Thanks to everyone who commented on the first draft.
This contains some additions and deletions, and a lot of "polishing"
Travels, Training and Trials
A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by June "KaraOhki" Geraci
karaohki@snet.net
April 8, 2000
Revised April 11, 2000
Ranma 1/2 was created by Rumiko Takahashi, and its characters belong
to her. I'm merely borrowing them. The story below is for
entertainment purposes only, and may not be used commercially.
earlier parts of this story are at www.karaohki.com
Chapter 5
"You think we'll actually make it through school today?" asked Akane.
So far they'd managed to eat breakfast without arguing with anyone,
avoid allowing Ranma to get splashed by any of the neighbors, and now
were nearing Dr. Tofu's office.
"I hope so. I wouldn't want to think I was wearing this stupid thing
for nothing." Ranma tugged at the collar of his uniform and grimaced.
He hated wearing school uniforms, but at least the fact that he had
one on meant he was finally getting back to a real school.
"It looks good on you."
Ranma stared, Akane blushed, and they walked into Dr. Tofu's office
together. Dr. Tofu came out from the back the moment they came
through the door.
"Good morning! What are the two of you doing here? I don't see any
cuts or bruises, and Ranma doesn't seem to need any hot water. Aren't
you going to be late for school?"
Ranma looked at Akane. Akane looked at Ranma. Dr. Tofu looked at
both of them.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing's exactly wrong," replied Ranma. "But it could get that way
if we don't handle it right."
Akane pointed at the clock. "Stop beating around the bush, Ranma! I
don't want to be late."
Ranma took the hint. "Our fathers got this bright idea that I need to
get to know Akane and her sisters better, so this Saturday I've got to
take Kasumi on an overnight training trip." The words had barely left
Ranma's mouth when he began backing away from the doctor. The look in
Tofu's eyes was frightening, to say the least.
"You WHAT? You told me you had no interest in Kasumi!"
"I was telling the truth! Let me finish, and you'll understand."
There was a slight change in the doctor's expression, and his hands
relaxed.
"Go ahead. I'll listen."
"I can't get out of the trip, but I was hoping you could come too."
"Me?"
"Yeah, meet us there. You and I can spar some, you and Kasumi can be
together, and we all go home the next day."
Ranma found himself being held by the collar.
"What exactly do you mean by me and Kasumi being together?" growled
Tofu.
"Nothin'! I meant you could like, um, take a walk in the woods or
something! Jeez! Does EVERYBODY think I'm a pervert?"
Tofu looked terribly embarrassed. He released Ranma and stepped back,
waving his hands.
"I'm sorry! It's just--I can't help being protective of Kasumi!"
"That's fine with me--protect her all you want. But why do you have
to jump to conclusions about ME?"
By this time Tofu was his normal calm self again. "I shouldn't have,
and I apologize. You two had better get moving or you'll be late."
"Thanks. I'll let you know where to meet us--and don't tell Kasumi
you're coming!"
"Sure, I mean why? Hey, come back!"
Ranma and Akane were already too far off to hear Dr. Tofu calling.
*****
Akane nearly ran into Ranma when he stopped to talk to her. She began
to lose her balance, but his hand on her shoulder steadied her and
kept her from falling off the fence and landing in the canal.
"Sorry, Akane. I just wanted to ask--we've got this weekend covered,
but have you thought of a way to handle Nabiki yet?"
"I think so, but there's a question I have to ask you first. Want to
talk about it at lunch?"
Ranma thought of the overflowing bento boxes he and Akane had packed
that morning, and smiled. "Sure. Where do you want to eat?"
"I have a favorite spot. I'll show you."
The pair jumped off the fence and raced toward the school gates as
Akane spoke. Then they stopped dead, staring at the crowd in front of
them.
Tatewaki Kuno stood in front of nearly all of the male students of
Furinkan, holding a large rifle-shaped water gun. Several other
students were similarly armed, while others carried steaming kettles
of water.
Akane's expression went from amazed to furious, while Ranma looked
disgusted.
"Better get out of the way, Akane. No sense both of us getting
soaked."
"Friends stick up for each other." Akane stepped in front of Ranma
and held out her arms. Considering the fact that she was shorter than
Ranma the effect was less than successful, but her intent was evident
to everyone present.
"Hiding behind a woman, Saotome?"
*****
Akane felt Ranma grasp her wrists and bring her arms down. He gently
pushed her aside, sparing her a brief smile before turning his
attention to Kuno.
"There's nobody between us now. You had something to say?"
Instead of saying something, Kuno aimed and fired. Ranma ducked out
of the way, but got caught in the crossfire from the other students'
weapons.
A satisfied smile came to Kuno's face. He pointed at the now female
Ranma.
