Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“We’re going to be late thanks to you,” Akane grumbled, glaring at Ranma but continuing to run at top speed. “You could have waited to change back into a guy when we got to school, it’s not like anyone other than Kuno doesn’t know about it now!”

Ranma, as was his usual habit, was running on top of the fence next to her. “I didn’t feel like going to school like that, okay? It’s not my fault the hot water in the tap stopped working and I had to boil it first! Besides, you didn’t have to wait on me, you coulda gone on ahead.”

“Well forgive me for caring!”

“Who says I want you to care?!”

“Jerk!”

“Tomboy!”

Akane stopped running just so she could glare at him. He stopped and stuck out his tongue at her. “I’m just glad that wedding a few weeks ago got interrupted,” he crossed his arms and looked away from her. “Could you imagine me being stuck with an uncute, home---” Before he could finish his sentence a strange woman appeared beside him on the fence, and both to Akane and Ranma’s shock, the woman slapped him on the back of his head.

“That is no way to talk to your fiancee!” The woman shrieked. “Akane, go on ahead to school, I’ll deal with this guy.”

“But-” Akane wasn’t sure what was going on. But this kind of weirdness happened almost every day since Ranma had come to Nerima. She looked over the woman very carefully, trying to place her. She had dark hair and glasses. She looked to be in her early twenties. There was something vaguely familiar about her, but Akane couldn’t figure out who she was.

“It’s okay,” The woman insisted. “Ranma and I just need to have a chat. I promise he will follow you soon. You don’t like being late, right?”

“Uh… Right,” Akane gave another worried glance in Ranma’s direction, but figuring that he was capable of handling himself she again started running for the school.

“What the heck was that about? Who even are you and why the hell do you think it’s okay to hit someone you don’t even know?” Ranma rubbed the back of his head. Whoever this woman was, she was pretty strong. His head hurt pretty badly from the smack, even though he was certain she hadn’t done any permanent damage.

In response, the woman dug through the purse on her shoulder. “Now where is it?” She muttered. Ranma was quickly losing his patience. He was already late for school and he wasn’t looking forward to whatever weirdness he knew was inevitably about to happen. “A-ha!” She said, pulling out a thermos. She ripped what Ranma now realized was a wig off her head, revealing her bright red hair. She also took her glasses off and put them in her bag. Finally, she unscrewed the cap of the thermos and sloshed its contents over herself. Her form shifted, and now before Ranma was… well…

Ranma.

“Oh, whoops,” the other Ranma pulled his female clothes off revealing a silken red Chinese shirt and a pair of loose fitting pants.

Ranma, the original Ranma who was late for school, gaped. “W-what? I don’t know what’s...What is this?!”

The other Ranma was obviously older, though Ranma couldn’t tell by how much. But he was about three inches taller, his chest was wider and his muscles were even bigger than the high school aged Ranma’s were. He still wore his hair in a braided pigtail, and there was a small scar on the right side of his upper lip.

“Yeah, I don’t know either,” The older Ranma admitted. “One minute I’m talking to the Old Ghoul about one of her weird little trinkets, the next I’m here staring at my high school self,” he circled the younger Ranma, nodding appreciatively. “I really did look good in high school.”

Even through the confusion, the younger Ranma let out a chuckle. “Well, it’s nice to know I still look good in a few years. But...the curse? You mean to tell me I’m still gonna turn into a girl ten years from now?!”

“Hey, I’m twenty-four, so it’s not a whole ten years. And honestly, the curse barely bothers me anymore. Makes for a convenient disguise anyway. But..I really need to get back home. Immediately.”

“Okay. So uh...go home. Don’t drag me into it, I’m already going to have to hold buckets in the hallway for being this late.”

“Probably easier said than done. What...okay, what all have you and Akane been through?” Older Ranma scratched his head.

“Been through?!” The younger Ranma turned a slight shade of red. “I ain’t ever touched that homely chick on purpose!” He received another smack upside the head from the elder Ranma.

“Stop talking about my wife like that, thanks.”

“WIFE?!” Younger Ranma scrubbed at his face with his hands. “Ya mean our parents actually made us go through with that?!”

“Huh? No, we got together and I asked her to marry me. I mean, yeah, pops and Mr. Tendo were really happy about it, but they didn’t force us or nothin’…”

“How do I know you’re really me?” The younger Ranma demanded. “Claiming I married Akane cause I wanted to...This is some sort of trick or something.”

“Was I really this dense?” The older Ranma hopped off the fence, and the younger followed him. “But I saw today’s date...you fought Saffron not that long ago, and you almost married her once already. I can tell you something no one but we would know.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. You get up every night and go into Akane’s room to make sure she’s okay and that she’s still breathing, because you have that nightmare about failing to revive her almost every night. You can’t sleep until after you check her heartbeat. You always sneak out of the room quickly after that so she won’t catch you.”

Younger Ranma turned tomato red and looked away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That nightmare still happens sometimes,” Older Ranma admitted. “But it’s a lot easier to check on her now that we share a bed.” He smirked. “Man, I was easy to embarrass at your age. No wonder I was still a virgin until nineteen…”

“Wh-bu-I-huh-” Younger Ranma spluttered intelligently. “Do I really become such a pervert? How can you just say things like that?!”

“I mean, I don’t think it’s perverted if it’s only ever with your fiancée, who then becomes your wife.”

“I don’t believe you,” Younger Ranma insisted. “Just cause you know about me checking on her-”

“You do believe me. You’re pretending you don’t because you’re embarrassed cause you always get embarrassed when emotions get brought up, especially when it’s about you and ‘Kane. Don’t worry, you get over that eventually. But I need your help. I have to get back, and it’s important I get back to my time immediately.”

“So go ask the Old Ghoul for the trinket. I’m going to school-”

Older Ranma grabbed the younger and yanked him back. “If I remember correctly, Shampoo and Ucchan are still wanting to marry you at this point, right?”

“I mean…”

“Yeah. And you know Cologne still wants Shampoo to win. These days she’s actually kind of helpful, but she didn’t get like that until Shampoo finally agreed to back off. And man, did that take a while.”

“Okay. So just sneak over to the Cat Cafe and steal the artifact. Then you can leave me alone and go back to your own time.”

“I don’t know how to work it,” The older Ranma admitted. “I may just send myself back again. No, I need your help to do this and we have to get me back to my time as soon as we can. So you’re skipping school.”

“I mean, not like I mind ditching, but couldn’t it wait a couple of hours while I go to my classes?”

“No, I have to get back as soon as possible…”

“I mean, I don’t think a few hours-”

“You don’t understand,” Older Ranma gripped the younger by the shoulders. “Akane’s pregnant.”

Chapter Text

Akane wasn’t focused on her English lesson. Her eyes kept wandering over to where Ranma usually sat.

He was right behind me...shouldn’t he have made it to school by now? She was worried. She couldn’t help it. It had been two hours since that woman had come out of nowhere and smacked Ranma around for how he spoke to Akane. The woman had claimed Ranma would be along shortly, but there was still no sign of him.

“Psst...Akane,” Akane wasn’t sure why Ukyo was bothering to whisper – the okonomiyaki chef was standing right beside Akane’s desk, so there was no way the teacher wouldn’t notice.

“Sit back down and pay attention!” Hinako was in her child form, and she puffed up her cheeks in exasperation. She hated it when the kids didn’t listen to her. Not wanting her energy drained from her, Ukyo wisely decided to sit back down. However, she did throw a note Akane’s way when Hinako turned back to her blackboard.

Where’s Ranma-honey?

Akane caught Ukyo’s eye and gave her an exaggerated shrug.

“You don’t know where he is?! Some fiancée you are,” Ukyo exclaimed, smacking her hands against the desk as she stood up.

“Happo-” Hinako started. Ukyo immediately sat back down.

“I’m paying attention!”

Akane resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Sure, she was worried about Ranma… but he could handle himself. She was sure he was alright. He always ended up being alright. She glanced down at her page to realize she had been scribbling his name in the margins. Ever since they had gotten back from China, she had started to feel even more warmly towards Ranma. Even with the disaster of that attempt of a wedding, she knew they were closer now than they ever had been before. And it was that closeness that had her worrying enough to sneak out of the school after English class ended, even as she told herself she wasn't actually worried. She just needed to make certain he was okay. Sure, she had no idea where to look, but it didn’t matter. She would find him.

The pair of Ranmas stood outside the Cat Cafe, neither daring to enter.

“You’re the one trying to get back to your time, you should go in,” The younger Ranma insisted. The older one shook his head.

“No, you should go in. Shampoo’s still in love with you so she should be willing to grab the trinket for you. Then you can claim to Cologne that you want to learn how to use it for a training exercise.”

“Why can’t you do that?”

“How are you going to explain you grew multiple inches over night and got bigger, huh? They’re not going to fall for me pretending to be you.”

“So tell them you’re from the future and want to get back, stop making this my problem!”

“You ever seen Back to the Future? Or any other time travel movie?” Older Ranma sighed and scratched at the top of his head. “I don’t remember meeting my older self, so this wasn’t something that was already in the timeline. The more people who get involved in this, the more likely it is we screw up the timeline and next thing I know I’m going to a future where monkeys rule the world.”

“That wasn’t Back to the Future, that was Planet of the Apes-”

“The point still stands! Look, under no circumstances can we let them know I’m here.” The older Ranma rifled through the bag he was still carrying and pulled his female disguise back out. “Just run in and get some cold water for me. We’ll go in together. It should be all right if no one knows I’m you. And this way I can make sure you don’t put your foot in your mouth the way I was always doing at your age.”

The younger Ranma agreed and ran in, grabbing a half drunk glass of ice water from an empty table. He met up with his older self and splashed him. The older Ranma, now a woman, donned her wig and glasses again as well as her long-sleeved blouse and a skirt. “Okay. So, if anyone asks I’m…”

“My cousin,” Younger Ranma suggested. “You’re my cousin, Ran.”

Confident that their plan was brilliant, the pair of Ranmas both walked into the cafe, but this time the younger announced their presence. “Yo! Shampoo? Old Ghoul? ….Mousse?”

Cologne came bouncing out of the back, using her staff as a pogo stick as was often her habit. “Son-in-law? I would have expected you to be in school today.”

“Well, I had some questions for you to uh...make me a better son-in-law. By the way, this is my cousin, Ran.. you can just ignore her.”

“Ai ren! You came to see me!" Before Shampoo could glomp onto the younger Ranma, the older had grabbed her mid-jump and set her down. She studied ‘Ran’ carefully. “Not another fiancée?!”

“No, no...I’m his cousin!” The older Ranma giggled. “No interest there, I promise!”

“So why stop me from hugging Ai ren?” She asked suspiciously, her eyes narrowing.

“Well, cause it bugs Ak---” ‘Ran’ received a quick elbow in the ribs from Ranma.

“Don’t worry about it, Shampoo. I’m just here cause… uh. Well. That is… I’d like some training. I mean, I need to get stronger, don’t I?”

Cologne eyed him suspiciously. “While I do believe there is always room for improvement, I do not currently have a technique I think it’s the right time to teach you. Is there something you had in mind to learn?”

“I uh...oh. You know, maybe one of those trinkets you’re always using? I bet if I could just take a look at those I feel it would really help me uh… to get better.” He finished lamely. Damn it...Is that really the best I can come up with?!

Silence passed among the group, with Cologne and Shampoo both staring at the pair of Ranmas in bewilderment. “Ranma has never asked this before. I didn’t think you liked to use weapons?”

“I mean I don’t, usually… but if I don’t know how stuff works then it’s easier for people to use it against me, right?”

“Son-in-law,” Cologne got off her staff and stood on a table in front of him, then used the staff to point directly at his heart. “I believe you are deceiving us for some purpose, but I can’t say for what. It would do better for you to just tell us what it is you want.”

“Yeah, Ranma…” Akane entered, her fists clenched at her sides. “Why don’t you just tell them why you skipped school to come spend time with Shampoo?”

“Ugh, you stupid tomboy, I did not-” WHACK! Once again the older Ranma had smacked the younger upside the head. “Would you quit that?!”

“Stop talking to her like that and I will!”

“It’s how I’ve always talked to her, and if you don’t stop whacking me people are gonna get suspicious and figure us out!”

‘Ran’ crossed her arms. “You know I don’t like it when you talk to her like that. No wonder it took her so long to-”

Cologne moved swiftly, using her staff to pull off the older Ranma’s disguise – both the wig and the dress. Then she pulled a glass of hot water from seemingly nowhere and splashed him with it.

“Two Ranmas?!” Ukyo had seen Akane sneak out of school and had followed on her heels. She looked pretty excited at the prospect of there being two of her fiancés.

Shampoo looked back and forth between the pair, then started poking the older’s biceps. “This one's bigger.”

Cologne studied the pair very carefully. “I see. So your actual aim was to get an item to get back to your time. You are from the future, correct?”

The older Ranma nodded. “Yeah, and I really gotta get back there bad, so if you could just direct me towards something that could get me there-”

“I have nothing of that type here.”

“What?!”

“I could concoct something...do some research... it may take some time, though.”

“I don’t have time!” The older Ranma looked frantic. “It could be any day now…” he started pacing, grabbing his hair and pulling at it. “I have to get back there…”

“Ranma-honey,” Ukyo grabbed the older Ranma’s left hand and indicated the gold band on his ring finger. “What is this?”

“A wedding ring,” he answered, then slapped his hand over his mouth. “Old Ghoul,” he turned to face Cologne, “Does me being here mean the time line could get messed up?”

“It’s possible. I’m afraid there isn’t really a way to tell, or even to prevent it or undo any damage this might cause. But I’m curious...tell me...which girl won?”

“What?”

“You can’t tell me you don’t remember all the fiancées you had?” Cologne tapped him with her staff. “So, was my Shampoo victorious or wasn’t she?”

