A Kiss to the Victor
December 9, 1999
A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by Hound & Cabbit Productions (David "Fido"
Lindquist [fido@rma.edu] and June "KaraOhki" Geraci
[karaohki@snet.net])
Ranma 1/2 was created by Rumiko Takahashi. We're just borrowing
her characters for a little while.
Earlier chapters can be read at
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/rothko/228
Chapter Three
The kiss had a lot going against it. First, in was in front of the
entire student population. Second, Ranma had NO idea how to kiss a
girl. Finally, Akane's breath still smelled like chloroform, but to
Ranma, it didn't matter. To him, it was...nice. Very nice and VERY
memorable. A small part of him couldn't believe that he couldn't
remember the kiss he'd given her while in Neko-ken.
----------------
As Ranma's lips touched hers, Akane almost pushed him away. Then she
realized that she didn't want to. How many times had she wondered
what it would feel like to have Ranma kiss her? The Neko-ken kiss
didn't count--he didn't even remember it--but this one did. She was
about to reach up to embrace him when she realized that they were
kissing in front of an audience.
Over the cheering crowd, Akane thought she could hear her father
yelling "The houses will soon be wed!"
*OH NO!* she thought. *What will we...* Then she remembered the
tape. As he pulled away from her, Akane quickly slapped it over
Ranma's mouth.
He looked confused, and she could have sworn, hurt.
"Ranma, please," she whispered, pleading with her eyes. "Trust me."
As the curtain closed, they could still hear the crowd cheering
wildly.
Ranma, the tape still over his mouth, extended his hand and helped
Akane out of the coffin.
Then they were nearly knocked down when their fathers charged them.
"Wonderful! It's about..."
They both stopped when they noticed the tape over Ranma's mouth.
"Boy," Genma said. "Why do you have tape over your mouth?"
"Mmmph," said Ranma.
"Of course he has tape over his mouth!" Akane said matter-of-factly.
"Whatever gave you the idea that I'd let him kiss me?"
Soun's face fell, and he started to cry.
"WAAH! NOW THE FAMILIES WON'T BE JOINED!"
Ranma tore the tape off his mouth, winced, then yelled: "Would you two
give it a REST, already!" He then started to stomp off the stage.
"W...where are you going?" Genma asked.
"To change and get out of here!" he replied.
As he stormed off, the director walked up to him.
"We won!" he said happily.
"Whoopee," Ranma replied, his voice dripping with anger. Without
another word, Ranma left the stage, leaving behind a very confused
Akane.
---------------
Akane gathered her things, and opened the door of her dressing room.
She jumped when she saw Ranma standing there.
"Ranma," she whispered.
"I've been waiting for you, Akane."
"Why?"
"Let's get going."
Ranma was quiet until they left the school grounds behind them, and
had reached the path by the canal. Then he stopped walking, and put
down his bag. Akane put her bag beside his, and waited for him to
speak.
Ranma held out his hand, and Akane could see that he was holding the
tape she'd put over his mouth. All he said was: "Why?"
Akane's reply wasn't what he expected.
"Do you want to get married?"
"WHAT!?" he yelled out in surprise. "Of course not! It would be a
disaster! Shampoo and Kodachi would be trying to kill you. Cologne and
Kuno would be coming after me! And I don't even want to THINK what
getting Tofu and Kasumi in the same room for a wedding ceremony would
be like! Besides, we're too young!"
"What do you think our fathers would have done if they knew we HAD
kissed?"
Ranma thought for a second, then let out a sigh.
"They'd have had the wedding ready by the time we got out of the
theater."
Ranma was quiet for a few seconds, and then he smiled at Akane.
"Good thinking. Thanks."
They said nothing for a few minutes as they walked along. Ranma had
jumped on top of the fence and kept pace with Akane. Then Akane broke
the silence.
"Ranma?"
"Yeah?" he replied.
"What did you mean by 'No I can't...not any more.'"
He stopped for a moment to gather his thoughts, then turned to her.
"I can't pretend that I...I..."
"Like me?" Akane finished his sentence. She had completely
misunderstood him.
"No! I can't pretend that I don't like you, because I do!"
Akane just stared. She couldn't speak for a full minute.
"You l-like me?"
"Yeah."
"Then why did make a big production about not wanting to kiss me?" she
responded.
Ranma almost threw an insult at her but caught himself. He stopped and
looked down at her.
"Because," the martial artist said. "I didn't want our first kiss to
be like that! Just some way to win a contest!" Akane started to say
something but Ranma cut her off. "I wanted it to be special. That's
all."
Ranma shoved his hands in his pockets, slumped his shoulders and
resumed walking.
Akane stood there, a look of shock on her face. Then it changed to a
small smile. She turned and caught up with him, making sure to keep
pace.
"You know what," she said simply, "This kiss doesn't count either."
TRIP...SPLASH!
Akane turned just in time to see Ranma fall off the fence. She ran to
it, concerned.
"Ranma?!?"
