Based on the characters and situations so well created by Rumiko
Takahashi and owned by Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Communications and 
others I have no doubt.  Specifically, two lines are quoted from
dialog in Viz's publication of the first volume of the manga,
translation by Gerard Jones and Matt Thorn.  Please don't sue me!

There is a glossary of most of the Japanes terms I use at the end of
the story.  If you are familiar with the terms used in most Ranma
fanfics, no biggie, but if not, you might want to look those over
before reading.  

Please send any feedback to john@compqna.com and check out
my page at http://www.compqna.com/fanfics for my other fics.

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

Special Delivery

by 
John Morales

**** 

I can understand why you feel cheated, you missed so much.  So I'll
write down as much as I can remember, as you asked, but I still wish
you could hear it from him.  Of course, that will never happen.  You
will have to excuse me, it has been years since some of these things
happened, and I'm sure I'll mess up some of the details.  

The first time I met him was just over six years ago.  I was at
the cemetary, trying to get some advice from Okaasan.  She had only
been dead a few months at that point, and I was not yet very
comfortable with all my new responsibilities.  

So there I sat talking to her, upset with all the new things I
had to do, and even more upset that I was not doing them very well. 
My cooking seemed to be okay, but the kitchen didn't quite sparkle
the way it did after she had used it.  I didn't know how to get
Otousan out of his depression, he seemed to have withdrawn from the
world completely.  My imoutosan weren't so bad.  After talking to
Nabiki, I distracted her pretty well with the family checkbook.  She
was in fact better at it than I was, but in retrospect, I think I
could have found a better way to distract her.  Akane was not
depressed so much as angry, and had devoted herself to her Art in a
whole new way, one I did not think was entirely healthy, but I did
not know how to deal with her anger either.  

Okaasan had no answers for me, or maybe she thought I had to find
them on my own.  I thought I had just been talking normally to her,
but I guess I was too upset for that because the next thing I know,
this young boy is wiping a tear from my cheek. 

I think the way I look at Ranma is still today shaped a bit by the
sight of that serious boy I first laid eyes on in the cemetary.  He
looked like a normal school boy in some ways.  He was wearing a
school uniform of shorts and a nice shirt - one of the last times he
would wear one, I found out later.  There were differences, though. 
Where other ten-year-old boys might have had a scraped knee, Ranma
had bruises and cuts all over.  Where others were probably doing
homework or playing in fields, he had been taking a shortcut through
a cemetary and stopped to help someone in need.

"You okay, lady?"  

I wiped some more tears while I answered.  "Yes, just a little sad,
and please call me Kasumi.  Thank you.."  I stood up and
straightened out my own school skirt while I looked at him
expectantly.  

"Oh, my name's Ranma!  You're welcome!  You sure you're okay though?
You seemed kinda upset."

We ended up talking at home.  I offered him a snack, but when I saw
how ravenous he was, I ended up feeding him a full meal.  I was just
glad for the company.  Akane was in the dojo, Nabiki was not yet home
and daddy was hiding in his room, all typical for my afternoon. 
Also, Ranma made me feel good about my cooking.  I may have only
thought it was okay, but he obviously loved it.  My cooking has
improved a great deal since then, and I have received lots of
compliments over the years, but none of them made me feel like I did
that day.  

We talked for hours that afternoon.  I heard about the Neko-ken
training, and about how he hated leaving home.  Already half his life
had been spent on the road.  

"I really miss my mom," he told me.  "Well, I guess I miss having a
mom.  It's been so long, sometimes I have to get out the picture from
Oyaji's wallet to remember what she looks like."  

He didn't talk about his father much, but what little I did hear
seemed mixed.  Ranma was proud of what his father taught him, but did
not seem very proud of his father.  

Ranma listened patiently when I talked about my family, though he
later told me he felt a bit useless here.  He wanted to help me, but
didn't know what I needed.  He could not have known that most of
what I needed was to talk to someone.  Having all the extra work at
home left me too tired to socialize much at school, and I had almost
no free time at home.  Just being able to commiserate took a load off
my shoulders.  