Ukyo still had a hold on older Ranma’s left hand. Shampoo grabbed his right. “Yeah, Ranma-honey...tell them all about how we ended up together.”

“No, tell them how you became my ai ren!” Shampoo insisted.

The younger Ranma gulped and glanced at Akane. She looked angry. “Yeah, Ranma. Why don’t you tell us all about that? Who did you end up with?”

Chapter Text

The two Ranmas exchanged glances, then both began to speak over each other.

“Well what you have to know is-”

“I mean, just because he says it—”

Akane held up her hands as though she wanted to wash her hands of the whole affair. “Is it really that hard to just tell us?”

“Hmm…” Cologne pensively tapped her pipe against her lips, deep in thought. “I do wonder if you are indeed the same son-in-law. Tell me uh...older son-in-law"

"Let's just stick with calling me 'Ran'," The older Ranma suggested. "I have a feeling it's going to get really irritating if we have to keep saying 'older' and 'younger' over and over again."

"Very well, Ran. Tell me this, then: do you have any recollection of meeting your younger self?"

Ran shook his head.

"Hmm. Very interesting. Then it appears as though the time line is not as concrete as it often appears. If you have no memory of seeing your younger self, it is possible your future is already altered. So, whichever girl you married matters not. It may not be the same one when you get back."

Ran blanched. Ranma looked away and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "That so, Old Ghoul? Him being here could have changed my future?"

Cologne nodded. "And I suspect Ran here has told you something of the future that he has lived. You look awfully disappointed. Something you'd like to share?"

"I ain't disappointed," Ranma grumbled, looking away.

"So, even if you married one of the others you can now realize your mistake!" Ukyo offered, grabbing Ran by the arm and leading him to a table. He obediently took a seat. He had gone quiet and looked about a moment away from going catatonic.

"But I actually like my life," he mumbled, barely audible. "If I figure out a way home, will it really change?" He didn't direct the question at anyone, but Akane took a seat at the table as well and reached across to grab his hand.

"It's alright. If you like how things end up, then I'm sure you'll make those same choices again."

Ran jumped to his feet and grabbed Ranma by the shoulders. "That's it! That's it...I just have to tell you how things turned out and you can just do most of those things...except that," He looked lost in thought. "And that fight was really bad, I don't want to go through it again... oh, but maybe it was important? Still, if I can avoid having to sleep outside for two weeks..."

Ranma shook Ran off of him. "Just cause you like how things turned out doesn't mean I will. For all I know someone brain washed me when I got old-"

"Twenty-four is not old!"

"Whatever. Point is, just because it's how you did things doesn't mean it's how I am gonna do things, got it?"

"Ranma," Akane pinched the bridge of her nose. She could feel a headache coming on. "Do you realize you are literally arguing with yourself?"

Ranma shrugged. "Yeah, and you always tell me how annoying I am and how I'm wrong. What makes you think I got it figured out when I got older? 'Sides, I don't want to think about marrying anybody."

Ran gaped at him. "Was I really always this hard headed?"

"Yes," Everyone else chorused.

"Well, while you two sort things out, I will look into how we can send you back, Ran. But in the meantime, where should you stay?"

"He can stay here!" Shampoo offered, grabbing Ran by one arm.

"No, no, it's too crowded here. He can stay with me," Ukyo insisted, grabbing Ran by the other arm. Both girls were tugging at him, but not with enough force to pull him in either direction. "Wow, your muscles really did get bigger."

Ranma snorted in irritation.

"I appreciate it, but I think I better stay at the Tendo training hall. If I sleep in the dojo, then no one will get any odd ideas about doing things to me in my sleep," Ran suggested.

Akane shook her head. "I mean, I don't know how dad and Mr. and Mrs. Soatome will take this whole time travel thing...but at least then there aren't going to be any girls sneaking into your room at night," She gave a significant look first to Ukyo and then to Shampoo. They both adopted the most innocent looking faces they could, which might have worked better were they not both still feeling up Ran's biceps. "Come on," She grabbed Ran by the shirt and dragged him away from the other girls.

"Okay, but he stays in the hall," Ranma insisted. "I ain't sharing my futon with him."

He's lost his mind, Akane thought to herself. he is literally jealous of himself!

The Tendos and the Soatome parents, while confused about the situation, seemed perfectly happy to let Ran stay.

"Wanna tell me who wins the next few big baseball games?" Genma asked. "We could get some real money betting on that!"

Ran shrugged. "Sorry, pops. I don't pay attention to sports unless I'm the one doing them."

"So, Ranma-" Soun started, but his attention was focused on the older one.

"Ran," Akane corrected. "We're calling the Future Ranma 'Ran' to try to avoid even more headaches."

"Ah, I see. So, Ran...are you making my little girl happy?"

"I think we agreed not to discuss who I married," Ran said, lightly blushing and looking away. While he was certainly less easily embarrassed than his younger self, right now he felt like he was back in high school. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"Hmm..." Genma suddenly seized Ran and threw him into the water feature in the backyard. He groaned when Ran came out a woman. "You mean to tell me we still have that stupid curse?!"

"It's not that big of a deal, pops." Ran shrugged. "Kasumi, could I please have some hot water?"

"Certainly, Ran," Kasumi nodded and went off to fetch the water.

"You seem to be much calmer than you were...are," Nodoka said approvingly. "You really are a man. I'm so glad."

Ranma watched the craziness with agitation. He recognized the feelings he was having as jealousy, but even he had to admit he was being pretty ridiculous in being jealous of what was literally himself. Grumbling at the lack of attention, he left the room to go sit on the roof.

"I don't see how they think he's so impressive," He mumbled to himself. "They don't all have to fawn over him like that... 'S not like they ever do that to me"

He sat up as he heard the noise of someone approaching. He went on high alert, assuming it would be a threat but instead it was just Akane. She took a seat next to him without saying anything. They sat in silence for a while.

Ranma could appreciate the silence. There was simply too much going on. There always was. And if at the age of twenty-four he was still turning into a girl then it sounded like the craziness never really went away. Sometimes he enjoyed that, but it was that same craziness that had almost led to Akane dying. Sure, he knew Akane was currently safe in the timeline Ran was from, but what kinds of insane things were they still dealing with? Could Ranma keep her safe? He didn't know.

"You look like you have a lot on your mind," Akane said, pulling her knees to her chest and hugging them.

"Are you just here to make fun of me?"

"For being jealous of yourself? ...Yes." She let out a chuckle. "I do think you're being a bit dumb but... I don't think that's the only reason you're upset."

"How do I know the future Ran's from is really as great as he claims it is? He wants to go back so bad, and I know he's in a hurry to get there. But does this mean I absolutely have to make the same choices he did? I don't like the idea I don't got control over what's going to happen to me."

Akane listened attentively, cocking her head to the side before resting it on Ranma's shoulder. He tensed up, blushing, but made no move to get away. She grabbed his arm. "I don't know about the future but uh...I'd rather be here with you. This version of you, I mean."

"Really?"

She scooted a little closer. "It's kind of freaking me out that Ran seems so ...calm about everything. That's just not the Ranma I know."

"But would it be so bad if I ended up like that?"

"No, but that would be because we would have grown together and I would have gotten to see how and why you changed. Besides, future Akane has probably changed quite a bit, too. So whatever Ran and that Akane are to each other, I'm sure she likes that version of Ranma best."

Ranma sighed heavily. "Thanks, 'Kane. I'm uh...I'm sure that version of Akane and me get along great." He was tempted for a moment to tell the truth, but he didn't know where to start. Should he just blurt out that they end up together?

And was Cologne right that that future wasn't entirely certain?

Ranma frowned. Even if he wasn't about to admit it out loud, Cologne's idea made his heart feel like it was going to sink into the pit of his stomach.

What kind of a future could he have if Akane wasn't in it?

Chapter Text

Ranma had been on the roof for hours now. Akane had eventually decided to turn in for the night about an hour ago. There was just too much on Ranma's mind, and he always felt like he could think things through more clearly on the roof.

If he wanted that future with Akane, all he had to do was ask Ran about it. He could plot out his life exactly the same way. Ranma was irritated that this actually sounded appealing to him. In the quiet of the dark and with no one around who would butt in, it was easy to admit to himself the truth.

He loved Akane. He had for a while now. Hell, he had been in love with her almost immediately after meeting her, though it was something he had only admitted to himself recently.

And he was pretty sure she loved him, too. Right now they were in a game of chicken – who was going to admit first? Ranma wanted her to say it first, just in case. Because if he spoke of his feelings and got rejected, he didn't know how he would recover.

A lesser martial artist would not have sensed that someone else had joined them, but Ranma was very tuned in, and he jumped to his feet and whirled around and adopted a fighting stance only to face Ran, who had his hands up in surrender.

"I don't think you want to fight me," Ran shook his head. "I know all your moves, plus more."

"What do you want?"

"You know, for how self-absorbed people were always telling me I was at your age, you sure don't seem to like me very much. Gotta wonder what that says about us, from like a... an emotional way, or like there's something wrong with our brain."

Ranma just huffed at him and went back to sitting. Ran sat down beside Ranma, but he looked restless.

"Seriously, what do you want? If you really are me, then you know I like to sit up here alone."

"Or with Akane," Ran corrected. "We had a lot of good talks on this roof." He smiled to himself, his gaze at the stars. "Speaking of Akane... I need a favor."

Ranma said nothing, so Ran continued. "I tried to go to sleep and... that stupid nightmare. I haven't had it for weeks, but I guess being away from Akane... my Akane - made it come back. Can you please go check on her and just... tell me that she's okay. I would do it myself, but your version of Akane is too young for me and I'd feel like a pervert going in there."

Ranma wanted to say no, but the fact was that as soon as he was done brooding on the roof, Akane's room was his next stop. Ran had been right. Ranma had checked on Akane every night since they had gotten back from China. He tried not to, but he never could sleep until he did it. "Fine. Let's go, she's probably asleep by now. You can stand out in the hall."

Ran did as he was told and took a spot in the hallway as Ranma ventured into Akane's room. She was deeply asleep, a little bit of drool escaping her mouth as she dozed. She's so cute, Ranma thought to himself. He frowned at his thoughts. All his thoughts seemed to focus on her these days.

He studied her carefully. She was definitely asleep, and he could see her chest rising and falling with each breath. She was safe. She was okay. It was alright for him to go to sleep.

Ranma snuck out out of her room and met Ran in the hallway. "She's fine. Breathing and snoring like a lumberjack."

"She doesn't snore that loudly," Ran insisted. "Even if she did, you and I can sleep through just about anything."

"Will you stop talking about your marriage before someone overhears and figures everything out?!"

There was a sound of a door closing, and Ranma's attention snapped away from Ran and to the direction the door had closed. He face palmed and started groaning. "I hope you brought a lot of money with you."

"I mean, I've got some yen, but I wouldn't say it's a lot... why?" Ran asked, but Ranma's irritated reaction gave him the answer. "Oh shit. That door was Nabiki's, wasn't it?"

Ranma nodded. There was no way of knowing what Nabiki knew, but he had a feeling they would know soon. And they would be paying for it.

Ran finished getting ready and went to join the others for breakfast. He was very surprised to see a blushing Ryoga sitting next to Akane.

Oh, shoot. Is he with Akari yet? Come to think of it, he still had a thing for Akane for a little while after he and Akari got together...

Ran said nothing by way of greeting, just went to the side of the table Ryoga and Akane were on and elbowed his way in between them. "Oh, almost didn't see you there, P-chan!"

"Wh-Who's P-Chan?" Ryoga chuckled nervously.

"Oh, shoot, does she not know-" Ran started, but Ryoga covered his mouth.

"Shut up!" Ryoga hissed at him.

Ranma walked in, his mood turning dark when he saw Ryoga and Ran so near to Akane. Ryoga, however, had obviously not been briefed on the time travel situation.

"Two of you?! What gods have I pissed off enough to deserve this? Has my bad luck become so great that dealing with just one Ranma Saotome wasn't enough?!"

Ranma shoved his way between Ran and Akane, forcing Ryoga so far over that he lost his balance and fell on his side.

"You two both need to be nice to Ryoga," Akane said, looking back and forth between Ran and Ranma. "He was trying to get to his date with Akari and got lost again. Maybe one of you can take him?"

"Oh, no need," Ryoga insisted. "The date's not for two more days. If one of them will take me, I can wait until the actual day to leave!"

"Well, maybe one of us should take you to your house," Ran insisted. "So you can wait for a date with your girlfriend."

"I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me why there are two Ranmas. And why's this one bigger?" He asked, pointing at Ran. "And did I give you that scar? Please tell me I'm the one who gave you that scar."

Ran touched his finger to the scar, tracing it up his upper lip. He smiled fondly, suddenly looking far away. "My wife gave me this."

"That's awful!" Akane said, slamming her rice bowl down on her table. "What kind of jerk does that to her husband?!"

"Huh?" Ran snapped out of it. "Nothing like that. She didn't mean to do it. See, what happened was-"

Nabiki finally joined them all at the breakfast table. Ran had instantly shut his mouth when he saw her appear. He got along just fine with his version of Nabiki, but she hadn't really ever outgrown her sense of ...entrepreneurship. He had handed over his fair share of money over the years to her.

"Yes, please do tell us what happened?" Nabiki smiled. Ran and Ranma both thought her smile was cat-like at the moment.

"What do you care?" Ranma asked. "It's just a scar."

"Ah, yes, but if his wife caused it, and all the fiancées find out... Well, they might be tempted to fight each other over who will be the first one to give him that scar. That could be a way for them to mess with the timeline."

"How do you even know about all this? You weren't home yesterday when Ran first showed up!" Akane was always amazed at how her sister seemed to know everything that was going on in Nerima.

