I said as we strolled back to our suite.

     "You'd be surprised at how much better the other Task Force members
are."

     I wondered if she was being modest, since Akane always spoke highly
of Hanaki's talents. "There is always someone better at everything we do
in life, just do your best."

     "I do, but I didn't train as hard growing up as others around here.
It wasn't until I got the urge to become a pilot that I took my training
seriously."

     "Well, I do know you are the most beautiful pilot I know."

     "Flatterer," Hanaki replied and kissed me. "But you haven't met
Jaki yet."

     "I doubt she'd fill out that leotard like you do... or excite me
like seeing you in it does." I winked at my wife.

     "I can see that," Hanaki said. "Let me turn my implant on and I'll
see if I can remove thoughts of other women from your mind." She reached
for her wristpad to access the remote control for her implant.

     I blinked in surprise. "Don't you usually keep it on?" I only asked
because most women usually did. Turning it on just before having
intercourse prevented pregnancy, but didn't remove some of the other
aspects of a woman's cycle. Most women who opted to have implants
usually kept it on all the time. Well, at least that's what my research
for an article for my old magazine had indicated.

     Hanaki shook her head. "No, it tends to mess up my balance if I
keep it on all the time. The other women on the Task Force don't seem to
have a problem, but being a pilot it makes it all the more important
that I don't get dizzy or disoriented, so I only turn it on when we...
you know."

     I nodded my understanding before suggesting something. "You could
always leave it off all the time and let nature take its course."

     Hanaki looked a bit confused, but at the same time, a small glimmer
of joy twinkled in her eye that indicated to me that she did have the
desire to have kids someday. "So soon? I figured you'd want to wait a
while to have kids." 

     "Well, after our trip to the desert I've thought about what it
would be like to have kids. I know it's something that you want."

     "How do you know that?"

     "I can see it in your eyes when I see you with Daijiko or some of
the other kids around here."

     Hanaki blushed. "Do my eyes say when?"

     "No, but my heart says whenever you think you're ready, I'll be
ready."

     "Thank you, James."

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     Later, I walked towards Akane's house while Hanaki went to do some
training in a supposedly fixed version of the new hoverjet model that
she had crashed into the Tokyo Tower a couple weeks ago. She wasn't
looking forward to it, so maybe that is why she suggested our little
mid-morning escapade. Not that I'm complaining, mind you.

     I greeted Akane with a smile and a kiss to her cheek. "So where's
your husband?"

     Akane signed. "He's helping the Task Force today. He's always been
so restless and tries to keep busy. I wish he'd just learn to relax and
enjoy the peaceful moments between the storms."

     "From what you've told me--and from the few discussions I've had
with your husband--all of the Ranmas had a restless nature."

    "True, but..." Akane was suddenly drowned out by a large, sleek
hoverjet that roared over our heads. Its dual enclosed rotors churned up
dust as the aircraft hovered above us. It had a very low profile and
looked to be made for fast maneuvering. Unlike the older hoverjets the
Task Force uses, this model looked much less boxy and had smaller
rotors.

     I smiled and waved to what I assumed was my wife saying hello.
Suddenly, the hoverjet blasted away at high speed. In its wake, small
trees, bushes, and other shrubs were ripped out from the ground and flew
around the yard with all sort of miscellaneous debris. It was so bad, I
had to close my eyes and shield my face. "Damn, Hanaki should be more
careful."

     "That's not her showing off!" Akane shouted above the diminishing
racket caused by the flying debris. "Control, alert status three.
Hanaki, what's wrong?"

     All around us, emergency status holo-displays popped into
existence. They showed maps, locations of Task Force members, equipment,
vehicles, and other tactical information.

     Hanaki's voice replied from the hidden speakers that were
everywhere in the Compound. "Matriarch... the hoverjet ramjets kicked
into an orbit burn instead of the normal maneuvering jets. Trying to
disengage now... no go. Ramjets won't cut off. Manual override... no
go."

     Another voice--possibly Akane's husband--was heard. "Want me t' go
outside and kick the damn thing?"

     "What's going on?" I asked.

     "James, please save your questions for later," Akane snapped then
looked at the displays again. "So much for the 'fixed' hoverjet." She
sighed and gestured to one of the map displays. "Tactical, follow TF-EX
zero-two." The map in question zoomed in to show the hoverjet racing
southward across the ocean. It was already a considerable distance away.
"Inlay satellite." A smaller satellite overview of the area popped up.
"Ditch it if you have to, Hanaki."

     "Can't do that... at this speed everyone would die in the crash.
Hold on..." There was a brief pause before Hanaki spoke again. "I need
two hoverjets holding at the outer markers to pickup dropjets."

     A voice I didn't recognize replied over the speakers. "TF-HJ
three-three and six-seven already in the air. Will be at outer markers
in two minutes. Three-three hold at marker tango-foxtrot. Six-seven hold
at marker victor-foxtrot."

     I now could see that two more hoverjet indicators were moving
southward toward the outer markers, which was indicated on the map as a
circular line extending out through Tokyo Bay.

     Akane glanced at the speed display for the hoverjet Hanaki was
piloting. "Hanaki, the dropjets won't be usable at your current speed."

     "I know that!" Hanaki replied curtly. I could hear the stress in
her voice, which made me even more nervous. "I won't be going this fast
when they drop. Hold on..."

     The display suddenly showed her out-of-control hoverjet doing a
wide turn over the ocean and then heading back towards Tokyo.

     "Do we have video yet?" Akane asked into the air.

     Someone's voice replied. "Not yet, Matriarch, three-three should
have visual in two minutes."

     Hanaki's voice seemed to be yelling various commands to her crew.
"All of you get your air masks on and get to the dropjets. Be ready for
my signal... this is going to be close."

     Suddenly the two rescue hoverjets reached a circular line on the
map display and stopped there. That must be the outer marker, I guess.
Hanaki's hoverjet was nearing the line, about midway between the other
two hoverjets. When it touched the line, it seemed to stop. "What
the..."

     Akane seemed as confused as I was. "She couldn't have gone to hover
mode with the orbit jets firing... oh... she's going straight up." She
pointed towards the altitude display. The satellite display also showed
the hoverjet ascending vertically like a rocket, something I don't think
they were designed to do. The satellite display suddenly pixilated and
went dark to be replaced by a 'signal lost' indicator.

     "Control, do we have another satellite in range?"

     "Negative, Matriarch. We'll try to get it back."

     Just then, Hanaki's voice called out. "Flame out! Top floor...
everyone out!"

     Various garbled voices suddenly called out as whatever Hanaki was
doing, happened. Akane and I tried to make sense out of everything,
without much success, until one of the hoverjets reported clearly.

     "This is three-three. I have dropjets in sight. Six-seven, do you
see the hoverjet?"

     "Negative. Wait... here it comes... straight down. It's out of
control!"

     Suddenly, a video display popped up and I could see the hoverjet
tumbling out of control towards the ocean.

     "Hanaki!!" I cried out.

     Akane took my hand. "She'll be alright." She tried to sound
confident, but I could tell from her eyes that she was as worried as I
was. We both held our breaths for word from the recovery hoverjets.

     "Six-seven... three recoveries."

     "Three-three... two recoveries. Hoverjet is down in the water.
Searching for survivors.

     Akane shuddered as she heard the count. "There were seven on
board... who's missing?"

     "This is six-seven... we're not detecting your husband or Hanaki's
tags."

     Akane dropped to her knees. I just stared at the displays in front
of me in shocked silence. This couldn't be happening.

     "No..." I muttered. Suddenly, the wind gusted around us and a small
circular object crashed into the ground in front of us. The two figures
that had been on it tumbled out of the contraption and barreled into us.

