Yup!  I've finally got this chapter into a semblance that I like.

Hmmmm, the only thing I'm worried about this story is whether it conveys a
mixed up mood.  This story is not intended to be as humorous as
Alternative reality.  Just to let you know.

Chapter 10: Calm

    'Who do I love?  Akane? Or Nabiki?'  Ranma sighed as he stared 
out his window at the starry sky.  The night was a perfect night, 
like a black velvet stretched across the sky blocking out all light.
  But in a way, it reflected on Ranma, as he felt that there was no 
light at the end of his tunnel.  With a tired moan, Ranma stared at 
the clock beside him.  It said 2:00 am.

    Scratching his head, he looked at his bedroll, next to his 
sleeping father.  There was no comfort in sleep.  Ranma had 
attempted to sleep hours ago, but blissful slumber remained elusive.
  No, it was not insomnia, it was his duty.  He had to suffer, for 
his sin.  His sin of perpetuating his love among two women.

    But was it possible for Ranma to atone for his desires?  Could 
Ranma actually pick one girl, whom to love, to cherish, and to 
freely share his life with?  No, not by a long shot.  Ranma laughed 
cynically to himself about his own fate.

* * *

    A growl, a thrust, and Ranma found himself smashed into the 
pond.  With a slight scream, Ranma landed smack dap in the center 
of the pond with a rather vivid splash that threw up water 
everywhere.  Genma stood on the edge, mocking his son.  "Ranma!  
This is the worst that I've seen you fight in a long time!  Getting 
soft, Ranma?"

    Ranma stood up and grimaced as he felt his clothing plastered 
to his now womanly body.  Lack of sleep definitely has 
disadvantages.  One of them was a complete lack of concentration, 
and the other was a definitely mean disposition.  Ranma grabbed his 
Father by the collar.  "Pop, would you just shut up for once!  
Maybe I'm tired of martial arts!  Maybe I'd like to do something 
else instead!  Maybe I'd like a father who'd actually care about 
me!  Maybe I'd like to actually see my mother for once!"

    Genma essentially remained frozen as Ranma stormed away.  
'Something must be wrong, I know it.  Ranma almost never seemed 
this angry during our usual sparring.'  He looked at the pond and 
watched as the koi stopped their frantic rushing about, and settled 
back into calmness.  'Ah, but Ranma will calm down, soon enough.'  
Genma adjusted his glasses as he walked into the Tendo home.  'I 
hope.'

    Ranma cursed as he grabbed the shower head, and turned on the 
hot water full blast.  The hot water initially came as a shock, and 
along with the impact of water, he felt his body undergo it's 
strange changes.  "Why must my life be so difficult?"  Ranma sighed 
as he felt the hot water wash over his body.

    "Because you want it that way."  Ranma froze, and his eyes 
opened wide.

    Immediately, Ranma covered his privies and looked around for 
Kasumi.  "Kasumi what the hell are you doing!"  Strangely enough, 
Kasumi wasn't to be seen in the bathroom at all.  "Don't you know 
I'm taking a shower here.  It wouldn't be proper!"

    "Well, I was putting some dry clothes here for you, and I just 
happened to over hear you."  Kasumi wasn't in the bathroom at all, 
she was instead in the dressing room just between the bathroom and 
the rest of the house.  Ranma grumbled.  'Figures, I should have 
kept my fat mouth shut.'

    Ranma grabbed a towel and dried himself off.  Roughly draping 
it around his waste, he walked into the dressing room.  "What do 
you mean that 'I want it that way'?"  Ranma grabbed his clothing, 
and managed to put them on without taking off his towel.  (It's not 
as hard as it looks, I've done it a lot.)

    Kasumi smiled as she grabbed Ranma's dirty laundry.  "Well, 
it's in the way you perceive the world around you.  Almost everyone 
face the same problem at one time or another."  Kasumi exited the 
room, leaving Ranma to digest her words.

    'It's how I perceive the world, eh?  Really?  Fat chance 
that'll help me.'  Ranma walked into the kitchen, with his satchel 
slung over his back.  With a sigh, he settled down next to Akane 
instinctively and stared at the food.  It was less than spectacular.


