Hi Chris,
He pulled his gi out, and laid it on the dresser beaureu along
with a light colored bandanna. Gathering those, and his bath things
together, he made his way through the narrow hall and down the
stairway to the bathroom. Several minutes later, he emerged clean and
human, and ready for his morning sparring session for his son, just
like he always had for as long as he had had Ranma.
That's a lot of hads in that last sentence. Maybe change the last bit
to 'for as long as he and Ranma had been training."? And where's
the joke about Genma playing with a rubber ducky? ;>
-- a prescription tablet, a worn paperback novel, a
stethoscope, and thirty two 10,000 yen bills.
Sounds like Mousse. Should that be thirty-two?
The red head nodded.
redhead
Nabiki and Akane both came down the stairs in bikinis. Nabiki's
was a bright red color, with lace trim. It looked a little much like
lingerie for Kasumi's taste, but she smiled her approval. Akane's was
of course, black. Kasumi worried a bit about her sister's sudden
change of wardrobe, but apparently Ranma, and more importantly Akane,
were happy with it. They were trying so hard to be nice to each
other. The dark swimsuit really did go well with her new hairstyle as
well. She wondered in the back of her mind if her sister had invited
Ranma. Dismissing the thought, she saw Akane glance at the clock
hanging behind her.
<snip>
"Where is she going?" Nabiki wondered aloud.
Were they just trying on the bikinis to see how they looked and felt
or was that fanservice? I guess it's part of preparing for an outing.
Ranma's departure had deprived her sister of her favorite
source of spending money. On top of that insult, She hadn't been able
to locate the martial artist when he wasn't at school, and couldn't
find out who Akane's 'new boyfriend' was either. Nabiki had been left
out of the loop, and was not happy about the situation. Someone would
have to pay. If nothing else, her ongoing investigation was getting
expenseive.
expensive
In their discussion, neither girl heard the nervous doctor
pacing back and forth in front of the dojo walls.
Which is around back, yes? Is there a side path to the dojo or did
he hop the wall?
"Yo, Akane. WOW! You get a haircut?!"
Nope, Ryouga was spinning his bandana around again and I got a bit
too close.
In bemusement, Megumi entertained herself with a bucket of cold
water and a warm kettle. Ranma was obviously a little irratated, but
he bore the brunt of her bemused inspection with grace.
irritated
I sense a science project or a show-and-tell in the works.
*What could be weirder?* she thought.
Wait until Happosai shows up.
Ranma and Akane spent about an hour discussing what had
happened during the day at school. It was somthing that they did by
something
"So, Ranma, are you having any trouble with the workout
facilites?"
I did get this rash because someone doesn't wipe down afterwards.
Man, if I ever find out who...
Akane and Ranma stop as Megumi ceases her attempts to discover
the exact temperature needed to trigger Ranma's curse and edges
slowly towards the door.
Megumi considered borrowing the kinetics department's high
speed camera to capture the transformation.
Ranma, have you ever had a cat scan or MRI?
C-c-c-c-c-c-caat?
Megumi did her best to sifle a giggle. The other tennants were
'interested', all right. Ranma didn't really understand, but the
audience to his morning workout was composed mostly of girls who got
an illicit thrill out of watching the well-built martial artist
excercise. She had even been invited once to the early morning
'Beefcake Revue' by one of her friends in the building. If only they
knew!
It's time for a Diet Coke Break! (Okay, who else remembers that
commercial?)
Akane quickly tried to find something else to talk about. This
kind of conversation quickly led to an insult or a malleting. She
nodded in agreement. This was another one of their unspoken rules. An
uncomfortable silence fell across the room.
Extra space before conversation.
The lights were low in the apartment. Ranma only ever had a few
lamps on at night to save on electricity. They sat together and
watched television for several minutes. After a while, Akane stood up
and began to gather her books. Ranma watched her from his postition
on the floor. Selfconciously, Akane turned so that she presented her
profile to him. Torn between feelings of embarassment and excitement,
Akane arched her back slightly.
self-consciously
She heard a sharp intake of breath as she stretched out. Out of
the corner of her eye, she could see Ranma's eyes following the curve
of her leg and buttocks. They rested for an interminable time on her
breasts, which were small in her opinion, but barely concealed
Have you seen yourself in The Phoenix OAV?
*Maybe it would just be better if I waited until she came to
the office,* he thought. Resolutely, he shook his head. It had to
happen to night, or he feared that it never would.
tonight
* * *
She was about halfway home from the train station when Akane
realized that she was being followed. It didn't take much since she
suspected her pursuers were quite intoxicated. They were making too
much noise and were bouncing off each other quite rowdily. She turned
several corners, but they kept trailing after her.
Know the feeling. Walking back to Uni from Redfern station always
felt a bit risky. Though the drunks were more prevalent at Central
Station.
She walked on for about a block, hoping that she could get
close enough to home that a good sprint would carry her to safety.
