It seems that though Buddhist didn't allow for the eating of meat, Kodachi happily ate pheasant and rabbit, whatever the hawkers can catch for her. The cook she had knew how to cook meat, rare in Japan, she wondered if it was the Portugese influence. A maid under questioning said that Kodachi liked her food with meat rather than fish.

 Akane quickly ordered a change in her course, to what was she was accustomed to. In their way of thinking, the Lady Kodachi was trying to starve herself, after all even though she changed her diet to what was the norm, she ate barely an eight of what the Lord Ranma eats. It was a fact that many in the kitchen met with glee rather than concern.

 Akane's blanched skin tone got a glow from walking in the sun along the shore. Akane felt healthier than that fat old thing she had been a month ago. The sluggishness she felt was gone, her face had lost its puffiness and her hair was clean and shining. Even her teeth, which Kodachi had abused, was beginning to whiten from the tooth powder she had begun using.

 She was beginning to think that she was in an endless vacation with nothing else to do but train the rusty body she was in and have fun. Since there was no electricity, the library was where she spent her nights when she had been tired. There was no other effect of the lack of technology with her.

 She didn't mind the lanterns, besides she had to rough it with lamps at training trips, why not now? The telephone? Who would she call? What would she tell anyway, no one would believe her anyway.

 Sometimes, when she paused to think about her situation, she remembered the man she was married to. Since that was her only distress, she put it back in her head.

 Once she had sneaked in his room, to get a feeling of the man he was, but found nothing. She stood there staring at the walls. _He did have better taste than Kodachi though_ she thought as she looked over the contrast to Kodachi's dreadful room.

 The only thing that caught her attention in the room -- though it was beautiful -- was a sword lying down on the futon. It was well balanced and fit solidly in her hands. A good sword, and it had a beautiful hilt.

 She had opened his closet and found some old-fashioned 1600-ish kimonos, loincloths and all. But then, for him, it wouldn't be old fashioned. There were some Chinese shirts and silk pants folded to the side of the dresser, similar to what she saw him attired when she woke up. Later she would learn from the servants that he wore the Chinese clothes only in Nerima or in the presence of other Saotomes.

 As days progressed, she found herself drawn to the newspaper, it had been her only connection to the outside world. It more than anything was proof -- proof that it wasn't a joke -- that she wasn't dreaming this -- and that she had to go on.



 Comfortably set in her new life, Akane was starting to settle herself that the pretty face that stared back in the mirror was her own. It had taken her some time, but she wasn't startled to see another face staring back when she looked at a reflective object.

 At first, she was reluctant to have the servants do everything for her. Being born to parents who were saving up every coin for their education tended to have that effect on you. She wasn't rich and she wasn't accustomed to it. But when she saw the look on the face of the servant when she did something she always did (fixing her bed) she decided to just let them do their job.

 She didn't know how to act around them, and after much debate, decided she should just be herself. And that more than anything had the servants of Rose Brier confused. Half of the servants thought she was playing a joke, half thought she was loosing the rest of the bolts that held her mind together, but all agreed that she was up to no good.

 Rose Brier had always been a tense place to work, with Lady Kodachi always flying into one tirade to the next. She had dispatched maids for the simplest offenses of having given her the wrong quantity of ingredients with her potion -- when it had been as minute as a pinch. That her roses wasn't watered enough, when they had gone through the trouble of *measuring* everything to the point of her orders, and then after berating them on that tell them it wasn't enough. She always found dust where there wasn't supposed to be, and that the food didn't taste like the way she wanted it to be.

 Ranma managed to track down the fired employee and rehire the offending servant, without Kodachi knowing. He usually succeeded, Kodachi wasn't usually at home and when she was she became drunk frequently. He was just thankful she never saw the need to take their own lives in her hands, she was just as entitled to a sword as he was... though she finds it bloody and messy.

 Most of the time, she acted as if she didn't care for Rose Brier except for her hideous bedroom, the black roses and the potions she had brewing in one of the rooms -- that they still had yet to find the mistress was good with hiding things she did not want to be seen.

