[FF] [R1/2 AMG]"Tea and Gifts"

Hello all!

Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction
"Tea and Gifts"
by Suds-kun (suds1964@tir.com)

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Ranma 1/2 characters are created by and copyright Rumiko Takahashi.
Oh My goddess! characters are created and copyright by Kosuke
Fujishima.
Story copyright Shaun Schillinger.
Intended for the sole non-profit use of fans.
============================================

While working on "The Money Pit," I came up with this idea and have
been writing it down in bits and pieces ever since.  It seems a
little appropriate with the holiday season approaching.

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

The couple walked down the busy sidewalk.  The stores were all
decorated in the spirit of Christmas. Red, white and green was
everywhere.  The smiling salespeople greeted each passerby with a
smile and a 'Merry Christmas.'

He looked at his companion and smiled. "Only one more week until
Christmas. Do you think that your sisters will like the presents I've
gotten for them?"

"Don't worry, I helped you pick them out.  I'm sure they will like
them.  We just need to get something for your parents."

They continued walking as they talked.  Occasionally stopping to look
into a store window and commenting to each other about the display.
They walked up to the street corner as the traffic signal changed,
then waited before they could cross.

The sound of screeching tires interrupted their conversation.  Time
seemed to slow down for Keiichi as he saw the car heading directly
toward them.  He watched Belldandy raise her arms and a ball of blue
white light started to form between her hands. The screams of help
and disbelief began to grow, when he heard a shout.

"Moukou Takabisha!"

A beam of energy hit the side fender of the Nissan, deflecting it
into a parked car.  Keiichi watched as a young man in a read shirt
jumped to the cars.  He forcefully opened the driver's door and
checked the driver. A young woman with short black hair ran to his
side. After they exchanged a few words, she came toward them and
began directing people away from the accident. Shortly a policeman on
a bicycle came to the scene and the young man quickly explained what
happened. He then left the policeman and joined the young woman. They
talked a bit, glancing occasionally in the direction of Keiichi and
Belldandy.

"I think we better get going." Keiichi mentioned as he started to
cross the intersection. As they took a step, the young couple came
toward them and greeted them.

"Konnichiwa, are you two o.k.?" Said the young man as he slightly
bowed to them.

"Konnichiwa," responded Keiichi, "we were a little startled at the
accident, but are glad that no one was seriously hurt."

Belldandy nodded in agreement, "Is the driver O.K.?"

"Just some bumps and bruises, she'll be all right. She was trying to
avoid hitting a child that had run into traffic. She was quite
relieved that she didn't hit any one." The young man paused. "Oh, let
me introduce ourselves. I'm Saotome Ranma and this is Tendo Akane.
Uhm, my iinazuke."

"I'm Morisato Keiichi and this is Belldandy."

Belldandy smiled and bowed. "Why don't we stop at this tea shop so we
can talk. It's starting to get a little congested out here.

Ranma and Akane nodded in agreement and followed them into the tea
shop. After finding a table and ordering their drinks, they continued
their conversation.

"Arigatoo," began Belldandy, "for preventing that car from crashing
into us."

Ranma smiled, "I don't think you really needed our help. Akane says
that she noticed you preparing a ki blast yourself. I just reacted a
little quicker. Are you a martial artist, too.?"

"Oh, no. I'm a goddess."

Keiichi winced at her announcement and then watched Ranma and Akane's
reaction. They just took another sip of their tea.

"You're not surprised at that?" Asked a surprised Keiichi.

Akane giggled and poked Ranma in the side. Ranma smiled as he
responded. "No, we're used to that. Akane was even kidnapped by the
seven Luck Gods Martial Artists once. We've seen lots of different
and strange people the past couple of years."

Belldandy set her cup down with a small gasp.

"What's wrong?" asked a concerned Keiichi.

"Now I remember! Ever since you told us your names, I thought I
recognized it. You were the one who defeated Safron? Am I right?"

"Yep, that was me!" Smiled Ranma with a bit of pride.

"I got a report from ... the 'office' last year about that incident."

Ranma nodded. "Wow, it's been a year already. Time sure does fly."

Akane looked down at her tea and quietly mumbled to herself. "It's
been a long year with no changes."

"That was when Akane almost died. I really got scared that time."
Ranma gave a quick shudder for emphasis.

The conversation was interrupted by Keiichi's cell phone. He took it
out of his back pack and answered it.

"Moshi, moshi!" Keiichi listened to the caller and then sat straight
up at attention. "Hai!"