     I was knocked onto my back and was pinned under a distinctly female
body. When I opened my eyes, I was greeted with a pair of blue eyes.
"Hanaki!" I pulled my wife into an embrace and was about to kiss her
before noticing a white pigtail out of the corner of my eye. "Oh... Hi."

     Akane's husband rose slightly from my chest. "Keep those lips to
yourself, Mister!"

     I turned my head and saw that my wife was getting up off Akane. She
scurried over and looked down at me. "Uncle, if you don't mind, could
you please get off my husband?"

     "If you insist. He's the one who was grabbing at me and stuff."

     "Err... I thought you were my wife."

     Hanaki rushed past her uncle, who had just helped me to my feet,
and gave me a quick kiss. "Do I really feel the same as an old woman?"

     I smiled and hugged my wife tighter, never wanting to ever let her
go. "No, of course not."

     "Idiot... you scared me to death!" Akane shouted and gave her
husband a kiss and a long hug.

     "Feh, no way could I die in a simple hoverjet crash, Sparky."

     "Just remember our agreement about that, Sanma." Akane's eyebrow
raised slightly.

     Sanma nodded. "Not a second before you. Promise."

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     After the commotion had died down, Hanaki was explaining to all of
us what had happened. They had slipped out of their g-suits, which had
been pretty torn up in their escape from the hoverjet, and now sat with
us on the porch. "Well, after the ramjets refused to disengage from
their orbit burn, I figured I'd have to starve them. So that meant
heading straight up until the air was thin enough to cause a flame out."

     I frowned. "I thought those things were made to operate at the edge
of the atmosphere where the air is real thin... I know you didn't get
that high."

     "They are, but in a horizontal flight path. Vertically, it just
couldn't draw in enough air to keep the ramjets running against the pull
of gravity."

     "Smart move there, Hanaki. For that brief moment where the hoverjet
was hanging motionless in the sky before it plunged downwards towards
the ocean, she had us bail out with the dropjets," Sanma explained,
pointing at the ruined dropjet in front of us.

     This is actually the first time I'd seen one up close. It was a
small circular platform with what looked like a main thruster pointing
downwards and several smaller directional thrusters around the edge. In
the rear, a large vertical stabilizer protruded and rose to a point
above the occupant where two enclosed rotors were normally mounted.
Presently, one was in the koi pond and the other had crashed into the
house. Various other mangled pieces were strewn across the yard along
with the air masks they must have worn on the way down.

     The dropjet was controlled by a series of foot pedals on the top of
the platform where the operator stood. A small waist-high rail circled
the device to keep the occupant from falling out. The whole apparatus
had the look of being made to allow the occupant to use his or her arms
while in flight. Several straps could be seen as well, but it doesn't
look like they had managed to secure them before they bailed out of the
hoverjet. The trip down to the ground must have been a white-knuckle
ride.

     "How come you ended up here and not in the ocean like the rest of
the dropjets?" I asked.

     Hanaki answered that one. "I have to thank my uncle for that. I had
ordered everyone out and then my stupid ejection seat wouldn't eject."
She looked directly at Akane. "Think we can scrap the new design yet?"
Akane smiled and nodded before Hanaki continued. "He managed to get me
out and jump on a dropjet before the hoverjet had picked up too much
speed on its downward plunge."

     I looked over at Akane's husband. "Thank you, Sanma."

     Sanma just shrugged nonchalantly. "No big deal. I save people all
the time. It's a piece of cake when you're a great martial artist like I
am."

     Akane rolled her eyes briefly.

     "So, how did you end up in my nice garden?" Akane asked, looking
out at the garden that wasn't so nice anymore. The four-meter wide
crater where the dropjet crashed joined the debris made by the hoverjet
blasting away earlier.

     "Well, the dropjets aren't really easy to control at that altitude,
especially with two people on board, so we drifted off course quite a
bit. Once we saw we were over Nerima, we figured we'd drop in on you. It
was a piece of cake, actually."

     Hanaki cleared her throat. "Uncle was screaming the whole way
down."

     Sanma flinched. "I was not!"

     Although I tried, I couldn't hold it back the laugh that found it's
way to my lips.

     Akane looked over at me when I started chuckling. "What's so funny,
James?"

     "Oh, I just remembered something I decided to leave out of the
first book."

     "What?"

     "Nothing. It's not important."

     Sensing an evasion, Akane glared at me. "Spill it."

     "Ok... but please don't blast me."

     "Okay, I promise."

     "Well, it was a quote I was going to use from my research. It went:
Egotistic, stubborn, unwilling to admit their faults... y'know, a
typical Tendo."

     Akane went pale. "I don't think that's very nice."

     "Want me t' blast him for you, Sparky?" Sanma asked, smiling.

     I gulped. "Hey, you promised!"

     "She did, not me." Sanma grinned menacingly at me.

     "Okay, calm down boys. No one gets blasted today."

     "Thanks."

     "We'll do it tomorrow."

     I sighed. "It's just a quote I heard somewhere, I'm sure it wasn't
personal."

     "Seems pretty fitting to me," Sanma said, smiling at her wife.

     "Well, I was actually thinking how much it fit you, Sanma."

     "What?!" A chi ball appeared in Sanma's hand.

     "Don't even think about it, Uncle." Hanaki had slipped in behind
Sanma and held a chi ball next to her uncle's face before anyone
noticed.

     Sanma gulped and let his chi ball dissipate. "I was just kidding."

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

September 20, 2057

     The hoverjet crash pretty much scrapped my plans to interview Akane
yesterday, so I made my way over to her house early today, hoping to
catch up. Amazingly, most of the damage from yesterday was already
cleaned up and the yard and gardens looked almost like they had. I guess
the Tendos had gotten to be experts at repairing property damage
quickly.

     I waved to Akane and her husband as I approached. I still sometimes
had trouble thinking of Sanma as a man, since she... HE had some
uniquely feminine characteristics. Damn, these personal pronouns are
hard to handle with Sanma's unique gender status. Maybe for my journal I
should just do what I've been doing with the books, use she when
describing Ranko, Sanma, and Ranma in his girl form. As long as I don't
say 'she' to Sanma's face, I should avoid any embarrassing situations.
Not to mention black eyes.

     Like Akane, Sanma had held up well over the years. Her white hair
was tied in its single pigtail currently, although I have seen her wear
her hair loose from time to time. Her face was wrinkled, but still
seemed to have a youthful beauty that didn't show her long, hard life.
Her body seemed to be well preserved as well, most likely due to her
life-long workouts. Most of the time you couldn't even tell she was in
her seventies, not even when her old leg injury troubled her. 

     "Morning, James," Akane greeted me.

     "Morning, Akane," I replied, and gave her a peck on the cheek like
I normally do. I looked over at Sanma. "Morning, Sanma."

     "Don't try to kiss me," Sanma shot back, but then smiled.
"Morning."

     "Gee, you let me dance with you, but I can't kiss you?" I let out a
small laugh at the end of my statement.

     Sanma glared at me. "That was only at Akane's insistence."

     I knew she was telling the truth; it had been Akane who had
insisted that Sanma and I should dance together at the reception a few
weeks ago. After the short discussion about who would lead, which Sanma
won, Akane shoved us onto the dance floor. On top of my embarrassment at
dancing with a guy, the fact that Sanma was a fantastic dancer despite
her old leg injury made me forget for a brief moment that she was a man
while we danced.

     "Okay, I insist that you and James kiss right now. Full on the
lips," Akane commanded, with one of her trademarked sly grins on her
face.

    Sanma got her protest in first. "There is no way I'm kissing this
guy, Sparky!"

     "Ditto," I said, unconsciously sliding away from Sanma a bit.

     Akane chuckled. "Okay, okay... I'll settle for each of you kissing
me on my cheeks."

