A Wish Come True Part 2: Consequences

*-*-*-*

One year ago...

	A panda and a red haired girl with a pig-tail faced off in the street of
Nerima.  It was raining hard.
	"I told you Pop! This is no time for fiancees!"
	Having said that, the redhead leapt up and landed a kick on the panda's
face sending it flying into a street sign, where it collapsed in a heap.
	"I'm going back to China, so suck on that, Old man."
	Unbeknownst to the girl, the panda had gotten back up and was holding
the street sign in one paw.  It swung it towards the girl.
	Call it divine inspiration, because that's probably what it was, but
something warned the girl of the attack ahead of time.  She ducked under
the blow and caught the sign with her hand.  Standing back up, she turned
around and faced the panda.
	"Now you listen to me, Oyaji, and you listen good.  I am not..."
She swung the sign toward the panda's face, where it impacted with a
muted clang. "...going to let you..." She swung it again. "...engage me 
to some girl..." She did it again, this time there were murmurs from the 
gathering crowd. "...that I have never even met!"  She swung the sign at 
the panda to accentuate the last word, and it broke across the beast's skull.
The panda fell to the sidewalk, slumping into unconsciousness.
	The redhead turned around and glared at the crowd, which stepped back
and began walking away.  The redhead could hear the people talking.
	"...and I thought Tomobiki was wierd."
	"Don't stare darling, or I'll hurt you."
	"Imagine!  Engaging a girl to a girl."
	The redhead began to get slightly pissed at that one.
	"How could a panda engage anybody to anybody anyway?"
	After the crowd had the left, the redhead picked up the panda and slung
it over her shoulder, impressive considering how much that thing had to weigh.
	Walking a few blocks, the girl found a bridge under which the ground
was comparatively dry.  Setting up camp, and stuffing the panda into one
of the tents, she began heating a kettle of water. Eventually using it turn
into a good-looking, dark-haired young boy with a pig-tail.
	Growling, Ranma crawled into his tent and tried to get some sleep.

*-*-*-*

Present day...