    Ranma turned to his father, who seemed to be packing away as 
much rice as possible.  Nabiki was carefully sipping her cup of 
water, and Soun was merely reading the newspaper, as if the 
breakfast didn't exist.  Ranma grabbed his chopsticks and gingerly 
grabbed some food.  "Would I be mistaken that Akane cooked 
breakfast today?"

    Akane nodded, and she turned to Ranma.  "Tell me how it tastes.
"  Ranma eyed Akane for a moment, and at the food which he had in 
his rice bowl.  He looked back at Akane.

    "Sure, I guess."  With abated breath, Ranma grabbed the 
chopsticks, and tried to ignore the gagging noises his father was 
making along with the sign he was waving around that said: "Don't 
do it Ranma!  Life is too precious to waste!"

    Ranma chewed carefully, and swallowed.  Amazingly, this time, 
the food wasn't that bad.  It was getting close to slightly-below 
average.  "Not that bad."  Ranma stammered out as he managed to 
swallow the food without evoking a rebellion from his stomach.  
"It's a lot more palatable than before."

    Ranma grabbed his cup of water, and drained it in one gulp.  
Akane seemed rather heartened that at least her fiancee had the 
balls to try her food, and not complain about it.  But then again, 
repeated treatments of her food had rendered a strong 
gastrointestinal endurance to Ranma, and he no longer got violently 
sick while sampling her food.  "Really Ranma!"  Akane seemed 
genuinely pleased.  She turned to the others.  "Well, aren't you 
people going to try it?"

    Nabiki eyed Ranma, who was taking liberal amounts of water with 
his food.  "Well, as if I'm going to trust his judgment.  He's 
probably just saying that to make you feel happier."  Nabiki gave 
Ranma a stare that seemed to bore a hole straight through his skin, 
his flesh, as well as his soul.  Ranma looked down at the table 
uncomfortably.

    "Nabiki!  Take that back!  How can you say that without even 
trying my food!"  Akane slammed her hands on to the table, causing 
all of the chinaware to shake slightly, as she glared at her sister.
  But then again, Akane thought deep in her mind that Nabiki had a 
point.  Ranma was her fiancee, simple.  He was obligated to at 
least try to be encouraging, a task that he usually failed 
miserably, but was slowly improving.

    "Why should I endanger myself with that cooking?  I think I 
have enough time to stop by and get some food elsewhere."  Akane 
felt a growl surfacing in her throat and she was about to give 
Nabiki a big piece of her mind.  She felt a hand land on her 
shoulder, and immediately turning her head, she saw Ranma with a 
pained look on his face.

    "Akane, Nabiki didn't mean anything by that."  Akane loosened 
up and nodded reluctantly as she leaned backwards.  She grabbed her 
bowl of food and began to eat her breakfast slowly.  "Besides," 
continued Ranma, "I think it is time that we went to school."

    Nabiki grumbled.  "Oh great, we just barely have enough time to 
get to school."  She grabbed her tea and swallowed it all down, as 
she knew that if she didn't have anything in her stomach at all, 
she wouldn't be able to concentrate in classes at all.

* * *

    "Today is a beautiful day, isn't it, Ranma?"  Akane looked up 
at the clear sky, which barely had a cloud in sight.  The sunlight 
rained down, giving everything a more happier and cheerful look.

    Ranma grumbled as he felt his stomach begin to reject the food 
in his stomach.  "Yeah, it's not raining at all.  It looks as if I 
don't have to worry about finding hot water in school."

    "I don't know, its on these days that I don't feel any worries 
at all."  Akane smiled a little, while Ranma felt his head drool 
lower.  Enthusiasm was completely lost on Ranma, and his hopes for 
happiness were quite destroyed as he didn't want to be a harbinger 
of pain for either Nabiki or Akane.  And on top of that, he was 
quite getting tired of his fiancees all trying to horde him as if 
he were a commodity, an expensive product that one would obtain at 
all costs.

