Hmm... finally got back to working on this thing.  I meant to send it out
earlier today, but crashed when I got home and fell asleep before I could
(so most of you probably won't be getting this until Tuesday).  If you want
back chapters, you can go to my homepage (see .sig) or e-mail me.  C&C is,
of course, requested.  Disclaimer and Authors notes were included in
chapter 1.  Chapter 12 will be posted... well, I'll try to get it done in
two weeks, but I doubt I'll succeed.  I need to think my way through a
difficult spot, and I expect to be drained by final exams most of these
couple of weeks...
Ah, well, enjoy...


-------------------------
Chapter 11:  Forgiveness and Betrayal
Note:  Akari may be considered a bit out of character in this chapter.  I,
however, think her reaction is something that could be expected out of any
woman in this situation...

"Uh... hi Akari," Ranma and Akane stuttered together.

"Just what is it I have to deal with?" Akari asked, riding her giant Sumo
pig.  

"Uh..." Ranma hesitated.

Akane was the first one to come to her senses.  "Akari... I think we'd
better let Ryouga be the one to tell you.  Come with us... he's staying at
the Utchan."

"Oh, okay," Akari said cheerily.  "Take me there, then... I don't think
I've seen this 'Utchan' before..."  Akane nodded, and grabbed Ranma's hand
(shaking him out of his stupor) and began to lead the way.

Ranma, Akane, Akari, and Katsunishiki walked slowly through the streets
down towards the Okonomiyaki restaurant.  Akane was worried about her
friends, Ranma was squeezing Akane's hand trying to give her as much
comfort as possible, Akari was curious but still happy, and the giant sumo
pig was as blissfully ignorant as only a giant sumo pig could be.

As far as Ranma and Akane were concerned, they arrived at the Utchan all
too soon.  Katsunishiki parked himself out front, lying down for a nap in
the street (hey, would YOU try to move him?), while everyone else went
inside.

"Ranchan!  Akane!"  Ukyou began.  "I wasn't expecting to see you two again
today..."

Ranma blinked.  "Oh, yeah, that was earlier today, wasn't it?"  He turned
to Akane.  "Is it just me, or has this been a remarkably long day?"

Akane shrugged tiredly.  "It's been a long day... and it's about to get
longer.  Ukyou, could you keep Akari company for a minute?  Ranma and I
need to talk to Ryouga about something important."

Ukyou's expression became blank, realizing what the talk was going to be
about.  'Oh, boy... I hope Ryouga doesn't let loose one of his Shi-shi
Hokodans in my restaurant...'  She nodded, an then forced a smile for Akari
as Akane pulled Ranma into the back room.  "So, Akari... care for something
to snack on?"

*	*	*	*	*

"He's gotta be wrong."  Ryouga was surprisingly calm as Akane had told him
Dr. Tofu's explanation of the text results.

Ranma shrugged.  "Well, he did say it was only 90% now, but he thought that
the additional tests they were making would only increase the likelihood
that you were the father.  Even if you AREN'T the father, I don't think you
can prove it..."

Ryouga hesitated, looking downcast at his old rival.  "I remember when I
wandered into your camp and found you two kissing and you said you weren't
ready to marry her, I yelled at you for using Akane's body and then tossing
her aside.  If I AM the father of Natsume's child, than I would either have
to marry her or be proven a hypocrite."  Ranma considered saying something
to the effect that he had frequently found Ryouga's actions full of
hypocrisy, but wisely decided that this was probably not the time to say
something like that.  "But... I promised Akari I would marry HER... what am
I going to do?"

Akane chewed on her lower lip for a bit.  "I don't know, but you'd better
come up with an answer soon.  Akari is in the dining area right now."

Ryouga facefaulted.  "Oh gods...  I can't deal with her right now..."

"You gotta, man... she's here right now, and there's no way to leave,"
Ranma pointed out.

"But..."

"No buts, Ryouga.  Akari needs to about this- from YOU," Ranma said,
heading for the door while guiding Akane by the shoulder.  "I'll send her
in."

"WAIT!"  Ryouga nearly shouted.  "Uh, Ranma... can I talk to you alone for
a minute?"  Ranma raised an eyebrow and looked at Akane.  She nodded and
left.

"Okay, Ryouga... talk."

"Ranma... you picked Akane as your real fiancee before you found out your
mother was going to adopt Ukyou, right?"  Ranma, surprised at this change
of topic, merely nodded.  "I thought so.  Okay, how did you pick Akane,
when you believed that doing so would ultimately ruin your honor because of
your father's promise to Ukyou's father?"

Ranma chuckled sourly.  "Well, I didn't really have to solve that little
problem.  See, I wasn't planning to tell Akane that I loved her, I just
blurted it out during one of our... uh... heated discussions.  After that,
honor didn't seem to be that big a problem- after she told me she felt the
same way, I never even thought about it."  He put a comforting hand on
Ryouga's rock-like broad shoulder.  "I don't know if this'll help, any, but
consider this- if she loves you enough, and you love her... why worry about
honor?  The two people who it would effect the most are better off together
and without honor than separated and with your honor intact."

Ryouga looked at Ranma, astonished.  "Thank you, Ranma... I never would
have looked at it that way."  He sighed, looking down.  "Now all I have to
do is figure out which I want more- my honor... or Akari."  After a few
moments of silence, Ranma started to the door.  "Ranma, wait!"

Ranma again stopped before heading out the door.  "What is it this time,
Ryouga?"

"Ranma, for as long as I've known you, I've considered you one of my
bitterest enemies.  Why are you helping me?" he asked.

Ranma paused, and looked down for a moment.  "Because people are trying to
force you to marry against your will.  I've had so many people try to do
that to me that it nearly kept me from falling in love with Akane.  I will
NEVER tolerate it happening to anyone else I know, if I can help it..."  He
started out the door again.  "Besides, in addition to being one of my
'bitterest enemies,' you are also one of my friends, and I have few enough
of those."  And then Ranma was gone, leaving Ryouga to his own thoughts.

*	*	*	*	*

Ranma looked at Akane curiously as they walked towards the Tendou Dojo. 
"Are you sure it was a good idea to just leave like that?  I would have
thought we should stay around to help control Ryouga if his depression gets
the better of him."

"Don't worry about that... Ukyou can handle that.  But I think that Ryouga
and Akari will want as much privacy as they can get..."

"And you don't want to be there to help?" Ranma asked, surprised.

