Note:  This is the sequel to Solitude and Beginning, those fics must be
read to understand this one!
PM Productions Presents
A Phillip Masters Fanfic
Sensitive

     Ranma amused her.  Akane stared at the blackboard as the teacher
scribbled some vague quote from a long forgotten poet.  Out of the
corner of her eye she could see her fiancee throwing glances in her
direction periodically.  She looked down at her note paper and saw that
she had absent-mindedly drawn a heart upon it, with the initials R and A
in bold English lettering inside.  She giggled and folded the paper in
half.  She wanted to see how long Ranma would take to comprehend just
what she was feeling.  
     The bell rang and she rose from her desk, picking up her books and
sliding the paper into one of her folders.  The one with small kittens
on it, a place guaranteed to be Ranma-proof.  Lunch was next, but she
felt the need to wash her hands before going.  She made her way through
the human wave of students to the women's restroom.  A wall size mirror
greeted her, her reflection appearing as bright and chipper as she felt.
As she stared into her own eyes she found it hard to believe that just
the previous night she was pulling her way across the floor, smashed
beyond recognition, and bawling her eyes out over an empty house.  Not
just an empty house, but an empty heart.  One that had been denied for
way too long.  
     Akane quickly washed her hands, and headed toward the cafeteria.
She didn't want Ranma going off and eating with some other girl before
she arrived.  The Furinkan cafeteria was a place of untold legends.
Great battles were waged, for pork buns, pickles, and of course the
elusive cutlet sandwich.  Those who made it first were the supreme
victors, those who stragled were left with scrapings off the winners'
boots.
     She wouldn't have caught herself dead in such a contest.  She, like
so many other intelligent, less adventurous students brought bento and
gorged in peace.  Or, if you were one certain pig-tailed martial artist,
you constantly relied on the kindness of fiancees.  Well, this afternoon
Akane would have none of it.  If he was unsatisfied with his own packed
lunch, she would gladly sacrifice her own.  That's what a wife did,
right?
     "Yo, Akane!"  Ranma ran up to her and grinned.  "Why are you
standing there, just blushing like that?"
     She took on an angry expression and shouted, "Because, jerk!"  She
grinned lightly as he winced.  She finished in a softer tone, "I was
thinking about you."
     Once again, she could just see Ranma's brain functions all
red-line, overload, and shut down.  He became slightly less than human
as he blinked in response.
     "Are you still hungry?" she asked, holding out her lunch to him.
     He nodded almost imperceptably and took the bento from her.  He
opened it and looked down at it blankly.  Then, he blinked again.  He
looked up, concerned, "What are you going to eat, Akane?"
     She shrugged, it was unimportant.  Missing one meal wouldn't kill
her, and if it made Ranma happy, why not?  
     He handed the bento back and shook his head.  "I won't eat your
only food, Akane."
     Akane looked down at the assortment of lunch items before her, and
her stomach growled.  Her face grew warm, and she knew she was lit up
like a stop light.  "How about we share it then?" she asked quietly.
     Click.  "S... s... share?"  It seemed that Ranma was in his startup
phase again.  She had to break him of that, and soon.  She wasn't sure
she could stand much more of his idiocy at her affections.  
     "Y... y... yes, share." she stuttered, grinning.  "I'm sure your
mother taught you that before you started your trip."
     "B... but I threw my chopsticks away." Ranma said, as though he had
been searching for any reply that could get him away from the current
situation.
     "We can both use this pair."  She held up the plastic sticks.  It
was her personal pair, and had her name etched in kanji along the sides.
She picked up a pickle and poked it at him, like a mother might try and
coax her child.  "Come on.. you know you want it."
     Ranma's face seemed to be going through a struggle of some sort.
Most likely between whether or not more food was worth the consequence.
Obviously his stomach won, as he took the pickle with his teeth.  He
smiled a small smile that made it all worth it.
     "What in the hell is going on here!?"
     Both Akane and Ranma lept into the air.  Akane scrambled to keep a
hold on the bento, and just barely kept it level.  They both turned
their heads toward the screamer.
     "Ukyou!  You nearly scared the life out of me!" Akane cried, most
preturbed at being inturrupted.  
     Ukyou gave her a look that would cause a large bear to cringe in
terror.  "Scared the life out of you?!  *I* scared *you*?!"  She whirled
on Ranma, and he took a step back slightly.  "And you!  What are you
going eating damn near from her hand like that!?  Have you no pride?"
     Akane stepped between him and Ukyou and glared at her.  "Don't yell
at him!  He can do whatever he damn well pleases!"
