Chapter 7

It was another rainy day in Nerima and the Tendo and Saotome families were diligently leafing through the mounds of paper work that came with searching for her sister and missing brother-in law. Noduka entered the room carrying a trey of miso soup, she set the bowls down while commenting sadly, “Its six months since we buried them.”

The middle Tendo daughter entered the room. She was reading a map of the Tahitian area. “I don’t believe they’re dead! That’s whey we’re doing this!” Nabiki replied stubbornly.

“I really miss them,” Kasumi replied, while lugging another stack of papers into the living room.

“Don’t worry, Kasumi, I think I’m hot on their trail. Those rescue people out there don’t know a thing about how to find lost martial artists….hmm….maybe we should send Ryoga to find them?”

“That’s not funny, Nabiki,” Soun replied as he glanced up from skimming through the stack of information regarding the surrounding islands in which Ranma and Akane had disappeared.

“Hey! I’m only saying that if they’re lost, only a lost martial artist can find them. You forget that Ryoga always manages to end up with Akane and Ranma. He might be able to stumble upon them by accident…given that weird sense of direction he has. Not to mention he somehow manages to cross oceans without the use of a plane or boat,” Nabiki responded.

“Oh, I so would like to hold my son again, “ Noduka interjected while scooping out some rice and placing it before her husband. "Do you think we will find them soon?"

“If Nabiki thinks that they are alive then we all should have hope that we will find them,” Kasumi smiled as she set the stack of papers down on the table. Turning, she made her way into the kitchen to bring out some tea and a plate of cookies for the long house to come.

"I'm not sure, Auntie. I don't think we'll be able to pinpoint their location. But, I have every intention of continuing to look until they're found," Nabiki replied before burying her nose into another pile of information.

“She has a point, Tendo. That boy always ends up with Ranma and Akane. He might be able to find them." Genma scratched his chin for a moment before continuing, “Although the only problem is that he’d actually have to be on the same island as them and not manage to loose them once he turns around.”

“Very true, Saotome,” Soun replied leafing through another pile of papers.

"Now the only problem is actually finding Ryoga," Noduka replied after wiping her mouth with a napkin.

The rest of the family blinked at her obvious reasoning before hanging their heads. They all knew that it could be days, weeks, or months before Ryoga eventually showed up. Sighing, Nabiki muttered, "That's...just...great! There's no telling when the eternally lost boy will show up!"

Soun glanced up from what he was doing and started sniffling, "Then we'll never find...my...b-baby." He took a few shuddering breaths as he tried to control himself, but unfortunately his emotions were on a roller coaster ride since Akane and Ranma's sudden disappearance. Soun couldn't control himself anymore and began wailing, "Waaaaaaaaaaa!"

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The shadow crouched down close to the forest floor, not a muscle moved as it eyed the wild boar in the clearing ahead. Slowly it inched closer towards its target, careful not to make any sudden movements. Each movement measured to make the least possible sound as it advanced upon its prey. The shadow knew that its companion was even now circling the animal from the other side and would come to her aid if needed. Suddenly, a loud crack echoed through the forest and the shadow instantly froze. Not a breath passed her lips as she watched the boar jerk its head up and sniff at the air. As soon as the animal deemed that it wasn't in any danger, it lowered its head and began nosing through the leaf-litter. This was the moment she had been waiting for, the shadow took this opportunity to move ever closer towards their intended dinner.

Glancing up from the target, Akane searched through the deepest shadows for any sign of Ranma. Since they had started hunting four months ago, Akane admitted that they now worked together very well. Their first attempt at hunting had been abysmal and they had almost gotten seriously injured. In the end, they had managed to have the animal chase them and had used their brains into getting the animal to fall in one of their traps. It was a bit scary as the first time they had started hunting wild pig, now they worked like a team of hunting wolves. Suddenly, Akane spotted two flashes of white hidden deep within the shadows, she smiled as she recognized that it was the whites of his eyes before turning her attention back towards the clearing. Akane knew that at any moment, Ranma would give the signal. Tensing her muscles, she waited all of two minutes before a bird's call echoed throughout the forest.

