Disclaimer: If I was Takahashi-sama, I would be demanding that producers take up Ranma ½ for one more season!

"The only abnormality is the incapacity to love." – Anais Nin

Something Like A Romance

1: First Impressions

Akane Tendo anxiously ran a hand through her long, dark tresses as she watched the numbers above the elevator door light up from floor to floor. She was running late, which was unlike her, but an unpleasant phone call from her father kept her at her at her place much later than she had anticipated. Before she knew it, she was running out of her apartment building and hailing a taxi, barefoot, with her black heels and purse in one hand. The elevator doors finally opened with a sharp "ding" and Akane quickly stepped out and made a swift turn to her right, following the familiar steps to her friends' apartment.

When Akane arrived at the apartment door, she was welcomed in by Yuka, a young woman with auburn hair that fell just below her shoulders.

"Akane-chan!" Yuka welcomed her excitedly, gesturing the Tendo to come into the apartment. "You're finally here!"

Akane offered her friend an apologetic smile. "Y-yeah, sorry! I had some family issues…"

Yuka shook her head. "Say no more! Sayuri-chan is still dressing, can you believe it?"

"Really?" Akane said, taken aback. "Shouldn't we be leaving for the Gallery right about now?"

Yuka opened her mouth to answer, but Sayuri poked her head out her bedroom door and said matter-of-factly, "Actually, we should have left about half an hour ago… But the boyfriend can wait another thirty minutes." With a wink, Sayuri retreated back to her room.

"She's intent on being fashionably late for Daisuke-san's opening reception of his art exhibit," Yuka explained as she and Akane took a seat on the living room couch. "Besides, I know for a fact that Hiroshi-kun is already with Daisuke-san for moral support. Ranma-san is even with them at the Gallery right now." As an afterthought, Yuka added, "I guess he's a better friend than I thought."

Although the name sounded strangely familiar to her, Akane had no idea of whom Yuka was speaking of... She asked her friend, "Who's Ranma?"

"Oh, he's a mutual friend of Hiroshi-kun and Daisuke-san's. I've only met him once or twice because he travels and works a lot. Maybe you've heard of him? He's Ranma Saotome, that famous martial artist?"

"His name does ring a bell... My dad might have mentioned him to me once because he watches the tournaments," Akane said.

Yuka nodded. "From what Hiroshi-kun tells me, Ranma-san has won different competitions all over the world, including Japan's National Martial Arts Tournament, but I think last year was the first time that he had won the international Martial Arts Tournament held in China."

Akane was impressed. "Wow! It must be a lot of pressure for him to have that title."

Yuka shrugged. "Maybe. Now that you mention it, Gents HQ did a feature on Ranma Saotome this past month because the National Japanese Martial Arts Tournament is coming up soon. I think I might have the magazine somewhere here…" Yuka bent towards the left of her and began to rummage through the magazine basket located beside the couch.

"You subscribe to Gents HQ?" Akane teased her friend.

"Just to ogle pictures of hot men," Yuka quipped, causing Akane to laugh.

Meanwhile, Sayuri finally finished dressing and emerged from her bedroom. She had tied up her hair into French twist; wore a black strapless sweetheart dress that fell just a few inches from her knees; and adorned herself with dangling crystal earrings and a matching bracelet.

"Sayuri-chan, you look fantastic!" Akane beamed, approaching her friend to see her earrings up close.

Sayuri glowed. "Thanks, Akane-chan… I hope Dai-kun thinks so too!"

"If he doesn't, I'll beat him up for you," Akane whispered and to that, Sayuri giggled.

"Aha! Found it!" Yuka's voice rang. The pair looked over to the young woman and caught her flipping through a glossy copy of Gents HQ. Yuka read aloud, "'Ranma Saotome, champion of the 2009 International Martial Arts Tournament held in China last year, has been studying the art of combat since he was a child under the tutelage of his father, Genma Saotome, on journeys all over Asia. This year, Saotome prepares himself in for Japan's National Martial Arts Tournament (J-NMAT), which will be held in late April, with expectations to win his fifth J-NMAT trophy in 2010.'"

"Fifth?" Akane echoed in astonishment.