"I have my ways, baby sister. Now...do you want me to get you a knife, or would you prefer to do it with your nails?"

"Do what?"

"'Do what?' she says!" Nabiki shook her head. "Obviously, I am giving you the first opportunity to scar our own dear Ranma to make sure he has the same future, and that the wife he remembers giving him the scar is you."

"But she didn't use a knife!" Ran interrupted.

Ryoga glanced back and forth between Ranma and Nabiki, and decided now was a good time to slip out. Sure, he might get lost, but something was telling him he wanted to be very far away from this situation.

"Won't matter," Nabiki shrugged. "Your memory would probably alter if we changed it. We can only know the stuff about your future that doesn't change by what your physical characteristics are. So, since you have a scar we know you get one some time between now and the time you're currently from. So if we cause the scar now, I'd place good money your memory will alter."

"Cologne suggested I could be from an alternate time line," Ran argued, "'Sides, I got no memory of meeting my older self. So doesn't that mean this time line is different from mine?"

"Possibly," Nabiki admitted. "But there are all sorts of reasons you might not remember it. After all, you're a martial artist. How often do you get hit in the head? Maybe that knocked the memory out of there."

"How much does it cost to keep you from suggesting this scar theory of yours to Ukyo and Shampoo?" Ranma asked, pulling out his wallet.

"Ranma," Nabiki looked like she was going to tear up, "I wasn't about to tell Shampoo-"

"What about Ukyo?"

"Oh. Yeah, her I already told. I was going to tell Shampoo, too, but her great-grandmother sent her back to China on some errand. And I maybe told Kodachi. But that's all..."

"Yeah, how much did you charge them for the information?" Ran asked.

"A mere ten thousand yen," Nabiki shrugged. "Not my most profitable. I told them both over the phone, they're going to give me the money later. And I told Ukyo I would get Ranma to the park later today so she can try. But she doesn't know that I was going to tell Akane all this and give her the first shot at it! So again, knife or what, sis?"

Akane groaned, and Ranma backed up. "You're not actually going to slash at me with a knife, are ya?" It wasn't like Akane to use a knife, but Ranma definitely had been on the receiving end of her violence before.

She shook her head. "I'm not about to purposefully scar you! That's so stupid. I'm not getting involved in this stupid-"

"Oh-ho-ho-ho," Came a loud and very annoying, haughty laugh. There was a whirlwind of rose petals and Kodachi appeared holding a katana. "All I have to do is give Ranma a scar and he will be mine! I don't know exactly why I need to scar him, but this is what the second Tendo sister has told me!"

Ranma ran and jumped into the outside water feature to transform into a girl. Which left Ran still standing there.

"I thought they had you committed by now?" Ran groaned.

"Ranma, sir... you look bigger than you used to," she poked him in the biceps.

"Really wish people would stop doing that."

"Oh, but it seems you are already scarred," She reached up and touched his scar, and Ran backed away as quickly as he could.

"Um. Yep. Someone beat you to it."

"Well, no reason I can't just make more of them," She put the katana down, but pulled a rod out and looked ready to strike with it, when Akane grabbed it from behind and yanked the rod back, bringing Kodachi along with it.

"No. No, we are not having this today. You leave behind all these rose petals we have to clean up every time you're here," Akane looked like she was blazing with rage, "You constantly try to kiss Ranma after he's said no, and you ruined my wedding." She threw Kodachi and her rod so far that it might have qualified for a record, if there were a record for throwing crazy teenage girls.

Akane heaved with the effort, trying to regain her breath.

Ran stared at her. "You're upset about the wedding still."

"No I'm not," She insisted. "Who cares about the wedding? Who cares that you said that you never said you love me or that you did say you didn't want to go through with it?" She gritted her teeth, basically hissing the next words. "Who cares? I don't care at all!" She stomped off in the direction of the hall.

"Okay. This one I'll give you for free," Nabiki said, waving both Ranma and Ran towards her. "She's upset. And it's your fault."

Chapter Text

Akane sat on her bed, hugging a pillow to her chest. Things were always so damn complicated. Pretty much from the moment Ranma had arrived in her life it had become pure chaos. Some days it could be fun and kind of exciting, but a lot of the time it just left her feeling exhausted and sometimes depressed.

There was a knock at the door - the way Ranma usually knocked. She wasn't sure she wanted to talk to him. Still, things wouldn't get better if she didn't discuss them.

"Come in," She said, putting her pillow down. But it wasn't Ranma who came in. Well, not technically. Not her Ranma. Instead it was Ran who closed the door behind him and was now taking a seat at her desk and turning the chair so that he could face her. "Oh. Um." She didn't know what to say to him.

"Hi," He offered, then gave a bright smile. "I don't think you and I have really talked since I got here."

"Aren't we worried about messing up the timeline?"

Ran shrugged. "I can't worry too much about that. 'S not really an option, especially since I have to wait for the Old Ghoul to figure out a way to send me back. And if she's right that I am from some other timeline, then it probably doesn't matter what I say or do while I'm here."

Akane thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, I guess the only other option would be to lock you in the dojo. But even then, we'd have to see you to give you meals and things. I guess we just have to hope for the best."

Ran nodded. "Exactly. So. You wanted to talk about the wedding?"

Akane frowned. "I don't want to talk about the wedding. It was a failure, Ranma made it pretty clear he didn't want to go through with it and even if he did," Akane punched her pillow for emphasis, "it wouldn't matter because I am just one of what feels like a million fiancées that he has and until he gets them all to back off, we won't get married. And he never does anything to make them back off! Do you know how often I have to see Shampoo kiss him? Or hear Ukyo bragging about how she's the cute fiancée? Where does that leave me? What even am I to him? And why do I have to talk about it with you instead of with him?"

"I mean, technically I am him..."

"You know what I mean! You're just an older version of him, and that should make me hopeful because you're proof that even Ranma can grow up a little, but the idea you're from a different timeline means that maybe he never does become you. I thought for a while that he might actually love me, but he was so insistent that he never said it... I could have sworn I heard it..." She sniffled, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"For the record, I have the memories of being at Jusendo. I could tell you what he was thinking at that time, and what he said."

Akane shook her head. "We don't know that your past is entirely the same as his. And even if it was... I need to hear it from him. As he is now. Not as some mature version that came from the future."

"Alright," Ran shrugged. "I mean, if we're not worrying about how the future is affected... I can tell you what happened. Who my wife is. And if I'm from a different timeline, then hey, no worries, right?"

Neither version of Ranma could handle women crying, and Akane crying was the worst of it. Ran figured if he could cheer her up even a little bit, it would be worth it.

"No. Thank you, but no. Cause if it's a future I want and it turns out that we're destined for something else, it will just upset me."

There was another knock at the door. "Akane, are you in there?" Ranma asked, knocking again.

"Come on in," Akane called. Ranma walked in and took in the view: His fiancée on the bed crying, and his future self sitting in a chair in the same room. A thought occurred to him - they had been together in a room with the door closed. Ranma frowned at them both.

"Shouldn't the door be open if there's a guy in your room, 'Kane?"

Akane rolled her eyes. "I'm in here with you all the time with the door closed. Dad's never made that be a rule."

"Yeah, well, we're engaged so he of course he don't care about that."

Akane stared at Ranma in shock for a moment. "Are you seriously still jealous of yourself?! What kind of pervert are you if you think that your older version of yourself would try something with me, huh? You realize that if you think he would do something it means that you would do it, right?"

"Akane and I were just talking," Ran insisted. "And we're done now. I'll give you two a moment." He started to exit the room, but stopped when he was even with Ranma. "Actually talk to her for once, okay?" He whispered. "I was stupid and never talked to her about the first failed wedding. Just talk and then actually listen, for once in your life."

Ran left, closing the door behind him again. Ranma took up the chair that Ran had just vacated.

"Um. So. The wedding. Was a thing." Ranma said stiltedly, trying to figure out what exactly he needed to do or say in this situation. Was he supposed to tell Akane that he had been disappointed when it hadn't worked out? How beautiful he thought she was in the wedding dress? Maybe he was supposed to thank her, since she had agreed to the wedding to help him get his hands on the Nannichuan water?

Silence passed between them, but it was the uncomfortable sort. Neither liked the quiet, but neither one knew what to say.

Ranma swiveled back and forth in his chair, trying to find the right words.

"Ranma?"

"Um. Yeah?"

"Ran offered to tell me what you said and what you were thinking at Jusendo."

Ranma turned a bright red and twirled his chair so that he was no longer facing her. "Oh, he did, did he?" He tried to be nonchalant. "I mean, what did he say?"

"I told him I don't want to know. We don't know if he's really your future, so that means you also may not have the same past. Maybe he said something different to his version of Akane."

"Maybe. But uh..." Ranma sat up straighter and whirled around to face her. "I'm sorry, Akane. That the wedding didn't happen. Everything went so crazy that day. I don't think I ever told you sorry."

"Ranma," she scooted forward on the bed, but remained seated. "Do you.. I mean, do you regret it at all? That we didn't get married that day? I just. I'm tired. I want to know if there's actually any hope, or if you just want to be with Ukyo or Shampoo or...or maybe just be by yourself?"

"Um. Yeah."

"Yeah what?"

"There's... hope, I guess. I mean. Akane, the truth is I... well, Ran told me..." He put his head in his hands. "Why is it always so difficult for me to talk to you?! You're the only one that frustrates me so much!"

"Oh, I'm frustrating am I?" Akane's right hand automatically formed a fist and she clenched her teeth. "You're not exactly a walk in the park yourself!"

"That's not what I mean! But this right here? This situation? That's what I mean! One of us goes to say something to the other and then we can't spit it out or something weird happens and then we never get back to where we were. It's like one of those things where you get a little ahead and then fall back even harder."

Akane unclenched and reached forward, grabbing Ranma's hand. "I can't keep doing this, Ranma. I think you know how I feel about you, but the fact you haven't done anything to move it forward? I feel like that means something."

Ranma squeezed her hand. "It just means that I can't spit it out. ...But I can do a challenge."

"This isn't a martial arts thing-"

"It is now. If ice skating and eating food can be martial arts, then so can relationships. Three days, Akane. In three days, I am going to tell you how I feel."

"And you're what...gonna train until then? How exactly do you plan on training for this? It's not like you can fight me to get me to realize how you feel about me."

"No. But I know exactly who can train me," With that, Ranma let go of Akane's hand and rushed out of the room.

"What on Earth is he up to?"

Chapter Text

"So that's the plan," Ranma finished explaining. Ran tapped his chin as he thought.

"I mean, it might work. I could always tell you how I got together with Akane and you can do that instead, though. ...But you would have to wait awhile. I was older when I told her how I felt."

"No. No more making her wait around for me," Ranma insisted. "I tell her the truth in three days. But we have to follow my plan exactly. Now, you know what you need to do next, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I understand. I'll go grab him while you go grab your guy. Meet you back in the dojo in... three hours, max?"

Ranma nodded. Ran gave him a thumbs up, and both went their separate ways, knowing exactly what they needed to do.

Shampoo was not in China. Shampoo, in fact, was not even on her way to China. She felt a bit odd disobeying her great-grandmother's orders, but she felt it was a reasonable action on her part. After all, Cologne was hiding something from Shampoo.

Cologne had always been upfront with Shampoo before, but she hadn't even looked Shampoo in the eye when ordering her to go to China. Intrigued by the mystery, Shampoo had only pretended to agree. She had walked off with packed bags, but in truth she was just a few miles down the road from the Cat Cafe.

Mousse had insisted on going with her. Shampoo did not share her thoughts with him, and he still believed they were heading back to China. He had been talking non-stop for the past hour or so. Not that Shampoo knew what he was saying. She didn't care, and she was focused on trying to figure out exactly what Cologne was hiding.

As lost in her thoughts as she was, she didn't notice someone grabbing Mousse and taking off with him. Though, if Shampoo had noticed, she still wasn't likely to care.

"I'm going to find out why she lied," Shampoo said to herself. "It has to do with the future Ranma, I'm sure of it." She glanced around, wondering why it was so quiet now. She shrugged to herself, then went back to her thoughts. Supposedly Shampoo was going to China to 'grab an ancient tome' of Cologne's. But Shampoo knew that her great-grandmother had managed to bring all her tomes, scrolls and books when they moved to Japan.

So it was a fool's errand, or something to keep Shampoo occupied. And right now, she was angry. How dare Cologne do this to her? She had never been treated like this before, and she didn't like it. She didn't know how, but she was going to figure out exactly what was going on. Especially since it involved Ranma.

Ryoga had been lost since he left the Tendos. He had managed to make it back over to Furinkan high school, but that had been an accident. He thought it was a fortunate accident at first, until he realized it was evening and there weren't any students there now who could point him in the right direction.

"Damn it," he mumbled, taking his backpack off with the intentions of pulling out a map. But as soon as he got the pack off, Ranma stood in front of him.

No. Wait.

Not Ranma. The older version of Ranma, the one the others were calling 'Ran'.

"Yo, Ryoga, time to go," Ran cheerfully grabbed Ryoga by the collar and started dragging him along.

"Wait, where are we even going? No, actually, let me go! I don't want to go with you!" Ryoga struggled, but there was little use. As strong as Ryoga was, this older version of Ranma was even stronger.

"Don't worry, all will be revealed when we get back."

Ryoga didn't like the way Ran was smiling at him. It looked devilish. He never did like getting dragged into Ranma's schemes. Or Ukyo's, for that matter. But whatever this was, it sounded like it would involve both versions of Ranma, and that sounded like hell.

He managed to maneuver himself up by grabbing Ran's hand, then he bit down on Ran's arm as hard as he could. Ran yelped, but didn't let go. Instead, he pressed a pressure point on the back of Ryoga's neck. Ryoga went out like a light.

