Ranma 1/2
Relative Peace
Part 1
Meetings
Ranma 1/2 characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Video, and several other
companies and are used without consent.
Ranma relaxed on the roof and slowly let out his breath as he stared at the
night sky. The day had been a busy one, with the going away party for Nabiki. Not
one to enjoy parties all that much, he reluctantly attended when Akane dragged
him downstairs. It wasn't too bad, just a lot of people talking, some small food
items (they were barely big enough to make a dent in his appetite), and some
dancing.
Of course, it didn't help that most of the people there were friends of
Nabiki. Translation: they were girls and they were 100% loyal and obedient to
Nabiki only.
He sighed. It was bound to happen. One of the girls asked him to dance
just as he was working up the courage to ask Akane for one. His eyes met hers
across the dojo and he felt a wave of emotion well up, not enitirely unpleasant. She
was wearing a beautiful white sundress, and had some white flower in her hair that
made her look absolutely incredible. To cover his reaction up, he quickly looked
away, missing the hurt look that momentarily flashed across Akane's face as she
returned to talking to her friends.
Pounding his thigh in frustration, he decided to make a move. Getting up,
he started to walk across the dojo, nonchalantly making his way over to her.
That's when Tomoe tapped him on the shoulder and asked him to dance. Before
he could say anything, she had already grabbed him and pulled in onto the floor,
holding him close for the slow dance number. Ranma couldn't think of any way to
get out of it, so he just decided to go with it and ask Akane to the next dance.
Bad move.
As soon as the song was over, he attempted to disengage, but Tomoe
leaned over and kissed him before letting go. By the time he got to Akane, she was
in no mood to talk to him. In fact, she booted him out of the dojo when he tried to
explain.
And that's why he was on the roof now, where he had been since he left
the party two hours ago.
His reverie was broken when a soft pair of footfalls landed somewhere
behind him. Someone had leaped up to the roof so he guessed it was Akane. The
training over the past year they had occaisonally done together had given her
increased strength and speed. For once, Ranma had wanted to train her... ever
since China... and Saffron. Now she was almost on par with Shampoo.
"Ranma?" he heard her voice call. Ranma didn't say anything, so Akane
took this as a sign to continue on. She walked over and sat down beside him.
"Is the party over?" he asked casually, noticing she had changed into a pair
of jeans and a t-shirt.
"Yeah, Nabiki left 30 minutes ago." She pulled her knees up to her chest
and rested her chin on them.
"Good."
Akane over at him and scowled. "What do you mean by that? She's my
sister!"
Ranma snorted. "Maybe, but I know she hates me. At least now she won't
be manipulating, extorting, or taking pictures of me in the nude."
"She's not that bad!" Akane retorted. "Who do you think manages the
investment portfolios that bring in the money needed for all that food you
consume? And besides, she's not going to be nice to you unless you're nice to
her!"
Ranma sat up and was about to yell something back, when he snapped his
mouth closed and layed back down, hands behind his head. "Ah, forget it. I don't
feel like fightin' now."
Akane bit back the insult she was going to hurl, and instead just sat there,
thinking. After a few minutes, she asked, "Ranma, did you... really mean what...
you said, before you left?"
Ranma closed his eyes and remembered. It was just after she kicked him to
the door, he got up and shouted, "I wanted to dance with you! But if you're gonna
get all uncute and jealous about it, then you can just forget it, tomboy!" When he
realized what he said, he turned his back and headed out of the dojo.
Did he really mean it? He shook his head. Another part of him asked,
"Ranma?" came her voice again, bringing him out of his thoughts.
"Yeah, I did, okay?" he muttered. "Like you care."
There was silence for a few more minutes as Akane digested this. Images came to
her of his declaration in Jusendo. He denied it afterward... didn't he?
After the failed wedding, weeks stretched into months with more of the
same. Everytime they seemed to make some iota of progress, it was ruined or set
back by something that interfered. In fact, the only good thing that seemed to stay
was that Ranma had started to take her seriously during their sparring sessions.
