Ranma's eyes fluttered open. What a night that was. He was grateful he managed to escape with 
his life. Looked like he was out for a while, though as it was the middle of the night. He felt sore 
all over. It was strange, though...it was the sharp, stinging pain usually associated with one of 
Akane's normal 'beat downs of irrationality'. It was more like the dull aches from a strenuous 
workout. Akane must be losing her edge.

Ranma tried to sit up, but he felt a weight on his chest. Stupid old man...probably rolled over on 
him...probably sleeping in his stupid panda form too for extra crushing power. Ranma tried to 
take stock the best he could from his vantage point. With the moonlight softly bathing his room 
with illumination, he took a look around and immediately noticed something very disturbing...

It wasn't his room.

'What the...how did I end up here?' Ranma wondered inwardly.

He shook the cobwebs out of his head and tried to think back to the previous day. He 
remembered being in the bathroom...planning an escape? That was because Akane angrily roared 
his name, warning him of her approach. But she caught him before he could get away. She 
lunged at him...they went all over the bathroom, out into the living room (which was empty...the 
rest of their family managed to escape the carnage...lucky them) and up the stairs.

Ranma's mouth fell open as he remembered another important detail...they weren't exactly 
fighting...

His eyes darted around the room again. Judging by the horrible condition the place was in, 
their...encounter ended there...in Akane's room. Which meant the weight on his chest wasn't his 
father, but... 
 
"Akane!"

"Yes Ranma?"

"AH!!!" Crap, she was awake! He jumped and scooted away from her as far as he could. If only 
he could go through walls like in those super hero TV shows...he could disappear through the 
one at his back now. "L-look Akane...I-I can explain!" 

Akane sat up. With the pale moonlight, Ranma could see her state of dress...she wasn't. "Oh 
really?" she dared.

Ranma blinked, thinking desperately for something to say. Unfortunately, his head was still too 
cloudy to think straight. His shoulders slumped as he admitted, "No, I guess I can't." With the 
way she normally reacted in those situations, Akane understood why he instinctively reacted that 
way. She disarmed him by taking his hand into hers and squeezing it lightly.

The sound of a cricket chirping filled the room as the couple sat, unable to articulate anything at 
the moment. They stared at their intertwined hands, too embarrassed to even look each other in 
the eye. 

"Um," went Ranma, forcing himself to speak. "Did...er...did we...?"

"It seems like it," Akane answered.

"And...you…did you have a...I mean...er..."

She disengaged her hand from his and looked at herself. "I...I don't know what came over me. I 
just had this overwhelming need when I saw you. I-I couldn't control myself. And this...this 
THING!" She curled into a ball and began trembling violently, "W-what kind of freak have I 
become???"

Acting before his brain got in the way, Ranma reached out and held her close. "Don't worry, 
Akane. I don't know what's going on, but we'll get through this. I swear." 

His words of reassurance seemed to have worked, as her trembling subsided. She unwrapped her 
arms from around herself and placed them around him in an almost crushing embrace. From the 
look in her eyes, though, Ranma could tell she was still a bit on the hysterical side. He tilted her 
head up so they were eye to eye. "Hey...have I ever let you down before?"

She smiled and shook her head. Ranma Saotome was many things; one being a man true to his 
word. If he said he was going to do something, she knew it was going to be done, no matter 
what. She never appreciated that quality in him as much as she did right there. She took at deep 
breath and tightened her grip around him. "Let's just stay like this for a while, hmm?"

"Err...sure..." Ranma laid back on the bed in a more comfortable position, with Akane's head 
nestled against his chest. It was then that he remembered to be embarrassed at his current 
situation. 

Secretly, Ranma had always hoped they would get together like this as well. There were many 
nights where he dreamt of he and Akane resting arm in arm this way. He should've figured, 
though, that when they finally did break through their walls and accepted each other, it would've 
been as bizarre as the rest of their engagement. The fact remained, though...it has happened. The 
only question was, what would happen from there? Would things get better or worse? Whatever 
did happen, things were sure to never be the same.




Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

Legacy

Chapter 2




The living room was a shambles. Paper and various other trash was strewn all over. The couch 
was overturned and the dining table was on its side. It was as if a typhoon had blown through. 
The rest of the Tendo family, along with family friend, Genma Saotome, had returned from their 
self-imposed exile to take stock of the damage that resulted from Akane's latest explosion of 
anger. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty.

