Ranma 1/2: Siblings Episode 13 All Ranma 1/2 characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. Viz owns the US rights, and I'm using them without permission. Don't sue me, I have no money. *** "Do you feel it, Daisuke?" "What is that?" "Something is in the air. Something is about to change." "An ending, perhaps, Hiroshi?" "Indeed, my friend. Or maybe, just maybe, a beginning." A moment of silence fell. "About damned time, I was getting bored." "No doubt. Three months of peace is enough to drive a man insane." [Author's note: How's THAT for a way to say '3 months later'?] *** Andrew amusedly watched his brother pace around the room. "So, you're finally going to do it. I don't know why, I mean you're engaged anyway..." "Bro, let's just say I have to," Ranma interrupted, and reaching into his pocket, pulling out a small box. Andrew grabbed it from him and openned it up, his eyes widenning in suprise. "Good Lord, Ranma. Where the hell did you get the money for this?" Inside the box lay a golden ring with a small ruby stone. The thin band had the look of a woven rope. "Why not diamond?" Ranma smiled a bit, and turned as red as the stone. "Ruby, red, Akane. It just fit." He suddenly looked worried. "You think she'll like it?" Andrew couldn't help but chuckle. "Bro, I can guarrantee it." He thought for a minute. "When are you going to ask her?" he asked, handing the box back. "Today, at school, at lunch." Andrew looked at him in suprise. "WHY?" Ranma began ticking items off on his fingers. "Here is out, due to our parents. The Nekohanten and Ucchan's is the wrong atmosphere, besides Akane's still not comfortable at either place. On the way or back to school we never have time, we're always sprinting." Ranma suddenly grinned. "Besides, this way the school will get a show." A suspicion began to form in Andrew's mind. "You've made a deal with Nabiki, and you get a proceed from the tickets she sells." "NO!" Ranma yelled, then got a thoughtful look on his face. "Although, it's not a bad plan..." He ducked the swipe Andrew made at his head and laughed. "So are you going to ask Kaori?" Andrew stopped dead as his mind went completely blank. "Ask her what?" "To marry you, stupid!" "But-but-but-but we've only been dating!" Andrew protested. "I don't even know if I feel about her like that!" Ranma laughed. "Bro, I've been saying that for almost two years, and look where I am now. Don't be like I was." Ranma walked out of the room, and left Andrew with his thoughts. *** Andrew strolled into the school yard pondering Ranma's words. *I...I do love her, I think. Maybe I should tell her and see where it takes us.* He noticed the crowd and grinned at the waiting boys, his thoughts forgotten. "So, do we have any requests? Maybe something with a little BEAT to it?" He inwardly snickered as some of the boys winced. "It's over, Saotome. We accept Kaori's engagement to you." Andrew went very pale. "HER WHAT?" He stalked over and picked up the speaker by his shirt. "Talk." The terrified boy began to babble. "She came in today and told us she was engaged, so there was no point in fighting anymore. We thought she was engaged to you. Please don't kill me." Andrew dropped him to the ground and started to stomp into the school. "This is the first I've heard of an engagement," he growled. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this." His name, called from one of the crowd, stopped him. "Saotome?" Andrew turned and fixed his glare on the crowd. "She went home after she told us." "Thanks," Andrew said shortly, and turned to walk out of the yard, his anger rolling off him an waves. He stopped at the gate which had been recently closed, and looked at the groundsman who stood there. "You can either open it, or I can tear it off the hinges." The groundsman took one look at Andrew and hurried to open the gate. "Good choice." *What the hell is going on, Kaori? Don't you think I deserved to know?* He began the long walk to Kaori's house. *I'm not going to get there mad. I'm going to be calm, and talk with Kaori reasonably. There's a good explanation for this. If I have to walk there by way of Kyoto, I'm NOT going to get there mad.