Her pursuers, six of them, started walking double time, doing
their drunken best to act inconspicuous.
We're not following you, nope. We just happen to be going in the
same direction is all. Hey, wait up!
"What's the big deal, Ranma? I could have taken them easily.
Why did you have to stick your nose in my fight?"
Hey, I've got a knife here. Yeah, we outnumber you three to one.
The nerve of some people, ignoring their attackers.
(If only Ranma hadn't taken them out so quickly. ;>)
Akane pulled the trencoat away from the martial artist. "So
you've been following me home. Jeez, Ranma I can't beleive this!"
believe
Unfortuneatly, 'together' had two different connotations for
Ranma and Akane.
Unfortunately,
"I can't beleive you, Ranma! Following me like some sort of
stalker. You're no better than those men back there."
believe
The rage and anger left Akane's face, and was replaced by shock
and shame at the promise she had so casually broken so long ago. She
tried to tell her self it was meaningless, but a terrified doubt
began to gnaw at her.
herself
After a few seconds, Ranma turned back to her, guilt and self
loathing evident in his expression. "I shouldn't 'a said that,
Akane."
self-loathing (?)
Ranma was stopped in his tracks. "Akane?" His expression had
changed to mirror Akane's earlier shock. "I..." He stood resolutely
and put his fist to his chest. "I barely trust *myself* to take care
of you, Akane? How can I trust anyone else, even you?"
That supposed to be a new paragraph?
Her arms reached out of their own volition and wrapped around
his shoulders and head. Feircley, as if she had to trap him to the
earth, Akane pressed her lips to his.
Fiercely,
"Ranma..." Akane rested her head on his shoulder. She could
hear his heart racing. She realized that at some point that they had
collapsed to their knees on the sidewalk.
And the same officers who arrested the attempted muggers came and
took the two drug-addled youth to prison.
It was late, *too* late, Megumi thought. The world, which had
previously been defined in terms of formulae, equations, statistical
analisys, had just given way to fairy tale.
euqtions and statistical analysis <Last word was also mispelled>
She lay in her bed, looking up at the flourescent fixture in
the middle of the ceiling. Her eyes absently traced the end of the
cord that hung from the light as it danced in the breeze from her
airconditioner. In the speckles she got from staring at the too-
bright bulb, Megumi could still see the ball of what could only be
described as Ranma's life force floating in front of her face.
air conditioner
The existence of which would imply Gods and Goddesses. No, that
was impossible. Everyone knew goddesses didn't exist.
You capitalized Goddesses the first time.
*Then* she could go crazy if she wanted.
I'm not going crazy, I'm going sane in a crazy world!
She hurried out of the building and out into the night. She
really didn't mind the rain, but Megumi looked for a coffe shop to
get into anyway.
coffee
After a few minutes, she located the 'Unforgettable Medlies'
cafe. She went in and took a seat at the bar, and ordered a coffee.
Ah, but what kind of coffee, for there are so many choices. Short
black, tall white, Americano, Frappe... "Straight up, BLACK coffee,
damnit!"
"Actually, I think I kinda missed it," Ranma continued,
wistfully. "I don't miss the mallet though. I can't beleive we
actually had a fight that *went* somewhere."
believe
"Well anyway, after we made up, we tried to think of things to
do that would make us trust eachother more. Akane agreed to let me
defend her when I wanted, and I agreed not to try and act like I
wasn't doing it. Then came the good part!"
each other
Megumi gasped in shock. "You're can't be serious!"
You can't be serious!
"Yeah! We start sparring tomorrow morning when I usually work
out."
And now the fic becomes "Why Don't You Try Me For Real, Sometime?"
Megumi blushed. Of course, fighting would be just as important
and personal to a life long martial artist as any kind of romance.
lifelong
For the first time since she was a very young girl, the evening
seemed somehow... *magical*.
The way it's phrased... You might want to say something like:
"the passing evening seemed somehow..."
Alternatively: Megumi experienced her first ... magical ... evening
she recalled since being a very young girl.
I dunno...
* * *
Never before had he seen such a sight. Kasumi... in a bikini.
The world went dark. Tofuu could die happy, now.
FANART! Where's the fanart?! <G>
She *trusted* him. It felt good to say. He was probably with
Megumi, trying to help her with her upset. More importantly, she
knew, She and Ranma had taken a big step towards building something
*more* than trust.
with her upset what? with her new world turned upside down?
She thought about her sister and Tofuu, and how much the two of
them would have to learn to live together.
Right then, she vowed, *If Kasumi can do it, then so can I.
I'll make Ranma mine!*
----------------------------------------
Well, here ends another chapter. It's been long enough since I last
read these chapters that I don't exactly remember what happened so I'm
looking forward to rereading them. Job well done with resolving Ranma
and Akane's most recent tiff.
Ciao,
Warr
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