Cologne stopped, listening to the darkness of her quiet restaurant, for the briefest of moments she'd felt something. The sensation passed, peace returned to her mind, and the aged Amazon matriarch left to search for her great granddaughter.The blind boy didn't get much credit, from anybody, but his skill in combat paced him among the best in the world. Only someone of truly epic stupidity would attempt to break in to the Nekohanten. Listening and waiting, cloaked in techniques he'd sealed long ago, Genma watched the mysterious old woman leave. The seal on the Umisenken was only revoked for the most dire of emergencies, such as life and death situations or extreme hunger, but desperate times called for desperate measures. The boy needed to marry Akane, the houses had to be joined, and when inspiration had struck Soun and Genma simultaneously, the plan to do just that had been drawn up and executed in less than a day. Thieving came naturally to some, and to others was a skill obtained through diligent practice, Genma had talent and experience to spare. The few elaborate traps the old woman had secreted in her room were easily disarmed and undone, while the simpler ones could be avoided with little effort. He knew what he was looking for, it was only a matter of finding it. Doing his best not to disturb the countless Amazon artifacts, though the temptation to take some was almost overpowering, he sorted through clothes and trunks and hidden compartments until he saw it. A small bracelet, sized for a young woman's wrist, with three small indentations along its outer rim. Two of those indentations were empty, but the third was not, containing a tiny object that looked like a gumdrop. A smile creased the elder Saotome's face. Cologne had never decided whether or not Akane had swallowed the day pill or the lifetime pill, but it didn't matter. If the remaining one lasted a day, Ranma and Akane would be married before it wore off, and should it last a lifetime, well... a happy marriage could prove beneficial. Truly, the plan he and Soun had devised was foolproof. *-*-*-* Sins of the Fathers A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction by Brian *-*-*-* "Are you sure about this, Saotome?" "Absolutely, Tendo. If we cut it in half and they each eat one piece, then we'll have nothing to worry about." Soun found it difficult to argue with Genma's confident expression, and with his token protest out of the way the two martial artists carefully bisected the small round pill. "They'll be married by tomorrow night." A celebratory round of drinks were enjoyed by both men, along with a series of shogi matches, both of which continued until Kasumi called everyone to dinner. Now it was time for Soun to play his part, and as the family sat down in the dining room, he waited for his opportunity. When Ranma pleasantly asked Akane to pass him the pickles, which the youngest Tendo kindly obliged, the Tendo patriarch saw his opening and began his prepared speech. "Ranma, Akane, please be quiet!" The young couple stopped, looking surprised at the sudden outbust from the normally emotional man. The amazed looks the two fiancees had on their faces were matched by the other Tendo daughters and even Nodoka. Soun bowed his head, adopting a serious expression as he spoke to the group assembled around the table. "For a long time now your bickering has disrupted the peace and serenity of our meals, but no longer." The elder Tendo reached forward, grabbing the plates in front of Ranma and Akane and leaving the room with them. "Follow me please." As he turned the corner and passed out of sight, Soun surreptitiously hid the two halves of the love pill in Ranma and Akane's rice. Nervously glancing behind himself, he heaved an internal sigh of relief as the two walked into the living room after him. "Until the both of you have settled your differences, you will eat in here away from everyone else." With a soft click the plates settled onto the coffee table in the living room, after a stern look from Soun the young couple sat down next to their meal, eyeing the Tendo father strangely as he returned to the dining room. A long silence passed between the two as they picked at their food, finally broken by Ranma as he shoveled a bit of rice into his mouth. "What was that all about, anyway?" "I don't know, I mean, we weren't even fighting or anything. We've been getting along just fine the last few weeks." The short-haired girl gazed bashfully into her rice as she consumed the last remnants of her meal. Her fiancee, sitting across from her, did the same, his face burning as the last of his food disappeared. "Yeah, we've been getting along pretty good." The pig-tailed boy felt the heat in his cheeks as he thought about the girl across from him. Why couldn't he bring himself to look at her? "Maybe this ain't so bad, you know?" "Ranma?" Akane looked up at