[FF] [RANMA] The High Cost of Loving Chp 2 - The Money Pit

Hello all!

Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction
"The High Cost of Loving - Chapter Two"
"The Money Pit - Part One"
by Suds-kun (suds1964@tir.com)

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Ranma 1/2 characters are created by and copyright Rumiko Takahashi.
Published by Shogakukan Inc. and VIZ Comm.
Story copyright Shaun Schillinger.
Intended for the sole non-profit use of R.T. fans.
============================================

Akane jogged into the dojo, her afternoon run just completed.  She
quickly changed out of her jogging attire and into her gi.  she
continued her daily ritual by doing her stretching and then going
through her kata.  Afterwards, she focused on the two cement blocks
setting toward the back of the room.  "Hiyaaa!" she screamed as her
fist broke through the blocks.

"Are you ready?" Ranma asked.

"Un." she replied as she made her way to the middle of the room.

They bowed to each other, then Akane made the first move with a fist
to his head.  Ducking to the side, Ranma dodged her follow up kick.
Ranma dodged and ducked each attack, occasionally attempting a leg
sweep after one of her kicks.  He noticed her frustration rising as
she continually was unable to touch him.  Ranma smirked as he
countered her latest attack by jumping over her and giving a push.
She landed hard and quickly countered with a leg sweep.  Ranma caught
her foot and tried to tickle her.  Akane qrowled as she flipped Ranma
over her head.  She was standing and glaring at him as he landed on
his feet.

"What were you trying to do?" she yelled.

"Well, you hardly smile anymore, and I thought you could use a good
laugh."

"I ... laughed ... yesterday!" she shouted as Ranma dodged and weaved
her combination of punches and kicks.

"Oh, yeah.  I forgot, only one laugh a week is allowed for
kawaiikune, macho, sexless, tomboys like you." he said as he made a
face and stuck out his tongue.

"I hate you!" she screamed as her kick sent Ranma through the roof.

===

"Kasumi!"

"Nabiki!"

"Akane!"

"Yes, father?" Kasumi asked as she popped her head out of the
kitchen.

"What do you want, daddy?" asked Nabiki as she came down the stairs.

"I'll tell you in a moment, where's Akane?" replied Soun.

In response to his question a splash from the pond in back was heard
as Akane stormed into the room. "We can't even train with out him
insulting me!" ranted Akane.

Soun interrupted his daughter, "Akane, I have something to tell you
and your sisters."

Akane slowly calmed down and looked at her sisters questioningly.
They both shrugged their shoulders and looked at their father.

===

Soun looked over the table at his three daughters.  "Nabiki has given
me a report on our financial status and I've come to a conclusion.
Something has to be done about the cost of the constant repair to the
dojo.  Either Akane and Ranma get married and start training students
or Genma and Ranma move out until Ranma marries Akane."

"Daddy, I've given you those reports every week for years and you've
   just now started reading them?" Nabiki looked at her father
   coolly.

"This isn't just another one of your tricks to get me to marry that
hentai, is it?" Akane shouted as she stood up.

"Isn't there any other solution, father?  What if Ranma got a job
like Uncle Genma?" Kasumi asked.

"I've made up my mind, Genma and Ranma have to move out until Ranma
and Akane get married." Soun stated flatly.

===

A dripping wet Ranma had only heard the last of the conversation but
she understood exactly what was going to happen.  Her pop was going
to force her to get married rather than be kicked out on the street.
She looked at Akane.  A blue glow was forming around her.

"A-Akane?" Ranma stuttered as Akane's face became red and she started
to shake.

"I'm not going to marry a hentai, baka like you!" Akane yelled as she
sent onna-Ranma flying into the city skyline with a kick.

"Akane, why did you do that?  He was just standing there." Kasumi
looked to her sister, her normal, happy smile was missing.

"It's his fault that we don't have enough money!" Akane shouted.  "He
insults me all the time, he's mean when I try to be nice and he and
his father destroy the dojo every time they spar or argue!"

"Just remember, little sister," Nabiki began, "Ranma makes holes in
the roof because you're sending him into orbit all of the time."