Akane shook her head slowly.  "I don't want any more to go wrong with this
day than already has... you proposed to me today, Ranma, and I want to
remember it as a good day...  I don't want Ryouga's problems to ruin it." 
She sighed.  "I suppose that's pretty selfish of me, but I think I have the
right to be selfish today."

Ranma twitched uncomfortably.  "Yeah, I suppose I did ask you to marry me
today, didn't I?  Well... uh... yeah.  We need to talk about that."

Akane laughed.  "Well, yeah, of course we do, baka.  I mean, we have to
decide on a date, decide whether we want to go with a western or a Shinto
ceremony, make arrangeme-"

"Akane, I don't want to marry you for quite some time yet," Ranma broke in.
 "I didn't want to ask you to today, either.  I wasn't ready..."

Akane, in shock, slowly closed her mouth and swallowed.  Barely controlled,
she asked him the only thought which she was able to think.  "So, are you
saying you don't want to marry me after all?"

Ranma stared at Akane incredulously.  "WHAT?  Of course I want to marry
you!"  Akane relaxed a little, but Ranma looked down at the floor with
embarrassment.  "But... I wasn't ready to make it official.  I wanted a
real relationship first... you know, I wanted to have a few 'official'
dates, things like that.  I wanted to get rid of the last of our suitors-
namely, the Kunou siblings.  I wanted to graduate from high school.  And...
I wanted to convince our parents to end our old engagement, so that the one
we made together would be much more meaningful."

That set Akane's eyes watering.  "Ranma..."  She wiped her eyes and sent
him a very determined look.  "Okay, I will ignore our engagement... until
we get home."  She took off the ring she had been given, and returned it to
him.  "We might not be able to make ALL of that come true, but we can at
least get in ONE official date... and when we get home, let's try to break
the old engagement."  She reached up and took one of Ranma's lapels.  "Of
course, if you DON'T ask me to marry you again after all that, don't expect
me to wait for you, got it?"

"Uh... right, okay..." Ranma said.  He checked his pockets for some money,
and smiled.  "Okay, Akane... I know you like horror movies.  How about we
go see that new 'Jurassic Park:  The Lost World' movie, and then..."

*	*	*	*	*

Back at the Utchan, things were not going very well.  Ukyou watched in
horror as Akari chewed Ryouga out very loudly.

"YOU GOT A GIRL PREGNANT!" Akari screamed at Ryouga.  "Why should I be
reasonable?!"

"But I don't remember-"

"Don't remember?  Does it matter if you remember or not?  You had to have
done it since we got engaged!  You betrayed me!"

"I-"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!  I gave up nearly everything for you, and I'm not
enough for you?  What more did I need to do?!  And WHY did you do it with
some strange woman instead of me?!"

"That's just it!  I can't think of any time when I COULD have done
something like that- as far as I know, I'm still a... I haven't done
anything which could have gotten a woman pregnant!  Besides, WHEN could I
have gotten her pregnant?"

Akari pursed her lips.  "How about that time I found you asleep on the
riverbank?"

Ryouga's eyes widened.  "Huh?"

"You know, after our first fight.  You disappeared for a week, and I found
you passed out on the bank of that small river..."

"We had a fight before?"  Ryouga sounded truly stunned.  "What are you
talking about?"

"DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME!"  Akari screamed.

Ukyou, however, was finally convinced something was wrong.  "Wait a minute,
Akari," she said, stepping up between them.  "Something's wrong here. 
Ryouga's stubborn, but he wouldn't be this insistant if something wasn't
wrong.  Except for this thing with Natsume, I've never heard of him doing
anything particularly dishonorable, so lying about this-"

"Not do anything dishonorable?"  Akari turned on Ukyou amazed.  "You mean
you didn't know he decieved Akane for over a year pretending to be her pet
pig so he could sleep in her bed?  You didn't know he turned into P-Chan?" 
Akari shook her head sadly.  "No, I should have seen it sooner."

"Akari," Ryouga began slowly.  "When did you find out about me sleeping in
Akane's bed?"

"IDIOT!"  She shouted at him.  "Of course I did!  That was what our fight
was about?  Or do you 'not remember' that, either?"

Ryouga was bewildered.  "No... I don't remember that."

Ukyou frowned.  This was getting wierder by the minute.  "Okay, both of
you, stop.  Ryouga... obviously, you don't remember anything she's talking
about... you're missing a LOT of memories- like someone carved a part of
your life out of your head.  Why, I don't know, but you are."  She turned
to Akari.  "The question is... what are you going to do about him, now? 
Are you going to dump him?  Are you going to forgive him?  Or are you just
going to yell at him forever?"

She glared first at Ukyou, and then at Ryouga.  "I don't know...  Ryouga,
are you still planning to marry me?"

Ryouga, however, was looking at Ukyou in shock.  Blinking, he turned back
to Akari.  "I... I don't know if I CAN marry you, Akari.  I... still love
you- more than anything in the world, but... I may be obligated to marry
Natsume now.  If what Ukyou says about my memory is true, I might have done
something to Natsume and just not remember it.  If that is the case,
than... honor forbids me.  But..."  Ryouga started glowing.  "I WANT to
marry you... and I might, even if it causes me to lose my honor... but my
honor is all I have... but..."  

By now, Ukyou was getting REALLY worried.  Ryouga was about to explode into
a full Shi-Shi Hokodan, right here in her restaurant, and chances were
neither she nor Akari would survive the blast.

"AKARI!"  Ukyou snapped, breaking Ryouga out of his cycle.  "If Ryouga
finds that he can marry you, do you still want to marry him?"

"Well..." Akari slowly looked down.  "I suppose... yes, I would.  I mean, I
still love you, Ryouga.  But now, I'm not sure I can wait for you."  She
looked around uncomfortably.  "I can't stay here while you decide, though. 
I'm going to the Tendou's.  Maybe I can meet this 'Natsume' person, and see
what she's like."

"Um... okay," Ryouga said.  "I..."

Ukyou took one look at him, and decided she had to rescue him again.  "Good
thing," she cut in.  "I couldn't put you both up here at the same time. 
See you soon, Akari!"

Akari glared at Ryouga one more time, and left.

"Uh, thanks, Ukyou," Ryouga said shortly after Akari had disappeared from
sight.

"No problem sugar... just make sure you do what's best for BOTH of you, got
it?"

Ryouga nodded slowly, and then went back to his room to think.