Belldandy looked at Keiichi as he turned to her and handed her the
phone. His eyes were wide with a look of awe and a twinge of fear.

"Moshi, moshi. This is Belldandy. Kami-sama! Hai. Hai. I understand.
Hai. Arigatoo."

Belldandy handed the phone back to Keiichi who then turned it off.
She turned to Ranma and Akane and smiled.

"That was Kami-sama. He said that I am allowed to give you a gift in
appreciation of your actions today and in the past. I can't say what
it is, but you will understand and appreciate it tomorrow. If you
don't want it, that's O.K., too."

Ranma and Akane looked at each other in shock and then at Belldandy
and Keiichi.

"What do you think?" Asked Ranma.

"I don't know," responded Akane, "it's quite sudden."

Ranma turned to Belldandy. "Is there a catch?"

"No. If the two of you do not want the gift, that will be the end of
it. There will be no hard feelings if you choose not to accept it."

Ranma looked at Akane and she nodded in response. "We accept your
gift, Belldandy. Arigatoo."

With that, Belldandy raised her hands in front of her and two balls
of white light began to grow. They started to turn slightly blue and
then floated over to Ranma and Akane. The small spheres of energy
slowly entered their chests and they smiled at the tingly sensation.

"You won't begin to see the affects of this gift until tonight. By
tomorrow, you will know what the gift was."

Keiichi looked at his watch. "It's time for us to get going. We need
to wrap our presents before Belldandy's sisters get home."

Akane nodded. "We need to start our shopping now. Arigatoo for the
gift and the conversation." Akane and Ranma stood and bowed to their
new friends and quickly left.

"What was the gift?" Keiichi asked as he watched them through the
window.

Belldandy took a sip of her tea and looked out the window at the
people passing by.  "Kami-sama said that that Ranma will be facing a
test in the near future. It will be far more difficult than his
battle with Safron and greater in impact to the people of Japan."
Belldandy turned to Keiichi, her smile was barely visible. "The gift
is the knowledge of their true feelings and attitudes for each other.
They will discover this on their own in about a year, but this test
will arrive before then.  If Ranma and Akane do not come to an
understanding of each other and their feelings, Ranma will fail the
test. Kami-sama does not want this to happen, so he had me present
them with this gift."

Keiichi sat quietly, looking at his cup of tea and thinking. "Do you
know what their feelings are?"

"Belldandy softly shook her head. "No. They seemed to like each
other, but Kami-sama said that Ranma needed to know what his feelings
are for Akane and what her feelings are for him."

Keiichi stood and offered a hand to Belldandy. "It's time to go home
and wrap these presents."

Belldandy returned his smile as she took his hand.

===

Ranma and Akane walked into the dojo with their packages and set them
on the table.

"It's a good thing you had these wrapped at the store, Akane, we'd be
here until next year wrapping them ourselves."

Akane nodded her head in agreement as she headed toward the stairs
and her room.  Ranma watched her walk by and sighed. Akane stopped
and quickly turned to face Ranma.

"What was that supposed to mean?" She shouted.

"Look, I said I was sorry! I just thought that those earrings looked
too girlish for you!"

"All I did was look at them! Why did you have to go and say that? Do
I embarrass you that much?" Akane's battle aura started to glow as
she stared Ranma in the eyes.

"Well, yeah! An uncute, sexless tomboy like you acting like a girl
just doesn't seem natural!" Ranma returned the stare.

Akane started to shake as the blue glow about her grew brighter,
until it suddenly disappeared. She unclenched her fists and her face
lost all emotion. Ranma watched in shock as she walked past him and
to the front door.

"Baka." Was all that she said as she opened the door and walked out.

Unnoticed to both of them, Kasumi and Nabiki had come into the room
and witnessed the exchange.

"Well, that was great going, Ranma. Mr. Sensitive strikes again."

Ranma stared at the door, not acknowledging their presence.

"Akane." He said quietly.

"I've never seen her act like that before." Commented Kasumi, a
little worry in her voice.

"Neither have I. You've blown it, this time Ranma. She's left you.
You went and insulted her once too often." Nabiki glared at Ranma,
contempt dripping from each of her words.

Ranma walked to the door and slowly opened it. He looked out and
yelled. "Akane!" There was no answer. "Akane!" He yelled again. He
ran out the door and to the gate, yelling her name as he went.

A dark figure in a nearby tree watched him leave the dojo and run
down the street.  When he disappeared from sight, the figure quietly
jumped down to the top of the dojo wall and followed in the direction
of the fleeing Ranma.

