Previous Chapters can be found at:
The Church of Ranma and Kasumi
http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/KasumiandRanma/

or

Exar's Fanfics & More!
http://www.angelfire.com/anime3/exarkun/

The first chapter of this was posted to the FFML-R, so Desaix should get
around to reposting it shortly. A chapter 1 and 2 of this story were posted,
then a heavily revised chapter 1. The only similarity between the two
"chapter 2"s is the name.

Enough preamble, on with the fic!


Love's Truth
Chapter 2

By Exar
exarkun@olypen.com

_______________________


Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz, not me. This story is in no
way a claim to these characters. I make no money from this.

_______________________


Ranma knocked on the door, just below the wooden duck bearing Akane's name.

"Come in."

Ranma opened the door and entered, attempting and failing to be appear
casual.

"What do you want, Ranma?" said Akane, not turning from where she sat at her
desk.

"Umm... I need to talk to you, Akane," he stammered.

"Okay. Go ahead," she said, turning around to face him.

<God she's beautiful.Why'd I ever call her uncute?>

Ranma stood silent for a moment, trying to speak, unsuccessfully.

"Well? Talk already, you idiot!"

<No! I'm tryin' to tell her I love her! I won't fight!> Ranma thought as he
clenched
his hands into fists.

"Akane, I-I love you. I have for a while now." <There. I said it!>

Akane rocked back in her seat with a stunned expression on her face.

Which changed quickly into amusement.

"You love me? That's the funniest thing I've ever heard! Don't you get it? I
hate you!
I never wanted to be engaged to you, and would never marry you! I've tried
everything
I could think of to get rid of you since you first got here! Hitting you
several times a day,
cooking nuclear waste, sabotaging your cures and your relationships with
your other
fiancees, but nothing's worked! And now you say you love me? THAT'S
PATHETIC!!
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

Ranma grabbed his head in his hands and screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

_______________________


Ranma sat up in bed, grabbed his head in his hands and screamed,
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Ranma looked around wildly, trying to see in all directions at once. "It was
only a dream."

He settled back into his covers, thinking wildly. <Only a dream, only a
dream, only a
dream, Akane doesn't hate me. Akane doesn't... Ah, crap...> Memories of the
previous
night crashed down on Ranma. <She does hate me. Oh, god, I'm depressed.>

"Akane..." He said wistfully, staring at the ceiling.

He read a sign saying, "Quiet, boy.", as it swooped through its arc and
smashed into his face.

_______________________


Kasumi woke with a smile on her face. She had breakfast all planned out, and
all she had to
do was cook it. The hard part, the planning and preperation, was already
done. She rose and
walked to the bathroom, knocking on the door to the bath, just to be sure it
was empty. She
set down the clothes she'd brought from her room, and pulled off her
nightgown. She folded it
carefully, then placed it next to her clothes. She went into the bath,
scrubbed and washed in the
cold water, then got into the hot bathtup to soak.

As she sat in the tub, she mentally went over her plans for the day. First,
to fix breakfast for
everyone, then  make lunches for Nabiki, Akane, and Ranma... Ranma. The
events of the
previous night came barreling out of the shady corners of her memory and
took up position
in the forefront of her mind.

"Oh, my, I'm engaged now."

"I suppose I'll have to fix Ranma a special lunch today."

_______________________


Ranma awoke some time later. His father was still asleep, which suited him
fine. He
was so wound up, if he'd had to spar with the panda this morning, he
probably would've
pounded him into next week.

After hurrying through his morning bath, he joined Kasumi in the kitchen.

"Mornin', Kasumi. Is Akane up yet?"

"Yes, Ranma, I think she's out jogging.", Kasumi replied as she poured a
spoonful of
soup into a tasting dish.

"Okay. I think I'm gonna go catch her. I wanna talk to her way from everyone
else."

"That's a good idea. Try not to hurt her feelings, alright?"

"I'll try, but no promises."

As Ranma left, Kasumi sipped at the broth and decided it needed more salt.

_______________________


"Yo, Akane! Wait up!"

Akane turned and glanced over her shoulder. There was Ranma, running to
catch up
to her. Her first thought was to stop and wait for him, then she remembered
that she
was supposed to be mad at him.

"Why would I do that?"

"Geez, Akane, what'cha mad about now?", he said as he caught up to her.

"As if you have to ask!" Akane huffed as she crossed her arms showed him her
back.

"Yes, I have to ask, 'cause you never tell me!"

Ranma reached out, intent on grabbing her shoulder, but checked the motion
as she
whirled around.

"You were groping Shampoo in my room, and you beat up poor Ryoga! That's why
I'm mad!"

She stood firmly, with her hands on her hips, in the classic pose of a woman
lambasting
her man.

"Shampoo tackled me, like she always does, and I wasn't in control when I
attacked
Ryoga. You know that."