	Akane was still on her knees in the garden, the overwhelming silence
was comforting, in a disturbing way.  The wracking sobs that had seized her had
finally abated, she was now just crying softly into her arms.  
	The youngest Tendo stood and walked mechanically back into the house,
sitting down on the couch, and began mulling over the time since school.  She h
ad been so angry at Ranma.  What had he done to get her so mad, she almost couldn't 
remember.  "Oh yeah, he was hanging all over Shampoo and... no, that's not right, 
Shampoo and Kodachi were hanging all over him. Then he ate Ukyo's okonomiyaki, 
and then he came over to eat with me, and brought Ukyo with him."
	"Oh yes, he was truly doing some horrible things today wasn't he
Akane-chan?"
	Akane whirled around to find the goddess of the past glaring at her
with a look so cold Akane thought the temperature inside had dropped a few
degrees.
	"Yes, Akane, I must admit.  Ranma was truly deserving of that wish,
what was it he did again?  He ate lunch with you and his best friend?
That would be one of the most unforgivable things a man could possibly
do to me."
	"Who are you to judge me?"  Akane's temper was flaring at the
condescending woman who had given her that magic ring.  Lashing out at a 
divine entity in a fit of pain and emotional distress was not the wisest 
thing she had ever done, but right now she just needed to scream at something, 
anything. "This is all your fault anyway, that magic ring that you gave me.  You 
knew what was going to happen, you knew that Ranma would get me mad and that I
would... would..."  Fresh tears began to streak from her eyes as she yelled 
at the Goddess in front of her. Her heart was an ocean of anger, directed 
primarily at herself, and she latched onto the platinum-haired woman in desperation.
	"I didn't want this, you have to know that, Urd.  I didn't want this."
	Urd gathered the smaller girl into her arms, holding her as she cried
some more.  "I am Urd, Goddess of the Past and Cupid of Love, Second Class,
Second Category; limited, and I will judge you as I see fit. I know the past, Akane,
I know what was, not what will be, nobody knows that.  Even Goddesses of 
Future like my younger sister can only make educated guesses most of the time.
Your temper is what got you into this mess, not me, not Ranma, and not
anybody else.  I checked up on you Akane-chan, Something I should've done 
before I ever agreed to that wish, but I'd already..."
	The Norn stopped for a moment to catch her breath, and calm herself down.
"I started to like you Akane-chan, because deep down I'm willing to bet that 
you are a good person, I know for a fact that you are, even if you are a little 
possessive and jealous. Heck, I'm half those things myself.  Claim responsibility 
for what happened Akane, and mean it, and I'll do everything I can to help you."
	"Urd, I, I'm sorry, but... Ranma just got me so angry that... I just
wasn't thinking... I mean, I say stuff like that fromt time to time, and even 
if he gets mad at me, he would always just, I would just have to apologize
and then things would go back to the way they were."
	"Sorry can't fix everything Akane-chan, and while it would certainly make
things easier if I could just undo what's been done, I can't. The best I can do 
right now is to help you figure out what to do with your new life."
	"But if I never met Ranma, then how come I remember everything?"
	"Let's just say a mutual friend of ours managed to pull a few strings, 
Akane-chan, and made that part of the wish.  Usually when someone's wish would change 
the past, the person who made the wish changes with it.  Almost every wish works like 
that, and yours was about to, but thanks to Belldandy, you've been excluded shift. 
You will, however, have memories from this life filtering in for the next few weeks."  
The goddess adopted a serious expression, locking eyes with the smaller girl.  "I won't 
lie to you Akane-chan, you're going to have to fight to keep your old memories, and 
it isn't going to be easy, but you can do it."
	"So... where's Ranma now?"
	"Ranma is living happily in Nerima..."
	A look of such unbridled hope came to Akane's face that Urd nearly
couldn't finish speaking.  But there are some things that must be done.
	"...with Ukyo."
	Akane's face fell and she looked ready to cry again.  "But, but why?
I mean, wouldn't his father remember about the engagement to one of us, either
me, or Nabiki, or Kasumi?  His dad was always really adamant about that, he wouldn't 
let Ranma live with Ukyo, he just wouldn't."
	"Ranma didn't get to the dojo that night, Akane-chan."
	Memories that weren't her own, yet couldn't have belonged to anybody
else, flooded into Akane's mind.

*-*-*-*

One year ago.

	"Um, Daddy, are you sure they're coming?"
	"Of course Nabiki, Genma's postcard said they'd be arriving today.
They should be here any moment."  Soun sat in a lotus position, across
the table from him sat his three daughters.  "They should be here any
time now."
	Kasumi stood, letting the feeling seep back into her legs, and
began moving toward the kitchen.  "I'll go make some dinner, I'm sure
that they'll be hungry once they get here."
	"Kasumi, please sit down and wait for the Saotomes.  They'll 
be here any minute."
	"Yes, father."  Mindful of her father's stern tone, the eldest 
Tendo daughter returned to her position at the table.
	Nabiki, arms folded across her chest, rested on the table.
Occasionally, a light snore would escape from her mouth as she dreamed
of a handsome young husband handed to her on a silver platter.
	Akane leaned back on her hands, her earlier anger at the
arrangement had evaporated quickly, now she was just bored.
	
	"Yes, Saotomes should be any minute now."

