Subject: [FANFIC] A Lesson In Love Part 6B (Draft)
From: Marisa Price
Date: 5/13/1996, 5:16 AM
To: fanfic@tendo-dojo.ranma.net

Here you go!! Hope you like it... please let
me know....


-Misa

A Lesson In Love
By Marisa Price

Part 6B: Listen To Your Heart

	"You.... MORONS!!" Ranma berated Ryouga and Ukyou
when they finally arrived at the cluster of trees on
the edge of the Furinken campus.
	"What the HELL are you talking about, Ranma?!" Ryouga
yelled back at him.
	"Yeah," Ukyou added, "Just what IS the big deal,
Ranchan?"
	Ranma was breathing hard, having dragged the other
two from the classroom all the way to the grove, but he 
managed to say, "I haven't TOLD Akane yet about China....
or about my new job at Ucchan's for that matter.... and I
want to tell her before the two of you spill the beans and
she takes it wrong!!"
	Ryouga and Ukyou looked at Ranma in shock for a 
few seconds, and then Ukyou shook her head and commented,
"You are SO hopeless sometimes, Ranchan."
	Ryouga nodded in agreement. Ukyou just sighed and
whipped out a grill and her cooking spatulas and began to
make an okonomiyaki lunch. Ranma and Ryouga slouched to the
ground, leaning against the medium-sized trees.
	"You are such an idiot, Ranma. You haven't told her
how you feel. You haven't told her about work or China. No
WONDER she is mad at you.... PLUS if what you said about
last night was true...."
	Ranma was breaking fallen twigs into small pieces,
looking down, and at that comment he looked up and said, 
"Oh don't even START, Bacon-breath!!"
	Ukyou flipped over a delicious smelling okonomiyaki
before looking at her lifelong friend and observing, "See?
That is what your problem is."
	"What do you MEAN, Ucchan?" Ranma wanted to know.
	Ukyou frowned and said, "You are always so concerned
with looking macho that you never can tell anyone the truth
about what you feel. You just bark back insults to people."
	"I have been TRYING!! But no one takes me seriously!
I always get hit or kicked or slapped before I can get a word
out!!" Ranma said, getting angry.
	Ukyou tossed Ryouga his lunch, saying (just as he 
caught it), "Be careful, it's hot!"
	"HOT!!!" Ryouga cried, dropping the okonomiyaki
into his lap.
	"Told ya," Ukyou directed at Ryouga, and then 
turned to Ranma and continued, "I know you have been trying,
Ranchan... but it takes you so LONG!! If you just spit it out
you could probably avoid half the messes you get into..."
	Ranma stood up and kicked a rock across the clearing
before saying petulantly, "WELL?! What do you want me to DO?!
I mean, there is NO WAY she is going to just sit there 
calmly and listen to my story... no matter how fast I talk."
	"I don't know why you are going for a girl who beats
you up like that anyway, Ranchan. You could do much better."
She looked Ranma in the eyes and said, seriously, "MUCH
better."
	Ranma just looked back at her blankly. Ryouga, having
finally cooled his okonomiyaki and eaten it, glared at Ranma.
He finally growled, "Why don't you just say it? The longer
you drag this out the more you hurt Akane...AND Ukyou....
AND Shampoo.... and ME.... not to mention yourself."
	"Oh that's real good advice coming from someone who
has been trying for an entire year to tell Akane that you
like her," Ranma snorted.
	Ryouga said, fiercely, "There were a LOT of times 
when I tried to tell her!! But YOU always had to get in the
way!!"
	Ranma shrugged and said, "It's not my fault that you
were stupid enough to fall for all those jokes."
	Ryouga slumped back with a sour expression on his
face, obviously holding back the anger. He finally looked
at Ranma again and said, "You know, I really feel like 
kicking your ass sometimes, Ranma. But I am starting to feel
that maybe it isn't worth it...." Ryouga stood up and gave
Ukyou an intense stare.
	"What?" she asked, surprised, finishing off the last
of her lunch and putting her equipment away.
	"Let's leave."
	"Now?"
	Ryouga nodded.
	Ukyou looked at Ranma and said, "OK, Ranchan. I am 
going to give you this ONE day. One day to tell Akane that
you care about her. If she rejects you, good for Ryouga and
I. If she doesn't, you are still welcome to work at Ucchan's
as my dear friend. If you just chicken out... then don't 
come back to Ucchan's or back to me with the same old story!!"
	"It's time to end this, Ranma. Stop being such a 
jerk and be a man for once," Ryouga added.
	"But... what do I SAY to her?!" Ranma asked.
	Ukyou said softly, "Just listen to your heart, Ranchan,
and tell her the words that are there..."
	Ranma just stood there under the trees looking at
the other two. A brisk wind swept through the clearing,
tossing up stray cherry blossoms around the group. Ranma,
slowly, nodded.
	"Good luck, Ranma. I'll want to hate you for it if
you succeed, but I will do my best to support whatever makes
Akane happy," Ryouga said quietly.
	"Ranchan... if it doesn't work out... I still love
you..." Ukyou said, her voice quavering a bit, before reaching
out and taking Ryouga's hand. The two of them left Ranma 
standing in the circle of trees with a lot in his mind.
	But nothing in his stomach.
	"HEY!!" Ranma thought, "I didn't even get an 
okonomiyaki!!"
	He sighed, his stomach growling, and decided that 
there were more important things to think about. He picked
up his backpack from the ground and headed off to find Akane.

