This is our first fanfic, so please be gentle. Comments, criticisms and 
MSTs are welcome. You can reach us at chiaty@singnet.com.sg
You can view this at http://www.singnet.com.sg/~chiaty
This story is set one year after the start of the series and it takes on 
from there.
< > represents a character's thoughts.

DISCLAIMER : We have written this story out of fun. In no way do we own 
the characters of this story, they belong to Takahashi Rumiko, 
Shogakukan Inc, Shonen Sunday Comics, and Viz Video. 

The Fabulous World of Anime
Proudly Presents
A Joint Production by Cass and GSL



				The Pursuit Of Akane
				---------------------

Part 3 : Ranma is in deep shit.


	<That kawaikune tomboy. It is not as if it was my fault. How would I 
know that Ukyou and Shampoo would turn up? And you just have to mallet 
me for that.> Ranma winced as he rubbed the bump on his head.  Akane was 
not talking to him. She was giving him the cold stares. He wasn't 
bothered, or so he thought. This morning during breakfast, Akane had 
refused to sit next to him, giving him the cold shoulder. Ryouga was 
worse. He looked as if he was going to strike Ranma any moment. 

	A ball hit Ranma forcing him to return to the present. 

	"Um, I'm sorry." A student, whom Ranma didn't recognize, said.

	"It's all right." Ranma absently handed the football to the student. 

	He was at a football field, alone, eating the lunch that Kasumi has 
prepared. He scanned across the field to find Akane. <There she is.> 
Akane was sitting under the tree in the opposite direction. She seemed 
to be having an interesting conversation with her friends. She laughed. 
He froze. Then, he saw her stealing a look at him. Their gaze was 
locked. And she began to fume. He was confused but felt a light tap on 
his shoulder. He turned around and found Ukyou smiling at him. He gave a 
nervous smile and glanced in the direction where Akane was. The place 
where she sat was empty now.

	"Hello, Ran-chan. How are you?" Ukyou started as she sat down next to 
Ranma.

	"Fine. Weren't you supposed to be at Ucchans? It's lunch time now." 
Ranma asked half-heartedly. 

	"You looked disturbed so I came to accompany you." Ukyou answered.

	"Thanks. But I'm really fine." Ranma put on his brave front and 
continued. "Ucchan, how did you know that I was at La Mason yesterday 
night?"

	"Oh, Nabiki told me." Ukyou smiled.

	<I knew it. It just had to be her.> Ranma got up and he was angry. 

	"Ran-chan, where are you going?" Ukyou asked with a concerned look on 
her face. 

	"I've some business to attend to." Ranma replied. <Wait till I get my 
hands on that woman.>

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

	Nabiki was on her rounds collecting her debts. Suddenly, she felt a 
sinking sensation in her heart. <Uh oh...Something is going to happen.>

	"Nabiki! What were you thinking when you told Ucchan about my dat....my 
outing with Akane." Ranma scowled.

	"Money." Nabiki responded as if it was obvious.

	"Haven't you made enough money out of me? You take pictures of me to 
sell, you extort money from me, you...you... caused me so much trouble." 
Ranma howled.

	"Hush, Ranma. You live in my house. You caused so much damage to the 
dojo since you got here. It's only right that you foot part of the bill. 
And I'm only here to collect the money you owe us." Nabiki replied 
innocently.

	Ranma was baffled. In a way, Nabiki was right. He stood there 
motionless and tried to speak. But he was interrupted. 

	"Ranma, I know Akane is angry at you and I know I ruin your little 
date. I have a proposition to make. I can help to you set up another 
date with Akane but you will need to ....." Nabiki abruptly broke into a 
whisper.

	"WHAT! After what you have did, you are still trying to reap off me!" 
Ranma protested.

	"Well, take it or leave it." Seeing no verbal or physical response from 
Ranma, Nabiki continued. "See you at Bimbo's Studio after school. Don't 
be late, we have a lot of pictures to take." Nabiki walked away 
smirking, registering the money that she would earn, she always ended up 
as a victor. 

	<What have I got myself into?> Ranma moaned.