"That," a wet, female Ranma replied as she sat in the canal, "was sooo
uncute!"
Akane couldn't help but giggle. By the time she recovered, Ranma had
already jumped back over the fence. Akane was still smiling, whereas
Ranma looked like a drowned cat. A few seconds later, Ranma broke the
silence.
"That wasn't funny, you know."
"I'm sorry, Ranma," Akane replied. "I couldn't help it."
"Okay, now what did you mean that this kiss didn't count either?"
"Well, it was part of the play, right?"
Ranma nodded her head in agreement.
"If an actor and actress kiss on stage it's part of their
performance," Akane continued, as she watched the comprehension dawn
on her fiance's face.
"So that kiss didn't count!" Ranma said, finishing Akane's sentence.
Akane watched as Ranma's face transformed from irritation to relief,
then to joy.
"All right!" Ranma said.
Akane couldn't help but start to giggle again, but then stopped
suddenly.
"Ranma?"
Ranma was still smiling when she replied. "Yeah?"
"Does that mean you WANT to kiss me for real?"
Ranma's smile vanished instantly. It was immediately replaced with a
sick and confused look.
"Not right now! Jeeze, we're both girls!" she blurted out. Then
Ranma mumbled, "and you call ME a pervert!"
Akane almost swung at the martial artist but stopped.
"I don't mean that!" she said, a note of anger in her voice. "I mean
when you're a guy again."
Ranma looked into Akane's eyes, even though she had to look up to do
it. She bit her lip as if trying to decide something. A few seconds
later, a look washed over her face. The same look she had at the
play, just before he'd kissed her.
Ranma opened her mouth to speak, and was interrupted by a voice from
behind.
"Juliet-baby! I'm ready for my kiss!"
They both turned to see Happosai bounding towards them, his lips in a
pucker.
"THE PLAY IS OVER, YOU PERVERT!!" Akane yelled out.
"I know!" he replied. "I just want to practice for next year!"
He never saw the fists that launched him towards the sky.
Ranma and Akane both rubbed their knuckles.
"Man," Ranma said. "His head must be getting harder."
"Yeah," Akane replied.
They looked at each other again, but it was too late. Whatever Ranma
would have said was gone now. The moment had passed.
"Let's go home," Akane said.
Ranma just nodded, then the two headed down the street.
---------------
They could hear the noise coming from the house before it was in
sight.
"Are they having a party or something?" Akane asked.
"Sounds like it," replied Ranma.
Hands grabbed them as they opened the door.
Ranma was pulled aside by his father, who dumped a kettle of hot water
over him.
"I expected you'd come home in this condition. We have to get you
upstairs and changed."
At the same time, Soun and Kasumi were pulling Akane toward the
stairs.
"You have to get changed, Akane!"
Ranma and Akane planted their feet and yelled at their families in
unison: "What the heck is going on here?"
Their question was answered by the appearance of a priest in the room.
"Is this the young couple who are going to be married?"
"M-MARRIED??!!"
As Ranma shouted, he pulled himself free from his father's grasp.
Akane had escaped from Kasumi and Soun's hold. They stood close
together, staring at the family group in front of them. It was at
that point that they realized that all of the members of the Drama
Club were there, standing with the little round man Ranma had seen
backstage.
"You kissed girl, you won prize! Now you see China!"
For a moment, the threat of a wedding was forgotten. All Ranma could
concentrate on was that trip.
"Yes, when do we leave?"
The man looked confused. "Leave? You seeing China now!"
"Whaaat?" Ranma leaped forward, fists clenched. "You wanna explain
that?"
Soun jumped between them. "It seems we were mistaken, Son. The prize
wasn't a trip to China like we thought, but a chance to meet Mr. Li
here."
"Please, call me China," the actor said.
Ranma sagged. He and Akane had gone through hell for nothing. Then
his father walked up and slapped him on the back.
"Too bad about the trip, boy. When we found out about the mix-up, we
decided to reward the both of you with this wedding!"
"Then why did you have me booked a week in advance?" the priest asked.
"Um..." the elder Saotome replied, as a large sweatdrop formed at the
back of his head.
"That's not important right now," Soun added, grabbing his daughter's
arm. Genma took advantage of the confusion in the room to grab Ranma's
arm again.
"Right," Genma added. "Let's go!"
The both of them walked forward but were suddenly stopped when their
children didn't move. The two also felt something else.
"Is your hand getting warm, Saotome?" Soun asked his future in law.
"Yes," he replied. "As a matter of fact, it is."
They simultaneously decided it might be wise to find out what the
source of the heat was.
Turning around, they both were stunned to see their children glowing.
On top of that, their heads began to grow at the same time.
"ARE YOU NUTS? the enlarged head of Ranma yelled.
"WE ARE NOT GETTING MARRIED!!" shouted Akane.
None of them noticed that the priest had fainted, clutching his prayer
book against him. The four of them had other concerns at the moment.