"Kasumi?" Akane tapped her sister's shoulder.

"Oh, yes, Akane?" Kasumi looked up from the meal she was making. Nadoka, who was chopping vegetables at the counter, stopped what she was doing as well, turning her attention to Akane.

"Ranma and Ran uh...they want their meals in the dojo, if it's okay. But they said they need four portions, for some reason? I guess the training is going to be really intense. But Ranma insisted that I have to stay away. For three days. Sorry if this is any trouble."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," Kasumi said cheerfully, giving her pot a quick stir. "But why do you have to stay away?"

"I do hope Ranma is being kind to you. You both get along so well usually," Nadoka said, putting a hand to her mouth.

"Uh. Yeah. Sure, usually we get along just great," Akane said through gritted teeth. "But he and Ran are doing some sort of special training," she wasn't about to admit that the training had to do with Ranma's feelings for her. "It's just best I don't see it."

"Oh, well, okay then," Nadoka nodded. "I think Kasumi and I can manage to get them their meals. I'll just tell them to put their empty plates right outside the dojo for pick up. Is that alright, Kasumi? I can handle all of it if you think it's too much."

"It's no problem at all," Kasumi smiled brightly and gave Akane a hug. "I hope you'll be okay being away from Ranma for a few days. You two are so close now."

Is everyone around me crazy?! Akane thought to herself. Why do they think we're acting like we're close? Half the time we're butting heads and he's being an absolute jerk about things!

"Sure. Yeah, thick as thieves, me and Ranma," Akane let out a fake laugh. "But I'm sure I'll be okay. It's just three days. I think the more concerning part is that Ranma is planning to miss school for this training."

Nadoka froze, her eyes glinting. "Oh?"

"I mean. I can get his homework. It's Friday now, and they're starting today....so maybe they'll be done by Monday? I'm not sure, he didn't give me a very detailed idea of the timeline."

"Hmm. I don't like it," Nadoka shook her head, "But I suppose that's the life of a martial artist."

Feeling like she had just narrowly avoided an intense confrontation, Akane smiled at Nadoka, then took her leave of the other women.

The truth was, she didn't like being separated from Ranma. Three days was such a short time, but it also felt like it would be ages. She was also tense with apprehension. Would Ranma really tell her how he felt? And if he did, would she like what he had to say?

All she could do now was wait.

Ukyo was okay waiting, but she was also the type of person who was good at keeping to a schedule. Professional cooks had to be. So when Ranma was not brought to the park like Nabiki Tendo had promised, she was irked.

She waited around an extra hour, just in case, then made her way over to the Tendo's to confront Nabiki. Kasumi let her in, and she went straight to the middle sister's room, pounding at the door. Nabiki answered and stood aside to let Ukyo in.

"You said all I have to do is give Ranma a scar in the same place as Ran and he'll be mine. But you didn't bring Ranma to me so I could give him the scar!"

"Oh, right. Sorry about that. Guess it's fine since I never collected the payment," Nabiki looked bored. "Was that all you needed?"

"You could always make good on your promise now. Just hold Akane off while I go see Ranma-"

"Ranma has locked himself in the dojo and isn't coming out for three days."

"Okay, so let me see Ran. Maybe I can get some more information out of him. Maybe he really did end up with me and he just doesn't want the other girls getting jealous."

"Ran is also locked in the dojo. I'm sorry, Ukyo, but there's nothing I can do for you. Unless you wanted some pictures of Ranma's female self. Usually five thousand yen, but I'm willing to knock it down to three for you-"

"No thanks," Ukyo frowned. She felt her heart speed up and she felt a little woozy. For some reason, this was bringing back memories of the day Ranma and his father had first left her behind.

Was she about to be left behind again?

Chapter Text

Ryoga woke up with a start and rubbed at his neck. It hurt pretty badly right now. He glanced around to try to figure out where he was and was surprised to find himself in the Tendo dojo. Mousse was next to him, still unconscious and on the floor.

"Ya know, if you hadn't bit me I wouldn't have had to knock you out," Ran told Ryoga. "Glad to see you're coming to, though." He turned his attention to Ranma. "Did Mousse not cooperate?"

"No, I accidentally bonked his head on a tree branch and he passed out," Ranma shrugged. "He'll be alright, right?" He grabbed one of Mousse's arms and felt at the wrist for a pulse. "He's alive, anyway."

"What hit me?" Mousse came to and snatched his arm out of Ranma's grasp. "Ranma, you villain! Why did you kidnap me?" Mousse had not been briefed on the situation with Ranma's future self, so when he spotted Ran his expression was horrified. "Why are there two of you?! What gods have I angered to endure this?"

"Hey, that's pretty much what I said!" Ryoga laughed.

"Ugh, we don't have time for this," Ranma crouched in front of Mousse, then jerked his thumb in Ran's direction. "That's me in the future. Or at least a possible version of me. The Old Ghoul is working on some way to get him back to his time. Just call him Ran, okay? It makes things a lot easier."

"Okay, fine, but why am I here? You said Cologne's already working on sending him back, and I certainly don't have a way of doing that."

Both Ran and Ranma coughed awkwardly and looked away, refusing to make eye contact. Mousse glanced back and forth between them a few times, trying to ascertain exactly what was going on. "Seriously, tell me why I'm here or I'm leaving."

"Needyoutoteachmehowtotellpeopleaboutmyfeelings," Ranma finally spat out, the words all running together in his eagerness to just be done with it.

"What?" Mousse blinked a few times.

Ran sighed. "This guy," he pointed to Ranma, "Has a lot of trouble telling a certain someone how he feels about her-"

"Hey, you said you didn't tell her until later! You said you were older than me when you told her how you felt!" Ranma argued, "So you're even worse than me, right?"

"I eventually got there," Ran crossed his arms. "And I didn't have to turn to Mousse of all people to do it."

"Well I'm doing this earlier than you, okay?!"

"You want my help in explaining to someone how you feel about them?" Mousse took off his glasses and cleaned them on a sleeve. He was just trying to find something to do with his hands while his brain struggled to understand the situation.

"Look," Ranma stopped crouching and stood up straight, turning away from Mousse. "When it comes to telling people how you feel, you're the best man. You've told Shampoo how much you love her over, and over, and over again. No matter how many times she beats your ass for it. Or how often she rejects you. I mean, just rejection after rejection after rejection-"

"This doesn't exactly make me want to help you," Mousse pushed himself off the floor so that he was now standing. "And why is Ryoga here, huh?"

"So that he can also learn how to just tell people how he feels," Ranma explained. "Which he will then use to ask Akari to be his official girlfriend. And he will stay away from Akane." He mumbled the last sentence, but Mousse heard him just fine.

"Then you're actually trying to help me?" Ryoga had not heard Ranma's last sentence. He turned to Ran. "Could you tell me, what happens later? Do Akari and I get married? How many kids do we have?"

"Yes, and three," Ran said just as Ranma said "We are not supposed to know about the future!" Ryoga, unfortunately, only heard Ranma.

"Oh, right. I'm not supposed to tell you guys how the future works out, just in case," Ran sighed. "But we're already doing things differently from how I did them. So I guess I just have to hope everything works out. And that Cologne gets me back soon."

"Okay. So you want my help," Mousse pushed his glasses up his nose. "Alright. Beg for it. And agree that you won't try to marry Shampoo!"

"I don't even want to marry her," Ranma growled, "And ain't no way I'm begging for anything."

"Then you won't get my help," Mousse said simply. He attempted to walk off, but Ran grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back.

"Look. If I am the future Ranma's destined for, I can guarantee you that he does not end up with Shampoo."

"So then I marry her?" Mousse looked so hopeful, Ran had to look away.

"I'm uh.. Alright, let me just put it this way: You're happy in the future," Ran promised. Which was true. As far as he was aware, Mousse was very happy in the future. As for being married to Shampoo... well, all that mattered right now was that Ranma was not married to her.

"Alright," Mousse nodded. "If this helps you towards your future that means that you will leave my darling Shampoo alone, then I will train you in how to express your feelings ...and how to come back even stronger when you get rejected."

"I mean, I don't think I'll get rejected," Ranma muttered.

"Ah, but you could be! ...This really isn't for Shampoo, right? You're not using me to be able to tell her that you love her?"

"How many times do I have to say that I ain't interested in her?!"

"Okay, okay. Just wanted to be sure," Mousse sat down and motioned for the others to do the same. "I hope you're all ready. For this will be the training of absolute hell."

After her little chat with Nabiki, Ukyo decided not to head home. Instead, she made a beeline for Akane's door and softly knocked at it.

"It's open!" Akane called. Ukyo pushed the door open and came inside. Akane was sitting at her desk "Oh. Ukyo. I wasn't expecting you. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Oh. Um. Yeah," Ukyo chuckled and ran a hand through her hair. "So uh. The English homework! Yeah. I don't understand the English homework."

"I uh... I'll help you, if you want, but I don't think that's the real reason you're here."

"It's. I shouldn't be talking to you about this, of all people."

Akane sighed. "So the real reason you're here is to talk about Ranma, then? You know, we're allowed to talk about things other than him. Just because we're both engaged to him doesn't mean he's the only topic of conversation we can have."

"I..." Ukyo collapsed onto Akane's bed. "I feel like I'm losing him. Not...not necessarily to you or to Shampoo...and definitely never to Kodachi...but. I feel like it's hopeless all of the sudden. I've never felt that before. Ranma-honey always felt to me like I would one day reach him and he'd choose me. But the way Ran acts? He barely looked at me. He was nice enough, but he didn't even call me Ucchan."

"Did he actually speak to you?" Akane fiddled with her pencil. This was an awkward conversation topic for her, but Ukyo seemed like she really needed a friend right now.

"No, not really. But that's another reason why things feel ...out of sorts, I guess? That version of Ranma didn't end up with me. I'm sure of it."

"Oh. I see," Akane pushed herself away from her desk and swiveled her chair so that she and Ukyo could make eye contact. "Well, Ran did say he has no memory of meeting his younger self. So he might be from a different timeline. Or things may have gotten changed. It doesn't necessarily mean you didn't end up with Ranma in some other timeline."

It was bizarre, comforting someone who was a rival for the same guy's affections, but Akane couldn't help it. Ukyo looked so upset, Akane had to do something. After all, she considered Ukyo a friend. Ukyo perked up a bit at the idea that the timeline was different for them.

"Thanks, Akane. So what exactly is Ranma-honey training for?"

Akane bit her lip as she tried to think up a convincing lie. "Oh, you know. Ran probably has some stuff he'd like to teach his younger self. That way he can master some things early, so Ran can get even better if they are from the same time line."

"Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense," Ukyo spread her arms out on the bed. "Also, I wasn't technically lying earlier. I really do need help with my English homework. I mean, I'm passing, but-"

"I don't mind helping," Akane smiled at her. But the smile looked a little stiff to Ukyo. "Really, that's what I'm working on now. We can work on it together."

Akane's words were kind, but Ukyo got the message. They were done talking about Ranma, at least for now. She sighed and grabbed an extra pencil from a pencil holder on Akane's desk. "Let's get to work, then"

Chapter Text

"No, no, no, no, no!" Mousse grabbed Ryoga, who was on his knees, and forced him to stand back up. "You can't get so tangled up in your emotions that you can't get the words out! And stop crying, you're going to scare that girl away permanently! Are you a man or not?"

"B-but, I just want her to know how much I care," Ryoga was sobbing heavily. Ran was in his girl mode and was playing the part of the girls who were to be confessed to. She was still in her usual Chinese top and the loose pants, though. She drew the line at actually dressing like Akane or Akari.

Ryoga patted Mousse so hard on the back that Mousse went flying half way across the room. "You're such a good friend, helping someone like me out!" He was still crying. "I know I'm hopeless at romance, but I'm trying to be better."

"Take it from me," Mousse said as he picked himself back up, "Starting with the marriage proposal is always a mistake. I've tried that route many times and it never works-"

"Might if the girl was actually interested," Ranma suggested.

Mousse glared at him. "You're one to talk. You're making even less progress than Ryoga - he's coming on too strong, sure, but you still haven't managed to get one word out about Akane!"

"Maybe cause I'm having to tell myself about my feelings," Ranma shrugged. "It's weird having Ran stand in for Akane. Feels like I'm about to tell a mirror how much I care about it."

"Honestly, that sounds like the kind of thing you do," Ryoga said, wiping away his tears. "You're the most egotistical guy I know." Mousse nodded his agreement.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Ranma, it's your turn again," Mousse announced. "Ran, pretend to be Akane. Maybe it will be easier for Ranma if you remind him of her."

"I don't think any version of me can act like that violent tomboy," Ranma muttered. But Ran heard him and once again smacked him upside the head.

"Stop talking about her like that!"

"See, that's what I wanted you to do!" Ranma said triumphantly. "Cause that's exactly what Akane would do! Okay, now maybe I can get in the right headspace for this. Okay," He looked Ran in the eyes. "Akane. The truth is that I-" Ranma lost his nerve. Sure, this was just practice, but it would also mean that Mousse and Ryoga would know how he felt about Akane. He wasn't sure he was ready for anyone to know that.

"C'mon, Ranma. You can do this," Ran encouraged. "Think back to Jusendo. What was it that you wanted Akane to hear when you thought you had lost her?"

"I-" Ranma choked and was surprised and alarmed to find that his eyes were watering with tears. He rapidly blinked them away, not wanting to hear the teasing that might have come. He still felt it wasn't manly to cry, especially not in front of other men. But Ran saw the tears.

"I think we have to be done for today," Ran announced. "It's getting late and we need to get some sleep so we can get back at this tomorrow morning." She pulled a thermos out and dumped some of the hot water inside on her head, turning back into her male form.