Kasumi resumed her normal duties of cooking breakfast for everyone. Nabiki procured a broom 
and cleaned up the trash that was scattered everywhere. Soun and Genma fixed the furniture. 
"Wow...this one was really bad, wasn't it, Tendo?" observed Genma, lifting up one end of the 
dining table.

"The worst yet," agreed Soun, at the other end. "I don't know how much this poor house can 
take. When are our children going to learn to get along?"

"I wish I could say, my friend. They're very hardheaded, those two. I'm at a total loss as to what 
to do to push them closer together."

"You know," Nabiki interjected, "if they are as hardheaded as you say, maybe it's because 
you're pushing them to be together that they're pushing to be apart. Maybe if you let them be, 
they can work things out on their own?"

Placing the table back in it's proper place, the two fathers looked at Nabiki, taking in her 
speculation. Then they looked at each other. "...nah!" Nabiki threw up her hands and finished her 
sweeping. 

"Father, is the table fixed yet?" called Kasumi from the kitchen.

"Yes, Kasumi! We just finished with it," said Soun.

"Good. Can you help me set the table?" 

"Of course."

As Kasumi and Soun set the table, Genma set the sofa back in its place and Nabiki put away the 
broom, Ranma and Akane made their way downstairs. Everyone paused for a moment to stare at 
them.

Akane shrinked a bit at all of the attention they were getting. "Erm...good morning," she said, 
blushing fiercely, sitting in her place at the dining table.

Ranma was also taken aback by the stares they were getting. "Ah...yo..."

Genma rushed up to him and hit him with the Hell's Cradle attack (a giant bear hug). "Ranma, 
my boy! You're alive!!!"

"What're you talking about?" asked Ranma, straining under the pressure.

Genma released his son, "Are you kidding? You...you didn't take another shot to the head and 
get amnesia again, did you? With how big that last fight looked, I'm surprised you don't need to 
go to the hospital."

Looking at how big the mess in Akane's room was, it was easy to deduce that they were equally 
as messy every other place they ventured. "Oooh...right...the 'fight'. Feh. No sweat. She barely 
laid a hand on me."

"Not that I was using my hands much..." Akane interjected. The engaged couple looked at each 
other, turned deep red and turned away again. 

Just then, Soun and Kasumi came in with the breakfast dishes and placed them on the table. 
"Okay, everyone. Let's sit and have a nice breakfast, okay?" Kasumi kindly ordered. Moving to 
comply, Ranma sat down next to Akane, but abruptly jumped back up again, wincing in pain. 
"Oh my! Ranma, are you okay?" Kasumi asked.

"Yeah, it's no big deal. I'm just a bit sore, is all." Gingerly, Ranma placed himself back on the 
seat, looking rather uncomfortable as he did so. Akane sank into her seat so much, she nearly slid 
under the table.

Kasumi raised an eyebrow. This was weird...even for them...

**	**

"Huh...how does she talk me into these things?"  Nabiki thought out loud, as she tailed her 
younger sister and her intended. If anyone knew how to surveill someone, it was she. After all, 
when the rest of the family wanted to spy on Ranma and Akane, they went to her for equipment 
and good hiding places. But this was more effort than she wanted to go through. She thought 
back to the short conversation she had with Kasumi just before she left the house.

"Nabiki, a word before you go..." beckoned Kasumi.

"Sure, sis. What is it?"

"I would like for you to keep an eye on Ranma and Akane for me, okay?"

Nabiki tilted her head to the side, "This is new. I would expect this from dad, or Mr. Saotome. 
Why would ~you~ want me to?"

Kasumi paused for a moment, with her head down. "I...I think Ranma and Akane indeed went 
after each other last night...but I DON'T think it was a fight..."

"If not a fight then what?" Kasumi blushed and turned away slightly. Nabiki's eyes lit up, "You 
mean? They actually did it?"

"I believe so." 

Nabiki threw her head back, laughing. "Well, it's about time! Pretty smart of them too, 
pretending to fight to make sure we leave them alone. I had no idea they were so devious. I'm 
impressed."

"You shouldn't be. Such a thing isn't proper until they're married."

"I've said before that you shouldn't be so old fashioned, Kasumi. Besides, they're practically 
married already. And with the way they've been carrying on and now with THIS, they've 
definitely been acting married for a long time. What's the big deal?"

"It's ~wrong~!" Nabiki shook her head. Kasumi looked back in the house to make sure no one 
heard their conversation. Once she was sure, she added, "And, I think something else happened. 
Something besides them...consummating their marriage too early."

"Like what?"

"I can't say...and I certainly hope it's not what I think it is."

Nabiki's cheerful expression fell. "No...you think it happened, don't you?"

