A Lesson in Love
By Marisa Price
Copyrighted to Marisa Price 1996 (All rights reserved)
Based on characters copyright to Rumiko Takahashi
mdp102@york.ac.uk

Chapter III: Learning to Let Go

	Ranma sank to the floor against the wall and thought, "Wow."
	*drip* *drip*
	Ranma looked down at the floor and noticed a bright patch of 
red on the white tile floor.
	"What the...?" he wondered, than realized, reaching up to his 
nose and feeling the wetness, that his nose was bleeding. He began to 
laugh quietly.
	"Oh man..." he thought... "Now I am turning into RYOUGA....?!"
	With that thought of Ryouga, he grimaced and clenched his 
fists.
	He thought, "Damn that pig! If he hadn't interrupted....!" 
Ranma paused mid-thought, realising the direction his thoughts had 
turned. "If he hadn't... then what?" he wondered.
	Ranma wondered again how he felt about Akane. This, this, KISS,
changed everything. With the two of them before, it had always been a 
forced engagement. Most situations and relations they experienced were 
what other people had wanted for them, or not wanted for them, and they
never got to think about what they, Ranma and Akane, wanted.
He had admitted (to himself), when he held her in his arms after 
fighting Saffron, thinking he had lost her forever, that he thought he 
loved her. Whatever love was.
	He still couldn't tell her how he felt or how he THOUGHT he 
felt he had tried... and tried. Every time he tried to talk to her 
about his thoughts and feelings, someone or something interrupted, and 
sadly most of the time it was his or her own pride. They were both so
clumsy with words.
	"It is so DAMN hard!" he yelled. And he knew the real reason 
why he was so afraid. It was partially because he was so unsure; if he
did admit that he loved Akane, it would mean that he would be wedded 
and bedded within twenty-four hours of the "happy" event.
	It would mean Shampoo, Ryouga, and Ukyou would be after him 
wanting his hide. Ranma was scared of losing his freedom and his pride,
not to mention people he cared about as friends. After all, that was 
all he really had now.
	In fact, this was the first time in his life that he had a 
group of friends- he had been too busy before training all over Japan 
and constantly changing schools to stop and have time to meet, much 
less make solid friendships with people.
	Although they were sometimes frustratingly overbearing, and 
irritating, he cared about Ukyou, and Ryouga, and even Shampoo! Half 
the time his thoughts were garbled because he knew that if he made 
certain decisions, he would have to lose friends. Yet... When it came 
down to it... the feelings for his friends were nothing in comparison
to the feeling he had for Akane. More than anything else... more than
he could understand, he wanted to protect Akane... to keep her safe...
and if that was love, he guessed he was in it.
	After all, he had never felt like that for anyone else before.
He knew he felt a tearing at his insides whenever another male got too
close to her.
	The memories of Kirin, Toma, Kuno, Ryouga, Mikado, Gonsungki, 
Shinnosuke (that guy had come WAY too close to making Akane like him),
and others, ate at him. He wanted to beat the hell out of anyone who 
got too near to his fiancee. She was HIS.
	Ranma leaned his head back against the bathroom wall and stared
blankly at the ceiling. He had to admit it. He wanted to be able to 
have Akane with him as long as he lived. He couldn't imagine life 
without her. He never wanted to lose her. Because he loved her... He 
loved Akane.
	THAT was what love meant, he decided.
	Someone who was a part of you that you couldn't give up.
Someone who made you feel terrible when you hurt their feelings, 
someone who looked at you as if you were their hero. Someone, who, when
you kissed, made you feel as if you could do anything; light-hearted 
and dizzy and ready for more.
	But there was one problem still. He was half-girl.
	He had thought that his curse wasn't important any more. But it
was important; he couldn't feel completely comfortable if he didn't
know when or where the change was going to happen. ESPECIALLY if he 
wanted to be able to give Akane what she seemed to want most- a normal
life.
	Before he could love, he needed to find a cure.