Finally our time came to an end.  "Well, I'd better get movin'," he
said.  "Oyaji's probably wondering what the heck happened to me. 
Thanks for dinner."  

"Thank you, Ranma.  I had a nice afternoon."  It was amazingly true.
Okaasan's illness and death had aged me, and all my old friends now
seemed immature somehow.  Ranma was more than two years younger than
me, and immature in some very specific ways, such as his table
manners, but between his serious nature and a childhood I would not
wish on anyone, he was my equal in many ways.  He certainly listened
and understood me in a way no one else did.  I truly wished it
didn't have to end.  

"Ranma, you know, you can stop back again sometime.. if you feel like
it," I offered tentatively.

"Really?  You.. umm.  You wouldn't mind?"  His hopeful manner put me
at ease.

"Not at all.  In fact I'd like it," I smiled.  

**** 

I did see him one more time before he left for Kyoto.  It was later
that same week, just after sunrise as I went about preparing
breakfast.  I was feeling rather down again, and staring out the
window absently as I waited for some water to boil.  I was probably
looking at him for several seconds before I even realized someone was
at the window.  

"Ranma!  What are you doing here?" came my startled greeting.  

I watched his rather hopeful expression melt.  "I'm sorry Kasumi. 
I'll come back, well..  I- I'm sorry."  

"No!  Ranma!  I'm sorry," I called as he started to turn away.  "You
just surprised me, that's all.  Come on in."  

"Really?  Thanks.  I'm sorry about coming by so early."  He was
still a little sheepish.  

"Don't worry about it.  Can I get you something to eat?"  

He smiled but shook his head.  "No thanks.  I gotta go in a sec.  I
just stopped by 'cause..  Well, I was really glad you invited me to
come back, and I didn't want you to think I didn't want to, but I
won't be able to no more."  

"What happened?" 

"Well, Oyaji says we gotta move again.  We have been here over a
month already, which is pretty long for us," he said with a frown.  

"That's too bad.  I was looking forward to talking to you some
more," I said honestly.  "I wish you had some time to talk now."  

"I've only got a minute or so.  I had to beg just to stop here at
all."  He paused for a moment.  "Actually, I just sorta took off,
but I told him I'd meet him at the station in a bit.  I was hoping I
could talk to you again too.  It's been a long time since I had a
friend, and well..  I was kinda hopin'.."  

This brightened my mood immensely.  "We can still be friends, you
know."  

"Well, I'd like that, but we ain't coming back here for a while, if
ever."  

"We can write to each other," I suggested hopefully.  

"Huh?" came the only response.  

"You can write, can't you?  You know, on paper?"  Maybe I had
assumed too much?  

"Yeah, I leave notes for Oyaji all the time.  I just don't spend
much time anywhere with a real address."  

"Oh, well, you can write to me then, even if it's just a postcard now
and then.  And if it looks like you might stay in one place for a
while, send me the address."  He frowned but looked to be
considering it.  "Please, Ranma-kun?  I could use a friend, too."  

That seemed to put him over the edge.  "Ahh..  Sure, Kasumi.  Write
your address down for me, and I'll write soon, especially if I think
we're settling down for a few weeks.  I just don't want you to be
upset if I can't write too much, I don't have much to say."  

"Anything you send is more mail than I'm getting now," I smiled.

Ranma actually got to be pretty good at writing letters over the
next couple of years.  It was almost all postcards for the first few
months.  Then he actually had an address for the next few.  He
didn't start writing real letters until he had received a few from
me.  He eventually came to enjoy it, saying he tended to get tongue-
tied in person, but writing gave him a chance to say things right.  I
heard more about his training trip, new techniques, his father, and
even some about him.  I had figured he was lonely, but it really came
out in the letters, and he was always thanking me for the letters I
sent too.  

It was funny; I wrote, even when I did not have an address for him,
and saved the letters until I did.  Then again, even when I had an
address for him, often my letters would just miss him and get
returned.  I'd save those too, and resend them when he sent me a new
address.  As a result, while I received his mail pretty regularly,
once or twice a week I got at least a postcard, he tended to get my
mail in large bundles.  