"Very well," Mousse agreed, "But tomorrow I'm just going to make it harder. Neither one of you managed to get your feelings out - Ryoga, you never made it through a sentence without sobbing about the future and Ranma, you never even got the words out! But don't worry, I'll get you both there yet."

Kasumi and Nadoka had brought sleeping bags when they had come to pick up the mens' dinner dishes. Each of them grabbed a bag and unrolled it. But all of them chose separate corners of the dojo to sleep in. Even Ran wasn't confident enough to sleep close to another guy without feeling weird about it.

While Ranma and the others had been in training, Soun and Nadoka had come to an agreement. "Is Genma still here?" Soun asked.

"No, I sent my husband out on an errand, but I gave him enough so that he could go do some drinking. He won't be home for hours."

"Good. Can't take the chance he would steal this...I don't think he would, but you never can tell with Genma," Soun held up a small box in his palm. "Are we sure Akane's ready for this?"

"I think Akane's been ready," Nadoka replied. "I can see it in the way she looks at him. Honestly, I see it in how he looks at her, too. They're almost there, and this is the best way to push them in the right direction."

"Very well."

"Are Kasumi and Nabiki okay with this, though? I mean, she was their mother, too-"

"Kasumi got her necklace and Nabiki got a bracelet. I talked to them both about this and told them what I was doing. Kasumi was very supportive. Nabiki... Nabiki just laughed, honestly, but she said it was okay."

They reached Akane's room just in time to see Ukyo coming out. "Oh, hi, Mrs. Saotome, Mr. Tendo," she bowed politely to them. "Akane was just helping me with some homework. I'm on my way out now, though."

"Lovely. I hope you have a good night," Nadoka returned the bow. Soun just waved as Ukyo left.

"We need to wait a little while to make sure Ukyo left," Soun advised wisely. "If she knew about this... Well, she's probably the least crazed or violent of Ranma's other fiancées, but she's still a threat."

Nadoka nodded her agreement, so the pair waited in the hallway. They gave it about five minutes, the both of them standing awkwardly in silence. Nadoka maintained her serene state, but Soun kept shifting from foot to foot, eager to get on with what he had come here for. Finally, Nadoka signaled that she thought enough time had passed by knocking on Akane's door.

"Come in!" Akane called. Soun and Nadoka hurried into the room, closing the door behind them.

"Oh! Dad? Auntie Saotome? Is everything alright?" Akane had prepared for bed and was in her pajamas. She was sitting on the bed when they came in. Nadoka sat down on the bed on her right side, and Soun sat down on her left.

"We have been discussing it, and we think it's time that you and Ranma moved forward," Nadoka explained. "We think you're both ready to formalize everything and for him to move on from any other ...distractions."

"Tell him that! I'm certainly not the one running around engaged to multiple people!" Akane growled, crossing her arms. She felt rude at the action since Nadoka had always been nice to her, but she couldn't help it. Discussing the other fiancées and Ranma's lack of commitment always got her hackles up.

"Well, it will be harder for them to ignore your engagement when you have a physical symbol," Soun suggested, handing the small box over to Akane. "Put this on and they'll have to recognize it."

"But what is it?" Akane asked, eyeing the box warily.

"Open it," Soun encouraged. Akane did as she was told. Inside was a gold ring with a small diamond. One of the prongs holding the diamond in place was a little askew, making for a sharp point. "It needs to be fixed up, but I think it will fit you just fine."

"But! But...this was mom's, wasn't it?" Akane felt her eyes water, so she reached up and brushed away the tears before they could fall. "Shouldn't this go to Kasumi?"

"Kasumi agreed to this. Don't worry, she has your mother's necklace. And before you ask, Nabiki got a bracelet and said she would never wear this kind of ring anyway."

"But..But shouldn't Ranma be giving it to me if this is for our engagement?"

Nadoka grabbed Akane's hand and gave it a squeeze. "We thought we would talk to you about it first. Just try it on and see if it fits, dear. Keep it on tonight and see how it feels. Then maybe it will be easier for you to talk to Ranma. Soun is planning on giving Ranma his wedding ring. They're a matched set."

"But are you sure this is alright?" Akane asked again. Soun grabbed her left hand and set the ring in her palm.

"I'm sure. Just... wear it for one night. Make sure it fits and make sure it's the right feel," Soun was talking about the ring, yet Akane could tell he was also talking about her engagement to Ranma. "Then we'll see how we all feel in the morning.

"Okay," Akane agreed, putting the ring on her left ring finger. She gave a quick hug first to her father and then to Nadoka. "Thank you both."

Soun didn't say anything, he just gave her a kiss on the top of the head. Nadoka motioned for him to follow her, and they left Akane's room together, shutting the door behind them. Akane stared at the ring. It felt odd to be wearing a ring - she never had been one to wear jewelry. It would just get in the way when she was fighting. But somehow this ring felt right. She admired it for a bit, and then crawled under her covers. She was going to get some sleep. She would worry more about this in the morning.

Ranma woke up in a cold sweat. He hadn't done his usual pre-bed ritual of checking on Akane. And with Ran bringing up Jusendo, the dream had been worse than usual. Instead of Akane just not opening her eyes, he had seen her die over and over again. He glanced around to make sure the others were still asleep - they were. Ran was muttering something in his sleep and Mousse was flailing around, but they were asleep.

He pushed himself out of his sleeping bag and stood up, stretching as he went. It was late, probably around one in the morning by his best guess. Akane would definitely be asleep by now.

He practically ran through the house to get to her room. He couldn't shake the nightmares from his head, and he knew it would only get better once he had confirmed she was fine. He pushed the door open and entered, trying to make himself silent as he always was.

He got close to her bed and leaned over her, breathing a sigh of relief. She was fine. She was breathing. He sighed again, but this time, Akane shot up and screamed out.

She had not been expecting anyone in her room. Ranma scrambled to try to get out of the way, but when she woke up she flung her arms open - and her hand connected with his face.

More specifically, her left hand made contact with his face.

She got up from her bed and turned her light on, only to see Ranma clutching his face where he was bleeding.

"Ranma? Why are you in here? And why are you bleeding?"

"You tell me why I'm bleeding!" Ranma shouted. He hadn't seen what weapon she had, so he had no idea how she had cut him.

But Akane's scream had been very loud, and suddenly Ryoga, Mousse, Ran and all of the Tendos were in Akane's room. "I'm alright," she insisted to everyone. "Ranma was just uh..."

"I was worried," Ranma grumbled. "And this is how she repays me for it!"

"Oh, the ring!" Akane realized, looking at her left hand. "The post that's starting to come off...that's what scratched you!"

"Really?" Ran asked, grabbing Ranma's hands and shoving them away from his face. His smile looked triumphant.

"And what are you so happy about?" Ranma grumbled.

"Oh, nothing," Ran chuckled, scratching at the scar on his upper right lip. "Just that I think that cut was just deep enough to leave a scar."

Chapter Text

After Ran's pronouncement that Ranma was scarred, there was a great commotion in Akane's room. Nabiki and Ryoga knew the significance, just as Ran, Ranma and Akane did. But Soun, Nadoka, Genma, Kasumi and Mousse were all in the dark.

"Ran said his wife gave him that scar," Nabiki explained to Kasumi and Soun.

"But why are you in her room so late at night?" Kasumi asked. "I know you're engaged, but it just seems so improper."

"Just means the boy's healthy," Genma said with a laugh, patting his son on the back. Ranma turned a brilliant shade of red and kept sputtering without once being able to get a word out. His thoughts and heart were both racing at the speed of light.

Nadoka nodded her agreement with her husband. "It's very normal for boys of his age. And they'll be married soon, anyway. Though I'm afraid I still don't understand what a scar has to do with anything? Also, Ranma, dear, you need to stop your lip bleeding," She handed her son a handkerchief. He dutifully lifted it to his lip and applied pressure, but didn't for even one moment stop sputtering as his brain tried to restart.

"Can everyone clear out of my room, please?!" Akane announced. "I'm surprised we can even all fit in here, and honestly, I just want to go back to bed."

"Of course, honey," Soun answered, rounding the others back up and ushering everyone except Ran, Ranma and Akane out of the room. Ran punched Ranma teasingly in the arm.

"Guess I might just be the future you're headed towards, then, huh?" He smirked. Ranma finally stopped making ridiculous noises and glared at his future self. "Don't be mad at me, I didn't do anything to make you come in here tonight. You did that on your own." Ran turned his attention to Akane. "I think you two have a lot to talk about. I'm going back to the dojo."

"And how exactly can my future be the same as yours if you said you didn't tell her how you felt until you were older than me?!" Ranma, finally coming to his senses, poked Ran in the chest. "You said you didn't tell her-"

Ran grabbed the seat at Akane's desk and sat down, then motioned for Ranma to take a seat by Akane on the bed. Ranma ignored him and stubbornly sat himself on the floor, criss-cross style.

"I haven't been upfront about everything," Ran admitted. "The truth is... I don't remember when Akane and I got together. I know I'm with her, and I remember things about our life together. But there are certain moments, from around when I was your age," he looked at Ranma, "Those moments are a blank. I have these ...fuzzy images. But nothing firm."

"So you lied to me," Ranma grumbled. "To try to get the future you wanted."

"No," Ran shook his head, "Like I just said, I don't remember what happened around when I was your age. ...I did lie about being older when I told Akane the truth. Because I remember that when I was a teenager, the fastest way to get me to do anything was by seeing someone else trying to do it first. I always needed to be the first one. So I thought that if you thought I told Akane when I was ...let's say, twenty, that you would see it as a challenge to try to do it now."

"But that's still trying to get me to do things your way!" Ranma insisted. "You're trying to push Akane and me together!"

"Ranma," Ran said, pushing himself up to standing, "If you don't want to be with Akane, you won't be. It really is that simple. I can't make you love her. If you do, then you do. I don't know for sure if I'm your future. But I know that I enjoy my life, and I love what I have with Akane. I know how I feel about her now. I know I'm incredibly excited to see our kid when they get here. You make your own choices, Ranma, but as for me, I am going to do everything I can to get back to my time and the life I want and have. Come join us for more training tomorrow or don't." With that, Ran left.

"So... that version of Ranma ended up with me?" Akane asked shyly, fiddling with her blanket.

"Yeah. And he's a lying jerk. I don't get why he couldn't just tell me the truth-"

"About him not remembering when he got with his version of Akane?"

"Uh-huh. This whole thing seems fishy to me," Ranma crossed his arms. His embarrassment was now forgotten, replaced by this new puzzle. Why couldn't Ran remember when he had told his Akane the truth? And was this loss of memory new, or what?

"Ranma?"

"Hmm?"

"...Why are you in my room? I'm sorry I left that mark on your lip, but you can see how me waking up in the middle of the night to someone standing over my bed might freak me out."

"Oh. Yeah. I'm sorry if I scared you. I mean, you got me pretty good so it feels like we should be even, right?"

"You didn't answer my question," Akane insisted. "I know I hit you, like I said, I am sorry about that. But you were in my room in the middle of the night. I think I deserve to know the reason. Or if you're just being some sort of gross pervert."

"I ain't a pervert, tomboy," Ranma snorted at her. "Why do I have to keep worrying about such a macho chick like you? What am I even worried about you for?"

"Yeah," Akane threw her blankets off and stood up, "That's what I want to know! You said you were worried about me, but I'm here in my bedroom in my house. I'm not currently kidnapped and I have not been kidnapped recently-"

"You got kidnapped about two months ago! Or do you not remember being at Jusendo?!"

"Of course I remember," Tears began welling up in Akane's brown eyes. "No matter how much I try to forget, because you never want to talk about it! I know you saved me, but I'm here now and I'm safe and I'm sorry if I'm just some big trouble to you!"

Ranma's face softened. "You're not. ...Trouble, I mean. Well, sometimes. Damn it, Akane, the truth is I keep having nightmares. That we're back at Jusendo but you don't open your eyes. That I do everything I can, but it's too late. I fail. It scares the hell out of me. I needed to confirm for myself that the nightmare was just a nightmare."

"You were ...scared for me?"

"Of course I was," Ranma snorted. "And you repay me by smacking me in the face. I'm going back to the dojo-"

"Ranma?" Akane grabbed his hand and pulled him up to standing. Then she threw herself into his arms. Instinctively, Ranma's arms wrapped around her. "I'm sorry that I worried you so much when we were in China. I didn't mean to. It ... it sort of makes me happy that you were worried about me. Because I think this is your way of showing you care." She squeezed him and then let go. He let his arms go slack as well.

"I uh... I got some training to get back to," Ranma insisted, heading for the door. "Goodnight, Akane."

"Goodnight, Ranma," Akane answered, settling back down on her bed and into her blankets. Ranma watched her for a moment, then walked into the hallway and closed the door behind him. Once the door was closed, he exhaled for a long time before gasping for another breath and letting that one go as well.

Cologne had closed the Cat Cafe shortly after she sent Shampoo off. And then the old woman had dived head first into her vast collection of writings, scrolls, and books. "There must be something here," she muttered to herself yet again, reaching the end of her current scroll. "Damn! The same answer..."

Cologne could be a difficult task master, but at the end of the day she truly loved her great granddaughter and wanted to see her happy. But the more Cologne read, the more she realized Shampoo was heading for heartache.

It wasn't fair. The Amazonian law was what had first interested Shampoo in Ranma, true, but Cologne knew her great granddaughter had actually fallen in love with Ranma. It was not about the law anymore, it was about Shampoo's feelings.

She grabbed a box of her miscellaneous trinkets, tossing one after another over her shoulder. "No. Definitely not...this would just cause even more problems," she said as she looked at a jewelry box. "Perhaps this?" She held a ring in her hand for a moment, then tossed this as well.