Now was the time to strike, Akane moved forward, spear gripped tightly in her right hand, she slowly stood and drew back her arm and then hurled the spear towards her target. The spear whistled through the air and missed the animals’ heart; the boar had moved the minute it heard the whistling sound. Unfortunately for the boar, the spear hit its shoulder, wounding it severely and totally pissing it off. Akane gasped in disbelief, she had almost made a clean kill and now she would have to deal with an animal that had become really dangerous. The boar whirled, gnashing its sixteen-inch tusks as it spotted its attacker, then, charged. Akane's eyes widened in surprise as the animal headed in her direction. "Ranma! Now would be a good time!" she screamed as she quickly drew her dagger from its hip-sheath. Tensing her muscles, Akane readied herself to move, "Shit!" she cursed as the animal closed in. At the last second before its tusks reached her, Akane flipped over the animals’ back and stabbed downward as it passed. The boar squealed in pain but Akane ignored this and swiftly scooped up her fallen spear. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Ranma drop from his perch.

The boar whirled at the sound and charged, Ranma grinned before he braced the butt of the spear on the ground and allowed the animal to impale itself. It thrashed violently, swinging its head to the right it missed Ranma's leg by a millimeter. "Shit!" he cursed as he moved his legs away from the tusks. "Now, Akane!" he yelled, never taking his eyes off of the thrashing animal.

Akane was glad that Ranma had agreed to train her or she would have gotten seriously injured. Quickly closing in from behind, Akane grabbed the boar by the ears and pulled its head back. "I hate this part!" she growled as she slit its throat. This animal, Akane noted, had been particularly difficult to track. Gasping for breath Akane eyed their kill and said, "Y-you okay, Ranma?"

"Y-yeah, man this thing was tough!" he grinned tiredly, his teeth showing white through the layers of mud that caked his body. Akane smiled in return, some of the mud that covered her face flaked off. They had been tracking the animal since early this morning and now that the hunt was done, she was exhausted. Glancing upward at the sun, Akane determined that it was around three in the afternoon.

"Good! Now we can get back home and then take a bath, she grimaced at the feel of dried mud on her body. "This stuff is beginning to itch like crazy!"

Ranma stifled his laughter at the site of her. Akane was covered from head to toe in a few layers of mud. The only thing he could see on Akane in the darkened gloom of the forest where the whites of her eyes. Her hair, he noted, had gotten longer over the eight months that they had been here and would need a through scrubbing. He sighed ruefully and thought, "I must look as bad as she does." Bending down, Ranma hefted the boar onto his shoulder and proceeded to head back home. "Come on, Akane. The faster we get home, the faster I help you wash that mud out of your hair. Then ya can do the same for me." Ranma paused on the path and glanced back at her, scratching at his chest vigorously and replied, "Damn...your right about it itching!"

"We can take our bath after we wash our hands and clean the pig first, Ranma," Akane replied, walking right behind him.

"Feh, I know...I know, ya don't have ta remind me," Ranma chuckled. They walked for an hour before they finally reached their new home. While Ranma set about cleaning their kill, Akane ran ahead to gather the baskets that the meat would be placed in for storage. They had discovered a cave a while back that was ice cold and doubled as a ice box due to the rushing water that blocked the mouth of it. The baskets were to keep the meat safe from any bugs and to suspend their catch off of the caverns floor. Akane remembered when they had stumbled upon the cave and smiled. Before, when they had started hunting, they had only killed piglets because the meat would have spoiled in this climate if it wasn't consumed in one sitting. Now they didn't have to worry about it anymore, they could now hunt bigger game and store it away. She was glad of this because this meant they only had to hunt once every month.

