The Cutting Edge
-------------------------

by Florencio B. de la Merced, Jr. (fmerced@pworld.net.ph)

A Fanfic inspired by the Anime Ranma 1/2 created and copyrighted
by Ruimiko Takahashi.

A project for the Fan Fiction Mailing List
------------------------------------------------------


Ranma Saotome slowly looked at each direction of the hallway for
any sign of his fiancée.  If only he had shut his stupid mouth
this morning, Ranma thought, he wouldn't still be in school after
classes looking for Akane Tendo.  He checked again Akane's last
classroom, but, as last time it was empty.  He looked out the
window and had realized that it was already dark outside. He
trodded along the next rooms, valiantly hoping to spot her fiancée
at last, but his prayers wasn't being answered, yet.

"Stupid Akane!" Ranma mumbled under his own breath.  He finally
reached the end of the hallway and saw double doors in front of him.
"It wouldn't hurt to look in here." Ranma half-opened the entrance
to the school cafeteria and peeked inside.  Nothing.  Dejectedly,
Ranma was about to back away when he heard something from inside.
Curiously he slowly crept inside the barren and dark room.  At first
he tried to find the light switch but something caught his attention.
"BAKA!" Ranma hesitated for a moment, thinking he must be dreaming
what he just heard.  A light was illuminating from behind the kitchen
door and he knew the voice was coming from there.  Cautiously he
approached.  Again, through the half-opened swinging door, he peeked
inside.  "RANMA no BAKA!" Akane had secluded herself in one corner
and was furiously swinging her mallet at an already delapedated
oven door.  Ranma knew that Akane was crying and somehow it was his
fault that he had hurt her feelings.  Ranma backed up a little
hoping to think his next move.  "Chikusho!"

"Ranma?" Akane heard the voice and tried to stop her tears.  The
doors were close and she was still alone.  Akane gasped as she had
now noticed the damage that she had done.  "Even in this kitchen, I
seem to destroy everything!" Akane again poured out all her saddened
feelings and sorrow.  "I'm hopeless!" Akane again hammered away but
suddenly something caught her mallet.  Akwardly she looked up and
saw her fiancée holding her hand. "You're not hopeless, Akane.  And
I'm sorry."  Ranma let her arm go and kneeled down beside his fiancée.
"I'm going to make sure of that." Akane shaken a bit by Ranma's sudden
appearance was bewildered by her fiancée's proposal.

------------------------

Nabiki put down the phone and quickly closed her notebook.  "Was that
them, Nabiki?" Soun Tendo, the worried father asked one of her daughters.
"Yes, Daddy." Nabiki gleamed a smiteful grin and briskly walked toward
the kitchen.  "Tendo, what do you suppose they're doing right now?" Genma
Saotome was also worried that his son had not returned home.

"Kasumi?" Nabiki entered the kitchen looking for her eldest sister.
After the little incident this morning, Kasumi had spent most of the day
restoring her carefully maintained kitchen to it's original form. "Yes."
Kasumi looked up from her kneeling positioned as she was just about to
door some work on the floor.  "It looks like Ranma and Akane are staying
over at school." Kasumi stood up and gave an exhasperating look. "Don't
worry, it's not what you're thinking, oneechan."

------------------------

"Are you sure, Ranma?" Akane looked at the apron that she had put on.
"We could get in trouble for this." Ranma somehow ignored her and was
busily laying out kitchen wares on the long table in the middle of the
room.  "I know, Akane.  But, it will be alright, you'll see."  Ranma
now stacked up several boxes that contained various food packings.
The door swung open and two young ladies, both carrying brown bags,
casually graced their way inside.  "I hope you know what you're doing,
Ranma?"  Nabiki regreted to splurge out money on such short notice but
knew it was for her sister's sake.  "Akane, we were worried sick about
you." Kasumi hugged her youngest sister after placing her load on one
of the counter shelves.  "I'm sorry, oneechan."  Akane even hugged
Nabiki, even though she was still bearting Ranma for attempting such
a foolish plan.  "Do we stay here?" Nabiki was already dragging Kasumi
through the door before Ranma or Akane could answer.  "We'll leave you
two...alone."  Kasumi was reluctant to leave but Nabiki knew they were
not needed inside.

------------------------

Ukyou knocked at the gate of the Tendo dojo again.  She had just made
some special okonomiyaki and wanted her beloved Ran-chan to taste some
of it.   The door swayed open but only Soun met her.  "Kounji-san, is
that you?"  Ukyou was stunned a bit but regrouped herself. "Mr. Tendo
you don't usually answer the door, do you?  Anyway I'd like to see
Ran-chan...I mean Ranma."  Ukyou heartedly expected Ranma to come out
from behind Mr. Tendo and see her.  Unfortunately the older Saotome
greeted her.  "They are all in school tonight, Kuonji-san."  School,
Ukyou thought she must have hearing things because nobody stayed this
late in the evening to stay at Furikan High.  She quickly bade
goodnight to her elders and traverse her way toward the school.