*	*	*	*	*

In a movie theater across town, Akane clung to Ranma during a particularly
intense scene.  Slowly, Ranma put his arm around Akane in return.  'Heh,'
he thought to himself.  'I could grow to like this kind of movie...
provided I always saw it with her...'

*	*	*	*	*

Kasumi opened the front door of the Tendou residence.  "Oh, my!" she
exclaimed, "Akari, isn't it?"

Akari nodded.  "Yes, my name is Akari.  Are Ranma and Akane here?"

Kasumi shook her head.  "No they aren't, but they should be back soon. 
Would you like to come in and wait for them?"

Akari smiled and nodded.  "I'd love to, thanks."  She slipped off her shoes
and stepped inside.  "You know, there's someone else I might want to talk
to... is there a Ms. Natsume here?"

Kasumi slowly nodded.  "Yes, she is...  I understand you're Ryouga's
fiancee, is that correct?"

Akari laughed.  "Oh, don't worry about me.  I won't do anything to that
little wh- er, to the young woman, I just want to talk to her."

Kasumi bit back her suspicions that Akari was lying- possibly to herself-
and gestured down the hall.  "Natsume's staying in that room, two doors
down on the left."

"Thanks," Akari said, heading to where Kasumi had indicated.  Taking a deep
breath, she opened the door and stepped on in.

"Um... hello?" Natsume asked, glancing over at the intruder.  She had been
in the middle of a kata she had modified to help her keep in shape during
her pregnancy, and Akari came in right when the most difficult step was
about to be made.

"Hi... forgive me for intruding, but are you the one known as 'Natsume?'" 
Akari's voice was dripping sugar.

Natsume nodded slowly.  "That is my name, yes."

Akari slowly advanced upon the other girl, her voice still brimming with
sweetness.  "They say that you are pregnant with Ryouga Hibiki's child, is
that right?"

Natsume frowned.  "Well, yes, I suppose that-"

Akari darted in and threw a fast punch straight at Natsume's enlarged
midsection.  However, unlike the pregnant girl, she was no martial artist. 
Natsume caught the fist and spun Akari around like a top, sending her to
the ground in so doing.

"Well... let me guess.  You're Ryouga's fiancee, right?"  Natsume sounded
somewhat sad.

"Thanks to you, I might not be any more!"  Akari cried, bouncing back up
quickly.

"I'm sorry, but..."  She dodged another of Akari's random punches.  "Look,
can we talk about this before you get hurt trying to kill my baby?" 
Natsume jumped back from another uncontrolled blow, and grabbed her
rugbeater.  Doing so, however, cost her as Akari charged in and attempted
to tackle her.

Natsume leapt away at the last second, but she had trouble with her balance
when landing, overcompensating for the baby in her stomach.  Her momentary
stumble let Akari inside her defenses for a blow which sent her flying to
the ground.  Almost the second she fell, Akari was kneeling on her throat,
fist raised to strike a blow down upon Natsume's unborn child.  Natsume
closed her eyes, waiting for the blow.

After fifteen seconds, Natsume opened her eyes to see where a drop of water
that had hit her eyelids had come from, and saw her attacker in tears.

"I... I can't do it..."  Akari said, and rolled off of Natsume.  "I'm not a
killer... even if it means losing Ryouga..."

Natsume slowly stood up, leaning on her weapon.  "That's a good thing... I
don't think Ryouga would have liked it if you were."  She gestured to a
couple of chairs.  "Now that your anger is out of your system, would you
care to talk about things?"

Akari sniffled and sat down with Natsume.  "What happened?  Why did
Ryouga..."

Natsume smiled sadly.  "Sleep with me?  Well... I don't know for certain,
but given some of the things he said, I can guess."  She took a deep
breath.  "Your name is Akari, right?"  Akari nodded.  "Well, first of all,
the night that Ryouga and I... that we... um... you know.  That night, he
was as drunk as I've ever seen a man be and still stay conscious.  Perhaps
moreso- when he paid his bill at the bar he was paying for twelve bottles
of a very strong Russian whiskey, and apparently he'd only been at the bar
for a couple of hours."

Akari's eyes widened.  "He was drunk?  I've never seen him drink before,
even when he was feeling more depressed than usual... I can't imagine he
did that to himself!"

"Well, I think part of the reason he did was because of something you said.
 See, I'd gone into that bar looking for someone like the person Ryouga
appeared to be- a man in desperate need of a one night stand as a rebound
relationship or something.  He was mumbling something about how you were
'being so unfair.'  When I finally convinced him to go with me, he said 'if
Akari is going to accuse me of sleeping with another woman, than I might as
well actually be guilty of the crime!'  Like I said, he looked and acted
like a man who had just broken up with a woman and needed a one night stand
to bring him back to life."

Akari nearly facefaulted, but composed herself and tried to avoid her own
guilty conscience by asking something which she had a great deal of
curiosity about.  "Why were you looking for someone like that?"

"Well... I suppose you could say to get what I got.  I wanted to be
pregnant, but I didn't want to have to worry about a husband or a lover or
anything like that.  I was... bored of my life, and lonely.  Since I was a
child too young for words, the only person who I ever talked to much or
cared for was my little sister... and she was pretty childish most of the
time."  Natsume smiled in memory.  "She's grown up quite a bit... when we
were last here, the only thing she could think about was food.  She didn't
want to hurt her new friends, even when it was for the best... and perhaps
she was right that it wasn't, at the time.  But she wouldn't stand up to me
then...  Anyway, she was the only person who I knew and could talk to for
over ten years.  All we did was travel, study martial arts, and look for
our long lost father.  After we came to this dojo the last time, we
discovered that the only evidence we had of who our father was... was
false.  In fact, recently we found out that the person we thought was our
father was actually the one who destroyed our home, killing our mother and
many of our other relatives.  The quest to find our father was meaningless,
and our martial arts studies... seemed less important, somehow.  After all,
we only were studying them because we thought it would make our false
father accept us."

Akari lowered her head.  "So all you wanted was a purpose in life, and you
thought raising a child would do it?"