*****

*2 hours later*

	Ranma sat on the deck looking out on the pond. The day had been
clear earlier, but clouds had crawled up in the sky and turned the blue
dome to grey. Ranma was still thinking about the kiss, Akane, and a 
plan that was beginning to develop in his mind. He wondered what Akane
was thinking- it had been over two hours since the incident and she 
still hadn't come out of her room. Was she waiting for him to come 
upstairs to talk to her?
	Should he go up and check? What was Akane....
	Ranma's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the glomping of a
bubbly, cooing, purple mass of Chinese girl that was Shampoo.
	"Nihao Ranma!" Shampoo said, smiling.
	Ranma stood up, quickly, Shampoo still attached to him, and 
abruptly pushed her off. Shampoo landed on her behind and looked up at 
Ranma with surprised eyes. Ranma looked REALLY upset. Not just 
irritated like usual. He obviously did NOT want to be hugged.
	Shampoo asked quietly, "What wrong, Ranma?"
	"I just don't want you hanging on me, OK? Why can't you leave
me ALONE for once? I can't deal with you today, OK? You are just going 
to get me into trouble..." Ranma paused. Trouble? He frantically began
to look around, hoping that Akane had not seen Shampoo's hug. He didn't
see any mallets coming at him, so he figured he was safe. For now.
	"I have GOT to get rid of her," Ranma thought, and began to
say, "Shampoo, we need...."
	"RAAAAAANNNNNNMMMMMMAAA!!!" someone shouted, and Ranma looked 
up to see a -very- angry Ryouga storming toward him.
	Ranma grunted, "Talk about being between a rock and a hard 
place!"
	When Ryouga came close enough, Ranma surprised him by giving
Ryouga a western-style punch-in-the-nose... which knocked Ryouga into 
the pond again.
	Ranma went over, picked up the squealing P-chan, grabbed 
Shampoo's hand, and dragged them both out the Tendo gate to the streets
outside.
	"Where you take us Ranma?" Shampoo asked, curious.
	"Just be quiet until we get there, OK?" Ranma growled.
	Shampoo was pretty dense at times, but she got the hint this 
time and said nothing until they arrived at a grassy park.
	Ranma sat down and Shampoo followed suit. Ranma plopped P-chan 
down on the table in front of them.
	"Look, guys," Ranma began, "It is about time I said something 
to the both of you."
	Ranma turned to Shampoo and said, "Shampoo... I have to tell 
you that I can never return your affection or care about you the way 
you want me too.... I....I....." Ranma shut his eyes and clenched his 
fists. Finally he got out, "I care about Ak....err...someone ELSE too 
much to ever marry you."
	Ranma opened his eyes. Shampoo was looking down at her hands. 
Finally, she tilted her head up and looked at Ranma with tear-filled 
amber eyes. She said, quivering, "The law says... Ranma... you MUST..."
	"That isn't my law! It is your stupid law! You can't force me
to feel the way you want me to! I can't! I'm sorry!" Ranma shouted at 
her.
	Shampoo stood up and said, "Shampoo will never give up. NEVER!"
	Shampoo was about to turn around and run off when Ranma grabbed
her hand and pulled her back.
	"Whatever Shampoo. But I am not done yet. Can you stay for a
minute longer?" Ranma asked her, still holding her arm.
	Shampoo sniffled, but sat down again.
	Ryouga, surprisingly, had sat quietly through Ranma and 
Shampoo's conversation. Ranma finally turned to him, picked him up, and
handed him to Shampoo. Both the pig and the Chinese girl looked 
confused.
	Ranma stared at both of them, a fierce look in his eyes, and
then said, "I am going back to China. I want both of you, and Mousse, 
and probably Pop, to come with me if you want to get cured. I know the
springs are gone, so that option is out, but I want to ask the Guide 
and the elders of your village, Shampoo, to see if they know of any 
other legendary springs."
	Shampoo's eyes grew, as did Ryouga's.
	Ranma finally concluded sharply, "It is TIME we go find what 
we need."
	Shampoo squeaked out, "Ranma want go back to China with
Shampoo? But..."
	Ranma shook his head and said, "For the SPRINGS, Shampoo. I 
want to be a whole guy again." He looked down at the black piglet and
added, "Ryouga... come with me. I know you could never find Jusenkyo
without me."
	Ryouga had closed his eyes, obviously thinking.
	Ranma put his hand on Shampoo's shoulders and looked down at 
her. He said, firmly, "Shampoo... I can't marry you. I just can't.
Even if I wanted to... my family honor makes me have prior engagments."
	Shampoo looked a little hopeful... only family honor... ?
	Ranma saw the glint and added, "But I DON'T want to... I don't 
love you, Shampoo. Not as anything else but friend. But I DO want you 
to find a cure too... if you want one."
	Shampoo hung her head. Finally, she looked up into Ranma's eyes
and said, "I love you Ranma."
	Ranma shut his eyes, sighed, and then said,"I know you do, 
Shampoo. I like you, a lot, but... I haven't ever tried to lead you to
believe that I loved you back. You KNOW that. I am... I am so sorry..."
	Shampoo pulled away from Ranma slowly, and sat P-chan on the 
bench. Ranma opened his eyes and saw Shampoo walking away. She called 
over her shoulder, "Shampoo think about it. Shampoo talk to Mousse. 
Shampoo will talk to Ranma later."
	Ranma couldn't tell from her voice what she was thinking. He 
supposed he would have to wait until later to find out. Ranma sat down
on the bench next to Ryouga and said, "Well, P-chan?"
	Ryouga growled, and then sighed. Finally he nodded. Ranma 
smiled and said, "Cool, man! OK... let's go get you some hot water... 
there are some things I want to talk to you about."