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

	The air smelled of delicious food. Ranma had just returned from the 
photo session and he was famished. As usual, he gobbled up his food 
before his father could steal it. It was only then that he realized that 
Akane was sitting rather closely to Ryouga. They were talking and 
laughing at the same time. It reminded him of the time when they came 
back from France. It disturbed him. He imagined that Akane was getting 
further and further away from him and into Ryouga's arms. He shivered 
slightly. A sweatdrop began to form on his forehead when Ryouga and 
Akane excused themselves and headed towards her room. He gave a 
desperate glance towards Nabiki and she seemed to understand what he was 
thinking.

	Without a word, Nabiki stood up, excused herself and motioned Ranma to 
her room. 

	"My little sister seems to be on very GOOD terms with Ryouga. But, I 
must admit Ryouga is a fine young man. I would say that she has good 
taste." Nabiki said. She was sitting on her futon while Ranma stood by 
the door.

	"Hey! What are you talking about?" Ranma uttered. He disliked hearing 
the words 'Akane' and 'Ryouga' together in one sentence.

	"You know what I mean. If you don't buck up, you are going to lose 
her." Nabiki reasoned.

	"It's not as if I had her in the first place." He argued. 

	"It's your this kind of attitude that will drive her away. Saotome, I 
have a very serious question to ask you." Nabiki paused to make sure 
that she had his fullest attention. "Do you love Akane?"

	"NANI! Why would I fall in love with a sexless, uncute tomboy like 
her?" He defended.

	"Then, why are you jealous of Ryouga or why are you so concerned about 
your little date with Akane?" She asked disdainfully.

	He was speechless.

	"Ranma, stop letting your pride get in the way. Do you really love her? 
Or are you just plain selfish to want to keep her for yourself and own 
her like a trophy?" She asked angrily.

	"No. Of course not." He answered forcefully, his mind whirling.

	"If you want to get her back, you will need to make some sacrifices. 
For example, you have to denounce all your other engagements. Most 
importantly, you need to commit yourself to Akane. Can you do that? No. 
Even before that, can you convince yourself of your love for her? Do you 
REALLY love her? 'Cos if you don't, I will not help you destroy this 
little thing that is happening between Akane and Ryouga. I will not let 
you destroy her chance of happiness with Ryouga." Nabiki stated.

	He was lost. He stared at Nabiki hoping that she could give him the 
answer. But he knew the answer lie within him. He had come so close to 
the truth on that night while he was on the roof. <Do I really love 
Akane?> He thought of the special moments he had with her. There weren't 
many but the most recent one was when he held her hand at the entrance 
of her room before their first date. He remembered the sweet sensation 
as he held her hand and felt a strange sense of utmost happiness. 

	"Ranma, I don't have time to wait for your answer. You don't too. You 
have to make the decision before Akane falls for Ryouga. So, start being 
a man." Nabiki lamented impatiently.

	Ranma nodded. He never felt so right about his decision before. "Yes. I 
love Akane. I couldn't imagine a life without her. I'm willing to take 
the plunge." 

	"Good. But you should keep those words for Akane. Now, on with the 
plan. First, you have to patch up with Akane. I recommend flowers and 
apologies. Next, ask her out. If you need, I can help you make 
reservations. I will send Ryouga out to buy something and most probably, 
he will be lost before he notices the date. As for Ukyou, Shampoo and 
Kodachi, I will lead them to a merry-goose chase." Nabiki explained as 
Ranma listened attentively.

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

	"Akane, I'm sorry. I didn't know that Ukyou and Shampoo would turn up.  
Will you forgive me? I'll make it up to you. If you're free tomorrow, 
maybe we could go out on another date. I promise I would try to keep the 
other girls away. Just you and me." Ranma practiced in front of the 
mirror. Nabiki had forced him to memorize the speech and repeat it to 
Akane. He had refused when he read the speech. He didn't like to 
apologize especially since he has done no wrong and the speech sounded a 
bit mushy to him. Then, he remembered her words. "If you don't do this, 
you will lose her. So, it's either your pride or Akane. Which is more 
important?" 

