A/N: Hey, fanfiction. Well, this is the first fanfic I'll be submitting onto here, and I have to admit, at first I was a little reluctant to upload anything at all. I'd like to give a little thanks to my boyfriend, who without him I wouldn't be putting this up right now. This is dedicated to you, hun. ^///^
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this!
Raindrops
Fanfiction by: Pattiie
Ranma Saotome was a dead man.
The pigtailed boy ran into the living room, ducking behind the table. He appeared to be avoiding something; something deadly, terrifying and absolutely inhumane. Something… something…
"Ranma!" Akane called happily, the sound of her feet pitter-patting on the hardwood floors. "Where are you? You forgot your lunch!" she said, clutching the ribbon wrapped bento box.
Ranma gulped inaudibly. He watched as the young Tendo's feet approached the table. His eyes widened, hoping to God she didn't see him. Once her feet had appeared to have left, he jumped from his position and darted into the dojo.
"Ranma?" Akane asked, seeing a figure pass by her. "Come back!" she called, chasing after him, following to where the sound of feet were coming from.
The young boy was about to make a dart to school, when he felt two strong arms block his exit.
"Boy, what do you think you're doing?" Genma, Ranma's father, said, his arms outstretched along the door. "Running away from your fiancé, have you no shame?"
"W-what?! Shut up, pop!" Ranma hissed, quietly, hoping she wouldn't hear him. "You have no idea what I'm going through! I have been eating her so-called lunches for three days now! I don't know how much more my stomach can ta-"
"What about your stomach, Ranma?" Akane asked, poking his back with her index finger. The boy nearly jumped from surprise.
"Oh, ah… Akane… I… um…" Ranma replied, sputtering.
The girl smiled and flushed a little. She looked down, holding out the package to him. "Here's your lunch…" Akane said. "I worked all morning on it."
The boy bit his lip. She worked all morning on it?
He was stuck.
"Ahh… Akane… I… I don't really need a lunch today… I mean… MMPH!" Ranma was cut off by a large hand which clamped over his mouth.
"What he means is thank you, Akane." Genma said, grabbing his son tight despite his protests. "And that he'd love to eat one of your delicious home cooked meals."
Akane brightened. "Thank you, Mr. Saotome! Your lunch is in the kitchen, I'll give it to you in a second."
Genma grimaced but faked a smile, giving Akane a slight nod before darting out of the dojo himself.
Stupid pop, Ranma thought to himself silently. Lecturin' me then leavin' me on my own like this…
Ranma gulped, looking at Akane, who peered up at him with her big, brown eyes. She had been so nice to him these past few days. Even if it made him suffer, he still didn't want to hurt her. He reached out for the bento, and his stomach churned in protest. Seriously, one more of those and he could get sick…
He decided to let her down gently.
"Akane… look… I… well-" he began when…
"What a haul! What a haul!" an elderly voice laughed, a few feet away from Ranma. The young boy rolled his eyes. What a time for the old freak to come bouncing in.
"Ranma m'boy!" he cackled, bouncing on his head. "How's it going?"
Ranma gritted his teeth. "Get lost you told man!" he shouted, trying to pry him off his head. Suddenly, a few pictures landed on the dojo floor. Pictures of Ranma's girl form. In a bikini. A very… revealing bikini. Ranma's eye twitched.
"GET BACK HERE!" he shouted, chasing after the old man who ran away, laughing and fluttering one of his prized bras around. Akane continued standing, raising an eyebrow at the two.
"We're going to be late," she said, simply. However, Ranma continued chasing the old man.
Happosai laughed once again and Ranma prepared to jump forward, hoping to catch the old man in a tackle. After a moment, he saw and opening and surged forward. Little did he know how quick Happosai was, and within moments he moved away, leaving the dojo to continue his panty raid, leaving a stunned Akane to be Ranma's target.
"Akane!" he shouted, attempting to stop his tackle. However, it was too late and the sudden stop caused Ranma to skid and trip and it caused him- and Akane- to tumble.
"Ooof…" Ranma said softy, opening his eyes slowly.
Brown eyes peered back.
"A-Akane?" he said slowly, looking down beneath him. Her eyes widened and her mouth slightly open. She was too stunned to speak.
"S-sorry!" he said, jumping up when he finally regained his thoughts. "I didn't mean-" Akane's blank stare cut him off.
"Akane?" he asked, his face quizzical. The blue-haired girl got up slowly, revealing… a very much crushed and destroyed bento box beneath her.
