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Takahashi Rumiko has been drawing manga since before I was born. Heck, Ranma began in 1988, and I was only 4 at the time. So obviously I don't own Ranma. Yuki is mine though. Isn't she cute? *gets out wallet to show pics* Chapter 3 - Of Love, Sex, and Violence. Morning couldn't seem to come fast enough for the surrogate parents. Yuki only allowed them a little more than 4 hours of sleep over the course of the night, and it certainly wasn't all at once. The two martial artists were now both sitting in chairs, jealously watching the babe sleep, as both had been unable to fall asleep after the last feeding. Ranma looked over at his fiancée and laughed quietly, "With the dark circles under your eyes, you kinda look like Gosunkugi," he declared. Akane shot him a glare. "You don't look that great yourself you know. You could almost pass for his long lost brother." Ranma just chuckled. "That's entirely possible, but I was thinking about all those times he tried to trick me by dressing like you. It's kinda funny to see the tables turned for once." The water in the pond he landed in courtesy of an impressive judo throw from Akane muffled Ranma's laughter. ****** Ranma re-entered the house after his brief bath with the koi and saw Akane with Yuki in the dining area getting ready to give the baby her bottle. Yuki looked over at the sound of Ranma-chan's footsteps and giggled at her. Ranma smiled back and made a face at her, then he remembered something Kasumi had told him about the baby's bottles. "Akane, you've never heated up one of Yuki's bottles before. Did you remember to check it on your wrist?" Akane looked at him puzzled. Check it on my wrist? What for?" She placed the bottle lengthwise on her wrist Ranma shook his head, "Not like that, squirt some of the milk onto your wrist." Still puzzled, Akane did as she was told, and immediately put Yuki on the floor, jumped up, and ran into the kitchen to pour cold water on her burn. Ranma tried her best to suppress her laughter as she poured the hot water on the stove that was used to heat the bottle over her head. Akane heard what little nose he did make though, and she shot him her best death glare. Ranma quickly shut up, but kept on smiling as he explained. "I did the exact same thing the first time I heated up the bottle too. Kasumi managed to warn me in time. Though I don't remember her stifling her laughter as well as I did... " Akane just scowled at him. Ranma returned to the dining room to see Yuki crawling around and trying to pick up stuff left in reach. He hurriedly grabbed Yuki before she could do any damage to herself, or to anything else. To slake her curiosity, he carried her into the kitchen and gave her her teething ring from the freezer. He then set her in her high chair (another old relic found in the Tendo attic, thankfully fully assembled). He then looked over to Akane who was still trying to cool her burns at the sink. Ranma sighed and walked up behind her. "Here, let me take a look at it." He turned Akane away from the sink and looked at her wrist. Akane realised that the gesture was little more than concern that she may have seriously burned herself, but she couldn't help but blush at the act. Ranma finished inspecting the burn, and looked up at her and smiled. "No problem. It's about as bad as a sunburn. You'll be okay in a day or so." It was Yuki who broke up this sappy moment, calling out to her new parents for attention, and for her bottle. Ranma quickly turned from Akane to give it to her, while Akane started to prepare a breakfast that was more solid. ****** Ranma popped another ant-acid into his mouth and started to chew. He should have known better than to let Akane cook breakfast for the two of them. At least this time she was suffering a bit too, as she had taken a bite of her rice at the same time as Ranma. Why had Kasumi slept in today of all days? Empty stomachs must be filled though, so as Akane took care of Yuki, Ranma was sent to Ucchan's for some okonomiyaki. The bell over the door to the restaurant chimed merrily as Ranma entered. He turned to glare at the bells. Nothing this early in the morning should be able to make a merry noise. Ukyo came out from the back room to help her customer. She smiled as she recognised her fiancé. "Hey Ran-chan! What can I get for you?" "Two pork okonomiyakis to go Ucchan," came the tired reply. Ranma sat at the grill, and proceeded to try to get some sleep while his breakfast cooked. Ukyo poured the batter. "Only two Ranma? You feeling alright?" Ranma secretly wished that his "cute fiancée" would just shut up, cook the food, and let him sleep a few minutes. Of course, he knew voicing this opinion would result in no food, and a concussion. "Actually, only one is for me. The other is for Akane." Ukyo frowned. "Now I know something is wrong. Did Akane try to cook for you again?" she asked as she packed the breakfasts in boxes. Ranma smirked. "Yeah, but I wasn't feeling that great to begin with. Th' baby kept me up all night." Ukyo dropped the boxes. Ranma dove over the counter, nearly burning himself on the hot grill, to save the food. He looked up to see that she was in shock. In his exhausted state, he couldn't understand why. So he sat her down in a chair, then took his breakfast and left. 'Konatsu should be down soon,' he thought. 