Natsume chuckled.  "Something like that, I suppose.  I wasn't thinking
really clearly, at the time.  I suppose you could call it 'instant
gratification.'  I wanted someone to love, and didn't want to have to spend
years building a relationship with a guy... especially since I didn't know
the first thing about men or dating or... anything, really.  I was a little
drunk myself, and depressed, and when I decided to look for the guy I would
need in order to become a mother, I was thinking 'If I can get myself
pregnant tonight, it'll only be nine months before I get someone I can
love.  If I try and build a relationship with some guy, it'll take YEARS.' 
Besides, being in a relationship would mean giving him some power over you,
and I've NEVER let someone have power over me."  She sighed.  "When my
sister found out for certain that I was pregnant, she insisted we come
here, to the one place where she ever felt she had a home.  I didn't want
to, but she insisted...  I didn't even realize coming here would put me in
a position where I'd meet the man I saw in the bar that day...  I just
wanted to raise the child by myself, you know?  I didn't want Ryouga... or
anyone else, for that matter.  But now, Ranma's mother has taken it upon
herself to see I get married so this child is born of a 'honorable union,'
and now that Ranma and Akane have found my father, he's going to see to it
that my baby has the father which I didn't have in my youth..."

"So you don't want to marry Ryouga?"  Akari asked suspiciously.  'Why would
ANY woman who had the opportunity NOT want to marry Ryouga?' she thought to
herself.

"I don't even know the guy, so of course I don't..." Natsume replied.

"But you will," came a masculine voice from the open doorway.  Both girls
turned and saw the bearded face of Kenji Desaix staring at them.  "I am
your father, Natsume... I may not have been able to raise you in your
youth, but now that I'm here I plan to make sure that you don't make one of
the biggest mistakes of your young life.  You may think you can now, but I
know you won't be able to handle raising a child on your own, and you'll
WISH you had a husband to help you out.  And, as Ryouga is conclusively the
father of that child, I will see to it that you and he get married."

"But..."  Natsume was torn.  This was her father... her REAL father...
telling her to marry someone, regardless of what she felt.  She couldn't
contradict him- it would make her seem ungrateful- but she also couldn't
marry someone she didn't even know.

Akari came to her rescue, sort of.  "NOT SO FAST!"  She shouted.  "If
Ryouga wants to marry her, then fine, you can do whatever you want.  But I
won't let ANYONE force Ryouga to do something like that if he doesn't want
to!"

Desaix looked at Akari for a brief moment.  "I'm sorry, but I believe we
haven't met.  I'm Kenji Desaix, this troubled girls father.  And you are?"

"Akari Unryuu- Ryouga's fiancee... until HE says otherwise."

Desaix blinked.  "He was engaged?"  He looked at Natsume, who nodded. 
"I... didn't know that..."  He shook his head to clear it, and continued to
stare at his daughter.  "But that doesn't matter.  Natsume is pregnant with
his child, and so he MUST marry her."  He turned back to Akari.  "And there
is NOTHING you can do about it."  With that, he turned and left.

"Akari..."  Natsume began.

Akari smiled tentatively at Natsume.  "Thank you for talking to me,
Natsume.  You are one of the few people who has been really understanding
since I found out about... you and Ryouga.  I need to think about some
things.  See you around, okay?"

Without waiting for a reply, Akari slipped out of the room.

*	*	*	*	*

There was a knocking on the locked door of the Utchan, and Ukyou cursed to
herself.  Why didn't the customers understand that 'Closed' meant closed? 
Checking on the sleeping, tear-streaked Ryouga one last time, she went out
to the front to tell whoever it was off.

"Excuse me," Ukyou snapped, "But I think it's quite obvious that we're..."

Ukyou's voice trailed off as she saw who it was.  "Is that any way to
address your mother, dear?" Nodoka's sweet voice asked.  Ukyou just looked
down in shame.  "Is Ryouga here?  I ran into that doctor and found out what
the early results of the paternity tests were."

Ukyou's eyes widened.  "Um, he's here, but he's had an incredible emotional
shock recently and is sleeping.  Akari, his fiancee, showed up, and the two
of them got into a huge fight about this whole mess..."

Nodoka nodded and... smiled?  "Ah, good.  Since they're fighting, we might
have one less obstacle keeping us from making Ryouga fulfill his duty to
marry Natsume.  I suppose we should let him sleep for a little while- this
is undoubtedly very traumatic for him.  But I DO need to talk to him soon,
so I believe I will stay here until he wakes up.  Would you mind cooking up
one of your delicious okonomiyakis while we wait?"

*	*	*	*	*

"Akari?  Is that you?"

Akari, about to leave the Tendou dojo and return to find out if Ryouga had
made any kind of decision, spun around at the new voice.  "Yes... it's me. 
Who is that?"

Nabiki stepped out from behind a door and smiled at Akari.  "Nabiki Tendou,
at your service!"  She bowed dramatically.  "I overheard some of your
conversation with our resident expectant mother, and I was wondering if you
might want an overview of Ryouga's situation from a third party... for a
small fee, of course."

Akari blinked.  Akane had told her about her sister's habit of
eavesdropping, blackmailing, and extortion, but she hadn't thought about it
when she confronted Natsume.  Perhaps it would be best to deal with the
young woman now, rather than wait for her to find some other way of making
money off of her conversation.  "Um... I've only got about ten thousand yen
on me, and that's supposed to last the weeks it will be until I get back
home..."

Nabiki twitched a bit.  Maybe she was a cold-hearted extortionist, but she
wasn't inhuman- the poor girl didn't have anything with her, and probably
wasn't planning to stay long when she left her home, but the current
situation would probably make her want to try and stay around Nerima for a
while.  Still, she had to keep up appearances...  "A thousand yen, and you
agree to answer any questions I might have as honestly and truthfully as
you can."

Akari thought about it for a second, and nodded.  "Where can we talk?"

Nabiki smiled, and started leading Akari to her room.  "Come into my
office, I believe we have lots to discuss..."

*	*	*	*	*

"So," Akane said as she and Ranma left the movie theater, fingers laced
together.  "What next?"

Ranma's smile, which he had worn ever since Akane started glomping onto his
arm about five minutes into the movie (painful, yes, as Akane was hugging
with all her might, but not unpleasant), grew slightly less giddy and
slightly more amused.  "Well, a normal date is dinner and a movie.  I think
it was okay to see a matinee dressed in your gi, Akane, but most of the
good restaurants in town would probably require something a bit more formal
than what you... or I... are wearing."  Akane looked down to notice that
she was still dressed in her yellow dojo uniform and Acked.  Ranma
chuckled.  "Don't worry, you look fine, just not too formal.  As I was
about to say, since we can't dine in a restaurant, how about we buy some
things from all the food stands and have a picnic by moonlight in the
park?"

"Oh, Ranma, that's a wonderful suggestion!"  Akane gasped, imagining the
scene.  "Why didn't you let me know you had this romantic streak in you
before, baka!?" she teased.

