… it did feel good to feel the rain running down her skin and tickle her face… and to feel Akane's hand in hers as she stood there raising her face to the heavens, eyes closed in bliss…
This is my first fanfic… all characters are property of Takashi, Viz, etc… I just do this for fun and because I love Ranma ½ so much. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! C&C are welcome. (Flames are okay - but no infernos please!)
It was one of those gray days, heavy with the smell of rain hanging
in the air. The world seemed all gray and green and brown, with
the first leaves pushing just outside their winter shelters, giving
the whole garden an eerie, fairy-like look.
Akane looked out of her window and smelled the rain. She had always
liked days like these. Spring always brought out the urge to just
drink in nature and let herself be embraced by the mist enveloping
the yard. Smiling, she quickly dressed, knowing that nobody inside
the house would be awake at this hour - not even Kasumi.
If she got lucky, it might even rain. Akane loved the rain.
Not those violent autumn storms, of course, just those gentle
spring showers that the clouds of today were promising to bring.
She loved the sensation of rain running down her cheeks and placing
icy kisses on her skin - it was freezing while it lasted, but
she always made sure to soak in a warm bath afterwards so she
wouldn't get sick. She always felt like some sort of woodland
fairy when she was out there in the misty gray morning, dancing
silently in the rain, raising her arms with the trees and the
flowers, welcoming the spring.
She giggled quietly at her thoughts. Everyone else would probably
think that she was a lunatic, thinking this way.
Silently, Akane padded down the stairs, shivering in excitement
and the slight chill. She could feel the rain - it was close,
it was coming… and she just had to be there. Right at the
edge of the pond, sitting on the rock, face upturned to welcome
the first drops of the shower…
But there was already someone there.
Even if she couldn't make out the perky pig-tail sprouting from
his nape, the red silk shirt and the black pants quickly tipped
her off. But - this early? Ranma was never up this early on a
weekend. And it was a Saturday today. What was he doing here?
She felt a sudden pang of disappointment at not being able to
do her ritual. Of course she couldn't do that with Ranma watching!
He would think it was just too weird… Turning as quietly
as she could, using a technique Tofu-sensei taught her, she walked
back towards the house…
And stopped as she heard him call her name. "Akane?"
She turned again and walked toward the rock where he sat. "Ranma."
She smiled at him, the joy of the morning not quite dampened by
the postponement of her spring rain dance.
He blinked twice at her, staring. Her smile dimmed after a few
moments of his staring and melted into an expression of bewilderment.
"What is it, Ranma? Something wrong with my face?" she
asked, putting a hand to her cheek and feeling for any weird bumps
or spots. There were none. "Ranma?"
"Uh…" he began, seeming to shake himself mentally.
"Hi, Akane, what are you doing down so early?" he asked,
returning her smile.
It felt like sunshine, even if a rumble of thunder sounded in
the distance.
"Maybe I should be asking you that," she said, sitting
on the cemented edge of the pond in front of him, looking up at
his face curiously. "After all, it is a Saturday morning…
you always sleep in on Saturdays." Their eyes locked for
a moment or two, and in spite of the cool morning, she could feel
her cheeks suddenly heat up.
They broke the stare, Ranma looking up towards the sky; Akane
focusing her eyes on an umbrella leaning against the rock beside
him. She started in surprise. Evidently, he had been planning
to be here for quite some time.
"I… uh… I…" He cleared his throat and
she looked up at him. Was it her imagination, or was he blushing?
In the dim light, she really couldn't tell. She saw him hesitate,
fight an internal battle with himself, and lose.
She waited. She didn't mind the silence. It was beautiful out
there anyway, Ranma or no Ranma. But right now, it was more so.
"It's going to rain," he suddenly said, breaking the
silence.
"I know that," Akane said, her voice reflecting a combination
of puzzlement and amusement. "But you aren't out here to
discuss the weather with me, are you?"
"Well… um… actually, I am," he replied, with
face to the sky. "I love spring showers. When I saw the sky
this morning when I woke up, I thought I'd come down here and…
uh… I used to love sitting in the rain, especially in the
spring. When we went on training trips, Pop would always be huddled
in the tent while I would spend much time sitting in the rain
and feeling the water run down my face and… uh…"
He paused, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "This
is just too weird."
Her eyes widened like saucers. "You too?" she asked
eagerly, happy that he was sharing such an unusual quirk with
her. "I came out here to welcome the spring the way I always
do. I've been doing this since I was a little girl."
They sat in a companionable silence, waiting for the rain. The
air seemed heavier with moisture, and she could almost see tiny
dewdrops forming in his hair. At the thought of impending water,
she started and turned to him, curiously tipping her head to one
side as she watched him.
"But, Ranma, I thought you hated the rain? What about…"
He winced. "My curse?" he finished, sighing. "This
is one of the things I miss the most about being normal,"
he explained. "Just as much as I miss swimming and wading
in the water and… all those kinds of stuff. It really irritates
the hell out of me that I can't even take off my shirt when I'm
caught in a spring shower or I'm at the beach."
Thunder rumbled once more.
Akane, seeing Ranma's wistful expression - an expression which
he rarely allowed to show on his face, impulsively lay her head
on his lap in a comforting gesture. She knew something in her
would probably die if she could not do her spring shower ritual
at least once every year. She felt Ranma tense for a moment, but
as she attempted to raise her head, she suddenly felt his hand
rest gently on top of her hair, fingers brushing her forehead.
"It's not so bad, really," Ranma said, strangely enough
trying to comfort her instead of the other way around. "Until
I can find a cure, I guess I just have to put off walking in the
rain for a while."
As if on cue, the first few drops of rain stung the back of Akane's
neck.
"It's the rain!" she cried gleefully, bolting up and
raising her hands to the sky. It was always a thrill to feel the
first few drops of rain kissing her skin, tickling her face, and…
Suddenly remembering, she turned to Ranma and saw him move to
open his umbrella. Biting her lip thoughtfully, she hesitated
then put her hand on his just as he was pushing the umbrella open.
"Wha -" Ranma turned to her in surprise. It still wasn't
raining hard enough to activate his curse, but he knew that he
would be turning into a girl within the next minute.
Akane smiled her sunshiny smile that never failed to send Ranma
into a spell of bemusement. "I don't mind if you don't,"
she told him, pulling him off from the rock.
Rain began to pour in harder now, and Ranma felt a familiar tingle
as he began to change into a girl. But… it did feel good
to feel the rain running down her skin and tickle her face…
and to feel Akane's hand in hers as she stood there raising her
face to the heavens, eyes closed in bliss…
Then suddenly Akane opened her eyes and turned to her. "I
never thought I'd ever find anyone who would enjoy walking under
a spring shower as much as I…" She smiled down into
Ranma-chan's eyes then suddenly blushed when she saw an expression
in them that she couldn't quite understand...
Ranma sighed a sigh that sounded like a cross between happiness
and frustration. She suddenly squeezed Akane's hand and tugged.
"Let's walk…"
Akane nodded then paused. "Ranma - you never did tell me
what woke you up… I don't think you'd be able to wake up
on your own short of an earthquake."
Ranma-chan scratched her head in bewilderment. "Actually,
I woke up when I fell off the futon thinking that Pop crowded
me off… but he was all the way on the other side when I looked."
She shrugged. "Come on, Akane, before everyone else wakes
up!"
And the two of them hand in hand disappeared under the blanket
of the spring shower as they walked in the rain, away from the
house.
From her window, Kasumi watched them, smiling wisely a she stood
up to run some hot bath water for both of them.
- fin -