 It was this unpredictability that kept the servants from pleasing their mistress.

 Now they were seeing a whole new side of her. She was completely different than the Lady Kodachi they were accustomed to. Mostly they wanted to see what the Lady Kodachi-- now the Lady Akane as she prefers, would do, how he would react to her. It would be an interesting day.

                        ~~~

 Contemplating on whether to wake his daughter or not, he decided that a big home coming with her awake wasn't something he wanted her experiencing. Especially since Kodachi *might* still be home, she certainly showed no signs of leaving the last he saw her.

 He absently stroked her reddish hair and sighed, gathering the child into his arms as gently as possible. Homecoming was one of the events in his miserable life that he really didn't look forward to. There was simply nothing to come home to.

 There were no children, he hated his wife... If it hadn't been for Hanae... frankly, he thought the child did more for him than he did for her.

 But still, he loved Rose Brier and the Dojo... once it had been named very differently... He had forced himself to forget that now, all that mattered was that he had his daughter with him. Rose Brier was his responsibility, along with Nerima... it was his duty to his liege lord -- he had to come home.

 His thoughts wandered to the problem that had drawn him away in the first place. For the past six months, the enemies of Ieyasu Tokugawa have been mobilizing. Ieyasu is Happosai's therefore also his liege lord, higher up than even the head of his clan, it was also important to be noted that Ieyasu was a major daimyo.

 It was worse for him because it was HIS land they were tampering with, he had to report this to the Lord Happosai at once. If this continued he'd be forced out of Nerima.

 Armed with enough proof to convince the biggest skeptic, Ranma went to his sister Nabiki for a long discussion about the problems.

 He was brought back from  his musings with Hanae's jerk and looked out the window, Rose Brier was coming into view now. Fleetingly, he wondered about Kodachi and her so-called-amnesia. He hoped she had given up on it and that she had gone away and back into her miserable life. If that was true then she wouldn't be home, but somehow though, he knew she would be. She always was where he didn't need her.

 It was good though, despite everything, to be home.

 As the palanquin stopped he carried the still sleeping child out. He hated the use of kagas... and preferred the horses but Happosai upon hearing Kodachi's insult re-called all his horses. He grumbled a little at the old man, he had been the one who ordered him to marry the harlot, and he had known Kodachi's nature, but he still got his horses to appease his pride... Still it was necessary as to not loose face.

 Sasuke, who had accompanied Ranma, brought the luggage to their rooms quickly...using the trees and windows as stairs towards the rooms. After all it would take so much time to go through the maze of the shojis just to get to Ranma's room as opposed to the trees.

 Ranma would have followed had he not heard a woman shouting, whatever it was, it made little sense, so he had not paid attention to the words but tried to follow the noise. "...is neck in neck with her opponent. It looks like Akane Hi--errrr Saotome is once again going to capture the gold. The crowd goes wild! Yaaaaaaaaay!

 Akane, her hair in a ponytail, her face dripping in sweat stopped at the door when she realized she had an audience. She leaned against the door huffind and puffing, "Whew, I just won the gold medal in the hundred yard dash! Congratulate me?" She smiled but didn't wait for Ranma to snap out of his puzzlement, "Welcome home, Ranma."

 She squinted then brought her hand against her eyes, "Was that Sasuke entering the *window*?" She was surprised to see that leap and thought she had been seeing things, until she had noticed Ranma.

 As she turned to him, she noticed the little girl sleeping in his arms. She looked like an angel, Akane leaned closer, glad that Ranma didn't move away as she peered at her. "What's her name?"

 "Hanae." Ranma said simply. An introduction between and his wife was something he had always foreseen and known that it would not go well.

 "May I..." Akane started tentatively, she knew the child wasn't a baby, but she had missed her own so much. "May I carry her?"

 "You told me six years ago never to let you see her again." Ranma's eyes hardened. "I am merely obliging you your wishes."

