Change in the house of Nerima Akane sat alone in her room which was almost completely empty. The reason for this was simple all of her belongings had been moved to Ranma's room since they were supposed to have gotten married that morning. The wedding was a complete fiasco and her things had not been moved back into her room The only reply Akane gave to this was to sigh before getting up and heading to Ranma's room where a full-size bed sat in the corner 'this should be our room right now' Akane thought as she sat down on the bed and remembered the events at the curse Springs before remembering how her father used her feelings against her once again and then how she threatened Ranma. A threat she had no way of backing up or the intent to do so. 'I love you' Akane thought 'he did say it I know that and I love him' Akane thought tearfully before continuing to think 'tonight should have been that night that we finally made love ...damm he should have been mine ...and he should have been his' Akane thought with a mix of anger and sadness before walking to the window where Nodoka and Genma were departing "why do we fight so much me and Ranma?" "Because you're both fighters and you love the fight" Kasumi replied from the doorway before leaving which left Akane deep in thought for a very long time 'Sis is right but I'm tired of the fight' Akane thought before relaxing on the bed Sometime later Ranma enters to find Akane sleeping on the bed. Ranma's only reply to this was to pull the covers over Akane "Ranma" Akane said as Ranma finished "Don't worry I'm leaving" Ranma replied "No you can stay" Akane replied in an almost pleading tone of voice "Well ok" Ranma said before Akane dragged him underneath the covers where she embraces him in a hug Sometime later Akane begins crying quietly "What's wrong" Ranma asked "What's wrong I'll tell you what's wrong today was supposed to be 'our day'" Akane said tearfully and angrily "You actually did want to marry me?" Ranma said in surprise Akane only nodded "despite all of our fighting and everything I say I really do love you" The only thing Ranma did in reply was put his arms around Akane. For a long time nothing was said between the two "Ranma do you love me please just drop your guard and tell me" Akane said in a pleading tone of voice "just drop your guard and please tell me" The next thing Akane felt was a shift in Ranma's ki a shift she couldn't quite tell the meaning of however when she looked up at Ranma nothing could have prepare for the tortured and haunted expression that hung on Ranma's face "I do I have for a long time" Ranma replied however Ranma's voice wasn't even close to his normal one "Is this who you are underneath everything are you really like this" Akane asked has she looked at Ranma Ranma only nodded "just ... please tell me everything get it all out" Akane said And thus Ranma began to truly open up to Akane. By telling Akane about his ten-year training mission with his father the horrors of which went beyond the Neko-ken and the cursed springs. Because the daily grind of living with Genma was arguably worse. every day Ranma would be awoken by the vicious morning attack from his father and only after beating him senseless did Ranma have time enough to make himself breakfast and eat and of course Ranma would have fend off his father to make sure he had enough to eat. After that the two would fight almost endlessly and if Ranma did anything that Genma considered remotely feminine –which was anything but the art-- Ranma would be punished by humiliation naturally this had its toll on Ranma which manifested itself in his hatred of anything feminine. However despite all of this Ranma had managed to keep a kind heart buried under his tough exterior but as one would expect Ranma had no way no express himself emotionally. so in reality underneath everything Ranma was quite a fragile human being true he may be able topple mountains but emotionally Ranma was quite weak and had about as much confidence in himself as a dog that had been wiped it's entire life Akane being Akane was not about to let this continue she loved Ranma with all of her heart and so as she laid on top of her love she spoke "Ranma I'll help you through this I swear that I'll help you become as confident of your self as you are of your skills" Ranma had no reply for a long time and when he did reply he replied with one word "how" "I don't know Ranma but I'll do whatever it takes" Akane said "but for now just rest ...I'll be here in the morning for you" Akane added before she kissed Ranma lightly on the cheek "Ok I'll trust you ok" Ranma replied before drifting off into sleep 'From now on your bed is my bed' Akane thought to herself before trying to find answers for Ranma's question ************ Early the next morning before the sunrises Ranma awakens to