Thank you Rabid Badger for telling me about a bad error .
Disclaimer: No I'm afraid I don't own neither of the Characters, they all belong to Rumiko Takashi (but thank you for asking though.)
The days to come
Episode 1: Recovering
Akane couldn't believe it nor really understand it. They were running hand in hand towards the school not many days after their failed wedding. Ranma wasn't sure either. It had just been one of those 'out of a moment' things.
Ring ring the sound of a bicycle bell was heard, Akane let go of Ranma's hand and ran a little further ahead giving him the quick message, that they would see each other later.
He just managed to dodge the bike when it came flying for his head "airen go on date with Shampoo yes?" the young purple-haired girl asked enthusiastically.
Ranma bit his lip "uh I can't Shampoo" he said looking slightly over his shoulder to keep an eye on how far ahead Akane was.
"What you have to do?" Shampoo asked investigating him closely.
"Uh…" Ranma said trying to find an excuse "well I have to… Akane's not feeling very well" he noticed that the girl of whom, he was referring to stopped running.
"What you mean?" Shampoo asked looking slightly uncomprehending.
He laughed silly and ran to fetch Akane. Ranma stood in front of Shampoo a few seconds later with a screaming girl under his right arm "look she doesn't look very good does she!?" Akane narrowed her eyes at this announcement.
"So violent girl sick. Why you on your way to school then?" the suspicious girl asked.
Ranma laughed silly "well she's not too sick to go to school… yet. But she needs to be taken care of to get rid of the fever" he said scratching the back of his neck.
Shampoo didn't really look like she believed it but "sound fair enough" noticing the satisfied look on her 'husbands' face, she added "but Shampoo keep good eye on you, when violent girl starts feeling better Shampoo want date with airen" then she was gone.
Ranma let go of his fiancée who fell to the ground, looking a little too pleased with himself, he didn't notice Akane's still narrowed eyes narrowing further.
Neither did he notice the young girl getting up, or the magical hammer appearing in her hand "you idiot" she yelled pounding him to the ground with her hammer.
Then she turned to leave again running towards the school.
He soon got up to follow her "why did you do that? Didn't you hear anything of what just happened?" he asked jumping to run on the fences "Shampoo will be gone for some time, don't you think that's good?" Ranma started to imagine Shampoo leaving for China and didn't notice the backpack that was flying towards his legs.
He stumbled a little on his feet at the impact but was soon up and running again.
"As long as I stay in the house that is," Akane groaned angrily.
Ranma shrugged "yeah well… it's not like you have that many things to do outside the house anyway, I on the other hand-" Akane caught him off with a mischievous laughter.
"You'll have to stay in the house too you know?" she asked smiling evilly.
Ranma was about to protest but realized that she was right; if he stepped out of the house he might risk loosing his cover.
"And take care of me" Akane suddenly added laughing again.
He grumbled, but he could do nothing. Oh well he would just have to sleep through the weekend that was coming up.
They finally reached the high school and ran in only for Mrs. Hinako to send them out in the hall caring water buckets as punishment for being too late.
"This is your entire fault," said the accusing voice of one Akane Tendo.
"Oh yeah how so?" came the retort from the young man with a pigtail also known as Ranma Saotome.
"If you hadn't stopped to chat with Shampoo we would have made it in time" Akane shot back.
"It's not like I want to chat with her, but I can't really do anything 'bout it when she lands on my head" Ranma yelled.
Akane snorted, "you could move out of the way and not stop to wait till she talks," she yelled back.
"That'd be rude," he said after which his eyes grew large, had he just said that. Apparently he had, 'cause his fiancée had started laughing.
Ranma growled turning to look straight ahead pretending not to notice, that Akane was acting like a fine woman.
"Why my good sir may I ask what you would like for dinner tonight?" the sentence broke through his defenses, and he turned to look at her.
"Nothing you cook Tomboy, I'd like to live to see tomorrow" Ranma had narrowed his eyes to prove his point, but defiantly hadn't been expecting her to go ballistic about it.
When Akane was through hammering her fiancée she huffed turned to stand straight, again "idiot" she murmured looking into the wall.
She then shivered the hallway was cold.
They walked home from school in complete silence.
Akane wiped her nose, which had started running (not running away, snot running from her nose you know?) "berfecd" she said finally getting a reaction from Ranma.
