Well it's been about 12 hours, and chapter 3 hasn't
gone through. I'm confident that it's just the
list is being slow, however if you get this chapter
before receiving 3, you can read chapter three at
http://elena.ff6rpg.net/counp2ch3.html

Either way, here's chapter 4 ^-^

------------------------------------------------------
Title: The Countdown to Matrimony (Ch. 4 of Part 2)
Anime: Ranma 1/2
Author: Denise Cameron aka Elena99
------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4: Don't Cry Anymore

"Hurry up Ranma, get up!" Akane yelled, towering over Ranma's still
sleeping body. In her hands she held a bucket of cold water; she
really didn't want to have to use it on him again, but he was starting
to push his luck.

"Akane? Don't tell me he's still sleeping," said Mr. Saotome sleepily
from a futon a few feet away from Ranma's.

"Sorry, Mr. Saotome. I didn't mean to wake you up with this," Akane
apologized, putting down the bucket and instead poking Ranma's ribs
with her toe. Genma waved her away, as though to say it didn't matter,
then got up and left the room.

She had just gotten up about five minutes ago herself, and was still
in her sleeping clothes; a pair of yellow, flannel pants and an old
yellow tshirt with frilly sleeves. Although she wanted to continue on
with her morning routine, the fact that she hadn't heard Ranma made
her wonder if he was even up yet. _Well Ranma, looks like I have to
make good on my promise._

On the fourth poke, the still sleeping Ranma turned around and grabbed
Akane's leg. With a shriek, she fell over, knocking over the bucket of
water. Soon both were quite damp, and Ranma woke up, female.
Sputtering, Ranma let go of Akane, then sat up.

"Hey! What do ya think you're doing?" she asked in a whinny voice.

"I didn't want to use it, but you grabbed my leg. It wasn't my fault!"
Akane defended. So much for sparing him today, she thought, feeling
her damp hair. They both stood up, squeezing the water out of their
clothes.

"Now I need a shower. Hey, and so do you," said Ranma, kicking her
blankets to one side and dodging around Akane.

"Oh, and I suppose you get one first?" called Akane, running after her
for a few steps.

"I won't be long, go eat breakfast or somethin' while you're waiting.
And save some for me too," said Ranma, running up the stairs. With a
sigh, Akane followed her up, then went to her bedroom to change her
wet shirt into another to wear while waiting for the shower. _At least
he's up now,_ she thought wryly.

When she got back down to the dining room, Kasumi and her father were
already sitting at the table, eating. From the kitchen she could hear
the sounds of someone still cooking; no doubt Mrs. Saotome, who had
near formed a partnership with Kasumi in cooking lately.

"You and Ranma are certainly energetic this morning," commented
Kasumi, serving Akane some rice and eggs. Akane took the food
thankfully, digging in.

"Energetic last night too, from what Nabiki said this morning before
work," said Mr. Tendo, flipping through his paper. Akane nearly
dropped her chopticks and stared at her father, swallowing her food
before commenting.

"What did Nabiki say?" she asked, her voice a pitch higher then
intended. Casually, her father peered over the newspaper at her.

"That you were working late, dear. Why do you always assume the worst
of your sister? She only looks out for you," he said, going back to
his paper. Sighing with relief, Akane resumed her breakfast, feeling
her heart beat faster.

"We weren't working that late, we just did homework for a while. Don't
go getting us in trouble by telling Auntie Saotome we were studying
when we promised her we'd relax," her father merely grunted, and
turned the page in his paper.

_Thanks for giving me a near heart attack before school, Nabiki,_ she
thought, wondering if Nabiki had intended for her father to say
something like that. Without further comment, she finished off her
food, then took her dishes to the kitchen to be cleaned.

"Akane? I'm making lunch for you and Ranma today, don't forget it
please!" called Mrs. Saotome as Akane passed by.

"I won't, Auntie Saotome!" replied Akane politely before heading off
for the stairs.

Not looking up as she climbed, she was almost knocked over by a now
male Ranma, dressed for school and running down the stairs at full
speed. At the last minute, though, he scooped her up in his arms and
flipped in the air, doing a twist so that he landed on the base of the
stairway, facing it. Akane blinked, her mind barely registering how
she had ended up in such a position. Quickly he set her back down on
her feet, giving her an apologetic look.