Nabiki shook her head as she watched her sister shut the door. "I
guess he finally crossed the line, oneechan. I hope she tells the
bastard where to go when he finds her."

"Nabiki!" Gasped Kasumi. "Why did you say that? Cant' you tell that
they like each other?"

"Like each other? They're at each other's throat everyday and instead
of commenting on how nice she is, he cut's her down. I bet he did it
in public, too. He doesn't care at all about her feelings, why should
she?"

Kasumi looked at her sister and then at the floor. She started to
shake her head.  "At one time, I thought they were in love. But they
treat each other the same way as when they first met two years ago."

Nabiki also stared at the floor. "This is it, isn't it? I mean, she's
going to go through with her threat to stop the engagement?"

Kasumi only nodded in agreement as she walked into the kitchen.

===

Keiichi ran into Belldandy's room. "Are you O.K.? What happened?" He
asked as he put his arm around her shaking shoulders and held her
hand. Her scream still ringing in his ears

"I wanted to know what affect the gift had on our new friends."
Belldandy responded, her voice shaking. "I tried to sense their
feelings. One of them was full of hatred and anger. The other scared
and lonely. There was no love at all in either of them.  I thought
Kami-sama's gift was to bring them together. I was so shocked at
these feelings that I yelled out. Oh, Keiichi, what have I done?"

Keiichi held her close and rocked back and forth. Slowly her tears
subsided and the shaking stopped. No words came to his mind, only the
thought of holding Belldandy and protecting her.

===

Ranma walked over to the park bench and sat down. How long had he
searched for her?  She wasn't at any of her normal hiding places.
"What have I done?" He said to himself. "I've never been that mean.
How could I have been so, so horrible." Ranma leaned over with his
elbows resting on his knees and his face in his hands. He continually
shook his head from side to side.

The dark figure quietly moved closer to the bench and stood behind
Ranma. It raised an arm over the unsuspecting target, ready land a
knock out blow.

"Ranma you BASTARD!" Came the shout as he jumped from the bench and
drove his fist into the pavement. Shrapnel from the cement flew in
all directions. The figure lowered its tightly clenched fist and
watched the display and looked at the young man. Ranma was now
kneeling in the middle of a small crater, about six inches deep.  His
hands and face were on the ground as quiet sobs shook his frame.

The figure slowly walked around the bench and sat down. Keeping an
ever watchful eye on Ranma. He sat up into a kneeling position and
wiped his face. In silence he looked into the night sky above,
seemingly searching for an answer. "Why?" He said quietly.

"Because you're an insensitive, arrogant jerk."

Ranma turned around and stared at Akane, who was sitting on the
bench.

"Akane." Ranma jumped to his feet, ran to Akane and kneeled in front
of her. He took her hands in his and tried to look into her eyes. She
looked down at her hands, avoiding his stare. "Akane, I'm sorry for
what I said. I didn't mean what I said and I want you to forgive me."

Akane pulled her hands away from Ranma's and looked at his face,
carefully avoiding his eyes. "What if I don't want to, Ranma?"

He looked at her in shock as her actions and words slowly registered
in his brain.  He tried to make eye contact, but she kept averting
her eyes. "A.. Akane. I really am sorry. I didn't realize how much I
hurt you, until you walked out the door. It was the most terrifying
thing I have ever felt."

Akane then looked into his eyes. He could see no trace of emotion or
hint of any feeling in there. He began to feel a knot tighten in his
stomach as she didn't respond to his apologies.

*SLAP*

Ranma felt his face as he stared at Akane's hand. The back of her
hand was beside the other side of his face. She set her hand back in
her lap and stared at him in anger.

"Leave me alone, Ranma. I don't want you around me anymore. The
engagement our fathers arranged is now over and I want you out of my
life."

In shock Ranma looked at Akane. Her face was serious and he could
tell that she had made up her mind. He started to open his mouth to
question her.

"GO!" She shouted, interrupting his question.

Slowly, he stood and turned to walk away. He glanced back, then
walked through the crater in the pavement. As he reached the edge of
the undamaged pavement, he bowed his head and paused. After a couple
seconds, he clenched his fists and turned to face Akane. He noticed
tears were running down her cheeks as she watched him.  Slowly,
determinedly he walked back to her and stood in front of her.

"Tonight, for the first time in my life, I was scared. Not like with
cats, or when fighting Herb or Safron, but fear in my soul. The
thought of you not being in my life is terrifying." Ranma took a deep
breath. "While looking for you tonight, I thought about the past two
years and I realized something.  It was when I was looking up at the
stars and asked 'why?'."