"That doesn't change the fact that you still hurt him."

"Why do you care so much about that guy? You don't seem to mind when he
beats
the tar outta me.", Ranma said in a slightly hurt voice.

"Because he's not a pervert like YOU! Besides, why should I care about you?"

Ranma clenched his fists and visibly controlled his growing anger.

"Good! If you don't care about me, then this'll be easier!", Ranma all but
shouted.

"What are you talking about?"

"We ain't engaged anymore. You broke it from your end, I'm breakin' it from
mine.
I'm engaged to Kasumi now."

"Good! I feel sorry for her, but I'm glad I don't have to deal with you
anymore!", Akane
said heatedly.

Biting back an oath, Ranma spun on his heel and leapt away, hoping she
hadn't seen
his tears.

_______________________


Kasumi was putting the finishing touches on breakfast when Ranma walked in.

"I told her."

Kasumi looked up from the rice she was putting into a serving dish.

"And?"

Ranma walked up to her and leaned on the counter next to her, stopping only
long enough to
snag a lump of rice at chestnut-fist speed, earning a knuckle-rap almost as
fast.

"Ow!"

"Wait to eat with the rest of us. So what happened?"

With a longsuffering sigh, he slumped back against the cupboard and spoke.

"She said she felt sorry for you, but that she was happy the engagement was
over."

Kasumi sighed. "Somehow, I doubt it."

Ranma straightened and opened the cupboard he had been leaning against.

"Yeah, well, that's her problem. Wanna hand setting the table?"

Kasumi replied positively, and Ranma started pulling dishes from the
shelves.

"I've been wanting to try this for a while.", Ranma said as he threw the
dishes into the air.

"Oh, my! What are you doing with my plates, Ranma?"

As he juggled a score or more plates, cups, bowls and chopsticks in the
air, Ranma replied, "Setting the table."

"Oh." Said Kasumi, not comforted in the least by his response.

"Watch." Said Ranma as he moved into the dining room.

In a dizzying display of speed and martial precision, Ranma flipped dishes
from their orbits in
his juggling pattern to their proper places on the table. Amazingly, none of
them broke or even
seemed to hit the table very hard. As Ranma continued around the table, he
reached Souns' spot,
where the elder Tendo already sat, reading his morning paper. As Ranma
reached Soun's spot, a
wind seemed to come out of nowhere and flapped the pages of the newspaper
wildly, switching
from the finance section all the way back to the sports news.

Ranma, having finished setting the table, stepped to the side and took a
bow. Only then did he
notice Soun Tendo sitting in his spot with a bedraggled newspaper and a
shell-shocked expression.
Kasumi couldn't help but clap and she barely held in a giggle.

"Oops, sorry, Mr. Tendo, didn't see ya there," mumbled Ranma, looking at his
feet with an
abashed expression on his face.

Soun snapped out of his surprise and said, "That's all right, son, but how
did you do that?"

"Easy! It's like the speed training I did at the Cat Cafe! I just use the
chestnut fist to juggle all
the dishes at once, toss 'em out in the right area, catch 'em right before
they land, and put 'em in
the right spot."

Kasumi really did giggle at that. "Ranma, is there anything that you don't
approach as training?"

"Uh, no. Should there be?", he said, confused.

"Of course not, boy! All of life is training to the _true_ martial artist!",
said a large panda as it walked
into the room. Or rather, a sign the panda held said.

"Mornin', pop."

"Good morning, Mr. Saotome.", said Kasumi in her normal cheerful way.

The panda's spun his sign with a practiced twist.

"Good morning, Kasumi dear."

"Breakfast will be ready in just a moment, father, Mr. Saotome."

"Thank you, Kasumi, that sounds wonderful."

"Growf." The panda spun his sign once again, and it said: "Then I'll wait to
take my bath."

"Stupid old man, Kasumi didn't fix BAMBOO this mornin'! Go take your bath,
just be quick
about it!", Ranma yelled as he kicked his father in the general direction of
the bath.

"Want me to help ya bring out the food Kasumi?", Ranma said as he walked
back toward the
kitchen door.

"No, thank you, Ranma, that's all right, but I don't think we need you
juggling the food as well as
 the dishes.", she replied with a smile.

"Hey! I didn't drop any!"

No doubt about it, Kasumi giggled again.

_______________________


<Where am I?>, thought Ryoga as he awoke.

<Wherever I am, the decor leaves a _lot_ to be desired.>

Ryoga found himself in a very small room, barely bigger than a walk-in
closet. In it
was a futon, a tiny dresser, a red urn seemingly filled with panties, and a
small, iron-bound
chest. The walls were covered in posters. Naughty posters.

In every direction Ryoga looked, he saw several square feet of exposed
female flesh. By
virtue of reflex, his hand flew to his nose to attempt to stop the river of
blood that was
sure to come.