the youth before her, amazed at the simple phrase that had just slipped from his mouth. Suddenly, she found herself unable to tear her eyes away from him, his slightly mussed hair and cute downcast expression lending him an imperceptible air of handsome power. At the sound of her voice, he looked up as well, and found himself drowning in her eyes. "Akane?" His mouth was suddenly dry as he gazed at his fiancee. In the dining room, the peace of the meal was suddenly disturbed as a loud clatter filled the house. The table in the living room tipping over was a familiar sound, of course, but this time it sounded different, almost as though it hadn't impacted against Ranma's head. With a worried gasp, everyone but Nabiki ran to the other room to see what was going on. The middle Tendo daughter just sighed, resigning herself to another fight between her sister and Ranma, and continued to nibble away at her dinner. Upon entering the living room, Kasumi gasped and covered her eyes, blushing hotly at the scene before her. Behind the eldest Tendo daughter, Genma and Soun exchanged congratulatory handshakes and toasted the couple on the floor. Ranma's mother, however, had no idea how to react, torn between proud excitement at her son's manly behavior and a strong sense of concern that the two should wait until they were married. *-*-*-* Kasumi stepped slowly down the stairs, her face now dyed a seemingly permanent shade of red. "Well, I managed to separate them before anything, um, irreversible could occur, but..." The eldest Tendo daughter stared at her hands, fidgeting in embarrasment. The beaming look on Nodoka's face as she trailed behind Kasumi told a similar story, though from a slightly different perspective. "They're so energetic," she exclaimed, clasping her hands together in joy. "What did you do?" Nabiki screamed at the two men sitting in lotus positions across the table from her. Soun did not respond, and she slammed her fist on the table, demanding an answer. "You had no right to do this!" "We had every right," her father replied. "The houses must be joined." Genma nodded in emphatic agreement. "So drug Ranma, or hit him over the head or something, that way everybody wins!" She leveled an accusing finger at the aging martial artist. "How dare you do something like this to your own daughter!" "She's my daughter, Nabiki, just as you are, and it was a matter of honor. I had every right to see to it that the agreement between the families be fulfilled." For a long time, Nabiki just stared at the man she called father. The awkward silence was maintained until Genma, still sitting in his lotus position behind Soun, nodded off and began snoring. Taking the elder Saotome's inattention as an unwritten cue, the middle Tendo daughter grabbed her jacket from the floor nearby and walked steadfastly toward the door. "I'm going to see Cologne." The zipper made a threatening noise as it slid from the bottom of her coat to top. "If Ranma and Akane are married when I get back I can think of a number of people who will be upset with you, Mr. Tendo." *-*-*-* "Cologne!" The pounding on the locked door of the Nekohanten awakened all its residents, even the caged one in his cupboard under the stairs, and Nabiki found herself on the recieving end of one of Cologne's more baleful stares. The kind of cold look that had been developed, honed and passed from mother to daughter over the course of three-thousand years. "I'm in no mood, child, I'm old, tired, and more than a little cranky." "Shut up, old ghoul, I need your help." Cologne's eyes narrowed, and she restrained herself from hitting the uppity young woman. If Nabiki was asking for help, something serious was going on. "Explain." The short-haired girl began to talk, pouring out the events of the last few hours, and as her tale continued Cologne's face grew darker. The Amazon Elder began pouring over possibilities in her mind, every lust potion and artifact she knew of was considered and discarded as either impossible or unlikely. Except one. Her wrinkled voice rang through the restaurant. "Shampoo, I know you're listening." A startled yelp rang from the top of the stairs, confirming the matriarch's bluff. "Go into my room and get the bracelet Shampoo, you remember where it was I assume?" "You think it was a love pill then?" Cologne leveled her gaze at the mercenary girl. "I believe so, yes, and a damn fool I am for not protecting it better. If I am right then our options are few in number, and the odds against us astronomical." A scream shattered the night air, originating from the top floor and Cologne's bedroom. "Sometimes I hate being right." A purple blur descended the stairs, gibbering in mandarin at a pace that dizzied Nabiki. Fortunately, it only took a few harsh phrases, coupled with some choice shiatsu points, to quiet the purple-haired bombshell and get her speaking Japanese once