------------------------

A pair of eyes were following Ukyou Kounji as she departed from the
Tendo dojo.  "Where is she going?"  Ryouga had noticed that both Ranma
and Akane was not at home tonight.  At first he feared that they had
gone on a date that he was not aware of and was not able to stop.
Then, upon spotting Ukyou leaving, he decided that she might lead him
to Ranma which is where he suspects Akane would also be.  Ryouga
straddled his backpack and jumped high over the perimeter wall.
Carefully he spied on Ukyou and cautiously tried to follow her.  If he
had any chance of following her at all, he knew that he shouldn't lag
too far behind.  The journey would eventually lead him to Furikan High.

-------------------------

"Shampoo thinks this sucks." Outside the Nekohaten, Shampoo was
throwing out the garbage.  She resented such dirty works and was
irritated at Mousse for being unavailable to do his regular errands.
"Shampoo will punish Mousse for making me do such..." She stopped to
stare down the street where Ukyou had just appeared and disappeared,
Soon Ryouga followed Ukyou and intensified Shampoo's curiousity further.
"What is going on?"  Shampoo dropped the bags she was dragging out the
restaurant and quickly proceeded to pursue the two.

--------------------------

"Gin." Nabiki blinked for a moment before she looked up to see the
smile her older sister was wearing on her face.  It was not only the
first time that she had lost a game of rummy to somebody, but to a
first timer like her sister was too much to digest for the moment.
"This is fun, lets do it again." Nabiki didn't have to answer that
question as Kasumi was already shuffling the playing cards they
had brought along in order to pass the time.  "I must be losing my
touch, Kasumi." Nabiki muttered a bit trying to annoy her sister as
she handed out the hand.  "What do you mean? Oh!" Nabiki was amused
that she didn't think of teaching Kasumi how to play poker instead
since her sister would make the worst poker face.

"I wonder why you two are doing here?" Ukyou had carefully crept up
to the two Tendo's and quitely she dragged a chair to sit near them,
"Konbanwa, Kounji-san.  I guess you're looking for them, right?"
Nabiki looked at Ukyou and noticed the package she had brought.  "Hai.
Are they in there?" Nabiki only nodded as she placed down her cards on
the table.  "Is that food, thanks Ukyou." Nabiki was about to grab the
okonomiyaki but was failed by Ukyou's quick reaction. "Hey, this is
for Ran-chan." Ukyou was about to get up but Nabiki quick held her arm
down.  "Sorry, Ukyou.  They can't be disturbed.  Ranma's orders."
Ukyou could only give a quizzical look.

---------------------

"Where the hell am I?"  Ryouga looked inside another room but again
there was no one there.  He checked another, but, still no one can be
found.  That was until something caught his shoulder then he had to
look around.  "Shampoo?  What are you doing here?"  Ryouga was more
confused at the sudden appearance of the Chinese amazon, than the lost
predicament he was facing.  "You're asking Shampoo?  I was the one
following you." Irritatingly she turned around and stridded out the
hallway.  "Wait for me!" Ryouga desperately tried to keep up without
losing sight of her.

----------------------

"Ok, what's next?" Akane was carefully, as instructed, stirring the
frying pan so that the chopped onions would not get burnt by the
searing heat of the wok.  Ranma was giving step-by-step instructions
and was beside her supervising.  "Lower the heat to simmer, or the
onions would get burnt."  Akane slowly reached down the stove and
carefully twisted the knob to the lower setting.  "Good, Akane.
Always check what you're doing." Ranma handed some cut up vegetables
to the his student and motioned for it to be placed in the wok.  Akane
hesitated, knowing that nothing untoward has yet occurred, she somehow
knew that this was the perfect time for something to go wrong.  She
slid sliced carrots and cucumbers down the side of the wok and followed
it up with some cut up celery and cabages.  "Remember to cook the
carrots first because they cook longer, Ok." Akane only nodded as she
didn't stray her eyes away from what she was stirring.  Ranma pointed
it out to her that what often makes her cooking turn bad was because
she's not paying real attention to what she was doing.  "Ok, this is
salt." Ranma dipped his finger into a small container and it came out
coated white.  He extended it in front of Akane for her to taste the
condiment.  Akane glared at the finger in front of her, first because
it was blocking her sight, and second because Ranma had just asked her
to taste the salt on his finger.  "You want me to do what?!"  Akane
glared at Ranma who only sported a serious look.  "Do it Akane! It'll
teach you to taste first what you try to put in what you cook."  Akane
still stirred the wok, but now she was intensely looking at Ranma and
his salty finger.  "No Way!  I'm not tasting...mhmhhdh" Ranma didn't
hesitate to lunge his finger while Akane was talking.

-----------------------

"What was that?!"  Nabiki and Ukyou looked at the kitchen door as the
banging and loud scream that pierced the quiet evening was coming from
that direction.  AKane soon came through the door fuming mad.
Apparently she was dragging her half-conscious and badly beaten fiancée
behind her.  "BAKA!"  She screamed as she stormed pass the trio who was
enjoying the okonomiyaki Ukyou had brought.  "Looks like lessons are
over." Nabiki tucked away her cards and lead the three out of the
cafeteria.

-----------------------

"Shampoo!  Where are you?"  Somewhere in the dark hallways of Furikan
High, a lost soul cries out searching for answers and the way back to the
Tendo dojo.



-END-


This is my contribution to the Akane Cooking thread, hope you like it.