	Ranma braced himself for the inevitable. He walked towards her room, 
stopped at the door, breathed deeply, knocked and waited. A shuffle of 
footsteps was heard. The door opened and Akane was at the doorway. She 
was surprised to see him but her anger resurfaced. 

	"Akane, I'm sorry. I didn't know ......." Ranma repeated his speech but 
stopped when he saw Ryouga sitting on Akane's bed. His blood began to 
boil. "Why is he sitting on your bed! What were you all doing!" He 
questioned furiously. 

	Akane softened a bit when she heard his apologies but was irate at his 
accusations. "How dare you think such a way of me! We were only studying 
and what Ryouga and I do is none of your business!"

	"FINE! I won't disturb you anymore." Ranma rebutted. 

	"FINE!" With that, Akane slammed the door.

	Ranma turned and saw Nabiki looking disapprovingly at him before she 
too closed the door. He sighed. <I'm a jerk. I couldn't do anything 
right. I'm a jerk.>

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

	"Yawn. Hmm, I wonder what time is it?" Ranma exclaimed and stared 
lazily at the clock. "Damn! I'm late!" He quickly got up and changed 
into his clothes in a frenzy. <Why didn't Akane wake me up?> Then, he 
realized. <She's still angry.> Without further delay, he rushed to 
school.

	<Argh! Where is Akane?> He had been punished to stand outside the 
classroom for being late. So, Ranma wasn't at his best of moods. He was 
dampened when he couldn't find Akane during lunch. His mood was further 
aggravated when he realized that he forgot to bring his lunch box. Then, 
came the 'rescue'. Shampoo had arrived and delivered her delicious ramen 
to him. Ukyou not to be beaten, also stuffed some of her okonomiyaki 
into his mouth. Then, they fussed over him. Akane, of course, captured 
this delicate moment. She left in a huff and Ranma was flattened again. 
When he regained consciousness, the school had just ended and he 
proceeded to find Akane.

	Maybe the kami began to pity him, for he finally found her. She was 
alone, very quiet, possibly deep in thought. He approached her silently. 

	"I'm sorry. I really am." He whispered in a voice that only she could 
hear.

	Akane was startled. She turned to face him as his words began to embed 
in her mind.

	He continued. "I shouldn't jump to conclusions. I was wrong. Please 
forgive me." 

	Akane was bewildered. When she looked into his eyes, they were filled 
with sincerity and maybe something more. <Is it love?> She couldn't 
believe it. 

	"I know you are still angry with me for that date. But I really didn't 
expect Ukyou and Shampoo to crash in. I was actually starting to enjoy 
the date. Why would I want anybody to disrupt it? I'm sorry that it 
ended up this way." He pleaded. 

	Akane looked at the man that she loved. She couldn't bring herself to 
remain angry with him. She especially liked the part when he said he 
enjoyed the date. <Does it mean something?> While she was pondering over 
the question, Ranma presented a bunch of red roses to her.

	"For you. Hope you like it." Ranma blushed.

	She smiled.

	He knew he was forgiven. <On to plan B: Ask her out.> "Akane, I want to 
make it up to you. I wonder if you want to go out tonight? We could have 
a nice dinner and go to the beach or disco like we had originally 
planned." Then, he waited expectantly for her answer.

	"Well, the flowers are beautiful. And you sound sincere enough, I 
forgive you. But you must never jump to conclusions like that again. 
Since I'm free tonight, I'll give you another chance." Akane answered 
deviously. All her anger and sadness had vanished to be replaced by joy 
and anxiousness. She was going out with her fianc�e, on a real date. 

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

	<I'm bored.> Ryouga hadn't step out of the Tendo dojo for days. In 
fact, he had seldom left his room, for fear that he would not find his 
way back. He had resolved not to leave Akane again. With his sense of 
direction, he couldn't trust himself to leave and be back in one day. 
But all this is rewarded when Akane comes home from school.  They had 
been very close lately. He would go to her room and study under her 
supervision. He didn't mind as long as he was near her. 