Finally, she came across a pair of rusty looking scissors. She held them up to the light, examining them. "These could be dangerous. But it's also the only chance at getting Shampoo the outcome she wants. But if they're used incorrectly...My poor little Shampoo. What do I do for you? Do I risk the awful consequences that could occur if I should use these, or do I let your heart break?"

Cologne took a long pull on her pipe, then released the smoke in quick little burst of smoke rings. Cologne was a smart woman. Quite possibly the smartest person currently living in Japan. But she knew that love could make fools of us all.

She weighed the scissors expertly in the palm of her hand. "I suppose...I better let Shampoo make the decision."

Shampoo had snuck over to the Tendo's and was on the roof of the house when she heard Akane's scream. She scrambled quickly over to the direction of Akane's room and carefully listened in.

Having not been home when Nabiki had called her, Shampoo did not understand why there was so much excitement about Ranma getting a scar. In fact, since it sounded like Akane had caused it, it just reiterated to Shampoo that Akane was simply too violent for Ranma (the fact that Shampoo had attempted to kill before and would not be adverse to trying to kill again some day did not occur to her as being hypocritical).

She heard Ran's speech to Ranma, and she had to bite down on her sleeve to keep herself from screaming. The older Ranma had said his future lay with Akane. So Shampoo had not won that fight. She was torn between wanting to cry and wanting to challenge Akane to a fight.

She sat back on her heels, slightly rocking in place. Okay, so the future Ranma had ended up with Akane. But if she could convince the Ranma of now to be with her, couldn't that future change?

Or was the future set in stone? Ran had said he had no memory of meeting his younger self. That filled her with hope, but then Ran had just admitted that he was aware some of his memories were missing. Then there was the fact that Cologne was hiding something from Shampoo. It felt like everyone was conspiring against her.

But Shampoo was brave, and she was strong. She was not going to go down without a fight. And if she had to take Akane down with her? Well, she was prepared to make that choice if she had to.

Ranma went back to the training hall, but was surprised to find Ran not only still awake, but standing in the middle of the hall performing a kata. "Did you want to join me?" he offered. Ranma nodded and took a place beside him, quickly picking up on the movements.

"It was a jerk move not to tell me you couldn't remember telling 'Kane how you felt," Ranma said, moving so that he was balanced on one leg.

"Sorry. But the truth is I know at some point I told her-"

"Well obviously! You're married to her!" Ranma lost his balance in his anger. He took a deep breath and assumed the stance again. "But why can't you remember?"

"I don't know. Like I said, I feel like things got foggy once I ended up here. I have bits and pieces, but it's like the full memories are locked away from me. But what worries me most is I have the strangest sense that something bad happens soon. Or almost happens? Ugh, I hate time travel."

In spite of himself, Ranma laughed at that. "Yeah. Remind me to make sure I don't do it when I'm your age."

Ran chuckled. "Deal. But uh... can we go by the Cat Cafe tomorrow? I know I'm supposed to be helping you with training, but I really want to see if Cologne made any progress."

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, we can go. Um. How far along is Akane, anyway?"

"I don't know if time is still moving forward there, but when I got zapped here she was thirty-eight weeks along. She's due any day now," Ran smiled fondly, "You know she still does her katas every morning? And breaks those cement blocks every day? Kasumi had to make Akane a new gi that would fit over her baby bump. I can't get her to slow down and take it easy. You know she told me she was pregnant by-"

Ranma held up a hand to silence Ran. "You know what, man? If you really are my future, then I want some of it to still be a surprise, okay?"

It was Ran's turn to nod. They finished their kata, then each went to their corner of the room and their sleeping bags. Ranma fell asleep almost immediately, but Ran tossed and turned. He kept having flashes of deja vu, and his instincts were telling him that something bad was coming.

Chapter Text

Mousse sat cross legged on the floor of the dojo. He had his hands in the opposite sleeves - this was a pose he often did, but right now it was necessary to prevent himself from pulling his hair out. It was about eleven a.m. and he had been working with Ranma on how to tell Akane how he felt since dawn.

Ranma was crouched in front of Mousse, rocking back and forth on his heels. Neither of the pair had said anything for the last twenty minutes.

The last thing Mousse had said was to ask Ranma to tell him how Ranma felt about Akane. Ranma had turned bright red and refused to speak.

"This is just pathetic," Ryoga shook his head and poked Ranma in the shoulder. "You're the one that gathered us all up here talking about how we need to learn about how to say how we feel, but you haven't managed to get one word out about how you feel about Akane!"

"Shut up," Ranma hissed. "You can't get through saying how you feel without crying!"

"But at least I'm talking!"

Ranma stood up and grabbed Ryoga by the shirt. "You just don't get it. This is hard, okay? Every time I've tried to open my mouth and tell her, something bad always happens and she ends up getting mad at me and half the time I get kicked or punched."

"Ranma," Ran separated Ryoga and Ranma as he spoke, "I'm guessing you're thinking about when Akane got that special battle suit? ...The dogi thing?" Ranma was silent, so Ran pressed on. "C'mon, man, you only started to tell her how you felt to try to get her away from the suit. I know you realized it in the middle and tried to make it a real confession, but you have to admit it's not that surprising she turned on you when she realized you were just trying to get the suit to go away."

Ranma crossed his arms, pouting, but he didn't say anything.

"Regardless of any past attempts," Mousse adjusted his glasses as he spoke, "The problem is that you must tell Akane Tendo how you feel now. If you, as I suspect, love Akane then maybe that will release Shampoo from whatever fiendish hold you have over her. It's really in everyone's best interests that you tell Akane immediately."

"You mean it's in your best interest," Ranma muttered.

"I got it!" Ryoga slammed a fist into his palm and sat down, dragging Ranma with him. "Okay. So you're having trouble using the word 'love'. But why don't you start by telling her what you just like about her?"

"What's there to like?" Ranma grumbled, looking away.

"You have to be kidding me," Ryoga slapped himself in the face in frustration. "There's how cute she is for one, there's the fact she's always trying to save your dumb ass, how she always keeps trying... and how accepting she is of others-"

"You are supposed to be focusing on Akari," Ranma insisted, not liking the gleam that was starting to show in Ryoga's eyes.

"See, this is the kind of stuff I mean, Ranma," Ryoga shook his head. "You wouldn't be so jealous if you weren't interested in her."

"Maybe I just think you should be sticking to talking about Akari, and leave Akane alone. It's not right to either of them to go back and forth on them."

"Alright, time out," Ran called, putting one arm atop the other to indicate that they should stop. "We're getting nowhere fast so we may as well take a break. Ranma, are we still going to the Cat Cafe?"

"Yeah. Anything's better than being here right now."

"I'll go with you-" Mousse offered, but Ryoga grabbed him by the arm and forced him to sit down across from him.

"No! I still need to practice what I'm going to say to Akari!"

Mousse frowned, but immediately caved. After all, Ran ended up with Akane, not Shampoo. So he would probably keep Ranma in line. "Okay, we'll keep working on it. But if you can just hold the tears in I think you'll be ready soon."

"Check you guys later," Ranma said as he and Ran exited the dojo. And almost ran into Akane.

"Sorry, I just wanted to grab some of the weights," she said apologetically. "I promise I haven't been listening in or anything."

Ran smiled knowingly at her, but Ranma looked away from her. "You ain't supposed to be here. You're going to distract us from our training."

"But you look like you're about to head somewhere?"

"Well, yeah, but you didn't know that before you came over here," Ranma argued.

"Sorry," Akane shrugged. "So. Uh. How is the training going?"

"We have to get going," Ranma insisted, pushing Ran along. "I still got two more days, Akane. I'm going to figure this out. So you need to be ready for me."

"Okay," she waved as they left, watching until they disappeared out of her sight. "Guess I'll just be waiting for you..."

Shampoo had spent a rather restless night on top of the Tendo dojo - between the feel of the roof on her back and the irritation that Ran ended up with Akane, she hadn't been able to sleep more than a few hours, and had been frustrated with nightmares for what little time she had been asleep for. She was listening in as best as she could on the training, but she couldn't figure out what the training was actually supposed to do for Ranma.

For one thing, she didn't hear the sounds of anyone getting punched or kicked. And any time she heard Ranma's voice it was edged with irritation. She heard Ryoga cry multiple times, but she had been around him enough to know that he cried pretty often. Whatever was going on, it sounded like Mousse of all people was the one in charge. She couldn't think of anything Mousse could do that Ranma was not already capable of. Sure, he was a master of hidden weapons, but that sort of thing had never interested Ranma. Of course he'd use weapons when the occasion called for it but it was never his first choice.

So what were the four of them doing down there?

She pondered the question over and over again, wishing she could sneak in to hear more of what was going on instead of the few snippets she had gathered from her rooftop reconnaissance. She wondered over this as the sun rose, all the way until she heard the dojo open and saw Ranma and Ran emerge.

She watched as they spoke to Akane, her brows knit and her lips pulled into a grimace. Whatever the training was, Akane was not allowed to watch them. But it seemed like the training somehow involved Akane. Shampoo was alarmed. She tried to never think of Jusendo, but it was hard not to - the piercing scream she had heard from Ranma when he begged Akane to come back ...it was not the cry of friendship.

Shampoo knew that if something happened to her Ranma would mourn her, but his heart would not shatter the way it had for the moments in China when Akane stopped breathing.

This probably would have gotten someone else to back off, to realize that Ranma would never be hers.

But Shampoo knew that sometimes hearts change. It was true, unfortunately, that Ranma definitely is currently in love with Akane. And it's true that one of his futures seems pointed towards that love culminating in a marriage.

Shampoo, however, was not the type to give up. Futures could be rewritten. She was sure of it. She just had to figure out a how. She hopped from rooftop to rooftop and sometimes on branches to follow Ran and Ranma when they left. She didn't know they were headed to the Cat Cafe until they reached the street the restaurant was housed on.

She gulped.

She had been ordered by her great-grandmother not to come back until she was called for. She should be making her way to China right now. So what would it be? Get in trouble with her great grandmother and face the potentially dire consequences but still work at that chance she could get Ranma to love her - or go to China as she had been ordered and potentially lose any potential of his love forever?

Well, love was a battlefield and Shampoo is a warrior. So she chose to follow them into the cafe. Inside, Ranma, Ran and Cologne are already seated at a table. Shampoo finally realized that the cafe had been closed - she had been so focused she had missed the sign declaring the cafe to be closed for the next week.

"Shampoo?" Cologne stared at her great-granddaughter. Never before had she disobeyed. Cologne sighed. She had been hoping to avoid what was going to happen now, but she saw that it was destiny all along. Nothing would keep Shampoo from her dogged pursuit of Ranma. Cologne's decision on her next move was made at that moment. She nodded at Shampoo and motioned for her to take a seat at the table.

Shampoo sat and dragged her chair as close to Ranma as she could get it. Ran yanked Ranma's chair so that he was pulled away from her. They went back and forth for a moment doing this until Ranma finally told them both to knock it off.

"Is there a way back?" Ran brought his attention back to Cologne.

"There is, but I'm afraid I still don't have all the elements in place."

"Anything we can do to hurry it along?" Ran asked desperately. "I mean, I'll put in the work if I have to. If there's something you need to make it go faster just say the word and I'll do it. Please. I have to get back."

"Son-in-law," Cologne addressed Ranma, "Do you think Ran here is your future?"

Ranma blanched at being put on the spot. "How the heck am I supposed to know that? Besides, he said he can't remember some stuff from when he was my age."

"Interesting," she turned her attention back to Ran. "Have you always had these blanks in your memory, or did it happen after arriving in this time period."

"This time period," Ran answered quickly. "Is that a bad thing?"

"It is...a consideration," Cologne finally settled on. She watched Shampoo for a moment. Shampoo was staring lovingly at Ranma, who was ignoring the attention. "For now, I suggest you two get back to whatever it was you were doing. I promise I will have the way for you to get back home in due time."

Ranma and Ran both nodded and rose at the same time. "Thank you," Ran said sincerely.

"Yeah, thanks, Old Ghoul," Ranma added. "We gotta get back to training."

Younger and older Ranma left at the same time, their steps almost in unison. That also gave Cologne pause. Shampoo watched them leave, then became very interested in the floor. The only other time she had disobeyed was when she returned to China without killing Ranma, and that had gotten her punished in a way that turned her into a cat, the form her beloved hated above all other things. She could only begin to imagine what sort of consequences she would face now.

Cologne felt in the sleeve of her robe and produced the rusty pair of scissors she had been pondering earlier. She placed it down on the table.

"Shampoo. What do you know of the red string of fate?"

"It's an old story. Ones fated to be together are tied with red threads that they can't see. Around the ankles."

"Ah, the ankles is the Chinese version. These scissors come from Japan, so they follow the Japanese version of the tale - some say it's around the man's thumb and the woman's little finger, some say that it is around both partners' little fingers. I don't know if it gets changed when two women or two men are fated for each other. Regardless... this particular pair of scissors means that the little finger is where the string lies."

"The string is real? What do these scissors do?

"These are the Scissors of Revocation, Shampoo," Cologne picked them back up, holding them as though the weight of the world were balanced on them. Cologne held out her left hand and took the scissors in her right, setting her left pinky in between the blades.

"Grandmother, no!"

Before Shampoo could stop her, Cologne snipped with the blades. But while the scissors definitely had closed, Cologne's finger was unharmed. Instead a red thread appeared seemingly from nowhere and floated gently down onto the floor. "Of course, my string was tied to your great-grandfather, who died so many years ago, so there was no need for me to be scared. I thought you might like a demonstration."

"So," Shampoo said, starting to figure out where Cologne was going with this, "I cut the string between Ranma and Akane?"

"If that is your question, Shampoo, that means you believe those two are fated to be together."