Akane quickly walked back with the baskets in hand, "Here you go, Ranma." Akane smiled as she hung them on a near by branch. Kneeling down, she helped Ranma skin the carcass. Apparently while she was gathering the baskets, Ranma had removed the pig’s head and buried it. But, not before he removed the tusks, they sat on a rock not too far away and would be made into something useful later.

Ranma grunted as they finished skinning the animal, "Thanks, Akane." He pulled out a longer knife and began cutting up the kill. Akane took the skin and began cleaning it so that they could make it into clothing. Their clothes hadn't survived for long in this climate. They had lasted for two months before the moths had made them into so much Swiss cheese. Akane glanced at Ranma's muscular legs and blushed. She admitted to herself that Ranma looked good in a loincloth. She knew that her appearance wasn't too shabby either since she had noticed Ranma glancing towards her every now and then. When he noticed that she had caught him starring, he had blushed before turning away.

As Akane finally finished cleaning the skin, she soaked it in water to clean off any residual blood and then staked it out in the sun to dry. When she glanced upward once more she noticed that Ranma had finished as well and was just coming back from putting their kill in the cave. Akane stood, whipping the sweat from her brow and smearing the mud in the process. "Come on Ranma," she called as she raced off towards the river. Glancing over her shoulder, Akane quipped, "You can't catch me!"

"Hey!" Ranma yelled as he ran after her. He was right on her heals as they jumped over downed trees and rocks that littered their path. "Akane, get back here!" he called once more. All he got in answer to his demands was her laughter as she ran faster. Finally reaching the river, he heard a splash that signaled to him that she had dove in. Ranma broke through the forest and into a clearing, taking a running jump, he dove in after her. Surfacing, Ranma-chan yelled in delight at the feeling of finally being able to clean off the layers of mud. Akane she noted was busily scrubbing away the dirt that encrusted her body. Ranma-chan swam up behind her, reached forward and began scrubbing Akane's hair free of any lingering mud. When Ranma finished, Akane returned the favor.

Stepping back, Akane eyed her work and exclaimed, "There! All done Ranma!"

"Thanks, Akane!" Ranma turned around and impulsively hugged Akane before she realized what she was doing.

Blushing furiously, Ranma jumped away and started stuttering, "Ah, I--I'm s...s."

Akane blushed just as red as Ranma while replying, "It's alright Ranma, I don't mind." Akane climbed out of the water and stretched. The cold water had made her muscles stiffen and she wanted to have a good soak in some hot water to relax them before dinner. Turning, she grinned at Ranma-chan and replied, "Hey, I'll race you to the hot springs!

Ranma-chan groaned while rolling her eyes in exasperation. She was tired but thought that Akane had the right idea. "Besides," she thought as she pulled herself out of the river, "I want to turn back into a guy anyway." When Ranma glanced back to where she had last seen Akane, it was to see an empty riverbank. "Hey! Akane you get back here!" Ranma yelled as she took off in the direction of the hot springs.

When Ranma arrived at the hot springs, the steam in the air made seeing very difficult, but she could hear Akane's sighs of contentment. Grinning, Ranma-chan jumped in with a loud splash. Akane squealed as the wave of water hit her in the face. When Ranma surfaced, he laughed in delight before getting splashed in the face by Akane's return volley. They played water war for a good ten minutes before they were too exausted to fight anymore. Akane giggled silently, sneaking up behind Ranma, when she was close enough she tacked him. As they fell, Ranma twisted around so that they were facing each other, he grinned as he pulled her in with him.

When they surfaced, Akane drew in a deep breath and smiled. Then, she realized that his arms were still around her, "I should pull away but...this feels nice," Akane thought. Slowly, she turned in his embrace. She stared at his throat, unable to raise her gaze any higher. Ranma panted for breat, desprately trying not to though Akane on the ground and ravish her. He watched the her face for any sighn that she returned his feelings.

