It's in His… Hug?

By: Kami

For: LS-Sama

Short little Ranma ½ story. I saw your rant the other day about there being no good canon fanfics, and I've been thinking about this for awhile. Not really canon, but hopefully not too bad. Enjoy, and Happy Birthday.

(BTW, for those reading this on FFnet, this was written quite a while ago, in February of 2005. One of my earliest completed works, or at least one of the earliest I'm willing to share. And it's only a one-shot! I've definitely improved since then. I hope.)

Lunch was always an interesting period at Furikan High.

On rainy days, most people stayed inside the cafeteria or in the halls, and today it looked like the high school had been built under a waterfall. Needless to say, at least one pigtailed individual was staying inside, and despite the less-than-admirable intelligence of the student body at large, most were following Ranma's example.

( Kuno was out there somewhere, probably soaked to the bone, but nobody cared too much about the Blue Thunder. Or the principal, who had been involved in the same incident.)

At any rate, the halls and classrooms were crowded with lounging kids, including one Akane Tendo.

Akane was outside in the halls, enjoying the lunch Kasumi had packed for her. She and her friends sat in a circle, chatting about the recent homework assignment.

"I think it's a great assignment," said Sayuri. "I can bug Daisuke to take me to the opera now. There's this really interesting one performing downtown, and I've always wanted to see a real opera performed in Italian!"

"I still can't believe you two are dating," Akane replied. "He's so shy, I never thought he'd ask you out."

"Yeah, it was something else. He garbled all his words and turned as red as a tomato." Sayuri paused to take a drink.

"Really?" Yuka asked. "Well, for my assignment, I think I'll go to the mall. I can get the assignment done in no time there, and have you seen the guy at the arcade? He's so cute! And really strong, too!" She blushed a little.

"Oh, the one with black hair who wears a muscle shirt?" Sayuri remarked. "He's definitely strong. My kid brother dragged me over there and I saw that guy lift one of the machines all by himself." Her eyes turned sly. "But I'll bet he's nothing compared to Ranma."

Akane sighed. "Ranma's strong, but he's such a jerk! He's got more fiancées than he can count, he's so egotistical, and he can't resolve a situation until he's made it a million times worse!"

"But he is cute, and strong, and he's the heir to a whole style of martial arts." Yuka sighed dreamily. "And you're one of his fiancées, so you have a chance."

"Oh, please," Akane huffed. "He's said he hates me, and he's always flirting with the others. Why would I want a boy like that?" She popped the food into her mouth and angrily ground it into pulp.

Yuka looked thoughtful. "Then why are you still his fiancée?"

Akane glared and both girls shrank back slightly. She took a deep breath. "Well, it's what my dad wanted, and he does try to do what's best. And besides, since Ranma won't choose me, there's no problem." She put on a sugary smile. "So, Sayuri, how did you know Daisuke was the one? Whatever happened to Akira?"

Sayuri looked thoughtful. "Well, we haven't kissed yet, but he did hold me. That's how I knew, it just felt too right to be wrong. When Akira held me it felt like a big brother, you know, protective but distant. With Daisuke…" She sighed happily. "It feels as if all the warmth of the sun is in his arms and he's giving it all to me."

Yuka joined her friend in a happy sigh. Then she turned to Akane, a glint in her eyes. "That's how you'd know!"

Akane tilted her head. "Know what?" she asked, puzzled.

"If Ranma's the one!" At Akane's disbelieving look, Yuka continued. "Well, you've had all sorts of guys hug and carry you, so it would be easy to use that and figure out which guy you should be with."

Sayuri suddenly looked like a vulture. "Yeah, tell us about all the guys who have hugged you!"

Akane growled, but then decided it couldn't hurt. "Well, there's Ranma. I guess it feels okay, but it seems he only hugs me when he's carrying me, and then there's always a reason why he's doing that…" She trailed off.

"What about Kuno?" Sora asked. "He hugs you plenty."

Akane shivered. "When he hugs me it feels like a slimy monster is trying to pull me in. Yuck!" She rubbed her arms to get more warmth.

Sayuri nodded. "What about that one guy, the one who gets lost?"

"Ryoga?" Akane paused. "Well, he kinda feels like a rock wall. He's really, really strong, but it's like he's too strong. I can tell he thinks he's holding me like a fragile doll, but he still grips me just a little too tightly."

"Doesn't he break walls apart with just a flick of his finger?" Yuka asked. "I'd be scared of someone like him."