She had learned so much in the past year; she had never felt more
confident of her skill then she did now. Oh sure, she was still no match for Ranma,
but she felt she was rapidly getting to that level. Soon, she hoped to be able to be a
match for Shampoo, so she could show the bimbo what a real martial artist could
do. She could already beat Kodachi easily, and in fact, she did. The crazed
gymnast spent several days in the hospital after breaking up a psuedo-date Akane
was on with Ranma.
That only left Ukyo, and Akane was at a loss on what to do about her.
When Nabiki had left a little while ago, she suddenly started to think about what
would happen if Ranma were to leave. She found herself getting scared at the fact
that he could leave, alone or with Ukyo. After all, the okonomiyaki chef was his
best friend.
Ranma stood up. "Feh, I'm going to bed." He looked down on her with
eyes that were filled with... what? Longing? Then he turned to go.
Akane suddenly found herself
wanting to say, but the words wouldn't come out.
Then, he was gone.
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A few days later, Akane was still beating herself up over the lost
opportunity to say something as she jogged in the early pre-dawn hours. It was yet
another one of Ranma's `suggestions'. That if she were a true martial artist, she'd
get up earlier to jog farther. Of course, she then argued that she would show him.
She laughed to herself.
It was still pretty dark and the air around her was chilly, but after the first
five miles her body was generating enough heat to counteract that. And she wasn't
even winded. In fact, she had never felt better and so... alive! She suddenly found herself wanting to really test her skills
against someone. She hadn't had a real fight in a long time, not since Kodachi, and
the crazed gymnast wasn't much of a challenge.
She was almost tempted to go find Shampoo, when she sensed someone
following her. The trace was faint and didn't last long, but it was enough to know
that someone was behind her. She knew she'd have to face this stalker, so she
began planning how to confront them. Part of her was scared at this unknown and
the results that might come of it, but another part of her was looking forward to it.
On the next intersection, she turned the corner and flattened herself against
the wall. She quickly bent down and picked up a small stone, tossing it down the
street to strike some garbage cans.
Sure enough, a figure leaped along the walls and down to the area where
she threw the stone. Focusing, Akane shot down the remaining distance between
her and the cloaked figure. She could see the figure turn in astonishment, and it
was clear he didn't expect this.
Akane lanced out with a sweep kick as she closed, and the figure jumped
over it. She followed up with a high kick while her opponent was still in the air,
but he merely jumped off her outstretched foot. She leapt into the air after him,
exhanging several high speed and high powered blows, before returning to the
ground.
She leapt away as she set down and assessed what she had learned, just
like Ranma taught her. The man was good and Akane knew she could be in
trouble. He had blocked or dodged all of her attacks, yet he didn't strike her at all.
Akane knew she was good, but this guy seemed to be better. And why was he
holding back?
Akane froze, then folded her arms across her chest. "Alright Ranma, why
are you following me?"
"How'd you know?' Ranma asked, sheepishly as he removed the cloak
from his head.
"I've been fighting with you for two years now, I should know your style
by now," she said sternly. "And I know how you dodge."
Ranma cleared his throught. "Well, just testin' ya. See ya back at the
house!" He turned to go.
"Don't you DARE use the Saotome Secret Technique!" came the
command.
Ranma froze... and gulped... and turned back around to face her. He
could tell when his fiancee was angry.
"Now, why were you following me?" she asked in a somewhat softer
voice.
"I told ya, I was just testin' ya!" he repeated.
She smirked. "You were worried about me."
He snorted. "Yeah right. Why would I be worried about a macho chick
like..."
"You would!" she blurted out, interrupting him. "Why can't you just say it
for once!?"
"Say what?" he challenged her.
She sputtered. "You know... that you.. well..."
"I told ya I was just testin' ya," he said, turning around to go.
"No, I think you still don't trust me!" she yelled out suddenly. "After all
this time, you still don't think I can take of myself!"
"That's not it at all!" he said, voice rising.