But nothing happened.

Ryoga pulled his still-bloodless hand from his nose and looked around in
wonder. He
hadn't fainted! His nose didn't bleed! Kami be praised! He could go to the
beach again!

But how?

How did this happen to him?

Memories began to return. Shampoo did something to him. That was why he
could
look at the pictures! He had asked Akane out! And she even said yes! Ranma.
Ranma
did something. With.. Shampoo. And hurt Akane's feelings. Ranma must DIE!
Now
if I could just find him...

The door slid open.

"Hey Ryoga, good to see you're awake. Breakfast is ready. For a thousand
yen, I'll
lead you to the dining room."

"I've got a better bargain, Nabiki. Lead me to a nice resturaunt and I'll
treat. Then
maybe a movie, if you're interested." Ryoga said as he stood and sauvely
took
Nabiki's hand.

"Please, Ryoga, I know you're ga-ga over my sister. Why are you asking _me_
out?
Just trying to practice?"

"Akane? Nah, she's obsessed with Ranma, so I've moved on. I like more mature
women anyway."

As Ryoga said these things, his mind was in a whirl. <I can't stop talking!
I don't
want to date Nabiki! I love Akane! Why can't I let go of her hand? Wait...
Shampoo
said she hit the Casanova point! Does that mean I'll ask out any girl I see?
Arrrgh!
Ranma, this is all your fault!>

"Oh, really? Well then, by all means, follow me."

"I'd be delighted.", said Ryoga as he followed her out the door of
Happosai's room.
Inwardly, he was cringing.

_______________________


Breakfast was a tense matter. Nabiki was mysteriouly absent, and Akane was
grimly
quiet. For once in their lives, Soun and Genma picked up on the tension and
decided not
to add to it. Of course, this didn't stop Genma from trying to steal food
off Ranma's plate,
or Ranma from defending his food automatically.

Finally, Kasumi spoke up.

"Ranma, don't you think you should tell them about your decision?"

The two fathers stared at Ranma with ill-concealed impatience.

"Okay, I'll tell! The long and short of it is this: I ain't marryin' Akane.
She-"

Soun and Genma lept to their feet and shouted as one.

"Son!" "Boy!"

""How could you do this...""

"...to me?" "...to your father?"

"I AIN'T FINISHED YET!"

More surpised than scared by Ranma's outburst, the fathers sat back down.

"Like I was tryin' t'say, she hates me. I dunno why, but she does. I ain't
gonna force myself
on someone who hates me."

Seeing the growing interruption in his father's eyes, Ranma glared at him
and said, "Lemme
finish, old man."

"'Cause unlike you, pops, I actually care about my honor an' my family's,  I
talked to Kasumi, and
we agreed to try out bein' engaged. No promises, tho. If it don't work out,
I'm gone. A ronin don't
need family honor."

"You'll do no such thing, boy. If you do, your mother will kill me!", said
Genma.

"Then you'll just have to keep hiding from her like you've been for the last
ten years! Right now, you
don't gotta worry about it. I wanna see mom again. That's why me an' Kasumi
are tryin' it out. Now
I gotta get to school. Later, old man. Good bye, Kasumi."

_______________________


Ranma walked to school in a funk. He kept thinking about what Akane had said
earlier. She didn't
care about him. But how did that stack up against the things she'd done for
him before? When he'd
angered Happosai the first time he came around, and been kicked out of the
house, she'd come out and
found him, and even brought him food. Speaking of food, she was always
trying to cook for him, even
though she couldn't. Didn't that say something? Yet, the words she spoke
this morning, and the night
before, said something, too. And their message was loud and clear. Akane
didn't love him. And if she
didn't hate _him_, she hated the idea of marrying him.

Which amounted to the same thing, given the odd nature of their
relationship. And that meant, even
though he hated the thought, she would be happiest with him out of her life.
He would do whatever he
could to make her happy. Because that's what you do for the ones you love.

_______________________


Shampoo was excited. Ranma had asked _her_ out on a date! True, it was in
exchange for her leaving
him alone last night, be he _had_ asked! She was willing to take what she
could get when it came to Ranma.
He had proved surprisingly difficult to wrap around her finger. The elders
said that seducing men was fun and
easy, because they were by nature weak-willed, and all that a woman need do
to catch one was flash a little
skin and smile a lot. It didn't work on Ranma. Nor did her skintight
outfits. Or showing up in his bed in the
middle of the night. Or much of anything else she'd tryed. She hoped he
didn't secretly like boys. Maybe
that's why Ryoga hates him so much... Suddenly, Shampoo was struck by a
vision of Ranma and Ryoga,
Ryoga looking and sounding like he had after she used the Casanova Point on
him, and Ranma looking
like he did when he was shopping for food in his girl form. Very cute and
sweet. They leaned towards each
other slowly, eyes closed, lips searching.