    'This is my life.  Constantly thinking about my relationships, 
and worrying about so much people.'  That was the weird part, Ranma 
truly cared for all of his other fiancees, self-proclaimed or not.  
Ukyou was his best friend in the world, but he knew that he could 
never take that extra step.  Shampoo, well, he did admire her 
enthusiasm, but he could never readily fall for someone who was 
willing to use mind altering drugs and such.  Kodachi, although her 
name brought a chill to his spine, he felt pity for her, as she 
would be a nice person to know, had she not been insane.

    But as he knew, and they knew, he would never be able to 
reciprocate their affection.  He would be able to express concern, 
and he would be able to help them in their times of need.  But, 
there was no way he could share with them, the feelings that he had 
with Nabiki and Akane.

    Likewise, Ranma wasn't the only person who was not cheerful on 
the sunny day.  Shampoo muttered something under her breath as she 
wiped clean some tables.  "Stupid Ranma, why doesn't he admit his 
love for Shampoo."  It was a rather strange week, as Ranma had been 
trying hard to avoid her for the entire time or he didn't have the 
time to meet her.

    Shampoo growled, as she unwittingly scoured the finish right 
off the table.  Cologne couldn't help but notice that something was 
wrong.  "Child, what seems to be eating at you?"

    "Why doesn't Ranma see Shampoo this entire week?  Why won't he 
see me at all!"  Shampoo started to strip the tiles off the floor 
with the mop.  Cologne grumbled a bit as she watched Shampoo apply 
way too much energy to the simple task at hand.  But then again, it 
was an indication that Shampoo was troubled.

    "Shampoo, you are over working yourself."  Cologne looked at 
the crumbling tiles on the floor.  "Perhaps you should take a day 
off, and spend the time with Ranma."  Cologne grabbed her pipe and 
inhaled rather deeply.  'Great, and where am I going to scrap up 
the money to have those tiles fixed.'  The door slammed open and in 
came Mousse.  'Ah, opportunity...'

    Shampoo smiled a little at the thought.  "Ok, great-grandmother,
 but won't you need Shampoo to help you run the restaurant?"  
Shampoo gave Cologne a strange look.  Cologne really didn't like it 
when Shampoo or Mousse took a day off.  To her, taking a day off 
was tantamount to trying to avoid one's obligations and to avoid 
training.


    "No, I'm sure that I can more than manage this restaurant for a 
day."  Shampoo shrugged her shoulders, and off went her apron.  
With a little cheerful smile on her face, she went out the door.

    "Ranma!  Shampoo is coming!"  The was the sound of burning 
rubber from outside.

* * *

    The entire morning was a pointless adventure for Ranma.  Out of 
the four hours that Ms. Hinako spent lecturing, Ranma only bothered 
to listen to her for three minutes.  No, Ranma was not bored out of 
his mind, but other issues were on his mind.  He had spent the 
entire morning scrawling "Nabiki or Akane" in his notebook.  

    Come lunch time, Ranma was out of notebook paper, and 
definitely hungry, as he had done more writing that morning 
compared to his typical day at school.  With a sigh, Ranma settled 
down at his normal seat and started to eat his meal in silence.  
Minutes later, Nabiki and Akane showed up.

    Silently they sat down next to Ranma, and began their meals as 
well.  Not one of them chose to talk.  Ranma on the other hand had 
thought it strange that Akane and Nabiki weren't talking, so he 
ventured to speak quite tentatively.  "So, how was your morning?"

    Nabiki gave Akane a stare and she muttered.  "It was fine, and 
you?"  Nabiki started to eat nervously on her food, her hands 
twitching slightly.  Looking closely, Ranma could notice that 
Nabiki's left cheek was slightly red.

    Akane was not as optimistic as Nabiki.  "Nabiki, how could you 
say that!  You were drinking and smoking in the bathroom with a 
couple of your friends!"  Akane wasn't in the mood to eat her lunch,
 and in her haste, she accidentally knocked her bento onto the 
floor.

    "So what?  I was feeling stressed out!  I made a couple rather 
daring bets a couple days ago, and my nerves were frayed because I 
could have lost a lot of money.  I just needed to calm myself down, 
that's it."  Nabiki swallowed furiously as she talked back to Akane.
  Ranma seemed quite speechless as these two girls were arguing 
across him.

    "Yeah, well, it won't be my fault that you become an alcoholic 
and a junkie when you grow up!"  Akane growled at Nabiki, who 
seemed quite indignant.