Akane nearly exploded. "Oh yes it is! This is always how it is! You never
think I'll be okay by myself. Even though you started training me, you still don't
think I'll be good enough!"
Ranma lost it. "Dammit, Akane! If you knew what could be lurking out
here..."
Akane lost it, too. "You were the one who suggested I get up earlier for
my jogs! Besides, I CAN take care of myself, I was doing it long before you
showed up! I DON'T NEED A JERK LIKE YOU!" She stopped, holding a hand
to her mouth.
Ranma was struck by the statement, but tried not to show it. And if had
stopped to think about the implications of his next statement, experience would tell
him it wasn't a good thing. "Fine then! I don't want an uncute, macho, jock chick
holding me back anyway!"
Akane's anger returned. "WHAT did you say!?" She charged forward
again and swung.
Ranma ducked to the side and Akane's blow whizzed by. He dodged her
next punch as well, and then began to move back under the furious assault.
Akane's anger was making her attacks stronger, but less skillful. As a
result she wasn't able to connect with her moving target, but instead inflicted a
LOT of collatoral damage. With each punch or kick she threw, a part of her
screamed at her to stop this, that it wasn't what she really wanted. Another part of
her told her to lash out in the only way she knew how, to hurt the thing that hurt
her.
Ranma was at a loss of what to do at the moment, besides dodge.
Internally, his conscience said he caused this, that he had hurt Akane. As usual, his
pride argued back, saying he wasn't at fault. For some reason, the former voice
gained an edge this time, and slowed Ranma's speed enough for Akane to connect
with an uppercut that sent him flying into a concrete wall.
As the jackhammer pounded inside his brain, Ranma groggily noted Akane
approaching him with a fist raised. He knew he couldn't dodge this time, and
prepared to absord the blow. At the last second, however, something flashed
through Akane's eyes, and she diverted the fist into the wall beside him.
When Ranma recovered enough to move and fully sense the world around
him, his ears caught the sound of crying. Looking up, he could see Akane walking
away with her head down. And she was the source of the sound that wrenched his
heart in so many ways.
An instintive voice from within told him to go after her. That it was his
fault and he should help her. His pride argued otherwise, but he found it easier to
shove it down this time. Shakily regaining his feet, he called after her.
"Akane?"
She continued on as if she hadn't heard him.
"Akane, please stop." A little louder. This time, she did stop moving, but
not crying. He walked over to stand behind her. "Akane... I- I'm sorry. I-wasn't
thinkin' again and I..."
She suddenly swung around and buried her head in his chest, throwing her
arms around his waist and forcing him onto his butt. There she collapsed and
sobbed into his shirt. Ranma was paralyzed for a minute at this sudden change, but
he slowly put his arms around her and pulled her into his lap, hoping for once in his
life it was the right thing to do. It was.
Akane slowly cried herself out over the next twenty minutes. Eventually
Ranma felt her body slacken against his as she snuggled against him, her head
resting on his shoulder. His brain was still sputtering on what to do, when he felt
her breathing slow and even out. Looking down, he saw her eyes were closed and
knew she was asleep.
He looked up. Slowly, with one arm cradling her head and the other holding up her legs,
he stood up and carried her down the street.
As he reached the dojo, the sun began to peak over the horizan and Ranma
knew the rest of the family would be up soon. He really didn't want to go in like
this, so he leapt to Akane's window and slid it open with his foot. Once inside, he
gently bent down and laid his fiancee down onto her bed. Her arms momemtarily
locked around his neck, but he managed to slide them off and disengage himself.
As she stepped away, he briefly heard her mumble in her sleep.
"Ranma... please don't go... don't leave me, Ranma... I'm sorry... please..."
He couldn't resist reaching down to brush her cheek, and Akane seemed
to settle down and smile slightly at his touch. Then, his resolve set in and he
climbed up to the window.
Turning back to the sleeping girl, he whispered, "I won't ever leave you,
Akane. I promise. Just... don't leave me."