"She'll kick you clear across the island for what you're thinking!" Ranma firmly strangled that voice and raised his hand to Akane's chin. With gentle fingers, he lifted her chin. Ranma watched as her eyes fluttered closed and heard her breath catch. A lone finger brushed her lips and her eyes opened. Akane felt his finger tracing her lips and part of her screamed that they shouldn't be doing this. "We can't! We should be married first!" Akane turned a deaf ear to that part of herself and sucked gently on his thumb.

Ranma sucked in a deep breath at the sudden jolt of sensation. They locked gazes and he fell helplessly into the depths of Akane's eyes. Lowering his head, he brushed his lips against hers repeatedly until the want became too much. Akane was deafened by the pounding of her heart. Akane wrapped her arms around Ranma's waist and felt a trickle of sweat roll down her back. Tightening her arms, she pulled him closer while sliding her tongue along his lower lip and shifting her body so she was pressing against him.

"Akane," Ranma gasped and pulled her tighter against himself . Slowly, he lowered his head, he captured her lips in a heated kiss. Akane responded by slipping her tounge between his lips, Ranma made a funny noise in the back of his throat and suddenly, the kiss got rougher. Ranma slowly walked her towards the edge of the spring and laid her down on the soft moist earth while never breaking their embrace. He quickly removed his loincloth, until all that remained was bare skin. Akane blushed as she watched him undress. She had secretly liked muscular men; it was one of the reasons she fell for Ranma. Her eyes roamed greedily across his chest, arms, and abdomen as she watched the muscles flow, from one position to next as he leaned closer. "Are you sure about this, Akane?"

Ranma watched, as Akane liked her lips and nodded wordlessly. Ranma kissed her again, Akane moaned as her nails dugg into his shoulder blades. "Akane, I'll stop if you tell me to," Ranma whispered as he moved his mouth to her ear nibbled on it gently. "How in the hell did this happen?"

"I don't know...but, I feel the same way about you," she breathed in his neck, kissing his shoulder. Akane surprised Ranma, when she brought her hands around to his front and gently cupped him.. He growled deep in his throat and gripped her tighter, taking pleasure as her hand gently massaged his member. He returned the favor by reaching down towards the apex of her thighs and gently parting the petels and reach the nubb of her pleasure, he rubbed it firmly.

Akane cried out in pleasure, she was unfamiliar with these sensations but they excited her beyond beleif. She felt lost as he continued rubbing her most secreat spot. She wanted more so she lifted her hips and rubbed herself against him, "Ooh, Ranma, I can't wait any longer..."

"Easy, Akane,." He gently removed her clothing before pushing her down to lay on the mossy ground. Then, he kissed her on the nose before slowly working his way down her neck towards her chest. Swirling his tongue around her hardening nipple, he nipped the bud, sending a jolt of pleasure shooting through her. Akane shrieked in surprised pleasure, it was not long before her cry turned into a moan of need. She lifed her hands and brought his head to her chest, reveling in the sensations he was creating in her. Taking this as permission, he moved his attention to her other breast and repeated the process. Akane writhed under him, ecstasy flowing through her veins. Ranma moved lower, dragging his teeth across her taut stomach, flicking his tongue across her navel before delving lower.

Akane moaned as she tossed her head back and forth. She couldn't believe that her body was responding to Ranma this way. Breathing became difficult as her emotions rose along with her excitementl. Ranma, could feel his control slipping away. The scent of Akane's arousal made his head spin. He could feel and see her every reaction to his touch.

As his lips brushed over her most sensitive spot, Akane's hips bucked as she cried out, "Aaaaa!" Ranma flicked out his tounge and tasted her causing Akane to suck in a shocked breath. He looked up into her flushed face, eyes wild with the passion he created in her. "Are you ready, Akane?"

Akane gulped nervously, nodding her head violently. "Oh Kami, yes!" Ranma smirked and positioned himself over her, wrapping an arm around her waist and bracing himself with the other, he paused, glancing at Akane's face in parcial indicision.