"He.. he keeps insulting me!" she shouted, "He deserves to be kicked
out!" Akane swung around and stomped away. "Enough! I'm taking a
bath!"

Kasumi and Nabiki watched the storm enter the bathroom.

"The warm bath should calm her down."

"But what about tomorrow, onnechan? _We_ still have to live with her,
Ranma's the lucky one."

"Let's talk about it later." Kasumi said as she smiled at Nabiki and
made her way to the kitchen.  "This could ruin all of our plans."
she thought.

Soun quietly smiled as his daughters left the room. "I'll inform
Genma when he returns." he announced to the empty room. His smile
grew bigger then quickly disappeared.  "Good." he thought.

===

"So, what happened this time?"  Tofu-sensei asked as he helped
onna-Ranma up off the floor and straightened her out.

"Akane."

Tofu-sensei raised an eyebrow.  "Did you insult her again?"

"No, well, yeah. We had been sparring when I tried to get her to
laugh. She got mad and I called her kawaiikune. Then she kicked me
into the pond. When I got out and made my way inside. I overheard her
father make an announcement. Either she marries me, or pop and I have
to move out of the dojo."

The whistle of a tea kettle drew Tofu-sensei's attention.  He poured
some cold water into the boiling kettle then handed the kettle to
Ranma.

"Arigatoo." Ranma said as she poured the contents of the tea kettle
over her head.  "Akane said she would never marry a hentai like me
and knocked me here. I didn't even get a chance to say anything."

"Does your father know yet?" Tofu-sensei asked.

"I don't think so." Ranma paused, " Things had been going so well.
We had even gone on a couple dates.  Everything changed after the
last one, when we went out with Ukyou and Konatsu." Ranma let out a
heavy sigh. "We had thought that if _we_ could have a good time
together, why couldn't they? I mean, Konatsu had a crush on Ukyou,
and she _was_ starting to treat him better." Ranma then clenched his
fists. "But that damn gas attack killed him." Ranma frowned and
started to rub the back of his head. "Akane and I stopped dating
right after that and we were back to the old arguing again. It just
feels meaner now. No matter what I say or do, she gets mad and
pummels me."

"I think you should have a talk with Akane about this."  Tofu-sensei
offered. "No insults, just talk about your feelings and hers."

"Why?  She already gave her answer and 'kicked' me out of the dojo."

Before Tofu-sensei could respond, Ranma headed toward the door.
"Arigatoo, Tofu-sensei." he bowed and then left the office.

===

Ranma turned toward the dojo and approached the front door. His
father was standing at the top of the steps, their belongings next to
him.

"Are you going to marry her, boy?"

"Why, pop?" he shrugged, "She made the decision for me when she
kicked me out."

Genma tossed a back pack to Ranma.

"Then, we are going on a training trip."

Ranma slipped on the pack and followed his father past the dojo walls
and down the street.

A small, dark figure followed them.  A quiet maniacal laugh escaping
his lips.

===

Kasumi walked up to the door and raised her hand as if she was going
to knock. but clasped her hands together in thought. "Has she calmed
down yet?" Kasumi looked down the hallway. "Father, why did you make
that ultimatum? We had worked so hard on the two of them and now it's
falling apart." She turned back to the door and listened quietly. She
could hear some muffled cries. Kasumi took a deep breath and knocked
on the door. "She sounds like she's ready for some help," she thought
as she waited for a response.

===

Akane looked out the window and watched the two figures leave.
"Baka," she whispered as she laid on her bed and hugged her pillow,
her mind starting to wander. "Why does he have to torture me all of
the time? I've had enough of those insults! I..I must have been out
of my mind when I told him that I cared for him!" A small sob escaped
her lips and she buried her face in the pillow in a vain attempt to
stop from crying. "I..I'm glad he's gone, *sniff*, now I don't have
to think or worry about him."

*Knock* *Knock*

Akane sat up and quickly wiped away her tears and dried her eyes.
"Who is it?"

"It's me, Kasumi."

"Come on in, onnechan."