Then, Ranma was gone and the window was closed. Inside, Akane smiled
and slept peacefully.
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Neither Ranma nor Akane said much to each other over the next several
days. Akane had returned to her normal 10-mile jogging routine, but only started
later in order to get more sleeping-in time. That was part of the reason she fell
asleep in Ranma's arms; getting up too early was taking it's toll on her and that,
plus the fight and crying, was enough to knock her out.
Ranma, for the most part, was unsure of how to act or what to say around
his fiancee. Something had changed on that early morning in April, but he still
wasn't quite sure what. All he knew was that he had hurt her yet again and he
didn't even know how.
Unbeknownst to him, Akane was feeling the exact same way. She knew
she had hurt him, and didn't know what to do anymore. At first she was aiming to
smash him hard when he landed on the ground from her first punch, but then
realization popped into her anger clouded brain. It was yet another one of their
stupid senseless fights, and she somehow knew she had to stop it. After all, deep
down she knew this wasn't what she wanted.
She knew there were so many times she tried to talk to him in the past, to
sort things out, and almost every single time something interuppted. It was almost
as if the universe was conspiring against them.
So, when school started again, they were both glad for the same reason.
They would be able to spend some time apart with their friends. Of course, Kuno
still glomped Akane and attacked Ranma (or glomped if female), Shampoo
glomped Ranma, Ukyo made special `I love you' okonomiyaki's for Ranma, and
Akane still got jealous when it looked like any of the girls was getting somewhere
with Ranma.
In short, it was back to business as usual. Only as the weeks passed,
Akane was getting more and more determined to do something about it. And one
day, she saw her opportunity.
It was a Sunday and she was out taking a stroll, just spending some time
alone and out of the house. As she passed through the park, she caught sight of a
man with a red shirt disappear into a more heavily forested and secluded section.
Her curiosity peaked, she decided to follow. When she glimpsed the
pig-tail, she knew who it was and decided to follow him. Ranma eventually
stopped in a empty glade, causing Akane to dart behind a tree and watch as he
stripped off his shirt and began a kata.
As his chest came into view and he began to move, Akane started to feel
excited. she rationalized.
She figured it had something to do with his movements; how he jumped
and kicked, punched and twirled about the secluded, forest glade. She marveled at
the flow of his actions, how perfectly they flowed, like water.
For the first time, she finally understood what the Art was all about, and
how far away she was from acheiving it.
And then he was done, a thin sheen of sweat covering his brow, telling her
of the concentration he had put into the kata. As he dabbed at his face with the
towel, Akane decided to make her move. Stepping into view, but still behind him,
she walked a few steps into the glade and stopped.
"Ranma?" she spoke tentatively. She got no reply. "Can we talk?"
She could hear Ranma sigh. "Why?"
Hurriedly, she searched for a reason, and found one. "Well, we rarely get
time to talk and... I'd like to talk with you a bit... if you want?"
"You know we'll just end up getting mad at each other again, `cause I'll
say somethin' and you'll hit me..." His voice trailed off.
Akane felt her heart drop as she looked down. "I... do hit you a lot, don't
I?"
Ranma turned back to see her looking down, and not just physically.
"Well, I don't mind gettin' hit, I'm used to it I suppose. It's just that ya never seem
ta give me time to explain myself sometimes."
Akane was shocked as she sat down on a nearby rock. She looked up. "I'm... sorry, Ranma. I guess I just... Do-do
you... hate me? I wouldn't blame you if you did..."
He surprised her by walking back over and sitting back down next to her.
"Naw, I don't hate ya. I-I always thought you hated me..."
"No Ranma, I could never... hate you."
The pig-tailed boy turned to gaze into the eyes of the youngest Tendo
daughter... and saw something. A lifetime of martial arts had taught him to be able
to read an opponent, and that skill was screaming something right now.