 Akane looked stricken and backed up. For the first time, Ranma saw her face, and he couldn't believe it was her. He knew it had to be, but it couldn't be her. Standing before him was a beautiful slender woman with surprisingly bright eyes. She was completely different from the feverish woman he had left two months ago. It was the face Kodachi presented at Nerima, and the face he quickly grew to despise. "Kodachi?"

 "That's Akane remember?" She had regained her smile again and for some reason her heart was beating faster than it was supposed to after a four mile run and breaking driftwood. Seeing him apparently caught her off her guard. She also forgot that he was handsome.

 "Akane." He glared at her. "Why choose that name, Kodachi? You know very well Nabiki liked that name for her child."

 "I--I didn't know." And she didn't understand why it would make him so upset to take up the said name. "I could change it if you want."

 "Whatever you like." She looked different. Coincidentally enough it was what she picked up next for a topic.

 "I started running and practicing in the dojo. I also got some wood, breaking and stuff. I eat less of the food too."

 Ranma gave her another once over then he locked his eyes on her face, she had deeply tanned her skin and frowned, Kodachi never went out without a sunguard, parasol and gloves. She treasured the whiteness of her skin. The darker the skin is the more common, and she hated commoners worst of all. "You... darkened your skin tone..."

 "Yes... I had a very unhealthy pallor..."

 His eyes traveled down from her face to what she was wearing, he voiced it out loud, "What in the name of-- what are you wearing? My God Kodachi! I know you hit your head but I don't think even *you* think that appropriate.

 Akane paused and her eyes looked down on her shirt and shorts. "It's a running thing. You really don't expect me to run in my dress do you?" When she saw a yes being formed in his lips she interrupted, "Don't answer that. If you don't like what you see. Don't look. Don't be such a prude. Ugh. What a century!"

 Ranma stared at her, the dress wasn't supposed bothered him, after all in a time where public baths, or when in a battle men were forced to relieve themselves in the midst of everyone, and all the others looked elsewhere. Peasants took all human manure and mixed it with water... nothing was taken to waste. Men and women swam naked together, and Happosai had ordered all his samurai to know how to swim, among other things.

 Ranma, having his unique curse though didn't like much of the lack of privacy. Making him grow up in China with Nabiki for company and such an un-Japanese like foster father. Still it didn't do for Kodachi to be running around half dressed for everyone to see.

 Ranma stood there for a moment then followed her inside, "I'm calling for the doctor."

 "What? Why?" Akane asked whirling around to look at him, already ready to summon someone to bring the good doctor in. "I'm healthy. See? I have been for days!"

 "You're crazy." He said as he went up the stairs to deposit Hanae to her room. She guessed it was that room that was locked beside his. As she looked at his retreating back, she had a sinking feeling that her mission here was not going to end anytime soon.

Author's notes:

I decided to change a few things (noticed it?) HAHAHAHA !!!!! (Well this is a trial version, anyone want to rip it to shreds too you're obliged. After a heated argument with someone I know (ANGEL) and her pointing out I already have the background info...well, let's just say...this suites us better...

What were the changes anyway? Hmmm... Shampoo delivering the message for one (the only change in Prologue except for some content of the letter)

2) Obviously the time and place (still Rose Brier but not in Newport)
3) Nabiki doesn't have a husband anymore :) well she had one...
4) Happosai's the head of the Saotome Family ... hahahahaha
5) Added scene about that... there that sums chapter one revisions which means...

THIS'LL HAVE TO CHANGE TOO [changes and added info here will be punctuated by [] :) just to make your life easy. I deleted the other unnecessary things that you've read before.

What the hell is Sasuke anyway? Obviously he's the servant of the
Kuno-Saotome household, he's a ninja, but he's kuroki too ;)

kuroki..well according to this website...it's a servant.. hmmm...

sara and bon means tray as well as

ifuku means clothes (you know as in fuku)

donjon...well from what I understand is a keep

ninja were referred to as the stealthy ones...so that's that

Who the hell were all those guys at the beginning where Akane has a headache? Well they were all those guys who wanted to luck--I mean look at the horse. [Now they're all Ranma's vassal samurai who want to look at the horse :)]

Why is Kodachi Ranma's wife? [I explained this in the story too :) It's all Happosai's fault!!!!!!!!!!]