     Ukyou came up into her face and began an impromptu staring contest.
"He's my fiancee, and you well know it!  I want you to stay away from
him!  Bad enough you live in the same house!"
     Akane smiled and snorted, "Correction, we live in the same house
*together*!  And he is most certainly not your fiancee!"
     A small gleam appeared in Ukyou's eye and she quickly retorted,
"All right, then who's fiancee is he?"
     "Mine!" she shot back without a seconds thought.  
     Ukyou took a hesitant step backward and the entire school yard
became deathly quiet.  The birds took back their dominion and happily
filled in the void of noise with their own light banter.  
     Akane turned and looked at everyone, who was staring right back at
her.  Yuka and Sayuri especially had looks of absolute shock on their
faces.  Ranma was almost staring at her, but seemed more to be staring
*through* her.  She smiled at him and went back to looking at the crowd.
"That's right!" she yelled as she circled around, "He's *my* fiancee,
you hear!"  She stopped facing Ukyou, "So, *you* just butt out!"
     There was a small amount of clapping from one corner of the yard,
this grew quickly into an all-out applause.  Akane held her head high
and stared Ukyou down the best she could.
     "Silence!"
     Everyone in the yard, excepting Ranma, turned to the newcomer.
     "Kunou!  You stay out of this, or I swear I will hurt you so bad
you'll have to write with your tongue!" Akane screamed.
     Tatewaki's hauty and self-absorbed look flickered for the briefest
of moments.  However, it reasserted itself with all due strength and he
stepped forward into the circle of students that had formed.  "Now, now,
my beautious Tendo Akane... I see that wretch Saotome has finally
brought his evil spell to fruition."  He brought his bokken to bear on a
still stunned Ranma.
     Now, I suppose it would be a good time to tell you that Ranma's
mind had gone through some hideous trauma over the passing of the day
thus far.  It was sinking in a gunky ooze that promised to swallow him
up completely unless freed somehow.  At the sound of a challenge, no
matter how it was made, latched on to his consciousness like Happosai to
a naked woman.  
     Akane was beginning to psyche herself up for a fight, however a
movement to her left made her stop.  Ranma was quickly advancing toward
Kunou with a determined look on his face.
     "You want a fight, Kunou?  Huh?  You want it?"  He walked right up
to the upperclassman and looked him right in the eye.  "Come on.  You,
me, here, now."
     Kunou let one hand off his bokken and brushed it through his hair.
"Ah, I see the vile Saotome has not received enough due punishment from
the might that is the Blue Thunder."  A flash of lightning split the
clear blue sky and thunder rolled across the field.
     "*How* does he do that?" Ukyou asked.
     Akane shrugged, who knew with Kunou.  
     Ranma was entirely unfazed.  "Are you going to fight or talk,
because if you're going to talk I'm just going to beat on you to relieve
my frustration, and it won't be as quick and as painless as a straight
fight would be."
     Kunou smirked, "Very well, I accept..."
     Before the mighty kendo artist could blink, Ranma grabbed his
bokken, and launched an arc kick straight over it and into Kunou's face.  
     The Blue Thunder decided in his infinite wizdom that it had been a
long day and a nap was in order.  
     Ranma looked down at his defeated adversary for a moment, then
threw his gaze to the sky.  "Oh, why do you send me such incompetents?!"
he bellowed, then fell to his knees, looking dejected.
     "I think you drove Ranma-honey over the edge, sugar." Ukyou
commented.
     Akane looked at her, and found she wasn't angry anymore.  "I was
just trying to be sensitive for a change."
     Ukyou looked at her strangely.  "What's gotten into you?"
     She turned her gaze back out to stare at Ranma, who was now clawing
softly at the dirt.  "He has."
     Ukyou sighed, "I hear that."
     And life goes on...
END
Another one done!  Wow, didn't even think I'd write this many.  Wonder
how long this'll go?  Only as long as inspiration and will drive me to
it, and really have no control of at least one of those.  Of course,
motivation never hurts ^_^.  If you want to see more, as usual, please
send comments and the like here.
Thanks for reading,
PMasters (10-7-98)    

"I'm only holding back the rain.  So many raindrops, so many pains.  I
want to find my train someday.  As seasons go past the station." - Tokyo
Babylon OVA 1
/ E-mail at:  PhilMasters@webtv.net /
Web page pending use of a computer!
"...has anyone ever used something alive for a coat of arms?" - The
Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea (Mishima Yukio, 1965) / 
"You see, what you call a cat, we use as armor." - Rune (El-Hazard,
1994)