*Oh, Ryoga.*

*Oh, Ranma.*

"Oh, no! Airen not go to pig-boy for love! Shampoo love you too, too
much!!", Shampoo cried as she stood
up and assumed a dramatic pose. Unfourtunately, the branch she was standing
on wasn't wide enough to
accommadate dramatic poses. Unable to catch herself, she fell to the ground
and landed in a heap.

_______________________


Akane walked to school alone for the first time in months. It was an odd
experience. She kept
glancing at the fence, half expecting Ranma to be there. That idiot. Didn't
he know that she lov- liked
him a lot? She'd always said differently when she was mad, but he just _had_
to know how she really
felt, didn't he?

Apparently not. He thought she hated him. Well, she'd just have to show him
that he was wrong.

Akane continued walking, thoughts of _how_ to show Ranma her feelings
filling her mind.

_______________________


Ranma walked towards Shampoo's unconsious form. She was sprawled at the base
of a tree, mumbling
something unintelligble. As he approached, he heard her clearly say, "No,
Ryoga!", then something that
sounded like "love", then a clear "Ranma".

Had Ryoga beaten Shampoo?

P-chan was good enough, Ranma knew, but why would he? He knew amazon law, or
at least the
relevant part. But, if Ryoga had beaten Shampoo, she'd have to start chasing
him instead of Ranma!
It was a blow to his ego for Ranma to lose any of the girls chasing him,
especially to Ryoga, but in the
long run, he wouldn't mind being rid of Shampoo and her great-grandmother.

Ranma proceeded to school with a bit more spring in his step.

_______________________


"Are you sure you don't want to see a movie, Nabiki?", said Ryoga in his
strangely sauve voice.

"Thank you, Ryoga, but I need to get to school. Maybe tomorrow?" Nabiki
smiled as she spoke. Ryoga
had a lot more money than she'd thought. It was _fun_ spending other
people's money!

"Sure, Nabiki. I'd love to."

"See you later!"

She spun on her heel and ran towards the school building.

Ryoga stared after her for a moment, then turned and leaned against the
school gate. That had been
strange. He'd been himself most of the time, but any time he tried to leave
or tell Nabiki he loved
Akane, something took over, and turned what he was saying into something
from a girl's manga!

He had to get Shampoo to take off this casanova point if it was going to do
this to him! Now how
to find her?

"Hey, P-chan. Congratulations."

Ryoga looked up. In front of him stood Ranma, currently female and slightly
damp. He'd been so
deep in thought, he hadn't noticed Ranma's approach.

"What are you talking about, you jerk? And don't call me that!", was what he
tried to say.

What he really said was; "Thank you, Ranma, would you like me to take you to
breakfast to
celebrate?"

Ranma blinked. Nothing changed, so he blinked again. Ryoga stubbornly
insisted upon existing,
so he said, "Ryoga, did you get hit _really_ hard on the head or somethin'?"

"No, Ranma, I just realized what an attractive woman you are when you want
to be," Ryoga
responded, giving Ranma a smooth smile. Inwardly, Ryoga was screaming in
abject horror.

Ranma was detained from replying due to his jaw working up and down in a
rythmic fashion.

Suddenly, a purple blur flashed by Ranma, impacted on Ryoga, and resolved
itself into Shampoo.

"Ryoga, what you doing, stupid pig-boy? You no ask out Ranma!", she yelled
as she began pummleing
Ryoga about the head.

"Now, Shampoo, -ow- you know I wouldn't -oof- ask Ranma out, I was
warming -eep- up to
asking -yowtch- you out, of course!", he managed to get out between
bashings.

Ranma shook his head, decided to leave them to their fun & games, then
wandered off towards the school
in search of hot water.

_______________________


The school day passed slowly, seeming to drag on for endless streches while
Ranma stared at Akane's
back until their classmates were wondering when it was going to catch fire.
Occasionally, Akane shot
a glance back at Ranma. Whether she caught him looking at her, somewhere
else, or nowhere at all, she
never seemed satisfied with what she saw there.

Ranma was extremely grateful when, at long last, the final bell rang.

_______________________


As he walked home from school, something was bothering Ranma, but he didn't
know what it was.
Trying to puzzle it out, he wandered around town, aimlessly walking in a
pattern usually reserved for
Hibikis. Unable to find an answer, he looked around him to get his bearings,
so he could go home. The
first structure he laid eyes on was Dr. Tofu's clinic.

"Oh, yeah," he said, feeling intense guilt building inside of him, "That."

_______________________

End Chapter 2


Love's Truth
By Exar

exarkun@olypen.com
Exar's Fanfics & More!
http://www.angelfire.com/anime3/exarkun/

_______________________


Nerima Logic: If A=B, and B=C, then it *must* be Ranma's fault!

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