Ranma chuckled.  "Oh, I dunno.  Just never had to use it before, I
guess..."

With that, they went to a soup stand to buy some Miso soup, a sushi stand
to buy some sashimi, and a seafood stand to buy some seafood tempura. 
Together, arm in arm now, they walked into the nearest park and lay on the
grass, munching food and watching the late sunset.

*	*	*	*	*

A small crash from the back room drew the attention of the two women up
front.

"Sounds like Mr. Hibiki's awake, doesn't it, Ukyou?"

"Yes, it does, Mrs. Saotome-" Ukyou began.

"Mom," Nodoka reminded.

"...Mom.  It does sound like Ryouga has woken up.  I'd better get back
there and make sure he doesn't break too many things while he stumbles
around..."  Nodoka nodded, and Ukyou scooted off to see what the lost boy
was up to.

"Hi, Ryouga," she said gently, seeing him stumbling around in the dark. 
"You need any help?"  Ryouga shook his head, even though his last step sent
him tumbling to the floor.  "Well, I think you'd better get ready fast. 
Nodoka's out front, and she's heard the results of the paternity test from
Dr. Tofu."

That stopped him dead.  "She what?"

"She said she ran into Dr. Tofu and heard the results of your test, and
came by to talk to you about them.  I told her you'd been in a fight with
Akari and needed her rest, but she decided she'd wait until you got up to
talk to you."

Ryouga slowly stood up and straightened out his shirt.  "Well... I might as
well get this over with..."  With that, Ryouga started out of the room to
talk to Nodoka.

"Ah, the expectant father," the Saotome matriarch said.  "Have you heard of
the test results Dr. Tofu has received?"

Ryouga nodded.  "Ranma and Akane came by a few hours ago and told me of
them, yes."

Nodoka looked a little surprised.  "Oh, really?  We've been looking for
those two- they haven't been home since Ranma buzzed by mentioning
something about Shampoo.  I was on my way to the Nekohantan when I ran into
the good doctor and discovered the early results.  Do you know where they
are?"

Ukyou, who had returned with Ryouga, raised her eyebrows in surprise.  "I
thought they said they were going home..."

Nodoka shrugged.  "Ah, well... perhaps my son was needed for some manly
duel against one of his countless enemies.  At any rate..."  She bore her
eyes into Ryouga.  "As it now appears that you are definitely the father of
Natsume's child, I believe we must discuss your accepting your
responsibilities."

Ryouga nodded.  "Yes, I believe we do."  He took a seat at the bar.  "I
will provide any financial support the young woman needs, and I will
promise to be nearby to help take care of the child.  I do not, however,
wish to marry her."

Nodoka frowned, sitting down next to him.  "Unacceptable.  If she is to
have a baby without a father, she will be dishonored.  And, as you are the
one who made her pregnant, you will be throwing away your own honor as
well."

Ryouga swallowed.  His entire life, the only thing that kept him going was
his sense of honor.  Sure, since he came to Nerima following Ranma, he also
had love and revenge, but those two emotions weren't enough to keep him
going during those periods when he was lost in the woods following some of
his defeats.  Nevertheless, he just couldn't allow himself to be forced
into a loveless marriage.

"I... cannot marry her."

"Oh, you can't?  Why not?"  To Ryouga, Nodoka's voice appeared kind,
curious, and menacing all at the same time.  Ukyou, however, on the
sidelines, only noticed the kindness and curiosity.

"Well... because... because there's someone else I want to marry."  There,
he'd said it.  "I'm still in love with Akari, and I cannot marry someone
when I'm in love with another.  For that matter, I could not marry someone
who I didn't love."

"Akari?"  Nodoka seemed surprised.  "I thought you two had gotten into a
fight and broken up over this matter..."

"WHAT?!"  Ryouga shouted angrily.  "Where did you get that idea?"

"Perhaps I misunderstood something," Nodoka said apologetically.  "At any
rate, I don't believe you really wish to marry her."  Before Ryouga could
protest, Nodoka raised her hand in a gesture asking him to hear her out. 
"If you were to marry Akari, then instantly you would be dishonored.  And,
as your wife, Akari would be dishonored as well."

Ryouga opened his mouth and closed it a couple of times before he found his
voice.  "I believe Akari and I are willing to ignore our honor for our
love."

Ukyou did a complete facefault at that, but Nodoka was not (outwardly)
surprised.  "That may be, but... what is your career, Ryouga?"

"My career?"  He was a little stunned at this sudden change of topic. 
"Um... I'm a martial artist of some skill..."

"Meaning you could either get a career in professional kickboxing or in
teaching martial arts..."  Nodoka smiled.  "You realize that honor is
important for both those careers?  None of the good martial arts
tournaments will accept someone without honor, and students will rarely
attend martial arts schools taught by a dishonorable master.  Even though
Master Happosai is considered one of the most evil beings in all Japan, and
even though he is one of the greatest perverts in all of history, he still
has the reputation of having some sense of honor."

"Um..."  He hadn't even thought of that.

"And what is Akari's profession?"

"Er... she breeds Sumo pigs..."

"Like that massive beast sleeping out front?"  Ryouga blinked and looked
out the window.  Sure enough, Katsunishiki was still lying down in the same
spot he had sat down in when Akari had arrived.

"Um... yeah, that's Katsunishiki.  Her prize pig..."

Nodoka smiled.  "As a breeder, she's going to need to gain the trust of
other pig breeders, right?  She will need to borrow other people's pigs,
right?  And the only way those breeders would agree to such a thing would
be if they were able to accept her word of honor, right?"

"Um..."  Suddenly, Ryouga wasn't too sure of himself.

"You see, Ryouga, if you REALLY love Akari, you won't dishonor her by
marrying her.  Now, it's perfectly all right if your marriage to Natsume is
just a paper marriage, and you take Akari as a mistress..."

Ryouga shook his head.  "I couldn't do that to Akari... or to Natsume.  You
have given me a lot to think about, but I just don't know what to do yet." 
He looked down briefly.  "I need to talk to them both again.  Akari said
she was heading to the Tendou Dojo, so may I return there to talk to them?"

Nodoka smiled- and for a moment Ryouga thought she looked like a shark. 
"Why, certainly, Ryouga.  I think, when this is all done, you will make the
right and HONORABLE decision... hopefully, talking to those two young women
will allow you to make it sooner."

*	*	*	*	*

Akari looked stricken.