******

	"Hey, isn't the school back in the other direction?"
Ryouga asked.
	Ukyou stopped and looked at Ryouga in surprise,
noting, "Uh, yeah! Actually it is! Wow I am impressed that
you got that right!"
	Ryouga blushed. Ukyou grabbed Ryouga's hand and
started to walk forward again. After a couple of seconds
Ryouga asked, "Uh, Ukyou?"
	"What, Ryouga-kun?" Ukyou said, distractedly.
	"Uh, if the school is in the other direction, don't
we want to GO that way?"
	"We aren't going back to school, Ryouga-kun. I have
to leave school every day after lunch in order to get back
in time to handle the lunch crowd at Ucchan's."
	"OH!" Ryouga said, surprised, and let Ukyou guide
him forward.
	They walked silently for a few minutes before Ukyou
stopped in front of a large department store. Ryouga shaded
his eyes from the afternoon sun and looked up to read the
store name. The sign read, "Naki-chan's School Supply Store."
	"What are we doing here?" Ryouga asked.
	Ukyou turned a small smile to Ryouga and said, "Well,
the girls in class today all noticed that your suit was a
little...um... TIGHT... across your...um..." Ukyou blushed.
	"Um? My what?" Ryouga asked, surprised.
	Ukyou turned a darker shade of red and mumbled, "Your
um... butt."
	Ryouga flamed up this time and looked as if he would
like to hide in the deepest hole possible. 
	Ukyou reached out, to Ryouga's shock, and patted him
on the back, saying, "Hey. It's OK. Most girls like to look
at guy's butts. However, I thought you might be more comfortable
in a larger uniform."
	Ryouga giggled inanely, still embarrassed, and said,
"Uh... that would be really nice, Ukyou... I, um, am not 
used to being noticed like that..."
	Ukyou giggled.
	Ryouga, surprised at the somewhat happy sound coming
from the recently VERY depressed Ukyou, gave a small fangy
smile back to his new friend. "Thanks, Ukyou."
	"No problem, Ryouga-kun. Now shall we go inside?"
	Ryouga looked at Ukyou with that smile on her face
and realized that she was actually really cute when she 
was happy, and looked more like a woman instead of a tomboy
when she relaxed...
	"Ryouga!!!" Ukyou shouted.
	"What?!" Ryouga gasped, all thoughts flying from
his mind as he looked around for the danger and prepared to
fight. He couldn't have been less prepared to hear Ukyou say:
	"You're bleeding all over my UNIFORM!!!"
	Ryouga reached up and felt his damp nose and looked
over at the angry Ukyou. "Uh, sorry," he mumbled, taking
the handkerchief Ukyou was thrusting at him.
	Ukyou was all of a sudden back to her stiff demeanor
and was definitely no longer "cute." She "humphed" at Ryouga
and strode forward into the store, leaving Ryouga running
to catch up with her ram-rod straight figure, and shouting,
"WAIT UP, UKYOU!!!!!!"
	Yet Ryouga, for some strange reason, couldn't seem
to forget that smile.