Shampoo crossed her arms and looked away, her expression stubborn.

"It works a particular way. If you cut the strings on both ends - that is, you cut it off of Akane and Ranma, then their strings can never be mended. They will both go through life without a soul mate."

"So ai ren doesn't end up with me if I do this?"

"That is why you must do this a particular way. You can only cut Akane's string. She will no longer find her soul mate, but Ranma's string may find its way to a new partner."

"What if Akane isn't who Ranma is destined for? What if it's me?"

"That is the gamble you are taking if you use the Scissors of Revocation. There is no guarantee you will end up with him, even if you use them. You could cut Akane's string only to find out Ranma was never fated to be with her, and then nothing will change. Or you could cut the string and he could end up with someone else - like Ukyo, for example," Cologne reached out and touched Shampoo gently on her hair. "I offer you this choice because I love you, and because I think it may be your only chance not to get hurt. But this is not fool proof. So you must decide."

Shampoo took the scissors in her hand and clutched them to her chest. "Thank you, grandmother. I am going to try. I have to."

Chapter Text

Ukyo had tried her best to stay away. Really, she had. However, these days it seemed she had no impulse control when something involved Ranma. So she once more left Konatsu in charge at Ucchan's and headed over to the Tendo's home.

Ukyo didn't like how the future version of Ranma had practically ignored her. There was a heaviness in her heart, like it was sinking down into the pits of her stomach. It had appeared shortly after Ran had come to their time. Just as she had complained to Akane, she was certain that she was not the wife Ran seemed so eager to get back to.

But Ukyo was a fighter. There was no guarantee that Ran was absolutely Ranma's future. So she didn't want to give up. And yet something was bothering her. The whole world felt off today. As she journeyed to the Tendos' home the strap on her backpack broke. "Mm. Bad omen," she said to no one. She adjusted the pack so that she was able to balance it on just the one remaining strap. There was no option to leave the backpack at home - she was once again going to use English homework as her excuse to go speak to Akane.

Akane was an excellent actress - Ukyo had seen recordings of Akane as Juliet (she wasn't terribly pleased by the kissing scene, but had been relieved to find out later about the tape barricade Akane had applied before 'kissing' Ranma). It made Ukyo more wary of Akane. Actors were natural born liars, in Ukyo's book. No, despite the fact that Akane was being nice, there was something she was hiding from Ukyo. She knew more than she was letting on.

Unfortunately, Ukyo was pretty sure she knew what it was that Akane was hiding. She was Ran's future wife, Ukyo was certain of it. Akane seemed to know something, and what's more whatever she knew hadn't made her react angrily or upset her.

Ukyo pondered all this as she made her way, almost not realizing when she reached the Tendo home. The front door was open, but she still knocked on the doorway. "Anyone home?"

"Oh! Ukyo! Come on in, Akane's in her room," Kasumi said, moving to take Ukyo's backpack from her. Ukyo waved her off.

"I'm here for homework help, I need that," she explained, pushing the backpack back onto her shoulders.

"If you're here to see Ranma, he and Ran just got back but they immediately went back to training after. Ranma did ask that they not be disturbed."

"Oh, that's fine," Ukyo lied. "I'm really just here to see Akane."

"Just head on back to her room," Kasumi smiled brightly. "I'll make some tea for you both and bring it into the room when it's ready. That way you can keep studying while you snack."

"Thanks," Ukyo nodded in appreciation, and then made her way to Akane's room. Akane's door was open. She was sitting at her desk, her back to the door. She had homework in front of her, but instead of working on it her attention was focused out the window. Ukyo watched her curiously for a moment, wondering what was on Akane's mind. "Yo!" she finally called out after a few moments of silent observation.

Akane startled and nearly fell out of her seat. "Oh! Ukyo - I wasn't expecting you," Akane rose up from her desk and gestured for Ukyo to take a seat. Unfortunately, Akane gestured with her left hand.

"What the hell is that?!" Ukyo practically shrieked, seizing Akane's hand and looking at the ring there. The ring that was so obviously an engagement ring. "Did Ranma give this to you?" Ukyo's voice rose up too high in her panic. She winced at the noise. "Did he ask you to marry him?"

There was that sinking feeling again.

"No! I'm sorry, no, no," Akane shook her head. "My dad gave me this to try on, I just forgot to return it. I promise you Ranma didn't give it to me."

Ukyo studied Akane in silence. Akane kept shifting from foot to foot, but she offered no other excuses or explanations.

"I'm uh - I'm giving it back to my dad today," Akane explained. "He just wanted to see if it would fit. In case..." she trailed off.

"In case Ranma wants to give it to you," Ukyo finished.

"It was my mom's," Akane said defensively. "So if he doesn't want to give it to me then it goes to one of my sisters. I won't let you tear up our house the way you did the Saotome's when we all thought that pill box was a ring."

"Okay," Ukyo said. The truth was she was quite embarrassed of her behavior that day. Not about trying to get the ring, but in how far she had gone. She had also shot herself in the foot with that action - Ranma had had to move back in with the Tendos because of the destruction she and some of the other fiancées had caused. "Look...I'm curious about what the heck Ranma-honey is up to right now. And it seems like you really don't want to tell me. Which tells me some things..."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. It has something to do with you two. If he really were just training a new technique, you wouldn't feel so against telling me what it was. You were also blushing when you mentioned him training. That isn't something you do over some fighting technique. So do you want to tell me the truth?"

Akane sighed and sat down on her bed. She grabbed her pillow and hugged it to her lap. Ukyo took a seat beside her.

"He wants to tell me how he feels about me," Akane admitted. "So he's decided to take on some sort of training. You know Ranma, the more something feels like a challenge the more likely he is to want to do it. But," here Akane fiddled with a loose string on the pillow, suddenly feeling the weight of Ukyo's gaze on her, "I don't know what he's going to say. He could be training to tell me he hates me for all I know."

"God, I wish it was that he hates you," Ukyo muttered, then felt a little bad when she saw Akane wince. "Sorry. I don't want Ran-chan to hate you. That was mean. But...Ranma's not shy about telling people off. So if he has to train to say how it is he feels about you..."

She trailed off. Akane did not answer her. Instead they sat in silence, Akane still fiddling with her pillow, Ukyo staring up at the ceiling and trying not to cry.

Their silence was interrupted by a tap at the window. Grateful for the interruption, Ukyo sprang to her feet and opened the window without checking to see who it was. Shampoo entered with a leap, diving into a roll and gracefully landing on her feet. There was a pair of scissors clasped in her right hand.

"You need to help me," Shampoo said to Ukyo. "Hold Akane still, and maybe we can have our chance at Ranma."

Akane leapt to her feet, planting them firmly and bringing her fists up, prepared to fight. "You can try," she hissed.

"I'm gonna need more information," Ukyo insisted, stepping between Akane and Shampoo. "What exactly are we doing here, Shampoo?" Shampoo was not Ukyo's favorite of the fiancées, though she did probably prefer Shampoo to Kodachi. Some days she wasn't sure which one she liked less. But she knew that the Amazon would sometimes use dirty tricks and she was willing to go much further than Ukyo always found appropriate.

"Scissors of Recursion," Shampoo said, holding the scissors aloft as though this would answer any questions.

"Yeah, still gonna need more information than that. So you have a rusty pair of scissors. What are you going to do, stab Akane?"

Akane started inching herself towards the door. She wasn't sure what the scissors were for, but they looked rusty enough that just looking at them made Akane feel the need for a tetanus shot. Akane was pretty sure she could take Ukyo, but she knew, unfortunately, that she was no match for Shampoo. And if Ukyo teamed up with Shampoo, Akane would be all the more screwed.

"Cuts the red string of fate," Shampoo explained. "We cut the string off Akane, she can no longer be destined for Ranma. She will go through life without a soul mate. But Ranma could find a new one. His string would tie to another. Maybe mine. Maybe yours."

"Hmm," Ukyo made eye contact with Akane, trying to signal for her to run. Akane nodded, letting Ukyo know she knew what to do. "Is it really fair if Akane doesn't get to be with anyone if we do this?" Ukyo stalled.

"It doesn't matter. Akane will no longer be an obstacle."

Akane took off like a shot, running down the hallway. Shampoo moved to chase her, but Ukyo blocked her way. There's no way in hell I can beat Shampoo, but maybe I can hold her off for a little bit... you better run your hardest, Akane, Ukyo thought to herself.

Ukyo was not as pure as snow. She was willing to cheat, she was willing to play dirty. She would, and had, lied and used underhanded methods in trying to get Ranma's attention and affection. If cutting Akane's string just meant Akane ended up with someone other than Ranma, Ukyo would have been glad to hold Akane down while Shampoo made the cut.

But to go through life with no soul mate?

That was too far. Ukyo couldn't bring herself to do that to Akane. So she held Shampoo off as long as she could - which it turned out wasn't very long. After a moment of wrestling in the doorway, Shampoo used her right leg to sweep both of Ukyo's legs out from beneath her. The chef crumpled to the floor, and Shampoo jumped over her before Ukyo could make any other moves to stop her.

She didn't know where Akane was headed, but Ukyo knew just where to go. She ran out to the Tendo dojo and banged on the door. "Open the hell up! This is important!"

"We're training," hissed someone from inside. Ukyo was too riled up to figure out who owned the voice.

"Stop talking about your stupid feelings and get out here! Akane is in trouble!"

The door slid open, Ranma and Ran at the head of the pack. Ranma grabbed Ukyo by the shoulders. "What happened? Who's after her? Where's Akane right now?"

Ukyo was distracted. She was still worried about Akane of course, but now she felt that last piece of her heart shatter. The look of fear Ranma had in his eyes...this was love. Ukyo was sure of it. She had spent so long telling herself that Akane and Ranma had been forced together and didn't want to be together... she had tried to ignore every moment that proved otherwise. But now it was staring her stark in the face. She took a deep breath.

"Well?" Ranma pressed, shaking her a little harder than he intended.

"I don't know where she went," Ukyo admitted. "She's on the run from Shampoo. Shampoo has these ...scissors-"

"The Scissors of Recursion," Ran said, snapping his fingers. "I remember this! ...I remember her trying this. I don't remember what happened, but I remembered the scissors. ...Oh, shit, we gotta go. Now."

"Why?" Mousse asked, "It's just a pair of scissors. Akane Tendo could probably stop herself from being stabbed if that's Shampoo's aim."

"That ain't her plan," Ran shook his head. "Those scissors cut the red string of fate. If Shampoo manages to cut Akane's pinky, she'll..." he trailed off in horror. "We gotta stop her. We gotta stop her right now!"

"But where did she go?" Ryoga asked pointedly. "I'll run all around Tokyo to find Akane if I have to, but Shampoo's fast and ...well, she's faster than Akane. So we don't have much time."

"We split up," Ranma insisted. "Ukyo...Mousse... I know you have little reason to help us with this, but-"

Mousse held up a hand to interrupt him. "Akane Tendo is nice to me," he reminded Ranma. "I'll help. Besides, if her string is cut and you are who she is fated to be with, your string might retie itself to someone else. I'm guessing Shampoo is hoping it will be her."

Ukyo gulped. It was decision time. She still loved Ranma. She didn't know anyone who could get over a love this quickly. And she cared about Akane, she really did. But she was torn on whether or not she really wanted to help when she knew that at the end of this day, if Shampoo was stopped Ranma and Akane would probably be joined together forever. "I'll help," she said, surprising herself. Her voice was shaky. She gave Ranma a smile, then turned to Ran. "If you really love someone, I'd guess that means putting them first no matter what."

"Thank you, Ucchan," Ran said, returning her smile.

"That's the first time you've called me Ucchan since you got here."

"Sorry. I still call you that. We hang out all the time. We're good friends. We always have been," Ran grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. "We always will be. Alright. I'm sorry this isn't what you wanted but-"

"I don't want to hear the rest," Ukyo admitted. "Thank you. But let's get going. Shampoo is faster than hell. Ryoga can come with me so he don't end up running all the way to Hawaii or something-"

"Oh c'mon, even I can't get so lost I end up on a different island," Ryoga whined. "But I suppose it's best to have someone keep me on the right path."

"Okay. Ryoga, Ukyo - you take the school, Mousse circle out about a block and then come back - Akane may try to trick Shampoo by doubling back. Ran, check some of the shopping districts. She may be trying to blend in with the crowds there. I'm headed to an underpass we go to sometimes. We meet back here in one hour. No matter what, do not let Shampoo get near Akane with those scissors."

"Right!" They all chorused and headed out on their assigned beats.

Ranma ran as fast as he could, so hard that it was starting to sting and burn when he breathed in. Still, he pressed on. There was an underpass that he and Akane hung out under sometimes when it got to be too much hanging around the house - such as when the parents kept pressuring them for the engagement or when the other fiancées wrecked what had started out as an intimate moment for them. They would sit there for a while in silence, then end up talking for hours. Never about feelings, but about everything they had been through together. About some things they hoped would happen in the future.

He reached the underpass in record time, hopping down when he came to it. To his relief, there was Akane, huddled up hugging her knees, her eyes darting back and forth in a silent watch. "Akane-"

Before he could get the greeting out, he felt something jump onto him, pushing him down to the ground. Shampoo had apparently doubled back and followed him, knowing he was the most likely to find Akane. She had used Ranma as a spring board, forcing him to the ground as she jumped off of him and onto Akane.

Akane and Shampoo wrestled each other as Ranma got to his feet and moved to separate them. But before he could get there, Shampoo had Akane's left hand in a vice grip with her own left hand and she was holding the scissors aloft in her right.

"Stop!" Ranma cried, holding his hands out in a 'stop' gesture as well. Shampoo paused.

"Why not? Your string will find someone else. It should go to me," Shampoo bit her bottom lip and shook her head. "No. It will go to me. I'm sure of it."