'He'll take care of her.' ****** Akane was on lying on the couch asleep. Or at least as asleep as one can be with a squirming baby lying on their chest. Akane groaned and sat up to entertain the girl. She looked out through the open shoji to see if Ranma was coming back soon so she could give him the baby for a while. It was then that the wall surrounding the dojo collapsed. "Nihao!" came the cheerful voice from amongst the rubble. Akane groaned. She *really* didn't want to deal with Shampoo at the moment. What made matters worse was that the loud noise startled Yuki, and she started to cry. Akane groaned again, and tried to quiet her. She glared at Shampoo. "Shampoo, I was trying to get Yuki settled down so she and I could take a nap. Now you've gone and gotten her riled up again." Shampoo looked at Akane in shock. "Is your baby?" Akane sighed and explained for the third time how they had come across Yuki. Shampoo frowned slightly at the end of the tale. "Was hoping it was your baby. Would have meant you give up on Ranma." Akane scowled. "What if Ranma was the father?" Shampoo grinned. "Baby no look like Ranma." Akane grinned back evilly. "Well, maybe he couldn't be the father, but with that red hair, he could have been the mother." Akane laughed as she watched the Amazon's face pale at the implication. Shampoo shook her head to clear it of the image of a pregnant Ranma. By then, Yuki had calmed down, and was looking at her in interest. Shampoo's heart melted at the sight of Yuki's large brown eyes staring at her. She was even feeling a bit jealous of Akane for being able to take care of the girl. After all, back at her village it was common for girls her age to have already had one or even two children. Maybe if Ranma would wizen up she'd have one of her own soon, but in the meantime… "Can Shampoo hold baby?" she asked. Akane looked Shampoo in surprise. "Sure, if you want," she replied. She handed Yuki over. Yuki wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation. This strange new girl had come through the wall, and startled her not five minutes ago, and now her new mommy was handing her over? But Shampoo did something surprising; she held the babe gently, started to rock her, and proceeded to sing a lullaby to her in Chinese. Yuki watched this stranger with wide eyes. She didn't seem like a threat any more, and if Mommy seemed to think it was all right, then she could relax. The combination of the movement and the soft song seemed to have an effect on Yuki, as she let out a big yawn, and promptly fell asleep in the Amazon's arms. Akane sighed with relief. Now if she could get rid of Shampoo, she might be able to take a nap for a few hours. She started to take Yuki back, but Shampoo pulled away. "Akane look like she lost a fight. Shampoo put Yuki to bed. You go to sleep. Where crib?" That comment took Akane by surprise. She looked at Shampoo suspiciously. "Why do you want to put Yuki to bed?" Shampoo shrugged. "Just something Shampoo want to do. Akane go to sleep. Shampoo take care of Yuki for a while before going back to Nekohanten." Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Akane told Shampoo where the crib was, watched her go up the stairs, then promptly fell asleep on the couch. ****** Ranma returned a short while later with the food. He wasn't surprised to find Akane had fallen asleep on the couch, though the fact that Yuki wasn't with her agitated him. He put the food down and gently shook her. "Akane?" he asked. But the girl wouldn't have it. 'Guess she didn't sleep much that first night either,' he thought. Ranma took a deep breath and tried again. "AKANE!" She jumped. "Wha? What is it?" She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and saw that it was Ranma. "Why'd you wake me?" she growled. "Where's Yuki?" Akane briefly looked panicked, but then remembered what had happened. "Shampoo showed up, and offered to take care of Yuki for a while so I could get some sleep. Last I saw they went upstairs. Didn't you see the hole in the wall?" "Well, that wall gets a new hole in it every two weeks. How am I supposed to know when someone puts another one in it?" He sighed. "Anyway, I brought you some okonomiyaki." Akane noticed the name on the box. "Ucchan's? Did you tell her about Yuki?" Ranma yawned. "I may have mentioned it. Quite frankly 'kane, I can barely remember what I've done all morning. Let's just eat this, tell Shampoo to go home, and maybe we can convince Yuki to go to sleep for a while so we can too." They ate in silence, and then trudged up the stairs to relieve the impromptu sitter. The sight they saw when they opened the door surprised them. Shampoo was sitting in a rocking chair holding Yuki. She was humming to herself as the babe slept in her arms. A smile creased her face, and a look of joy danced in her eyes. She looked every part like a loving mother holding her child. She looked up at Ranma and Akane, and blushed a little at the looks she saw on their faces. She stood, and placed Yuki in her crib. She then turned to them. "Yuki sleep now. Should be out for a while. You two sleep now too yes?" Ranma looked relieved. He quietly thanked Shampoo, and promptly dove into his bed. Akane had the decency to walk Shampoo out of the house. "You really like her, don't you?" she asked. The Amazon sighed. "Shampoo was wondering what it like to be mother. Got to find out a little. Shampoo changed her and fed her, so Yuki should sleep long time." She turned to leave, but stopped when Akane placed a hand on her shoulder. "If you want, and can promise to use the gate next time, you can come back to see her whenever you want." Shampoo smiled, then turned and ran down the street. Akane turned back to go back inside, and sighed. It had taken a lot of courage to invite Shampoo back. The Amazon was already chasing Ranma after all, what if she took too much of a liking to Yuki? But she had seen that look on Shampoo's face, and knew she couldn't deny her. She had felt the same way about Yuki on a number of occasions as well. Man, it's been too long. Finally done this chapter. I PROMISE the next will come soon. I have no intention of abandoning this story! Thanks to Koala Kitty for beta reading! Read her stuff! It's good!
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