     Sanma and I exchanged a glance, then leaned in to kiss Akane's
cheeks. At the last second, she moved her head out of the way and I
found myself aimed right for Sanma's puckered lips. As my lips touched
flesh I cringed and shut my eyes. I quickly backed up and then opened my
eyes. "Akane!"

     "Damn, thought I could fool both of you," Akane muttered.

     I grew confused, but then saw that Sanma had thrust her hand in
front of her face at the last second. "Oh, thank god."

     Sanma laughed. "Like a great martial artist like me could ever get
kissed without wanting to."

     Just then, a thought crossed my mind. "Wasn't your first kiss with
that ice skater guy?"

     Sanma frowned. "Feh, that's ancient history." She turned to Akane
and muttered, "I still can't believe you told him that story for his
first book, Sparky."

     "What's the story behind the 'Sparky' nickname anyway?" I asked,
since I had been wondering about this since first hearing it yesterday.

     Sanma opened her mouth. "Well, whenever Akane and me..."

     Akane quickly slapped her hand over Sanma's mouth to shut her up.
"That one is our little secret," she said, then smiled at her husband,
who nodded her agreement.

     I huffed at being denied, but I was used to Akane's little secrets.
"Well, then shall we talk about what happened after Shampoo returned
from the dead as Yukiko?"

     Sanma gasped, then looked at the ground. "You're up to that point,
huh?"

     I nodded. "Yes, a few days ago she described the wedding you and
Ranma broke up and then finally told me that Shampoo didn't die in the
fall from the rooftop."

     Sanma looked slowly at Akane. "I am sorry about deceiving you back
then," she said sheepishly.

     Akane rolled her eyes. "Geezzzz... I forgive you already. It's been
almost sixty years now."

     "Yeah, I know... but you look so cute when you roll your eyes like
that," Sanma said, with a devilish little smile on her face.


*********************************************************************** 
April 10-11 1999 - Nerima, Japan


     Akane looked up at her bedroom door when she heard someone knocking
softly on it. Her mascara was a mess, betraying the fact that she had
been crying for quite some time. She was going bury her head in her
mascara-stained pillow again and ignore the knocking, but then decided
she might as well answer it. "Come in."

     The door opened and Yukiko walked in, looking very nervous.
"Akane?"

     "Shampoo?" Akane asked, recognizing the woman who interrupted her
wedding. She had not expected it to be her at the door. Or had hoped it
wasn't.

     Yukiko nodded. "Yes, but could you call me Yukiko? The others have
told me some things about my past life, but I really don't remember it."

     "Sure. You understand that you're not married to Ranma, right?"

     Yukiko took another uncertain step towards the bed that Akane was
still lying in. "Yes. I'm glad too. I'm engaged to someone else."

     Akane looked Yukiko in the eyes for the first time. "Do you love
him?" Yukiko nodded. "Even without knowing about your past?"

     "Yes. The others told me some of what I was like. I'm not sure I'd
like to be the girl they described."

     "You were persistent, I'll give you that. I am sorry that our fight
ended with you getting hurt."

     "That's okay. Without that, I would have never met Shinuma and be
as happy as I am."

     "You're happy, huh?" Akane asked, with a touch of jealously in her
voice.

     Yukiko pulled a chair over and sat down in front of Akane. "You not
happy?"

     Akane shrugged. "I don't know."

     Yukiko tried to say something to help. "I'm sorry about
interrupting your wedding."

     Akane rolled over onto her back. "That's okay. I guess I should
have known better than to expect my wedding to come off without
problems."

     "The others wanted me to tell you that they were going to get the
minister back and perform the wedding at noon tomorrow."

     Akane sighed. "I imagine they would get the plans rolling... again.
It's actually too bad that you don't want to marry Ranma... that would
be at least one less fiance for me to worry about."

     "Huh? Don't you want to marry Ranma?" Yukiko asked, confused.

     "Yes... I do with all my heart. But I'm marrying Ranko first."

     Yukiko frowned. "You pervert girl?"

     Akane flinched. "I see they didn't tell you everything." Akane
glanced at Yukiko and saw that she was confused. "Ranma used to be
cursed to turn into a girl, like you are into a cat. At the beginning of
this year, your... someone caused him to be split into a man and a
woman. Sanma was split from Ranko a while later. So, all three of them
are really Ranma and I love them all."

     "Weird."

     "That is an understatement," Akane said, a smile creeping onto her
face. She started telling Yukiko some more about both of their lives.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     Ranma, Ranko, and Sanma sat in the hallway looking at Akane's old
door. "I'm sorry, Ranko," Sanma said, without looking at the other
woman. "If I had known why she chose you over us..."

     Ranko signed. "That's okay. I probably would have done the same in
your situation. I guess I should have let her tell you about the..." She
trailed off and put her hand to her stomach.

     "Yes, you should have, you idiot," Ranma snapped.

     "I know... I just couldn't handle the thought of everyone looking
at me as nothing but a woman and a mother..."

     Sanma nodded. "I can understand that. Until now, I never even
thought about the fact that I could have children, let alone considered
having a baby."

     "Well, Ranma here could always get you pregnant too."

     Ranma almost choked on his tongue. "I'm not the father! And there
is no way I'd ever sleep with Sanma!"

     "Feh, there's no way you could handle this gorgeous body like Akane
does..." Sanma trailed off as she realized that it might be some time
before she could sleep with Akane again. She tried to suppress her worse
fears that she might never be able to share that level of intimacy with
Akane again after what she had done at the wedding.

     There was a long pause as the Ranmas awkwardly looked at each other
and then at Akane's closed door.

     Suddenly, Ranma worked up the nerve to say something. "Ranko, I
still don't like this, but I will let you marry Akane. I think that's
the only way she can be happy right now."

     "I didn't want this to happen. I hope you guys know that."

     "We know, just take good care of Akane until she decides she can
marry all of us," Ranma said, not noticing Sanma's frown.

     "I will. You know... maybe you and Sanma should get married now."

     "What?!" Sanma jumped to her feet.

     "Why on Earth would I want to do that?!" Ranma shouted and glared
at Ranko.

     Ranko flinched under their hostile glares. "Well, I just thought it
would make it easier to keep the four of us together... but I guess it
was a bad suggestion."

     Sanma huffed and dropped back to the floor. "You bet it is... it's
disgusting enough to see Ranma make love to Akane... I don't need to
even think of the horror of being married to him."

     Ranma grew angry. "Hey! What would be so bad about..." He stopped
as he finally processed Sanma's whole statement. "What did you say? When
did you see me make love to Akane?"

     Sanma gulped and looked at Ranko, who looked away quickly and
examined an interesting piece of dust on the floor. "Well... it was
Ranko's idea."

     "Was not!"

     "Was too!" Sanma pulled his fist back, as if to hit Ranko, and then
frowned as she realized what she almost did. "Maybe Akane's right...
maybe we would fight too much."

     The other Ranmas nodded and things settled down. Until Ranma spoke
again. "Now when did you two peep on us?"

     Ranko sighed. "It was about a week ago... I guess we just wondered
if she enjoyed herself more with you than with us."

     "Well, of course she does... I've got the right equipment for the
job." Ranko and Sanma glared at Ranma. "Err... well... I'm sure she
likes to make love with you two as well... I mean, she always liked to
play with my breasts... or was that Nabiki?"

     Sanma decided to get back at Ranma. "There's a thought... Ranma
should marry Nabiki!"

     "Why? She likes to fondle breasts, so YOU marry her, Sanma!" Ranma
shot back.

     "You three morons! This fighting is exactly what Akane is so
worried about!" They all flinched when they heard Nabiki's voice from
her bedroom doorway.

     The Ranmas realized she was right and stopped arguing.