"What's 'berfecd'?" Ranma asked.
Akane wiped her nose again, "I didn'd say 'berfecd' I said berfecd" but it was useless her nose was stuffed up.
Ranma jumped down from the fence and went to feel her temperature "gees 'kane you're hot, I mean warm -sick" he stepped back to look at her.
"You look like a mess," he said not making her feel any better "let's get you home to bed", he said and started walking.
"Dhen you didn'd lie to Shampoo, now I really am sick" she said and followed him.
Ranma turned to check, that she was still following when he noticed, that she had started wobbling back and forth.
He just managed to catch her as she fainted "'kane? You all right? Akane are you alive? AKANE" his fear increasing with every word.
Ranma did the only thing he could think of and took her to see Dr. Tofu.
He knocked on the door and then entered "hallo Tofu? I got a sick patient here," Ranma yelled carrying the surprisingly light Akane through the door.
The doctor soon came out to meet them "oh my, what happened to her?" he asked the young man holding the unconscious young woman.
Ranma shrugged "I don't really know we were on our way home from school when she started feeling sick and passed out" he said worriedly.
Tofu smiled nodding "were the two of you by any chance out in the hall again holding water buckets?" Ranma nodded a yes.
"Put her on this table please. It could be a cold but I'm afraid she also needs some serious rest," Tofu said clearing the table.
Ranma could feel some sort of unhappy feeling rising while the doctor touched many places on her body, Ranma could only dream that one day he was allowed to touch.
"So is she okay?" Ranma asked.
"It seems that she just needs to sleep. She's got a cold, but I guess the stress of Jusendu, the wedding and all the other stuff was too much" Tofu stepped back to let Ranma pick the girl up again.
"So what do ya want me to do?" Ranma asked.
"Take her home and make sure she gets all the rest she needs" Ranma nodded and started running home with Akane.
Ranma put her down in her bed "I'm sorry 'kane I had no idea how it was all affecting you" she snuggled into the duvet in the bed as a reply.
He sighed, "I know I don't always treat you nicely, but I…" his voice trailed off and he found himself looking softly at his fiancée.
Ranma got up and walked down to the living room; he sat down and turned on the TV.
He settled on a cartoon. However, he wasn't really paying attention to it, he was thinking of his discovery not long ago.
Wondering for how long he'd been in love with her "someday soon Tomboy" he thought making it clear to himself what he had to do.
"What if she doesn't feel the same about me?" he thought fear striking his heart, but then his pride reminded him "of course she loves me too, who wouldn't?" he turned his attention back to the TV.
"Ranma?" Kasumi's soft voice sounded from behind him.
"Yeah?" Ranma asked lazily turning around.
"Father, Happosai, Nabiki, your mother, Mr. Saotome and I are on our way out" she said "I heard that Akane was sick and left the two of you a little soup, you just need to warm it up when you want to eat" Kasumi then left with the rest of the family.
Ranma rolled his eyes; they had left the two of them alone again probably hoping for a marriage soon.
About an hour later Ranma walked into the kitchen to warm up the soup.
Akane was sleeping peacefully (for her I guess) when he entered her room with a tray.
"Akane I brought you a little soup please wake up to eat" Ranma said surprised at his own tone of voice.
He sat the tray down on her writing desk and went to sit down besides her.
Ranma did all he could to keep himself from shaking her roughly, as he'd wanted to do for ages. The chance to wake her up as she usually woke him up was too good to be true, he shook his head, but he couldn't she was sick.
He bit his lip and shook her gently "'kane dinner?" she opened her eyes slowly, and adjusted them to the light he'd switched on.
"What happened?" she asked her voice sounding frail, but her nose didn't sound as stuffed up as before.
"You passed out. Dr. Tofu told me, that you need rest, so I just brought you some Miso Soup that Kasumi left behind" Ranma told her and went to get some of the soup for her.
"They left?" Akane asked suspiciously.
He shrugged bringing her a cup of soup "I suppose they hoped we'd fall in love," he said handing it to her.
Akane snorted the best she could and took a sip of her soup "like that'd ever happen" she didn't notice it but a flash of sadness appeared as quickly as it disappeared on Ranma's face.
"Yeah as if" he agreed while turning around to leave, both of them looking unhappy with the whole 'never gonna happen' thing.
