Captured!

Ranma

“You have to marry Akane” Genma insisted to his son. “You have an ideal situation here; you would inherit the dojo and have heirs already included in the deal” he said persuasively.

“I might point out that they aren’t my children to claim, I believe that Akane and Mousse already discussed arrangements for their kids” Ranma said.

“All you would have to do is give them our last name when they’re born and they’re yours. It’s happened before, it happened to me” Genma said looking shrewdly at Ranma. Ranma narrowed his eyes at the implication. “Haven’t you ever wondered why you don’t look like me boy?” he challenged.

“But what if I don’t want to claim them? I like Akane and all but it seems kind of evil to force her into marriage just because she’s pregnant” Ranma said hesitantly. “Especially if they already have a father”

“Don’t worry, Mousse won’t say a thing and there’s no proof they aren’t yours, you’ve been gone just as long as him” Genma said in triumph.

“What do you mean he won’t say a thing?” Ranma asked.

“He’s gave his word that he wouldn’t after we explained the facts of life to him. We can’t have that ridiculous fellow screwing up all the plans that Soun and I worked so hard on” Genma explained.

“What did you do?” Ranma asked.

“He offered to marry her, can you imagine! What the hell would he do with our dojo, use it for target practice while he lives with Akane? What an idiot!” Genma sneered.

“So you basically are telling me that I have to force Akane into marriage and steal children that I have no right to, all for a stupid building with holes in it?” Ranma asked contemptuously.

“That building is your birth rite” Genma snarled.

“I won’t do it, Akane and Mousse almost already lost their children; you can’t make me the baby stealer” Ranma said firmly.

“You’ll do what I say” Genma said firmly. “Or do you want Akane to be disowned? Do you know what happens to girls that are thrown into the street, especially in her condition?” Ranma could only think about that, and then went to find Mousse, on the way he ran into Ryoga and Kuno. Even Akane’s obsessive stalkers felt anger at what the fathers were attempting to do.


Mousse

Shampoo noticed how listless Mousse had become since being rescued from the baby farm and started worrying about her friend for once. She’d expected him to be sad about losing the right to challenge her, but she’d expected him to wail and cry as usual, not to become silent and zombie- like. He shuffled listless about the place and seemed to take no pleasure in anything nor notice what was going on around him. She wasn’t aware that the vegetative state was caused by severe depression; he had started to blame himself for everything that had happened to Akane and had cut himself off society at large. He felt that he deserved whatever punishment would be meted out and was preparing himself to accept it. Shampoo noticed that although he was doing his job correctly, any attempts to talk were met with a bitter sounding “whatever” and that although Akane had been attempting to contact him, he was ignoring her.

“Mousse okay?” she asked.

“I’m fine” he said in a dead sounding voice and didn’t even bother looking at the former love of his life. He was dwelling on the fact that Cologne had congratulated him for him ‘helping to rid Shampoo of competition for Ranma’ as if his being locked away and forced to procreate with Akane had been his idea! He’d nastily asked her if she wanted to lock him up with Ukyou and Kodachi so that he could knock them up too. He wondered why the hell Shampoo was acting like she cared, she hated him! They all did, he was a loser who deserved what happened to him. It wasn’t as if she could have even spared him a hug when he’d first been rescued.

“You not act okay” she said cautiously, his eyes were not only blind as before, but looked dead, as if all hope had been washed from them. “Perhaps you should take day off and go for walk or something? Is beautiful day” she offered. “I can handle floor, you go enjoy sunshine” she said hopefully.

“Whatever” answered the despondent Mousse and shuffled off to his room. He picked up the knife that he kept by his bed every night and placed it against his wrist. He tried to drive it into his vein; his trembling hands wouldn’t allow it. With a yell, he threw the knife down and buried his face in his hands, tears of bitterness dampened them. “Too much of a loser to even end your miserable life properly” he whispered to himself. “You’re useless and don’t deserve the love of a wife or the love of ch......” he couldn’t continue speaking when his breath hitched. He climbed out the window and jumped onto the street, not wanting to face either Shampoo or Cologne.

Lost in thought he wandered aimlessly, ending up in a park. Finding a bench he sat down and reflected on his time spent with Akane. He’d always wondered about her attractions and now he knew, Akane was not only cute but kind hearted, funny and loyal to her friends. She had a nice figure despite being so petit (he’d been forced to notice that under the circumstances) and a very pretty face. Her temper was fiery, but she had a heart of gold. She tried to take care of him after he’d been tortured and even tried to prevent his being taken in the first place. She was brave. She had untapped potential when it came to martial arts that no one had ever bothered to train properly, Mousse thought this was a tragedy. She was a warrior; he realized and would take good care of their children; the ones he would never be able to claim. This made the already despondent boy even more depressed. Just to torture himself he tried to picture what they would look like. He blinked in surprise when he felt a tug at his robe and looked down to find two pink clad twin toddlers staring up at him with the solemn expressions that only the truly young can make. They were dark eyed Asian babies with their dark hair done up in pigtails with tiny pink bows. Mousse wondered if his imagination had conjured them and tentative touched the tiny fist clutching his robe, to feel petal soft warm young skin. The girl he touched smiled at him. Just then he heard a frantic yell, “my babies! Has anyone seen two twin girls? Please gods someone help me!”

Mousse scooped up each tiny girl and walked in the direction of the voice “do these belong to you?” he asked the terrified young woman.

She grabbed them from him and hugged them to her “thank gods; I don’t know how to repay you. I only turned around for a second and they were gone! They love to wander” she said with a sigh of relief.