*****

	A few minutes later, after a quick stop by a nearby tea-shop,
for hot water, Ryouga and Ranma were walking down an unnamed street in 
Nerima.
	"So you really mean to do this, eh Ranma?" Ryouga asked.
	Ranma nodded.
	Ryouga stopped and leaned against the wall that bordered the
street.
	Finally he said, "What about Akane? Are you just going to take
off and leave her after what you DID today?"
	Ranma stepped right up to Ryouga and put his fist in Ryouga's
face, saying, "Ryouga... Forget about Akane, OK? I don't care if you 
want to be her friend, but she was never and will never be anything 
more than that to you. What you saw today... that is our business, OK? 
Back off. I....you know I...." Ranma flushed.
	Ryouga sighed, feeling his heart of glass break, and muttered, 
"Love her?"
	Ranma grunted something that was probably a yes.
	Ryouga turned away from Ranma and punched a -very-large hole in
the street wall. Ranma just looked at him for a moment, knowing that 
Ryouga had to accept this, but also understanding it hurt him. Finally 
Ranma said, "I'm sorry, Ryouga... Akane and me just ain't good at this
stuff... but I think that we..." Ranma broke off.
	Ryouga was nodding. He turned to face Ranma, a little pale, but
at least not getting depressed enough to do his depression blast. Ranma
was surprised to see Ryouga finally smile a crooked smile, one fang
poking out over his lip.
	"What?!" Ranma asked, getting worried.
	Ryouga just clapped Ranma on the shoulder and said, "I am just
surprised, Ranma. I didn't think you had it in you. It is about time."
	Ranma went through 30 different shades of red.
	Ryouga added, "But I want you to know... I WILL always love 
her... even if she is with you. She is the kindest soul in the world, 
and if you ever treat her harshly..." he clenched his fist, "...Know that
I will not forgive you! I care only about her happiness!"
	"Um... yeah... whatever. HEY!" Ranma suddenly thought of 
something. He shouted at Ryouga, "I don't care what you feel... or if 
you continue to protect her... just as long as her 'happiness' that you
are protecting is her relationship with me! And one more thing... no 
more advances and NO more 'P-Chan' either, ya hear?"
	Ryouga frowned and said, "Well I can't exactly help that... but
I will do my best to stay out of Akane's way when it happens, OK? We 
will be cured soon, so..."
	Ryouga noticed Ranma still looked ready to throttle him.
	Ryouga backed up and added, "Uh... and I will stay out of her
bed. I promise. OK?"
	Ranma nodded, lowering his chi energy and relaxing.
	Ryouga thought up a question for Ranma. "Hey Ranma... how are 
we going to GET to China? Do you have any  money?"
	Ranma frowned and said, "Are you kidding? With Nabiki 'the 
extortionist' around all the time?"
	"Ranma, you idiot! What are we going to do now then?" Ryouga 
yelled, baring his fangs.
	"Cool it man!" Ranma said, putting his hands out to stop Ryouga.
"I have an idea.... let's go to Ucchan's....I think we might be able to
get jobs there!"
	Ryouga frowned. "What about Konatsu?"
	"You didn't hear?" Ranma asked.
	Ryouga shook his head negatively and said, "Hear what?"
	"Oh, I forgot you were lost...."
	Ryouga growled.
	Ranma sighed. "Oh stop it, jerk. Well, Ucchan told me that 
Konatsu got a job as a ninja for this really rich family... what was 
their name? Mendai? Menda? OH YEAH! Mendou. Fighting aliens and 
perverts and guarding octopi or something like that."
	"Really?" Ryouga asked, surprised, "I thought he was totally in
love with Ukyou?"
	"Yeah. No kidding!" Ranma nodded (having secretly hoped that 
Ukyou would like Konatsu back so that he could write off one of his 
several fiancees), adding, "I was surprised too. I talked to Ucchan 
though, and she told me she had finally told Konatsu that she just
wasn't, and would never be, interested in him like that."
	Ryouga's eyes widened at that.
	Ranma continued, "He thought it was because he was so poor, or
because he was too feminine, so he got this job to try and prove 
himself. I guess he is set for life now guarding the Mendou Mansion...
but it wasn't the money, she just didn't like him like that."
	"Poor guy." Ryouga said, understanding how Konatsu felt.
Ranma suddenly grabbed Ryouga's hand and started to drag him toward the
Okonomiyaki Restaurant. Ryouga sputtered, "Stop that... it is 
embarrassing!"
	Ranma stuck out his tongue at Ryouga and said, "More
embarrassing than you getting lost?"
	Ryouga flushed.
	Ranma added, "So, anyway, Ucchan is looking for a couple of
waiters! And it is better than working at the Nekohantan!" Ranma 
shuddered, remembering working for Cologne.
	Ryouga tried to pull his hand free from Ranma's, saying,
"Lemme GO, Ranma!"
	Ranma just kept dragging Ryouga along, saying over his 
shoulder, "Oh c'mon, P-chan! You would never make it to the bathroom 
if someone didn't lead you!"
	Calling Ryouga a pig and insulting his direction sense in one
sentence was not a good idea.
	"RANNNNNMMMMMAAAAAA!"
	Ranma let Ryouga go and began to run toward Ucchan's, letting
Ryouga stay close enough behind him not to get lost, but just enough
ahead to stop Ryouga from catching him. Ranma felt more relaxed than 
he had in a long, LONG, time. He smiled.
	Ranma turned around, pulling down the bottom lid of one eye 
and stuck out his tongue shouting, "Biiiiiiiiiiahhhh!!!!" and then 
began to laugh.
	"RANNNNNNNNNNNMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAA!"
	Ranma chuckled, and kept running.