again. "Love-pill bracelet gone!" Cologne sighed heavily, lighting her pipe and expelling a large smoke ring into the air above Shampoo's paralyzed form. "Yes, we assumed as much when you shrieked, granddaughter. Now, as I see it, we have two options." Nabiki held up her hand, temporarily silencing the crone. "Do you have a cure?" The matriarch sadly shook her head. "There are no cures for this, youngling. Which is why our first option is to wait for a day. If you recall I was never quite certain which was which and it's entirely possible that your father slipped them the one day pill. If that turns out to be true then we are in luck, and this will pass as all the previous madness has, becoming nothing more than a tale you will someday teach your children." "And if it's not the day pill?" "Then we kill Akane!" The voice coming from the floor was indignant and elicited a chuckle from the aging crone. "A warrior until the end, Shampoo, but no, that is no longer an option." The Amazon elder took a long draw from her pipe, speaking half to herself and half to the girls that were closely observing her. "I know the laws better than anyone, I wrote some of them in fact, and I admire that you wish to follow through, but this case is special. If it is the lifetime pill, then there is nothing left in Ranma's heart but his devotion to Akane Tendo. If that is not the day pill they swallowed, Shampoo, then we will leave Japan never to return." It was through a combination of sheer anger and willpower that the purple-haired girl stood then, overcoming the powerful shiatsu her guardian had inflicted, her scream of protest lending her strength to threaten the matriarch with her bonbori. "Shampoo not leave Ranma ever, all magic have counter, Shampoo find it!" The two Amazons stared at each other for a brief moment, a contest of wills taking place that Shampoo refused to lose and Cologne didn't want to win. "That is your decision to make when the time comes, granddaughter, but if a cure exists it is beyond my knowledge." The matriarch relented as she gazed into her heir's determined eyes. Nabiki spoke up then, annoyed at being treated as unimportant by the Amazons. "So waht you're saying is, you won't help?" The crone blew a smoke ring at the mercenary girl. "Can't help would be a better summation of our abilities at the moment, though we can offer you asylum here if you wish. You have a good head on your shoulders, Nabiki Tendo, and great potential whether you realize it or not. You may consider this place, and even our tribal home back in China, a safe haven for you in the days to come." An arched eyebrow was the middle Tendo daughter's only response. "You do not yet understand to gravity of the situation, but I am not about to elaborate further. I will say only that I hope Kasumi enjoys being a mother to your household as much as it seems she does." The cryptic statement did nothing to ease Nabiki's mind as she left the cafe, and as she made her way back to the Tendo home she prayed that by tomorrow they could leave the whole incident behind them. A tiny voice in the back of her mind, however, considered Cologne's offer and began to prepare for the worst. *-*-*-* Morning came, and for Ranma it was as though the sun were shining over him for the first time. It astonished him how easily the words came to his mind now, almost as though they belonged there. For a brief moment the other girls faces bolted through his mind, but he realized now that he felt nothing for them or toward them, not in a romantic way. They simply paled in comparison to his fiancee, his one true fiancee, and now all that remained was to convince the priest from the previous marriage attempt that it was safe to return to the dojo. Entering the furo for his morning scrub, he felt the tiniest stab of regret that he had not encountered Akane coming out as he so often did. A mild pink tainted his cheeks as he thought of the times he'd seen his fiancee naked, and he doused himself with cold water to dull the feelings. Loud voices rang out from somewhere in the house, and Ranma didn't have to strain her ears to pick out Akane's melodic tones, she was shouting about something. The bath forgotten, Ranma quickly grabbed her clothes from the hamper in the changing room, tossing them onto her still wet body as she ran to her fiancee's side. In the living room, she found Nabiki quietly attempting to explain something to the youngest sister, and AKane visibly upset and shaking at whatever the middle daughter had to say. Reaching, Ranma's hand clasped onto Akane's, and the two exchanged a brief peck on the lips before the pig-tailed girl took in the situation. The redhead imposed herself between the warring sisters, glaring harshly at Nabiki as she did so. "What are you doing to Akane?" The girl in question wrapped her arms around her fiancee, burying her face in the pig-tailed