     Nabiki smiled. "That's better. By the way, I wouldn't marry any of
you jerks." She spun around and back went into her room.

     After her door closed, the Ranmas continued their silent vigil in
front of Akane's door. Well, it became a silent vigil after Nabiki had
chewed them out.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     "You strong girl," Yukiko said after hearing some of Akane's
stories.

     Akane smirked. "I used to think I was, but I don't know if I can
take any more of this. One death after another, one disaster after
another, one wedding after another. Where will it all end?"

     "Akane, did I ever hurt you?"

     Akane started at the unexpected question. "Huh? Well, not really.
We fought each other a few times, but that's pretty common around here."

     "Then why aren't you happy I'm not dead?"

     Akane's expression didn't change. "I am."

     "You don't seem like it. The others said you were very distraught
when you thought I was dead, but you don't seem relieved now."

     "I was. Sham... Yukiko, I'm glad you're alive and happy, but I'm
just... tired of all the things that are happening to me."

     Yukiko thought about this for a few seconds, then nodded. "I
understand. You get some sleep." Yukiko started to rise from the chair.

     Akane didn't move for several seconds, but then grabbed Yukiko
before she got out of arms length and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"I'm so sorry, Shampoo. I never meant for you to die." Tears started
dripping onto Yukiko's back as eight months of guilt over Shampoo's
death poured from Akane's soul.

     Not wanting to correct Akane about her name or the fact that she
wasn't dead, Yukiko just held Akane tightly to comfort her.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     Later, Yukiko slipped out of the room and walked quietly down the
dark hallway. As she rounded the corner, she tripped over a figure
leaning against the wall. "Ouch."

     "Sha... Yukiko?" Sanma muttered as she recognized who had tripped
over her.

     "Yes. Akane is asleep now."

     "Good," Sanma said, looking over at Ranko and Ranma, who were still
sound asleep. "It's been a rough day for all of us."

     "I understand."

     "Your Japanese has gotten better," Sanma commented, not being able
to think of anything else to say.

     "Thanks. Shinuma has been teaching Yuki... me. I still slip up
sometimes."

     Sanma nodded. "Did Akane say anything about the wedding?"

     "She was upset, but she smiled. Don't worry," Yukiko said, then
kissed Sanma on her cheek.

     Sanma wasn't convinced that just a smile from Akane was enough. She
had to be happy on the inside too. Unfortunately at that moment, Sanma
could only see one solution that would make Akane happy. And that
solution meant that she and Ranma would have to be unhappy. Tomorrow was
going to be a tough day for everyone.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     As the sun rose over the Nerima skyline, Nabiki and Soun examined
the ruined dojo. "Steel reinforced concrete with a layer of two... no...
four-centimeter armor plating this time, I think," Soun said.

     Nabiki smirked. "It'll cost you, but I think I can manage to swing
a deal for that."

     Soun sighed heavily as he looked at the dojo that he had originally
built himself after marrying his sweet wife, Hanaki, so long ago. Of
course, it had been rebuilt several times since then. Actually, just in
the last three years. "Maybe it's time."

     "Time for what, Daddy?" Nabiki asked absently while making some
notes in her organizer.

     "What do you think of Ms. Hinako?"

     Nabiki smirked. "She's okay. A little young for you, though."

     "Well, she is really an adult, not a child," Soun insisted.

     "I know. But even in her adult form, she's too young for you,"
Nabiki said, smiling.

     "Not nice to tease your father, young lady."

     "If you love her, Daddy, I'm sure Mom would understand." Nabiki
stood on her tiptoes and kissed her father on his cheek, then walked
back to the house to see how the wedding preparations were going.

     "I do," Soun said softly.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     "Where's Shampoo?" Sanma asked as she knelt down for breakfast.
Everyone else living in the house was there except for Akane and Nodoka.

     "She went back to Shinjuku last night, of course. YUKIKO said she
wanted to try and make up for interrupting the wedding by helping with
the preparations, so she'll be coming over shortly," Kasumi explained.

     "Is that safe to have her come over?" Ranma asked.

     "You're one to talk, Ranma," Nabiki remarked dryly.

     "Hey! I already apologized!"

     "Calm down. Anyway, everyone who was there yesterday, invited or
not-" Nabiki paused and glared at Ranma and Sanma. "-will probably be
there today. I re-mobilized the wedding task force last night and they
are already out making sure no one is up to anything. If I had more
advance notice yesterday, I would have been able to avoid some of the
disruptions." She paused for a second as she recalled everything that
happened at the wedding and then continued. "Probably. I called the
hospital and the Kunos are now under twenty-four hour video
surveillance. I've arranged for another wedding dress to replace the one
that was ripped up when the dojo collapsed. In short Akane and Ranko
have everything they need to finally get married today."

     "Except the bride," Nodoka exclaimed as she rushed into the room.

     "What?"

     Nodoka held out a note, which Ranma took and started to read.
"Oh.... shit. She ran away," Ranma said after scanning the note.

     Sanma jumped to her feet. "What?!"

     Everyone expressed his or her concern and dismay over this news.
Then Nodoka spoke. "Ranma, please read the whole letter to everyone."

     Ranma nodded. "To my family. I am all right, but I need to clear my
head and try to figure out what to do. I cannot do that with all the
problems that occur in Nerima. Ranko, Ranma, and Sanma: I love you all
dearly, never question that. For now I have to be alone-"

     Ranko interrupted Ranma. "Damn, there's no way will I accept that!"

     Ranma continued reading. "-please accept that. Ranma, please take
care of your sisters and the baby." He stopped reading as the
implication of that statement sunk in. "Damn, she's not planning on
coming back anytime soon." Various nods of agreement went around the
room.

     "To you all, please love each other and help Ranko though her
pregnancy. When I am able, I will return and marry you all. Love..." as
he reached the end of the letter, Ranma was in tears, as were most of
the other people in the room.

     "Akane..." all three Ranmas said longingly.

     Sanma clenched her fists. "No way! Let's go find her now!"

     Ranma agreed without reservation. "Nabiki, continue the wedding
preparations. We'll bring her back for sure."

     "Maybe you should let her have some time alone," Kasumi said.

     "I think this time my headstrong son and daughters are correct,"
Nodoka said, patting Kasumi on the hand. "Akane is running away from her
problems, that is never the solution." She glared at her husband, who
gulped and suddenly wanted to be anywhere but there, preferably with a
nice warm tire between his paws.

     They discussed the search plans, which included getting Nabiki's
wedding task force to assist in the search.

     "I'll call the minister and tell him we'll call him when we know
when the wedding is going to be," Nodoka said, as they finished the
short planning session for the search.

     "No!" Sanma shouted. She checked her watch and then continued.
"We've got four and a half hours until noon. We'll find her and get her
back here on time for sure!" <This may be the only way for me to make up
for deceiving her yesterday. Or at least start making it up to her.>

     Ranma nodded. "Right! There is no way I'm going to let another
wedding get postponed." Inside he had already made the same decision as
Sanma had: For Akane to be happy, she must marry at least one of them. 

     Ranko smiled. "Thanks, guys. I'll make her happy until she's ready
to marry you all."

     "Who said we were going to let you marry her?" Ranma asked, then
smirked. "Akane deserves a man who isn't pregnant with another man's
child."

     Although  Nabiki knew Ranma was trying to lighten the mood, she
decided to interrupt any potential battle between the Ranmas by barking
out a series of instructions. "Okay, Ranko, you get back here by eleven
so you can get ready for the wedding. The rest of you search up until
noon. Call in if you have any news. Kasumi, Nodoka, and I will stay here
to co-ordinate the search and keep the wedding preparations on track.
We're going to make this the greatest wedding ever... so go find the
bride already!!"