"Look! Did I speak lies? He is a monster!"
Ranma just stood there. Akane felt an odd sensation in her chest as
she watched. It was a combination of pain, fear and anger. Then all
of those feelings were eclipsed by one overwhelming one--compassion.
She had been under attack for months, and knew exactly how it felt.
Watching Ranma attacked like this brought out all of her protective
instincts.
"Stop it! Stop it, all of you!"
Akane snatched one of the steaming kettles and poured it over Ranma.
There was a collective gasp as he returned to normal.
"What you saw before was Ranma. What you see NOW is Ranma. He's not
a monster. He's a human being with...with a unique problem! If you
have problems with it, that's too bad! I don't!" Akane grabbed
Ranma's hand and started to drag him through the gates, but Kuno took
aim again, and this time he didn't miss. Unfortunately, he also got
Akane.
Within seconds the water gun lay shattered on the ground and Kuno lay
on top of the pieces. Ranma stood over him, fists clenched.
"Watch out where you aim that thing!" she cried. "I don't mind you
getting ME wet, but why did you have to get Akane?"
"I--I--wasn't aiming at her," whispered Kuno. Then he passed out.
A ring of students formed around Ranma and Akane. A couple of the
older boys got close enough to touch Ranma, and one of them poked her
chest.
"Hey, those are rea...urk!" The unfortunate student spat out a couple
of teeth before collapsing.
"Great," muttered Akane. "Two down, how many more to go?"
Fortunately, the other students took Ranma's response to being poked
as reason enough to get inside. They scrambled for the school
entrance, leaving behind the rest of the water guns and teakettles.
Ranma nabbed a kettle and used it before heading inside with Akane.
"How does our teacher feel about students showing up soaking wet?"
Akane just shrugged. "He'll ignore it."
*****
They arrived in the classroom with a few minutes to spare, even though
they were the last students there. Ranma was surprised when all of
Akane's friends came over to talk to him. Evidently, they were not
allowing Kuno's opinion of him to influence them. Pretty soon
everyone had introduced themselves, and a few people got up enough
courage to ask Ranma for details about why and how he was cursed.
Their responses to his story surprised him. One girl patted his arm,
tears in her eyes.
"I feel so bad, Ranma! Isn't there anything that can be done?"
"I don't know. I hope there's a cure out there somewhere."
There were murmurs of agreement from all of the girls.
*****
Kuno dragged himself into his classroom and met the cold stares of his
classmates, including an icy one from Nabiki.
"Pick on Saotome all you want, Kuno, but leave Akane alone! Don't you
think you've annoyed her enough?"
He looked for one person to support him, and found nothing. Why? He
had proved Ranma to be the monster that he was, so why was everyone
angry at him?
Just as the teacher entered the room Kuno caught a soft mutter from
somewhere behind him.
"Remind me not to listen to that jerk again."
*****
The morning passed quickly for Ranma, who was thoroughly enjoying
himself. He was exactly where he wanted to be--in a real classroom.
It didn't take him long to realize that he had a lot of catching up to
do. He'd missed a great deal during his travels. Hopefully, he would
stay long enough to learn something.
Then he lost track of what the teacher was saying as another thought
came to him. He didn't want to have to leave Akane if it wasn't
necessary.
Ranma looked beside him at Akane, who was concentrating on what the
teacher was writing on the board. It was obvious that she had no idea
he was looking at her. He'd only known her a couple of days, and she
was having a tremendous effect on him. This was much, much stronger
than his earlier attraction to Midori--that had taken weeks to
develop.
He regretted taking the seat next to her. Perhaps the empty seat at
the back of the classroom would have been a better choice. Akane was
just too distracting.
Evidently, the teacher thought so too. Ranma's attention was forcibly
wrenched from Akane when an eraser bounced off his head.
"Mr. Saotome, stop staring at Miss Tendo and pay attention!"
The room erupted in giggles at the two red-faced young people who were
making a great effort to keep their gazes straight forward.
*****
"So where's this favorite spot of yours?" asked Ranma.
Akane pointed across the schoolyard. "Behind that tree. It's usually
pretty quiet, unless Kuno decides to annoy us."
Ranma looked over his shoulder. There was no sign of Kuno. "Doesn't
he let you eat your lunch in peace?"
The pair settled down on the grass, and Akane began to unwrap her
bento. She glanced at Ranma and shrugged. "Most of the time. Now
and then he forgets how much he hates wearing my lunch." She frowned
when Ranma began to laugh. "Hey! I prefer eating it!"
Akane got to eat her lunch. Kuno walked by and glared at Ranma, but
the looks he received from the pair under the tree made him think
twice about annoying them. When she was finished, Akane re-wrapped
her bento and looked around. No one seemed to be close enough to
overhear her.