"Yeah, and listen to this!" Yuka continued, "'When asked if he had any doubts about winning this year, Ranma Saotome replied, "No one stands a chance against me. My opponents can try to beat me in the ring, but they're gonna fail – they always do. 'Cause not only am I faster and stronger than the rest, I use my head when I fight. That's what makes a good fighter: strategy backed up with tip-top skills.'"

That part of the article failed to impress Akane. True to her personality, Akane at once voiced her opinion. "He sounds like an arrogant, self-obsessed prick. Hasn't he ever heard of humility and modesty?"

"Wait till you meet him tonight," Sayuri remarked, ambiguously, grabbing her coat and bag. "Who knows, you might end up with a crush!"

"As if, Sayuri-chan!"


When the trio arrived at the Nerima Art Gallery, Daisuke Sato, who seemed to be watching the entrance for signs of his girlfriend, immediately caught sight of Sayuri amidst the crowd of visitors and made his way towards her and her friends.

"I'm glad my girlfriend finally showed up for my opening night," said Daisuke once he reached the group. Sayuri threw him a coy smile as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. To Akane and Yuka, he greeted, "Hello, Akane-san and Yuka-san. It's cool that both of you dropped by tonight."

"No problem, Daisuke-san!" assured Akane. "Thank you for inviting us. I can't wait to take a closer look at your exhibition."

"Yeah, congratulations on your success," Yuka added, warmly.

Daisuke beamed. "Thanks, I appreciate it! I'll have to steal Sayuri away from you, though." He glanced at Sayuri, clarifying, "Sayuri-chan, there are some people I'd like for you to meet."

"Yes, of course," Sayuri conceded, taking the arm of her boyfriend. To her friends, she said, "You two should find Hiroshi-san and Ranma-san. We'll catch up later!"

Yuka was already scanning the room for Hiroshi as Sayuri and Daisuke separated from her and Akane. "Hm, I wonder where Hiroshi-kun might be - ah!"

From behind Yuka, a curly-haired Hiroshi chuckled. "Looking for someone, Yuka-chan?"

Yuka turned around to face her boyfriend, scolding him lightly, "Don't startle me like that!" She then noticed the man standing behind Hiroshi, the dark-haired pigtailed martial artist friend of Hiroshi and Daisuke. "Hello, Ranma-san! It's nice to see you again."

"Yeah, same," Ranma replied. "I've been busy training and all."

"So I've heard," Yuka said, giving Akane a pointed look. "Hiroshi-kun, you remember Akane-chan, right?" Hiroshi answered affirmatively, throwing Akane a smile of recognition. "Ranma-san, this is my childhood friend, Akane Tendo. Akane-chan, this is Ranma Saotome."

Despite Akane's less-than flattering impression of the martial artist from the magazine article, she decided to give the man the benefit of a doubt. Perhaps this Ranma was a better person than the writer depicted him to be… She held out her hand to him and offered him a small smile. "Nice to meet you, Saotome-san."

"Y-yeah," stuttered Ranma, taking the offered hand in a brief handshake. Akane gazed at him curiously; despite being famous and his success, Ranma Saotome seemed to be a bit socially awkward.

"Akane-chan," Yuka cut in. "Hiroshi and I are going to grab ourselves from drinks. Do you or Ranma-san want anything?"

Both Akane and Ranma shook their heads. "No thanks," they answered simultaneously.

"Alright," Hiroshi said, already grasping his girlfriend's hand. "We'll be right back, then."

Once the couple left, Akane thought Ranma looked even more uncomfortable after his friend's departure. "So, um," Akane started, trying to ease the tension, "have you been here long?"

Ranma turned his eyes to Akane and the Tendo nearly blushed from at last noticing the intensity of blue his eyes possessed. "Sorta… I came with Daisuke and Hiroshi when nobody was even here yet." Ranma raised his thumb to gesture towards the man of the hour, who was standing beside a happy looking Sayuri and chatting among some distinguished gallery guests and the owners. "Daisuke was so jumpy earlier – but he looks like he's calmed down since his girl showed up."

"Ah," murmured Akane, feeling guilty that she and the girls took some extra time to read that magazine interview. "How do you know Daisuke-san?"

Ranma raised a brow. "You sure are curious."

Akane flushed, indignant. "I'm just trying to make conversation."

