Deep down, Ryoga Hibiki admitted to himself, he was a coward.

There are those people who would say he wasn't a coward. They would list all the great martial artists he had either beaten or held to a draw. They would point out the fact that he had bravely faced down the King of the Phoenix People, Saffron, and helped contribute to his eventual defeat. They would remind him of the time when the doctor had informed him that there was a 50/50 chance he would not survive the brain surgery to fix his broken sense of direction, Ryoga had said nothing, simply grimaced and given the thumbs up before being wheeled into surgery.

These people would even, if they were honest with themselves, admit that he had shown emotional bravery when he had told Akari that while he cared about her greatly, he did not love her and thus is would not be right to accept her marriage proposal.

But still, as he stared in the bathroom mirror of his tiny apartment, he knew he was a coward in the one place it mattered most: the heart.

"Akane...um...if you're not doing anything Saturday, I thought maybe we could go to that big martial arts tournament at the Budokan and..." he trailed off, rubbing his hand over his face and sighing in frustration.

Even by Ryoga's standards that sounded lame. To begin with, he admitted to himself, you don't usually take first dates to martial arts tournaments, even if they were a martial artist themselves. Besides, with the way he was asking her, Akane would assume that he was asking her as a friend, someone to hang out with instead of someone she might consider embarking on a long-term relationship with.

Taking a deep breath, he stared at the mirror again. "Akane, do you have any plans for this weekend?"

'Not with you, I don't,' he imagined her snapping back. That was too vague, he decided. Too big an opening for her to shoot him down.

He leaned against the wall, trying to assume what would be considered a suave stance. "Hey baby, how 'bout you and me go out tonight? Maybe have a few drinks, maybe trip the light fantastic."

Oh god, that would really cause her to slap him in the face. If Ryoga had learned anything from Kuno, it's that acting like an obnoxious jerk in front of her was not the way to Akane's heart.

He steeled himself again. He had to be confident, he had to be sure of himself. "Akane, would you like to go out with me Saturday night?" He smiled, that was much better.

Then he frowned. "Of course, if you don't want to, that's fine as well, and I perfectly understand. If fact, just pretend I never said anything. Just ignore that I'm a complete loser..." Ryoga banged his head against the wall. This was not working at all.

'I've waited too long,' he thought. He should have asked her sooner, much sooner. Like, right after the divorce sooner. He should have made his intentions to Akane clear as they walked out of the courtroom three months ago. He should have told her that even some five years after first meeting her, he still loved her and that there would never be anyone else for him.

That was silly, Ryoga knew. You don't declare your undying love for a woman just minutes after her divorce has been finalized, even if it was a divorce from an uncaring jerk like Ranma Saotome. It might seem like something you should do in a romance movie, but real life didn't work that way, especially if you tried to tell a girl you loved her even as her father was threatening to disown her for "shaming" the clan.

He had done the right thing, Ryoga knew, by comforting her as they left the municipal building. By visiting her everyday during those first few weeks when she lived with her sister and made it clear to her that she had someone other than Nabiki that still viewed her as a friend and cared about her. Akane had been so emotionally fragile those first few weeks, and making a pass at her in that state was simply something that Ryoga would never do.

And now, three months later, Ryoga had waited too long. He and Akane had entered this weird "friend zone" where she treated him more like a little brother than she ever had when they were teens and he was lost and cursed. He sighed for what must have been the thousandth time that morning, cursed his fate for what must have been the millionth time that life.

Just then someone rapped sharply at the door.

"Ryoga? Are you home?

Akane! Ryoga almost swallowed his tongue as he stepped out of the bathroom. "Um, yeah. It's unlocked."

The apartment door opened, and for what must have been the thousandth time in his life, Ryoga found himself marveling at Akane Tendo's beauty. 'She looks better with long hair, I'm glad she decided to grow it out again' he thought.

"Is this a bad time, Ryoga?" she asked quizzically. "I thought I heard you talking to someone, do you have company?"

"N-no," Ryoga stammered. "I, um, I was just rehearsing a speech." He fumbled, trying to come up with some excuse that didn't sound too lame. "A speech that I have to give in class on Monday."

"Oh, what's the speech about?"

Ryoga felt himself begin to sweat. This was not helping things, he was simply digging a bigger hole for himself. But telling her the truth was an even worse idea as far as Ryoga was concerned.

"Um...it's about...it's a speech about trying to overcome your innermost fears."

Akane leaned against the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room/foyer. "How's it going so far?"

"I um, I'm still trying to find the right voice for it. I'm struggling pretty hard with it, actually."

She nodded. "Hang in there, Ryoga. I'm sure you'll get it figured out before too long."

He couldn't help but look longingly at her for a moment. "I hope so. Uh, is there something you wanted to see me about, Akane?"

Akane straightened up. "Yeah," she said. "I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight?

Ryoga didn't trust himself to speak, but eventually managed to blurt out, "Um, no, I don't have any plans. Why?"

"Would you like to go to the movies tonight? With me, that is." Was there just the slightest hint of nervousness in Akane's voice? "And, I don't know, maybe we could get dinner as well?"

"Ah-," Ryoga gasped.

"You can say no if you don't want to."

"N-no," Ryoga went bug-eyed, "I mean yes. I mean yes, that would be great. We haven't really had a chance to hang out much since classes started again for the semester. We could grab something at the Cat Cafe or maybe get take-out from Ucchan's"

Akane blushed slightly, "Actually, I didn't mean it like 'hanging out.' I thought maybe we could go someplace nicer than our usual places. Not anything formal, but someplace where the waiter doesn't toss the food at you."

Ryoga found himself nodding, this had to all be a dream. "Sure, yeah. We could do that."

Akane smiled. "Good, meet me at the theatre at seven?"

He shook his head. "How about I pick you up at your place at seven?"

She moved towards the door, but stopped and approached Ryoga. "I'd like that. It's a date, then. See you tonight." With that she reached up, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving.

Ryoga turned to look back in the bathroom mirror, blushing furiously and grinning like a maniac. "See," he told his reflection, "that wasn't hard at all."

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