Bridging the Gap
By Lord Archive
Characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi and a bunch of companies and are
used without consent.
This occurs the same day as the final panel of Manga volume 38.
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Ranma was not plaesed with the idea to return to school. He knew the other
students would grill him about events of the wedding fiasco and whether
anything else happened between him and Akane. Not to mention questions
about what happened in China.
Akane, however, looked happy to go to school. She was also nervous, but
the rumor horde was enough to make anyone nervous.
Ranma and Akane had their books bags ready are were ready to leave for
school.
"Akane, I'm sure the school'll understand if we don't go today," Ranma
said.
"Ranma, we'll face to face them sooner or later, so running away won't do
anything," Akane replied with a nervous smile.
"Hey, I don't run away from anything." Ranma turned and ran out of the
house.
Akane shook her head and chased after him.
Kasumi smiled as she watched them leave, also giving the same silent
prayer Akane did. She picked up the phone and dialed a number.
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"Ranma, will you stop for a moment?" Akane screamed at Ranma as he ran
over a bridge.
"What is it?" Ranma asked, stopping.
"Follow me for a second," Akane ordered.
Ranma raised an eyebrow. "I thought ya wanted to go ta school."
"This is more important."
Ranma shrugged and followed her under the bridge. "So, why did ya want me
to follow?"
Akane took a deep breath. "Ranma, could you sit down? I think we need to
talk."
"Talk?" Ranma asked, surprised.
"I know it's a foreign concept to us, but we really need to talk. You
know, talk about the failed wedding and China."
Ranma looked REAL uncomfortable, but nodded.
Akane nervously said, "I-I think we need a few ground rules though: First,
avoid insulting. Second, avoid hitting. Third, it is preferable to think
about answers before responding. Forth, do not interrupt when the other
person is speaking. These rules apply to me as well as you."
Ranma could tell Akane had put a lot of thought into it, as those rules
sounded like Nabiki had come up with them. "F-fair enough," Ranma said
nervously after a moment. He sat against the slanted underside of the
bidge.
Akane stood infront of him, looking at her fidgeting hands as her resolve
started to fade. "Um, Ranma, I want you to know that... when I was in
China and became that... dehydradrated doll... I was... aware of... what
was going on... I knew you all thought I... was dead... I heard Ryoga
crying... I heard how upset Mousse was... I didn't hear you... I heard
Ryoga trying to help you... but you wouldn't respond... I heard him hit
you... you didn't respond... It was like... you died."
Akane looked at Ranma tears in her eyes. Ranma was very uncomfortable and
at a loss of words.
Akane continued, "I... I've only seen... someone... act like that...
once." She sighed. "It... it was my father... when... Mom died... He
just... shut himself off... He was... emotionally... dead... It took over
a week for Kasumi to get him out of it."
Akane shut her eyes tightly. "Ranma... I can't deny it anymore... and you
shouldn't either... I know you... love me... Your reaction was not of
someone who lost a friend... It was of someone who... lost... someone
they... love more than life itself."
Akane opened her eyes to see Ranma staring at her, unmoving. She stood
there wanting him to say something. Akane heard Shampoo calling out for
Ranma and heard Ryoga scream his usual question. Neither she nor Ranma
made an attempt to move to let them know of their presence. After a
half-hour Ranma moved, he started to stare at the ground.
"Ranma?" Akane asked, tentatively. When she didn't get a responce, she sat
down next to him. She wanted a responce from him, but her sisters told her
to let him think.
Akane was startled when she heard Ranma mutter an hour later, "If you had
died... I'd be an emotion wreck like Mr. Tendo." He shook his head.
"Something like that."
Ranma blinked, he was unaware he actually said it. "I doubt it. There is
no way anyone could make me that way," he said defensively.
Akane shook her head. "You shouldn't deny it. You might have been
able to recover better than daddy did, but you did emotionally die. I
know you were crying when it was discovered I was still alive. And, I know
you tried to say I love you when you thought I died that second time."
Ranma remained silent for a moment, "Would you react the same way I did?"
"I-I'm not entirely sure. I might. I know enough that I'd risk my life for
you without a second thought, because I have."
"Did ya really want to marry me?"
"Ranma, I did put on the wedding dress."
"Did you do it just because of the Nanniichaun or because you think I love
you?"
"Think? Why can't you just admit?" Akane started to get angry.
"Why can't you?" Ranma returned.
"Because I want you to say it first!"
"What? You don't want to be able to say you said it first?"
"FINE! Ranma, I love you! Now you admit it!" Akane said, angrily.
"I love you, too." Ranma smirked.
Akane blinked. She had promised herself to make him say it first, but he
got her to. "Why did you... why did you want me to say it first?"
"I think we've been playing sort of the same game. We were going to wait
until the other said it first."
Akane playfully hit Ranma in shoulder. "Baka, you were going to put your
pride over admitted your love."
"You were doing that too. And you just broke two of your rules." Ranma
smiled. "Besides, you both won and lost. You lost because I got you to
say it first and won for being able to say you said it first."
Akane smiled, "I take any victory over you I can." She sighed. "What do we
do now though? You still have too many fiancees, and I... sort of...
wanttomarryyousoon."
Ranma blinked. "Um, ah, why?"
"Er, well, its just that... with the way your life is... your next
adventure could be your last... or mine. If we don't get married soon, we
might never get married."
Ranma shook his head. "Akane, I d-do want to m-m-marry you... but I'm not
ready. That is why I never really did anything about the other fiancees.
With the unresolved problems, they shouldn't have tried to get us
married."
Akane laughed. "How much different would marrying me be. You already have
to answer to me when you do something stupid. You protect my family from
harm. The only difference I see... is, um, where you sleep." Akane's face
was now bright red.
Ranma blushed too. After several moments Ranma asked, "But what about the
increased responcibilities?"
"We won't exactly be on our own. Kasumi will help care for the house and
train me to be a good wife. Not to mention the matter that based off
current funds of the Tendo estate we have years to go before money is a
problem."
"What about... children?" Ranma was blushing bright red.
Akane's face once again took a crimson shade. "We'll use birth control.
I'm not exactly eager to have children as that would cause us to have a
lot of responcibilities, not to mention we're both still in High School."
After a long moment, Ranma said, "Let me think about it... I-I'm still not
sure."
"Don't make me wait too long." Akane sighed. "At least let's work on how
to handle your fiancee problem. It'll hurt them more if we don't."
Ranma nodded.
"Good. Let's go back home and start working on some ideas."
"But if we go home... won't our parents be there."
"Sure they are, but they already know what's we said."
"W-what?" Ranma stammered, shocked.
"I was talking to Kasumi about my idea... and Nabiki somehow found out and
helped work out the details. I got them to keep our parents home, but I
would not be surprised if everything we said was taped and played for
them."
"Just great. Why can't we have any privacy?"
Akane sighed. "I wish we could have some privacy, but with how nosey our
family is, we're going to have to learn to ignore them."
"Even when we..." Ranma's face turned red, again.
Akane blushed again, "We'll have to set some rules against them being
nosey about that. Nabiki will get some rather agressive martial arts
training if she even tries to take a picture."
"Okay, let's go. We have a lot of work ahead of us."
"We ceratinly do." Akane smiled.
Ranma and Akane left for home, to plan a future for the two of them.
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Author's note:
While ideas for certain scenes for Nekoken dance in my head, I still can't
put them to electrons so I write yet another fic idea up and send it out.
Enjoy and have great holiday season.
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