Kasumi entered and closed the door behind her. "How are you doing?"
she said as she sat next to Akane on the bed.

"Oh, I'm fine, onnechan. Just thinking about how much better it's
going to be with that hentai gone."

"You seemed pretty upset with Ranma today. What happened?" Kasumi
looked into her sister's eyes, but Akane turned away.

"Oh, the usual. We were sparring and he started to pick on me. First,
he acted like our training was a joke. Then, he called me a
kawaiikune, macho, sexless, tomboy. I kicked him into the pond while
he was making a face at me."

Kasumi smiled at her, a little concerned. "You two were getting along
so well and now these big fights. What's happened between you two?"

Akane shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. He started look..  um,
acting differently after our last date."

"Oh, the one where Konatsu died?"

Akane flinched and looked away. "I..I guess so. We visited Ukyou
afterward, she looked o.k. But, he was different. He said that Ukyou
should be proud of what Konatsu had done." Akane turned to her
sister. "How could he _say_ that? Didn't he hear her scream? Konatsu
died in her arms! And she should be proud?" Akane turned away. "It's
our fault he died, anyway. If I hadn't of talked Ranma into asking
them to go with us, Kontasu wouldn't have died."

Kasumi put an arm around her sister. "If it wasn't for the four of
you, it could have been far worse."

"I..I know," Akane sobbed, "but you should have heard Ukyou. I could
just feel the pain and sorrow in her scream. I don't ever want to
experience that again." Akane wiped her eyes and sat up straight.
"Well, now I don't have to worry about that."

"Akane, father says that Uncle Genma and Ranma are going on a
training trip and will be back in one week. Why don't you enjoy this
time without Ranma? No insults or fights for a week. Maybe my smiling
sister will return after a few days?"

Akane smiled weakly and nodded.

Kasumi gave a quick hug and walked toward the door. "Sleep well
tonight, tomorrow will be a great day." She smiled as she closed the
door.

Akane smiled and laid down on the bed. "Just like a year ago. No
iinazuke, just daddy, Kasumi, Nabiki and me."

===

*knock* *knock*

"Come in, Nabiki." Kasumi didn't turn around, but continued brushing
her hair.

"How did it go, onnechan?"

Kasumi turned and smiled. "She's quite upset, but nothing that we
can't handle. Our plans may have been put on hold, but we can get
them back together by the due date."

Nabiki sat on the bed. "What's she upset about?"

"She's mad at Ranma, Ukyou and herself."

"Nani?"

"She blames Ranma and herself for Konatsu's death, but that's not
what is behind her anger at Ranma."

"It isn't? She's mad at Ukyou?"

Kasumi took a deep breath. "It seems that Akane is afraid of losing
Ranma the way Ukyou lost Konatsu. I believe that she thinks if she
loves Ranma, he'll die in her arms. So, she's pushing him away to
prevent that possible pain."

Nabiki drew her legs up and rested her chin on her knees. "To think I
envied her for being in love. What a waste, onnechan. I wish _I_ had
that kind of problem."

Kasumi smiled at her sister. "What did you find out about father?"

Nabiki stood up and started pacing. "I'm pretty sure he's got some
stupid plan on getting them married. He's feigning ignorance, but I
bet uncle Genma is in on it." Nabiki stopped, a devilish grin on her

face. "But this can be used to our advantage. I'll be able to figure
it all out when uncle Genma returns." Nabiki paused and looked at her
sister. "Do you think you can get the two of them back together?"

Kasumi didn't bat an eye or stopped smiling. "Do _you_ think you can
use father and uncle Genma's plan to our advantage?"

Nabiki laughed, "Touche', onnechan!"

"Goodnight, Nabiki. Tomorrow I'll be starting to get Akane to relax
and we both are going to need a good night's sleep."

"Goodnight, onnechan." Nabiki closed the door behind her and headed
toward her room. She paused and looked down the hall at Akane's room.
"I wish I had someone that _I_ loved and they loved me like you've
got, little sister."