find Akane still lying on top of him "Morning Ranma" Akane said tiredly "Have you been up all night" Ranma asked "No just most of it" Akane replied "tell me Ranma do you ...hmm do you know how to read and write" "No not really" Ranma admitted "Ok that will be the first thing I help you with" Akane replied with a smile "Why are you doing this Akane?" "because I don't want see you hurting over something like this ... over the past year I've seen you take physical hits that make getting hit by a semi truck look like nothing but when anyone really insults you mentally you come very close losing it and that's just not right" Akane said tiredly before setting up in bed to reveal that her pajama top had become quite ruffled revealing the fact Akane did not sleep with a bra on this naturally induces Akane's default reaction but just before she struck Ranma she stopped and just looked at her clinched fist before asking a question just by looking at him the question was simple; why "If Akane could produce a ki blast what emotion would it be based on" was Kasumi's unexpected question from the doorway "...hmm anger" Ranma replied after a moment of thought Hearing this Akane frowns before Kasumi asks another question "and would it be safe to say that Akane feeds off of her anger like Ryouga feeds off of his depression" After a long moment of thought Ranma replies with a nod which makes Akane frown even more "Now if somebody based their energy on say depression they would subconsciously try to become more depressed even if they didn't realize it consciously" "Yeah I figure that's Ryouga's main problem" Ranma replied "and if somebody based their energy on anger they would subconsciously try to get angry at anything they could even if the person they were getting angry at didn't deserve it" Kasumi asked The only reply Ranma gave was to nod this made Akane start to quiver "and if that person could no longer get angry or had trouble getting angry at their usual target would they feel drained and weak" Again the only reply Ranma gave was to nod That was the straw that broke Akane's will which was apparent when she started crying while grabbing onto Ranma The only thing Kasumi did in response was too quietly leave "I'm sorry Ranma. I had no idea I really had no idea I was some kind of monster feeding off of anger" Akane said as she cried into Ranma shirt "I guess I'm not the only one with personal problems" Ranma said sadly "but I didn't even know ...at least you knew you had problems" Akane replied tearfully "do you honestly want help with this" Ranma asked seriously Akane only nodded "ok here's what I'll do if you attack someone physically unless it is in self-defense or during a proper challenge I will stop you by sending you over the horizon understand" Akane's only reply was to nod while gulping "If you attack someone with words I will use a technique that you will not like ... a technique I had to develop a resistance too personally" Ranma added sadly before getting up and leaving ************* As Ranma set foot on the ground floor of the dojo he found Kasumi waiting for him "follow me Ranma" Kasumi said in a neutral tone of voice before leading Ranma to her father's bedroom where Soun sat looking at Nabiki's laptop while Nabiki herself sat nearby on the porch of her father's bedroom facing out towards the koi pond "so I guess you spied on us for the whole night" Ranma said while not sounding surprised the Tendo patriarch just nodded sadly "I'm sorry Ranma if I had known even a tenth of the things your father did I would not have let him under this roof..." Soun said "say the word and I'll make sure he doesn't see the next sunrise" Nabiki said with more ice in her voice then Ranma had ever encountered from the cold mercenary "Father what about the letter" Kasumi interrupted "yes of course" Soun said before handing Ranma a letter "this letter gives you authority to discipline Akane as you see fit ... Nabiki will be delivering a copy to the school and to anyone who wishes to know why you you'll suddenly be sending Akane over the horizon" Soun explained before Ranma read the letter which raised Ranma's eyebrow "Ranma you have saved my daughter's life on many occasions but this time the enemy isn't an island Prince or a demented martial artist but herself" Soun said before getting up and leaving "Ranma ... listen I'm not very good at apologies but this time I'm apologizing with out thought or reservation ... I've always thought you were nothing more then an idiot jock but I had no idea what your father really put you through ...no one should have to go through that for any reason ... no one deserves what you had to go through" Nabiki said quietly before leaving saying one last thing before she left "listen Ranma this is a family of survivors and all of us will help you survive your