"You saved some for me, right?" he asked. She thought his hands
lingered longer then they needed to on her arms, but ignored it; they
didn't have time for that this morning. Blinking again at his actions,
followed by the unmatched comment, she fought for composure. As well
as a snappy response. Those tended to come to her easily enough,
especially when Ranma was concerned

"Of course I did, I'm not a pig like you," she replied, running up the
stairs, then turning around after a few steps, "Oh, your mom made us
boxed lunches today, don't forget them. I'll be down soon." She said.
After seeing Ranma nod and dash off to the kitchen, Akane went to the
bathroom for a quick shower.

The hot water felt so good running down her back, and she smiled,
realizing she was content, despite the annoyances so far. It was a
Friday, they had a whole weekend to look forward to - though part of
it would have to be spent studying - and with the warm weather around,
they could do more outside. Maybe even go to the beach, or at least a
festival.

Forcing herself out of the shower, she dried off quickly, then ran off
to her room in her bathrobe to change into her school clothes and fix
her hair. That done, she stuffed her notes from her desk into her
bookbag, as well as the parts Ranma had left behind last night, and
dashed downstairs. Ranma was waiting by the door, finishing off a pork
bun and holding two boxed lunches in his hand. He handed her one,
which she quickly stuffed into her schoolbag.

"About time there, Akane. Ready?" he asked, opening the door.

"Hey, don't forget who made it possible for YOU to be on time," she
countered, following him outside. She thought she heard her father
make another comment to Kasumi about them as they left, but instead of
stopping to check, she closed the door.

It was a bright day outside, with a few white clouds making a pattern
against the light blue sky. The sun shining down warmed her exposed
skin, and she stretched her arms as they walked, wishing it was
Saturday so she could have a jog instead of going to school. As per
usual, Ranma was walking along on top of the fence beside her, looking
forward and swinging his bookbag. Akane chose to fasten hers to her
back, to keep her arms free in case she needed them.

"I'm sorry about the water, by the way. I really didn't want to have
to use it, but you can be really hard to wake up sometimes," she said,
looking up at Ranma as she said it. In the past she was careful about
her apologies, as Ranma had a habit of getting a big head over it, but
she thought it was warranted this time.

"Well next time, just don't bring it at all," he said, jumping over a
post in the fence to the next section, "Pop used to always be able to
wake me up without water."

"Oh? And how did he manage that?" she asked.

"Dunno. Shaking, prodding, and then gettin' the hell out of the way, I
guess," he said, shrugging. _That would be easier to do if you didn't
move so much in your sleep._

"I won't bring in water next time, then. Unless you're really hard to
wake up," she promised.

"Sounds good," he said, then crouched down on the railing. It was
nearing the end, for at least a block or two, so he jumped down to
keep pace beside her.

"Hey, what did my mom make for lunch? She said it was a surprise, and
slapped my hand when I tried to peek," he asked after a moment. Akane
chuckled at the image, then shook her head.

"I don't know, I didn't think to ask. Probably something good, though.
She's even better at cooking then Kasumi is," she said.

"They're about equal," decided Ranma. Crossing the street, they got to
a sidewalk that had a wall beside it, and Ranma jumped back up.

"Hey, Ranma?" asked Akane, watching him walk nimbly on the thin
concrete.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we're childish? I mean...everyone makes fun of us. Like
this morning," asked Akane.

"Feh, just ignore them. We're not childish. They just don't understand
us," he said confidently. It served to lift Akane's apprehension, but
not all of it. _Maybe I'm just paranoid._ As they continued on their
way, Akane noticed more students from their school. Some of them waved
to them, while others fell in step with Akane to chat before speeding
up ahead of her.

But they didn't have to hurry anymore; judging from the familiar faces
around them, and the school clock that was now barely in view, they
were just on time. Ranma leapt over the sign on Dr. Tofu's gate,
waving to a nearby classmate before landing back on the other side.

Suddenly, Akane heard a commotion from behind her and turned around,
backing up to the wall. Ranma stopped too, and they both watched as
other students got out of the way.