* *** Akane sat on the bench with her friends, eating lunch. "What are you talking about?" She asked them. "You want me to what?" Yuka sighed. "Sayuri and I are working on a play for our Literature project. We thought you and Ranma would make great subject material." "That I get," Akane said with a bit of disbelief, "but why do you want to hear me sit here and insult Ranma?" "Dialogue," Sayuri supplied. "We need to know the kind of things you guys say to each other all the time." Akane thought for a minute. "Well, I alwayed called him a perverted jerk," she began. After a few minutes, she warmed to her subject and was soon expousing upon Ranma's many faults, completely oblivious to those who might be listening to her. "Let's see...oh yeah, whenever our father's tried to get him and I together, I'd always yell..." she took a deep breath, and raised her voice. "I'm never marrying that perverted, stupid, chauvanistic, JERK! I HATE HIM!" She finished, and then smiled. "How's that?" Sayuri and Yuka weren't listening, they were staring over Akane's shoulder. Akane whirled to see Ranma staring at her in total shock. He looked like he had just been kicked in the gut. Repeatedly. His face was red. He opened his mouth to speak, and for a moment, no words came out. "I'm sorry, Akane," he finally said, almost too soft to hear. "Oh gods, Akane, I'm so sorry." As she watched, his right hand opened, and a little black box fell to the ground. "Ranma, wait!" Akane cried. "Let me explain!" Ranma ignored her, and sprinted off, leaping over the school wall in his flight. Akane looked after him with a bit of irritation. "Idiot, you could have at least let me explain before running off like that." She turned back to where he was standing, and saw Yuka and Sayuri looking into the box he had dropped. Their faces were pale, and tears were brimming in Sayuri's eyes. "What is it?" Wordlessly, Yuka walked over to her, and handed her the box. Akane opened it, and was stunned by what she saw inside, and what Ranma was about to do. *He...he was going to ask me?* Her knees suddenly weak, Akane fell to her knees, and tears began to form in her own eyes. "Oh Ranma, what have I done?" *** Andrew stared at the closed gate to the Hidaka home. *I'm not going to lose. Not this time. I'm not going to let go.* He lifted his arm and banged on the gate, slowly, with great force. "KAORI!!! Damnit, let me in!" After a few minutes of pounding, the gate finally opened to reveal Mr. Hidaka. He looked down at Andrew, his face filled with a compassion Andrew had never seen before. "What do you want, boy?" "I want Kaori," he hissed through clenched teeth. "I want to know about this sudden engagement. I want to know why she couldn't tell me HERSELF!" Andrew began to shake, but he wasn't sure if it was from anger or something else. He felt Mr. Hidaka's hand on his shoulder, and looked up into the elder man's face. "It wasn't hers, or our choice, Andrew. The Master of the Righteous Fist School has decreed that our daughter must marry this other boy. There is nothing we can do." Andrew shook his head angrilly and shrugged the hand off. "I want to talk to this 'Master'," he spat. "Then speak." A delicate hand pushed Mr. Hidaka out of the way, revealing an elderly woman. She had short greying hair, and wore a simple red gi. She stood straight and proud, and she was a good deal shorter than Andrew. Like Kaori and her mother, Andrew could see the power underneath her delicate form. "Say what you will." "What will it take?" Andrew asked. "What will it take for me to free her from this engagement you're forcing on her?" The woman was silent for a long moment. "So, there WAS someone else. Very well, then. You must defeat me." There was a sharp intake of breath from Mr. Hidaka. The old woman smiled grimly. "So what will it be?" Andrew bit back his automatic response and thought. *She's the master of her school. She wouldn't make the offer if she didn't know she would win.* Andrew thought a bit more, and images of Kaori flowed through his mind. *To never see her again. To have her married to someone else. I'd never be able to tell her how I feel.* Andrew made up his mind. "So be it." *** Ranma packed his things in silence. *I'm not going to stay. I can't. Not anymore.* He remembered all the times he had fought for Akane, against adversaries beyond imagination. *Kirin. Toma. Saffron. Herb. Shinzo. Hell, even Mousse and Tarou.* He felt the stinging in his eyes he associated with tears, and let them come, not even trying to fight them. He knelt and opened up his final drawer, the one he reserved for his souveniers. He stared at the objects inside, his gaze passing over the day Love Pill, the pieces of the Nanban Mirror, and countless other items, each one with their own set of memories. His eyes locked on the one he was looking for, and he picked it up. Akane's hair. He ran his fingers through it, remembering that battle. *I guess we really are strangers. I never knew.