“Its no trouble, they’re really cute. I’m having twins myself, three more months to go” he said, just happy to be able to say that to someone.

“How nice, do you and your wife know the sexes yet?” she asked, curious now that her children were out of danger.

“The doctor said they are a girl and a boy” he replied, omitting the fact that he wasn’t married.

“Twins are a handful but so worth it in the end” she said.

“I bet these two are going to be heartbreakers” he said smiling at the girls.

“Yes but for now they’re just heart stealers” the mother said looking tenderly at her offspring. “Well, I have to get dinner on the go, good luck to you and your wife. Say goodbye to the nice man girls” she said.

Mousse smiled when both of them said goodbye in babified voices and waved chubby hands at him.

Feeling slightly better by the encounter, he opted to go home. He turned the corner and ran straight into the male members of the wrecking crew. He saw the rage and hatred burning in their eyes, he spread his hands to show that he wasn’t going to fight back “do what you want to me” he said in a resigned tone of voice.

Akane

Akane couldn’t put off going to school any longer, so accompanied by Ranma, Ukyou and Kuno she went to Furinkan high wearing a new maternity dress. Everyone stared at her and wondered.

Akane faced all whispers and muffled giggles with grace and felt much better for the company glaring a challenge at each back stare.

She made it to her third period class, when she had to go to the washroom and got excused. She went into the stall, cursing her pregnant bladder and then wondered again why Mousse wasn’t returning her phone calls. She heard the door open.

“Can you believe that that stuck bitch Akane Tendo’s knocked up?” a voice said. She heard and evil laugh.

“I told you she was whoring around. It’s always the prudish ones that are getting it from all sides” a snarky voice answered. “I hate boys my ass, I bet even that part isn’t virgin on her”

“Guess we know why she’s so popular” the first girl supplied.

“Yeah, wonder if it’s even Ranma’s?” the second nasty girl supplied.

“Even if it is, I say we spread that around” the other said. They both laughed and exited the washroom.

Akane sat in the stall crying. She’d just been branded a slut! It wasn’t her fault that she became pregnant! She thought back to her time spent with Mousse, he’d barely been on her radar before and then he had become her entire world. He’d protected her as best as he could and tried to keep her hopes up. Even during the naked days, he had been as sweet as possible. He’d slept on the floor until after he was first tortured, then she’d insisted that he sleep beside her. He would drape his hair over her while she slept to preserve some of her modesty. Akane realized that she had actually had feared the idea of having sex and used a false hatred to disguise this. Her sexual awaking had oddly occurred after she was pregnant when they made love in the maternity ward, it had felt wonderful!

Realizing that she couldn’t go back to class in her misery, Akane did the unheard of and cut school, she wandered until she ended up in front of the Neko Hanten. Feeling the need to seek comfort, she pushed open the door and went in.

Shampoo was surprised to see Akane.

“Akane, you need something?” she asked feeling sorry for the poor girl.

“I-I was just wondering if Mousse was here?” she asked. “I would like to speak with him”

“Sorry, he go out, have to get ready to go back to China” she explained.

“He’s leaving” Akane asked in alarm.

“Yes, he go back to his mother’s farm” Shampoo explained. Wondering why Mousse hadn’t told the mother of his children.

“Oh, could you tell him I stopped by?” Akane asked sadly.

“Sure, Akane okay? It not be so bad when babies born; they half Amazon, always healthy and too too gorgeous like me” Shampoo said trying to cheer her up. “You wait, I make you tea blend, is good for pregnant women” she said.

Akane wasn’t sure why Shampoo was being nice to her “oh okay, that’s very nice of you. Wait it isn’t the usual stuff you make, it isn’t going to make me think I’m a salmon who has to swim up river to spawn or something?” she asked suspiciously.

Shampoo gave her a genuine smile and a quick hug “no, I have cup with you to show” she said and left Akane with a free bowl of Ramen while she got out her mortar and pestle.

“Shampoo why are you being nice to the enemy?” Cologne asked her.

“I feel sorry for Akane, if I go with Mousse would have been me and I know she be nice to me. Akane nice girl” Shampoo explained.

“An Amazon woman couldn’t be forced to do that” Cologne proclaimed.

“They forced Mousse and he Amazon too and as stubborn as mule. Could happen to any woman, so we girls need stick together” she said and started to make the blend.

Soun

Soun pulled the last Marlboro red out of the second pack that he smoked that day in his stress over trying to talk his recalcitrant daughter into marrying Ranma, then badgering her and then ordering her to no avail. (See I include the smoking thing Animedevildog, Hi Scorpianac!)

There was a knock at the door and he went to answer it. A thirty something woman smiled at him “Hello is Akane Tendo here?” she asked.

“She’s at school, perhaps I can take a message?” he asked.

“Yes, my name is Aoi Morioka; I’m an adoption broker representing a wealthy American couple who would be interested in adopting her twins. Don’t look at me like that” she laughed “I’m not like Mommas, I’m licensed to act as a broker in Tokyo and you can check all of my credentials through our governing body. The couple was the ones that were deceived by Mommas in the first place, they asked me to contact Akane to apologize and see if she would be interested in arranging legal adoptions. They sent this by way of apology with no strings attached” she said extending a check for ten thousand American dollar. “They’re offering four million five hundred yen and to pay for all medical expenses” she explained and extended her card and the cheque.

Soun pondered the amount greedily and saw that there might be another solution to their problem. Then Akane could marry Ranma unfettered, their problems vanished to America and forgotten.