*-*-*-*

	"So you see Akane-chan you and Ranma never met.  As such, he
didn't fall in love with you.  Besides, all it would take would be a couple
of deluxe okonomiyaki and Genma would stand behind Ranma's engagement to Ukyo,
you know that as well as I do."  Urd was now standing on the other side of the
room going through Soun's stash of alcoholic beverages.  "You'd think he'd keep
something better on hand... sheesh."
	Akane sifted through her memories of that rainy night so long ago.  She
still remembered meeting Ranma, but at the same time she remembered coming
downstairs with Kasumi that night to collect her father once he'd stopped 
crying, and Nabiki's disappointment that her prospective male had not
arrived when expected.  Having two conflicting sets of memories, both of which
you knew for certain were real, was a disturbing experience.  She felt like
she couldn't trust her own senses anymore.
	"That doesn't explain why Ranma's living in Nerima... I mean, wouldn't 
he have left to go find his Mom or something if he never arrived here?"
	Urd shook her head, taking little swigs from Soun's deposit of alcohol.
The collection of bottles in their liquor cabinet seemed larger than Akane 
remembered.  Whether that meant good things or bad was yet to be determined.
"Look, Akane-chan, I'd have to sit here all night if I wanted to explain 
everything that's different from what you remember.  A lot can happen in
a year, as you well know, and a lot did.  I'll just say this, the power that
granted your wish also ensured that Ranma didn't stray too far.  In this life,
the two of you have never spoken to each other or directly interacted in any 
way, and that's how things are."
	"Is there anything that's changed for the better for me, Urd?  Anything?"
	"Hmmm," she thought for a moment. "Tatewaki Kuno's not after you anymore, 
and as for the other big thing, well, it should be home in a couple minutes.  I 
shouldn't be here when Nabiki or Kasumi show up, Akane-chan, but this one, well..." 
the Goddess shared a wink with the youngest Tendo daughter. "He won't tell anybody."
	A door clacking shut alerted her, and Akane whipped around in a ready
stance.  Weird, somehow she felt faster than she remembered.  She experimentally
cracked her knuckles, and found that she felt stronger too.
	A male voice rang out from the entryway.  "Hello?  Is anyone here?"
As a young man around Akane's age, wearing a white bandanna and carrying an
old, battle-scarred broom looked into the living room, Akane's mind found itself
flush with another episode from this strange life that wasn't quite her own.

*-*-*-*

Two months ago...

	"Blow it!" Shinnosuke's grandfather shrieked in a womanly voice. 
	The shrill sound of the whistle echoed off the trees of Ryugenzawa,
and the Orochi's many heads slumped to the ground in defeat.  It had taken
all the speed Akane possessed, and a large amount of alcohol, to fend off 
the multiple mouthed onslaught.
	
	The eighth and final head of the Orochi reared up from the depths
of the water basin, easily as large as the as the others combined.
	