His gaze traveled from her deep, brown eyes to her nose, which he didn't
want to admit was cute the way it wrinkled when she was mad. His eyes dropped
lower to her lips, which were slightly open and inviting... what? He felt the
stirring's in his body once again, which happened whenever he was this close to
her. Usually, he tried to make up some excuse, or change the subject, or hope to
be interrupted, rather then let his body make the decisions for him.
But this time was different, though he didn't know how. Maybe it was the
full moon or the alignment of the planets, but this time he decided to throw caution
to the wind. He might get malleted, but for once, he thought it just might be worth
it.
Akane had been feeling the same stirrings as she studied his face.
Logically, she knew it was wishful thinking to believe something could come of
this. Something always seemed to interrupt, or one of them would get cold feet,
and it would be back to square one. At this moment, however, she wanted
desperately to... what? To kiss him?
Then, she noticed his face start slowly foreward and her heart caught in
her throat. He stopped suddenly, and Akane could feel
his hot breath on her lips. Her body unconsciously shivered in delight in reaction to
this.
When Akane didn't show any signs of rejection or running away, Ranma
closed the remaining distance and touched his lips to hers.
The effect was electrifying to both teens. The technique was poor, since
neither had any experience in kissing. Well, Ranma had a little if you count Mikado
or Shampoo, but he never kissed them back. Still, he approached it like a martial
arts technique, and like any technique, he improved upon it by the second.
Akane was kissing him back now, trying to live in the moment as
everything else fell away except her lips on his. Adrenaline was flooding her body,
yet she was starting to feel very weak. A small part of her brain decided it was a
good kind of weakness, however.
She added more passion to it, wanting to make up in a few moments the
feelings and missed emotions that had been building in her for two years. Her
hands unconsciously went up to cup his face.
And then she realized how very much she had been wanting this! It was
everything that she could have hoped for and more, yet she couldn't stop the few
tears that leaked out of her closed eyelids.
After several moments Ranma pulled back to look at her, his body shaking
somewhat despite his attempts at control. Akane wanted to lunge foreward and
kiss him again, but a small look of... fear? passing his eyes made her stop. Her
hands dropped from his face.
Then there was a gust of wind and he was gone. She collapsed on the
grass as she rode out the aftereffects of the moment. Her body slowly returned to
normal from it's trembling state, and she could still feel his lips on hers. After
taking several minutes to recover, she quickly retreated from the glen.
As she walked home, her hand reached up to touch her lips, wondering at
the fact that just a short time ago they had been caressed by Ranma's own.
Glancing around, she realized other people were in the vincinity, so she dropped
her hand to her side. She thought for sure she must look different somehow; that
everyone should be able to tell easily that she HAD been kissing Ranma. But if
anyone noticed, they didn't give any sign.
Her thoughts became ever more jumbled as she appraoched the dojo.
She had hoped to talk to him again, but he wasn't at the dojo when she
got back. In fact, he didn't arrive home until dinner, then he promptly disappeared
again before she could talk to him.
As she lay in bed that night, she realized that he may not be ready to talk
about what happened. And the more she thought about, the more she realized that
she may not be ready either.
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A couple weeks later she decided it was time.
"Ranma, we need to talk."
The boy in question gulped silently, but continued to read from the manga
he was holding as he sat in the dining room of the Tendo dojo. He had a pretty
good idea what the girl behind him wanted to talk about, but he wasn't all that sure
he wanted to talk about it.
Ranma, for the most part, was confused and somewhat scared. After he
had pulled away from the kiss, he had seen the tears flowing down her face and she
was trembling. Of course, he immediately thought, And then he had left, lest
he hurt her again.
His mind naturally misplaced the part where she had been kissing him
back.
And so, he had avoided her for two weeks. Figuring either she was so
upset about it, so he didn't want to upset her more. Or that she was angry with
him and he didn't want to be around when she vented that anger.
But now, here she was. He had thought she'd gone out with friends, but
obviously she hadn't.
"'Bout what?" he asked as nonchalantly as he could. He flipped a page and
began reading the next section.
He heard an exasperated sigh from behind, then Akane walked around in
front of him and knelt down, pulling the manga down with her to look her fiancee
in the eye. "You know what."
