Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz.

A/N: Ranma and Akane story for you! Please read and review!

Where Every Petal Lands

Chapter 1: Summer Saturday

Warm sunlight crept through the window and brightened Akane's room. When the light reached her eyes, they fluttered open. She sat up and yawned, then rolled out of bed.

Akane stretched her arms and leaned forward, stretching her back as well. She straightened herself and rolled her neck from side to side. She extended one leg, wriggled her toes, and did the same with her other leg. This was her usual morning routine to help wake herself up and work out any kinks she had acquired in the night.

Next she stepped over to her dresser and selected an outfit for the day. She put on her clothes, brushed her hair, and left. As she walked down the hallway, she passed the room that was adjacent to hers. It had been an extra, unoccupied space that the family used for storage.

After a year of sharing the guest bedroom, Ranma and Genma were unable to tolerate each other enough to sleep in the same area. Ranma made the decision to move into this bedroom, and all of the items that were previously in it were transferred to the attic or sold in a garage sale. For the past year, he had been living in the room that was right next to Akane's.

The door was wide open, and she stopped to see if he was still asleep. Sure enough, the martial artist was fast asleep on his futon. He lay with one bent leg protruding from his sheets and an arm up beside his head. His mouth was slightly ajar. Akane could see the sheets rise and fall with each breath he took.

She noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt, and her eyes trailed down to his half covered abs. They were so toned and muscular, she couldn't help but gawk at him.

Akane realized she was standing in Ranma's doorway just staring at him. She quickly looked down both sides of the hallway and was relieved that nobody had seen her. She quietly entered his room and stood beside his sleeping form.

His face was serene, and his heavy breathing was rhythmic. He was wearing nothing but a pair of dark gray sweat pants. That's what he looked best in, sweat pants and no shirt. Akane mentally slapped herself. Why do I keep looking at him like that? she thought, almost disgusted with herself. Still, too bad he couldn't go around shirtless very often for fear of being caught in his girl form like that.

Dangling just above Ranma's pillow was the scarf she had knit for him as a Christmas gift the year before. She used yellow, her favorite color, and embroidered his initials in one of the corners. The head of his low futon abutted his dresser, and he had tied the scarf to the knob of a drawer so that it draped down over him. It made Akane happy that Ranma kept the scarf even though it was poorly made due to her lack of skill. Even though he never wore it, he practically slept with it. She covered her mouth to keep from giggling. It was a sweet gesture; she did not want to laugh at him for it.

Reminiscing over the scarf reminded her that it had already been two years since Ranma and his father moved into the Tendo home. She couldn't believe that she was about to turn eighteen, and Ranma already was. They had just finished high school.

Somewhere in his consciousness, Ranma was aware that someone was in his room. Her familiar cherry blossom scent let him know it was Akane. But he was still too much asleep to make his eyes open.

Her hand placed lightly on his shoulder was all it took to wake him the rest of the way. He opened those beautiful blue eyes and looked up at her. Before he could stop himself, he automatically gave her a tiny smile.

Ranma sat up and shook his head, making his thick black hair swish from side to side. He let out a huge yawn and stretched.

"Good morning," Akane said cheerfully.

"Mornin'," he grumbled, still sleepy. "So why are you waking me up on a Saturday morning?"

Akane realized she did not know what made her wander into Ranma's room. She also did not know why she had been looking at him like that, nor did she want him to know she was. So she just said, "I didn't want you to miss breakfast. You know your dad will eat it if you don't get down there fast enough."

"Yep, that's a good reason to wake me up." He stood up, grabbed a shirt from the top of his dresser, and pulled it over his head. "Thanks, Akane," he said as the two of them headed out of the room and down the stairs.

As they descended, they could see that Nabiki, Soun, and Genma were already sitting at the table waiting for their food. Ranma and Akane took their usual places on the floor, across from each other at the low table.