"Oh… Well, uh, I was roommates with Daisuke in college and Hiroshi was roomin' with my best friend, so that's really how we all ended up knowing each other." In an effort to keep the conversation going, Ranma then asked, "How do you know Daisuke and Hiroshi?"

Recognizing his sincere attempt, Akane decided to brush off his previous offending comment. She replied, "Just through Sayuri-chan and Yuka-chan. You must be really happy for Daisuke-san's success, ne? I actually never really saw any of his work," admitted Akane. "Not even the cartoons he submitted for the Nerima Inquirer."

"Oh, yeah? Well, I ain't an art expert or nothin' but Daisuke's work is pretty cool. I mean, I might've never paid attention to his stuff if I hadn't roomed with him, but seriously – " Ranma stopped mid-sentence, as though he had come up with a better idea than trying to articulate his friend's genius. "Lemme show you a favorite of mine from Daisuke's stuff. You hafta see it for yourself to get what I mean…"

"Sure, okay," Akane agreed. With a small, satisfied smile, Ranma led her to the opposite end of the exhibition hall.


The piece was entitled "Mortal." It depicted a man, not quite young but not yet middle-aged or old, laid down on white bed and he was covered in bruises and bandages with medical tubes stemming from parts of his body. Although the man's face was contorted with pain and weariness, his brown eyes remained wide open, gazing tenderly and appreciatively at a faceless woman who sat at his bedside. Her hand seemed to brush aside the hair of the fallen man, a gesture to comfort and done out of love. Sunlight peeked through the hospital blinds, streaking light upon the man and woman.

When Ranma and Akane stopped before this work of art, silence fell upon them. For Akane, the image evoked heartrending memories tucked away from another time in life. She closed her eyes, exhaling the breath that had been caught in her throat, willing herself not to cry at the recollections.

While Akane feasted on the artwork with new eyes, Ranma appeared to be reacquainting himself with the image. He was the first to break the silence between them, confessing, "Every time I see this picture, it reminds me that no one is invincible, not even me - as much as I hate to say it."

This caused Akane to open her eyes and face the young martial artist beside her. He was still looking at the painting. She marveled at his honesty and she could hardly believe that the young man standing right next to her was the same one whom she had admonished from the magazine barely an hour ago.

Ranma scoffed to himself. "Oi, but don't tell my Pops you heard me say that… He'd never let me live it down! Neither would any of the guys I fight." He turned to meet the gaze of Akane Tendo, who was looking up at him with a smile on her face. "What?" he said, wondering why she would be smiling at him like that?

She merely shook her head and said softly, "Nothing."

It was then he realized how much he had opened himself up to this lady, this complete stranger! Why had he done that? She was no one special… Ranma took a moment to examine the woman before him: Akane Tendo was a little shorter than him, with a fair complexion, long dark-blue hair and chocolate brown eyes. She had on a royal blue dress with a black sash tied around her waist and sensible heels on her feet. The only jewelry and make-up she wore was a pair of small ruby earrings and some eyeliner. She was simple ("down to earth," his twin sister would say) and kinda cute. Friendly, too.

"It sounds like you get a lot of pressure from your dad," Akane remarked. "My dad pressures me a lot too, but only to find myself a boyfriend and settle down. It's so sexist!"

"You don't think guys don't get pressured by their parents to find a girl too?" stated Ranma, thinking about his father and mother hounding about finding a "steady girlfriend."

Akane considered this. "Hm, I never thought about it… Does your dad pressure you to get married soon?" Akane tilted her head and pondered aloud, "In that case, our parents should never meet. Knowing my dad, he would try to arrange a marriage between our families, even though we barely know each other."

"And knowing my Pops," Ranma began, "he'd probably agree right away! The dolt."

Akane's face broke into a laughing grin, her face aglow with her amusement over their silly fathers. Ranma smiled too, finding himself to be quietly enjoying the warmth of this stranger's smile. At that moment, he had changed his mind about her: Akane Tendon was not cute, she was beautiful.


Daisuke Sato's exhibition was a great success and he had even made sales for his original work at his opening night. By the time he, Sayuri, his two best friends, Yuka and Akane had left the Gallery and was done sharing celebratory drinks at a nearby wine bar, he felt sure that he was on top of the world… But there was one more thing he needed to do before the night was over.