"Coming through!" called a familiar female voice. Akane raised her
face to meet Ranma's, thinking he may be able to see who it was. His
eyes widened, and he got up, jumping down beside Akane and grabbing
her hand.

"It's Ukyo. I don't know why she's in such a hurry, but come on," he
said, tugging her forward. She ran along with him easily, but looked
back, not seeing her yet.

"I thought you talked to her?" asked Akane, assuming he was trying to
avoid her usual over-affectionate attitude towards him. He did look
very serious about getting to the school before his ex-fiancee did,
though, and only sped up at her questioning.

"I made her a promise. C'mon, stop gawkin'."

They ran through the open gate of the school, Akane looking both ways
expectantly for a certain returning senior wearing a blue gi. _He's
always here, in the mornings. Always has been, always will be. If we
can spot him quickly, we can still avoid Ukyo, and get into school on
time._ Although she scanned the area, her ears picked him out before
her eyes did.

"Ranma Saotome! Release Akane Tendo from your clutches this instant!"
came a loud, male voice, somewhere from her left. Quick as lightning,
Ranma turned towards it, checking on her from the corner of his eye.

"Ready, Akane?" he asked, crouching for the jump.

"Ready," she said, mimicking his position. Together they leapt into
the air, each with one foot outstretched in a perfect kick. The person
who had called to them, Kuno, was down before he could even inform
Akane for the umpteenth time that she could date with him. After the
kick, Ranma merely jumped to one side, then reached out to help Akane
to her feet. Taking his hand, they began once again to run to the
school, only fifteen seconds off schedule.

Already, it was looking like it might be a good day, after all.

* * *

"Feeling jealous, me!
You, who I fell in love with, lied!
Before my hot feeling cools off,
on an okonomiyaki,
on an okonomiyaki, I wrote a love letter."
-- "Love Letter Written on Okonomiyaki", Ranma 1/2

Ukyo stopped running, the carefree smile leaving her face as though it
had never been there. Someone bumped into her after her abrupt stop,
then recovered, barely making Ukyo budge. Her eyes were following them
still, right up until they ran into the school. She had noticed the
hands, still holding onto each other unnecessarily. It was no wonder
her feet lacked motivation to move forward.

"They...they...they teamed together, and knocked him down without
breaking stride! As though they read each others minds...," said Ukyo
sadly, taking a step towards the still down Kuno. Even the foot prints
on his face seemed matching. That made her all the more upset, and she
turned around, heading for a tree for solace.

"I'm an idiot...to think I could really come back here. The second I
see them, I fall apart," she said, ignoring the looks she was getting
from others around them. She had first spotted Ranma on the wall,
walking along at his usual pace. Somehow the sun had been shining on
his black hair in a way that had transfixed her; she had still tried
to run forward, to overtake them. But then, he had turned around, and
spotted her. Seconds after their eyes met, she had slowed, and then he
had disappeared. When she had caught up again, working on trying to
stay a few paces behind, him and Akane were charging towards Kuno.

Just seeing them do such a small thing together, like a real couple,
was enough to tear her apart.

"I can't go in there today...I just...I can't," she said to herself as
the warning bell sounded. The rest of the students around her
scrambled in, most ignoring her in hopes that they could get in before
being late. Ukyo watched them all drearily, half hoping Ranma would
come back outside and coax her into joining them. _He probably doesn't
even realize I'm still out here...Oh, Ranma._ She looked up to the
windows of the building, trying to figure out if their homeroom faced
the front or not. But it was too far up to see properly; from her
viewpoint, they were only silhouettes.

Soon the late bell rang, but Ukyo just stood there, looking at the
doors blankly. She couldn't have made herself go inside if she had to;
it was finally hitting her. _Up until now...I must have been just in
shock. Arg, couldn't I have stayed in shock just a bit longer? It
was...so much easier that way._ Trying to keep the tears from falling,
Ukyo left the tree and ran back through the school gate. Running at
top speed, she headed back the way she came from, to the restaurant.
She just couldn't go to school today, not this Friday. On the way
back, she didn't even notice that she no longer had to push people to
get where she was going.

--

Notes: Just a short cap, this is the last chapter for Part 2. Next it'll be
Part 3, where things start to move faster. Not sure when I'll get that
up, as I still have to edit it, and it's longer then previous chapters.

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