DO YOU REMEMBER...?
By Bing

< > means someone is thinking.
Now on with the story...

Part One: The Ones to Carry On

Chapter 4 - Reunited


Hikaru left his mother and grandfather so they could talk. After all, they
needed some time alone. Hikaru was about to see if breakfast was ready,
but he decided that could wait awhile. He went outside to see something
that had caught his eye before he and his mother came in the house.

The dojo. 

He read the sign. Tendo-Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts.
Tendo! So, this was where it all started! Hikaru went inside and looked
around. On the wall, he saw another sign that read: WARRIOR. Hikaru was
impressed. It was even bigger than their dojo. He had been so fascinated
by it that he did not even hear someone come in.

"Can I help you?" 

Hikaru turned around. A tall man dressed in a gi was standing several feet
away from him. He looked ordinary to Hikaru, but there was one thing that
he noticed that was unique about him. His pigtail. 

"Oh, I hope you don't mind, sir. I was just looking around." 

Ranma stared at him. Something about him was so familiar. "Are you
interested in enrolling in the school?" 

"Me? Oh, actually, I already am a student of the Anything-Goes-Martial
Arts. I also teach." 

"Teach?" Ranma was surprised. "Aren't you a little to young to teach?" 

"It's just something I do to help out my mom. She's got a school of her
own." 

Ranma could not stop staring at him. Where did he see those eyes? And that
smile? There was something about him... 

"Hikaru!" 

 Ranma's heart began to beat fast. 

"Hikaru!" 

"I'm in here!" Hikaru shouted. 

Before Ranma could move, Akane entered the dojo. "Hikaru, there you are."

Ranma turned to her. "Akane?" 

Akane stared at him. "Ranma?" 

It had been so many years since Ranma had seen her. He was suddenly
speechless and could not help but notice how beautiful she remained. 

Akane held her breath. 

Hikaru approached Akane and looked at Ranma. "You know my mother?" 

"Mother?" Ranma stared at Hikaru and then at Akane. 

"Hikaru is my son," explained Akane. "Ranma, this is my son Hikaru Sato.
Hikaru, this is Ranma Saotome." 

Hikaru bowed, and Ranma did the same. 

Akane asked, "So, Ranma, what are you doing here?" 

"I teach," he replied. 

"So does my mom," put in Hikaru. "How come you never taught here instead,
Mom? This is grandfather's dojo." 

"Well, it's also Ranma's dojo," pointed out Akane. She suddenly felt
uncomfortable. "Come on, Hikaru. Breakfast is getting cold." 

"Oh, okay." Hikaru turned to Ranma. "You are welcomed to join us,
Saotome-sensei." 

Ranma glanced at Akane who quickly looked away. He smiled at Hikaru. "No,
thank you, Hikaru. I already ate." 

"Another time then. Come on, Mom." Hikaru ran out of the dojo. 

Akane was about to leave, but Ranma called out, "Uh...nice to see you,
Akane." 

Akane glanced at him sideways. "Same here, Ranma." 

Then she quietly exited the room. 

 Ranma was
still standing where Akane and Hikaru had left him. He was in shock. He
did not expect to see Akane, not after seventeen years... 

***

Ranma complained, "Oh, why do I haveta drive her to the station?" 

Genma gave his son an irritated look. "Ranma, it's bad enough that you
broke your engagement to Akane. Nabiki and Kuno already left for school
since their classes start earlier. Dr. Tofu is busy at the clinic, and
Kasumi can't drive. Soun wants to make sure that Akane reaches the station.
The least you could do is see to it that she arrives there safely." 

He let out a loud sigh. "Oh, alright! I'll do it." 

Ranma arrived in front of the Tendo home with his father's car. Akane was
already waiting outside with her things. 

"You're taking all that?" He pointed at the several suitcases. "What did
you do, Akane? Pack up your whole house?" 

"Baka!" Akane exclaimed. "I bought a bunch of clothes and some books while
I was here." 

"And you think they'll all fit in your dorm?" 

"I don't stay at the dorm, Ranma. I have my own apartment." 

As soon as Ranma put all her stuff in the trunk, they were on their way to
the station. 

