Hey all,

I've been dormant too long, the fingers are starting to itch to post something as opposed to internalizing and editing.  This is *OLD*, actually, this is the FIRST piece of Ranma 1/2 fiction I *ever* wrote, and I suppose there're some obvious clues that it was my first ever attempt (not the pairing and the pathetic writing style, not to say that it has improved much...), but here we go:

DISCLAIMER: Ranma 1/2 is property of Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Video.  No profit is being made from this work of original fiction, and no infringement is intended.

RATING: PG (I think I use a pooty word in here)

ARCHIVE: Rakhal, Phu, and Reddeath have my express permission, everyone else please email me at echonymph@msn.com and ask first.

=====

GLIMPSES

- by ling

=====

The Tendo training hall was normally tranquil, and regardless of the uproars that occurred every few months or every few weeks, the relative peace of the small, suburban house was overshadowed by the rumors that ran rampant about it.  What with she-males and pandas running amok in the city of Nerima, what was to be expected other than utter insanity within the Tendo Compound?

But what people saw on the outside were mere glimpses.

And those exaggerated glimpses were all they'd ever know.

"Akane?" Ranma asked as he peeked into her room, she glanced up at him quickly, prepared for a fight, but open for a rare moment of peace between them.  He took three giant steps and landed in a sitting position on her bed, he looked sheepish, and Akane realized that he had a notebook clutched in his hands.

"What is it, Ranma?"

He glanced up at her, and throwing caution to the wind, he started, sounding as confident as humanly possible, "You know I'm good at a lot of stuff, and I'm also the biggest hunk in the world."  He opened one eye cautiously to see if Akane had brought out her mallet yet, instead, he found her looking bored and skeptical.

"And?" she asked sarcastically.  "Are you just going to extol your virtues to remind me of what a wonderful fianc� you are, or is there more?"  He glowered at her and continued, his voice much softer this time around:

"I'm getting to it!"  He paused, looking meekly down at the notebook.  "I may be good at lots of stuff, Akane, but I really suck at math."  He peeked back up at her, checking yet again if she was going to hurt him.  She just looked confused.

"So?" she asked.

"So!" he yelled, getting angry, "I was just going to ask you for some help!  I'm sorry I even tried."  He made to leave when he felt her grab his free hand.  When he glanced back over, Akane bore an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Ranma, I'm just not used to you asking me for anything except to drop dead or leave you alone."  He felt instantly guilty again.

"Akane � I don't really mean all those mean things I say all the time," he muttered, lowering his head.  Akane rewarded him with a smile and grabbed his notebook.

"Now," she said, "where do you need help?"  He grinned and pointed to the problem.

=====

"Nabiki, do you want the first aid kit?" Kasumi called from the kitchen.  Her younger sister looked up and asked:

"Who needs the first aid kit?"  Kasumi stood there with the white case in her hands.

"Well," the eldest Tendo ventured, "Ranma has been up in Akane's room for nearly two hours, and I haven't heard any yelling yet."  She brought her hand up to her face.  "I just supposed that he was already unconscious."  Nabiki shook her head and grabbed the box.

"Yeah, I better go up and check on them anyway."

=====

"Are you serious?" Akane asked incredulously.  Ranma nodded, barely able to repress his laughter.

It was unimaginable that Akane did not know of the near one hundred boys that attacked him every day in the locker rooms to avenge the loss of poor Akane's availability.  He grinned and replied jokingly, "I mean, I tell them that they can have you, but you know, they just don't listen."

She swatted him on the shoulder and tried to fake a glare.

She was failing miserably.

There was something about this Ranma that didn't tease her and wasn't being beaten to a crust by her that she didn't recognize.

He wasn't really this nice, was he?

Looking at him intently and found it hard to imagine that this was the boy she saw day in and day out.  The one on whom she vented all her anger, the one who teased her and called her fat and uncute.  He was staring out her window at the sky, a handsome smile on his face.

And when did he become so attractive anyway?  Last she remembered him, he was a loud, brassy, annoying hentai who did nothing but cause her misery.

Not at all like the funny, shy, math-hating guy sitting on her bed and staring out her window.

When he turned back to her, the smile was still on his face, but his beautiful blue-gray eyes were now focused on her.  Akane hid a blush and turned back to her desk, unwilling to admit to herself that she found him cute.

That she found him distracting.

Especially when he flashed her the smile that was the reason why the female population of Furinkan High followed him around like a God.

"Akane, are you okay?"  He cocked his head to one side, a look of mystified concern on his face.

"Idiot," she said softly, "I'm fine."  He shrugged his shoulders.  Hey, as long as no mallets were involved, she could stare at her wall for as long as she wanted.  He grabbed his notebook and stood awkwardly; Akane was still lost in her thoughts.  He wondered for a moment about how to thank her for her help, and a grin came over his face.  It would earn him a beating at the very least, but it would be worth every single bruise.

He bent down and gave her a small peck on the cheek before running out the room, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Thanks for the help, Akane!"

=====

Ranma was sitting at the table reading a book.  He had imagined that she'd come barreling down the stairs and try to kill him immediately.  He glanced at his watch.  But it had been nearly half an hour now, and she still hadn't tried to shorten his life.  He sighed and went back to his book, knowing that the mallet and the enraged fianc�e would be there eventually.

=====

Akane still sat on her bed, one hand on the hot place right above her cheekbone that Ranma had brushed with his lips.

She smiled to herself.

He was probably waiting for her to kill him, a manga in one hand, a suspicious, and perhaps a little frightened, expression on his face.

She turned back to her English homework.

He could add surprise to the feelings that crossed his mind; Akane decided to let that one slide.

Because, after all, her anger was just a glimpse of herself.

=====

Like I said, it was early.  I went through and cleaned up a few things, so it's not *completely* atrocious (on the first go, an "Akane-chan" *gag* somehow slipped in there).

later -ling


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