"Do you have any money, Ranma?"
That was the last question Ranma expected to hear. "Yeah, why?"
"How much?"
Ranma stared. "Why do you want to know?"
Akane leaned closer and whispered to him. Ranma listened intently,
nodded, and whispered back. Akane made a few quick mental
calculations before replying.
"Between yours and mine, we have nearly enough. I know a way you can
earn some extra money. I work after school a few days a week, and I'm
pretty sure I can talk my boss into hiring you."
*****
The pair were so engrossed in their conversation that they failed to
notice they were being observed. A group of boys sat to one side of
them, growing more and more annoyed.
"It isn't fair! We've been trying for months to get close to Akane,
and Saotome manages it in a day! We can't let him get her so easily,
can we?"
Another boy shrugged. "He DID defeat her. Wasn't that the whole
idea? Whoever defeated Akane would get to date her. So why are we
trying to change the rules now?"
"Easy. He's an outsider."
*****
Nabiki changed out of her school uniform, took her books out of her
bag, and sat down to do her homework. She'd barely started when
someone knocked on her bedroom door. When she opened it she was quite
surprised to see Genma.
"Yes?"
"Would you know where my son is? Or Akane? They haven't come home."
"Maybe they went out for ice cream again," replied Nabiki as she
closed the door. She had more important things to do than keep track
of Akane and her boyfriend. As long as no one was trying to get her
to marry Ranma, she was quite content.
Then she pushed her homework aside. Conversation at school that day
had centered on Akane, Ranma and Kuno. If people weren't talking
about how Akane had defended Ranma, they were talking about how Kuno
had made a complete ass of himself. Then there were the whispers...
Her sister's admirers weren't particularly happy that she had been
defeated by a newcomer. As far as Nabiki could tell, that meant a lot
of trouble for Ranma.
What Nabiki found really amusing was the fact that they were using the
fact that Ranma was an "outsider" as an excuse to refuse to honor the
agreement that the one who defeated Akane could date her. As far as
she was concerned, if any one of them had actually managed the feat,
he would have met the same opposition. What had begun as a challenge
for Akane's affection had become some kind of strange school ritual,
which no longer had a clear goal.
Now it looked as though the boys really had something to worry about.
Ranma and Akane were off somewhere together. Did that mean they liked
each other? Was the way Akane was treating him just an act?
"No way," Nabiki muttered. "Akane's not that sneaky. Not unless--not
unless she really DOES like him."
*****
"Okay, you take a left here, and then go eight blocks, then right, and
the shop will be on the right side of the street. Are you sure you
don't want to take the bicycle?"
Ranma took another look at the map and picked up the boxes he had to
deliver. "No, I'd rather run. Thanks for the directions, Akane.
Give me a few days and I'll know my way around." He grinned at Akane,
and was gone in seconds. Akane just shook her head. How could
someone run so fast carrying so much?
"Akane? Akane, where are you? We have customers waiting."
Akane grabbed her apron and clipboard and ran back inside the
warehouse. She was too lucky to have a job like this one to
jeopardize it by giving her boss the impression that she was goofing
off. Akane found her customers waiting in the frozen foods area. She
remembered them from previous visits--they owned an Italian restaurant
in the district.
"Miss Tendo! We didn't know you were working this afternoon!"
"Yes, and it's good to see you both again. You're back so soon?
Business must be good."
Her customers smiled. "Oh, yes. Sometimes the line to get in goes
all the way down to the end of the street. I think we need to get in
twice as much as we did last time."
Akane pulled out her pen and assumed a very businesslike attitude.
"Then let's get started, shall we?"
*****
Ranma ran back to the warehouse as fast as he could. The more
deliveries he made, the more tips he could earn. If he could keep up
the pace, he and Akane would have no trouble earning what they needed
to accomplish their plan. His customer had been quite pleased with
the speed of the delivery, and Ranma could tell that the tip he
received was more than the usual one. Added to the hourly rate he was
getting, this was much better than any of the odd jobs Ranma had taken
as he had traveled around.
Mr. Maeda, the warehouse owner, didn't expect to see Ranma return so
quickly.
"You're back already?"
"Yes, sir."
Ranma's boss said something to himself that he couldn't quite catch.
It sounded like "have to believe what she says next time," but he
wasn't sure.
"Good. I have a huge delivery for you. Think you can carry all of
this at once?"
"Not a problem. Where do I take it?"
*****
Nabiki had to be reminded that it was her turn to cook dinner, which
made the evening meal a little bit late. This worked out well for
Ranma and Akane, who ran in just as Nabiki was putting the serving
dishes on the table. She looked at the latecomers in annoyance.
"Where have the two of you been?"