     Everyone nodded and then set off to search for Akane.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     Hours passed without any sign of Akane by any of the searchers,
including Nabiki's wedding task force which had switched from a prevent
defense to a offensive push to find the bride. Ranma and Sanma were
headed north in order to contain the runner when they heard a familiar
sounding blast from the east. They snapped their heads towards the
sound.

     "What the?" Sanma gasped.

     "That was... a Moko Takabisha blast. I'm sure of it," Ranma said,
then took off running.

     Sanma was right on his heels. "No doubt about it... I'd recognize
the unique sound of a MT explosion anywhere. That means it has to be
Akane, since Ranko should be back at home by now."

     They raced down the street and heard several more blasts as they
ran. They came around a corner a screeched to a halt at the scene that
befell them. In an empty lot with a few abandoned cars scattered about,
three smoking craters were clearly visible; two of which had burnt and
moaning figures in their center. About a dozen Amazon women surrounded a
lone figure.

     "Damn... Amazons!" Sanma exclaimed, looking around. "Look, there's
Aftershave!" She pointed at a figure at the back of the attacking group.

     "Shit... You go left and I'll go right. Let's get Akane out of the
center of all that and then we can see what our next move should be,"
Ranma quickly instructed, earning a nod from Sanma. They both ran to
opposite sides of the battle.

     In the center of the Amazons, who hadn't seen the two newcomers
yet, Akane used an old pipe to deflect a series of sword blows. The
simple dress she wore was torn and dirty from her fight and her face was
covered in sweat. "Aftershave, I'm telling you the truth! Shampoo is
still alive! Let me take you to her!"

     Aftershave glared at Akane as his warriors closed in on her. "Like
I'd believe any of you! You killed my little Shammy and you fooled
Cologne and the Elders into keeping me from exercising my Amazon right
to kill you!" He took a couple steps forward. "Now that you have left
the protection of the collectors, you shall be the first to die!"

     In her attempts to avoid a sword blow, Akane missed seeing a
bonbori swing in from behind her and gasped as it hit her hard across
the back. She collapsed to the ground and then felt a foot pressed
against her chest to hold her down. She looked up just in time to see a
sword headed towards her head. Unable to get out of the way, she
squeezed her eyes shut tight. <I love you all...>

     Ranma and Sanma both flew into the group of Amazons and deflected
the sword meant for Akane's neck. Taking the Amazons by surprise, they
managed to disperse the group and then used a few well-placed Moko
Takabisha blasts to knock a few out of the fight and get the others away
from Akane.

     Amazed that she was still alive, Akane opened her eyes and saw two
out of the three people she loved more than life itself. "Ranma? Sanma?"

     Ranma smiled. "Running away doesn't look like it solved anything,
does it?"

     Akane couldn't respond, she knew deep down he was right and that it
had been a mistake to take off by herself. But then the anger and pain
of recent events had severely clouded her judgement.

     Sanma had just knocked an Amazon's sword out of the woman's hairy
hands and looked over to Akane. "Get out of here, Akane!"

     Akane rejected the idea without pausing. "No! We'll fight
together!"

     "Dammit, Akane! You're too tired to fight. I can tell that from
here!" Ranma insisted.

     "Get clear, then call home. Yukiko should be there by now!" Sanma
explained, then glanced at Aftershave.

     Akane nodded as she realized that Sanma was right. Telling
Aftershave was one thing, showing him was believing. She jumped at the
nearest Amazon woman. Her foot connected with the woman's hairy chin,
she pushed off, and sprang away from the battle.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     "I understand, I'll send her over," Nabiki said, then hung up the
telephone. She then rushed into the family room. "Yukiko?"

     Yukiko looked up from the dress in her hands. "Yes?"


     "Not sure how to say this... but your father is attacking Akane,
Ranma, and Sanma. They want you to go over and see if you can stop him.
He doesn't believe that you're alive."

     "My father?" Yukiko asked, frowning. She tried to picture him in
her mind, but couldn't. "I don't remember him."

     "He's a old guy with a goatee. Listen, he's out for revenge because
of Shampoo's... your death. The best way to stop him is to show him that
you're alive."

     "Yukiko understand. Where are they?" Yukiko said, standing up.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     Big-breasted women flew everywhere as Ranma fought off his
attackers. <These Amazons are good fighters, I'll grant them that.> He
deflected a pike aimed at his stomach with a sword he had appropriated
from one of the unconscious Amazons. He thrust upwards and sliced the
end of the pike off. He followed with a series of kicks to the Amazon's
stomach, which sent her flying across the battlefield.

     Sanma was going one on one with Aftershave. She had managed to
disarm him quickly, but soon found--as Ranma had during the Amazon's
attack on the second-to-last wedding--that he seemed inhumanly strong.
Her fast chestnut punches didn't seem to be affecting him and Aftershave
hadn't fallen into a spiral, despite Sanma's best efforts to get him
mad. She did a back flip, charging up a chi ball as she did. When she
landed, she released the ball and hit Aftershave dead center on his
chest.

     Aftershave flew backward from the force of the blast and crashed
into an old wall, which collapsed on top of him. Sanma smiled in triumph
as she thought she had finally finished the fight. The smile turned
quickly into a frown when the rubble exploded and Aftershave jumped out
straight at her. Sanma dodged to the side, but didn't see the jagged
piece of wood that Aftershave rammed into her stomach. She crumpled to
the ground, gasping for breath. She looked up to see Aftershave
thrusting a dagger at her stomach. Before the knife could disembowel
her, a figure came out of nowhere and kicked the dagger away. The figure
landed an elbow to Aftershave's face as it shot by, causing him to
crumple to the ground.

     Akane landed in a ready stance and smiled. "Yukiko's on her way.
Any progress here?"

     Sanma jumped to her feet and kicked the apparently unconscious
Aftershave in the stomach. "Well, looks like we might not need her after
all." She grabbed some old rope lying nearby and began to tie up
Aftershave.

     "Moko Takabisha!" a voice called out and an explosion was heard.
More big-breasted women flew in all directions and Ranma dropped to one
knee, exhausted. "Easy for you to say! You were only fighting one! I had
to take on all of these bimbos!"

     "Yeah, but Aftershave seemed unnaturally strong for some reason,"
Sanma claimed, after finishing tying up Aftershave and standing up.

     "I noticed that too when I fought him at the wedding they
interrupted. Well, at least we have them all under control," Ranma said.

     Akane wiped a cut on Ranma's arm off. "Thanks for coming to find
me, guys."

     Ranma smiled. "No problem." Suddenly, he found himself flying into
Akane and Sanma. The three crashed into a stone wall with a loud crash.
They looked behind them just in time to see a very angry Aftershave
picking up one of the abandoned cars and hefting it over his head.
Several of the other Amazons could be seen getting to their feet and
taking up positions behind him.

     "Now... you all die!" Aftershave yelled out and prepared to throw
the car. He stopped when a voice called out.

     "Father, stop!"

     Aftershave paused. "That voice... no..." He slowly turned his head
and saw Yukiko. "No... it's a trick." He looked closely at the woman.
Despite her shorter hair and lack of makeup, the father in him
recognized his only daughter immediately. "Sham... poo?"

     "Yes, I'm not dead. Please don't hurt them!" Yukiko pleaded with
her father.

     Aftershave shook his head. "No... it's got to be a trick! You're
dead!"

     "No... I fell, but a kind man nursed me back to heath," Yukiko
said, then said something in Mandarin.

     "My daughter..." Aftershave gasped and then his body went rigid. If
anyone had been close enough, they would have seen his eyes turn
entirely black. Then an inhuman scream emanated from his mouth and he
tossed the car at the spot where Ranma, Sanma, and Akane were standing.