"So, how come you don't stay at the dorm?" He asked. 

Akane sighed. "Lots of reasons. Remember in high school when I had to beat
up all those guys so they can't take me out on a date? Well, the same thing
happened during my freshman year. When I was staying at the dorm, the
school published a book about all the freshmen. You will not believe how
many phone calls I received. Sometimes, my phone would be ringing off the
hook past midnight. Then the guys kept harassing me since they will not
take no for an answer. They would even show up at the dorm. I just had to
get away from there." 

Ranma shook his head. "Those jerks. What about the new place where you are
staying? Is it safe?" 

"Yeah, it's got security." She glanced at him. "Worried, Ranma?" 

"Well...uh..." 

"I'm a martial artist, Ranma. Security or no, I can protest myself. One of
the reasons why I like it there is because the security guard just doesn't
let anyone in." Then she laughed. "Then Dad thinks that I can't even get
to the station myself, and he's the one who trained me." 

"Frankly, Akane, I think this is just one of their plans to see if we can
change our minds." 

She laughed again. "They can be so pathetic, but you've got to hand it to
them. They do try their best." 

The traffic was bad. Luckily, they managed to arrive just a few minutes
before Akane's train could leave. Quickly, they got out of the car. Ranma
helped her with her suitcases. By the time he finished loading them, it
was time for Akane to board the train. 

"Sorry about the traffic, Akane," he apologized. 

"Don't worry about it. It was nice of you to drive me up here even if our
fathers made you." 

He waved his hand as if it was nothing. "Aw, it's okay. I enjoyed the
ride." 

"When will you be going back to America?" 

"This week." 

Akane smiled. "Well, good luck to you, Ranma." 

"Thanks, Akane. You, too." 

They exchanged a brief hug. Then Akane broke away from him. "Well, I guess
I'll see you. Bye." 

"Bye, Akane." 

Akane started to walk backwards and waved at him. Finally, she turned
around and boarded the train. Ranma stood there and watched the train 
leave. Then he went back to the car. As soon as he entered from the
driver's side, he noticed a black leather notebook on the seat where Akane
had been sitting. 

Ranma picked it up and opened it. To his horror, he saw that it was Akane's
planner. Inside, it had her credit cards and money. 

"Oh, no!" He exclaimed to himself. "And the train is already long gone!"

Ranma shook his head. Then with a determined look on his face, he started
the car to make one more trip. 

***

Akane was already halfway to the university town when she realized that
her planner was missing. She began to panic. Her whole life might as well
be over by now. She reached the apartment hours later. She was exhausted
but she knew that she had to report her missing credit cards. She was about
to get on the phone when it suddenly rang. 

She snatched it up. "Hello?" 

"Miss Tendo, this is security from gate one. There's a young man here who
insists on seeing you." 

Great! How could some guy bother her at a time like this? Akane tried
keeping the irritation from her voice. "Sir, you know how I feel about
visitors." 

"He says that his name is Ranma Saotome." 

"Ranma Saotome! I'll be right there!" 

Akane dashed out to the front gate. She saw Ranma standing by the car
which was parked by the guard house. 

"Miss Tendo, do you know this young man?" The guard asked. 

Akane smiled. "Yes, he's my fian- '' She stopped. "He's a family friend.
It's okay." 

"Sorry about that. I just had to make sure." 

"Thank you." As soon as the guard left them, Akane turned to Ranma. "What
are you doing here?" 

"You forgot this." Ranma held up the leather notebook. 

"My planner!" Akane grabbed it. 

"You left it in the car. Honestly, Akane you're such a klutz." 

"Oh, Ranma, thank you!" Akane hugged him. 

He was startled by her action, but somehow, he did not mind the hug. "How
did you get here from the station? Did you have some money?" 

"I had some money in my pocket, but I was more worried about the credit
cards. I'm surprised that you were able to find the apartment." 

"I kinda asked around. It was real easy to find." 

"You drove all the way here from Nerima for three hours! You must be
hungry." 

Ranma was hungry, but he seemed to know what Akane was up to. "Well...not
really." 

Akane knew what he was thinking. "Ranma no baka! I was going to treat you
for some Chinese food!" 