worthless family" "surprised Ranma" Kasumi asked to which Ranma only nodded to as a reply "come on I'll make you some breakfast" ************* Later after an unusually quite breakfast we find Ranma and Akane walking to school and of course along the way shampoo glommed Ranma before running off Glowing with anger and Akane tried to control herself she did so long enough for Ranma to speak "Akane just think about what I would have to do to escape 1 of shampoo's gloms" Ranma said Akane's only response for 10 full seconds was to continue to glow with anger before blinking and turning beat red and start glowing red with anger once again "that ...that ..that" Akane said before pummeling a concrete wall into dust "come on lets get going" Ranma said ************* Later at the gates to the high school we find Kunou waiting Along with Ukyou who was waiting in the shadows. A few moments earlier she had read the letter concerning Ranma disciplining Akane and was going to get her mad enough that Ranma would have to take action and that would result in Akane hating Ranma and so as soon as Kunou was booted over the horizon Ukyou stepped out of the shadows and begin to insult Akane and in a way that she knew would get a reaction in other words Ukyou began to insult Akane's femininity. the reaction was predictable Akane attacked. only to be malleted while not over the horizon but over the school building. In reply Ukyou just left never seeing Ranma glowing with anger before walking off to find Akane who had landed beside the pool "You ok" Ranma asked as he helped Akane to her feet "Yeah" Akane replied before Ranma gave her a hug "no please I don't need that I know what I did was wrong" Akane objected confusing Ranma "Ok now something else you should know Ukyou did that on purpose she must have gotten a hold of one of the letters Nabiki is selling about this" "Then!! Why did you le" Akane said before clutching her hand to her chest while trying to breathe and after Akane managed to cough the indescribable horrific mental attack ceased "kami-sama what was that" Akane said fearfully "That was a technique I told you about Akane. Remember you can't attack anyone with either words or fists untill you get control of yourself" Ranma said before walking off with Akane close behind 'Kami what was that technique ... gods I can't even describe how horrible that was' Akane thought before continuing on to class *********** Later that morning after the first period we find Akane in the girls' bathroom just trying to cope with the mornings events when her friends Sayuki and Yuka enter "Are you ok Akane" Yuka asked "Yeah just a little shaken" Akane replied "and before you start condemning what Ranma did I asked him to help me get over my temper problems I know it seems a little bit extreme but" Akane said before trailing off "but what" Sayuki asked "if I can't handle this how can I ever hope to handle training with Ranma let alone defeating Ukyou and Shampoo" Akane said before slamming her fist onto the counter which promptly cracks after which Akane looks at her hand and starts to cry "damm I can't even stop myself from resorting to anger in something I plan on doing" that said Akane collapses on to the floor and starts to cry even harder of course her friends try to give her their sympathy to their friend however sympathy is one thing that Akane did not want as was apparent when she ran off angrily almost hurting Yuka in the process Akane's two friends just looked at each other before doing the only thing they could do find Ranma and hope he could help ************** And so 10 minutes later Ranma finds Akane on the roof of the high school trying to be strong without being angry or crying Ranma's only reply to this was to sit down by Akane "this is really hard for you isn't it" "yeah .... so is this the reason why you never spar with me" "Yeah, not to mention what kind of teacher would I be with all the problems I'm carrying around just underneath the surface" Ranma replied "do you have as many problems now as you did when you got here" "no being here Nerima even with all of the chaos has helped more then a lot" Ranma replied "now lets get on with the day and deal with things as they come" Ranma said before Akane nodded and they both returned to class What came next was bucket duty sense they were late getting back to class ********** Later that day after school -- and a few more malletings by Ranma-- we find Ranma and Akane -- who is a bit bruised-- returning to the dojo "so hmm how you plan on helping me learn how to read better" Ranma asked "I have no idea but if I know Kasumi she'll have something ready" Akane replied with a smile to which Ranma could only do the same in reply ************ And so when Ranma and Akane enter the tea room of the dojo they find Kasumi waiting "I handle this Akane" Kasumi