Neither Ranma nor Akane answered. Instead, they just stood there
looking uncomfortable. Fortunately for them, their fathers were too
hungry to follow up with questions of their own, and chose to leave
the subject for later discussion.
They regretted that decision when Ranma jumped up the minute he
finished eating and ran from the room, saying something about getting
his homework done. Akane stayed around long enough to get the dishes
washed, then disappeared into her room to do her homework.
"They were together after school, I'm sure of it."
Soun nodded at his friend. "But what were they doing?"
Genma punched his friend in the arm. "Same thing all courting couples
do. They're getting to know each other."
"Do you really think so?"
Genma got to his feet and headed for the stairs. "Definitely. I'm
going to get hold of my boy and find out." He put his foot on the
first step and narrowly missed being hit by a flying book.
"Get out of my room, you pervert! What makes you think I'm going to
do your homework for you?"
Ranma ran down the stairs, retrieved his history book, and ran back
up. Genma and Soun listened in disappointment as the argument
escalated.
"Hey, I just asked for a little help! You know I'm behind the rest of
the class! Why are you being so uncute?"
"Uncute? I'm uncute? What makes you the judge of that?" From the
tone of Akane's voice, Genma got the feeling that Ranma was in great
physical danger.
"Heh, that's an easy one," he heard Ranma reply, and his heart sank.
"All I have to do is look in the mirror to see a cute girl."
"Son," murmured Genma, "that is NOT the way to court a girl."
The sound of things shattering confirmed his statement.
*****
Ranma looked up from his books when the door slid open, and Genma
entered. Genma looked at his son's disheveled appearance and frowned.
"You disappoint me, boy. You ignored Kasumi and Nabiki at dinner, and
now you're fighting with Akane. How do you expect to choose a wife if
you don't even try to get along with them?"
"Give me a break, Pop! Kasumi's too old for me, Nabiki's got TWO
boyfriends, and Akane's uncute! Not much to choose from, is there?
OW!"
Genma swatted his son a second time. "You'll choose, or we'll do it
for you. When you and Akane were late coming home, Tendo and I
thought--"
He was cut off when Ranma grabbed him by the front of his gi.
"You thought what? That we were together? You've been pushing Akane
at me since we got here. Maybe I needed some time to myself!"
*****
Akane stood outside in the hallway, listening. She and Ranma had seen
the looks their fathers were giving them at dinner, so they had staged
the fight. Their decision to become friends was becoming dangerous.
It was dangerous, and in more than one way. Akane's attraction to
Ranma was growing quickly, and she was having a difficult time dealing
with it. Boys still scared her, and he was a boy. At least most of
the time.
Akane returned to her room, opened her closet door, and pulled out a
box of weights. There was a slim book underneath it, which she
opened. Nabiki had found and read Akane's diary a long time ago, and
Akane had made a big show of burning it afterward, swearing never to
keep one again. She moved the real diary to her closet that night,
knowing that Nabiki would not be able to lift the box of weights.
Besides, the book was thin enough to sit beneath the box without being
seen. Akane took the diary to her desk and sat down to write.
"I still feel trapped, Diary. Kasumi and Tofu are a couple.
Ranma could never marry her. Nabiki would make him
miserable, and she's not even trying to get to know him.
That leaves me."
The pen fell onto the desk, and Akane stared out the window. If she
and Ranma decided they didn't want to marry, he was going to leave.
She'd only known him a couple of days, so that shouldn't make a big
difference in her life. If that was true, why did the prospect make
her feel so bad?
"Make up your mind, Akane," she whispered to herself. "Do you want
him, or don't you?"
Akane jumped. Where had THAT come from?
*****
Ranma and Akane left Furinkan's grounds as quickly as they could.
Their day had begun badly, and continued that way. Evidently, Kuno
felt that if he continued to "demonstrate" Ranma's curse to everyone
he would win them over to his side. Then he could drive the monster
who threatened his precious Akane Tendo away from Furinkan High
School, and out of Nerima . He met them at the gates with a water
gun, and Ranma had to go into the school female.
Getting into the school hadn't been as simple as walking in the door.
A few of the older boys had ambushed Ranma, saying that his defeat of
Akane didn't count, since he was an outsider and not part of their
group. Akane's reaction had stopped Ranma before he could reply.
"What does THAT matter? I NEVER said I'd date anybody who defeated
me! That goes for all of you, and that goes for Ranma!"
The student who'd made the "outsider" remark sneered at her. "Don't
tell me the two of you aren't dating! Your sister says you're getting
married!"
"WE'RE NOT DATING!" was the last thing he heard--from the lips of both
Ranma and Akane--before he went flying. The rest of the boys
scattered as the pair passed them by on their way inside.