* He ran his fingers through it some more, his tears dampening the strands. "Akane, why?" "Ranma?" Akane's voice took him out of his reviere. He stayed on his knees, refusing to turn and look at her. "Where are you going?" "You tell me," he said bitterly. "Who is he, Akane? Toma? Shinnosuke? R.." he clenched his teeth and forced the name out "Ryoga?" She began to speak, but his voice rose, drowing her out. "WHO? I'll bring him, Akane. I'll find Toma's island. I'll take Shinnosuke's place. I'll track down Ryoga and bring him back. Just tell me who he is. But don't ask me to stay. I can't." "Why?" Akane asked. Her voice was soft, thick with emotion. Ranma's pride was fighting a losing battle with his heart, and for once in his life his heart won. He stood, and whirled on her. Akane's eyes widened as she saw the tears in his eyes. "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, YOU DUMMY! I WANTED TO MARRY YOU!" Akane was stunned as she heard Ranma speak the words she so wanted to hear. She didn't know whether to cheer or to cry. She flung her arms around Ranma and held him tightly. "I love you too!" She felt Ranma stiffen with confusion. "But...you said..." Akane put her finger on Ranma's mouth and silenced him, then stood on her tiptoes to kiss him tenderly. "It was an act, Ranma. Yuka and Sayuri wanted to know how we used to talk." She smiled warmly at him. "I love you, you twit. I always have, and I always will." This time, it was Ranma who initiated the hug. "Ranma?" He looked down at her. "Do...do you really?" "Yes, I do, I really do want to marry you." He reached into his pocket, and paled. "Oh no, I lost it." Akane smiled slyly and showed him her hand, and the ring that was on it. Ranma's jaw dropped, and he locked eyes with her. "Is that a...?" he asked, his voice full of hope. Akane kissed him again, and whispered "Yes." They continued kissing for a while longer, before Akane broke it off and giggled. "I like this much better than fighting, you perverted jerk." Ranma chuckled lightly. "Agreed. Remember one thing, you macho tomboy," he said, and smiled into the fiery glint in her eyes. "I love you, for all that you can't cook. I love you, even if you're a tomboy." He kissed her again, and the fire disappeared. "To me, you're the most beautiful woman in the world." They whirled as they heard the sounds of two middle aged men being beaten by a bokken. Peeking their heads into the hall, they noticed Nodoka standing in front of Soun and Genma, blocking them from coming even close to the room. "Thanks, Mom!" Ranma shouted, and Akane giggled. He pulled Akane back into the room, and shut the door, saying "Now, back to what we were doing..." *** Andrew got up to his knees, all the while forcing himself to stay conscious. *Damnit, why can't I dodge that punch? I can see it coming, I have more than enough time to dodge, but I always get hit!* He took a mental inventory of his situation. *Cracked rib, more bruises than I can count, I'm exhausted, and she's almost fresh.* He looked over at his opponent, and frowned at the blur in front of him. He started to stand, and felt hands on his shoulders trying to force him back down. He heard words, and it took him a moment to recognize the voice as Kaori's. "...can't beat her, Andrew. Please, just stay down. Don't let her kill you." He looked up, and saw Kaori before him. "Kaori..." he whispered, and got to his feet, taking her hands off him. He forced her face into focus. "If I lose, will you marry him?" Kaori looked away and fought the tears she wished to cry. "I must, it's a matter of honor." "But not of love?" Andrew followed up softly. "That's enough of a reason for me to fight her." He tried to step around her, but Kaori moved into his way again. "PLEASE!" she cried. "Don't do this! You'll die! For real!" She put her hands on his chest, and tried to force him back. Andrew gently took her arms and moved her out of the way, fighting her struggles. "Then I'll die. I can't see you marry a man you don't love, Kaori." *If I'm going to die, I might as well tell her now.* He smiled at her sadly, and said the words he had been unable to say. "Because I think I love you." Kaori stopped her fighting, and looked at him wide-eyed. "You...you love me?" Andrew nodded silently, and she smiled back, her face brilliant. "Don't think, act," she whispered to him, and stepped out of the way. *Don't think, act?* Andrew wondered. *What the hell does that mean?* "How dare you reveal the secrets of our school," the old woman thundered at Kaori. Kaori merely glared back as Andrew returned to battle. *Don't think, act. That's what I've been doing!" He quickly reviewed his previous engagements. *I've been trying to out-wit her," he realized. *I have to stop thinking like Tarou, and start acting like Ranma.