Ranma gulped again, and this time Akane caught it. "Ranma, why are you
so afraid about this?"
"I ain't scared of nothin'!" he almost yelled. He was glad that the house
was empty at the moment so no one had heard that. Genma and Soun had gone to
visit the local bars, so they'd be gone for awhile. And Kasumi had gone with
Nodoka to visit an ailing friend, and would be with her all evening. Of course,
Nabiki was still at college.
"Then, why don't you want to talk about this?" she said, almost as loud.
With effort, she calmed herself and her face softened. "Why... did you kiss me?"
The nervous, pig-tailed boy shrugged, then muttered something under his
breath.
Akane blinked, not quite sure she heard what she heard. "What did you
say? I didn't quite catch that." Ranma shifted, but didn't say anything. Akane
growled in frustration. "Ranma..."
"I just felt like it, okay!?" he finally yelled. "Go ahead an' hit me."
Akane blinked. "That's it?" her voice raised a few levels. "You just felt
like it!? Silly me. Here I actually thought it might have meant something, when all I
was, was just a cheap thrill for you!" The next words were spoken at normal
volume, and with her back to him. "I guess I'm just another one of the girls for
you then..."
Now it was Ranma's turn to blink. "It's not like that at all! And I don't have, nor
do I want, any other girls! You're the only one that I..." Ranma quickly shut up.
Akane turned around. "Only one that I what?" But he had gone back to his
manga and was trying to ignore her. "Oh no, you're not getting out of this that
easily, not this time!" She ripped the manga out of his hands.
He leapt to his feet. "What'd you do that for!"
Akane tried to control her anger, but wasn't entirely successful. "I'm
trying to talk to you, and all you can do is fumble around and ignore me instead of
telling me how you really feel!"
"Oh yeah!?" Ranma fumbled for a witty response. "Well, why don't you
tell me how you really feel!"
Her voice rose in volume. "You want to know how I feel? Then here!"
Almost without thinking what she was doing, she grabbed the front of
Ranma's blue Chinese shirt and pulled him towards her. Ranma, stunned at what
she was doing (and part of him not wanting to resist), didn't act until she had
pressed her lips to his.
And then they were kissing, really getting into it. While their first kiss in
the secluded glade two weeks ago was soft and gentle, these kisses were rougher
and more urgent, but also filled with more passion.
Ranma's arms unconsciously went around her waist and his eyes closed as
he threw all his skill into the passionate embrace.
Akane heard a small moan and realized it was her own voice, but she
didn't care. Her arms wove around
his neck and meant to go and pull him down on top of her, though it didn't work
out quite that way. She forgot about the table that was right behind her, and she hit
the back of her left ankle on the table and tripped, pulling him down with her.
Ranma, suddenly realizing he was falling, acted. His first instinct said to
protect Akane, and he automatically used his martial art skills to twist in mid-flight
so his back hit the table first. With an `oomph', the air was driven from his lungs,
and then Akane landed on top of him, forcing his head back to smack the table as
well.
For a few moments, there was silence.
"I-I'm sorry, Ranma," Akane said as she started getting off him. She
looked down at him and noticed he wasn't moving. "Ranma!? Kami, Ranma,
answer me!"
Akane's stomach froze and dropped several feet. She was a bit relieved
to see he was still breathing, but his eyes were closed and he wasn't responding.
Tears began to flow as she lifted his head up. "Come on Ranma! Wake up! Don't
leave me, oh kami, don't leave me!"
"Huh?" came the soft, mumbled reply as the pig-tailed boy began to stir.
"Wazzat?"
"You're alive!" Akane exclaimed as she buried her face in his chest to
release her tears. "I-I though I'd lost you!"
When Ranma began to become aware of the situation, the first thing he
noticed was Akane on top of him. He could sense that she was upset about
something because she was... crying? As his eyes opened, he realized he was laying
somewhat uncomfortably on something hard, but that thought was ignored by the
fact that Akane was crying into his chest.