Ranma had found himself some hot water once he got inside, but staying
male had been nearly impossible. The boys of his class had invented a
new game--"Splash Ranma".
When the splashing began, Akane started to rise out of her chair but a
look from Ranma made her sit again. Then one of Akane's girlfriends
started to scold the boys. Ranma hissed "NO!" and she stopped
mid-sentence.
Ranma got himself some hot water and changed back. His fingers
twitched with the desire to go back into the classroom and rearrange
the faces of the boys who were splashing him, but he restrained
himself. His school day had ended five minutes after his arrival in
the classroom two days earlier. Yesterday he was stuck sitting in wet
clothes all morning, and he survived it. IToday he was going to stay
ALL day, even it it meant allowing this sort of nonsense. If the
teachers could ignore it, so could he.
The splashing continued, and Ranma kept having to excuse himself to
get more hot water. After the sixth time he gave up, and remained
female until lunch.
If the boys who were splashing Ranma had known that he was making
careful note of who they were, they might have thought twice about
doing it.
*****
"I can only work for an hour, Ranma. It's my turn to cook dinner
tonight."
"That's okay, Akane. It'll look better if we get home separately."
"Yeah, you're right." Akane was quiet for a minute, and then she
decided to ask Ranma the question that had been nagging at her all
day.
"Have you ever had a girlfriend?"
Ranma stopped dead in his tracks. "Where did THAT question come
from?"
"I was wondering. You got so mad when the boys said we were dating."
"Oh." Ranma started walking again, trying to figure out what to say.
"I guess I sort of had one once."
"Sort of?"
"It's kind of hard to explain. I think she liked me, but I don't
really know for sure."
Akane decided to take a chance and see if her guess was correct. "Her
name was Midori, right?"
"How the heck did you know that?" asked Ranma.
"I guessed. You acted really weird when I talked about Midori, the
little girl next door. Want to tell me about her?"
Ranma was silent, and Akane began to worry that she had said something
wrong.
"You don't have to if you don't want to. I'm sorry."
"No. It's okay. This isn't a good place to talk about it. How about
tonight?"
They arrived at the warehouse as Ranma spoke. Akane smiled at him,
and nodded.
"Sure. Want to spar a little? We can talk then."
"Okay. Now you tell me. Have you ever had a boyfriend?"
Akane wondered whether or not Ranma counted as a boyfriend before she
replied. "No. No boyfriends."
*****
Ranma felt like kicking himself as he watched Akane disappear into the
warehouse. Why had he asked Akane that question when he knew how
frightened she was of boys?
He wondered if Akane was angry or upset, and kept an eye on her
whenever he wasn't making deliveries. She seemed to be all right, and
he gradually relaxed.
He was up on a ladder pulling merchandise down from the shelves when
Akane approached him.
"I'm going home. How late are you working?"
"Another two hours. Why?"
"I'll save you some dinner. See you later!"
She gave him a bright smile that nearly made him fall off the ladder,
and ran off.
"She's not mad at me. Good."
*****
"Incredible, Tendo! Three nights in a row, three perfect meals,
prepared by three lovely cooks. You're a lucky man."
Genma reached for the serving bowls as he spoke. There wasn't much
left in any of them, and he took it all.
"You haven't left anything for Ranma, Mr. Saotome," remarked Kasumi.
"If the ungrateful boy is late for dinner then there's more for the
rest of us."
"For you, you mean," Akane growled. She couldn't believe that Genma
didn't care if there was nothing left for Ranma, and was very glad
there was a meal set aside for him in the kitchen.
Kasumi got up and began to clear the table, but Akane stopped her.
"I'll do it."
"Why? It's my turn."
"I don't mind. Go ahead and study."
Kasumi took off before Akane could change her mind, and Nabiki soon
followed. While Akane cleared the table, her father and Genma set up
the game board. As she went in and out of the kitchen she caught bits
of their conversation.
"...youngest daughter reminds me of a girl Ranma had a fondness
for..."
"...only one of the three who ever took an interest in the school..."
Akane began to wash the dishes, wishing she could hear more. Since
she couldn't, she began talking to herself. "They're talking about
me. I knew they were going to pick me. This 'training trip' nonsense
doesn't mean a thing."
"Why are you talking to yourself, Akane?"
"EEEP!"
Ranma threw himself forward and caught the dish that slipped out of
Akane's hands just before it would have hit the floor. As he
straightened up, she bopped him on the head.
"Don't SCARE me like that!"
"You couldn't tell I was there? We're not going to spar tonight. I'm
going to start teaching you how to sense someone else's presence."
Ranma was surprised when Akane raised a skeptical eyebrow at him.
"Fat chance. Daddy tried to teach me that, and I couldn't do it."