None of the friends were quite ready to turn in for the night after the bar, so the six of them found their way to the courtyard in front of the Nerima Opera Theater, where they sat along the ethereally-lit water fountain. Akane and Yuka took off their shoes and soaked their feet in the water.

After fifteen minutes or so had passed since the group arrived at the fountain, Daisuke suddenly cleared his throat and, with his face as red a tomato, he bent down on one knee in front of Sayuri, a tiny, velvet box in his hand. Both Sayuri and Yuka gasped at the sight and while Akane remained quiet, her dark eyebrows were raised as she turned to watch the couple. To the left of her, Hiroshi looked unsurprised at the sudden proposal and Ranma stared unimpressed at the whole scene.

"Yes!" Sayuri nearly shouted, lunging forward to hug her new fiancé. They toppled on the floor, but Sayuri was too happy to even complain. "Yes, Dai-kun!" she murmured again.


After Daisuke's proposal, it was understood that the happy couple wanted some time alone to properly celebrate all the wonderful things that transpired that night. Daisuke with Sayuri and Hiroshi with Yuka took separate cabs home, while Ranma agreed to walk Akane to her apartment building.

"You don't have to walk me home, you know," Akane assured him. "It's a safe neighborhood; I'll be okay."

"Don't worry yourself. Your place looks like it's on the way from mine so it ain't no trouble to drop you home," Ranma told her with a tone of finality.

Akane was satisfied with this answer and said no more about it. "That was a crazy ending to the night, huh? With Daisuke-san proposing to Sayuri-chan." She giggled. "To be honest, I didn't think he had it in him."

"Yep, 'crazy' would be the word for it…" Ranma muttered, cynically.

Having not grasped his sarcasm, Akane went on to say, "Sayuri-chan will probably ask me to coordinate her wedding. At least, I hope she does… I'd be really happy to do it for a good friend like her!"

"Wait," Ranma said, eyeing Akane. "Don't tell me you're actually happy for them? And you're a wedding planner?"

Akane looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Yes, of course I'm happy for them… And so what if I am a wedding planner? Is there something wrong with that?"

"I thought you were against the whole marriage thing. It sounds a little hypocritical to be a wedding planner and not wanna marry, if ya ask me," Ranma told her, plainly.

Akane flushed for the second time that night, feeling absolutely insulted. She turned away from Ranma, quickening her pace to walk ahead of him. "First of all, I said I didn't like my father pressuring me to date and marry right away when I'm not ready! And secondly, I never said I was against marriage – you came up with that idea on your own – so you have no right to call me a hypocrite!"

"Oi, don't get so hot-headed," Ranma called out to her, jogging up beside her. "Geez, I was just sayin'…" Akane ignored him and kept walking straight ahead towards her block. Ranma, however, wasn't done speaking out his mind. "And you know what? I can't say I like wedding planners 'cos they help seal the deal that ties up two people for the rest of their lives, two people who will drive each other nuts every day of every year until their dying day! I would hate to be in Daisuke's shoes right now."

Akane could not help but clench her fists. Normally, she was a little better keeping her temper in check, especially with people she didn't know too well, but this Ranma infuriated her! "Oh, I get it," spat Akane. "You're a rover."

"A what?" Ranma blurted, genuinely confused.

"A playboy!" Akane clarified. "A womanizer! A Casanova!"

"Wait a minute, I never said tha – " Ranma tried to argue.

"Only a polygamous pervert thinks that way about marriage," Akane declared. "Perverts, and people who are scared of love. If you aren't a playboy, then you must definitely be a coward."

"Hey, I'm no coward!" Ranma nearly yelled, taking a step closer to Akane.

"Then, you're a rover, then," Akane said, with all the confidence in the world. They had just arrived at the entrance of her apartment building. By now, she was more than ready to leave the company of one Ranma Saotome.

"I'm not that, either!" exclaimed Ranma, but Akane didn't even glance back. "Would ya listen to me, you – you – y-you're so uncute!"

This time, Akane did turn around, her eyes staring coldly at Ranma. "If that's what you think, then you can leave now. Good night and good riddance, Ranma Saotome!" With that, she turned and stalked into her building, hoping to never meet with the insufferable man again and leaving Ranma feeling angry, confused, and somehow, rejected.

-tbc-

Author's Notes: Reviews are of course appreciated!