"Akane?" His arms automatically went around her once again. One went
around to rest on her back, the other went up to stroke the back of her head. "Are
you alright?"
She looked up at him, tear streaks running from her brown eyes. Through
the highly charged emotions running through her, a thought penetrated her brain.
Without another word, she lunged
forward and began to kiss him again, just as urgently, but with more tenderness.
"Uh, Akane," he managed through kisses. "It hurts..."
The words stung her and she quickly backed off of him. "I'm sorry,
Ranma! I..."
"That's okay," he replied, slowly getting up. "It was just kinda
uncomfortable laying on the table with you on top of me."
The two teens glanced at each other, then Akane giggled. "You're just
lucky Kuno didn't hear that."
Ranma chuckled along with that as Akane helped to move him to pile of
cushions. In his best `noble samurai' voice, he intoned, "Saotome! How dare you
enchant beauteous Tendo Akane with your evil sorcerer ways!"
That caused both teens to erupt into laughter, draining the tense moments
that had been building, away. As Ranma lay on his back, Akane snuggled up to his
side. She reached up to wipe away her remaining tears but Ranma beat her to it,
and instead she enjoyed the feel of his fingers play across her cheeks. She then
settled her head onto his chest once more and there was silence again.
After several minutes of quiet breathing, Akane whispered, "What are we
going to do?"
Ranma closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of her hair, enjoying it. "I-I
don't know... Half the time I don't know what I feel anyway..."
She ran a hand across his chest and tried to suppress a giggle when she
saw him attempt to hide the reaction to her touch by crossing his legs.
After a moment, she moved foreward to gently kiss him, just enjoying the
feel of his body against hers and the taste of his lips. Greatly daring, she opened
her mouth and darted her tongue into his mouth, whacking his own tongue, before
retreating again.
Ranma started at this, not knowing quite what to make of it. Somehow, he
knew it felt kinda good, and if Akane could do it, so could he. Having made up his
mind, he stuck his tongue foreward on their next kiss and Akane eagerly accepted
it, stopping the kiss to suck on it gently, before going back into the kiss.
They stayed like that for almost an hour, releasing two years worth of
pent-up feelings and emotions as they relaxed in each other's arms and enjoying
each other's company. Eventually, the fear of discovery caused them to seperate,
lest they fall asleep where they were and be discovered by someone before they
awoke.
Without another word, they got ready for bed, gave each other a long
good-night kiss, and went to their seperate rooms. Both still reveling in their
feelings of warmth, and both still desiring to spend the night in the arms of the
other.
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The rest of the week passed with much nervousness, as neither Ranma nor
Akane decided they wanted to let the rest of the family know of the change in their
relationship. For the most part they went through business as usual, except for a
shared glance here, and a brush of the hand there.
And of course, a shared kiss goodnight, usually with Ranma meeting
Akane at her window.
Surprisingly, almost no one seemed to be the wiser towards their new
feelings. Especially at school, where Akane thought for sure her friends would
recognize the change in her and catch on to her feelings about Ranma. Except for
some good-natured treasing about her "hunk martial artist fiancee," to which
Akane replied, "Why would I care about that perverted baka?"
Well, except for a couple of students that were a bit more observant than
the rest. Talking amonst themselves, they discussed that it seemed Ranma and
Akane were getting along slighty better than normal, and they wondered if
anything had happen between them to cause a change.
Nothing much would've come of this, but unfortunately, a certain
okonomiyaki chef overhead the conversation. Ever alert for updates or changes in
the staus quo of the Ranma fiancee group, she took a moment to study the pair
and decided things did seem unusual. Nothing she could put her finger on, but she
figured she better makes some countermoves just in case.
And she did, at lunch. With free special love-note okonomiyaki, and then
some close snuggling afterward where she tried to whisper sweet nothings in his
ear.
Ranma, desperate to get out of the unnerving situation, had no choice but
to thank her for the good lunch and that it was a welcome break from the toxic
stew Akane tried to poison him with.