Ranma walked over to her, and placed a finger beneath her chin. "Akane? Hello?" he said, forcing her to look up at him. She pushed his hand away, looking over to the side of the dojo.
"Did you… did you realize how long that took me to make?" she whispered, a few fresh tears filling her eyes.
"I… I…. b-but it was only a lunch,"
"Only a lunch?!" she hissed, whipping her gaze over to him. Before he could utter another word, her hand moved swiftly, slapping him across the face. Hard.
"Jerk!" she cried, running away, grabbing her school bag and hurrying out the door.
Ranma's eyes widened as he placed a hand on his now red cheek. Did he really hurt her that badly?
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Akane approached Furinkan High School, her tears long gone and her anger blazing. How could he do that to her? After she'd spent all morning cooking the perfect lunch for him, spending hours reading the cook book carefully, and after many failed attempts actually cooking normal –tasting food. Normal!
The girl sighed, shaking her head. The last thing she wanted to do was think about Ranma, she had a huge math test today.
As Akane arrived at the gate, she actually smiled, seeing that perhaps Kuno was sick and wouldn't be there to bug her that morning. However, as she walked exactly two more steps, there he arrived, and with a long, stupid speech to boot.
"Ah, Akane Tendo, my precious, delicate goddess of the hunt! Today shall be the day where our deep love blossoms into much more than just a fountain of hope!"
"Kuno, cut me some slack, please. Just for today, I've got a huge test!" she said, angrily, attempting to walk past him.
"Fear not my love, for you need not be shy around m- oof!" he began, but was cut off by a foot that had kicked him in the face. However, it wasn't the foot of Akane. No, it was…. Ranma's.
"Jeez, if ya make me Kuno, how'd ya think she feels?" he said, jumping off him and moving into a battle stance.
"If it is none other than Ranma Saotome! You wretched cur, back away from my beloved!"
"Akane, you go to class, I'll meet you there. I won't be long," Ranma said, throwing his book bag over to the side, cracking his knuckles.
Akane gave him a slight glare, but bit her lip and glanced at the giant clock. 8:28 it read. Oh no, she was almost late for her test! The Tendo didn't glance at Ranma again and turned her back, running over to the double doors of the school.
"Now, Kuno, try and make this challenging!" Ranma smirked, charging at him.
Akane ran over to her locker, throwing her book bag in and hurried to her classroom. The bell rang two seconds after she put her foot in the door.
"Well, well, Miss Tendo. Right on time. Please hurry and take a seat, the test is about to begin."
Akane let out a sigh of relief and sat down in the first seat she could find. Ms. Hinako closed the door to the classroom and had finished passing out the papers when the class heard someone knock on the door.
"H-hey! Let me in!" Ranma pounded on the door. Ms. Hinako pursed her lips and opened it reluctantly.
"You're late, Mr. Saotome." she said, tapping her foot.
"Yeah, yeah… I had to take care of some… business." He mumbled, glancing at Akane who wouldn't meet his gaze.
"Well, you know what that means, don't you? Clean up duty after school, Ranma! Hurry up and take a seat before I close the door again!"
"What?" Ranma sulked, grumbling as he took a seat at the back of the room. He heard a chorus of snickers come from the class and he groaned, grabbing his pencil and beginning the test he'd barley studied for.
Akane glanced at him, her eyes blinking. Once he'd almost caught her gaze, she turned around quickly and rolled her eyes. "Baka," she muttered to herself and returned to her own quiz.
The day then droned by slower than usual. Ranma, multiple times, tried talking to Akane who simply ignored him, or avoided him all together. Eventually, the school day, thankfully, did come to an end and the bell rang. One by one the class left and there was no one left in the room but Ranma, mop and sponge in hand.
Akane quickly walked out the doors, feeling the cool, moist air on her skin. The sky definitely matched her mood and she noticed the thick gray sea of clouds that everyone predicted meant rain. The girl checked the school umbrella box, noticing that there were none left for herself. Heck, even the Umbrella of Love was taken. Akane made a mental note to find out which two people took it.
She sighed and decided that if she walked quickly she could probably avoid the rain. She slightly jogged and breathed in large lungfuls of the crisp spring air. It wasn't long before her thoughts consumed her, however.