It was nice to always have someone to confide in, even if it was not
in person.  I had someone I could talk to about my doubts, worries,
hopes, everything.  Not that I didn't have anyone else to talk to;
in fact Nabiki heard enough about my penpal over the next few years
that she took to calling him my 'mailman.'  When I had to speak to
someone, it was usually her.  If nothing else, we had to talk enough
to keep the house running, but she had her own friends and
activities, so when I had something important to 'talk' about, I
usually wrote it down.  

A few years later, in one letter I mentioned how fascinated I was by
medicine and how I was borrowing books from our family doctor.  He
had liked the idea, and now when they settled in somwhere for more
than a few days, he would check out the local library, though he said
it was just something to tide him over until my letters caught up
with him.  He once figured he had visited more than two-hundred
branches.  For a while we even got in the habit of tracking down good
books we could recommend to each other.  

This lead to all sorts of disucssions.  He said lots of the things
were pretty useful to him, like some books on war strategies that
give him some new ideas to try in his fights.  From other books, he
picked up some new ways to live off the land during their travels. 
Some things were important but uncomfortable, like the multi-letter
discussion we had about ethics and honor.  For someone who
originally thought he did not have much to say, he sure found plenty
to write about.  

Ranma was right about one thing, they did not come back around for
some time, over three years.  Then suddenly, like the last time I had
seen him, he just seemed to appear in front of me.

**** 

It was a late afternoon in the Spring, and as I pulled down the last
towel from the clothesline, there stood Ranma right behind it. 
Oddly enough, I wasn't startled this time.  Though he hadn't said
anything in his letters about coming through the area, seeing him
just felt right, almost as though I had been expecting him.  He
started up a conversation as if we had just seen each other the
previous week, and indeed it almost felt like we had.  Since I had
some marketing to do, we ended up talking as he walked with me to the
store.  I apologized that I could not just sit and talk, but he
seemed happy enough anyway.  

It was quite a treat to talk to him in person again.  Though we had
not seen each other since the week we met, years before, we
immediately fell into a chatty, comfortable conversation.  

At times, I had to force myself to enjoy the moment, though.  I knew
without asking that our time together would be short again.  He
carried everything he owned in the pack over his shoulder, and if he
was carrying it right now, that meant they were not settled in
anywhere.  He would be gone again tomorrow and of this afternoon, we
had maybe a few hours, maybe less.  As busy as his father kept him
with training, I was surprised he had even found time to visit, no
matter how close by they were.  Here I was in for a surprise.  

He told me he had not written about coming by because he did not
want to get my hopes up.  

"I didn't even know if I would be able to stop in 'til this
afternoon.  Oyaji said he knew someone around here and wanted to
'play some shogi,' so I actually have most of the night."  Ranma had
decided a while ago that 'shogi' was a euphemism for getting drunk,
according to his letters.  

I couldn't have been happier.  I invited Ranma to have dinner with
my family, well with my imoutosan anyway.  Otousan had received a
call from an old friend and was going out tonight to meet with him. 
Yes, you guessed it.  If only I knew then what I know now.  

Well, we returned home to find that we would be dining alone. 
Nabiki was there, and informed me that Akane had talked to Otousan
before he left about going to a friend's house for the night.  Ranma
and Nabiki exchanged pleasantries, but it did not last long.  Nabiki
watched me talk and laugh with Ranma for no more than a minute before
suddenly 'remembering' she had plans to study with a friend, on a
Saturday night no less..  I am sure she thought she was doing me a
favor, but I really did want her to stay and get to know him as I
had.  I walked her to the door a little later telling her she did not
need to leave, but it was useless.

"Oneechan, you have been taking care of us, worrying about us, for a
few years now.  You have yet to go on a date, in fact this is the
first time I have seen you notice a boy, much less spend time with
one.  Take a night off, the kids are fine.  The mailman made a
special trip for you, all you have to do is accept delivery," she
giggled.  

I could not believe Nabiki would say such things.  All I could do
was stare after her as she walked out the gate.  

