"WASURERARENAI" (Unforgettable)
A Ranma fanfic written by Emily Siazon.
All characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.
< > are thoughts
[ ] are settings
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[Next morning. Tendo home]
 
     "School?" Ranma asked as he stopped eating to give his father a
questioning glance.
 
     "Well, we are going to be here for a while."
 
     "And you'd better hurry up if you don't want to be late," Kasumi
added as she handed him his bento. "Nabiki left over an hour ago."

     Ranma grumbled as he walked to his room, dressing in an outfit
similar to the one he wore the day before. He was making so much noise
that he failed to notice his father who was leaning against the door
until he was done.
 
     "Why don't you choose her," Genma suggested. "She would make you a
wonderful wife."

     "I don't love her."

     "So? Your honor is more important than love, and honor requires you
to wed one of the Tendo sisters."

     Ranma decided to ignore him as the livingroom clock reminded him 
that he was going to be late.

     Cursing silently, he hurriedly walked on the sidewalk as he
considered his options. The fact that even Nabiki, an intellectual,
couldn't find a way to break the engagement without bringing shame to
either family greatly troubled him. As he thought over the situation
for the third time, he finally came to a conclusion. 

     "I'm doomed."

                          *        *        *

     Akane turned around for the fifth time as she asked Shinnosuke if
he was okay. He had developed a fever during the night and she didn't
feel that it was right for her to go to school when he needed her there
to take care of him.

     "I'm fine. I can take care of myself."

     "But..."

     "Hey, aren't you going to be late?" he interrupted.

     Akane acked as a quick glance at her watch confirmed his statement.
With a final glance in his direction, she quickly walked around the
corner and ran into someone.
 
     The impact sent the two of them sprawling into the ground, causing
Ranma to scrape an elbow and making his foul mood even worse than it was
before.

     Akane's cheeks were red with embarrassment as she slowly stood up
and said, "I'm sorry."

     Ranma's frown dissappeared as he noticed the cute, flustered girl
beside him watching him a bit worriedly. "I-it's okay. I should have
watched where I was going."

     "I didn't hurt you too badly, did I?"
 
     "Don't worry about it."

     "Um, by the way, my name's Akane."

     "I'm Ranma, Ranma Saotome."

     He half listened to her talk about herself, occasionally answering
some of her questions as he tried to pinpoint the source of the 
unfamiliar feeling that overwhelmed him the second he had laid eyes on 
her. It was filled with joy, but it was tinged with a feeling of...loss? 
he felt like he was being denied something that was rightfully his. He 
found the feeling exhilarating and somewhat scary. 

     His train of thought was cut off as he noticed that everyone in the
front yard had stopped talking the minute he and Akane had walked 
through the front gate. They were watching them with an intensity that 
made him uncomfortable.
 
     "Did we just grow another head or something?" Akane asked as she
watched the other students warily. Keeping a close eye on the one in
kendo garb who watching her, if possible, more intensely than the rest.

     "Just ignore them," he advised as he went inside and started to 
look for his homeroom. He found it on the third floor just as the 
warning bell rang. He was a bit surprised to find her still standing 
next to him.

     "Shouldn't you head to your class?"

     "This is my class."

     "What?!"

     Their conversation was interrupted by the sensei clearing his 
throat to catch the students' attention. "Class, today we have two new 
students. Their names are Ranma and Akane."

     The two teenagers shyly waved to the rest of the class who were
watching the two of them closely. To be more accurate, all the boys
were staring at Akane, some even drooling, and the girls were paying
close attention to Ranma.
 
      They headed to the back of the room where their new seats were
located, fully aware of the attention they were receiving. Thankfully,
the stares were replaced by only an occassional glance as the lesson
began.
 
                         *        *        *
 
     "Wow. You're so lucky to be friends with Ranma."

     Akane looked up and found two girls from her class standing in 
front of her. Both had a dreamy expression on ther faces as they watched 
Ranma heading towards the lunch line, having already eaten his lunch 
during third period.
 
     "I guess so."

     Suddenly, the girl with the ponytail glanced back at Akane and gave
her an embarrassed smile. "Oh, I'm so sorry. It's so rude of us not to
introduce ourselves. I'm Sayuri and that," she said, pointing at the 
girl with long brown hair standing next to her, "is Yuka."
 
     "Nice to meet you."
 
     "So, how long have you two been friends?" Sayuri inquired.
 
     "Actually, I just met him on my way to school this morning."

     "Man, talk about luck," Yuka commented. She looked up and noticed
that Ranma had bought what he needed and was heading their way. She
quickly straightened up, brushing imaginary crumbs off her shirt as she
tried to make herself look presentable.
 
     Ranma watched the two girls with Akane start to giggle as he
approached them. "What's so funny?"

     The girl with the ponytail looked at him, a bit startled before she
ran off grinning like maniac. "He spoke to me!" She eagerly informed the 
group of girls sitting nearby with a sigh.
 
     He gave Akane a questioning glance. "What was that all about?"

     She merely shrugged as she continued to eat her lunch.
 
     They spent the rest of the lunch period, eating while Ranma talked 
about martial arts, completely oblivious to the group of boys at the 
other end of the yard with a handsome kendoist shouting a challenge to 
those who wished to date the new girl.
 
                         *        *        *
 
     Akane sighed in relief as the final bell rang, signaling the end of
the school day. She looked to her side and gently shook Ranma awake.
 