Ranma… that jerk. She thought to herself. How dare he ruin the lunch I made for him? Even if it was also Happosai's fault… Okay, mostly his fault…. Akane continued walking, more slowly this time. But, doesn't he realize why I do these things? I mean… he doesn't even care about how I feel.
Akane sighed as she opened the door to her house. "I'm home," she called softly.
"Hey, Akane." Nabiki said, both her hands perched behind her head. She was clad in a light blue top and white shorts. "Congrats, you actually made normal tasting rice today. For the first time in my life, I actually enjoyed you lunch, little sis."
Akane's eyebrow twitched a little, but she shook it off. This was her sister's way of trying to be nice and say thanks… as mean as it sounded. "Thank… thanks Nabiki." She said, with a small smile. The youngest Tendo gave her older sister a nod and ran up the stairs, into her room. She peeled off her school clothes and threw on a t-shirt and a cotton skirt. She ran a comb through her short, blue hair and collapsed on her bed, exhausted.
Akane hugged a pillow to her chest, letting out a slow breath. She closed her eyes for a few moments, trying to relax when before she knew it… she fell asleep.
After a while, Akane awoke to the sound of Nabiki's hair dryer from the other room. She groaned, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. The time read 6:07 PM. Had she really slept for two hours?
The young girl smoothed down her skirt and hopped out of bed, when a small piece of folded white paper on her dresser caught her eye. She slowly walked over to it, unfolding it and peering at two words. Tears filled her eyes as she saw the seven letters written in very messy handwriting.
I'm sorry.
Akane wiped the moisture away, her heart feeling as if it would burst out of her chest. He did care for her…
"Akane," Nabiki said, interrupting her thoughts. "I hope you know it's pouring outside. Do me a favor and close all those windows you left open downstairs. I don't want the rain to leak in."
Akane glanced out her window. It was raining. Hard, in fact.
… Oh! Her mind exclaimed.
Akane's eyes widened as she shot down the stairs, running as fast as she possibly could. She grabbed a yellow sweater, tugging it over her head and slipping on some shoes.
"What?" Nabiki asked, watching Akane curiously. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing… just something important." The youngest Tendo replied with a blush, grabbing her polka-dotted umbrella as she ran out the door.
Nabiki grinned as she sat down, grabbing the remote control. "I knew it wouldn't be long," she laughed, changing the channel.
Akane huffed as she ran down the sidewalk, stepping into puddle after puddle, the rain now pouring heavily onto her umbrella.
Please don't tell me he left! Akane thought, worriedly. She had been so mean to him all day… ignoring his glances, walking away from him. How could she have been so stupid?
Ranma stepped out the high school doors, completely exhausted. He sighed as he saw the heavy rain and looked around for a spare umbrella. There wasn't a single one left.
"Aw…" he mumbled. "Guess I'm going to have to walk in the rain…" he gritted his teeth. What a perfect end to a perfect day, getting the cold shoulder from Akane and now walking home soaking wet in my girl form. Great.
Ranma closed his eyes and took a step outside. He waited for the dreaded rain to hit his head and took another step. Then another. Then another… what the?
The boy opened his eyes slowly, his brow furrowed. Suddenly, he noticed something…
An umbrella above his head.
The martial artist gasped softly as he turned his head, looking down at none other than his fiancé, Akane Tendo. Her eyes stayed fixed on the cement below her, a deep blush lightening her cheeks. Her hand which remained holding the umbrella shook ever so slightly. Ranma wondered if it was from the cold or from something else.
Without words, the two began walking slowly, not speaking, not daring to look at one another. Suddenly, after a few moments, Ranma heard a soft voice call out his name.
"I'm sorry..." Akane said, quietly, her gaze still not meeting his.
Ranma swallowed, a light blush now appearing on his face. He tried to speak, however no words could come out.
Though, words were not needed as Ranma slowly reached his hand up, clasping it around hers which held the umbrella. He watched as Akane looked up at him slowly, a small smile appearing on her face. The same smile that melted his heart. He could hear the blood pounding in his ears.
Suddenly, Ranma grabbed Akane's chin, leaning in ever so slowly, his eyes fixed on hers. Akane closed her eyes, and Ranma took that as his answer. He leaned in, kissing her very, very softly.
The rain continued to fall heavily on the side walk, the day darkening by the minute. However, neither of the teens noticed as their hearts thumped loudly in the chests, both of them lost for words.
Again, words were not needed as Ranma kissed Akane again, and both could've sworn they'd seen the sky brighten… just a little.