"I'm not your father."
Akane suppressed the desire to agree fervently with Ranma's comment,
and quickly turned away to hide her blush. "Let me heat up your
dinner."
*****
Ranma and Akane sat on the floor of the dojo. Both of them looked
frustrated.
"No wonder your father gave up on you, Akane."
"You mean I'm hopeless?"
The look of disappointment on Akane's face made Ranma melt.
"I don't think so. You're just trying too hard." He reached out and
touched Akane's shoulder. "You are SO tense!"
Ranma moved behind Akane and began to massage her shoulders, and she
tensed up even more. When Ranma felt her stiffen, he stopped rubbing
and looked around at her face. Akane had her eyes shut tightly, and
she was beginning to tremble. How could he have forgotten her fear of
being touched by boys?
"Just try to relax. I'm not making a pass at you, I'm trying to
help."
"I-I'm sorry. I can't help it."
"It's okay. I understand. Do you want me to leave?"
Akane's eyes flew open. "No!" Ranma was stunned when she reached out
and grabbed his arm. "I'm not afraid of you. Try again."
Once more, Ranma got behind Akane and massaged her shoulders. After a
few minutes, he felt her begin to relax. Ranma continued massaging
until he felt the tension disappear, then he turned Akane around to
face him.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. Do you want to try again?"
Ranma shook his head. "Not tonight. How about tomorrow?"
"Sure." Akane hesitated, and looked at the floor. "You were going to
tell me about Midori tonight. Do you want to?"
Ranma nodded, and then sat there gazing out at a point somewhere
beyond Akane. "I'm trying to figure out where to start." He drummed
his fingers on the floor for a minute, and then looked at Akane.
"Midori was the master's daughter at the last dojo we visited before
we went to China. We stayed there a couple of months, and that's a
lot longer than we usually stayed anywhere.
"We got along right from the start. Midori loved martial arts as much
as I did, and we'd spar together. Her father had a fantastic library,
and I would stay up late reading. Sometimes she would come in to read
too, but I got the feeling she was really there to keep me company."
"Why?"
"Because I finished a book every couple of nights, and she was on the
same one for weeks. I think she forgot to turn the pages."
Akane giggled. Ranma's breath caught in his throat. She was so damn
cute when she giggled! He decided to stop thinking about that and
concentrate on telling his story.
"I made up my mind to keep my distance. Sooner or later Pop was going
to leave, and I'd probably never see Midori again. It didn't make
sense to get too close to her." Ranma stopped talking and fidgeted
for a few seconds. "I have to be honest. Midori was very beautiful,
and that made me nervous, especially if we touched. So after a while
I stopped sparring with her."
Ranma looked at Akane to see if she understood, and she nodded. "She
kept asking me to spar, and I was running out of excuses. I could
tell she was getting mad at me. Then Pop decided to leave, and before
I knew it we were on our way to China."
"You make it sound really sudden. Did something happen?"
"Um, er, ah."
"I guess I was right. Want to tell me about it?"
"Pop found out that Midori's father was trying to marry her off to
me."
"Oh!" Akane was quiet for a while after that, and sat watching
Ranma's face. After a while, she patted his arm.
"Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
Ranma had to lean close because Akane turned bright red, and whispered
the question.
"Did you ever kiss her?"
"Why are you asking?"
"I'm not sure--I just need to know."
Ranma nodded. In a way, he understood. "Actually, Midori kissed me.
Took me totally by surprise."
"And?"
"I kissed her back." He noted that Akane had gone from red to pale.
"Then Pop caught us. We were gone in a few minutes."
"Oh."
"I still wonder sometimes if she did that because her father told her
to, or if she wanted to. That's why when you asked me, I said I 'sort
of' had a girlfriend."
Ranma scooted a little closer to Akane, touched her hand, and took it
in his. "Funny thing about that. I lived in the same house with
Midori for weeks. It took time for me to feel that way about her.
I've only been here a few days, and--"
He stopped short. Akane was staring at him, eyes as wide as they
could get. Did she know what he was going to say?
"I feel more for you than I ever did for Midori." Almost before he
was aware of what he was doing, Ranma had Akane in his arms, and his
lips met hers in the gentlest of kisses. She made no attempt to stop
him, nor did she respond. Ranma let go and backed away, waving his
hands.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean--"
He was silenced by Akane's look even before she put her finger to his
lips.
"It's okay. I think--I think I feel the same way about you." Akane
kissed Ranma's cheek, got to her feet, and ran from the dojo.
Ranma remained where he was.
"We are in DEEP trouble."
*****
Nabiki opened her door and looked out into the hallway. She had heard
running steps, and then the slam of a door. Nabiki saw the lduck on
Akane's door vibrating, so it must have been her little sister.