The door to the kitchen swung open, and Kasumi walked out carrying a tray full of plates and breakfast food. "Good morning, everyone!" she said in a sing song voice.

They ate their breakfast in relative peace, aside from Ranma and Genma arguing over the last roll and trying to steal each other's rice. Afterward, Nabiki returned to her room to work on her latest money making scheme. Akane and Kasumi started to pick up the dirty dishes and clean the table.

"So what are your plans for today, girls?" Soun asked.

"Well, there are a lot of groceries we need," Kasumi said, "so I guess I'll go shopping. Oh, but I also have so much laundry to do."

"I'll go shopping for you!" Akane offered.

Kasumi smiled sweetly and said, "Why, thank you, Akane. That would be so helpful."

Ranma almost fell over as Genma slapped him on the back. "Ranma, ma'boy why don't you go with Akane and keep her company?"

/R\\\

"Let's see, we need bread, eggs, milk, bacon…" Akane checked Kasumi's list as she and Ranma exited a store. Ranma was carrying the bags of groceries they had already purchased. "We're almost done," she said.

"Hey, is that Dr. Tofu over there?" Ranma gestured with his head to a fruit stand.

Akane looked and saw Dr. Tofu picking out some apples and oranges. "That is him. Let's go talk to him."

As they approached him, Dr. Tofu noticed them and in greeting said, "Hello, there, how are you today?"

"We're just doing some shopping for Kasumi," Akane replied. "How have you been, Dr. Tofu?"

"I've been doing well. I'm getting some shopping done myself."

"It's been a while since we've seen you," Ranma said.

"Well, that means you've been keeping yourselves out of trouble. Akane, is your family doing alright? How is Kasumi?"

He still has a crush on her, Akane thought. "Everyone's fine. You know, you should come over and visit some time."

"That would be nice, thank you."

"How about today? You could have lunch with us!"

"Are you sure I wouldn't be imposing?"

"With all the uninvited guests we get?" Ranma laughed. "You would be welcomed, unlike some people who come over anyway," he said with sarcasm.

"If you're sure it would be alright with Kasumi, and um, everyone else, I'd be glad to come over for lunch today."

"It's no problem, Dr. Tofu. See you later!" Akane waved as she and Ranma left to continue their shopping.

"You think he's going to be able to act normal around Kasumi long enough to eat a meal?" Ranma asked, skeptically.

"I don't know, but I sure would like to see them together. He loves her so much, and I think she would like him too if she knew about that. Maybe he will have a little bit more control over himself this time."

"What about you? Weren't you in love with him?" Ranma tried to hide his concern with a nonchalant, simply curious tone of voice. "Won't you be upset to see them in love?"

Akane sighed. "Ranma, that was puppy love. I've been over him for a long time now. I just want the two of them to be happy."

Akane cringed as she heard a familiar voice shout, "Nihoa, Ranma!" and the purple-haired amazon threw herself at Ranma, trying to hug him tightly. He struggled to get away from her. Akane took the groceries from him before he dropped them.

"You go on date with Shampoo today, Ranma?" Shampoo asked as he managed to break away from her grip.

Then they heard, "Shampoo!" and Mousse ran up to them, panting. Facing Ranma, he asked, "Why don't you go on a date with me instead?"

Ranma yelled, "I'm not going on a date with you!"

"I wasn't talking to you, Ranma. Clearly, I was talking to Shampoo!"

"Clearly, you need to put on your glasses," Ranma said, irritated.

Mousse slid his glasses out of a pocket on the inside of his clothing and put them on. He then blinked at Ranma. "Oh, I'm sorry." He turned around and saw Shampoo standing behind him. "Will you go on a date with me, Shampoo?"

For a second, it looked like Shampoo was actually considering it. But then she crossed her arms and said, "Mousse, you so stupid. Ranma defeat Shampoo. You no defeat Shampoo. You no man enough to date Shampoo. Go away, Mousse!"