said menacingly before Akane scrammed "sit" Kasumi said in a tone of voice that even Happosai would not dare ignore and so Ranma sat "you have entered my element Ranma and I will be as tough on your mind as you are on your body" Kasumi said plainly and frighteningly before beginning And so it did begin ********************** And thus about 6 hours later Ranma enters his room and unceremonially deposits himself on the floor "I have never had so much stuff crammed in my head in such a short amount of time" Ranma said from the floor "Yeah I had forgotten how hard of a teacher Kasumi was" Akane said from the bed "Tough she was a nightmare" Ranma replied as he rolled over on his back "So how did you do" Akane asked "Kasumi said that she had a headache" Ranma replied as sat up "Not good" Akane said as she bit her lip "Because of how little I knew not be because of how fast I learned" Ranma said from his position on the floor "Oh so much did you learn" "A lot I figure" Ranma said before noticing Akane's belongings where is still in the room however before he could ask about it Akane spoke "By the way why did your mom all your dad off last night" "she said something about not wanting to mooch off of your dad anymore" Ranma replied before asking about Akane's belongings the only reply Akane gave was to blush "you want to stay in here don't you" Ranma asked to which Akane only nodded as a reply "ok" Ranma said before climbing into bed 'hmm how can I help him ... now he gets bord when he reads anything for a really long time ... heck anyone does ... mainly because it takes so long to read things' Akane thought before saying one thing aloud " ..hmm speed reading" "hmm what's that" Ranma said from underneath the covers "oops just thinking aloud" Akane said with a nervous blush "so what is speed reading" "oh I don't know the details but it's a way to read really really fast" Akane said "I knew this guy once in junior high he could read over 1500 words a minute" "is that fast?" "I can only read about 200" "Ok that is fast" Ranma said while sounding impressed "not really I can read over 25,000 words a minute" Kasumi said from the doorway as she entered with some laundry needless to say both Ranma and Akane's jaws drop "and as stupid as it may sound the biggest problem I have going faster is how fast I can turn the pages without ripping them" Kasumi added as she gathered the dirty laundry "Wow it's like knowing a Amaguriken for books" Ranma commented "I never thought of it that way but yes I suppose it is" Kasumi said with a smile before leaving **************** The next morning Kasumi awakens Ranma with a kettle of hot water "Rise and shine Ranma" Kasumi said as Ranma clung to the ceiling The only reply Ranma gave was to get Kasumi an evil eye "Get your bath and then I'll give you some breakfast after all you can't learn anything on an empty stomach" Kasumi said before leaving "Sis doesn't care that it's Saturday" Akane said "I noticed" Ranma said from the ceiling before leaving to do as Kasumi instructed *************** And so later that day we find Ranma laying by koi pond looking absolutely exhausted when Ryouga attacks annoyedly Ranma dodges and hits a pressure point on Ryouga's neck before walking off Akane who was watching from the tea room just blinks as Ranma walks by on his way to his room "if he could do that why hasn't he done it before" "search me" Nabiki responded before Akane picked up a glass of water which she had the obvious intent of using to wake Ryouga seeing this Nabiki made b-line for the exit as quickly as she could then so by the time the ear piercing concrete shattering scream of 'NO' was heard Nabiki was nowhere in sight Just outside of Ranma's room Ranma sighs before entering and waiting for Akane who enters looking ready to kill but as she starts to scream Ranma uses the same technique he had at the school yard the effect was immediate and definite Akane collapsed to the ground clutching her hand to her chest however Akane's anger was so great that she wouldn't stay down and so Ranma increased the power of the technique the resulting mental attack was to great for Akane and she screamed an agonizing scream before falling to the ground where she tried to catch her breath Ranma's only responds to this was to pull Akane onto his lap where he lightly caressed her hair before starting to explain the promise Ryouga had made him give "I don't know if I should be angry at you or at Ryouga" Akane said tearfully Ranma's only reply was to continue holding Akane until he could think of something to say "I'm sorry I put my honor above" Ranma said as he continued to stroke Akane's hair "No Ryouga used your word of honor against you and that's much lower then what you did after all you were only being true to your word" Akane said as she wrapped her arms around Ranma