Chapter IV: Okonomiyaki and Jealousy

	Ukyou looked at Ranma and Ryouga in surprise. It was strange 
enough that both had shown up TOGETHER, of all things, into Ucchan's 
about ten minutes before, but even more shockingly, they seemed to be 
actually getting along.
	The restaurant was quiet, all the patrons from dinner had
disappeared at least an hour before, and Ukyou had been cleaning up 
the tables and dishes when the pair walked in through Ucchan's door. 
Ukyou had quickly set them down at a clean table and made them each an
okonomiyaki, and then sat down with the two. Ukyou watched as they 
munched happily and hungrily, wondering what was going on. Then, Ranma
had asked the question which so surprised her.
	"You... you... you want a -JOB-, Ranchan?" she stuttered out.
	Ranma, his mouth full, just nodded.
	Ukyou still looked surprised, and turned to Ryouga, asking,
"You too, Ryouga?"
	Ryouga nodded also.
	The look of amazement just wasn't fading. Finally Ukyou got
out,  "You two want to work... HERE.... together?!"
	Ryouga and Ranma looked at each other, wondering if they hadn't
been clear enough. Ryouga swallowed and then smiled at Ukyou and 
decided to add, "Well... Ranma here mentioned that Konatsu had gone off
and found himself a new job.... and the two of us have found that we 
really need to get some money together."
	"What could you possibly need money for? Do you owe some debt 
to Nabiki?"
	Both Ryouga and Ranma looked surprised, and then Ranma said,
"Uh... not exactly."
	"What else could make the two of you start being so friendly to
each other?" Ukyou wanted to know.
	Ranma gulped down the last of his okonomiyaki and took a few 
slurps of water from his glass before he answered Ukyou. Ranma began by
telling Ukyou that he and Ryouga and probably Mousse, Shampoo, and 
Genma, were thinking of going back to China to find out if there were 
any other cursed pools or cures for curses besides Jusenkyo.
	"I've heard THIS one before.." she said, but she still put her 
elbows on the table and relaxed as she listened to Ranma and Ryouga's 
plan, cupping her face with her hands.
	She nodded once or twice as Ranma talked, and afterwards turned
to look curiously at Ryouga.
	"Ryouga," she asked, "Why on Earth do -YOU- want to go on this
journey? I mean, you aren't cursed, and Ranchan has never exactly been 
your favorite person..."
	Ryouga gulped, started to twiddle his thumbs together, turned 
bright red, and started to stutter out, "I.... I..... I..."
	Ranma finally sighed, grabbed his now half-full glass of water,
and muttered, "Sorry to do this to you, man, but if we are going to 
work here we need to tell her the truth," and poured the cool liquid on
the shocked and incoherent Ryouga.
	"Bwee!!!!" Ryouga screamed, now P-chan, and started to chomp on
Ranma's hand. Ranma just let him do it, ignoring the pain, and turned 
to see Ukyou's reaction.
	She had her hands over her mouth, obviously in shock, and went
from a sickly pale to a bright blush. Ranma wondered if she was going to
faint or scream or something. She did neither: instead, she burst out
laughing.
	Ukyou giggled and choked and pointed her finger at P-chan, 
gasping, "Ryouga... YOU are P-CHAN?!!"
	Ryouga stopped chewing on Ranma's hand, and sank to the table 
in despair. Small tears formed at the corners of his eyes. He looked