She cleared her throat "if you don't mind I would like a little company" she felt a blush rush up to her face, but figured that she could blame it on the hot soup and didn't hide it.
Ranma turned around "well sure if you're okay with it" he said "but are you sure you can rest with me in the room?" he asked.
Akane nodded "why not we don't get a chance to talk very often" Ranma went to sit down on a chair near the bed.
"So what do ya want to talk about?" he asked taking a cup, he didn't remember bringing and poured himself some soup.
She shrugged "I don't know" she said "it's been about a year since we met and… I guess, I would have thought we'd talk more by now" she drank the last few drops of soup and handed it to Ranma.
He nodded "yeah I'd have thought that too, but ya know; with all the people theorizing our life's I suppose it's natural" Ranma took her cup and put it down on the tray.
"You sure you don't want another?" he asked, but she shook her head and he finished drinking his own cup of Miso.
Akane layback down resting her head, Ranma looked at her concerned "ya okay?" he asked.
"Mmmph fine" she groaned and he raised an eyebrow smiling at her.
"You don't sound so good" he said with a little laughter.
Akane turned her head swiftly to look at him "my head hurts and my nose keeps getting stuffed up, but otherwise I'm fine," she said in a huff.
Ranma sighed and put his cup down "it wasn't meant like that, you just look very ill" he said.
"Ranma?" she asked "do you love me?" the question was so out of time and he started spluttering.
"W-w-what do you mean?" he asked making himself ready to run away.
She closed her eyes sighing, "it wasn't that hard a question," she said turning to look at him.
"Look; it's not that I don't it's just that I" Ranma tried to find a way to tell her without really telling her.
"So you do?" she asked looking at him intriguing.
"No. Well I" he looked around himself "I gotta go" he said and dashed the room before she could say another thing.
Akane closed her eyes again "so you don't?" oh well she might as well get some sleep.
Ranma hadn't slept much that night "why didn't I just say it?" he asked himself.
Standing outside in the garden, he was surprised to see his fiancée walking out of the house wearing her Dou Gi.
"What ya doing out so early 'kane?" he asked not liking that she had gotten out of the bed already.
"I needed something to do, you can't expect me to be lying in my bed all day I'd go nuts," she said wiping her nose.
"But you aren't looking a hell of a lot fresher, you know?" he asked crossing his arms across his stomach.
She looked at him, but didn't stop preparing for a little workout "it's not like you care anyway so butt out" she snapped.
"Akane about that question" Ranma wasn't sure of how he should ever be able to say it, but he tried "I really do, I mean it's not that I don't… I'm scared okay?" there he finally said it (well kinda said it). To his fiancée, who'd fallen asleep standing up?
Ranma cursed but caught her, just before she fell and carried her up to her room. Not having the slightest idea about the sweet dream she was having, where her knight (surprise, surprise) Ranma was telling her that even though, their fathers couldn't get along, he loved her and wanted to marry her.
He blushed slightly as she curled up to him whispering, "I love you my knight". He tucked her in her bed with her Dou Gi still on; it would only be half as bad if she got mad at him for putting her to bed with clothes on, on the contrary to the pyramid it would start if he took her clothes off and she got mad at him for being a 'pervert'.
Ranma smiled at her before leaving and closing the door "sleep tight 'kane, he said and then he was gone.
It was Monday and the two were running to school holding hands again.
Ring ring Ranma groaned and just barely dodged the bicycle which was heading for his head.
"See you later Ranma" Akane called running further ahead repeating the same pattern.
Once again, Ranma was left to figure an excuse to get rid of the Amazon "I got to… well I gotta… I promised to help Akane improve her cooking" the minute the words had left his mouth he realized that this week would be full of stomachaches.
A/N:
One day I was thinking, what would happen now? That's when I realized that all the little stories from when the real story ends to where they actually get together are just as interesting as the big thing (the kiss, the marriage, what ever).
This is actually only the start of my epilogue, which continues from where the real story ended; I hope you like the first episode (and found it likable to have happened in the real series).
Any ideas, well I do already have ideas to the next story, but what would you like. Should Akane teach how to swim? Should she figure out that Ryouga equals P-Chan?
Should Ranma get rid of his curse? What?
Ps. If you don't review I'll have my bloodthirsty flying hedgehog haunt you down, a present once given to me from a reviewer (thank you Stuntcat a very useful gift indeed).