She was wrong, I had noticed some boys.  I was a girl just a week
short of my seventeenth bithday, I could not help but notice boys. 
Once again though, most of the boys my own age seemed so young.  I
always figured I would eventually fall for someone more mature, like
Ono-sensei who was just starting at the clinic back then.  I actually
had a brief crush on him for a while.  I had noticed boys, I just
didn't have time for such things.  

This thought brought me back to the moment, and I walked back into
the living room to see Ramna outside looking at the dojo.  He seemed
to know I was there, and quickly turned to come back in.  

"You can work out in the dojo if you like, Ranma," I offered.  

"Nahh..  Thanks, though.  It's nice and all, but I..  well, I didn't
come here to see a dojo," he said with his lopsided grin.  

"I'm just going to be cooking for a while.  Are you sure?"  

"Umm, yeah.  Unless I'd be bothering you?"  

For some reason, Nabiki's voice echoed in my mind.  "All you have to
do is accept delivery."  

"In fact, I would be grateful for the company."  

As I cooked and we talked I thought about what Nabiki had said, and
tried to see Ranma like one of the boys from school, someone I might
date.  The problem was, he already meant much more to me than any of
my classmates ever would.  

We had talked, in our letters, about many things I knew most of my
classmates did not even think about unless it was on a test.  Yes, he
was only fourteen at the time, but this was a young man who thought
about me often enough to write regularly, sometimes several time each
week, even if only a postcard to say hi.  He was the one I put pen to
paper for almost nightly, because I wanted to tell him about my day. 
This was my best friend.  

I left these thoughts behind as we sat down to dinner.  Ranma ate
with rather wolf-like manners at first, but I offered some
suggestions and he settled down rather quickly.  It was a habit I had
to break him of again when he returned years later.  It was much
harder to do with Ojisan giving him plenty of reason to make to make
his food disappear as quickly as possible.  

I postponed cleaning after dinner since I was enjoying being with
Ranma too much - something I would pay for later.  Nabiki saw the
dirty dishes and I did not hear the end of it for weeks.  

We talked about seemingly everything, where he thought they were
headed this time, my family, his hope to have his own dojo one day. 
We even invited each other to special events, my graduation, his
birthday, knowing such visits were impossible.  Then with a smile he
went to his pack and pulled out a small bundle.  

"I was about to mail this a few days ago, but I got my hopes up when
we started moving, and, well..  We got lucky.  Happy Birthday!"  

I was stunned.. and a little upset.  

"But Ranma, whenever I've tried to send you something -" I started
before he cut me off.  

"Yeah, well..  Like I said, Oyaji don't like things that distract
from the Art, like holidays or birthdays," Ranma paused before
mumbling "or people."  He chuckled, but without any humor.  "You
should have seen the fight we had about all my trips to the library."
He quickly brightened up, and flashed that funny grin.  "Well, aren't
you going to open it?"  

I quickly took the package and unwrapped the cloth around it.  The
book inside restarted an old argument.  It was a book about choosing
and getting into a medical school.  

Ranma had been pushing me for a long time to consider becoming a
doctor.  I told him time and time again that college in general, and
medical school in particular with its many years of study, were not
feasible.  My duty was to my family.  Ranma, of all people, was not
in a position to lecture me on putting my own desires ahead of those
of my family.  

He used the same reasoning he always had, suggesting that even if I
must hold off on college, Akane would be done with school just three
years after I was and I could go then.  He talked about all the
knowledge I had amassed just reading out of curiosity, and my obvious
interest in the field.  

It was odd the way the argument was both familiar and new.  Mostly
we reiterated the same things we had both said in letters on several
occasions, but this was different.  To hear his excitement, to feel
his frustration for me, it made a difference to hear his voice.  

Eventually, even we ran out of things to discuss.  We spent the last
hour or so of his visit out on the porch looking at the stars,
sitting close but not quite touching.  Nabiki's voice came back to
me out there, and I wondered how different our evening was from a
normal date.  Finally Ranma stood to leave.  We didn't say much, I
think we were all talked out.  We just looked at each other for a
moment.  

In the end he walked away calling over his shoulder, "I'll write
soon.  I need to tell you about a great evening I had with an old
friend."  