	His day was resolved to practicing his martial arts. But in between 
waiting for Akane to come back, he had plenty of time to think. He 
thought about the future, his future. Now that he has confessed to 
Akane, he wondered if she felt the same way about him. During these few 
days, their relationship had risen to a new level. The way she looked at 
him, the way she smiled had proved this. They also had spent most of 
their time with each other. <Does it mean that she is beginning to love 
me? She hadn't been talking to Ranma. She is with me all the time. Maybe 
she has fallen for me.> Ryouga brightened up. 

	He began to fantasize about the future. His marriage to Akane; they 
having kids; all in all, a happy family.  Life was great. He was eager 
for it to happen. Then, Ryouga realized that it could be a reality if he 
asked.

	"Ryouga, I need your help. I need someone to carry things." Nabiki said 
as she entered the room.

	"Huh, er, okay." Ryouga's thoughts were disrupted with Nabiki's 
intrusion. He got up and followed Nabiki.

	They got out of the house and went in the direction of the shopping 
mall. After a couple of twists and turns, Ryouga had lost sight of 
Nabiki. He had gone in search for her but was starting to get worried. 

	"Nabiki...Nabiki....Where are you!" Ryouga shouted and he managed to 
raise a couple of stares from the crowd. He looked around and saw a 
signboard in Chinese. <Oh No! I'm in China!> "NABIKI!"

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

	"That's easy. One down, three to go." Nabiki flipped through her 
address book and began dialing. "Hello. Ukyou, how much would you pay 
for first-hand information regarding Ranma?" She remained on the 
handset, and continued. "For five thousand yen, I will tell you where 
Ranma and Akane are having a date tonight. Is it a deal?" She got her 
response and grinned. "They are going to Hong Kong so that they can stay 
away from problems." She resumed. "Of course, I'm sure. Have I ever 
given you inaccurate information before? Come on, Ryouga and Akane went 
to France on their first date. This is nothing compared to that. But, 
you better hurry as the plane is leaving in 30 minutes." She smirked as 
she put down the phone. <This is fun.>

	"Hello. Shampoo, for five thousand yen, I tell you the whereabouts of 
Ranma and Akane. They are going on a date." Nabiki grinned.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
	
	Ranma looked at himself in the mirror. <Boy, I'm handsome.> He had worn 
the tux that his father had borrowed and was fidgeting with his bow tie. 
It was strangling him. He would have preferred his usual shirt and pants 
but Nabiki objected vehemently.   

	A knock was heard and Nabiki popped into the room. "I've sent the girls 
to Hong Kong and Ryouga is lost somewhere. So, remember to take care of 
my little sister." She gave a devious grin and disappeared as fast as 
she had appeared.
	
	Ranma smiled. With all obstacles away, he could truly enjoy himself 
tonight. He readjusted his bow tie for the last time and went to fetch 
Akane. As usual, she looked stunning. He froze. He knew Akane was very 
beautiful if she dressed up but that knowledge had not been helpful.

	Akane couldn't help but smile at the look of Ranma's face. She knew he 
was admiring her, not that she minded, she just doesn't want to give him 
the pleasure of doing so. "Would you stop leering at me?" 

	Ranma blushed. He quickly regained his wits and offered his hand to 
her. "Come, let's go." She took his hand and he gave her a slight 
squeeze. Then, they jointly left the dojo.
	
	The sun had just set. The evening breeze swept along. Leaves were 
falling, making a rustling sound. The birds were chirping as if they 
were singing a song just for them. The image of two figures began to 
come into focus. They were walking very closely to each other, joined by 
their hands.

	"We could have taken the cab." Ranma argued.

	"What? And miss this lovely sight." Akane answered.

	"Yeah, I must agree. It's really beautiful." Ranma smiled. He was 
reciprocated with one of her trademark smiles that dazzled him. He 
breathed in deeply the clean crisp air, clearly enjoying himself.

	"How far are we from the restaurant?" Akane asked sweetly.

	"Oh. I think we'll be there in another fifteen minutes. It is a small 
cozy restaurant. I hoped you don't mind." Ranma replied. He had wanted 
to bring her to a more well-known restaurant but it seemed that most 
restaurants had blacklisted him. It turned out that they were afraid of 
Ranma who brought property damage to wherever he went.