===

Akane jogged into the dojo, her afternoon run just completed.  She
quickly changed out of her jogging attire and into her gi.  she
continued her daily ritual by doing her stretching and then going
through her kata. It was then that she noticed the cement blocks.
"That baka!" she thought. "Ran..." Akane stopped in mid yell. "Oh,
yeah." She looked around, "Hmph, he's gotten these for me for so
long, I don't remember where the blocks are or what to do with the
broken ones."

Akane left the room and returned with a wheel barrow. She picked up
the previous days blocks, put them in the wheel barrow, took the two
new blocks and set them up. After a few stretches and her kata, she
turned her focus on the cement blocks. "Hiyaaa!" she screamed as her
fist broke through the blocks. "Ahhh, that felt good." She turned to
walk away and noticed the wheel barrow. She put her hand to her chin,
deep in thought. "I never thought of this before, but what did that
hentai do with the broken blocks? I can't remember ever seeing them
after our sparring matches. Hmmph, I can do it myself, I don't need
his help." She loaded up the wheel barrow and made her way outside.

Looking around, Akane's gaze came to the far corner of the yard.
"That'll work. I can pile them up over there and ask daddy or Kasumi
about what to do with them." She walked over to the where the walls
met and dumped the broken blocks on the ground. She started to hum as
she put the wheel barrow away and entered the dojo. "Yappa pa, yappa
pa, hm hm hm."

===

*SPLASH*

"AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

"SWEETO!"

===

Akane smiled at Kasumi.  "Arigatoo, onnechan!" Akane said as she
picked up her bowl and began eating.  Her father was reading the
paper, while Nabiki was looking over the business section.  They all
quietly ate their breakfast and made small talk.

Akane looked around and thought, "It's been so long since we acted
like a normal family.  Father looks so relaxed."

Nabiki looked up from her paper. "Akane, your shipment of cement
blocks should be here today. Try not to use them up so fast this
month."

"I'll try not to, onnechan. With that pest gone, I should only use
two a day."

Nabiki rolled her eyes and stood. "I'm leaving for school now," she
announced and headed toward the door.

Akane also stood and started for her room.

"Akane!"  Kasumi called.

"Hai"  Akane replied as she returned with her school bag.

"Do you think Ranma has returned from his training trip, yet?" Kasumi
asked.

"Not yet," Akane replied, "I haven't seen him at school and it really
has been pretty peaceful there.  If you don't count Kuno-sempei."
Akane smiled at her sister, "I'll see you after school."

Akane left and began her walk to school.  On the way, she
absentmindedly looked at the fence.  "Baka." she said under her
breath. "Things are so much better with him gone. No more insults,
arguments, fights, friends dying." She shook her head. "Stop that!
I won't let him upset me or make me sad, I don't need that hentai to
make me feel good. With him out of my life, I can finally be happy."

She then smiled and twirled about and began walking with a
bounce in her step.  Not skipping, but close.  Enjoying her freedom,
she began to hum a happy tune.

===

Ranma yawned and stretched, not too much or else he'd fall off the
branch. He quietly grabbed his backpack and jumped out of the tree.
"I better head for school, Hinako-sensei probably has a ton of
homework for me when I get there."

Ranma winced as he again tried to stretch. "Some training trip. 50
crazed women beating on you is not training." Ranma made his way down
the street and jumped on the nearby fence. "I wonder what Akane is
doing. Is she still made at me? I don't know if I want to see her
just yet. Besides, I've got a lot of catching up to do at school."

As Ranma approached the school, he noticed the time on the school
clock. "Hey, I'm early for a change!" He looked around the school
yard and then smiled as he entered the school. "I can get used to
this!  There was no one waiting to fight me or to try and kill me."
Ranma started climbing the steps to the next floor. "I better go see
Hinako-sensei before classes start if I don't want my ki sucked." He
hesitated as he reached for the door knob. "Akane used to help me
with my homework, maybe Uc-chan will help me. I'll stop by after
school and ask her." Ranma took a deep breath, opened the door and
entered.

============================================

--
suds-kun (Shaun Schillinger)
suds1964@tir.com
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/8222/
"THIS time, we didn't forget the graaavy!" Cat & Mouse to Dog