miserable.
	Ukyou noticed Ryouga's tears and tried to calm herself. It was,
to say the least, difficult. She got out, "Oh....Ryouga....I am 
so-so-sorry!" Then she giggled again. "But it is SO funny!"
	Tears of laughter started to stream down her face, and Ranma 
and Ryouga shared a look of bafflement. Every time Ukyou would start to
calm down she would turn her eyes to P-chan and simply start laughing
again. She said, finally becoming a bit more coherent, "No WONDER Ranma
always called you P-chan... No wonder he got so mad considering you 
were cuddling up to Akane all the time!"
	Suddenly, Ukyou stopped laughing completely, and looked 
serious. Both Ryouga and Ranma exchanged a look of puzzlement before
Ukyou asked quietly, "Ranchan?"
	Ranma looked worried and said, "What?"
	"Does this mean you were jealous of Ryouga all this time? Does 
this mean you really DO care about Akane?"
	Ranma turned a bit red and glanced down at the table. Finally,
he looked up, his eyes a bit sad, this being the hardest person to 
hurt- his oldest friend, and nodded. He got out, "Uh....Ucchan...I...uh
...I don't know how to tell you this, but I have thought a lot about it
... and I... uh...I think I...."
	"Love her?" Ukyou supplied.
	Ranma just turned his gaze to the table again.
	During this little heart-to-heart, Ryouga decided to go find
some hot water. He looked over to the grill and noticed a pot of water
being heated. It was nice that all of Ranma's friends were always 
prepared with hot water for situations just like this. Ryouga got up 
from his pile of clothing, went over to the grill, managed to knock the
teapot over and splash the hot water on himself. He was a bit red and 
scalded when he walked back over to the table, also completely nude 
(covering his private parts though, of course), but needing to get his 
clothing.
	Neither Ranma nor Ukyou noticed either Ryouga or his nudity; 
Ranma was too busy contemplating the table and Ukyou was even busier 
contemplating Ranma.
	Ryouga shrugged (as best he could while still covering his 
essentials) and began to look for a door, any door, to a room where he
could go change. Ryouga decided to try the big door with the red 
curtains. Suddenly, Ryouga saw sunlight. And people staring and 
pointing at the nude boy who had just wandered  out of Ucchan's.
	 Ryouga turned bright red when he realized he was standing in
the street, and turned to run back into Ucchan's. His face flaming, 
Ryouga looked over to see Ukyou and Ranma still absorbed in their 
conversation, and he finally decided it would be safe enough to hide
behind the grill and change.
	Not meaning to eavesdrop, but deciding it was unavoidable lest 
he get lost again, Ryouga heard Ranma say to Ukyou, "It isn't that I 
don't care about you, Ucchan. You are one of my best friends... I do 
care about you... more than any of my other friends..."
	Ukyou interrupted with, "You just love her more."
	Ukyou's eyes dropped and she decided to contemplate the table 
herself. Suddenly, a single tear fell with a splash to the wood 
surface. Ranma shuddered, hearing the drop magnified a thousand times,
and reached one of his hands out to cover Ukyou's.
	"Please don't cry, Ucchan."
	She looked up, her eyes shining with tears, but still gave him 
a small smile. She sighed and said quietly, "I... understand. I can't 