After I watched him walk away, I said quietly, "How was your
evening, Nabiki?  I hope you did not wait too long out here."  

"Darn!" she exclaimed, walking up beside me.  "Why can't I ever fool
you?"  

"Probably because I am expecting it," I explained.  "Don't worry,
though.  I think you fooled Ranma."  No such luck.  He mentioned her
spying in his next letter, but said not to tell her - he did not want
to spoil her fun.  

"No goodnight kiss, huh?" she teased.

"I told you it's not like that."  She wasn't satisfied, though.  The
questions didn't stop for days.  

As I walked back inside, I saw his gift again.  Something struck me.
A while back, he had put his foot down and put an end to all the
stealing.  Mostly now, they were living off the land, though he
suspected his father was not entirely true to their deal.  Where had
he gotten the money for the book?  He always refused to tell me.  

The letters continued, and so did the friendship.  

**** 

I got a big surprise on my graduation day, about a year and a half
later.  As usual, I was as upset as I was thankful.  None of them
will admit to their part in it, so I can only tell you what I saw and
suspect.  

A few months prior to my graduation, Nabiki and Akane started to get
occasional letters from all over Japan.  I did not think too much
about it then, but now I know they had started writing to Ranma.  He
traded off who he addressed his letters to in an effort to keep me in
the dark, and it worked.  I am pretty sure Nabiki started it by
writing to Ranma to ask for ideas for a graduation present, but
that's just speculation.  Ranma may have started it for the same
reason, but the gift was one he would have come up with on his own,
at least his part was, so I doubt he started it.  I don't think it
was Akane, because while she knew about my penpal, she knew very
little about him, and she usually left such gift planning to Nabiki
anyway.  

After we went out for my graduation dinner, we came home to a pile
of things for me to open.  There were some envelopes with money from
distant relatives.  There were the wonderful chef's knives you sent,
though Otousan would only describe you as a distant relative at the
time.  Ono-sensei gave me a copy of a book he knew I wanted to
borrow, but I knew he couldn't spare.  

Next, Otousan handed me a letter.  Apparently when Okaasan knew the
end was near for her, she took the time to write a letter to each of
us to be given to us on our graduation day.  Otousan recently told me
where to find the letters for my imoutosan should anything happen to
him.  I was almost in tears when Otousan brought out his own gift, a
beautiful sundress with a travel folder - he was taking us all to
Osaka over the vacation.  

Finally, came a small bundle with an envelope, but on the envelope
was written "Open the package first!"

In the package was a stethoscope with a note from Ranma, which read:

	Listen to your heart, and follow your 
	dreams!  Congratulations!
		-Ranma

In the envelope was a note from Nabiki and Akane, which read:

	Oneechan,
	You've taken great care of us for years,
	and we can never thank you enough.  Here 
	is what we can do.  Two nights each week,
	depending on your schedule, we will take
	care of ourselves and Otousan.  We've 
	already forged your application to 
	Nerima Community College, all you need 
	to do is sign up for classes!
		We Love you!
		-Nabiki and Akane

I was crying so hard by the time I looked up, all I saw were two
blurs standing before me.  

"Please go, Oneechan!" I heard from Akane.  "You know you want to."  

"I can't guarantee the state of anything when you come home,
Oneesan," Nabiki chimed in, "Akane has insisted on doing some of
the cooking.  Otherwise, you're all set."  Then in a quieter voice,
as Akane explained the gift to Otousan, Nabiki added, "There was
supposed to be more to the gift, Oneechan, but Ranma said their plans
changed at the last minute.  It looked like he was going to meet us
in Osaka for a while," she shrugged.

I was unable to talk them out of it, so now I have been attending
night classes for a little over a year.  It's slow going, but I must
admit it is better than I expected it to be.  

**** 

About seven months ago, Ranma warned me that I might start getting
his letters more slowly.  Not that he was going to be writing less,
but it looked like they were going to go to China.  He was concerned
that this would be just the start of a long series of travels in
China or even elsewhere.  