Suddenly, a group of boys spraying each other with water guns ran past them. They managed to splash Ranma, Shampoo, and Mousse with the cold water. Akane ducked out of the way just in time. The three cursed teenagers transformed immediately. Mousse as a duck wandered around aimlessly, quacking loudly. The little purple cat that Shampoo had turned into was making its way toward Ranma.

The now red-headed, female Ranma began to freak out at the sight of a cat coming after her. "O…Oh n…no," she stammered and grabbed Akane's hand. "C…come on, Akane. Let's g…g…get outta here!" The two of them ran away from Shampoo and Mousse.

/R\\\

Dr. Tofu nervously tore his napkin into tiny pieces. "That was delicious, Kasumi!"

"I'm glad you liked it. I'll be right back with dessert," Kasumi said as she gathered their lunch plates.

Akane picked up her own plate and followed Kasumi into the kitchen. While Kasumi removed her chocolate cake from the oven, Akane took some dessert plates from the cupboard.

"It's lovely to see Dr. Tofu again, isn't it?" Kasumi asked as she placed the cake on the counter to let it cool.

Akane put a freshly brewed pot of coffee on a tray along with the dishes, mugs, and silverware. "It sure is. Hey, Kasumi, what do you think of him?"

Kasumi began to spread vanilla icing on the cake. "I think he is a very nice man. Why do you ask?"

"I mean are you, you know, attracted to him?"

Kasumi paused in her icing and looked up at her sister. "Well, he is quite good looking," she said as if the thought had not occurred to her before. "But I've never really noticed. Why do you want to know?"

Akane shrugged. "I was just wondering. I mean, he's always been crazy about you."

"He has?" She was looking a little bewildered now.

"It's pretty obvious. That's why he gets so nervous around you. He always talks about you when you're not around. I think he's just been too shy to tell you. Sometimes I think he's being driven insane by unrequited love," she said melodramatically.

Kasumi put her hand on her cheek. "Oh, dear. I never knew that. The poor man."

The way her sister could be so oblivious to everything around her never failed to astonish Akane. "You seriously had no idea?"

"I really didn't," Kasumi said and picked up her cake. "But now that I know that, maybe I can give him a chance. It would be nice to get out of the house and date, don't you think?"

Akane couldn't really imagine Kasumi out on a date, but she agreed with her anyway. They returned to the waiting group of people in the dining room. Kasumi cut a slice of cake for everyone, and Akane distributed it.

Ranma eyed his slice with skepticism. "Uh, Akane, you didn't help make this did you?"

Akane could feel her anger rising, but she maintained a calm demeanor in front of Dr. Tofu. "No," she said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, good," Ranma said with relief and popped a big bite into his mouth.

Glaring at him, Akane thought, What a jerk.

"Kasumi this is fantastic!" Dr. Tofu praised between bites. "Absolutely delectable!"

"Isn't she a great cook?" Soun asked with pride.

Dr. Tofu smiled broadly at Kasumi's father, "She certainly is!"

Akane watched happily as Kasumi and Dr. Tofu finished their desserts, complimenting each other all the while. They talked, laughed, and sometimes it seemed as though they had forgotten there was anyone else in the room. They were enjoying themselves so much.

"I've got to get back to the office now," Dr. Tofu said as he exited the house. "There will be patients waiting for me. Thank you for the wonderful lunch!"

"It was a pleasure having you," Kasumi said as she waved goodbye. "You really have to come over more often!"

Dr. Tofu blushed slightly and grinned. "I will!"

/R\\\

That night, as Akane took her bath and slipped into her pajamas, she reflected on the day. She felt like she had done something good. She was glad she had decided to tell Kasumi about Dr. Tofu's secret crush.

I should have told her sooner. They could have been happily dating for a while now, she thought as she walked into her room.

Before she turned out the lights and crawled into bed, Akane stepped over to the calendar that hung on her wall. She used a red marker to cross today off. Then she caught sight of a bright yellow design she had drawn on another date. "Just three days before my birthday!"