Ranma and Akane with convincing their fathers to call off the wedding;
Soun and Genma merely trying to survive their effort with at least
some dignity intact.
However, this was the first time they had ever been exposed to their
children's version of the 'Demon Head Attack.' Add that to the fact
that neither one of them was very brave to begin with. The result was
predictable.
"Waaah!" yelled Soun. "I'm sorrrry!"
Genma folded once his friend's support had been removed. "I guess...I
guess we could put this off for a little while."
"A LITTLE????" their children both roared, their battle auras
flaring at the same time.
At those words, Soun and Genma reverted to their basic line of
defense. Soun fainted, while Genma went into 'cute panda' mode.
Kasumi stepped forward and spoke to the guests.
"I'm sorry. The party appears to be over."
The guests looked at her, at each other, and shrugged their shoulders.
"I should have known this wouldn't work," said Hiroshi.
"That's not what you said when we were on our way here," replied
Daisuke.
One by one, the guests left. The priest recovered consciousness and
followed them out. As he passed Kasumi, she heard him mumbling a
prayer.
The silence in the house after all the guests were gone was rather
unnerving. Kasumi got some trash bags, and began to clean up the mess.
Ranma gave his father one more dirty look and joined her, followed by
Akane. Soun and Genma, after they recovered, retreated to their shogi
board. Nabiki went upstairs, covered her bedroom window, and took out
what she needed to begin developing the pictures she took at the play.
She hadn't quite finished when Kasumi called her down to dinner, where
everyone stared at each
other while they ate.
Akane finished her meal rather quickly, then stood and looked at her
father.
"I'm tired. I'm going to bed."
Soun looked as though he wanted to say something to Akane, but her
expression prevented him from opening his mouth.
Shortly after Akane departed, Ranma excused himself and went upstairs.
Kasumi looked at him with concern: Ranma appeared tired and somewhat
depressed.
As soon as Ranma closed his door, he made a beeline for the window.
Even though he was exhausted, there was too much he had to work out in
his mind. Way too much.
Hopping out, he quickly climbed to the roof.
*This,* he thought, as he sat down, *has to be the worst night of my
life.*
*No trip to China. No cure. I've been ambushed, buried, tied up,
insulted, drowned, almost blown up and came very close to getting
married.*
He instinctively made a fist in response to the next part.
*And every bit of it was for nothing.*
Ranma then smiled. *Well, almost nothing,* he thought, while images
of his kiss with Akane ran through his head. It was still good, even
if it didn't count.
Sitting quietly for a few minutes, Ranma then turned his thoughts to
their walk home and how it ended.
"Does that mean you want to kiss me for real?" he remembered Akane
asking.
If they hadn't been interrupted, he would have given her his
answer.
"Yes," he found himself replying then, sighed.
*and I just missed my chance to tell her...again. This ALWAYS happens
to us. Every time we start to get close, I chicken out, or somebody
gets in the way.*
A phrase came to Ranma's mind--"He who hesitates is lost."
Ranma couldn't believe it when that saying popped into his head. It
was a piece of advice his father had given him and to his surprise, it
actually made sense. Perfect sense.
Ranma cast a glance at Akane's window.
*Her light's still on,* he thought. *No time like right now, I
guess.*
He then got up and made his way to her window.
---------------
Akane sat at her desk, trying to read. She'd gone to bed, but had
been unable to even close her eyes, and had given it up as a waste of
effort.
She hadn't read more than a page or two when she was startled by the
sound of rapping on her window. When she looked up, Ranma was hanging
upside down from the gutter. Akane put down her book and slid the
window open.
"What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you, Akane. May I come in?"
"Okay."
She moved away from the desk, and allowed Ranma to climb in.
Once Ranma got inside, he was assailed by a wave of nervousness.
Unable to even look at Akane, he hung his head and twiddled his
fingers.
Akane looked thoroughly confused. Then Ranma raised his eyes to hers
with a look of determination that almost frightened her.
"I never got to answer that question you asked me."
Akane couldn't say a word. She wasn't sure if she WANTED Ranma to
answer her.
Before she could say anything, Ranma continued. "I do want to kiss
you. You're the only girl I've ever wanted to kiss."
Ranma placed his hand under Akane's chin and tilted her head upwards
so quickly that Akane didn't have time react. He moved in close to her
mouth, then stopped. For a second, it looked like he was going to back
away. Then Ranma slowly brushed his lips against Akane's.
Any doubts the two may have had crumbled. Ranma had no idea when his
arms went around Akane, or hers around him. All he did know was that
it felt wonderful.
---------------
*What am I doing!?!* Akane thought as she kissed Ranma. *He...he...*
It was at that moment she realized what had occurred. *This is our
first kiss. Our first REAL kiss! And...and...I like it.* She felt a
tear run down her face.
The faint sound of footsteps in the hallway made them pull apart.
Akane saw the look of contentment on Ranma's face, and couldn't ignore
the warm feeling inside of her. She started to smile, but stopped
when she saw his face change.