     Or used to be standing. They had leapt out of the way just in time
on onto a wall overlooking the empty lot. They looked down at Aftershave
with puzzlement over his actions evident on their faces.

     "The collectors must be obtained! You will surrender or you will
die!" Aftershave yelled, in a voice that sounded oddly inhuman. A black
aura had started to form around him.

     "What the..." Sanma gasped.

     "Collectors?" Ranma asked, uncertain what he meant and he realized
Aftershave had used the term earlier too.

     Akane was just as puzzled, but then noticed something and pointed.
"Look!"

     Ranma and Sanma followed her gesture. The Amazon women were backing
away from Aftershave with looks of pure terror on their faces.

     "Whatever is going on, the Amazon's don't like it either," Ranma
mentioned, then suddenly yelled, "Jump!"

     They all jumped away as a huge ball of black energy impacted the
wall they had been standing on, vaporizing it and boring large holes
through the houses behind it. 

     "What was that?!" Akane yelled, looking for Yukiko. She was
relieved to see that Yukiko had found cover, but cover from something
that could vaporize walls like that wasn't likely to matter much.

     "We have to take him out before someone gets killed!" Ranma
shouted.

     "Right! Moko Takabisha blasts and if they don't work, fire and
ice!" Sanma yelled back. They split-up, approached Aftershave, and
started sending a mixed bag of Moko Takabisha blasts and balls at the
old man. He flinched at the onslaught, but seemed to be withstanding it
without too much trouble.

     Realizing that they weren't making any progress, Ranma exchanged a
silent look with Sanma and the two advanced on Aftershave from opposite
sides. "Hiryu Hibashira Ha!!!" he yelled and projected a long hot beam
of chi from his outstretched arms.

     Sanma had done the same, except generating cold energy. "Hiryu
Hyouchuu Ha!!!" she shouted and pushed her ice pillar against
Aftershave's body.

     As the two pillars, one hot-one cold, touched each other the two
energies mixed and turned into whirlwinds. Aftershave was caught between
the two vortexes and thrashed around in pain. The same inhuman scream
filled his throat and his skin turned black. 

     After several more seconds of the inhuman screams, Ranma looked at
Akane and yelled out. "Akane! Fire a blast at him!"

     Akane nodded and cupped her hands. A chi ball formed and she yelled
out just as she released the blast. "Moko Takabisha!!"

     The large ball impacted against Aftershave's body and before
everyone's startled eyes the black skin started to flake off his body
and fall to the ground. When the last piece fell off, Aftershave
screamed again, but this time it sounded human. "Shampoo!!"

     Yukiko was the first to react. "Stop! I think he's back to normal."

     Although leery of a trap, Ranma and Sanma stopped focusing their
energies into their arms and the two vortexes quickly dissipated.

     Aftershave collapsed to the ground, curled up into a ball, and
began sobbing Shampoo's name repeatedly. Yukiko ran over, ignoring the
other's cries of warning, and wrapped her arms around his body. "It's
okay, Father. Your... Shampoo is there," she said, tripping over her old
name.

     Ranma, Sanma, and Akane relaxed. They looked to make sure the
Amazons were not going to attack again, but they seemed to be too
shocked at seeing what happened to Aftershave to fight anymore.

     "It's over."

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     Later, Ranma was wrapping a piece of his torn shirt around a cut on
Akane's arm as Sanma and Yukiko hovered over Aftershave. Yukiko was just
finishing a quick story of what happened to her.

     "Shammy, I'm so happy you're alive," Aftershave muttered and pulled
Yukiko into his shaking arms.

     Yukiko felt embarrassed to be held so tightly by a man she didn't
remember, but returned the hug. "I know, Father. I'm happy to meet some
people who knew me before the accident."

     "Your memory will return, I'm sure of it," Aftershave said, without
releasing her.

     Sanma put his hand on Aftershave's shoulder. "Aftershave, what
happened to you?"

     Aftershave frowned and pulled away from Yukiko. "I don't know... I
only remember parts of what happened to me for the last month or so.
After I became Matriarch of the Amazons, I only remember my quest to pay
you back for my sweet Shammy's death." He looked lovingly at Yukiko
before continuing. "Everything else but my hatred for you and your
families is a blur."

     Ranma came up behind Sanma. "How did you become the leader of the
Amazons?"

     Aftershave shook his head. "I don't remember." 

     At this point one of the Amazon women--a woman in her twenties with
blue hair, which was short except for two waist length pigtails hanging
down from each of her temples--walked up and addressed Yukiko in perfect
Japanese. "I am Powder. I speak for these Amazons. You are Shampoo?
Daughter of Perfume, Granddaughter of Lipgloss, Great-granddaughter of
Cologne? All of the Rav Lon family line?"

     For confirmation, Yukiko glanced at Akane, who nodded. "Yes, I am."

     Powder dropped to her knees and the other Amazon women followed
suit. "We are yours to command, Matriarch of the noble Amazon tribe."

     The other Amazons all took up a chant of "Matriarch! Matriarch!"
repeating it repeatedly. Yukiko looked startled and slipped back,
reaching for Akane. Akane took Yukiko's hands and held the trembling
woman. "What do you mean by calling her Matriarch?" Akane asked.

     The chanting died down and Powder spoke again. "Aftershave has been
defeated in combat and has lost-" She paused and then almost spat out
the next part of her answer in disgust. "-HIS claim to lead the
Amazons."

     "How did he get to be the Matriarch in the first place?" Ranma
asked.

     Powder shook her head. "I do not know. The Circle of Elders
declared him Matriarch and sent the two hundred best Amazon warriors
with him to capture or kill you all."

     "So why am I Matriarch?" Yukiko asked, confused and embarrassed by
all the attention she suddenly found herself in the center of.

     Powder raised her eyebrow in mild surprise. "You are of the Rav Lon
family line. With Aftershave's status as leader nullified, your claim is
strongest. Until the Circle can confirm this, you are our leader." To
back this up she added a very formal, "Matriarch," to the end of her
statement.

     Ranma realized that the Amazons had never been happy about
following Aftershave, but were unwilling to defy the Circle of Elders.
Knowing it was better to let them consider Yukiko their leader for now,
he leaned over and whispered to her before she could protest. "Yukiko,
let's not argue about this. For now, it's better that they consider you
their leader until we can clear everything up."

     Yukiko nodded. "I understand." She looked at Powder. "Very well.
Are there other Amazons in Japan?"

     "No, Matriarch. All others were deported or never reached Japan,"
Powder explained.

     Sanma interrupted the discussion. "Um, I hate to spoil the
coronation of the new Matriarch, but we have ten minutes to get Akane
back to our house."

     Ranma swore as he checked his watch. "You're right. Okay,
Amazons... behave yourselves. Akane, we have to get you home."

     Akane looked confused. "What's the rush?"

     "How soon they forget. A little marriage to the woman you got
pregnant, remember?" Ranma said, smiling.


     Akane smiled. "Yeah... I do recall that, but it'll take a while to
repair the dojo and get everything arranged."

     "Already taken care of. Unless you intend to leave Ranko standing
at the altar, we have ten... make that nine minutes to get you home,"
Sanma said.

     "But..."

     "Your butt looks fine. Let's go!" Ranma said. To forestall any
other arguments, he picked up Akane and leapt away towards the Tendo
house. Sanma and the Amazons followed.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     Outside the wall that surrounded the Tendo yard, Sanma whispered
something to Yukiko and then followed Ranma inside.

     Yukiko turned back and address the Amazon women. "You all are to
stay outside and make sure no one interferes with the wedding or gets
inside. Understand?" she said in Mandarin.

     The Amazons all nodded and readied their weapons. "Yes, Matriarch!"
Powder barked.

