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The characters of the Ranma 1/2 universe are the creation and possession of the brilliant Rumiko Takahashi. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi and her licensees (Shogakukan Inc., Kitty-Fuji TV, Viz Communications Inc.)

No copyright infringement is intended.

Akane sighed softly as she looked up at the star-filled sky from the second-floor balcony. Her thoughts scattered, but mostly unsettled around the worry she felt.

Behind her, the door slid open. A quick glance revealed Shampoo, now closing the door behind her.

Akane shook her head softly.

"Shampoo miss real night sky."

"Huh?" Akane responded softly.

"Many-many stars in sky of home," Shampoo said softly as she stepped up to the railing, an arms distance from Akane.

"Yeah, I bet" Akane replied wistfully. Her thoughts automatically drifted to shared nights away from the dojo and Tokyo's busy skyline.

"Ranma okay, he return soon," Shampoo stated with a calm assurance.

The practiced denial leapt to the tip of Akane's tongue but went no further. Her face scrunched up at the stale bitter taste of those words as she paused to really consider them. It was amazing, in a demented sort of way, how easy it had become trading insults over the past year.

For longer than she wanted to admit, all Akane wanted was to have Ranma admit his feelings for her. Now that they both had, she didn't know what to do. Everything changed so quickly, that she still felt dizzy from it all.

She knew she needed to take some time out and think things through, but so far she had only managed to avoid that for most of the past month. Marriage and raising a family weren't just words anymore. She didn't even know what Ranma wanted.

If anything, helping take care of Himiko this past month showed her how not-ready she was. She couldn't even prepare Himiko's formula without fear of accidentally poisoning the girl. She couldn't cook or sow; she was impatient and uncute and-and....

Tears welled up in Akane's eyes as her dark thoughts threatened to spiral down into her personal abyss.

With a lump in her throat, she turned to look at Shampoo.

Shampoo stood on tiptoe, leaning over the rail as she gazed longingly at the night. The curve of her legs snaked up under her short skirt. The mini-dress did nothing to hide the curve and flow of her body up over the rail both inviting and daring eyes to look. The quiet strength in her arms only accentuated her smooth perfect skin. Even the set of her shoulders only lent to the proud curve of her exposed neck as she searched the stars above.

Akane felt positively plain next to Shampoo. What made her think Ranma would really want to marry her?

"Shampoo?" Akane said.

"Hmm?" Shampoo turned to look at Akane.

"Why are you still here?"

Shampoo stiffened.

"I mean, why haven't you gone home yet, if you miss it so much?"

"What Akane mean?" Shampoo asked in a hesitant tone.

"I'm sorry, that came out all wrong," Akane replied, feeling herself flush with embarrassment.

Shampoo shifted her weight back on her feet and turned fully toward Akane. If Akane didn't know better, she would have thought Shampoo was nervous about something.

Taking a deep breath, Akane tried again.

"Why are you helping me?" Akane asked.

Shampoo remained quiet for a moment.

"Shampoo can not have Ranma, but do still love Ranma. Want know he be happy."

"Oh," was Akane's reply.

"Shampoo also respect Akane. Want to make friends."

"Really?"

"Akane, Shampoo," a Kasumi's voice called as she slid open the door.

"What is it, Kasumi?" Akane said.

"I thought you two might be out here," Kasumi said with her usual smile.

Akane shrugged.

"I thought you might like to take a bath. I'm sure it would cheer you up," Kasumi said as she handed Akane one of the towels she was holding.

Akane had to admit she could use a good long soak.

"Okay, Kasumi. You're the best," Akane said as she gave her sister a hug. "You coming, Shampoo?" Akane called back as she started toward the furo.

"Shampoo coming," Shampoo replied as she accepted her towel from Kasumi. The young Amazon tilted her head as the elder Tendou favored her with a knowing smile.

"You know, Mousse is okay, and will return soon," Kasumi said.

Shampoo rolled her eyes.