"It's just a feeling right now...that's why I want you to keep an eye on them for me. Okay?"

Which is where she was now. Nabiki sighed. Even she was unable to say no to her sister when 
she asked a favor. She turned a corner and found Ranma and Akane further down the block, so 
she ducked back and hid behind the corner. It looked to her like they were doing what they did 
best...argue. She listened intently, hoping to hear a little of what they were saying.

"Don't you remember what we discussed yesterday? What happened to not skipping school?" 
argued Akane.

"This is more important," Ranma said, sternly. "I told ya that I was gonna help you through this, 
right?"

"Well, yeah, but how is skipping school going to help anything?"

"We need to find the old freak."

"Grandfather Happousai? What for?"

"Think about it...when was the first time you noticed you had...it?"

"I know...yesterday after the fight between Happousai and Taro. You think I was cursed when 
that water splashed on me."

"Partially, anyway."

"Even still, how is finding Happousai going to help?"

"He seems to know how to find specific springs. We can force him to get water from the spring 
of drowned girl to cure you."

Akane nodded. "It sounds like a good idea. But how in the world are we going to find him?"

Ranma smirked. "I got an idea about that. If he's anywhere in town, there's no way he'll be able 
to resist."

It wasn't sounding good. However, just from what she heard, she couldn't be conclusive. She'd 
have to stay on them until she was 100% sure about Kasumi's suspicions. When Ranma and 
Akane finally moved, Nabiki stayed on their tail, careful to keep out of sight. Looks like she was 
getting a little vacation from school as well.

**	**

Somewhere in the town of Nerima, Happousai bounded from rooftop to rooftop, giggling like a 
school child. It was true that Ranma had foiled yet another of his plots: Taro was out there 
somewhere, with his powerful cursed form, plotting another attack against him...probably close 
by to, as he didn't know where Taro flew off to after the explosion. 

The bright side of it was, Happousai did end up in a bathhouse on the women's side. A few 
gropes and some stolen panties later, all was forgotten. The only thing on his mind now, was 
getting back to his student's house to take inventory of all the goodies he collected. 

He was only a few blocks away from Soun's house when he stopped suddenly. "My hentai 
senses are tingling..." Happousai scanned the skyline, finally focusing his attention eastward. 
"There we are..."

With a devilish grin, he launched himself into the air, coming down on a rather upscale 
apartment complex. On the roof of the apartment was a blond woman lying on her stomach, 
sunbathing. She wore a solid red, two-piece swimsuit with the top undone. "SWEETO!" Once 
again, he hit the jackpot. His shout alerted the woman to his presence, but she wouldn't be able 
to react in time to stop his special attack: The Founding School of Anything Goes Martial Arts: 
Kanchou-Ken. Translated loosely to "Butt-Grabbing Fist" (More accurately, "Butt-Poking Fist", 
but he prefers to grab).  Target in range, and...

WHAM!

Happousai fell harmlessly to the floor, his head colliding with the business end of Akane 
Tendo's Megaton Mallet of Justice. His intended target sat up and pulled her blond hair off, 
revealing her real, fiery red hair and familiar pigtail. 

"Heh, I told you this would work Akane," the female Ranma said. "Now, let's get him tied up so 
he can't get away."

**	**

It took a while for her to catch up, but Nabiki finally caught sight of her sister and soon-to-be 
brother-in-law. Happousai was there with them as well, bound and tied to a deckchair. That was 
very quick for them to have found him. Happousai was never one to be found when anyone was 
actively looking for him. Once again, she paid close attention to what was going on from behind 
a structure's corner.

"Ugh...what in the world did you do that for?" inquired Happousai, groggily.

"Feh," spat Ranma. "You're gonna get a lot worse if you don't clean up the mess you made."

"What are you talking about?"

"THIS!" Angrily, Ranma lifted up Akane's school uniform skirt to show off her...new accessory. 
To which, Akane forced her skirt back down and slapped Ranma in the face for his trouble. 
"...was that really necessary?"

"That's what I was going to say!" shouted Akane.

Nabiki ducked completely behind the structure and held her hands over her mouth, shocked. "Oh 
man...Kasumi's intuition was right. It's happened! I'd better get back and tell her..."

As Nabiki made her clandestine exit, the other three continued their confrontation. Somehow, as 
he always did, Happousai escaped his binding, and attached himself to Akane's chest, wailing 
loudly. "Oh, Akane! My poor, sweet Akane! What has happened to you?"