Ranma put his hand to Akane's cheek, and wiped away the tear.
"A-Akane? Oh man! I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!"
*Hurt me?* she thought. Then she remembered the tears on her face.
"I-I'll leave you alone," he said as he started to go to the window.
"No! Don't go!" she almost shouted, then grabbed his arm. "You didn't
hurt me, Ranma."
"Then why-?"
"I-I don't know," she replied, looking terribly unsure. "I'm just so
confused."
Ranma reached out and caressed Akane's cheek. He left his hand there,
and for a moment she thought he would kiss her again. Then he
withdrew it, leaving Akane feeling slightly disappointed.
"So was I," he said. "Good night, Akane."
After that he turned around and opened the window, but before he
climbed out he looked back at her, smiled then spoke.
"Oh, by the way...that one counted."
As her fiance left, Akane sank down onto her bed, her hand to her
lips.
*Yes,* she thought. *I guess it did.*
---------------
"These are nice," Nabiki said as she removed the last picture from the
developing fluid. "And this one looks..."
The middle Tendo daughter stopped when she examined it more closely.
*No way!* she thought, still staring at it. Then an evil smile spread
across her lips.
"This," she said, "was worth the cost of the telephoto lens."
Taking great care, Nabiki clipped it up to the line with the other
pictures then cleaned her hands. Once she was finished, Nabiki
started to walk to the door.
"Now, to make some calls."
As she left her room, Nabiki took one last look at the photograph. It
was a close up of Ranma and Akane, their lips touching in a fairly
passionate kiss. It even showed the tape stuck to Akane's hand, not
her fiance's lips like she claimed. Nabiki smirked.
"A lot of calls."
---------------
Ranma quietly crept into his bedroom window. The one thing he didn't
want to do is disturb his father, who was asleep on the futon and
snoring loudly. It wasn't out of respect for his father that made
Ranma cautious but fear that he would let slip what had happened
between him and Akane.
The martial artist couldn't help but smile as he replayed the kiss in
his mind. It had been almost perfect. Except for what happened
afterwards. Ranma nearly broke down when he saw Akane crying. He was
so sure that he'd hurt her, but Akane's reactions said otherwise.
The thing that had convinced him that Akane was sincere was the way
she stood. No quivering rage. No tensing to attack. Not even a hint
of danger coming from her. Just confusion and...desire?
Ranma had never attempted to use his skills to figure out something
like that. Then again, he had never wanted or needed to use them like
that either.
Ranma walked over to his futon, undressed rapidly, and lay down.
*Maybe if I had used them that way,* he thought as he stared at the
ceiling, *I wouldn't have Kodachi and Shampoo chasing me.*
Ranma frowned slightly at the thought of the other two women who
wanted him. If things went the way he wanted them to, neither one of
them were going to be happy. He also knew that if the past was any
indication, neither of them would hesitate to attempt to "remove"
their competition--Akane. A hint of fear crept into him at the
thought of Akane being hurt. The fear turned to anger. Nobody hurt
HIS girl.
He was so surprised at the thought that he sat up. *My girl? MY
girl? Damn straight she's mine!*
Ranma lay down again and settled himself beneath the quilt. For the
first time in months he felt no confusion or doubt. He knew what he
wanted. Now he had to figure out what to do about it.
---------------
*Our first kiss,* Akane thought as she lay in bed. She still felt the
warmth from it, despite the fact that it had happened a few hours ago.
However, the kiss had brought up a problem her mind was having a very
hard time sorting out.
*But how do I feel about him?*
Letting out a sigh, she got out of bed and began to pace around
the room. Casting a glance at her desk, she thought about writing down
what happened in her diary. She immediately dismissed it as being too
dangerous. While Akane had gone to great lengths to keep her diary a
secret, she suspected that Nabiki knew about it.
*And if my sister were to ever find out about this...* She shivered,
and hugged herself.
*Why can't I figure this out?! * Akane thought as she resumed pacing
the floor .* He's always insulting me, makes fun of my cooking,
constantly flirting with other girls...but that kiss.*
Akane stopped in front of her bed and sat down.
*No, it's more than that. It's the way he acted tonight. Also, what
he said to me--that I'm the only girl he ever wanted to kiss...*
Akane wiped a tear from her eye.
*Did he really mean it?*
Then she remembered what Ranma had done at the first rehearsal.
*He told Kuno not to touch me...but he refused to let Kuno tell him
that he couldn't. Was he thinking about kissing me back then? Or was
this all part of a big plan so that he could steal a kiss from me?*
*That's it! All of this was just some perverted plan of his to kiss
me!* Akane's anger began to build but it just as quickly left at her
next thought. *Then why did he say he liked me after the play?*
She stifled a yawn then shook her head.
*And if he is telling the truth...* she asked herself, just before she
lay down and closed her eyes, *how do I feel about him?*
---------------
Akane slept poorly that night. It also didn't straighten out any of
the confusion she felt over Ranma. The only thing she was able to
figure out however, was how to treat him.