"Shampoo," Ranma took a deep breath in as he tried to figure out the right words to disarm her. He knew if he took a step closer, she was going to cut Akane's string. "If you think doing this will cause me to go to you...you must think that 'Kane's string is tied to mine."

"So? It can be cut! That's why I have the scissors!"

"Shampoo...I think you know the truth. You're smart. That's part of why you thought this would work. But you have to know that I don't agree to the Amazonian laws. I ain't marrying you, Shampoo. I wouldn't even if Akane wasn't in the picture-"

"If my string is tied to yours, you have to marry me!" Shampoo was starting to feel like a petulant child. She didn't like it. She knew she was being illogical, but she didn't know how else to be right now. Everything she had been working for with Ranma felt like it was going up in smoke, slipping through her fingers.

"Shampoo," Ranma put his arms down by his sides, then focused on Akane. "No. Akane. Akane - I love you. I think Shampoo's right, and that our strings are tied together...which is why - Shampoo - if you cut Akane's string, I will take those scissors from you and I will cut mine. If she doesn't get a soul mate, then I don't either."

The scissors clattered from Shampoo's hand as she reached her hands up to her face, trying in vain to cover the tears that were now freely flowing down her cheeks. "I just wanted to love you," she whispered. Akane took advantage of the moment and pushed herself up and into Ranma's arms.

He held her there. "I wasn't lying to save you," Ranma said, brushing his fingers through her hair. "I'm sorry that I only ever seem to be able to find those words when you're in danger. I'm working on it. I promise."

Shampoo grabbed the scissors up again, this time placing her own pinky inside the blades. Before she could close them, Akane kicked them out of her hands.

"Look, I love Ranma...but he's just not worth that!"

"Hey!" Ranma mumbled, crossing his arms.

"Not right now," Akane hissed at him. "Look... so Ranma's not who you're fated to be with. But there's still got to be a guy who would work for you. Maybe he's here, maybe he's back in China... who knows? But Ranma Saotome is not worth giving up on ever falling in love again for!"

Shampoo blinked a few times in surprise, then rubbed some of her tears away. "You want to help me after what I did to you?"

"I mean... to be fair, you didn't manage to do it. You stopped," Akane gave a shrug.

Shampoo laughed. "I still think you are too violent. But if Ranma loves you..."

"I do," Ranma insisted, grabbing Akane around the middle. "This isn't me just trying to get you to back off."

"I realize that," Shampoo admitted. "Oh well. I suppose we need to all get back together and go to the Cat Cafe. To take Ran back to his own time."

"But Cologne's still working on how to get him back?" Akane questioned, exchanging a quizzical look with Ranma.

Shampoo gave one of her cat like smiles. "Great-Grandmother has secrets, but she can't keep all of them from me. Go get everyone and meet me at the cafe. We will get Ran home."

Chapter Text

A silence had fallen between Ranma and Akane as they followed after Shampoo, headed to the cafe. Akane probably would have been distracted by Ranma's admission, but something else was bothering her. Shampoo, who only moments ago had been crying, was now skipping along, smiling and humming.

"Er- Shampoo," Akane broke the silence, "You seem awfully... happy. Did something happen?"

Shampoo stopped in her tracks and gave Akane her most brilliant smile. "I was thinking about great-grandmother. She told me about all her great loves-"

"Who would want to hear about that old bat's love life?" Ranma shuddered, but he kept walking. He crossed his arms behind his head and kept them there.

"Did you know, great-grandmother dated many men, even loved a few. But they were not great-grandfather."

"I don't see your point, Shampoo," Akane admitted, speeding up a little to catch up to Ranma.

"My point," Shampoo also resumed her walk, easily outpacing Akane but not catching up to Ranma, "Is that Ranma loves you. ...For now. Great-grandmother loved at least three other men before she married great-grandfather. I will let you both be happy for now. But you fight so much, it is only a matter of time. Maybe his string is tied to you, Akane... but it might be mine after all."

Akane's jaw dropped. It was amazing just how quickly Shampoo had processed her grief and immediately moved on to rationalizing how she could still claim Ranma. "But...Ran?" Akane pointed out. "I mean, we know he ended up with..." she trailed off.

"For now, he is married to you," Shampoo agreed, "But Japanese law isn't like Chinese Amazon law. You could still get divorced."

"Ran did say it took Shampoo a while to give up," Ranma whispered to Akane. "Did we really think it was going to be that easy?"

"I mean, I had hoped it would be," Akane admitted, also whispering. "But Ran did say she backed off eventually, right? What made her stop?"

"I don't know, he never told me and I didn't ask." Ranma suddenly became very aware of how close he and Akane had drifted together. He blushed and moved away as though he had been burned. Akane rolled her eyes.

"You admitted it and you're still acting scared?"

"I don't wanna talk about this right now," he grumbled. "Let's just get to the cafe and find out what secret the Old Ghoul was keeping from everyone."

When they arrived at the cafe, everyone else was already there. Well, everyone that had met Ran over the past few days, except Kodachi. All of the Tendos save Akane were at one table with Mr. and Mrs. Saotome, Ukyo, Ryoga and Mousse were at another and Ran was standing next to Cologne, his face twisted into fury.

"What do you mean you could have sent me back this whole time?!" Ran was clenching his fists, looking like he was ready to start a fight. He had enough sense not to try to take on Cologne, so he tried to control himself.

"Told you great-grandmother had some secrets," Shampoo said to Ranma. "I knew she had the Chrono Chatelaine the whole time. I was wondering why she did not send Ran back immediately. But Great-grandmother always has her reasons."

"Yeah, her reason was to cause us a bunch of trouble," Ranma muttered.

"Ran, we will discuss this in a moment. If you want the chatelaine, you need to go outside right now. I will call you back in when I am ready," Cologne commanded. "Everyone else, stay here. I have a special surprise for you all."

"What if we don't want it?" Ranma asked. Cologne smirked at him.

"You can try to leave, but I doubt you will make it far past me. You're welcome to try, though, son-in-law."

Ranma normally would have been up to the challenge, but he knew Ran needed to get back to his pregnant wife immediately. So he backed down. "Whatever. Better be something nice after all the headache this has put us through."

Ran left the building as he was instructed. As soon as he left, Cologne pulled out what looked like a bomb, but what immediately started emitting a cloud of green smoke. She exited swiftly after Ran, and held the door closed behind her, just in case. Everyone else tried to stand up to leave, but the smoke filled the space rapidly and everyone lost consciousness.

Once she was certain everyone had passed out, Cologne beckoned for Ran to follow her back into the cafe. He glanced around at the unconscious forms. "They're all okay, right?"

"Of course they are," Cologne poked Ranma's sleeping form with the stick. He didn't respond. "They will be out cold most of the night, but they'll be fine. The more important part is that they won't remember everything that happened with you here."

"Why make them forget?"

"You said you had no memory of meeting your future self. So I knew that their memory must have been erased. After you came here, I did quite a bit of research. It is true that there are multiple time lines, all streaming off from each other. The unfortunate thing for myself and Shampoo, is that the Chrono Chatelaine cannot switch you from one time line to another. It only allows the user to go back in their own time line. I had hoped this wouldn't be true, for Shampoo's sake... but it seems that Akane was victorious, after all. But Shampoo is not ready to hear that. And what's more, I don't think Ranma is quite ready to take the next step with Akane-"

"But I do remember Akane giving me this scar?" Ran reminded Cologne, indicating the scar above his lip.

"Memory manipulation is not perfect," Cologne shrugged. "As you should well know from the time Shampoo attempted to make Akane forget about you. It is a tricky art. The important part is while they may retain some memory of what they've done the past few days, they will not remember meeting you."

"But if they could have kept their memories...For one thing your crazy great granddaughter might have left me alone sooner. You know she kept giving me cards for divorce lawyers after the wedding? She didn't back off until we told her Akane was pregnant. If you know she's not going to succeed, isn't this just givin' her false hope or somethin'?"

Cologne puffed reflectively on her pipe. "Shampoo is a stubborn child. Even if she retained this memory, I promise you it would not be enough to stop her. She would believe that there would be some way around it. I have been trying to hint to her lately that her pursuit of Ranma may be in vain, but she refuses to hear it. She won't move on until she's ready, and ...I'm not quite ready to break her heart that badly."

"You gonna get rid of those scissors?" Ranma suggested, "Those sound pretty dangerous, and I don't trust that Shampoo won't try to use them again."

"Did I not say that your future is the one we are set for?" Cologne's tone was bored now. "There is nothing for you to worry about. When you return to your time, your wife will be waiting for you and everything will be how you remembered it. There's just one last thing for me to do..."

Before Ran could ask what she was up to, Cologne hopped her way over to Akane and pried the ring off her finger.

"Hey, you can't take that!"

"I am not going to take it," Cologne answered dismissively. Instead she went to Soun and put it in his pocket. "There. If she awoke with it still on she might have more questions. And I don't believe you and Akane got together this soon?"

"No. But...are you going to erase my memory, too?"

"Why would I do that?"

"I dunno. Just seems weird that I'm going back to my time with all these memories of my younger self. Is that going to harm things?"

Cologne whacked him upside the head with her staff. "As I said, the chatelaine does not allow for any temporal issues. If you have these memories now, you are meant to have them. I suspect when you get back to your time, any memories you were having trouble with here will be restored to you."

With that, Cologne held up a gold belt hook that had what looked like a crude, tiny sun dial attached to it. The Chrono Chatelaine that Ran had grabbed in his own time to take a look at, and been instantly teleported back to the past. The moment it passed into Ran's hands, he disappeared.

Cologne watched him disappear, then settled into a chair to watch over the others' sleeping forms. In a bit, she would get up and start preparing dinner for them. They would all be very hungry when they awoke. She glanced over at Shampoo, who was flopped across a table. "I'm sorry, dear. Your pursuit will be a fruitless one. It would probably be kinder to tell you to give up, but we both know that no matter what I say, you won't."

Ran - now back in his own time - appeared inside the cat cafe. He dropped the chatelaine as though it would burn his skin. Cologne stood before him, a placid expression on her face.

"Did you have a nice trip, then...Ran?"

"So you remember me doing this?" Ran - Ranma, now that there was no other Ranma to claim that name - asked. "Why didn't you warn me before I touched that stupid thing?"

"It was meant to happen," Cologne explained. "Once you first took your trip there, you always had to take your trip back. The future cannot be rewritten. Nor can the past. It had to happen, so it did happen."

"Time travel is a headache," Ranma complained. "Wait...how long was I gone?" before Cologne could answer him, Ranma took off running out of the restaurant.

He tore down the streets, going as fast as he could. He made it back to his home - what he had used to know as the Tendos' - and burst through the door. He didn't stop until he reached the bedroom he shared with Akane. She was in there, sitting in the rocking chair Soun had gifted her as soon as he found out his daughter was pregnant. She was reading a book on parenting. One she had already read multiple times, but kept referring back to out of anxiety.

Ranma let out a sigh of relief. She was there. She was okay, and judging by the large bump of her stomach, the baby hadn't come yet. "Are you alright? Do you need anything? I'm sorry I was gone so long."

"You were only gone for an hour?" Akane said quizzically. "And no, I don't need anything. Are you alright, though? You look sort of out of it."

"Hey, was I like... a really big jerk to you in high school?"

Akane pushed herself up to standing, the belly bump throwing her so far off balance in her haste to get up that she ended up almost falling back into the chair. Ranma grabbed her before she could fall, though, and pulled her in close to him. "Where is this coming from? Why do you care how you treated me in high school?"

"Just answer me."

"I mean, yeah, you were a total jerk to me," Akane said this as though it was obvious. Ranma felt himself deflate a little. "But right now I think you're forgetting I gave about as good as I got. Sure, you could sometimes be mean and insult me, but how often did I end up punching you or kicking you half way across the city?"

"That's true," Ranma relaxed a little. "I just uh... had reason to re-examine how I behaved back then. And I guess I'm sorry for how I acted. Saying things like you weren't cute and that I was lucky the first wedding didn't work out. I didn't mean it. I was just... man, I really sucked at talking about my feelings, huh?"

Akane giggled. "Yes, you did. But you found the right words eventually. That's all that matters, right?"

"Yeah, tomboy, you're right." Ranma paused. "Wait... is it mean that I call you 'tomboy' still? I mean it in a nice way. Like... you're my tomboy. That's just who you are, y'know?"

"I don't mind you calling me tomboy. I still call you an idiot sometimes."

"Hey, yeah," Ranma continued holding her, but pulled back a little so he could see her face more closely. "Maybe I would have been nicer to you if you had been nicer to me." He stuck his tongue out at her so she would know he was just joking.

"I'm plenty nice to you now, right?" she suggested. Before Ranma could answer, he felt something hit his stomach - the baby was kicking Akane so hard he could feel it, too.

"Great, now you and the kid are ganging up on me," Ranma joked. He released her, then put his hand on her stomach in time to feel the flutter of another kick. "Bet they're a real fighter. They already kick like a pro."

"Yeah, imagine how I feel, you're not the one being kicked from the inside."

"'Kane?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I know you do, dummy," she said. This time Akane was the one to initiate the hug. "And I love you, too."

"I wouldn't change our future together no matter what, you know that, right?"

"You are being so weird right now," Akane shook her head, then placed it on Ranma's chest. She listened for a moment to the sound of his heart beating. "But I feel the same way."

"You think the baby will be here soon?"

"Any day now."

"Good. I can't wait to meet 'em."

They stood there in the embrace for another moment, enjoying just being with each other. Neither knew what the future held (which was, in fact, that at exactly 1 am the next morning Akane's water would break and they would be holding their son by 6 am). But for this very moment, they were enjoying their present.