Akane clocked the old pervert on the head, detaching him from her bosom, "You should know! 
You were the one who did this to me!"

"And you're going to set things right, or else!" added Ranma.

"I still don't know what you're talking about," said Happousai. "How in the world could I have 
done that?" 

"That fight you had with Taro yesterday," Ranma said. "You remember...you had water from the 
spring of drowned man. You dropped it in the fight and some of it splashed on Akane. It was 
right after that...that came up."

Happousai laughed at him. "Good grief, boy. You're cursed yourself, yet you have no idea how 
the cursed springs of Jusenkyou work." 

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The diminutive martial arts master crossed his arms, in an attempt to look wise. "It means the 
springs don't work that way. Don't you remember? Taro got his curse because I bathed him in 
the cursed water. Of course, during the course of that, I got some of the water on me as well. But 
you don't see any transformation when I get hit with cold water, do you?"

Ranma and Akane looked at each other, pensively. "W-what are you trying to say?" Akane 
asked.

"I'm saying that you can't get partial curses. Your body has to be completely drenched before 
the magic of the springs can take effect. That's part of Jusenkyou's nature. I don't know what 
caused this change in Akane, but it wasn't the water I had yesterday."

Akane collapsed to her knees, a deep look of dread befalling her. Seeing the confidence in his 
fiancée waning, Ranma desperately tried to come up with another idea. "Well...so what if it's not 
a curse?" He turned back to his father's master, "You can still get water from the spring of 
drowned girl, right? Two dunks in it should turn Akane back to the way she was before!"

Happousai shook his head. "That won't work either, boy." 

"How do you know?" Ranma argued. "We gotta try!"

The old man sighed. He truly felt sorry for the couple. "It's also part of Jusenkyou's nature. 
Hence, why they're referred to as ~cursed~ springs. They have a will of their own that they 
magically impose on all who have visited there. And they always have a way of working against 
your wishes. Let's take you for example...do you like your curse, Ranma?"

"Of course I don't!"

"And you want to get rid of it, right?"

"Damn right, I do!"

"You were at Jusenkyou already when you were cursed, where you could've had the guide show 
you the location of the spring of drowned man. You could've jumped in right then and never 
have had to worry about it for as long as you have. So tell me...why did you leave not doing so?"

Ranma paused, coming to a stunning realization. "I...I dunno. I-it just felt like the thing to do at 
the time.

"It was Jusenkyou at work. Tell me something else...why do you think you got the curse to turn 
into a girl?"

"I...I dunno..." went Ranma, still stunned.

"Heh...I know all about your promise, boy. You and your father promised your mother that you 
would grow into a man among men. It is your wish to be the man among men you promised to 
be. THAT'S why you got the curse to turn into a girl. It's the very antithesis of what you 
wanted."

Every bit of information was a severe blow to Ranma. As much as he hated to admit it, it all 
made sense. He wanted to be the best man he could be and the spring turned him into a girl. His 
father was one of the biggest loudmouths he knew, yet the spring turned him into a creature that 
couldn't speak. Ryouga hated pigs, and thanks to the spring, he became one. Shampoo wanted 
very badly to be married to Ranma, but Ranma was scared to death of cats...which became 
Shampoo's curse. But...

"Wait a minute..." Ranma interrupted. "If all of that's true, then how do you explain Taro? He's 
the biggest, power hungry jerk I know. Yet he got a very powerful cursed form. How do you 
explain that?"

"Jusenkyou's nature, again," Happousai started. "You see, it has a lot of springs that can grant 
whomever falls in tremendously powerful cursed forms."

"Like Asuraniichuan," went Ranma, with the woman, Rogue coming to mind.

"I'm talking forms with power so great, Asura pales in comparison. Wizards, dragons, gods, 
demons, creatures you couldn't even imagine. And all of that power is there for anyone to take, 
save for Jusenkyou's will. Like I said, it acts against the wants of those who wander into the 
valley. So if someone wanted to get one of the dragon springs, they'd get the spring of drowned 
rat or something equally as ridiculous. Those who go in looking for power leave weaker. 
Meanwhile, the innocent...those who are pure of heart and want for nothing get the more 
powerful cursed forms. And no one can match the innocence of a baby, which Taro was when he 
was cursed."

Damn...the old man was making way too much sense.

"Going back to you, Ranma," Happousai continued, "it would be pointless to go back to 
Jusenkyou to look for a cure. It will do everything it can to make sure you don't get cured. Even 
if, by chance, you do find the spring of drowned man, you may not become cured. Your curse 
form may become androgynous like Akane. And as far as Akane goes...there's no telling what 
would happen to her if you took her there. She may face a far worse fate than she does now. It 
would be best if you didn't chance it."