"Shampoo no care about duck-boy," Shampoo replied as she began walking off.

"It must be hard, being so pretty that that is all the boys see instead of seeing the real you underneath."

Shampoo stopped at the head of the stairs and looked back.

"You know, you can't really say that Mousse is only interested in you for your looks."

Shampoo turned and headed down the stairs. She had never really thought about it like that. 'Of course that still didn't change the fact he is still a complete idiot,' Shampoo thought.

"I just wanted to make sure you saw, that I had return as a man again, as I had promised!" Ranma's distinctive masculine voice echoed around the bend.

"I can see! Now, put some clothes on, you Jerk!" came Akane's immediate embarrassed reply.

Shampoo had to stifle a giggle as she peeked around the corner.

"You're just as uncute as ever," Ranma said as he began buttoning up his shirt, his pants already in place.

Shampoo beat down the slight disappointment at missing the show. She might not be allowed to have him anymore, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the view.

"After all the hard work I had to go through," Ranma continued. "You still can't say anything nice to me."

Akane turned to look up at him.

Shampoo smirked as Akane buried her face in his chest. Her smirk grew as he froze in shock.

"Look, Ryouga! Right where everyone can see them," Mousse's voice echoed out of the furo.

"I can't see anything!" Ryouga replied.

= = = = = = = = = =

Yuka sat upon her bed staring blindly across her room. Her curtains where drawn tight against the night while her lights fought vainly against the shadows in her head.

It had been a month, and she still cowed at the night.

Hiroshi-kun had been an unexpected miracle in her life. Kind, generous, and understanding, she wondered sometimes if he really was the same pervert that sat in her homeroom for the past year.

She would never have thought that either of the hentai dual could behave so gentlemanly. He just had this way of making her feel special, that she couldn’t explain. Even if he played the good-little-boy routine a bit far in her opinion. Sometimes she was given to wonder if he even was interested in her that way.

Yuka let a little giggle slip as she thought back to before he left.

Like every other evening since they started dating, they returned to her room. Cuddling and a few kisses were shared. They’d talk, and he would make her laugh. He would look at her in that way that always made her melt.

An impish thought flashed before her eyes, and she acted. She leaned forward from his lap and pulled at the straps of her bra. In a move of pure feminine dexterity, and quite possibly in disregard for certain laws of physics, she removed said undergarment without so much of a peek of forbidden flesh.

With a deep breath, she stuffed the plain white fabric away. She closed her eyes and leaned back against his chest. His arms returned to their position, dipping below hers to gather over her tummy.

Her heart raced with tingly excitement. While this may not the first time she had been around him braless, this was the first time she had done so brazenly.

His warm breath drifted past her ear, sending a cascade of electricity down her spine. She nearly jumped out of her skin when his hands slipped under her shirt. His hands pulled away like they were on fire, and just as quick she captured his hands in her shirt and pulled them back to her stomach.

Her face felt like she was about to set the room on fire. She stared wide-eyed at the across from them wondering just what had gotten into her. She wasn’t like this, but as Hiroshi’s fingers grazed her tummy, she wasn’t ready to stop either.

She had never felt more aware or alive as he slowly worked his way upward. Behind her, he shifted slightly, and she felt his bulge press against her.

He brushed against the bottom of her breasts, returning her attention to the immediate. She was about to cross a new frontier. Should she stop this? Did she want to do this? Okay, stupid question. Should she stop him? How far did she want to go? How far should she go? Should she get up and turn the thermostat down?

Suddenly his hands were gone.

"Wha-"

"I’m late!" Hiroshi hissed. "My mom is so gonna kill me!"

Confusion, frustration, and disappointment warred as she shuffled off his lap.

"Um, uh, you want to do something tomorrow?" Hiroshi asked. "After school, I mean. If I’m not grounded"

"I, uh, sure," Yuka replied unsure. Did he like her or not?