The letters continued for a few months, with Ranma a little out of
sorts.  He was frustrated, and there was nothing I could do about it.
They never settled anywhere for any length of time, so I could not
send him any letters, though I continued to write them.  He could not
read Chinese or speak any of the dialects, and as a result, could not
even make use of the libraries they ran across.  Ojisan claimed to
read enough to get by, but Ranma thought he was bluffing - how right
he was.  Ranma was alone in a way he had not been in quite some
time, and my hands were tied.  

I received the last letter three months ago.  Ranma apologized, but
said he could not continue to write, at least not soon.  I cried as I
read about how Oyaji's Chinese had lead them to a terrible place. 
He talked about a curse, but the only thing he would tell me was that
he was no longer a man, and was not even certain he was still human. 
In any case, he decided he was not fit to associate with me, damn his
extreme sense of honor, and that was it.  He hoped that one day he
could write again with a clear conscience.  

I cried for weeks.  Even now I get upset when I think about what he
put me through.  I was worried, upset, helpless and lonely all at the
same time.  I had no idea where or how he was, and no way to get in
touch with him.  Akane tried to console me, but I was beyond even
hearing her most of the time.  I did at one point ask where Nabiki
was, since she was missing so many meals.  

Akane was quiet for a moment before answering.  "She and some of her
'associates' are trying to track down Ranma."

Finally, about a month after his letter, I got a postcard.  

	Kasumi,
	Sorry, but I don't have time for a full 
	letter.  Oyaji says we're on our way to
	Tokyo, and we'll be settling down there
	for a while.  I'll try to contact you
	when I get there.  I hope you don't hate 
	me or what I've become.
		-Ranma

Did I hate him?  Oh, I hated what he had done!  But even Nabiki
laughed at the idea that I hated Ranma.  I was worried about him.  I
missed hearing from him.  I missed.. him.  I loved him, I had come
to realize.  He would have a lot of explaining to do, but that he
might even do it in person made up for a lot of things.

The next day I was feeling better, and looking better if the relief
on my imoutosan's faces was any indication.  That morning, Otousan
called us all into his study to announce that one of us, by a
traditional arranged marriage agreement, had a fiance.  

"Fiance?!?" came Akane's response.

"Yes.  The son of a very good friend of mine.  The son's name is
Ranma Saotome.

"RANMA SAOTOME!" we all replied.  

Nabiki took over the questioning, and got enough info to verify it
was the same Ranma.  Martial artist, been on a long training trip
with his father, recently returned from China.  Otousan had been too
secluded for the past several years to know about my 'mailman,' and I
am sure he assumed we were just shocked about a possible engagement.
After he completed his announcement, he quickly went up to his room. 
My sisters wanted to talk to me, but I needed some time to think, and
excused myself to my own room.  

I came down a bit later when Nabiki announced we had company.  As I
came down the stairs, I saw a large panda take a small girl dressed
in chinese clothing from over his shoulder and place her on the floor
in front of him.  The girls eyes found me and seemed to carry a deep
regret.  

"Kasumi?"  

"I'm sorry," I replied, and added a line I will wish I could take
back until they lay me to rest, "do I know you?" 

The girl's head and shoulders slumped, and I am pretty sure I heard
her whisper "Chikushou!"  Then she seemed to draw herself back up as
she clenched her fists.  She reached into her pack and came out with
a thermos, then grabbed my hand and pulled me outside.  

On the porch she stopped, turned toward me and asked "Do you think
you can forgive.. Ranma?"  

"You know him?  Where is he?  Is he coming?"  She could barely get a
word in, but finally covered my mouth with her hand.  

"Can you forgive Ranma?" she reiterated the question.  

I could only nod in response.  

She dropped her hand to open the thermos, then, holding it up, said
"I hope you're right."  

I will never forget watching the transformation that first time. 
Watching parts of Ranma's body appear and disappear was.. well,
overwhelming.  I could not speak for several moments, but Nabiki's
"Kami-sama" broke the silence.  

Ranma glanced at the doorway briefly, then he actually PICKED ME UP
and took a running jump to the roof of the dojo.  He walked quickly
to the side facing away from the house and put me down.  

"Sorry about that, but I need to talk to you in private."  