	"As long as it is not the Ucchan or the Nekohanten, it is all right." 
She laughed.

	They continued walking hand in hand into the sunset. Once they reached 
the restaurant, they seated and they made their orders. For a while, 
they didn't know what to say. Luckily, their dinner came quickly. 

	"I've been out almost everyday. I could hardly complete my homework." 
Akane complained.

	"Does this mean that we have to go back after dinner?" Ranma asked 
uneasily. 

	"No. Why did you look so uneasy? Did you plan something?" Akane smiled 
deviously. She was enjoying the night. She had never been so close to 
Ranma before and he seemed to be opening up to her.

	"Well, I was thinking of going to the disco. I've never been to one, so 
I thought we should try it. Besides, Nabiki said it would be fun." Ranma 
replied absently. <Oops, shouldn't mention Nabiki.>

	"Nabiki? Hmm, you seem to be on good terms with her. What else did she 
tell you?"   Akane uttered sarcastically. <I wonder if Nabiki has a role 
in this date.>

	"Uh, she said that it will release our stress." He refrained from 
saying the exact words. <And you can get close to her without talking. 
So, less chances of saying the wrong things.> 

	"That sounds nice. Okay." Akane smiled playfully at Ranma, relieving 
all the tension between them. 

	It was a peaceful evening. Nothing cropped up. Akane was enjoying 
herself. So, was Ranma. They had finished dinner and had adjourned to 
the disco next to the restaurant. The disco was playing loud music, 
deafening Akane and Ranma momentary. He tightly held her hand and led 
her through the crowd to sit on the chairs. They ordered some alcoholic 
beverages and proceeded to the dance floor. 

	"I didn't know you can dance." Akane shouted in Ranma's ears.

	Ranma stepped back suddenly. He was nearly deaf but refrained from 
saying anything that would be life threatening. "I didn't. I just 
observe the others and I imitate them."

	"Ranma, did you notice that bunch of girls is staring at you?" Akane 
pointed to the group of girls.

	Ranma turned to look at them. A couple of the girls gave a cry and 
fainted. He turned towards Akane and shrugged. "Well, I see a lot of 
other guys ogling at you."

	They turned around to observe the crowd. They had apparently become the 
center of attention or rather the object of desire. Many had stopped 
dancing to stare at them. Some were even drooling. A few tight slaps 
were heard in the background. 

	The music changed to a slow sentimental song. They began to slow dance. 
Akane put one of her hands on Ranma's shoulder and leaned closer to him. 
They fumbled a bit but being great martial artists, they quickly learned 
the steps by observing others. They had stopped talking. They just 
concentrated on the close proximity between the two bodies. Akane could 
even feel the heat radiating from Ranma's body. For a moment, she 
thought she heard his heartbeat. <What could possibly go wrong?> She 
thought.

	Ranma's heart had overworked itself. As they began to lean closer to 
each other, he started to blush. His mind was overwhelmed. He could 
smell the sweet scent of her hair and this was driving him crazy. He 
never thought that they would be so close. He reminded himself to thank 
Nabiki for her brilliant recommendation once he got home. For now, he 
just wanted to enjoy himself. <What could possibly go wrong?>

	"Ouch!" Ranma uttered as Akane accidentally stepped onto him. 

	"I'm sorry." Akane apologized. 

	They resumed dancing as Ranma forced a smile. Not long later, they lost 
their coordination and started stepping onto each other's feet.

	"Ouch!" Ranma declared for the fifth time. "I think we should take a 
rest." 

	Akane nodded. Her feet were hurting and Ranma had become less patient 
with her. She heard him grumble under his breath and she could see that 
others are laughing at them. Her mood had changed for the worse. 

	Ranma's mood was even worse. His feet hurt like hell and he was 
desperately bottling his angry insults at Akane. They returned to their 
table and slowly sipped their drinks. Akane had later excused herself to 
the washroom and when she came back, she was furious to find a couple of 
girls flirting with Ranma.