     Ranma pushed her hand aside, mumbling something about pandas and
training later, then went back to sleep.

     "C'mon Ranma," She said, a bit louder than before.
 
     Ranma slowly stood up, and grumbled as he packed up his things. He
followed her outside and jumped into a nearby fence as they made their 
way home.
 
     "What are you doing?"

     "Balance practice."
 
     "Oh," was the only thing Akane could think to say as she watched 
him walk on the fence, matching her brisk stride easily.

     They quickly reached her house and she waved at him a final time,
promising to walk with him again.
 
     Ranma whistled as he made his way to the house next door, a silly 
grin on his face. The day suddenly didn't feel as hopeless as it did 
earlier.

                         *        *        *
 
     A knock on the front door made Ranma look up from the manga he was
reading. Realizing that he was the closest one to the door, he decided 
that he should answer it.

     "Can I help..." he stopped as he noticed who the person on the 
other side of the door was. "Akane, what are you doing here?"
 
     She looked just as surprised as him as she answered, "Well, this 
girl with long brown hair invited me over last night..."
 
     "Oh, I'm so glad you're here!" Kasumi exclaimed as she made her way 
to the livingroom. I'm sorry I wasn't here to greet you, but I'm busy 
making dinner."
 
     "Can I help?"

     "You shouldn't. You're our guest."
 
     "But I want to. I've been cooking meals for Shinnosuke and 
grandfather ever since I can remember, but auntie won't let me near the 
kitchen. I need to keep practicing."

     "Okay then, you can help me make the soup," Kasumi suggested as 
they headed towards the kitchen.

     Ranma watched their retreating form, unsure if he should follow 
them or not.  Cooking was women's work and he would normally not be 
caught dead spending time in the kitchen, but she was his friend...
 
     "Boy, what are you doing just standing there? We have to practice."
Genma barked as he headed towards the dojo.
 
     With the decision made for him, Ranma sighed as he followed his 
father.

                          *        *        *
 
     Ranma watched the table in anticipation, his chopsticks ready as he
watched Akane and Kasumi emerged from the kitchen with plates full of
food.
 
     He eagerly dived in, for once even faster than his father. He had 
eaten half the stuff on his bowl before his senses caught up. His eyes 
bulged as he felt his stomach turn and turned an interesting shade of 
blue.

     The rest of the household watched in morbid fascination as he then 
turned green, then into a deep shade of red.

     "Anyone wants to make a bet on what color he'll turn to next?"

     "Nabiki!" Kasumi exclaimed in a disapproving tone.

     Genma, meanwhile was busy looking over his son. "I'm betting he 
turns blue again."

     "You think so, Saotome-kun? I think it's more likely that he'll 
turn purple."
 
     "Father! Mr. Saotome!" Kasumi continued with the same tone she had
used on Nabiki.

     The three had enough grace to look ashamed as they apologized in 
unison.

     Ranma, through all this was busy drinking all the tea in his cup, 
killing the taste. "What are you trying to do?! Kill me?!"
 
     Akane, who had eaten a small portion of her cooking was biting her 
lip. "I don't understand. I've been cooking for ten years, and all the 
things I've made have always tasted fine."
 
     One glance at her troubled expression was all it took for his anger 
to be replaced by shame. "It's not that bad," he lied as he ate the rest 
of the soup on his bowl, immediately followed by another long drink, 
this time, straight from the kettle.

     Akane didn't notice his effort to make her feel better. She was too 
deep in thought. "Could it be because I've always used the water of life," 
she mumbled, not even aware that she had spoken the thought out loud.

     "Did you sat something?"

     Akane looked up to find Ranma looking at her a bit curiously.

     "Oh, it's not important."

     "If you say so," Ranma answered, but he didn't look convinced.

                            *        *        *

     Akane smiled, unconsciously twirling her heart shape locket as she 
looked out the window. The night she spent at the Tendo's was...
interesting. The whole household was almost fanatical when it came to 
martial arts, including Kasumi which surprised her a bit. She didn't 
seem like the type to be interested in anything that involved physical 
violence, although they did own a dojo so she supposed it was 
understandable.

     The two Saotome's had fought over their food during dinner, and 
then fought again for the right to pick which show to watch on tv. Ranma 
ended up winning and picking a martial arts show while the older Saotome 
headed towards a corner of the room where he and Soun played go, 
cheating at every turn.

     The whole night was fun and she regretted leaving early, but 
Shinnosuke was home sick and she had promised grandpa that she would 
take care of him. Kasumi had invited her again and made her promise to 
bring Shinnosuke. She had quickly agreed, already looking forward to 
spending more time in the happy, albeit strange household.

                         *        *        *

     Ranma entered his room, not making any effort to be quiet since his
father slept like the dead. 

     He laid down on his futon, his mind running over the day's events. 
Who knew that what started out as really bad day, would turn out so 
well. 

     He certainly wasn't expecting to make his first real friend in a 
long time, or to feel this happy despite all the complications in his 
life.

     He yawned as sleep started to overcome him and decided to 
contemplate his life another day. He cleared his mind until all he saw 
was an image of Akane with a smile he knew he would never forget. As 
his eyes slowly closed, he smiled back.
     
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AUTHORS NOTES:
        Wow. I can't believe I'm finally done. Sorry it took so long
for this part to come out, but my computer crash so I had to rewrite 
this.
     Send all comments and critticism to <emily9@bellatlantic.net>