     Yukiko frowned at the weapons. "Err... don't kill anyone, just
prevent them from disrupting the wedding. Ok?"

     Powder looked confused, but nodded her agreement. Yukiko walked
into the yard along with her father. The gate was closed and barred
behind them, while the Amazons all spread out along the wall surrounding
the Tendo yard.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     Akane was ushered into the room she shared with the Ranmas by
Kasumi and Nodoka. Akane gasped as she saw the beautiful wedding dress
laid out in front of her. "Whaaa... where did this come from?" she
asked, taking a sleeve in her hand and feeling the material.

     "It's my wedding dress. I figured I owed you one for killing me so
I could meet Shinuma," Yukiko explained from the doorway.

     Akane looked over at Yukiko and smiled. "Anytime." She looked back
at the dress. "Damn, this is a gorgeous dress. I'm not sure I can accept
it."

     "Yes, you can," a male voice said from behind her.

     Akane started at the male voice and looked over to see that Ranma
and Sanma had joined Yukiko in the doorway. "I'm not sure this is fair
to you all."

     Sanma sighed. "Getting cold feet, are we?"

     "I guess. Why can't I just marry you all?" Akane said, tearing up.

     Ranma and Sanma exchanged looks and then nodded. "In a perfect
world you could. If you want to, we will all marry you today," Ranma
said.

     "In a perfect world..." Akane trailed off, then shook her head. "It
wouldn't work, would it? You'd both get jealous of all of the attention
I'll have to give Ranko and the baby."

     Ranma and Sanma just shrugged non-committedly. A part of the
realized she was right, there would be friction between them, and
probably always would be. Such was their nature. Their universal love
for Akane was the only thing that had allowed them to even accept the
notion of a four-way marriage. Ironically, that love was the only thing
that allowed them to accept the fact that Akane would only be marrying
Ranko that day. If the wedding was actually successful, that is.

     "Why can't I just make a decision about this!" Akane cried out,
dropped to her knees, and started sobbing into her hands.

     Sanma took a step forward and swallowed hard to avoid backing down
from the decision that she and Ranma had already come to. "You already
did yesterday. You're going to marry Ranko first."

     "But what about both of you? You deserve to be happy," Akane
muttered.

     "Right now your happiness comes first," Ranma said, then wrung his
hands. "I'll make it easy on you. I hereby declare my engagement to you
null and void. I make no claim on your hand for marriage." Ranma slipped
his engagement ring off and placed it into Akane's trembling hand.

     Akane was speechless and just stared at the ring in her hand. She
was unwilling to even consider what having it in her hand meant.

     Sanma looked at the identical ring on her finger for an eternity.
Then she clenched her eyes tight and when she reopened them, the ring
was off her finger. She had no memory of taking it off, it just
happened. She stepped forward and placed the ring on Akane's palm, right
next to Ranma's. "Be happy, Akane. I may not like it, but if you can be
happy, I'll be happy."

     Tears dripped from Akane's eyes onto the two rings in her hand. She
wasn't sure herself what she was going to say until the words actually
came out of her lips. "I'm sorry I couldn't decide. I love you all.
Never forget that."

     "We know." Ranma and Sanma walked out through the door, getting
hugs and kisses from their mom and Kasumi. They took one more step
before Akane grabbed them and pulled them both into a hug. Silent
minutes passed as Akane clung to her two former fiances, afraid to let
go. Finally, Ranma and Sanma forced her to let them go and left Akane
behind to prepare for the wedding.

     To prepare for her life without them.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     The music started.

     The groom straightened HER white tuxedo and gulped loudly.


     The bride stepped out of the house and into the garden. The gown
that Yukiko had lent her for this occasion was pure white. Anyone who
dared tell Akane she shouldn't be wearing white--the groom was pregnant
after all--would be a very foolish person. Not to mention a bruised
person.

     The long flowing train on the gown pleated up into a tight bodice
with a low neckline. Several pins had been used to tighten the top,
since Yukiko filled out the dress a bit more than Akane. Of course, no
one would dare mention this directly to Akane. The gown was topped off
by a simple sheer veil, that had tiny flecks of silver that sparkled as
the sunlight reflected off them.

     In short, she was the most beautiful bride in the world. At least
as far as Ranko was concerned. And that day, no one would have dared
contradicted the groom.

     Akane gasped in surprise once she got a good look at the garden.
She hadn't expected them to be able to do anything like this in so short
of time.

     Except for the guests and most of the wedding party, the garden was
covered with cherry blossom petals. The one member of the wedding party
who WAS covered with petals was Ranko. For the past ten minutes, she
hadn't dared move from her spot for fear of something going wrong.

     Sprinkling cherry blossom petals at weddings was fairly common in
Japan, but it was rare that someone went to the trouble of bringing two
live cherry trees to the wedding to do this. But after Nodoka had
absently mentioned how nice it would be if they had cherry trees that
could sprinkle blossom petals over the yard for the wedding, Nabiki had
arranged for the trees to be brought over. The two trees stood on either
side of the wooden altar, which was placed to the left of the koi pond.

     As Akane walked from the house to the altar, cheery blossom petals
fluttered across the yard, the sunlight flashing across them.

     On the altar, the minister waited with Ranko, the best men were all
at her side. Dr. Tofu, Ryoga, Ranma, and Sanma all stood and watched
Akane make her way towards them. Ranma and Sanma were wearing big smiles
that showed the happiness they honestly wished for Akane's future. They
had to fight to keep the sadness they felt inside from showing on their
faces.

     Ukyo joined Kasumi and Nabiki on the bride's side of the altar
giving a pleasant smile to Ryoga, who blushed awkwardly. She watched
Akane make the final steps onto the altar.

     Soun, Ms. Hinako, and several of Akane's friends were in folding
chairs on the brides side along with Yukiko and her father, while Genma,
Nodoka, and several of Ranko's friends were on the grooms side. Somehow
Nabiki, Kasumi, and Nodoka had managed to get this wedding thrown
together in just a few hours.

     Akane slipped in beside Ranko she looked into Ranko's eyes and
smiled, which Ranko returned in kind. Akane reached up and brushed some
of the accumulated petals off the groom. Ranko took Akane's hand and
held on for what she hoped would be forever.

     The minister began. "We are gathered here today to join this man,
who is a man despite his breasts, Ranko Saotome-"

     Ranko smirked at the addition that she had insisted the minister
use. She then waited for the next part that should also contain another
change.

     "-and this woman, who is the most beautiful woman in the world,
Akane Tendo."

     Akane smiled sweetly at Ranko.

     "Marriage is the bonding of two lives into one..."

     Outside of the yard, a loud crash followed by Amazon war cries
interrupted the minister. After the sounds of fighting ended, a voice
called out. "It's okay. The problem has been dealt with!"

     Everyone looked back at the minister and made rushing gestures.

     The minister took the hint and skipped to the 'I dos'. "Ranko
Saotome, do you take this woman to be your wife, to love and to hold, in
sickness and in health, in good times and bad, till death do you part?"

     Ranko looked Akane directly in her eyes and didn't hesitate. "I
do."

     "Akane Tendo, do you take this man to be your husband, to love and
to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, till death do
you part?"

     More fighting noises were heard from outside the wall.

     "I do," Akane answered quickly, while looking at Ranko.

     "What fate, destiny, and love have brought together here today, let
no one cast aspersions against," the Minister recited, then paused
briefly. "You may kiss your bride."

     Ranko returned Akane's broad smile then leaned up and kissed her
new bride firmly on her lips.

     Seconds passed before the Minister made the long delayed and
interrupted pronouncement. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Mr.
and Mrs. Ranko Tendo."

     The garden erupted with cheers and thrown cherry blossom petals.

     And then the Minister's last words sunk in.