	Darting to the side, the giant beast's teeth tore into the sandy
soil Akane had been standing on.  Behind her stood Shinnosuke and his 
Grandfather, still dressed in drag and trying to lure the monster away.
The Orochi's roar was phsyically painful to hear, and she was forced
to drop the broom she was using to clap her hands over her ears.
	The large dragon burst toward her with carnivorous intent, when
it suddenly stopped in the act of closing its jaw, looking as surprised
as Akane was.  Inside the creature's mouth stood Shinnosuke's grandfather,
his own broom being used to keep the Orochi's fangs from grinding Akane
to dust.
	"Akane!  The moss, it's on the eighth head, get it for Shinnosuke!"
	A glance back at the young man who'd once saved her life, and Akane
remembered why she was here.  If she blew the whistle now, the serpent would
sink to the bottom and the moss might be lost.
	Vaulting atop the creature's head, Akane spotted her goal, the 
life-giving fungus growing near the gigantic snakelike eyes.  A single swipe with her
broom collected a large amount of moss, and the long-haired girl bounced 
backward, returning to the beach around the lake the Orochi called home.
	Looking toward Shinnosuke, Akane saw him collapse, his life fleeing
his body before her very eyes.  Moving with a speed few in the world were
capable of, Akane tore the blouse from the young man's back and scrubbed
the healing moss onto the scarred tissue from so long ago.
	Before her eyes, the wounded flesh disappeared leaving only
healthy skin behind.  Shinnosuke's eyes opened, meeting Akane's as he sat
up on the grass.  "Akane, you saved me."
	Quiet tears clouding her vision, Akane wrapped her arms around
the young man who'd rescued her so long ago.
	"Akane, I've been waiting for the right time to say this, but
I think I'm in love with you."  There was a pause during which neither
spoke.  Akane did her best to ignore what he had said, since he'd already
told her twice.  She didn't return his feelings, but couldn't say so for
fear of aggravating his injury.
	"Your name is Akane, right?"
	She sighed in frustration.
	A deafening howl shattered the tranquil moment between the two,
who turned their surprised faces up to the thrashing form of the Orochi's
large rearward head.  The creature's eyes were clouding over, and it
looked to be turning a hideous shade of purple, as though it couldn't
breath.
	"Oh god, Shinnosuke, your grandfather!"
	"My what?"
	The giant beast collapsed to the beach, its air supply restricted,
and its body dying.  "Your grandfather, he was in the Orochi's mouth.
Oh my god."  Akane's hands covered her face as she choked back a sob.
"The serpent must have eaten him."
	Shinnosuke was standing by the fallen form of the oversized
hydra, poking at its eyes with the handle of his broom.  "That's odd,
the Orochi would never eat a man, they're poisonous to it, I think."
He scratched his head in wonder.  "A man would have to literally jump
down its throat before he could be swallowed."
	Understanding came to Akane at that moment.  Shinnosuke's 
grandfather had sacrificed himself, so that they would survive, and
in the process of doing that had killed the Orochi, the source of
the water of life.
	The smaller heads on the beast gave a collective shudder
as the single heart inside its body stopped pumping.  The Orochi, 
the eight-headed serpent, the life's blood of Ryugenzawa, was dead.
With that death, the water of life would cease to flow.  The forest 
would recede and its giant creatures would no doubt return to the 
normal size they had been long ago.  Shinnosuke's work here was 
done, and he didn't even know, probably wouldn't remember it 
in twenty minutes time.
	"Shinnosuke," Akane said as she reached her hand out to him.
The forgetful boy took her hand in his own.
	"Hello, have we met?"
	She tried not to cry at the oblivious cheerfulness in his
eyes.  "I'm Akane, do you remember me?"
	He looked thoughtful for a moment.  "I think I do, are
you alright, miss Akane?"
	She smiled at his concern for her.  "Shinnosuke, it's not
safe here, for either of us."
	"Yes, the animals of this forest are dangerous.  You should
probably go home, but beware of the traps.  I think I set some of them
near here."
	Akane tugged gently on his hand, without his Grandfather to
watch over him there was no telling what would happen to Shinnosuke.
She could see only one choice in this situation, and she hoped it was
the right one to make.  "Shinnosuke, you're going to have to come 
with me, to show me the way out.  Do you understand?"
	He nodded dumbly.  "I shouldn't leave the forest, my Grandfather
would be upset.  At least, I think he would."
	Akane kept pulling, leading the dumbstrack lad away.  "You're
going to come live with me, Shinnosuke.  Your grandfather won't mind.  
You could almost say it was his idea."  Tears were flowing freely
from her eyes now, but she turned away as she led the forest guardian
away from Ryugenzawa.
	"Akane, I've been waiting for the right moment to say this,
but I guess now is as good a time as any.  I think I love you."
	"I know, Shinnosuke."  The tears continued to flow as she
led her friend to Nerima.  Explaining him to her family would not
be easy, but she wouldn't abandon him here, not if she could help it.

*-*-*-*

Present day.