Ranma again kneeled in front of Akane. This time he looked down at
the ground. "I realized that I was afraid of you and what you made me
feel like."

Akane looked at Ranma in bewilderment. Slowly, she started to fidget
with her fingers.

"I was afraid to tell you something that was very important. Akane,
I'm sorry for my actions. I acted like a complete bastard, and I
didn't show any respect for you or your feelings. I know now that I..
I love you." Ranma paused and took another deep breath. "I know that
my apologies can't change what I've done, but I hope that one day
you'll forgive me." Ranma then stood and turned to walk away.

"Wait."

Ranma stopped and stood still, keeping his back to her.

"Why couldn't you have said that a year ago? Or even this past year?"
Akane's voice was quiet, but every word was said with a feeling of
great pain and hurt.

"I was scared to say anything, even to myself. I never thought about
you and I being apart. But when you left tonight, my heart almost
burst in my chest."

Ranma waited for Akane to respond, but she said nothing. He just
stood there, waiting like she asked him. He then heard her breathing
get louder, and turn into quiet sobs. He slowly turned to look at
her. Her hands covered her face as she began to sob out loud. He
walked over to her and sat on the bench beside her. Carefully he put
his arm around her shoulders to comfort her.

"Don't you know I want to hate you?" She sobbed. "I had given up hope
of you saying those words, and now that you said them, I have no idea
what to do."

Ranma gave her a quick hug and then let go. He got on his knees in
front of her and took her hands from her face. "Since you broke off
our engagement, can I suggest something?"

Akane sniffled and nodded her head. A little bit of confusion on her
face.

Ranma gave her hands a gentle squeeze as he looked into her eyes.
"Akane, will you be my best friend for ever and live with me as my
wife?"

Akane stared at Ranma in shock. After a second, she jerked her hands
free from his grip, stood and quickly walked away. Ranma stood and
reached for her, but stayed in his place. She walked a few feet, and
then stopped. She clenched her fists and started to shake.

"Ranma, you BASTARD!" She shouted. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate
you!" She bowed her head and stood there, fists clenched and a soft
blue glow emanated from those fists. Akane shook her head as she
breathed heavily. Her mind racing as she tried to understand what was
happening.

Just as quickly as she ran away, she ran to Ranma and hugged him
fiercely. "I was so angry with you, I thought I didn't want you
anymore. But now, I don't know what I would do without you. Yes,
Ranma. My answer is yes."

Ranma returned the hug and held on as if she would run away again.
Ranma looked down at her head buried in his chest. "Let's go home,
Akane. Your sisters are probably worried about you."

She nodded her head in response and took his hand in hers. A devious
smile appeared on her face. "Ranma, I've got an idea."

===

Kasumi sat the breakfast on the table and looked at Nabiki. "Have you
talked to Akane, yet."

"Nope, she just walked in by herself last night and didn't say a
word. She wouldn't even let me in her room to talk. Ranma walked in a
few minutes later, but I didn't even say anything to him. The bastard
had it coming to him." Nabiki sighed. "But Akane did look like she
had been crying. If she called off the engagement, I want him out of
here."

Kasumi began to reply when she saw Akane come down the stairs.
"Ohayoo, Akane."

"Ohayoo." Replied Akane with a flat, uncaring voice.

Before Kasumi and Nabiki could recover from their shock, Ranma walked
down the stairs and sat beside Akane. No one said a word as they ate.

Ranma uncharacteristically ate his rice slowly. Akane then stood up
and dumped her bowl of rice on his head. Ranma then stood up and
dumped his bowl of rice on her head and returned her icy stare.

Kasumi stood up with an "Oh, my!" and was going to get between the
two of them.  Before she could move around the table, Ranma and Akane
grabbed each other in an embrace and kissed each other. Both Kasumi
and Nabiki fell over at the sight. Ranma and Akane stopped kissing,
looked at the two shocked girls and then began laughing.  The
laughing stopped quite suddenly as Ranma and Akane looked at each
other. "The gift." They said together. With that, they hugged each
other again, thankful for the gift of each other.

===

Keiichi sat down at the table and looked at Belldandy. She was
smiling and humming a bright tune. "You sure look like you fell
better this morning. Did you sneak a peak at our friends from
yesterday?"

Belldandy nodded and kneeled next to Keiichi. "Yes. There's no more
hate, or fear.  Only a deep love." Belldandy then leaned over and
gave Keiichi a kiss.

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

C&C is welcome and grammar checking is most assuredly needed.

Happy Holidays!

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