*I'm going to treat Ranma the same as I ever have,* she thought.
*Except that I'll try not to hit him if he does something stupid.*
With that settled in her mind, she went downstairs to breakfast. Ranma
was already eating, and she sat down beside him.
All of Akane's good intentions were swept away when Ranma grabbed her
hand under the table and squeezed it. She almost shouted in surprise
when he did but was able to hold it in--barely.
*Has he gone nuts?* she thought, casting a quick glance at everyone
else at the table. *What if one of them saw?*
Then she felt him let go of her hand. Akane took a quick glance at her
fiance. He wasn't even looking at her.
"Akane?"
Kasumi's voice was like a bolt of lightning to Akane. She immediately
jumped up, causing the table to shift around and most of the food to
spill.
"Hey! My clothes!" Nabiki shouted. "They're ruined!"
Akane looked over at her sister. "I-I'm sorry, Nabiki!" she
stammered. "Kasumi startled me."
Everyone at the table stared at her in disbelief, causing Akane to
blush at the unwanted attention.
"Well, she did!"
"Akane," Soun said, "are you all right?"
"Of course I'm all right! There's nothing wrong with me! Nothing at
all! Nope, I'm fine!"
"Then why are you rambling on?" Nabiki asked as she tried to wipe some
of the mess off her school uniform.
"I AM NOT RAMBLING!" she shouted.
"Sure you're not."
Akane glared at her sister, then started to eat her breakfast.
*This is all Ranma's fault.*
However, even though it was, a small part of her didn't mind.
Ranma kept his hands to himself as Akane quickly finished her
breakfast. However, she felt him staring at her. She steadfastly
refused to meet his eyes, afraid of what her reaction would be. Nabiki
hadn't even come back downstairs when she left for school. She was
almost out the door when she heard Ranma shout "Hey! wait up!"
Akane couldn't keep from blushing slightly at the sound of his voice.
A part of her wanted to run away as fast as she could. She also wanted
to wait. The part of her that wanted to
wait won.
"You weren't thinking of leaving without me, were you?" asked Ranma.
Akane couldn't think of an answer.
"We almost always walk to school together! What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?! You scared me half to death with that stunt in there!
What if our fathers had seen it?"
"Stunt?" Ranma replied, his face a mask of confusion.
"You squeezed my hand!"
"So? You looked like you could use it," he said.
Akane was able to fight off the urge to throw her arms around him for
being concerned about her.
"W-well give me some warning next time!"
"How am I supposed to do that? I can't tell you in front of everybody
that I'm gonna squeeze your hand!"
"Umm...but...ahhh. OHHH! YOU IDIOT!"
Akane then turned and stalked off toward school.
*Man, Pop was right,* Ranma thought as he watched her go. *There's no
way to figure out women!*
---------------
*I can't believe I'm going to be late because of those two,* thought
Nabiki as she checked herself in the mirror. *What could have gotten
into them? My sister klutzes out and Ranma doesn't even breathe hard!*
Nabiki put the thought aside as she grabbed her books and took off for
school as fast as she could run. This problem needed some
investigation--later. Later came more quickly than she expected when
Nabiki rounded a corner and nearly knocked Hikaru Gosunkugi
off his feet.
"Sorry! I didn't see you."
Gosunkuji just shrugged his shoulders. He looked a little more
depressed than usual. Nabiki started to walk away, but something made
her turn around.
"Are you all right?"
"No."
He looked at the ground for a moment, and then directly at Nabiki.
"You really want to know?"
"Not real--" Nabiki started to reply, but he cut her off.
"I will never win Akane away from that Accursed Saotome!!"
*Accursed?* Nabiki thought. *Gos has been hanging around Kuno far too
long.*
"He has won her heart!"
*Whoa,* she thought. *What in the world would make him think that?*
"What makes you think that? Do you have any proof?"
"I was there for all of the rehearsals. I was there when Kuno tried
to grab your sister, and Ranma told him to keep his hands off her. I
heard when Kuno told Ranma to do the same, and Ranma refused to
promise."
"He WHAT?"
"He told Kuno that anything he did with his fiancee was their
business, not his."
Nabiki staggered, and came close to falling over. It was a rare thing
for Ranma to call Akane his fiancee...usually it was "the tomboy" or
something equally insulting.
*The photo isn't enough. I'll need more ammunition if I'm going to
make some kind of profit on the secret my sister and her fiance are
keeping from us. How can I use what Gosunkugi just told me?*
Nabiki was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she walked away from
Gosunkugi without saying goodbye. A part of her was glad she held off
telling anyone else about what she found in the pictures. The
photograph in her purse would have to stay there
for now.
*Why would he say that?* she thought, *Was he just jerking Kuno-baby's
chain or was it the truth?*
She pondered that question for a while, then smiled.
"Well whatever is going on, I'll find out about it!"