say that I am happy for you, or that I am not jealous and hurt, but I 
understand."
	Ranma smiled back at her, knowing she was hurting, but thankful
that she wasn't going to be persistent like Shampoo. Of course, Shampoo
and Ukyou were as different as two women could be.
	"Thank-you, Ucchan."
	"You're welcome, Ranchan."
	Ryouga decided that it was time to interrupt this little 
touching interlude, and coughed loudly to remind the two that he was 
there. Ranma turned and looked at Ryouga and asked, curious, "Where 
have you been?"
	"I went to go get dressed, idiot. SOMEONE turned me into a pig
if you remember..." Ryouga growled.
	"Uh... sorry."
	"Humph."
	Ukyou was giggling again, mixing tears with laughter.
	Ranma looked to Ukyou who was starting to look better after the
chuckle, her eyes were drier. Ukyou smiled and asked in a still 
slightly-choked voice, "So, do you two still want jobs? I COULD really 
use some help, but the pay won't be much."
	Ranma grinned and said, "No problem. Sure beats working at the
Nekohantan."
	Ryouga looked happy too, but then his smile faded.
	"Ranma..." Ryouga began.
	"What?"
	"Uh.... Where am I gonna stay, Ranma? I mean... my usual place
isn't exactly practical anymore...." Ryouga paused and looked up at 
Ranma cautiously. Ranma, as Ryouga expected, was looking more than a 
little peeved at Ryouga's reminder of a certain P-chan's sleeping
habits.
	Ranma growled, "And your point is....?"
	"Well... uh... If I try to get back to my house you might not 
see me for a long time... and I can't just camp out in some park for 
several months..." Ryouga continued.
	"Why not? You do it all the time!"
	"RANNNNNNMMMMAA!!"
	"I have an idea," Ukyou interrupted quietly.
	Both boys turned to Ukyou, who had a small smile on her face.
She said, "Ryouga. Why don't you move into Konatsu's room? I mean it 
isn't exactly luxurious, but at least it is warm and dry and it would
be pretty hard for you to get lost on your way to work."
	Ranma chuckled at that and said, "You would be surprised, 
Ucchan..." Ranma then ducked, expecting to be decked by Ryouga.
	Ryouga, however, was still gaping at Ukyou and finally said, 
"Wha...?"
	It hit Ranma that this meant the Ryouga would be out of his 
hair in BOTH forms around the Tendo dojo, and suddenly Ranma was 
practically bouncing up and down. "You know, this is a GREAT idea, 
Ucchan!"
	Ukyou flushed.
	Ranma added, "But it isn't going to be easy having him around,
Ucchan! I mean you will have to keep an eye on him constantly... or 
else he might get lost or become Cantonese style pork....."
	Ukyou giggled, she had heard about Shampoo's little "lunch" 
for Ranma, made an even funnier story now that she know that Akane's 
pet pig was RYOUGA.
	Ryouga, tired of being put down, could say only
 "RAAAAAANNNNNNNNNMMMMAAA!" at that point.
	Ranma let Ryouga chase him around a bit before he finally said, 
"Shouldn't we be working or something?"
	Ryouga stopped and muttered, "Uh. Yeah. So, Ukyou.... when do 
we start?"
	Ukyou smiled and ordered, "Right NOW! Start cleaning those 
tables! Ranma! You can go home when you finish. Ryouga! I will show you
to your room when this place is SPOTLESS!!"
	Ryouga and Ranma frantically began to clean and Ukyou just sat
down and sighed in contentment, glad to be off her feet for once.