	Shinnosuke looked with concern at the two women in the living room.
He thought he recognized one of them, but the other he was pretty certain
was a stranger.  He leveled his broom at the dark-haired girl.
	"Who are you and what are you doing in this house?"
	"Shinnosuke, it's me.  Akane."
	"Akane?"  He nodded and slapped himself lightly in the head.  "Of course,
how could I forget?  My apologies."  Reaching into his gi, Shinnosuke removed a
small packet of index cards.  Akane remembered Kasumi giving him those to help
him remember vital pieces of information like his name, and to eat during the day.
The one he was looking at now had pictures of the Tendos, with their names
written in marker underneath them.
	"Akane-chan, I'm going to have to go for a little while, okay?  Don't worry
though, I'll be back tomorrow to help you adjust and maybe explain a few more things.
That being said, Urd disappeared into the television set.  Leaving Akane just as
upset, angry, and lost as she had been feeling before Urd arrived.  The only
difference was that now she knew that Ranma was in Nerima, he was with Ukyo, and
she didn't have to worry about Kuno anymore.
	"Um, Akane, how did that woman disappear into the television set?"
	A depressed sigh escaped from the long-haired girl as she slumped down
onto the couch.  "Don't worry about it Shinnosuke, she's just a friend of mine."
	"Should I write that down?"
	Looking at him, Akane just quirked an eyebrow at the memory-challenged lad.
"Write what down?"
	Shinnosuke sat down next to her, looking confused.
	The door to the house opened for the second time in as many minutes, 
and in stepped a rather daringly dressed Nabiki. She was wearing jean shorts 
and a tank-top that showed off her rather impressive assets. 
	"Hey Akane, hey Shin-chan, Dad still asleep?"
	The nickname her older sister had used for the young man resulted in another
cascade of memories, but the youngest Tendo refrained from sorting through them at 
the moment. "Um, yeah, I think so... why?"
	Nabiki gave Akane a calculating look, it quickly receded back into her
emotionless mask.  Soun's job on the city council hadn't held up for long after the
Saotome incident, so now the Tendo's were living somewhat cheaper than they'd used to.
With the recent addition of Shinnosuke, that had turned into a lot cheaper than they'd
used to.  Their father rarely left his room nowadays.  "Good, c'mon.  I hope you're 
hungry, I brought dinner from that Nekohanten place.  They make the cheapest, best
ramen in town."
	"Umm, why isn't Kasumi cooking?"
	Nabiki arched an eyebrow at Akane, curious at her sister's oblivious behavior.  
"Akane, you know perfectly well that Kasumi works over at the Kuno place on Mondays."  
Nabiki stared down at her hand as it clenched into a fist almost of it's own accord.  
"Kuno-chan, you idiot, why'd you have to..."  Nabiki's voice trailed off into 
nothingness as she looked at her fingernails.  "Anyway, here."
	Nabiki handed Akane a box with a set of chopsticks attached, which she 
opened to find a bowl of Ramen.  Figuring that since neither Shampoo, Mousse, or 
Cologne knew who she was now, the ramen would be safe to eat, Akane began 
consuming the meal with gusto.. Nabiki was the first to finish her food and ran 
upstairs after doing so.  When she emerged again downstairs she was holding 
her camera in one hand.
	She motioned towards the dojo with her head.  "C'mon Akane, it's time for
that photo shoot."
	Akane's head whipped up in shock at that.  "What?"
	"C'mon Akane, you promised.  A few cheesy shots of you beating up on
the walking memory bank over there."
	  "I... okay."
	Nabiki patted her sister on the rear as the two headed out to the dojo.  "Don't
worry Akane, there won't be anything too kinky.  We don't need money badly enough 
for me to do that to you."
	Akane blushed from her hairline to her toes as she entered the dojo,
laughter from her older sister prompting some embarassing flashes of her past.
	Nabiki rounded on the boy with the broom that was following closely behind
her.  He could be cute in his more lucid moments, when he knew who he was.  "Shin-chan,
I think you forgot to pay me your rent for the month.  That'll be two thousand yen."
Nabiki extended her hand in a familiar and expectant gesture, it was fortunate that
she'd been able to talk Doctor Tofu into not only hiring the guy but also paying him
in cash.  Too bad the good doctor was having so little success aiding Shinnosuke's
memory troubles.
	As the forgetful young man dropped a wad of bills into her palm, Nabiki mentally
checked off another item from her weekly to-do list.  It had taken her some time
to work out a decent schedule for extracting money from the young man.  If she took
too much he would wind up lost and pennliess in the big city and it would be her 
fault, if she took too little he'd fritter it away.  On what, she couldn't imagine.
	Sparing a glance to her watch, Nabiki entered the dojo.  Kasumi would be
home in a couple of hours, plenty of time.

End part 2

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