girl's back. "She says it's not real, that you don't actually love me, that's not true is it Ranma?" The martial artist turned her head to lock eyes with the woman she loved. "Of course it's not true, Akane. I love you and I'll say that as often as you need to hear it." A smile decorated Ranma's face as she kissed Akane's hand, but the grin vanished when she rounded to face Nabiki. "What are you talking about Nabiki? And I had better like what I hear." The threat that was issued when the pig-tailed girl cracked her knuckles was not a veiled one by any stretch of any imagination. The middle Tendo daughter chose her words very carefully. "Your father and mine slipped something into your food last night, Ranma. Cologne thinks it was the last of those love pills, that's what I was saying, it should wear off by tonight." The mercenary nervously licked her lips as the pig-tailed girl's expression grew darker. "That's not true, and even if it was it wouldn't change anything. I love Akane and you can't stop that, Nabiki. You can't blackmail it either, and that's probably what scares you." The middle daughter gritted her teeth at the frustration of it all. "I'm trying to help you, damnit, can't you understand that much?" Akane peered around from behind her fiancee. "I think you should leave for a little bit, Nabiki, take a walk and clear your head." "Have you even thought about what the other girls' reactions will be? If they find out that magic was used to get you two together there's no telling what they might do or how they'll come after Akane. I'll send her away, far from Nerima, before I let that happen." Nabiki's teeth rattled as she was backhanded across the face, and a shocked expression adorned the mercenary's face as Akane retracted her shaking hand. "Don't even joke about taking me away from Ranma, Nabiki." Ranma grasped her fiancee's hand, massaging it lightly and whispering soft words of comfort into the short-haired girl's ear. Nabiki straightened, still reeling somewhat from the blow, and ran her tongue around the inside of her mouth to make sure nothing was loose. "Well, if that's how it's going to be, I can't say I didn't warn you. Though I wish you'd just look at this logically for once." The mercenary girl picked up a small backpack, one that Ranma hadn't noticed, from the side of the couch and slung it over her shoulder. As she opened the front door, she turned and spoke to the couple one more time, a final plea for sanity. "Think about it, though, don't you find it weird that you could barely admit you were engaged until last night, and now you want to get married?" Ranma just glared at her, clutching Akane to her ample bosom. Nabiki turned and left the Tendo Home, heading toward the Nekohanten. After the sister had been gone a few minutes, Ranma turned to her still shaken up fiancee with a look of concern. "She has a point, you know, we can't predict how the other girls will react." Akane nodded in response, clutching at the pig-tailed girl for support. "Do you think we should tell them you've decided, Ranma?" The redheaded young woman thought about that for a very long time before responding. "We should at least let Ucchan know, I think, she's my friend. But it's your decision. The others don't really matter, Akane, you're the one I'm in love with." Akane's response had no words, and Ranma soon found herself returning the kiss with equal passion. *-*-*-* Ukyo thrust open the curtains of her bedroom window, letting the warmth of the rising sun spray across her face. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the gentle sensation, reveling in such simple things as peace, quiet, and the large appetites of her fellow students. When she glanced down at the front of her restaurant she could already see a few of her early morning regulars. If their numbers were any indication, then she would be exceptionally busy today, and a smile split her face at the thought. The grin refused to leave as she woke Konatsu and began the short process of opening the Ucchan. Today was going to be a good day, somehow she could feel it. *-*-*-* Ranma walked slowed along the sidewalk, his fingers interwined with Akane's as they strolled toward the Ucchan. Occasionally the two would stop and look at each other, emotions filling them that they had no real way to express. The pig-tailed boy grinned, leaning down to pick up a small wildflower growing along the side of the road for his fiancee. The short-haired girl smiled beautifully, thanking him and tucking the tiny blossom behind her ear. Still caught up in Akane's smile, Ranma turned a corner and bounced off someone, falling backward onto his rear. His fiancee knelt beside him with a concerned expression. "Are you okay, Ranma?" The pig-tailed boy nodded, looking up at the person he'd run into, and relieved to see Ryoga standing there. At least this way he could get the first