Naturally, Akane heard this and got into an arguement with him that ended
when sent him flying into a wall with the bento lunch box she had made for him.
Immediately afterward, she realized that it was time for them to have another talk.
So, here she was, nervously waiting in this patch of forest for her
pig-tailed fiancee to show up. She had slipped him a note in a crowd, asking him to
meet her after school in this spot, right after lunch ended and he had nodded in her
direction after reading it.
She didn't finish that as a pair of arms had slipped around her and a pari of
lips found her neck. Startled, Akane grabbed an arm and executed a perfect judo
throw that sent Ranma crashing into a tree.
"Oh!" she exclaimed when she realized who it was. "I'm sorry, Ranma. But
you shouldn't surprise me like that!" She helped him get right side up and noticed
he had still had a big grin on his face. "Why are you smiling like that?"
He shrugged. "Well, you hadn't hit me or sent me flyin' all week; I guess I
just missed it, that's all."
Akane cocked her head, then sat down against the tree and next to Ranma.
"Ranma? Do mean to say you actually like it when I hit you?"
Her fiancee shrugged again, but didn't really answer her question. "Well,
it's just that your performance yesterday, when ya sent me flyin', did quite a bit to
quench the rumor mill. Didn't you see the way Ukyo was actin'?"
Akane frowned, but nodded. "Of course, but it seems no one really knows
what's going on. It's just the standard rumors; everywhere from `Akane is a
lesbian' to `Akane is carrying Ranma's love child.'" Her face turned bright red as
she said this, and Ranma matched that.
"Yeah, I hear that, too." She shifted closer to him so that their bodies
touched lightly. He continued. "But, there
were people talking about how nice we've been to each other this week. If we're
gonna keep this a secret, we gotta keep up the act at school as well as home."
Akane looked down. "I guess you're right. If we want this relationships to
based on we want, instead of our parents, we can't tell them. And if the people at
school find out..."
"Both our respective admirers will come after us with a vengeance,"
Ranma finished. "And then our parent's will find out and we'll be married faster
than Oyaji can snag a meatball."
"Would that reall be so bad?" Akane asked. "I mean, to be married?"
Ranma looked down. "I-I just don't know if I'm really ready to be
hu-husband. I mean, I'm a girl half the time, I'm scared of c-cats, not to mention I
have don't know if I could even be a good father. We've still got school to get
through and..." he laughed, "there's still the problem of our suitors..."
"Yeah, I guess you're right..." she said softly, but Ranma detected a hint
of.. regret? sorrow? in her voice. "But your problems don't matter to me. For as
long as I've known you, you've been cursed, and to me, that's just the way you
are." She felt Ranma stiffen a bit and she tried putting her hand on his shoulder to
calm him. "No, it's okay Ranma. Even if you get cured, it doesn't matter to me.
Remember what you said as we watched the Jusenkyo pools flood? You said that,
somewhere along the line you stopped caring about your curse and realized that
your girl side will always be a part of you. Do you still feel that way?"
Ranma let out a breath. "Yeah, kinda, I guess. I still feel you deserve a full
man for a husband..."
She whacked him lightly. "Stop that. I-I've told you before that I like you
the way you are. As for your fear of cats, well, it doesn't come up that often.
Maybe there's something we can do about that if you want, since there are ways of
curing people of their fears." She sighed. "And I don't think I'm ready to be a wife
or a mother either. After all, I can't cook or sew, or do a lot of the stuff a married
woman is supposed to do."
He looked over at the girl nestled against him. "Hey, you're cooking's
getting better. I was able to get through your dinner a couple of nights ago." He
reflected back on it the meal both his mother and Kasumi had helped Akane make.
"It wasn't that bad." She looked up at him with a hopeful look on her face and he
grinned. "You'll get the hang of it... in ten years or so."
She scowled and whacked him again across the back of his head. "Baka."
"Uncute macho chick."
Akane felt a little hurt. "You... still think I'm uncute?"
He sighed.