Ranma cursed to himself, "...no...that can't be it. There has to be a way to fix things!"

"Ranma...enough."

He looked over to his fiancée, who barely managed the whisper. "But Akane! We can't just give 
up like this! There IS a way...I know there is!"

"No," she croaked. "We just have to face the facts...we aren't going to win this one." She 
staggered to her feet and started back to the stairway, leading into the apartment building. "Let's 
go home...I suddenly feel like skipping school today myself."

**	**

It was a perfectly dreadful day. The stupid sun shone in the sky, with not a single cloud to mar 
the scenery. The birds were flying, singing their damned happy songs as they did so. People were 
out and about living their lives as if there weren't a problem in the world. . It was a day for a 
romantic stroll, if one were so inclined. Of course, those inclined to do so that day would've been 
told promptly to go to hell.

All Akane wanted to do was get home, go into her room and lock the rest of the world out 
forever. Her eyes were vacant; having lost all the fire and energy they held within them. Her 
once powerful legs were now too weak to even pick her feet up off the ground. Her indomitable 
will had been completely drained. Never before had she experienced such a crushing defeat of 
the spirit. The trip from that apartment building back home felt as though it were a thousand 
miles long, but finally they reached their destination. Akane was mere feet away from her 
sanctuary from the rest of civilization. 

She couldn't even make it that far. She only took two steps onto the Tendo property before she 
broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. Every by her side, Ranma took a hold of her and held her to 
him. With what appeared to be a repulsed look on her face, Akane pushed him away from her, 
"Don't touch me!" 
 
"Akane!"

"STAY AWAY FROM ME! I-I'm a FREAK! Some sort of disgusting mutation! I...I..."

Ranma grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. She was hysterical again and this 
time it looked as if no words would reach her. So Ranma did something to her that he had never 
done before...something he swore he would never do to any girl under any circumstances...

He slapped her.

Akane stopped crying and held her cheek, stunned. "Stop Akane, RIGHT THERE! I'm not going 
to sit here and let you do this to yourself! You're the toughest girl I know. You've been through 
all kinds of crap since I've been here, and you always came out stronger. Why in the world are 
you gonna let this beat you?"

"...Ranma..."

He caught himself...seemed like he was getting a bit hysterical too. "Look...maybe there isn't a 
way to change you back to the way you were before, but there's no need to roll over and quit like 
this. You gotta learn to adapt. Take what was a weakness and use it to your advantage. But above 
all else, you gotta keep going. No matter what."

Akane stared at her fiancée, dumbfounded. Ranma Saotome, the man who perpetually suffered 
from foot in mouth disease, had just given her the most heartfelt praise and confidence booster 
she had ever received. She had no idea he though of her that way. Her lips curled up into a smile 
and she leaned her head against him. Instinctively, Ranma wrapped his arms around her. "Erm..." 
went Ranma, "Sorry about hittin' ya like that."

Akane laughed, "Don't be. It did what it was supposed to do." She tilted her head up and looked 
at him, "What in the world would I do without you?"

Ranma shrugged. "I dunno. Probably a lot better than you're doing now. Course I don't intend to 
let you find out." He tightened his grip on her, "I'm always gonna be right here, by your side. 
Always."

She wiped the last few tears from her eyes. "At times, I question why I feel for you the way I 
do...the you go and do something like this." Her smile widened and she added, "I love you, 
Ranma Saotome."

Ranma got his usual cocky grin back, "Well, of course you do. I mean, what's not to love?"

Akane gave him a thwap on the shoulder. "You jerk," she laughed.

"And I love you too, Akane Tendo." 

For a moment, their eyes locked. Never had they been this close to each other on so many levels, 
not even the night before. The final connection between them had been made and it was high 
time they solidified that connection properly. As their faces inched closer together, their hearts 
began to race, the anticipation boiling over within. They've waited so long for this moment...

"Ahem."

Crap, busted. In the doorway of the house, Akane's father and sisters stood, looking intently at 
them. Just as with every other moment Ranma and Akane tried to share, they had to be close by 
spying. They had to ruin everything. The couple stood up, with Ranma in front of Akane, ready 
to defend her if they decided to attack with wedding paraphernalia. "What do you want?" he 
challenged.

Kasumi stepped forward, looking more serious than she ever had before. Taking both of their 
hands, she said the most dreaded words anyone could ever hear in any language.

"We need to talk..."

**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**
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