problem over and done with and he and Akane could move on to the more important issues. "Akane, there's something you should know." The pig-tailed boy scrambled to his feet, brushing himself off and ignoring Ryoga as best he was able. He had the sudden urge to pound on the lost boy for his past treatment of Akane, but repressed it. The youngest Tendo leaned forward, interested in anything Ranma had to say. "Ryoga's P-chan." The boy in the bandanna nearly shrieked in outrage, but found his muscles frozen and his vocal chords no longer operating as they should. When Akane turned to Ryoga, asking him if it was true, the lost boy couldn't quite hear her over the roaring that was filling his ears. Then he felt the change, as Ranma produced a bucket of cold water from somewhere and doused him with it, and saw Akane's eyes staring at him with open acceptance as he shrank. The tiny piglet was frozen, unable to move, and staring in horror at the girl in front of him. Lifting P-chan into her arms, Akane stared at the tiny black animal, marvelling that it had taken her so long to notice the similarities between Ryoga and his cursed form. "It's okay, Ryoga, really." She lightly stroked his ears, scratching the spot she remembered him enjoying so much. "Are you sure, Akane?" Ranma was genuinely bewildered, expecting more of an explosive reaction from his tomboyish fiancee. She nodded happily. "I was going to give P-chan away, but this just makes things easier. Now I don't have to worry about finding a good home, since I'm sure Akari will take excellent care of him." As Ryoga made several noises of loud protest, masked by his piggish exterior, Akane hushed him with a light bop on the head. "I knew you and Ranma didn't get along, and I could hardly choose my pet pig over my fiancee. P-chan would've had to go, I'm sure you understand that, right?" Ryoga's heart shattered, and the small piglet began to glow a light blue color as Akane set him down on the pavement. "Goodbye Ryoga, I hope you can make it to the wedding." With a smile and a wave at the tiny form still dumbstruck on the sidewalk, Akane and Ranma continued walking. Too caught up in each other's eyes, neither noticed the pillar of ki that erupted into the sky behind them a few minutes later. *-*-*-* Nabiki entered the Nekohanten with little goal in mind, the usually collected young woman had been shaken badly by recent events and was disturbed at just how far her composure had slipped. As the middle Tendo daughter walked through the door, Cologne appeared in front of her, inspecting her briefly before nodding her head. "There are three rooms upstairs; one is mine, one is Shampoo's, and the other is yours. Which one did that to your cheek?" Reflexively, the mercenary girl's hand came up to her face. She hadn't even noticed the bruise that had started to form there. "Akane," she said simply. "I take it you suggested separating them or some other remedy for the situation. Not terribly wise, youngling, given the circumstances." "I don't need a lecture, I just don't want to wake up in love with Kuno because my Daddy needs the money." The crone accepted this, understanding Nabiki's severe reaction to the situation somewhat better with that innocuous comment. "You may take your things upstairs, but try not to disturb Shampoo. She's been buried in books and scrolls since you left last night and I don't think she's in any mood for visitors." "Looking for an antidote?" Cologne nodded. Lightly, Nabiki touched the sore spot that was forming on her jaw, wincing when her fingers brushed over it. "Maybe I'll help her." *-*-*-* The small bell attached to the Ucchan's entrance jingled pleasantly, and as the chef behind the grill looked up she couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. "Hey Ranchan, hi Akane, I'll be with you guys in a minute okay?" Turning to one of her remaining unfed customers, Ukyo resumed cooking with the same happy little smile she'd worn so often in the past. Ranma and Akane took up seats at the grill, holding hands out of sight beneath the countertop as Ukyo went about her business. Several minutes passed before the restaurant quieted and an okonomiyaki appeared in front of Ranma, the delicious pancake soon joined by its maker. "So what's up, Ranchan? You haven't been by in a few days." She chuckled softly at his embarassed expression. "I was starting to worry that you'd forgotten all about your fiancee." He spoke without thinking. "I could never do that, Ucchan, Akane's too important to me." Ukyo's smile faltered as the whole of Ranma's comment penetrated her hearing. "Wait, what? What are you talking about Ranchan. I'm your fiancee, remember?" She laughed half-heartedly, trying to downplay the awkwardness of the moment. "Actually, Ucchan, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." To punctuate his statement, Ranma brought his hand up onto