"So... you mean there is no way Ryouga can marry me, but he's willing to
destroy his honor, and therefore his life, trying?"

Nabiki, who had just finished telling Akari what Nodoka had said she would
tell Ryouga, sighed in relief.  Maybe all this talk of their mutual honor
being ruined WOULD help them get out of this mess after all.  "I suppose
that's one way to look at it.  In fact, the best thing for Ryouga would be
if you were to dump him, and let him marry Natsume.  Or maybe you could
agree to become his mistress or something, as I doubt the marriage will be
anything more than a paper one."

Akari laughed dryly.  "No, Ryouga wouldn't agree to that.  And he loves me
too much to just let me go."  She closed her eyes.  "But perhaps if I were
to... leave for a while... he might be willing to do what's best for
himself instead of what's best for me."  She opened her eyes and looked at
Nabiki with a glint of determination.  "If I leave a letter with you, will
you give it to Ryouga for me?"

Nabiki was a little surprised at her attitude.  "Um... sure."

"Thanks... do you have some paper and an envelope?"

*	*	*	*	*

Ranma softly brushed a blade of grass from Akane's hair, staring into her
eyes.

"Thank you, Akane... this has been one of the best nights of my life..."

Akane raised an eyebrow.  "Even better than our first kiss?"

Ranma chuckled.  "Technically, Akane, that happened in the daytime, not at
night.  Even so, I feel something special tonight- I feel for the first
time that this can WORK.  Look, we're in Nerima, on a date, and no crazed
martial artists or vengeful fiancees have jumped in trying to kill one or
both of us, no water has come out of nowhere to change me into a girl.  We
haven't gotten into a fight..."  Akane tried to look down to hide her
blush, but Ranma lifted her chin with his finger.  "Akane... what I'm
trying to say is... this night has been great.  It might not be enough to
make up for all the time we lost, but... Akane, despite the things I wasn't
able to accomplish... I'm ready to go home and do what I said I was going
to do..."

"Oh, Ranma..." Akane smiled, tears of happiness in her eyes.  She leaned
over and gave him a crushing hug.  When she released him, they started to
clean up their trash and got ready to head home.

*	*	*	*	*

Nabiki felt the envelope and decided the steam had done its work. 
Carefully opening the envelope, she pulled out Akari's letter.  Nabiki just
couldn't believe she would just give up like that, but perhaps the letter
would give help her, Nodoka, Desaix, and Kurumi decide their next move.

She started to read the letter, and as she did her usual crafty smile fell
in disbelief.  Quickly, she rushed to the phone and dialed.

"Hello, Ukyou?  Is Ryouga there?  NO?!  Damn!"  She slammed down the phone
and started looking around.  "Damn...  What did I do this time?"

*	*	*	*	*

In Dr. Tofu's office, the phone rang.  He ran over and picked up the
reciever.  At first, he was very giddy, but suddenly sobered up.  Saying a
few words, he hung up and picked up his bag, darting out the door.

*	*	*	*	*

Nodoka and Ryouga slipped off their shoes at the doorway, and started to
walk through.  Before they could, however, they were grabbed on the
shoulders by an anxious Nabiki.  "Come on, we have to move," she said.

"Huh?  What's going on?"  Ryouga asked, startled.

Nodoka's face hardened.  "Has something happened to my son or Akane?"

Nabiki shook her head.  "No, if it was something like that, Ranma could
handle it."  She slapped a sheet of paper into Ryouga's hands.  "Here,
read."

Ryouga mouthed out some of the words, and then his eyes widened in shock. 
Without a word, he dropped the letter and darted off into the distance,
faster than Nabiki had ever seen him move- perhaps faster than Ranma, for
once.

Nabiki swore under her breath.  "That baka... he knows he doesn't have the
direction sense of a lemming.  Hows he going to find her?"  Then she
reconsidered her position.  "On the other hand, NONE of us know where she
went, so he's just as likely to find her as we are..."

Nodoka bent down and picked up the letter.  "What is this?"

"My Dearest Ryouga," it read.
"By the time you read this, I will most likely be dead.  Nabiki has
explained to me the importance of honor in your life, and has told me there
is no way for you to honorably marry me.  Also, she explained that even if
you could bring yourself to sacrifice your own honor for me, that you would
probably still be unable to marry me as it would ruin my honor as well, and
therefore my life.  I know you would keep yourself from making a decision
out of love for me until it was too late for you to save your own honor,
and so I decided to remove myself from consideration.  I talked to Natsume,
and she seems to me to be a very nice young woman.  I am sure you can grow
to love her as you once loved me.  I am sorry this did not work out, but
now there is no going back in my mind.
"Even in death your love, Akari."

Nodoka, to Nabiki's surprise, smiled.  "Ah, good."

"GOOD?!" Nabiki shouted incredulously.

Nodoka nodded absently.  "That nice young girl Akari has decided to end our
problems all by herself, and is doing so in a very honorable and
traditional way.  It is a pity she needs to kill herself, but I think it
will turn out all right in the end."

Nabiki's brain shorted itself out.  'I can't believe this is the same
Nodoka Saotome I know... I mean, I knew she was a little obsessed with
honor and such, but THIS?  Maybe Mr. Saotome really did have a reason to
hide himself and Ranma from this woman...'

*	*	*	*	*

Ryouga, despite the fact he hated to admit it, knew he had a problem
finding his way around.  He could get lost going anywhere that was out of
his line of sight.  He had cursed his sense of direction almost every
waking moment in his life.

This was the first time he was really relying on it.

'There's no way to actually track Akari- not starting from the middle of
the Nerima district.  However, I MIGHT just be able to randomly stumble
into her if I keep going long enough.'

And, for once, luck was with him.  He wandered into the middle of an
abandoned building, apparently scheduled for demolition, and saw her
kneeling, a knife in one hand and holding her other out, preparing to slice
open a vein in her wrist.

Akari had her eyes closed, and was working up the last bit of determination
she needed to use the blade.  'Ryouga might be hurt and upset about this at
first, but in time he will recover.  It's for the best, after all...  I
just need to be strong...  I can be strong for Ryouga one last time, can't
I?'  Tears started dripping down her face, but she knew she had to do this.

Without opening her eyes, she ignored the brief gust of wind that had blown
by her and brought the dagger up to her wrist, and tried to aim the sharp
edge for her wrist, just like she had seen in the movies.