	<That is it!> Akane flared and reached into hammerspace for her mallet 
and gracefully swung it at Ranma. With a thud, he fell. The rest of the 
girls fled, praying for their lives. With as much dignity as she could 
muster, she paid and calmly walked out of the disco. <Baka! Jerk!> 

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

	<I must get back to Akane.> Ryouga thought. He had walked for hours, 
stopping only to ask for directions. In a distance, he saw a familiar 
figure. 

	"Akane!" Ryouga cried out. 

	"Ryouga?" Akane turned. <Why do I always see him after a fight with 
Ranma?>  "What are you doing here?"

	"Well, I got lost." was his embarrassed reply.  "Wow you look great.  
What's the occasion?"  Akane blushed at his compliment.  Seeing Akane 
was hesitant to talk, Ryouga pestered, "Come on, tell me."  Slowly Akane 
retold the details of the date, though it was biased.  (Instead of the 
girls in the disco flirting with Ranma and Ranma was trying desperately 
to get rid of them, it became Ranma was flirting with the girls and 
asking for their phone numbers.)  When she finished, she was angrier 
than before.  She wanted to vent her frustration and anger out on 
anything or anybody.  Seeing Akane's bad mood, Ryouga suggested going to 
the beach.  "It'll make you feel better," he promised.

	When they reached the beach, he gestured to the many stones and rocks 
scattered throughout and told Akane to throw one into the sea.  Akane 
raised an eyebrow.  It was not exactly an activity that was suitable 
while wearing an evening gown.  Further cajoling from Ryouga persuaded 
her to throw a stone into the ocean.  "No, use your strength.  Imagine 
that the sea is Ranma and hit him with all you got."  

	Akane nodded.  She picked up a fist-sized rock but dropped it back 
down.  She walked a bit before stopping at a large boulder.  Ryouga's 
eyes bulged at the sight of Akane lifting up a boulder that was the size 
of a ten-year-old child and heaving it into the sea.  Splash.  Water 
sprayed onto Akane's clothes but she didn't seem to care.  (Luckily, 
Ryouga was too far inland for the seawater to spray him.)  Grinning at 
Ryouga, she shouted, "I feel so much better!  Thanks!"  Then she picked 
up a smaller boulder and sent it splashing in to meet the fishes.  
Minutes later, the beach had many holes of various sizes.  All of it was 
Akane's handiwork.  Exhausted, she sat down on a sole surviving rock and 
motioned for Ryouga to join her.

	"Argh!  He really pisses me off sometimes," said Akane while throwing a 
tiny stone into the sea.  All she could find are pebbles now.

	Ryouga patted her hand and replied, "He pisses me off too.  But you 
shouldn't stay mad at him, he ain't worth it."

	"Well, what about you?  You chased him to the ends of the world for 
what?  To seek revenge for grabbing the last piece of bread?" countered 
Akane.

	"Hey, that's different.  It was FOOD!  The most delicious curry bread 
in Japan." exaggerated Ryouga with a smile.  

	Akane laughed.  "Arigato, Ryouga.  You could always make me smile.  If 
it wasn't for you, I would probably still be fuming away."

	"I'll always be there for you, Akane, you know that."  After a minute 
of silence, Ryouga continued, "Do you know why I always come to Nerima 
and challenge Ranma?"

	"To seek revenge," replied Akane immediately.

	"Well, that's part of it.  But challenging Ranma also gives me an 
excuse to see you."  Akane blushed.  "These few days with you are like a 
dream come true. I've never been happier. For all my life, I've wandered 
around never able to fit in. But I find that I belong here with you. I'm 
no longer the Hibiki Ryouga who lives for revenge.  Instead I live for 
your love. Your smile sends my heart soaring to the heavens, and your 
frown banishes me to hell. Do you know how much power you have over me? 
I would brave through anything for your love.  I love you so much that I 
can't imagine a future without you.  Will you... will you spend the rest 
of your life with me?"  Ryouga grasped her hands and held his breath.

	"I... I don't know what to say." was Akane's shocked reply.

	"You probably think I'm rushing things.  I know we've only dated twice 
but haven't those times been truly wonderful?  I'm not asking you to 
make a decision now, just think about it."
	
	Akane nodded.

	"Now, lets go home," said Ryouga.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Dictionary:

kawaikune = uncute


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