---------------
Akane wanted some peace and quiet so badly that she considered leaving
school. She needed to think, and thinking was impossible with all of
her friends bothering her. It was even worse than it had been before
the play.
"Oh Akane! He kissed you! Tell me what it was like!"
"I told you it would be romantic if Ranma got the role. Why wouldn't
you believe me?"
Those remarks and other similar ones had Akane close to the screaming
point.
The only good thing about it was that Ranma seemed to be getting the
same treatment from his friends.
Finally, Akane decided she'd had enough.
"What goes on between Ranma and me is none of your business! Don't
you have anything better to do?"
The whole room fell silent as Akane's friends backed away. They didn't
expect this kind of reaction from her.
Unfortunately, she'd said it a little too loudly.
*Oh no!* Akane was about to explain what she meant when she saw Ranma
staring at her from the other end of the room. It was impossible for
her to miss the look in his eyes. The same look of affection he gave
her at the play.
*Don't look at me like that!* she thought, trying desperately to gain
control of her emotions. *Darn it! Why can't I think clearly when you
look at me like that!*
"AKANE TENDO!"
Silently thankful for the distraction, Akane, along with everyone
else, turned to the source of the shout. Standing on the windowsill
was a woman. Her face and body was shrouded in a black cloak.
"How dare you kiss my beloved Ranma's lips!"
"YOUR RANMA?!?!" Akane yelled back. The confusion she felt was
instantly replaced by a growing anger. *How dare she say that! He
likes me!!*
The woman ignored her then threw off the cloak. It fell to the ground
along with a bunch of black rose petals. Kodachi Kuno, now in her
usual leotard, glared at Akane.
"My poor Ranma. It must have been horrible having to kiss a lowly
peasant such as you!"
Anger erupted within Akane. *How dare she call me that!* She was about
to attack Kodachi when an idea popped into her head. A very nasty
idea.
*************
The other students could see her visibly shaking with rage. Most of
them were already edging their was out of the battle zone when they
saw Akane stop and seem to relax. Strangely enough, she was smiling.
Even more strange was what she said.
"He didn't seem to think so."
Almost all the students looked at the now uncomfortable Ranma. He was
about to say something when they all heard Kodachi scream.
"DIE, HARLOT!" She leapt into the air and drew out her ribbon. The
gymnast snapped the end out and aimed it directly for Akane's face.
Akane easily dodged the attack and began to move towards her opponent.
Akane caught movement out of the corner of her eye, and narrowly
dodged Kodachi's ribbon. Akane continued to dodge her opponent's
attacks as she slowly worked her way closer. The other students had
already moved out of the battlefield at the first sign of
trouble, something Akane was very grateful for. The teacher was
already long gone. He'd learned the hard way not to get himself
involved in the fights that broke out in the classroom. Besides, he'd
just gotten the cast off his leg.
Kodachi continued her assault with the ribbon. Despite the range
advantage she had with it, she couldn't hit Akane at all. Leaping
into the air, the head of the St. Hebereke gymnastics team lashed out
aiming for her opponent's head. *Let's see how smart mouthed she is
when I cut that face of hers!* she thought.
The ribbon's aim was perfect. It hit exactly at the spot it was
supposed to. The problem was that the target wasn't there. Kodachi
realized she had another problem when she saw that Akane was holding
the end of the ribbon. Akane smiled evilly as she yanked
downward.
"Whaa..OOF?!?" was all Kodachi could say as she was pulled from her
planned trajectory and sailed right into a fist in the stomach. She
doubled over onto the floor, trying desperately to get her breath
back. By the time she did, however, Kodachi had been tied up by her
own ribbon.
The gymnast looked up to glare at Akane only to see Akane glaring at
her.
"Now, I want to make something clear!" Akane said. "I didn't kiss
Ranma! I put some tape on his mouth and kissed that! And as for
you..."
Kodachi saw her rival move towards her.
"What are you doing?"
"Taking out the trash!" Akane replied.
Before the gymnast could say anything more, Akane continued. "Oh, and
one more thing... RANMA ISN'T YOURS!"
In one motion, Akane picked up her opponent and punted her out the
window. As Akane watched Kodachi sail over the horizon, she couldn't
help but feel good.
Then she realized what she'd just said.
*Oh no! What did I just SAY? What is everybody going to think?*
Akane had just begun to think of possible answers to that question
when the bell rang for lunch. She grabbed her bento and ran.
---------------
Ranma was amazed at what Akane said. *That's the first time she ever
made a remark like that!* he thought. *Did she really mean it?*
It was then that he realized something else. The way that she fought
Kodachi wasn't normal for her. It was very familiar, though.
*She fought her the way she fights with me!*
He'd never seen her do that before and it was rather strange.
"Ranma?"
"Huh?" he replied.
Hiroshi looked at him curiously.
"The lunch bell just rang. Didn't you hear it?"
"Hear what?"
"The lunch bell!" Hiroshi deadpanned. "Jeeze, you act like you'd
never seen two women fighting over you before!"