[Why does Kodachi have a foster mother when her parents were STILL alive? Well that's because important samurai let foster mothers take care of their children while they can focus on new matters...further explained in Chapter 3 :)]

Will Tatewaki speak like the rest of us? I dunno. [This is 1600's Japan, so it's a very formalized speech already...]

[Why is Happosai the head of the Saotome Clan?? Well, after thinking about possible candidates, (namely, Ranma, Genma, Nodoka, Ranko, Nabiki) My sister and I thought bout this change... well, we can't have Ranma because we need a counter balance of things he needs someone to order him to *marry* Kodachi in the first place :). Besides it's necessary for the plotline.

Genma isn't a possibility because we all know how stupid the patriarch of the Saotome household is, the Saotomes would never survive the beginnings of the Tokugawa Era :) (which begins around 1603 according to my history book) and medieval Japan (Era before Tokugawa)

Nodoka, although may be whatever personality I put her to be...A woman won't work as the head of the clan. Even if it was possible, it would be very, very hard for her and for me :) I have to think up of a reason why she's there!!!

Ranko, same as Nodoka, another good reason is I already HAVE plans for her.

Nabiki, same as Ranko and Nodoka :)

A completely new person: I don't want to. :) stubborn neh? I really don't like to put a new Character 'cuz people tend to stop and think who those people are...when you say Happosai he already comes with his own character, I may alter it a bit but there's a standard for him already.

Happosai became the only choice...

So does that mean he's not a pervert? That's undecided as of now, most likely he still will be :), though when Ranma and him meet again you'd probably know the answer.

Why did I tear apart Nabiki's life? Well, that's because I needed her advice at Ranma's back, with a husband, her loyalties would be to her husband then to the head of the clan, then to his liege lord. Making her unmarried...well doing that changes my original plotline badly and... besides having her divorced binds her stronger to her family. :)

Isn't divorce rare in Japan? Well ya, but from what I read, in the olden days Japanese people could divorce as much as they like, although divorce isn't the term then... the husbands could send away their wives, banish them, order them to commit seppuku and generally boss them around. It was the Western countries (because of Christianity) that remained faithful to one partner.

Why doesn't Ranma boss Kodachi? Well, he does, when he's allowed to... that damned Happosai.

Why was Ranma ordered to convert to Christianity? Well then, that's Happosai for you :) although this may be another tactical advancement it's also for Kodachi who's also Christian :)hehehehe I love irony... anyway...Christianity came with the Portuguese and the Fathers have churches on Japan (in the late 1600's they'll close the doors to all foreign people and such and boot out the priests and Christianity and order everyone back to Buddhism)

Why is Ranma asking for seppuku? Well he feels he has dishonored the Saotome name by having multiple fianc�es he doesn't plan to keep.

In the earlier days, you weren't allowed to commit seppuku if the head of the clan or your liege lord (generally someone higher up) doesn't permit you to. It strips off the giving back of honor seppuku is supposed to give, although you can commit seppuku if you're about to be captured by your enemy. And one more thing Seppuku's an honor.

What did Ranma mean by 'touched by the Kami'? They believed craziness is caused by the gods themselves, so crazy people, just like children and old people were allowed some special privileges, another reason why Kodachi can't be killed off.

A ri is roughly equivalent to a mile.

Maybe I missed a few spots, I'm not entirely sure, but drop me a line :) on what you think]

Is this helping you understand this thing I wrote? I dunno.

When did I write this? Two PM. I was completely aware of what I was doing. I wasn't drunk or anything, besides I'm underage...woops did I just let that slip???

Any more questions? Write to ysis@hotmail.com

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com