Akane groaned and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "Oh, gods, Ranma. Now! Before I explode..."
He grunted in relief and he entered her in one swift thrust. Akane cried in pain amd her nails dug deeply into his shoulders as she bucked her hips. Ranma kissed her on the lips while waiting for her to adjust to the feeling of him. "Oh God, Akane!" His voice held a note of wonder at the fell of her inner walls gripping him.

Akane gripped his neck tighter. "I'm ok, Ranma," she whispered while lifing her hips.

Ranma nodded and grunted as he slowly started to move in and out of her, creating a steady rhythm of slow strokes. Akane moaned louder with each of his thrusts. She matched his rhythm, coaxing him to go faster by wrapping her legs around his waist.

Ranma groaned loudly. He couldn't believe that Akane made him feel this way. He felt emotions that he never before experienced or dreamed existed. The control he had slipped through his fingers with each sound she made. Akane cried out as he managed to hit her secreat S spot, tipping her head back she let loose a loud pleasured moan and dug her nails into his shoulders, deep enough to draw blood.

After a few more thrusts, Ranma climaxed, groaning at the new feeling. Akane screamed silently, shaking from the ogasm and clamped her arms around his chest, tight enough to have suffocated any non-martial artist. Both panted heavily from the exertion. Ranma pulled out of Akane and held her tightly in his arms, the events of what had just happened still vague in his conscious mind.

Akane snuggled into Ranma's chest, still stunned senseless from their coupling. She curiously probed at her feelings for Ranma, she could finally stop denying that she loved him. She glanced up at him, she saw the in confusion written on his face. "What's wrong, Ranma?" He opened his eyes and pointedly stared at her. He had a feeling about what she was guessing at and he admitted to himself that he loved her. Ranma said nothing aloud, but held her closer, showing her through his actions that he cared about her.

Akane watched his face and saw many emotions chasing themselves across his visige. She could practically feel his frustration, for not knowing how to express himself properly in a verbal sense. He felt disgust at himself, for not being able to tell the other girls whom he really loved. Akane smiled at the next emotion. She could see his confusion of why she chose to be his lover after everything, and why had he fallen for her. "You never will figure that one out, Ranma. I suggest giving up now."

Ranma sighed as he hugged her closer, "Akane?"

"Hmm?" Akane sighed as she shook off the tingles that jumped up and down her spine. Akane felt confused.

"Do you…that...is…do you...love...me?" He asked uncertainly.

Akane smiled gently while nodding her head, "Yes. Otherwise I wouldn't have let you make love to me." She gently nipped his ear lobe, whispering the words out loud, "I love you, Ranma. With all my heart."
The overwhelming emotions that engulfed him caused Ranma to smile as he pulled her tighter into his embrace, then he made love to her once more. As the sun set, the night air rang with Akane and Ranma's screams of ecstasy.

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Akane groaned softly as a wave of nausea slammed into her, rolling over on her bed, she covered her mouth with one hand while dashing out the door faster than a streak of lightning. She barely made it to the forest’s edge when her stomach heaved. Dropping to her knees, Akane clutched her stomach, as she was thoroughly sick. After about ten minuets of this the sickness finally abated enough when she felt better. "I'd better be coming down with a cold or we're in big trouble," she muttered quietly while making her way back into the hut. Akane knew that one month had passed since the last hunting sojourn and their bout of lovemaking, she just knew that Ranma would want to go on another one today but she didn't feel too good this morning and she knew that Ranma had to be told about it. Opening the door, Akane searched the gloomy interior for Ranma. Finally spotting the lump under the covers, she smiled before making her way over to his side. "Ranma," Akane called as she shook him hard and waited a few moments for any reaction. No response. "Geeze!" Akane sighed, completely exasperated with her fiancé. Taking a deep breath, Akane bent down next to his ear and yelled loudly, "RANMA GET UP!"