"Akane was fighting for me, wasn't she?"
"Sure looked like it," Ranma's friend replied. "Well, I'm going to
lunch. You comin'?
*She fought for me,* Ranma thought. He was nearly in a state of
shock.
*Does that mean she cares?* He didn't hear Hiroshi sigh then leave.
At that instant, he wouldn't have heard a 21 gun salute. Ranma just
sat down at his desk, took out his bento
and sat there munching, his face thoughtful.
*She fought for me. She didn't fight WITH me--she fought FOR me! And
she didn't blame me for it afterwards.*
---------------
Kodachi finally reached the apex of her flight, and began to descend.
"I can't believe that Akane Tendo defeated me! I am a Kuno! This is
not to be borne!"
Then she realized where she was about to land.
SPLASH!!!
Kodachi pulled herself out of the St. Hebereke swimming pool.
Several of her classmates were standing there.
Kodachi was so furious that she didn't even notice their presence.
Instead, she continued ranting. "Akane Tendo will pay dearly for
this!" Her classmates merely shrugged their shoulders and walked
away. To them, this was business as usual at St. Hebereke's.
---------------
It took Akane a few minutes to calm down. She had run all the way
from the classroom to a tree that sat near the school boundary. When
she got there, it took every once of willpower she had not to keep
running.
*How can I face them all after what I said?* she thought, *and why did
I say it?*
She began to pace in front of the tree.
*I can't like that idiot! I mean, how could I ever trust him when he
has all those women groping at him?*
The thought hit her hard. *They were groping him. That's not right,
is it?*
Her mind began to run through all the times she had caught Ranma with
other women. In every case, Ranma had never been the one doing the
grabbing--whether the girl in question was Shampoo, Kodachi, or
someone else. They had all grabbed HIM.
Then, Akane heard Ranma's voice in her head, speaking words she'd
heard hundreds of times before and ignored.
"Would you get offa me? Let go!"
*Why was I blaming him?* she wondered.
Akane caught a small movement out of the corner of her eye. Spinning
around, she immediately assumed a combat stance.
"Iie! Don't hit me!" Yuka cried out.
"Yuka?!" Akane shouted. "What are you doing sneaking up on me like
that?"
"I wasn't sneaking!" her classmate replied. "I just wanted to make
sure you were okay. Kodachi really got you upset, and I was worried."
The youngest Tendo daughter's emotions seem to drain out of her at
Yuka's words. She slumped against the tree as her friend looked on;
however, she waved Yuka off when she tried to help her.
I'm all right," she lied. "Just a little tired."
Yuka nodded. "You look tired. Are you having trouble sleeping or
something?"
"Um, yeah," replied Akane.
"Why? Did Ranma dump you?"
"NO!" Akane blurted out instantly.
Yuka stepped back at the force of her voice.
"Well if he didn't, then..." Yuka's eyes widened and she drew in a
sharp breath. "Akane, just how far did you let him go?"
"No! It's not like that! He just kissed me in my bedroom!"
Akane slapped her hand over her mouth but there was no way to take the
words back. She stifled a sob and slid down the trunk of the tree
until she was sitting with her back against it, then hid her face with
her hands. Yuka sat down beside her and took her hand.
"What was Ranma doing in your bedroom? Did he hurt you?"
Akane pulled herself together. She shook her head violently and took
in a couple of deep breaths.
"Let me start from the beginning."
Akane began to talk about everything that had happened since the first
day Ranma had arrived in Nerima. All of it. His curse. How they
met. She left nothing out. It flowed out of her like a torrent. As
Akane continued to talk, it felt as though a weight was being lifted
off her heart.
Yuka was overwhelmed. Akane was throwing so much information at her.
Then Akane stopped to catch her breath, and Yuka couldn't help but
stare at her. *She's been through more than any of us knew. Poor
Akane!*
Yuka was trying to think of something to say when Akane suddenly
started talking again.
"On the way home from the play we agreed that the kiss on stage wasn't
real because it was part of the play. I figured that was the end of
it, but then Ranma came to my window and asked to talk to me."
Akane paused, and started picking pieces of grass out of the ground.
"Then what?" prompted Yuka.
"He--he kissed me. But that's not all--it's what he SAID to me!"
"Oh WOW! That's great!" her friend responded.
"NO!"
The shout from Akane caught Yuka totally off guard. "Y-you mean you
don't like him?" she asked.
"Yes! No! I...I...I don't know!" Akane cried, then put her head in
her hands again and sobbed.
Yuka put her arm around her friend in an effort to console her.
"It's okay, Akane. Don't cry. I don't blame you for being confused.
If Ranma was MY fiance, I'd be confused too."
"I can't figure him out! One minute he's nice to me, and the next he
calls me names! He has all these GIRLS hanging all over him, and he
doesn't do anything about it! Yet he said that to me--"
Akane cut herself off short, and turned bright red.
"What DID he say?" prompted Yuka.