She missed.  'I must be so nervous I can't line this up properly...  I need
to open my eyes and lay the blade on my skin first...'  Opening her eyes,
she saw the problem.  The object in her hand was no longer a knife, but
only the handle of one.  Akari was a little dazed.  'That's odd... I could
have sworn I had the knife I grabbed from the Tendou's storeroom in my
hand...'

"Akari, just what do you think you're doing?"

Akari spun around and saw a young man who she knew very well.  "Ryouga! 
H-how did you find me?"

Ryouga walked up to her quietly and knelt down.  "Don't try to change the
subject.  What do you think you're doing?"

"I... I was... I mean..."  Akari closed her eyes and took a deep breath in
order to calm herself, wiping away some tears.  "If I... If I'm alive,
you'll ruin your own life for me... and if I... if I..."

Ryouga's face got stern.  "Akari, if you kill yourself, you'll kill me,
too."  Akari's opened her eyes and looked at Ryouga with her pale face,
shocked.  "Akari, I love you more than life itself, and if you were to
die... I wouldn't want to live.  I know I really messed up with Natsume,
but I'm sorry.  I'll do whatever I can to make it up to you..."

Akari blinked, her face regaining some color as she recovered from shock. 
"So, then... what ARE you going to do about Natsume?"

Ryouga sighed.  "Well, I know for certain that I'm not going to marry her,
whatever happens.  I don't love her and I don't think she loves me.  I
believe, honor or not, one should not be forced to marry someone they do
not love."  He looked at Akari intently.  "And I love you enough to not
want to marry anyone other than you."

"But, according to Nabiki, you can't marry me- our careers won't allow us
to lose our honor..."

"True- Nodoka explained the same thing to me.  But that doesn't mean I have
to marry anyone else."  Ryouga sighed.  "What am I going to do about
Natsume?  I wish I knew...  I will support her as much as I can, of course-
I mean, the baby should at least be PARTLY my responsibility... and she IS
young- not that I'm any older.  But... other than that..."  Ryouga sighed.

Silence reigned for a minute, and then Akari went over to the blade of the
knife and picked it up.  "You know, there IS a way for us to keep our
honor, and for you to not have to marry Natsume..."

Ryouga looked at the blade in Akari's hands and growled, "No, we are NOT
going to commit a lovers double suicide.  Suicide is... pointless.  So what
if I lose my honor?  There are ways of restoring it, you know... and maybe
we can think of some other way of solving our problems.  We could always
move somewhere like America, where the concept of honor is not taken
seriously.  I'm pretty sure our situation isn't that hopeless..."  He
looked at Akari closely.  Her face was streaked with dried tears, her
clothes were ragged and stained from kneeling on the floor, and she still
hadn't regained her full color.  "At any rate, I think you're in no
condition to worry about me right now.  I think we need to get you to the
Tendou home, and maybe you could clean up and get a fresh change of
clothes...  You look like you need it."

Still clutching the broken blade in her hand, she nodded.  "Okay, Ryouga...
anything for you."

*	*	*	*	*

Akane lifted her head off of Ranma's shoulder and looked at the scene in
front of her.  "Oh, no, Ranma... it looks like our date's going to be
ruined after all!"

He looked up and saw a commotion outside of the front of the Tendou estate.
 Nodoka was shouting and waving her katana at a ragged-looking Akari and
Ryouga, Genma was furiously trying to calm down his wife, Soun was crying
like mad, Ukyou was drawing her spatula, Dr. Tofu was just looking
confused, and Nabiki was running back into the dojo as fast as she could.

Ranma sighed.  "Okay, just so that it isn't, let's end the date here."  He
grabbed Akane into his arms and kissed her passionately- though it took a
few seconds for Akane to respond as he had taken her by surprise.  "We'll
break their engagement and make our own after this mess is cleared up,
okay?  Right now, I'd better stop everyone from killing themselves..."

Akane closed her eyes and shivered with the feelings that Ranma's kiss had
left her, and then started walking towards the scene, which Ranma was now
involved in.  Then she stopped.  'Wait a minute- if it wasn't for all this
mess, Ranma's and my date would have gone perfectly, wouldn't it?  If it
wasn't for this mess, I would have been prepared for Ranma's kiss and
enjoyed it more, wouldn't I have?  And maybe, just maybe, he would have
told me he loved me again- he hasn't done that since he first told me in
the hotel...  But these..."  She gritted her teeth.  "Idiotic..."  She
started glowing blue.  "Bakas..."  A mallet suddenly appeared in her hands,
glowing just as blue as she had been.  "Just..."  Akane started stomping
towards the crowd.  "Had..."  Her pace picked up.  "To spoil..."  In mere
seconds, she would be within malleting range.  "EVERYTHING!"

*	*	*	*	*

FIVE MINUTES EARLIER...

"Nabiki..." Ukyou was saying, having just arrived.  "What's going on?  Why
were you trying to get ahold of Ryouga?  You sounded worried, but hung up
without explaining anything... is everything all right?"

Nabiki looked at Ukyou in surprise.  "Uh... sorry about that, but it was
very important I get in touch with Ryouga."  She grabbed Akari's suicide
note from Nodoka, who was still smiling at it, and handed it to the other
girl.  "That was what I needed him for."

Before Ukyou could read the letter, Dr. Tofu showed up.  "Where's the
emergency?  Kasumi called a few minutes ago saying someone had tried to
kill themselves!"

"KILL themselves?  What's going on, Nabiki?" Ukyou screeched.

"Well, you see-"

Ryouga and Akari walked into the scene a minute later, just after Nabiki
had finished explaining about the suicide note and the reasons behind it to
Ukyou and the doctor.  Soun and Genma, attracted by the noise, had stepped
outside, and Nabiki was forced to repeat her story to them.

Dr. Tofu glanced at Akari and smiled.  "I guess you are the young woman who
I was called about.  I'm glad to see you didn't kill yourself, after all."

Akari blushed and looked up at Ryouga, standing next to her.  "Well... I
found that the consequences were worse than my reasons for wanting to..."

Soun looked at her curiously.  "Oh?  What reasons were those?"

"W-well, if Ryouga doesn't marry Natsume, then his honor is ruined... and
his honor is his life- or so I thought.  But I knew Ryouga would delay
marrying Natsume until it was too late because... he loves me."  She
sighed.  "I was going to kill myself so that Ryouga could be freed to marry
Natsume, and keep his honor, but he said he wouldn't be able to live if I
did that... and since all I wanted is what's best for Ryouga, killing
myself would defeat the purpose, you know?"