"Oh!" That made him feel better. "Okay." 

"There's a restaurant near here" She grabbed his hand. "Come on! Let's
eat! I'm starving!" 

The restaurant was a walking distance. Ranma had to admit that the food
was just as good as it was at the Nekohanten. Akane got him to talk about
his life in America and his fiancée. He had been open about America, but
he hesitated about his relationship. Finally, they were finished eating.
Ranma walked her back to her apartment. 

"Thanks for the food, Akane," he told her. 

"Hey, it's the least I could do after you went to all that trouble just to
return my planner." 

"I guess so." 

Silence. 

Ranma smiled at her. "Well, I guess I better get going. Pop and them might
get worried." 

"Yeah." 

"Well, goodbye, Akane." 

"Goodbye, Ranma." 

He started to leave. "Bye." 

Akane waved at him. "Bye." 

Opening the door, Akane let herself in. She closed the door behind her and
rested her back against it. She closed her eyes and sighed.












With a sudden impulse, she opened the door. To her surprise, she found
Ranma standing at the doorstep, and he looked like he was about to knock.

Her breath was caught. "Ranma." 

He looked down and then faced her again. "I don't know what's wrong, but I
have a hard time saying goodbye to you." 

Akane didn't know who made the first move, but she suddenly found herself
in Ranma's arms. Then they looked at each other and kissed. Akane pulled
him inside, and Ranma closed the door behind him with his foot. They
shared long and passionate kisses. 

When they broke free, they tried hard to catch their breath. 

Ranma whispered out, "Akane." 

Akane looked deeply into his blue eyes as she stroked his pigtail.
"Please. If I can't have you, let me at least have you tonight." 

Ranma took her into his arms again and kissed her as he said her name
against her mouth. 

***

Akane was looking at the small pond as she was sitting on the floor. It
was strange that she could somehow picture Ranma and her uncle Saotome 
spar. She looked around the room remembering that she was sitting on the 
very same spot where Ranma and Genma told their story about Jusenkyo and
where their fathers unwillingly engaged her and Ranma to each other. 

"Hey, penny for your thoughts." Ranma's voice startled her from behind. 

Akane turned to him and watched him sit next to her. "Oh...hi, Ranma." 

He wiped his sweat. "Whew! It's been a long day at the school." 

Akane looked down. "So you've been running the dojo by yourself since my
father got sick." 

"Yeah, I've been teaching the classes. Your sister Nabiki handles the 
financial stuff while Michiko helps in expanding the school by trying to 
find good places where we can open up a branch." 

"Your wife," Akane said knowingly. "How long have you been married now?"

"Seventeen years. How about you, Akane?" 

"I had a good marriage." 

Puzzled, Ranma looked at her. "Had?" 

"My husband died two years ago." 

"I'm sorry. What happened?" 

"It was an accident." 

"It must have been very difficult for you." 

Akane said nothing. 

"At least you still have your son." 

She nodded without looking at him. "Yes. I'm very lucky to have Hikaru. 
He has always been there for me. I can't say that I have any complaints 
about him. He's thoughtful, understanding, and smart. He's going to college
this year." 

"He looks awfully young to go to college." 

"He's only seventeen. He got accelerated during high school." 

"You must be very proud of him." 

"Hai. I'm very proud of him." 

Silence fell between them. Ranma looked at her. He wanted to say something,
but he was not sure if he should. He took a deep breath and started, 
"Akane, I know that this is awkward..." 

Akane turned to him sharply. "Then don't say anything." 

"What happened back then-'' 

"I don't want to talk about it. It was in the past, Ranma. What's done is
done. I did not exactly come here to make amends. I only came here to visit
my father." 

His eyes went small. "Damn you, Akane! You really don't know how difficult
this is." 

"Just what do you know about the meaning of difficult?" 

At that moment, Hikaru came running to the room, calling out, "Mom!" 

Alarmed, both Akane and Ranma stood up to face him. Akane asked, "Hikaru,
what is it?" 

"It's grandfather." He gave them a sad look. "I think it's time." 

    Source: geocities.com/missgorman/dyr