the counter, Akane's fingers still entwined with his own. Unnoticed by the pig-tailed boy or either of his fiancees, the restaurant patrons subtly began inching toward the exits. The event that was about to occur had long been theorized about by the denizens of Nerima, and while no one knew exactly how it would play out, they all were certain that they didn't want to be there when it did. "I love Akane, Ucchan, and I could never love you the way I love her, that's just the way things are and the way they have to be." The pig-tailed boy continued talking and Ukyo's world tumbled down around her, the scene at her counter too unreal to be anything but the truth. Oddly, a strange sense of peace filled her in that moment, and as she tuned out Ranma's statement she took comfort in the fact that whatever gods controlled her fate didn't care about her at all. Of course, Ranma shattered even that contenting dream. "I know this may be a little awkward, Ucchan, but would you be my best man? I mean, I can't think of anybody else I could ask." The oversized spatula connected with his face before the sound of the impact echoed through the restaurant, and Ranma flew away into a wall on the opposite side. Akane reacted instinctively to protect the man she loved, bringing her fist up to connect with Ukyo's face and send the chef stumbling back a couple of paces before rushing to her fiancee's side. "Ranma are you okay?" Rubbing his cheek as he pulled himself out of the Ranma-shaped hole in the wall, the pig-tailed boy nodded. "Yeah, I guess I didn't think she take it this hard." "You did this, Akane." Ukyo voice dripped icy venom as she leapt over the grill and leveled one of her smaller spatulas at the short-haired girl. "You did something to Ranchan. Even if he did love you he would never do this unless you drugged him." With a loud battlecry, she launched herself at Akane, swinging her spatula in a powerful arc toward the smaller girl. There was a loud clanging sound as the haft of the weapon cleanly snapped, and a horrible crack as Ranma's elbow landed in the chef's ribcage. Ukyo fell backward, holding her side in pain, and stumbled into Konatsu's arms. "I think we better go, Akane." The short-haired girl nodded to her fiancee, taking his hand as the couple walked out of the restaurant. Ukyo shook free of Konatsu's comforting grip, screaming for the few remaining patrons to leave. She rounded on the male kunoichi, ranting with her own internal pain. "You leave too, Konatsu, I don't want you here." "You cannot mean that, Ukyo-sama." She threw him bodily toward the door, collapsing to her knees with the strain of the action. "You don't have a job here anymore, Konatsu." The male kunoichi rose to his feet, looking horrorstruck at the woman he idolized so completely. "What do you mean, Ukyo-sama?" With grim determination, she pushed him out of the door. "The Ucchan is closed." The entryway shut, and with a soft click sealed Ukyo off from the world. *-*-*-*-* Ranma and Akane held hands as they walked, sharing the solemn silence of the street together, each pouring over their own thoughts about the experience at the Ucchan. "That was scary, Akane-chan, I was hoping things wouldn't go that far." "I know you were, Ranma, we didn't know how Ukyo would react." She paused for a moment, sighing as she looked at her feet. "But we had to say something eventually. Ukyo's your friend, and we have to respect that." Akane reached a hand up to cup her fiance's face, pulling him into a gentle kiss. "Thank you for protecting me, Ranma." The pig-tailed boy looked thoughtful a moment longer, dwelling on what he'd done to protect Akane, what Ukyo had forced him to do. "She could have hurt you, Akane, I could never let that happen, and I won't call somebody who would do that a friend. Not even Ukyo." Ranma's arms slid around the short-haired girl, pulling her into a tight embrace that was returned with all the strength Akane's small form could muster. "I love you too much for that, Akane." "I love you, Ranma." *-*-*-* Shampoo drew the sharp curved blade against her forearm, letting only the tiniest spectre of blood leak from her body and into the center of the stones she had arranged on the floor. Placing the dagger aside, she used her good hand to turn a page in the large tome of counterspells that she had uncovered in Cologne's belongings. The first eight had proven ineffective, if she was interpreted the signs correctly, but she had a good feeling about this one. A handful of dark lavender powder from one of her grandmother's cabinets came next, eliciting a burbling noise as it joined other ingredients in the magic circle, and an orange blob followed after. She'd been forced to pin Mousse down to extract his cloaca, but if the spell worked as it was supposed to, it would be worth it. The gel on the floor drew to a heatless boil, and Shampoo began to wait.