Akane's reply was a whisper.
"I already told you. He said I was the only girl he ever wanted to
kiss."
Yuka looked at Akane for a moment as if she wanted to say something
but wasn't sure if she should.
"W-what is it?" Akane asked.
"Is that when he kissed you?"
"Yes."
"How did it feel?"
Akane's expression went from confused to dreamy.
"Wonderful."
Yuka began to giggle. Akane just stared at her friend for a moment,
and then discovered that it was catching. Soon the both of them were
lost in giggles.
After a minute or two Yuka calmed down, and hugged Akane.
"Feeling better now?"
"A little," Akane replied.
"I'm gonna tell you something," Yuka said. "It might help."
"I could use it," Akane said as the mirth on her face disappeared.
"I don't think you should be upset. I think you should be happy!
You're always jealous of other girls, and Ranma told you straight out
that he wants YOU."
"I am NOT jealous!"
Yuka exploded into giggles again.
"Yeah, sure...and you don't like Ranma, right?"
"What do you mean I don't like Ranma? Of course I like him...eep!"
"Akane?"
Akane looked rather sheepish. "I do like him, don't I?"
"Well!" laughed Yuka. "It's about time you figured that one out!"
Akane ignored her friend as she ran the words through her mind.
*I-like-Ranma!* Then she noticed something. She didn't feel confused
anymore. As a matter of fact, Akane hadn't felt this sure of anything
since Ranma had arrived in Nerima.
Then another thought came to her, one that brought a huge smile to her
face. *And Ranma likes me!*
"Hey, Akane?" Yuka asked. You okay?"
"Okay?" she replied, her face totally enveloped in a smile. "I've
never been MORE okay in my life!"
"Good! Now lets finish eating so we can get to gym!"
The girls rushed through their meals and got up. As Yuka took a step,
she found herself restrained by Akane.
"Do me a favor, Yuka?"
"What's that?"
"Can you keep this between us for now? I'm not sure if I'm ready for
the whole world to find out."
Yuka hugged Akane. "I won't say a word. You should know me better
than that!"
---------------
At that moment in another part of the schoolyard, another
conversation was taking place.
"Are you sure?" Nabiki asked as she raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"I-it's just as I said, honest!" stuttered Keiko. "Your sister
tied Kodachi Kuno up and told her that she couldn't have Ranma!"
Keiko paused as if thinking, and continued.
"I think she also said something about Ranma's kissing her being
no one's business but her own...but that was before Kodachi
showed up."
"S-she said that?"
Nabiki's head reeled from that information. *What has gotten into my
little sister?*
"Thank you Keiko. Keep your eyes and ears open, and report to me if
anything new develops."
As Keiko walked away, a thought occurred to Nabiki. She'd dismissed
the same thought earlier but now it didn't seem so ridiculous.
*Could my little sister actually be falling for that moron?*
She shook her head but couldn't get the feeling to go away
*No. It's too soon to believe that yet. I'm gonna have to keep
digging until I'm sure. I don't know...but if it is true, what do I
do about it?*
Nabiki finished off her lunch with the idea still running through her
head. Then she finally came to a decision. *I may not know what I'm
going to do, but if it is true Ranma had better watch his step 'cause
if he hurts my sister I'll make him wish he was never born!*
Back in the empty classroom, Ranma shivered.
---------------
Akane and Yuka had taken so much time talking and eating that they
were among the last girls to arrive in the locker room. Yuka turned
the handle of her locker, pulled it open, and screamed.
She immediately became the center of attention, because a wrinkled old
pervert had come flying out of the locker and had attached himself to
her chest.
"Happosai?" Akane yelled.
"Oh! So many young beauties, and so little time!" He then turned to
Akane. "I'm sorry Akane, but you will have to wait your turn. I'm
rather busy now."
The girls grabbed anything that could be used as weapons--hockey
sticks, baseball bats, tennis rackets...one of the girls even had a
javelin.
"Let's get him!" one of the other girls shouted.
"Oh my!" Happosai said at the sight of all the armed girls. "I just
remembered another appointment. Bye!"
The lecher then jumped out the door with the whole girls' gym class in
hot pursuit. Akane was leading the way.
---------------
Somewhere in Nerima, a lone traveler walked along the road, his head
buried in a map.
"Now, let's see...which way is north?"
He shifted his backpack and sighed.
"Okay! I got it figured out! All I have to do is follow the map,
then--no more curse!"
Images flooded the boy's mind. Images of him--a full man--with the
love of his life, Akane Tendo, in his arms. At their feet, his
accursed foe Ranma Saotome begged for mercy.
His insane laughter made everyone near him flee in terror.
"Soon, Saotome," Ryoga Hibiki shouted, "I will finish you once and for
all!"
Ryoga took another look at the map.
"North. It's north."
He looked at the sun, squinted, and headed south.
----------------------------------
To be continued
comments welcome! (public or private)
karaohki@snet.net
fido@rma.edu