     "Tendo?!" Ranko shouted, very upset.

     "What?! I'm Mrs. Ranko Saotome now!" Akane insisted, looking at the
minister and her father for a correction.

     Nabiki stepped over to Akane and put on one of her charming smiles.
"Well, you see Akane... this marriage isn't exactly legal, you know."

     "I know that... but I want to be a Saotome!" Akane insisted,
starting to tear up. A part of her considered taking Ranko's name the
final assurance that she was really married now. The sudden denial of
that caused her to become distraught.

     "Well, it works out better this way. You stay a Tendo now and the
child is born a Tendo to carry on the Tendo name," Nabiki explained
softly, since not all of the guests knew about the pregnancy yet. She
paused briefly in her explanation to glance at their father, indicating
that it was probably his idea. "When you marry Ranma, that will be a
legal marriage and then you'll be able to get the Saotome name. For now,
the Tendos have 'adopted' Ranko into our family. That's the best I can
do with the current laws. I'm sorry I didn't have time to explain all
this earlier."

     "But..."

     Ranko interrupted Akane's protest and put a hand on her new bride's
shoulder. "It's okay, Akane. The name doesn't matter to me, just being
your husband is all I care about."

     Akane continued to cry, but now they were tears of joy. "Thank you,
Husband."

     "Anytime, Wife," Ranko said, then kissed her bride again.

     Suddenly, a cry from Ranma and Sanma rang out. "Aikizuna
Mokoutsu!!" Just before the wedding started, they had decided to do this
salute to show their support for the marriage. Little did they know that
it would become a tradition at Tendo weddings in the decades to come
because of its first use at this wedding.

     Akane and Ranko looked over to see two balls of chi form in Ranma
and Sanma's upturned hands. With a twist of their hands the chi balls
turned into red, wavy lines of chi and the two lines spiraled upwards,
forming a single beam as the smaller ones joined together and continued
into the sky.

     "Two hearts, beating as one," Ranma and Sanma declared in unison.

     Akane smiled at them. "No... it is, and always will be, four
hearts," she murmured to herself. And reached up and fingered the
necklace she had around her neck. On the necklace were the two
engagement rings that Ranma and Sanma had returned to her earlier.

     Ranko took Akane's hand and they raced back down the aisle towards
the house, being covered with cherry blossom petals thrown by the guests
all the way. When they reached the porch, Akane stopped and tossed the
bouquet over her shoulder back into the garden.

     All of the single girls leapt for the bouquet, stirring up clouds
of dust in the process. A brief melee ensued for possession of the
bouquet, this was Nerima after all. When the dust settled everyone
looked around to see which girl caught it. Then they spotted him. Yes,
HIM.

     Ranma swallowed loudly. "I ain't no girl!" he shouted, tossing the
bouquet away. It bounced between various girls until it dropped into
Yukiko's arms.

     Yukiko smiled, but then cringed under the glare of all the single
women present. "Well, I am getting married in two weeks," she said
timidly. That seemed to keep the girls from attacking. For two weeks at
least.

     As Nabiki surveyed the scene in front of her, she congratulated
herself on finally pulling off a wedding for Akane. <One down, two to
go. Now the trick will be getting the next wedding to go as smoothly.>
She looked over when Powder walked into the garden dragging an
unconscious Gosunkugi behind her, at least Nabiki hoped he was just
unconscious. <These Amazons are pretty handy, I'll have to arrange to
use them again.>


***********************************************************************
>From the personal journal of James Davidson:


September 20, 2057

     "Wait a second!" I blurted as Akane finished describing the
wedding. "You married Ranko back in 1999?!"

     Akane nodded. "Yes, he was my first husband."

     "But... but... I always thought that you married Ranma first," I
said, scanning through my palmtop for the information I had on her first
uninterrupted marriage. Or what I thought was her first one. As Akane
had been describing this wedding, I had kept expecting someone or
something to interrupt it, like all of her prior weddings had been. I
guess that made it all the more shocking to me when she told me the
wedding was successful.

     "You have to stop relying on public records for your research,
James. Since the government of Japan wouldn't consider Ranko a man, we
couldn't legally be registered as husband and wife back then. So my
marriage to Ranma may have been my first legal marriage, but I'll always
consider Ranko my first husband. Although, on a certain emotional level,
I did marry all three of them that day."

     "How so?"

     "Well, my heart refused to follow my brain's reasoning. It accepted
that Ranma and Sanma were my husbands as well as Ranko at that point. I
guess that made it even harder when I first realized that any of them
could be happy with another woman." She glanced at Sanma, with a slight
pained look.

     Sanma voice softened. "I'm sorry. I never stopped loving you... I
hope you know that."

     Akane nodded. "I know. At least I find some comfort in knowing that
your first wife was happy."

     Sanma sighed wistfully. "Yes, I think she was. I know she gave me
the happiness that I so desperately needed after your first wedding."

     "Like that technique you learned with your first wife and showed to
me on our honeymoon?" Akane winked seductively.

     I think they might have forgotten I was there and was starting to
feel awkward, so I cleared my throat before they could jump each other's
bones. "But what about your marriage to Ranko back in..."

     Akane interrupted me with the explanation. "That was just to
legalize matters once marriages between same-sex couples became legal in
Japan."

     I nodded my understanding. At the time, many people assumed Akane
had married Ranko just to keep the family together, but since I became
aware of the splits I knew it was not a marriage of convenience, but of
love between a man and a woman. Of course, now it appeared that it was
just the legalizing of what Akane had already considered a marriage.

     Akane continued. "Not that we were the same sex, but the government
has a narrower definition of male and female than we do."

     I couldn't help chuckling at that comment. "I can imagine. I keep
having to remind myself that Sanma is a man, despite the fact that he's
scratching his breast right now."

     Sanma stopped suddenly and withdrew her hand from her breast.
"Well, it's not my fault they still can't make a bra that doesn't itch."

     I burst out laughing at that comment. But quickly stopped after
both Sanma and Akane glared at me. "Err... sorry."

     "People without breasts shouldn't laugh at the troubles of those
that do," Sanma recited, as if she'd had to do this often. I'm not sure,
but she might have had a smirk on the corner of her lips.


[End - Chapter 17]

Coming soon: Chapter 18: Honeymoon from Hell: Fight for the Amazon Way 
=======================================================================
The real author's (Jim Lazar) notes/ramblings:


Well, seventeen chapters and I've finally identified Akane's three
husbands that were mentioned in chapter one. Sorry to make you wait, but
I think it was worth it. But don't think the action and love problems
end with Akane getting married... this is only the beginning of Akane's
married life and the romance problems for those around her.

And yes, James' statement in the last chapter about Ranko and Sanma
giving up Akane so Ranma could marry her was an intentional misdirection
on my part to make you think that THIS wedding was doomed as well. But
it does fit in with what James knows. Legally, Ranma was her first
husband and that is what his journal entries reflected. Remember that
James is still an outsider to all of the facts. He knows some things,
but not the full story. In a sense, he represents the readers as he
learns more and more about Akane's past and the family he has married
into.

I'd like to thank my pre-readers Jyh-I Lu, Johan Holmberg, David
Johnston, Thomas C. Kinnen, Taler Schilling, and Jonathan Ng for helping
me find and fix problems with this story. FFML members Michael A. Chase
and Chris Olsen were also helpful in fine tuning this story. Thank you
all. Of course in the end, any mistakes and botched characters are my
fault.


Revision 0.0 - Rough draft (January 25,  1999)
Revision 0.3 - Pre-reader draft (May 10, 1999)
Revision 0.4 - FFML draft (May 26, 1999)
Revision 1.0 - Final Version (June 15, 1999)
Revision 1.1 - First RAAC posting (June 19, 1999)