********

	Ranma was LATE. VERY late. Akane didn't understand it. Ranma 
was never late. He had missed snowcones, and Ranma NEVER missed food. 
It was now 11:00 PM, way past bedtime, and both of them had school 
tomorrow. That was also not like Ranma. He would never give up on sleep
unless he had a really good reason. After all... Ranma's favorite 
things in all the world were sleep and food.... only beat out by 
martial arts, and even that didn't ALWAYS beat out sleep and food ALL 
the time. In fact, Akane realized, several of Ranma's battles were OVER food
and sleep.
	Where was he? She had expected him to come and talk to her 
hours ago about what had happened... But he hadn't shown up. So, 
desperate to know the truth, she went looking for him. No one had seen
Ranma since right after dinner... which was right before the kiss.
	"Did he finally decide he can't stand me and took off?" She 
thought to herself, a single tear running down her cheek; she wiped it 
away furiously.
	Tears were not the answer in a situation like this. ANGER was
what she needed... an emotion she was comfortable with. She hated 
worrying. Why should SHE have to worry about a no-good hentai jerk baka
with no brain whatsoever. What was his problem! 
	But it just wasn't working.
	Akane looked at the clock again and sighed. 11:04. Where
WAS he?
	She thought back to the kiss they had shared earlier. She still
hadn't figured out what it meant. One minute he had kissed her back, 
and the next minute he went to hide in the bathroom.
	"Coward," she muttered.
	She had looked for him around the dojo after that, but there
was no sign of him. She figured he had run off somewhere, but she
didn't have the desire to go wandering about in the dark looking for
him. Was he mad because she had kissed him? Did he not like her? But...
it had seemed like he had responded to the kiss.
	She sighed.
	Where WAS he ANYWAY? Baka. The least he could do would be to 
come TALK about it.
	Suddenly, she heard someone knocking at her window. She looked
out over her desk and saw the dark head and bright blue-grey eyes of the
baka she had been wasting her time worrying about. But a spark of joy 
erupted in her chest, and it was difficult for her to hide her happiness 
that he HAD come home... Akane did her best to push down the emotion, 
and strode over to the window, slamming it open to let Ranma bounce in.
	Akane placed her hands on her hips and said fiercely, "You
better have a GOOD reason for being so late."
	"What, are you my mom?" Ranma asked, surprised at her behavior.
 	Akane looked like she was ready to hit him and shouted,
"Shut UP!!!"
	He wondered what was wrong, and guessed that she could still be
mad about the kiss in the bathroom. But mad about WHAT? SHE had kissed 
HIM. Or maybe it was that he hadn't come to talk to her about it until
now...? He stared at her, confused.
	He looked into her eyes and noticed they were a little red and 
puffy... as if she had been crying.
	Suddenly, it dawned on Ranma, and he said quietly, "You were 
worried about me."
	Akane turned bright red and said sharply, "I was NOT! You take
your..."
	Then she realized how quietly he had said it, as if he was GLAD
she had worried about him; he wasn't just using her caring against her
as he usually did. He had made a statement, not a taunt.
	Akane looked slowly up at Ranma who was staring at her with a 
strange soft glow in his eyes.
	"Ranma....?" She asked, a bit cautious.
	Ranma just looked at Akane. She looked beautiful in a pale 
yellow nightgown and he could tell her hair was still slightly wet from
taking a bath or shower. He could smell a soft, sweet scent like lilacs
coming from her. He sighed and said, "Akane, you look really nice 
tonight."
	Akane looked shocked, and began to blush, the pink flush 
blooming on her cheeks. Suddenly, Ranma was coming toward her, and he 
slowly put his arms around her. She looked up into his eyes and saw 