* "That's IT!" he exhaulted, and grinned at the old woman. The two began to combat again, as they had numerous times before. Andrew was faster, and managed to actually hit the woman, but they were all weak and insignificant blows. The woman, while having much more powerful attacks, could not touch Andrew as he weaved and misdirected her. "Once again, boy, and for the last time," she said as her fist glowed, "RADASHII KEN!!" She drove her fist at Andrew. Who weaved around the attack and planted his foot in her face. The woman fell back and sputtered, while Kaori's parents gasped and Kaori cheered. "He avoided the Righteous Fist!" Mr. Hidaka said, awed. "But it's supposed to be unavoidable!" "Very good, Kaori. You told him the one weakness. If you don't think about the attack, you can avoid it." She looked over at the grinning Andrew. "Stalemate. I can't hurt you, and you can't hurt me." Andrew's eyes narrowed. *Time to finish this.* "Bah, you couldn't really hurt me anyways," he began. "I mean a weak, ugly, stupid old woman like you? Don't make me laugh. You're not even good enough to guarrantee your school's success, if you have to force a sweet girl like Kaori into a marriage just to keep it going..." Andrew continued to taunt and insult the old woman. *Remind me to thank Ramna and Tarou. Hanging around them has given me quite a good knack at insulting people.* As he continued, he noticed the old woman's battle aura flaring brighter and brighter. "Look at you, you're too weak to fight me even now!" With that, the woman charged him, screaming a battle cry. Andrew forced himself to stay calm, and lifted his leg, gathering ki about his foot. As the woman got near him, he brought his foot up in a kick and cried "OOKAMI GUFU!" The wolf-blast flew from his leg into the woman, and the resulting whirlwing threw her through the ceiling and into the sky. Kaori and her family fled the dojo to avoid the power of the massive whirlwind. The old woman came crashing back through the cieling, and lay groaning in a pile of broken floorboards. Kaori's family returned to the dojo, awestuck by the devestation Andrew had wrought. He turned to them, and then very calmy spoke. "I, Andrew Saotome, of the Saotome School of Organized Mayhem, am the victor," he declared. "The engagement is void." He walked over to Kaori. "Kaori, I think, no, I KNOW I love you. I want to live my life with you. Will you marry me?" Kaori said nothing for a long moment, and then took Andrew into a crushing bearhug. "YES!" She showered his face with kisses. After a few moments, she let him go so he could catch his breath, and glared at her parents. "You approve, RIGHT?" Her voice promised death would soon accompany disagreement. Andrew looked over the wreckage of the dojo, and then apologetically at Kaori's parents. "Sorry about the dojo." Mr. Hidaka grinned at him. "It'll soon be yours, Son." *** Ranma grumbled in his tuxedo, and shot a death filled look at his brother. "I still think this should be you. We're still in high school! You and Kaori are heading for college." Ryoga none-too-gently bopped Ranma on the head. Tarou and Andrew exhanged a grin, and Mousse chuckled. "I don't think they want to risk another fiancee, Ranma," he pointed out. "Yeah, Pop didn't sell me for food three times a week like he did with you," Andrew said, and grinned. "There are some advantages to being adopted." "THIS WEDDING SHALL NOT CONTINUE!!! I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furinken High, so declare it!!!" All eyes in the chapel turned to see Kuno standing in the entryway, waving his bokken around and ranting like a madman. Ranma sighed. "I should have known." "Have you beaten up Kuno yet?" Andrew asked Tarou as everyone else ignored Kuno. Tarou shook his head. "Go ahead. It's a great stress reliever." Ranma's eyes lit up. "That's exactly what I need," he decided, and started to advance on the deranged kendoist, but he saw something that made him stop. "Nevermind, it's handled," he said, and returned to his position. The other three men looked back to Kuno, who was having the stuffing beat out of him by three very angry bridesmaids. "You're not going to ruin Ranchan's wedding!" "Aiyah, you leave Ranma and Akane alone!" "Kuno, you pervert, keep your hands off me and DIE!" The men winced as they saw what was left of Kuno before he was punted into orbit. *** "Well that was exciting, hey Hiroshi?" "Indeed, Diasuke. Ranma and Akane tying the knot. I would never have believed it." "Me neither. Did you hear about the new student?" "Girl or guy?" "Girl." "Babe?" "Most definitely." "Engaged?" "Not that I know of." "Martial artist?" "Yeah." "Damn. Lets go ask Sayuri and Yuka out."