In the meantime, I had finally found my own voice.  "Ranma, what
happened?"  

He gave me a quick rundown of the events in China and what happened
after his last letter.  They were able to stick to the forest areas
most of the way to keep Ojisan honest, and to keep Ranma from being
embarrassed, but he also said he did not remember much of it.  He
said he felt like a passenger in his own body most of the trip.  

"And if everything else weren't enough, I..  I.." he stopped for a
moment, unable to continue.  

"What, Ranma?  You, what?"  

"I couldn't even tell you what was going on.  I kept.. I kept
thinking that if I could just find a way to tell you what was
happening, it.. it wouldn't SEEM so bad at least."  

I looked at him closely.  I saw the way he fought to get the words
out.  I saw the pain in his eyes.  I saw that he had been going
through the pain of the curse, but that was in addition to all the
things I had been going through.  I saw his feelings.

Finally he bowed.  "Kasumi, I am very sorry for failing as your
friend.  I have.. missed you and your letters.  I know you can't..
well, do what my.. well, our parents want.  I do hope that you'll
give me another chance as a friend, though.  I'll let you know where
we're staying around here, and if you want..  you can write to me
then."  

I was too shocked to speak, and I think Ranma took that as his
answer.  I was quiet as we walked back over the roof, and when he
picked me up for the brief trip to the ground.  I stayed silent as he
argued with his father.  

"Oyaji, I ain't in the mood," he said, quietly but firmly.  "I'm
leaving.  You coming or not?"  

At last it dawned on me.  There was Ranma, my penpal, my best
friend, the man I loved, curse or no curse, preparing to walk out
the door, thinking I could not accept him.  "All you have to do is
accept delivery."  At last, I could act.

I bowed to the room.  "Otousan, Saotome-san, I wish to thank you for
your arrangement to join our families, and I wish to offer myself to
complete that arrangement."  I stood up and looked Ranma in the eye
before I finished.  "I wish to be the one to marry Ranma."  

Things have obviously changed a great deal during the brief few
months we've been engaged.  Ranma still insists that I go to med
school, though now he says it is to help him after his training
sessions.  

He and Akane are training each other in the differences between
their two styles, and though Ranma and I will marry, it has been
decided that Akane will teach at the dojo.  They fight a lot, but
mostly I think Akane is just having some confidence trouble working
with someone who has trained so much more than she has.  She is
getting much better, though, and is much less stressed than she used
to be.  Ranma has apparently also been helping with some boy trouble
she was having at school.  

Nabiki and Ranma have had some issues.  She wants to practice her
photography with him as the subject, or more accurately, with 'her'
as the subject.  Ranma is too shy, so Nabiki has resorted to taking
candid shots, though Ranma calls it spying.  Nabiki did make some
points with him this week though.  She gave Ranma and I a framed
picture of the two of us laughing over dinner.  She took it during
our first 'date' back when Ranma visited a few years ago.  

Ranma has been doing much better since your visit last weekend. 
When we heard about the promise Ojisan had made to you, we were all
very concerned, of course.  I was very glad things worked out after
you met your son.  He feels much more confident knowing he will be
seeing more of his mother, though I still wish he could tell you
these things himself.  

Me?  Well, I'm just happy to have my best friend back, to be able to
have dinner with him, tell him about my day, hear about his, watch
the stars, and even to be able to hold his hand.  I'm just happy
things worked out as they did.  It could have happened very
differently, you know?

***End***

Some terms and notations:
(Keep in mind, Japanese words do not have a plural form, so yen is
yen even if Nabiki makes millions :)

Chikushou - Expletive

Imoutosan or imoutochan - Little sister (-san being more formal)

Kami-sama - God or powerful spirit

-kun (added to a name) - Term of endearment, often used with
younger males

Ojisan - Uncle

Okaasan - Mother (I don't use Senpi (deceased mother) specifically
because of Kasumi's attitude about her mother)

Oneesan or Oneechan - Big sister (-san being more formal)

Otousan - Father

Oyaji - Old man, father (not respectful)

-san (added to name) - Title of respect

-sensei (added to name) - Title of respect for doctors, teachers and
other professionals.