This one got started Sunday night, at our monthly FFIRC One Hour
Challenge.
Enjoy!
A December Gathering
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic by June "KaraOhki" Geraci
karaohki@snet.net
December 23, 2001
Revised December 25, 2001
Ranma 1/2 doesn't belong to me, but to Rumiko
Takahashi. I'm borrowing her characters for a
little while. Please note that this story is
written for entertainment purposes only, and may not
be used commercially.
--------------------------
"A what?"
"A Christmas party! Doesn't that sound like fun?"
Akane nodded. "Sure! We haven't had a party in a
long time."
Kasumi smiled at her sister's enthusiasm. "Good.
Would you tell Ranma? I'd like him to help out with
the decorations. You can help me with the cooking."
That statement made Akane start dancing around the
kitchen. She had been working so very hard on her
cooking skills, and her sister felt that they were
good enough to serve guests! The only words that
could make her happier would be an "I love you" from
her fiance. "I'll go tell him now! Bye!"
As Akane's dance carried her out of the kitchen,
Kasumi smiled serenely and continued to prepare
breakfast.
*****
Ranma was practicing when Akane flew into the dojo
and skidded to a stop in front of him. He glanced
in her direction to acknowledge her presence and
continued until he had completed the kata.
"How come you look so happy, Akane? Glad to see
me?"
The remark got the expected reaction. Akane ran
forward, placed her hand on Ranma's chest, and gave
him a push. It was not a hard push, but had just
enough force to send him back a couple of feet.
"What do you think?"
"I think I'm right." Ranma glanced around to make
sure no one was nearby, put his arms around his
fiancee, and kissed her cheek. "What are you so
excited about?"
"Kasumi's going to throw a Christmas party! She
wants you to put up the decorations."
The happy expression on Ranma's face vanished.
"Damn, I knew it was too good to last."
"Ranma?"
Ranma sat on the floor and pulled Akane down beside
him. "You don't get it, do you? We've had peace
and quiet since the wedding got wrecked, because we
haven't let anybody in the house! If Kasumi invites
everybody over, and you KNOW it's gonna be
everybody, we're going to have another disaster!"
"But Ranma--"
"I mean, Nabiki went to all that trouble to bill
everybody for the damage they caused when they
wrecked the wedding, right? And when Shampoo got
the bill and crashed in to complain, she gave her
another one, right? And Cologne has been keeping
her away every since! So now Kasumi's gonna just
let her IN here?"
"But Ranma--"
"Besides that, why a Christmas party?"
By this time Akane was so frustrated at her
inability to get a word in edgewise that she put her
hand over Ranma's mouth. "Do you have a problem
with Christmas?" She removed her hand and waited.
Ranma sat there quietly for a moment. "It's a bunch
of problems, I guess. I don't know a thing about
Christmas, really. I mean, what are WE doing having
a Christmas party? Me and Pop never did anything
about Christmas! It's not part of our religion, or
Shampoo's or Ukyo's--and I know exactly what's going
to happen. They're gonna make it an excuse to drive
us nuts. The girls are gonna hang all over me,
Kuno's gonna follow you around, and Ryoga is too.
I'm not going."
Akane was not used to seeing Ranma in this sort of
mood. Ever since the failed wedding they had taken
the time and effort to improve their relationship,
and he had become much more relaxed and happy. Now
the signs of strain and tension that had become only
a memory were back. In an effort to lighten the
mood, she decided a little gentle teasing was in
order.
"I know what the problem is. You're too broke to
buy me a present."
"That's not it!" Ranma turned away, but Akane
grabbed his shoulders and made him look at her.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have teased you like that.
Just try, okay? Try to have a good time, and if
you're not having one, I won't be hurt if you
leave." Akane's request was accompanied by a little
smile, and a little squeeze, and it got the desired
result.
"For you, I'll do it."
"And don't worry about Ryoga. He's got Akari."
"You still don't get it, do you? He can't make up
his mind between the two of you."
Akane just shook her head. Where did Ranma get such
ideas?
*****
The next couple of days were very busy for everyone
in the Tendo household. Nabiki arranged the
delivery of the invitations, Ranma and Akane
decorated the entire house and dojo, and Kasumi
spent nearly every second cooking. Akane left Ranma
to his own devices when it was time to decorate the
tree, and spent the entire afternoon before
Christmas helping her sister bake cookies. The
aroma spread through the entire house, and soon the
kitchen was full of people sampling the results.
"It's a miracle. My little girl makes perfect
cookies!"
"Now, now, Soun. Don't cry. You'll make them
soggy!"
"Dearest, perhaps we should take a few cookies and
bring them out of the kitchen. Akane and Kasumi
have no place to walk."
"Tomboy, these aren't half bad!"
"You know, we could probably pay off all the cost of
the party if we sell these."
*****
"Are you ready, Ranma?"
"As ready as I'm going to be, I guess. You look
nice."
Akane colored prettily. "Thank you. So do you."