She crept out into the hallway and stood listening. Akane's closet
door opened, and she heard something heavy being put down on the
floor. Akane must be working with her weights. She went back into
her room and closed the door.
*****
Akane sat staring at her diary. How was she going to put down in
words what had just happened? Her first kiss. Something to remember
always.
So what did she have to remember? A brief embrace, a very gentle
kiss, and a great deal of surprise. So much surprise that she had no
time to respond until it was too late.
"Diary, Ranma kissed me, and I just sat there. I didn't even
move! Why was I such a coward? Oh yes, I kissed him
before I ran away. On the cheek.
Could I really be falling in love with a boy I just met?
Could he really be falling in love with me? I think so.
But if we get found out, our fathers will want us to get
married. We're too young.
I wonder if Mom knew about this agreement. I wonder if
Auntie Nodoka knows about it. I don't think so. She
never even gave us a hint.
Worrying about it isn't going to make it better. I
think I'll just do my homework."
Akane put her diary away and replaced the weights. She had the best
intentions as far as doing her homework was concerned, but instead of
starting it, she continued to worry about her situation until a glance
at the clock told her to get going.
*****
Ranma sat on the dojo floor, chin in his hands. He had nearly blown
it--big time. Impulse had caused him to put his arms around Akane and
kiss her. He was damned lucky that she didn't freak out. Then again,
what she had said was really scary.
She cared for him. He cared for her. Did he dare use the word
"love?" After only three days? No, this could only be physical
attraction? Right?
Ranma sighed, and gave up. He was asking himself questions that were
too hard to answer. He left the dojo and went upstairs to get his
homework done. When he passed his father and Mr. Tendo on his way to
the stairs, they were still playing. It amazed him how his father
could retain his skills when he spent so much time sitting around. As
Ranma climbed the stairs he found himself wondering how much better
Genma would be if he practiced as much as he played, or if he lost a
few pounds.
Akane's bedroom door was closed, and Ranma could see light coming from
beneath it. She was probably doing her homework.
Ranma sat down and began his, but found himself wondering if Akane was
all right. She had run out of the dojo so fast. Akane had denied
being upset, but Ranma had to wonder whether or not she had been
truthful.
He rushed his way through his homework, unable to concentrate on it
properly. Then he opened his bedroom window, climbed out onto the
roof, and lowered himself down to Akane's window. She was sitting at
her desk, staring out the window. It took her a couple of seconds to
realize he was there, then she jumped in surprise. The next thing
Ranma knew, Akane had opened the window and was pulling him inside.
"What are you DOING out there?"
"I was worried. Are you okay?" He felt like pulling the words out of
the air and stuffing them back into his mouth when Akane began to
blush.
"I'm fine."
"You sure?"
"Well, maybe not." Akane sat down on the bed and gestured for Ranma
to take her chair. "I'm a little worried about our fathers. If
anybody had seen what happened in the dojo, we'd be in BIG trouble."
"I think it's too late for that, Akane. We're already in trouble."
Akane looked hurt, which caused Ranma's stomach to twist painfully.
"Akane, all I'm trying to say is that this is happening awfully fast.
Maybe we need to slow down, set up a couple of rules?"
"Rules?"
Ranma swallowed. "Yeah. Like no touching unless we're sparring."
"Okay, what else?"
"I think we need to avoid talking about ro-romantic stuff. Let's just
get to know each other as people, not as boy-girl. Think we can do
that?" Ranma looked at Akane's serious expression, wondering what was
going through her mind.
"We can try, but isn't that sort of like trying to stuff the genie
back into the lamp once you let him out?"
"Oh man, we ARE in trouble." Ranma got out of the chair and started
pacing around the room. "Forget it. He's out, and we can't get him
back in, can we?" When Akane shook her head, Ranma knew he was right.
"Then forget the rules. We'll just try to take it slow, and we have
to be REALLY careful not to let anybody know what's going on."
"We could keep pretending to fight, like we did last night."
"Yeah, but not too much, or your sisters might get suspicious. We
can't be fighting one minute and practicing together the next." Ranma
opened the bedroom window and glanced back at Akane. "Of course,
pretending to fight with you is sort of fun. You should have heard
Pop scolding me last night. It was so hard not to laugh!" He began
to climb out, and Akane got off the bed.
"Ranma?"
"What?"
"Nothing."
Ranma waited a second to see if Akane wanted to change her mind, but
she looked at the floor. He shrugged, and climbed out of the window.
He was sliding it shut behind him when he heard Akane say something to
herself.
"Akane, you coward!"
*****
Akane felt even worse the next day, which was Saturday. After their
half day of school, Ranma left with a very unhappy-looking Kasumi.