Soun laughed.  "Ah, good.  All's settled, then... Come, Saotome, we must
return to our game."  Soun turned to go, patting his friend on the
shoulder.

But Genma just stood there, looking at his wife uncomfortably.  He knew
that this wasn't over when he saw her hand finger the katana on her back.

"How nice," Nodoka said darkly.  "Ryouga, exactly what DO you plan to do
with this mess?  How are you planning to deal with Natsume?  And how will
Akari fit into all this?"

"Well... I'm not sure.  All I know is... I cannot marry her.  The only
person who I could bring myself to marry is Akari."

Nodoka words were stilted.  "I see.  Well.  Then there is no choice then,
is there?"  She drew her sword and pointed it at Ryouga.  "If you are set
on dishonoring yourself, then you must commit seppoku.  A dishonored man
should not be allowed to walk around and dishonor others."

"Wh-what?"  Everyone asked at the same time.

"Honor should always to be considered the most important thing in a
person's life," Nodoka said adamently, waving her sword.  "Without honor, a
person's life is meaningless, and all that person can do is ruin other
people's honor.  In fact, if the girl is so in love with Ryouga that she is
willing to die for him, perhaps they should die together!"

Nabiki ran inside, mentioning something about Natsume; Ukyou, eyes
widening, started to draw out her spatula; Soun started crying, saying how
he knew the day would come that blood was spilled at his door.

"Now, dear..." Genma placed a hand on one of Nodoka's arms, trying to calm
her down.  She shrugged him off.

"Don't try to stop me, HUSBAND!  If they will not do their duty because
they are so honorless, than perhaps I should do it for them!"  She swung
her sword at Ryouga's head, intending to dismember him.

A blur of red and black stopped it, holding the blade between two fingers.

"Can I ask what the hell is going on BEFORE someone gets killed?!" Ranma
said, clearly angry at the whole situation.

"Ryouga refuses to marry Natsume, bringing dishonor both to him and to the
young girl.  He cannot be allowed to bring dishonor to others, as well,"
Nodoka growled.

"Now, dear," Genma said.  "I would think there is a way around this-"

"NO!  No one can turn something so dishonorable into something acceptable. 
If-"

Nodoka was cut off by a mallet.  "NODOKA NO BAKA!"  The mallet turned on
nearly everyone else, as well.  "RYOUGA NO BAKA!  AKARI NO BAKA!  GENMA NO
BAKA!  UKYOU NO BAKA!  DADDY NO BAKA!"  Akane moved in on her and Ranma's
fathers after hitting them over the head, slapping them to wake them up. 
They were both startled to see Akane standing over them, mallet raised. 
"Ranma and I came to a decision.  We DEMAND you break the engagement, or
else, got it?!"

"A... Akane!"  Soun cried, tears flowing.

"Don't 'Akane' me, daddy!" Akane puffed.  "We're sick of you controlling
our lives, telling us who to marry and when to marry them!  We want you to
stop, NOW!"

"Tendou," Genma gulped.  "I think that she's serious this time..."

Soun nodded sadly.  "Very well.  As the agreement was for a Saotome son to
marry a Tendou daughter... Ranma, I hereby release you from any requirement
to marry my daughters."

Akane smiled toothily.  "Thank you, daddy."  She turned to walk inside. 
Ranma, stunned, just stood their for a moment.  As she passed by, she
leaned over and whispered to him, "Ask me when things settle down here,
okay?" before continuing inside.

Dr. Tofu, meanwhile, was reviving Akane's victims one at a time.  Ukyou was
the first, blinking and wondering what was going on.  Next was Akari, and
then Ryouga.

"Hmm... I hope she'll be a bit calmer," Dr. Tofu mumbled as he revived
Nodoka.

"I... apologize for my outburst," Nodoka said, glaring at Ryouga as she
stood up.  "But you MUST marry Natsume.  It is the only way for her honor
to be kept.  If you so desire, Akari could be your mistress, but I must
insist you make Natsume your wife."

"No," came a female voice from the doorway.  "You mustn't.  Because I will
NOT marry HIM!"

Nodoka spun around, seeing Natsume coming up to her from the doorway.  "I
entered into this not WANTING a husband, and I will not accept one now.  I
PLANNED this, and you shall not ruin two other people's lives just because
of YOUR sense of honor."

"You would let your honor be damaged so?" Nodoka demanded, incredulously. 
Natsume nodded defiantly, and Nodoka closed her eyes and lowered her head. 
"Very well... I cannot fight all three of you.  Ryouga, go... I NEVER want
to see your face again.  Ranma, my son, I will not allow you to see this...
honorless... beast ever again."

"Mother?"  Ranma asked incredulously.  He had never known his mother to be
this obsessive before.

"I... I don't want to leave right away," Ryouga began.  "I think I should
stay... at least until the baby is born."

Ukyou looked around, trying to find some way to be useful herself.  "Um...
I suppose you two could stay at my place un-"

"NO!"  Nodoka snapped.  "You forget, you are a Saotome now, and I am your
mother.  I forbid any member of my family from sheltering Hibiki.  If you
do, I will disown you."

"I disagree," Genma, with one of the bravest acts of his life, said
stepping up.  "I am the head of our clan, and I have the final say in such
things.  And I say that, even though she is now a Saotome, she bought and
paid for her home and restaurant with her own money.  It was my fault that
she was forced to become so independent, but now that she is we must
respect her wishes in her choice of company.  And we will NOT disown her
under any circumstances..."

Ukyou glanced at Genma in shock.  "M... Mr. Saotome..."

Genma looked at her sadly.  "I apologize for all the harm I have caused you
in the past, Ukyou, but now that my wife has adopted you, you can call me
'father' if you like."

Ukyou nodded and sighed.  "I hated you for what you did to me, but... I
guess I have punished you enough... father.  Thank you for acting on my
behalf..."

Nodoka was beyond angry.  "So you all are against me, are you?  Very
well... but I will NEVER forgive you, Ryouga."  She turned and stomped
inside.  "I am going to bed.  You may NOT join me tonight, 'husband.'"

Genma saw her stomping off and sighed, shaking his head sadly.  "Son,
promise me something..."

Ranma looked at Genma in surprise.  "What?"

"Never do what your mother does, and let your sense of honor overwhelm your
common sense... and poison you marraige."
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Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
                             desaix@sysnet.net
    http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7872
                           fanfics available at 
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7872/fanfics.htm