*******

	"Where the heck IS she?!" Ranma wondered aloud.
	Ranma couldn't find Akane. Sayuri and Yuka had said
that they hadn't seen Akane since before lunch. She wasn't
in her afternoon classes, in the nurse's office, or anywhere
else on campus as far as Ranma could tell. He had checked 
everywhere he could think of... the library, the roof,
the grove. Ranma had even tracked down Kuno after school
to make sure that he hadn't done something to Akane, but
Kuno was standing in the group that usually formed around
Nabiki Tendo, bidding for something that Nabiki was trying
to sell off.... "..probably pictures of ME.." Ranma thought
sourly.
	Ranma yelled at Nabiki, "HEY! Nabiki! Can I talk to
you for a sec?"
	Nabiki sauntered over to Ranma, her crowd of 
"customers" parting to let her through, and asked, "What's
up, Ranma?"
	"Um...have you seen Akane, Nabiki?" Ranma asked.
	Nabiki seemed to consider the question for the 
moment, staring at Ranma's intent face, and finally said,
"Well.... it depends on how much cash you have."
	Ranma groaned and said, "HEY!!! This is REALLY 
important, Nabiki! Can't you just be NICE for once?!"
	Nabiki just stood there, silent.
	Ranma grumbled and dug around in his pants until
he found about 1000 yen. He pressed it into Nabiki's open
hand and muttered, "That's all I got. Now're ya gonna TELL
me, or WHAT?"
	"Ranma, Ranma! No need to be caustic. I saw her
run out of the front gate of the school about halfway through
lunch. My sources say that she hasn't returned yet."
	"That's ALL you know?!" Ranma asked, frustrated.
	"Well, it's more than you knew before, ne Ranma-kun?"
Nabiki smiled and added, "Ta ta! I have other customers 
waiting!" And then she was gone back to her circle.
	Ranma decided that she had probably gone home again,
after all, that is what she had done yesterday. Ranma 
walked into the house, having already checked the dojo and
the outside gardens and pond, and ran straight into Kasumi,
who was carrying a bucket of cold water for watering the 
plants.
	Ranma-onna sighed and said, "WHY ME?!"
	Kasumi looked VERY sorry and yelped, "Oh MY! I am
 SO sorry Ranma!"
	Ranma just shrugged and said, 'No problem... I am
used to it. Hey Kasumi, have you seen Akane?"
	Kasumi wrapped a dry towel around Ranma, shaking her
head at the same time and saying, "No, actually I haven't 
seen Akane since early this morning."
	"OK." Ranma trudged up the stairs, stopping in the
bathroom to change back into a guy, and then walked to Akane's
room. Ranma tapped on the door lightly, and, when there was
no answer, opened the door slowly and peered into the room.
	No one was there.
	Ranma carefully shut Akane's door and leaned up
against it. "Where could she be?" he thought. He decided
to try a few places where he knew Akane went to think...
but she wasn't next to the river, or at Dr. Tofuu's, or
anywhere else that she could usually be found.
	"She must be somewhere that I can find her... I just
have to think of where she would have gone..." Ranma thought
to himself as he walked along the fence after stopping by
Dr. Tofuu's. Suddenly, Ukyou's words filled Ranma's mind.
	"Listen to your heart..."
	Ranma's heart began to beat and his mind began to
swim. He remembered the time when Nabiki had temporarily
been switched to being his fiancee. Akane had been very 
upset, and that was the closest to ending their relationship
as Ranma and Akane had come. Nabiki had tricked Ranma by 
telling him that she loved him. Ranma had later chased
Nabiki down in a maze, not knowing that Akane was also there,
and had caught what he thought was Nabiki. He had wanted to
play the same sort of trick on Nabiki as she had played on
him, so when he grabbed 'Nabiki' he shouted, "I LOVE YOU!!!!!"  
	But it was Akane that he had found in his arms,
staring up at him with stars in her eyes.
	"The park, of COURSE!!!" Ranma shouted and turned
to run in the opposite direction. He arrived a few minutes
later and began to search the maze....
	But there was no Akane.
	"Damn!" Ranma said, loudly, and dropped down to sit
on a bench in a cluster of cherry trees.
	He looked across the way and saw a girl with short
black hair, facing slightly away from him, leaning against
one of the trees and feeding crumbs to some small birds.
	She was beautiful.

*******

	Akane was starting to get cold and decided that
it was probably time for her to go home. She fed the last
of the crumbs to the birds and looked up at the falling
sakura(*). It was such a lovely sight.
	Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and 
looked up to see Ranma standing behind her.
	"Ranma!" she said, shocked, and stood up.
	Ranma looked at her for a minute, not saying anything,
and finally reached out to grab one of Akane's hands.
	Akane stuttered, "R..r..ranma? What are you doing?
How did you find me?"
	Ranma blushed and said, "I...uh...just 'listened to
my heart,' Akane." Ranma looked even more embarrassed and
added, "I suppose that sounds pretty stupid."
	Akane looked up at Ranma, her eyes shining, and
said, "Wellllll... sort of."
	Ranma looked up at her, surprised, and then noticed
she was smiling. Both of them began to giggle.
	The good laugh seemed to ease the tension, and
Ranma noticed that she hadn't pulled her hand away.
	It was now or never. She was smiling at him... her
heart in her eyes. Time to be a man.
	"Akane..." Ranma began.
	"What, Ranma?" she asked, squeezing his hand
affectionately.
	Ranma reached out to gently brush the sakura out
of Akane's hair, feeling its soft silkiness. He sighed and
managed to move a bit closer to her and take her other
hand in his.
	She smiled at him again.
	"Akane.... I think I... I know I... I mean... It's
just that..... Well. I really care about you. And, I want
to know if you want to be my fiancee... for real."
	"This had better not be a JOKE!" Akane said harshly.
	Ranma shook his head and pulled her into his arms,
kissing the top of her soft hair, and saying, "It isn't
a joke, Akane... I l...l...ove you. Do you....um.....well...
love me too?"
	Akane's form relaxed and she melted against Ranma.
She began to cry a bit... and Ranma just held her closer.
Akane looked up at her Ranma, fool that he might be, and
knew that for some reason no one else could possibly be
right for her except this macho, half-girl, perverted, jerk
that was her fiancee. She did love him; he was a part of her.
	Akane stood up on her tip-toes to press a soft kiss
on Ranma's lips before leaning to whisper in his ear:
	"I do love you, baka, I always have. So much."

(*) Sakura means cherry blossoms in Japanese. ^_^

End of Part VI (A and B).

Coming soon: Part VII!! 

Marisa Price
marisa@gladstone.uoregon.edu
http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~marisa/
Mermaid Saga Web Page http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~marisa/mermaid.html
Member of COR and UDIC.
Anime otaku forever! Medieval Studies and English major.