She couldn’t help a little laugh when she remembered how he yelped when he opened her door to find her father standing just outside.

She rolled her eyes at the thought of how embarrassing her father could be. At least her mother hadn’t....

She trailed off on that thought as she felt a stab of emotional pain.

She turned her thoughts away from her family and toward the drama that was Shiori’s life.

Shiori had told her parents everything and they decided to get an abortion. At least until her boyfriend showed up.

She didn’t know everything, but apparently there had been some family emergency on the same day that she had told him. His parents had already packed everything and picked him up on his way home and left before he got to say anything to her. She thought he had abandoned her and, after the near attack, was feeling very low.

Now she was talking about getting married and planning her future.

Yuka sighed.

Then there was Akane.

A smile played across her face as she thought of how good a mother Akane was being for little Himiko. Things there may not have gone the way she originally thought, but it looked like a happy ending to her. Sure, Ranma was gone but he’d be back soon.

So many of her friends getting married. Her parents still insisted in treating her like a little girl. They just refused to see how much she’s grown.

Yuka laid back to go to sleep. At least her friends problems were still behind them.

= = = = = = = = = =

The starry night watched over a very lonely woman as she slowly made her way home. Although her walk had gone far longer than intended, she was in no rush to get inside.

Up ahead Nodoka watched as Daishi-san, her long-time neighbor and one-time friend, ducked quickly into her house. Nodoka tried to ignore the sting in her heart, but her pain went far too deep.

When the police found the body of Genma Saotome, dead of apparent seppuku, at the home of the formerly Nodoka Saotome home on the same day that she had been removed from the Saotome clan records they wanted to take a more interested look into things.

She had been taken back to the station for questioning, unfortunately, she hadn’t been in any condition to give them any answers. Of course the police questioned all of her neighbors, but no one had anything of substance to add. The police where not interested in letting things go, but as the only other witness to the events was under psychiatric evaluation after being pulled from the street where he had been ranting incoherently about pandas, the investigation seemed to stall.

Then Genma’s apparent criminal history started coming up and raised even more questions. Unfortunately for Nodoka, she knew even less about her husband’s activities during the past eleven years. Alone, Nodoka faced an endless stream of charges and accusations. Her stay in police custody seemed to stretch on and on without any hope in sight, until last week when the police were forced to release her.

Without any evidence to hold her and the mounting police record against Genma, the police were forced to conclude that for what ever reason, Genma had indeed committed seppuku as a last act of contrition.

Without anyone to claim Genma’s body, it was buried at government expense. Unable to post bail, and as prime suspect, she had not been allowed to attend. Even after she was finally released no one could tell her where he was buried. She spent the past week getting sent from one office to another while getting no where.

Nodoka slid the key into the front door. She paused in the doorway, between the dark of night at the dark of her empty house.

Outside, she felt the rejection of her community. Between her long stay with the police and the disruption she brought, everyone was talking about her, but no one was talking to her.

Inside the memories of her husband and son leaving her and her futile attempts to act worthy enough for them to return lay.

She had finally read the package Genma had left for her. Although it contained many of the answers the police where looking for, she was glad she hadn’t revealed its existence or hiding place. It had confirmed her realizations of Ranma and Ranko while in police custody among other private things. She didn’t have anything left for her here. She didn’t know if Ranma would accept her after all the pain she must have caused him, but he was the only thing she had left in the world.

As she stood between dark places, she decided it was time.

= = = = = = = = = =

A moment of panic stung Akane as she opened the freezer only to be squashed by the sight of the rich brown tub. She briefly wondered when Kasumi had time to buy some; but then again, she hadn’t checked for weeks. Akane smiled as she reached for the ice cream, enjoying the ritual that she had truly missed.

Akane’s eyes widened in surprise when she noted the flavor: Limited Edition Belgian Chocolate. A shiver of chocolate delight did cartwheels up and down her spine.

A soft sigh sounded from her right, eliciting a quick glance at her now female iinazuke.