"Aaaaaaaaa!" the pigtailed boy screamed as he vaulted from a sleeping position to clinging on the ceiling. Glancing down, Ranma spotted the cause of his recent rude awakening and growled in annoyance, "Whadja do that for?"

Akane sighed once more while rolling her eyes before she said, "I couldn't get you to wake up! Besides," she growled as she sat down. "I don't feel so good this morning. I just got back from being sick." Akane placed her hand on her forehead for a few moments before continuing, " I know that I'm not running a temperature and I only have one answer as to why. I've come to the conclusion that I might be....p-p..."

Ranma leaned forward as her explanation faded out to a bare whisper, "What?" he said cupping his ear with his right hand. "What didja say, I can't hear you."

Akane gulped and took a deep breath before screaming, "I might be pregnant, you jerk!"

Ranma froze; his eyes became wider than dinner plates while his face lost all color, "ACK!" He then stared at her for a few seconds while stammering, "P...p....p....preg...pregnant....."

Akane nodded and opened her mouth to reply but before she could, Ranma's eyes rolled up into his head and he fainted dead away. "Ranma!" Akane gasped, completely shocked at his unexpected reaction. She just couldn't believe the so called man among men had fainted at the mere mention of her having his baby! Quickly, Akane rose to her feet, grabbing the small bucket hanging by the door, she ran outside to gather some cold water. "This'll snap him out of it," she muttered, kneeling down and scooping up the icy cold water. Turning, she ran back inside the hut, grabbed his arm and dragged him out onto the porch. Picking up the bucket, Akane tried one last time to snap him out of it, "Ranma! If you don't wake up, I'm going to splash you with this water!" No response. "Oh well, don't say I didn't warn you," Akane said as she poured the cold water on him.

"That's cold!" Ranma-chan screamed as she sat up sputtering. Turning her attention towards Akane she said, "Whad'ja do that for!"

Akane glared at Ranma and calmly replied, "You fainted."

"That's impossible...Guys don't faint, so I didn't faint," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

Akane sighed once more and replied, "Ok, guys don't faint but I hate to break it to you, Ranma...but_ you_ just did when I told you that I might be pregnant."

"How could that have happened?"

"Oh, the usual way, I would imagine," Akane replied wryly.

"But..."

"Ranma, it is possible for a girl to get pregnant with her first time of having sex. I think that I am pregnant," Akane replied while mentally counting the days since her last period. Nodding her head she went on to say, "Yep, now I'm sure that I'm pregnant. I missed having my period by two weeks and I'm always regular."

Ranma gulped, he didn't know what to do about this new turn of events but he knew that honor demanded that he marry Akane. "In fact," he silently berated himself, "I should have married her the first night right after we made love. I guess there is only one thing left to do now." Quickly getting up, Ranma gathered his courage and said, "Akane...I..I love you...will you marry me?"

Akane didn't even have to think about it and replied, "Yes! I'll marry you, you baka!" Quickly, before he could turn away, Akane threw herself into Ranma-chan's arms and kissed her directly on the mouth, not caring whether or not Ranma was a girl. All Akane knew was that Ranma was Ranma in either forms and that she loved him. "He's all mine...there's no way the other girls can dispute my claim and take him away from me when we've had a baby together. But, how the heck are we going to get married?" Akane thought before voicing her concerns. "Ranma, how can we get married without a priest!"

Ranma smirked and replied, "That's easy, Akane. We'll just have a private Shinto ceremony...except we'll be drinking juice instead of saki." Ranma pulled Akane closer and kissed her again before letting her go and trotting off to take a dip in the hot springs. "I'll be back in twenty minutes and I'll make sure to bring something to eat, Akane."

"All right, I'll be here when you come back. I need to think about a few things, see you later, Ranma!" Akane called after him as she sat down and started to worry. "How the hell am I going to have this baby with no doctors around! I really didn't want to say this but......I'm scared."

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