something there that could be....might be.....was it? was it love? Then
his eyes closed, and so did hers. She waited, anticipating his next 
move, but not quite believing it was going to happen. But it did.
	Ranma slowly lowered his lips to hers and kissed her.
	It wasn't quite as awkward as earlier, as Ranma was prepared 
this time, and both were not quite as scared.
	He started at first by kissing her lightly, enjoying the soft 
petal-like quality of her lips. His eyes closed and he drew her closer 
to him, reaching his hand up to stroke her soft hair. Akane stroked her
hands down his back, enjoying the feel of his slightly tense muscles. 
It was wonderful.
	Suddenly Ranma deepened the kiss, and Akane jumped a bit, not 
used to the feel of his tongue in her mouth, and also a bit shocked by 
the intimacy she was experiencing with Ranma. It was too new... and a 
bit frightening... and so different from anything she had ever shared 
with Ranma... different from anything she had shared with ANYONE as a 
matter of fact. At first, she was a bit disgusted by this intimate act,
but she began to enjoy it. It was nice to be so close to someone that 
you could feel the heat from their body warming your own.
	The sensation send chills up her spine. She thought about the 
kiss and Ranma, finding it so strange that she could even taste a 
certain flavor in his mouth, not a bad flavor, more like...
	Suddenly, Akane froze. She might be the worst cook in all of 
Japan and not know table salt from baking soda, but she prided herself 
on knowing the flavors and tastes of several different kinds of foods. 
She could tell a fine meal from a bad one, which was why she usually 
didn't try her own food.
	She could identify flavors as second nature.
	And she knew exactly what she tasted with Ranma.
	Akane's hand flew back and suddenly slapped Ranma soundly 
across the cheek. Ranma's hand flew to his face and he looked shocked.
"What didja do THAT for?" he wanted to know, looking more hurt on the 
inside than on the outside.
	Akane yelled at him, "Get OUT of my ROOM! Go BACK to Ukyou's!!
That is where you have been all evening, RIGHT? You IDIOT! I could 
taste the okonomiyaki! If you prefer her company... I mean, you had 
your chance today to talk to ME!" she started to cry and screamed, 
"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"
	Ranma began to babble, "No. NO!! Akane, you are SO wrong! That
isn't it at ALL...."
	Akane would hear none of it and punted Ranma out the still-open
window. She heard a splash as Ranma landed in the pond below and leaned
out the window to shout, "I, unlike SOME people, need to get my sleep 
for SCHOOL!!" Akane slammed the window shut and fell to the bed, the 
tears starting again. She reached up and touched her lips; they still 
felt strange from Ranma's kiss.
	"Ranma no BAKA!!" she muttered, before going to turn the light
off and crawling under the covers. Sleep was bound to be difficult 
after this strange day. However, after a bit of tossing and turning, 
and several bouts of tears, Akane managed to sink into the depths of 
slumber.
	Ranma-chan climbed out of the pond, wringing out her shirt. HE
wanted to go explain to Akane. Ranma wanted to tell her he was sorry 
and to tell her the truth. He had to admit it: he also wanted to kiss 
her again. He put his hands to his lips and sighed... wishing it hadn't
ended the way it did... the way EVERY intimate situation seemed to end.
He looked up at the moon, but all he saw was how Akane had looked in
her nightgown with her freshly washed hair, superimposed over the cool 
white globe.
	Ranma smiled at the image and said quietly, "Kawaii....."



Like it so far?? ^_^ The rest is at:

http://www.york.ac.uk/~mdp102/lesson.html


hugs!

misachan
Marisa Price
marisa@gladstone.uoregon.edu
mdp102@york.ac.uk
http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~marisa/