Apparently, Ranma decided to simply loose the cotton tank-top as she was now only clad in her boxers. Himiko certainly wasn’t complaining. Akane shrugged off the slight disappointment she felt since there was no way Ranma could do that as a guy. Still, the image of a topless Ranma-kun lovingly holding Himiko released all the warm fluttery feelings that she was coming to associate with her iinazuke.

Akane returned the unused portion to its home in the freezer before claiming the first delectable bite to Ranma’s mild protest.

Ranma held her small delicate head so tenderly while Himiko suckled her late night snack.

A private memory of Himiko attempting the very thing once with her surfaced, dragging along with it an unidentifiable emotion. It felt kind of like disappointment or sadness, but it wasn’t really either of those. More like an active empty feeling mixed with a needy helplessness. She knew deep down she wanted to have Ranma’s baby some day and, in the last month that he’d been gone, even came to admit it to her self. But the emotion was more than that.

As she looked up into Ranma’s flushed face she thought she understood. She wanted to take back every pain and accusation she ever made against him. Yet, she knew that wouldn’t be enough. She wanted to be Himiko’s mother. She wanted to be there for him forever, but she didn’t deserve him.

"Akane?" a red-faced Ranma prompted.

"Huh?" she replied.

"The, uh, ice cream is melting," Ranma said sheepishly.

"Oh, uh, sorry," Akane said as she turned a few shades of embarrassment-red herself.

Forgetting whose turn it was, she quickly scooped up another bite and offered it to a non-complaining Ranma.

As the three ate quietly, Akane’s thought skirted along Ranma’s latest adventure.

Akane knew, or was at least pretty sure, you couldn’t just start and stop producing milk; although if it could be used in a fight, she wouldn’t put it past him to some how learn. She remembered an embarrassing talk with Ranma before he left about feeling full. The image of a topless Ranma-chan standing over a kneeling Ryouga and Mousse each begging to "help" popped into her head.

In the end, and after several spoon-fulls of rich Belgian Chocolate ice cream, she decided.

"What’s it feel like?" Akane asked as she decided to wait until Ranma was ready to talk about his chase after the Musk prince. While she doubted Ranma would do such a thing, Akane really didn’t want to talk about anything that might bring Ryouga into the conversation and ruin this first moment together.

"What’s what feel like?"

"Breastfeeding Himiko," Akane forced herself to say the words thought her embarrassment.

"Uh," Ranma stuttered with a panicked look flashing in her eyes.

"Please," Akane pleaded. Akane might have thought that Ranma looked cute when he looked like that if he didn’t always insult her immediately afterward.

Ranma looked at her with no less apprehension but also an obvious weakening resolve.

"That’s okay, Ranma," Akane said disappointedly. "I just-" Akane paused, as she looked longingly to Himiko before jumping back to meet Ranma’s gaze. "I just...."

"You all done?" Ranma suddenly broke in, looking down.

Himiko was turning away, apparently full.

Akane ran over and grabbed the towel she had brought and threw it over her shoulder.

"Here, let me burp her," Akane said.

Akane blushed under Ranma’s gaze and started to reach for the towel.

"Okay," Ranma said.

Akane left the kitchen for the family room, gently holding Himiko against her shoulder. Ranma slipped her muscle shirt on as she followed.

A knock at the door startled them both.

"Who could that be at this hour?" Akane asked. The only visitors they usually had at this hour generally preferred sneaking into someone’s bedroom to knocking on the front door.

"I’ll check," Ranma volunteered.

Akane followed cautiously behind, well aware that she was still holding Himiko.

"A- A- Auntie Saotome! What a surprise," Ranma squeaked.

"Oh, Ranma!" Nodoka cried out as she collapsed into tears against her currently daughter.

= = = = = = = = = =

Wow, two months already? Sorry, I lost track of time.

To those readers who have been anxiously awaiting the next chapter: I apologize.