"Oh, but he's super sweet, and he always brings my family gifts for letting him stay at the dojo when he comes by! And he keeps Ranma from insulting me." Akane smiled. "He's a really great friend."

Somewhere, a little black piglet sneezed and felt a creeping chill run up and down his spine and his mood darken. Back at Furikan…

"Who else has hugged you?" Sayuri wondered. "There's the blind Chinese guy."

Akane laughed. "Mousse just hugged me because he thought I was Shampoo. But it did feel nice." She laughed again. "But he certainly doesn't like me, and he's so in love with Shampoo that it'd take a huge miracle to make him look at another woman." She frowned. "And he can be even worse than Ranma at times, though it doesn't ever feel like he's trying to be mean, just saying what's on his mind."

"There's Mikado Sanzenin, that skater. He even tried to kiss you," Yuka pointed out.

"He was creepy," Akane muttered, "like Kuno on skates." Yuka and Sayuri chuckled a little, until Akane silenced them with a glare.

"And Picolet, the French one?" Yuka asked.

"He never hugged me, and with that mouth and tongue—yuck!"

"That's everyone I can think of," Sayuri declared. "Anyone else?"

"Oh!" Yuki snapped her fingers. "There was that guy who kidnapped you to get at Ranma! Taki? Tari?..."

"Taro?" Akane exclaimed, surprised. "Well, yeah, I guess he hugged me when he did that. But he felt really cold, like he's the type to do anything to get what he wants." She snorted. "In fact, that's exactly like him, too!"

"Oh, and you mentioned a weird Chinese guy who looked like a tiger…" Yuka said.

"Tiger?" Akane had to think. "You're talking about Lime! Well, he was just weird. Not creepy, just weird." She let it drop at that.

"That's it for me too," Yuka announced. "Who else have you hugged?"

"Well, there was this boy, Shinnosuke, but he's probably forgotten all about me now." Literally, she mentally added. "He was sweet, and maybe something might happen, but we live too far apart, and like I said, I doubt he'd remember me."

Sayuri was quiet a moment. "Well, maybe you should kiss them to see for sure. I guess I got lucky since I could tell from just a hug." At Akane's slightly green face, she quickly added, "Not Kuno or Tiger-boy or Frenchy or the skating jerk, but maybe the others. At least give Ranma a chance. He's a guy, so maybe he's just naturally stupid about a lot of things."

"Yeah, he did sound like the best one, although Ryoga and Mousse weren't that bad. And if your father ever gets you mad or kicks you out, you could go and live with Shinnosuke. I bet he would remember a girl as sweet as you." Yuka smiled.

Akane would have replied, had a sudden rumbling not interrupted every conversation. Despite the sudden silence from the students, the rumbling erupted into a full fledged battle cry mixed with the annoying sounds of the storm outside and breaking plaster as a half-drowned Kuno leapt through the wall, his sword drawn.

A few students managed to catch the words "vile Saotome" and "vanquish evil," but for the most part everybody rushed at full speed away from the gaping hole in the wall. A few students came out of the nearby classrooms to find out the cause of the trouble.

Akane tried to duck into one of the classrooms to avoid both rain and idiot, but she found herself being pushed back toward the hole. Too many people were occupying too little space…and quite suddenly, she was freed from the mob—and the building. She glanced down as the ground rushed up to meet her.

"Akane!"

Someone had yelled her name, but she was more concerned with the two-story fall she was experiencing first hand. She had no time to try and stop it, but maybe she could lessen it…? She twisted in mid-air and managed to move her body so that she at least wouldn't break her neck.

A pair of arms caught her before she hit the ground. Shaking, mostly from fear but also from the rain, she glanced up at her red-haired, pigtailed savior. Ranma was glaring back up at the school, obviously none too pleased with Kuno at the moment.

It might have been the conversation she has just had…but Ranma was still holding her, and she had the time to notice it.

Warm.

Safe.

Friendly.

Protective.

Helpful.

Very, VERY nice.

She blushed and looked down, suddenly very aware that Ranma hadn't let go, even though he could have. She shook herself and stood up. Maybe she did have a chance and he was the one. Maybe she should kiss him for rescuing her…

"Geez, Akane, why'd ya hafta fall out the hole? You must be queen of the klutzes or somethin'!"

Five minutes later, three thoroughly soaked students sat down to class—one carrying a bokken and looking beyond mad, one with the wrath of Hell behind her eyes, and one with the reddest handprint ever on his right cheek.

Akane glared at the pigtail in front of her.

JERK!

The End