She'd helped her sister pack up her camping gear and a small tent.
Kasumi had complained the entire time.
"I don't have time for this, Akane! I've got two exams on Monday, and
I need to study. Why can't you go first?"
"Because we already agreed you would. Take your books with you, Sis.
I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to study."
"What? I'm going to be alone with this guy I hardly know, and you
think I'll be able to study? I'll probably have to fight him off!"
Kasumi became quite incensed when Akane started to giggle.
"Hey, I wasn't joking!"
Akane wiped her eyes, and waved her hands at Kasumi. "You haven't
gotten to know Ranma very well, have you? He's not the kind of boy
who'd force himself on you. Besides, he knows about you and Tofu."
She picked up Kasumi's books and stuffed them into her backpack.
"Trust me. You'll be able to study."
*****
Kasumi followed Ranma to the train station, glaring at his back. If
he was aware of it, he didn't let it show.
"Where are we going?"
"A little place in the mountains Pop used to take me to. It's very
pretty there, and I have a surprise planned for you."
"Right, a surprise. Where did you get the money for the tickets?"
"From your father."
They boarded the train and found a couple of empty seats. Ranma
settled down and stared out the window. He didn't seem too inclined
to talk, so Kasumi dug one of her textbooks out of her pack and began
to read. Someone sat down beside her, but she didn't bother taking
her eyes from her book until his hand touched hers.
"Hi, sweetheart."
Kasumi jumped ten feet. "T-tofu?"
"Surprise!" said Ranma.
*****
Kasumi watched Tofu and Ranma spar as she cooked dinner. This trip
was nothing like she'd imagined. It was hard for her to believe that
Ranma had arranged for Tofu to join them. Perhaps she'd misjudged
him.
The more she watched, the more she saw to admire in his skills.
Although she had no interest in pursuing martial arts herself, she
knew enough to be able to tell that Ranma was very good. Better than
Tofu. He had the same passion for the Art as Akane did. It was
really a waste of time requiring Ranma to take this trip, and the one
with Nabiki was going to be a similar waste. Akane was the perfect
wife for Ranma.
Then Kasumi smiled. Perhaps this wasn't such a waste after all. If
she could get hold of her father's ear, and tell him her thoughts, he
might come to the same conclusions.
Later that evening she didn't bother thinking about Ranma or Akane.
She and Tofu were too busy sitting together, watching the stars and
talking about their future together.
*****
Akane stood on the laundry porch, staring at the same stars. Nabiki
passed by and looked at her curiously. Akane had been very quiet all
afternoon and evening. Did she miss Ranma? Was she worried about
what might be happening between him and Kasumi?
That thought made Nabiki wonder about what her trip would be like. She
hated camping, and everything it entailed--sleeping outdoors, bugs,
being away from the comforts of life. On top of that, she had to
spend time with a virtual stranger, and strange was the way to
describe him. That curse of his...Nabiki shivered just thinking about
it.
Why did any of them have to marry Ranma? The whole idea was insane.
*****
Ranma and Tofu shared a tent that night. Tofu kept Ranma up a long
time talking about Kasumi. He finally drifted off, but Ranma stayed
up a while longer. He was beginning to understand what it meant to
really care about someone.
The concept was a little bit scary. Was he ready for marriage, and
everything that went with it?
He could see Tofu and Kasumi together. They were older, and they'd
cared about each other for a long time. This thing between him and
Akane--it was new. Wonderful, but new. How could he tell if it was a
"forever" thing?
His last thought before falling asleep was that he hoped it was.
*****
Kasumi was all smiles the next day. After a long walk in the woods
with Tofu, she spent the rest of the morning studying, while keeping
half an eye on Tofu and Ranma as they sparred. She couldn't have
asked for a better weekend.
Her good mood was so strong that she didn't even blink at first when
Ranma dropped his bombshell on her as they were walking back from the
train station.
"I don't want you to tell anyone that Tofu was with us this weekend."
"Okay."
Then she began to wonder.
"Why not?"
"Our fathers won't like it."
Something in Kasumi's brain began to percolate. If her father didn't
like it, maybe she could use it to her advantage.
"I don't like lying to Father."
"Don't you? How many classes have you cut to see Tofu? If you tell
him that he was with us, I'll say it was YOUR idea. How well will he
take that?"
Kasumi gulped. Ranma had her backed into a corner. He was smarter
than he let people believe.
Then they arrived at the house, and Kasumi saw something that made her
believe she had an edge.
Akane was sitting at the table reading when they walked in. Her eyes
met Ranma's and the look in them was very familiar. It was the same
look she saw in Tofu's eyes when he looked at her. She quickly turned
to look at Ranma, and saw the same expression as he looked at Akane.
It was time to start watching the two of them.
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