    "Well, that's amazing, it certainly took you a long time to 
find out that I drink sometimes.  Heck, I'm willing to bet this 
isn't about me, but Ranma right?"  Nabiki shouted back at Akane, 
feeling her heart starting to pound hard.

    "How did Ranma ever get into this conversation!  I'm worried 
about you.  And if you don't quit soon, I'm going to tell Father!"  
Akane threatened as best as she could.

   Ranma ventured to speak.  "Excuse me, but I'm sure that this 
discussion..."  But as soon as he spoke, he was silenced by a new 
event, the landing of Shampoo and bike right in front of the 
threesome.

    As soon as Shampoo saw her beloved, her eyes lit up with a fire 
that was a quiet reminder of how infatuated she was with Ranma.  
"Hi Ranma, I was wondering,"  Shampoo said as she leaped off her 
bike, landed on Ranma, and knocked him backwards onto the floor.  
"Would Ranma take Shampoo out on a date?  Great-grandmother gave 
Shampoo the day off!"

    Immediately, whether it was a conditioned reflex or instinct, 
Ranma immediately looked at Akane.   Akane was merely clenching her 
fists and crushing the notebook that happened to be in her hand.  
That definitely wasn't a good sign.  'Oh great, Akane's going to 
belt me if I don't do something right.'  Ranma looked at Shampoo's 
eager eyes, and he practically kicked himself mentally for what he 
was going to do.

    "No, Shampoo.  I don't want to go on a date today."  Ranma 
braced himself for the impact, but for some reason, Shampoo didn't 
quite catch the tone of Ranma's voice.

    "So how about tomorrow?"  Shampoo looked at Ranma with 
expecting eyes, just waiting for his answer.

    Ranma took yet a deep breath and for what seemed like an 
eternal one second, he forced himself to answer.  "No Shampoo, I 
will not go out on a date with you.  It's not right, and I don't 
think of you the way you think of me."  Ranma carefully stood up, 
and placed Shampoo on the bench.  'I hope she takes this well.'

    Quite the contrary, as Shampoo didn't that this well at all.  
Angered she stood up, and approached Ranma rather menacingly.  "Did 
Akane make Ranma say that?  Shampoo would kill Akane for 
threatening Ranma!"  Ranma had to admire Shampoo, even when he had 
expressed his disinterest in her, she still was quite devoted to 
him.  Ranma tried to speak, but the best he could do was to shake 
his head in an affirmative no.

    Immediately a change washed over Shampoo, and she turned away.  
"Sorry, Ranma."  She walked away, a broken woman, her head low and 
bonbori by her side.  Shampoo was genuinely depressed.

    Ranma tried to reach out to Shampoo, as it pained him to see a 
good friend so low.  "Shampoo, I'm so sorry, but I already love..." 
 Ranma paused for a moment.  In actuality, Ranma stood there silent 
for more than 5 seconds, during which time, Akane and Nabiki 
focused their attention on Ranma.  'Nabiki or Akane?  Nabiki or 
Akane?  Come on!  Make up your mind!'
 
    This proved to be quite hard for Ranma, as he couldn't make up 
your mind.  Mentally, he slapped himself a few times.  'If you 
can't make up your fucking mind, just let someone else do it for 
you!'  Ranma thought of his Father and Mr. Tendo.  He thought of 
the first time he met the Saotomes, how quick Kasumi and Nabiki 
were to make up his mind for him.  With reluctance, he spoke.  "...
Akane."  Immediately Shampoo shot Akane a look of envy, and the 
eagerness sank out of Nabiki's face.

    Ranma looked at Shampoo.  "Shampoo, we're friends, right?"

    Shampoo turned around and with her back away from Ranma she 
allowed herself to express her emotions, she wiped away the tiny 
tears which glistened in the bright sunlight.  "Yes, we are friends."


End!  Well, this chapter has definitely consumed my time.  For all
intensive purposes, it took me a good four weeks to write these measly 6
pages.  Why?  Because I had completely lost all sense of direction for
this story.  Yuppers, but now I'm orientated right, and ready to thrust
ahead with more pointless brooding and serious stuff.

Zenki.