This was the first time she'd seen Ranma dressed up
since he'd run into her room in a tuxedo. She
giggled as he pulled nervously at his tie, and
straightened it for him. "Let's go downstairs.
Everybody should be arriving."
*****
There were already a few guests downstairs when the
couple walked down. Predictably, the first one to
greet them was Tatewaki Kuno, who ran up to Akane
holding a gift in each hand.
"Akane Tendo! You are a vision to delight the eyes
of any man! Please accept this gift as a token of
my affection! But where is the pig-tailed girl? I
wished to give her a gift as well!"
Ranma glared at Kuno as Akane reached out and took
both gifts. His glare got stronger when she spoke.
"Thank you. I'll be sure to give it to her the next
time I see her."
"But why is she not here?"
"She had another engagement today."
That was just the beginning, as people began to
arrive in droves. Ranma watched in amusement as
Akane avoided Ryoga, walking right past him several
times as he wandered about trying to give her a
gift. His girlfriend Akari kept trying to point him
in the right direction, but she was completely
unsuccessful.
"How come Akari doesn't clobber him?" he muttered to
himself.
"I don't think she realizes what's going on," said a
quiet voice at his elbow. Akane was standing there.
"I'm sorry, Ranma. You were right. What are we
going to do about him?"
Ranma shrugged. "You got me. He's been this way
for ages."
Their conversation was interrupted when Akane was
pushed aside, and Ranma found himself surrounded by
Kodachi, Shampoo, and Ukyo, who were all trying to
feed him at once. He held up both hands and backed
off a step.
"Hey, didn't the invitations say not to bring any
food? Kasumi worked real hard on this party and I'm
not gonna hurt her feelings by eating what you
brought."
The girls found no way to refute this argument, so
took another tack.
"Then you must open my gift first, Ranma-sama!"
"No, open mine, Airen!"
"Ranchan, you're going to LOVE my present!"
This was a little harder for Ranma to talk his way
out of. "Um, well, I don't know." Ranma backed
away a few more steps as the girls stopped talking
to him and began to argue with each other. When the
argument went from words to violence he remembered
what his fiancee had said: "I won't be hurt if you
leave."
Then he looked across the room. Akane was stuck
between Ryoga and Kuno, who were both trying to
speak to her at once. Her eyes met his, and the
message he got was unmistakable. She needed to be
rescued. Again.
Ranma turned to one of the food-laden tables, and
grabbed the tablecloth with both hands. He pulled
it out from under the food in one smooth motion,
leaving everything behind on the table. People
around began to applaud. He ignored the applause,
ran to Akane, and wrapped both of them in the
tablecloth.
They vanished.
*****
Akane gasped when she realized what Ranma was doing,
and clung to him as tightly as she could. There was
a huge difference between seeing Ranma perform the
Umisenken and actually being part of it. She knew
they were outdoors because of the cold, and wondered
where he was taking her. Then the movement stopped,
and she found herself indoors again. They were in a
Shinto shrine halfway across Nerima.
"Ranma, why are--"
His finger was on her lips. "Shh. I hear
something." Moments later a crowd of people ran
into the shrine, looked around, and ran out again.
Akane barely dared to breathe.
"They didn't see us."
"Nope."
"But they were looking right at us!"
"Great trick, right?"
Akane shivered. "Uh huh. But I'm cold."
Ranma wrapped the tablecloth around them a little
more securely, and found a draft-free corner for
them to sit in. "I like this place. The priest
here is a nice old man, and I'd come to sit and
think when things got a little too crazy for me."
"I can see why."
"You sorry we left the party?"
"No. Not a bit."
The two sat quietly, sharing warmth and contentment.
Then Ranma pushed the tablecloth away from his side
in an effort to get his hand in his pocket.
"What are you doing?"
"Wait a sec." Ranma succeeded in getting his hand
into his pocket, and pulled out an envelope. "You
were right that I didn't have any money to buy you
anything. I've been paying Nabiki to keep us a
secret as long as she can. I don't think it's gonna
be much longer." He sighed. "It's gonna start all
over again, I guess. But this is for you."
Akane put out a hand and accepted the envelope,
opened it, and squinted to see what it contained in
the dim light. It was a card. Not a Christmas
card, but a simple card with flowers on the front.
She opened it, and realized that the message inside
had been handwritten.
"It's about time I said I love you."
Akane's hand trembled as she traced Ranma's written
words with her fingertips.
"Akane?"
She looked up, tears in her eyes. Ranma seemed anxious.
"Aren't you gonna say anything? Are you okay?"
Ranma had to lean close to hear her whispered reply.
"I love you, too."
Ranma pulled Akane even closer, and then hesitated.
Somehow it seemed inappropriate for them to kiss in
the shrine. Instead, he pulled Akane into his lap
and made sure she was well wrapped in the
tablecloth.
They sat there for a long time, unaware that they
were being observed. Soon the priest smiled and
walked away. There was no harm in leaving the young
couple there.
--------------------------------------------------
http://karaohki.anifics.com
--------------------------------------------------
You could turn this way,
I'm also lonely
this autumn evening
Basho
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