Campfires

Chapter One

He had done it now. He had blown things up much more than they had needed to be. The worst part of it had been that he had got her involved with it as well. Of course he had not meant for it to end up this way. It just sort of happened. Half of him wanted to give up at that moment right now. Just walk away like it hadn't happened. It did happen, and he needed to live with it now.

For the first time in a while, Ranma looked down at the sleeping girl that was resting her head on his lap. The moonlight shone down on her face perfectly to give her creamy white skin a glowing, vibrant color. She looked so peaceful with her eyes shut tight. She was far away from the rest of the world, and all of the troubles that it brought. She rustled in his lap a bit, then got comfortable again, snuggling his chest. It made a small blush appear on his face. Even now in the quiet peaceful night, out in the forest amongst the chirping insects, he still regretted what he, no, they had done.

He rested an arm on the girl and stared into the dying campfire. A few small sparks flew out and landed onto the dirt forest floor, and slowly cooled. One even managed to land on his foot, making him jump a bit. It wasn't enough to wake her, but she began to rustle again. He smiled down on her, admiring her small, cute form. His eyes rolled over her body, caressing it. He brushed her short, blue hair out of the way, so he could look into her dark, chocolate eyes. They were so big! He looked into them and was mesmerized at the beauty of them.

It took him a few moments to realize that she couldn't be sleeping if her eyes were open. "Oh, she's awake." Her eyes stared straight back into his and he felt connected. The moment was way to perfect to be real, but he guessed he had earned it, after all they had done. He sat there on the ground, waiting for her to sit up, or say something. She did neither. She just laid on his lap and smiled up at him. Her perfect smile. The smile that brightens his day, even though he won't admit it to her. Her beautiful smile. The smile was enough. She didn't have to say anything.

Two Weeks ago

"Akane! You know just as well as I do, that if I eat that, I'll be dead in five minutes!" An annoyed Ranma Saotome shouted back to the short girl that was chasing him. Her nose was wrinkled and she carried a plate full of rice balls.

"Baka! Just try one! I spent hours trying to make these just right for you!" Ranma, who was currently in mid-air, fell down and just missed the koi pond. The pigtailed martial artist quickly got to his feet, and found himself awkwardly staring right into his hunter's eyes.

"You.. Spent hours making them.. for me?" He asked in his most sincerest and understanding voice he could muster. Both eyes locked and a blush appeared on the girls face.

"Well, I.. Yeah.." She said as she bowed her head down, looking at her shoes, trying to hide her blush from her fiancé.

Ranma nodded his head. "C'mon Akane! Dont'cha have a life? Go poison someone else!"

A large wooden mallet appeared in the girl's hand and she blasted Ranma through the roof of the dojo. No one was poisoned by food that day, but Akane felt poisoned by her husband-to-be's words.

She stopped a tear from falling and started to break large blocks of concrete. She didn't know why she put up with him. Sometimes she felt like there was nothing between them.

The sun started to go down and Ranma had finally returned from his great trip via Akane Airlines. The hungry boy rubbed his head as he walked into the kitchen to see what was for dinner.

Meanwhile, Akane sat in her room thinking over her homework. She felt that sometimes there were strong feelings between Ranma and her, but then other times, those feelings were completely gone. She wanted to apologize for hitting him today, but he would just laugh at her and call her uncute. She was the one who needed an apology, right?

0o0o0

Ranma was beginning to feel a bit guilty at what he had said. He knew it had been a bit uncalled for, and that she was trying to be nice to him. It was pretty flattering to have someone put that much time and effort into doing something for him. He decided to go apologize to her. It only seemed fair. He got off the couch in the living room, turned off the tv, and walked to the kitchen. "Kasumi?" Ranma asked, "do you know where Akane is?"

Kasumi turned around with a plate in hand, "I believe she's still out in the dojo practicing, Ranma." Ranma wondered how long she had been in there and took off promptly after thanking Kasumi.

As he got closer to the dojo entrance, he began to here faint grunts and breaking noises. He would take a peep and see what she was doing. He slowly looked through the crack in the dojo door and saw her. She was practicing her kicks and punches, throwing heavy blows every way she could before she ran out of energy.

She looks tired. Very tired. She had to have been out here for hours. Even he never pushed himself that hard, unless he was training for a big match. "It's now or never." The boy thought as he walked into the dojo.

Author Note: If you're reading this, wow! How did you get here? You're one cool dude! Or dudette. ;) Don't let me keep you from the next chapter, they get longer after this one!