Fortuitous
By Llett
It had been a while, she noted.
The dojo did not look like it had changed much. It was slightly more dilapidated (if that was at all possible) and some of the trees had obviously been trimmed. She could not deny the comfort that came from its almost never-changing form.
Her name was Akane Tendo, she was twenty years of age and currently a student at Osaka U; one of the countries most prestige Arts and Drama establishments. Her course choice had come naturally, her decision to move so far from home, and him, had not.
It had been two-hundred and fifty-three days since she had last been home. She knew this for she had counted every single day as it passed, one by one.
The afternoon had been blessed with unusually balmy late November weather, a cool breeze blowing slightly underfoot as she turned from the old cement path beside the Dojo's southern wall. She cast a gaze out across the lawn, spotting him near the middle.
He was standing tall, arms crossed against his chest, surrounded by five small children, each one of them bushy tailed and wide eyed as they stared up in awe of their Sensei. He had grown ever so slightly taller, and his face had become more chiseled, if only just. He hadn't noticed her yet, his attention clearly elsewhere.
He, Ranma Saotome, had not been all that pleased when his favourite, and arguably cutest, fiancée had decided somewhat suddenly that she desired to study her future profession at a location ever so far from where he desired to stay.
They had finished school months prior; she had achieved near perfect grades, he… well, he was allowed to graduate by a slightly begrudged teacher. It had been Ranma's undeniable fate from the moment he had been born to inherit his fathers martial art profession. It was the line of work he had studied for his entire life. He was, arguably, one of the greatest fighters in modern Japan, possibly the world. And boy did he let you know about it.
Akane, on the other hand, had always known that she wanted to make 'something' of herself. 'Something' being the opportune word.
He was the last to know of her final decision. She didn't have the heart to tell him right away. He realized something was up though, much to her surprise. When he asked, she told him straight faced and dead pan, pausing afterwards to judge his reaction.
They had been engaged for over two years at that point.
To be honest, he didn't know what to feel. He told her this. She sighed.
Perhaps, had they been gifted changed circumstances, things would have been different. Had he not left home with his father at such a young age, had her mother not passed on at such a crucial time in her life, had he not been betrothed to countless other individuals and cursed with an aversion to cold water, had she not spent her early high school years fighting off countless suitors and developed so many emotional walls- had the two of them not been so damn stubborn all the damn time; perhaps things may have been different.
But that is who they were. Those very unordinary life circumstances led them to that very moment and what was to come.
She had left on a Tuesday morning. Ranma claimed that bad things always happened to him on Tuesdays. They both secretly remembered every last detail of that day. From the clothes the two of them were wearing, to the smell of the dojo and sound of the final words.
His voice had been soft, almost whispered, "Be happy."
And boy had he meant it.
Akane didn't know what would happen next. She arrived in Osaka, unpacked her bags and began to get settled into her first weeks of University. She was happy, she was meeting new people, experiencing new things; this is what she wanted! But, she couldn't deny the lingering feeling of loss, a tinge of dissatisfaction. Something wasn't right, and it flew threw her mind and dreams almost every night.
To him, she had been sort of plain looking, with her short cut black hair and large brown eyes. She certainly wasn't the prettiest girl he ever met, nor the friendliest, but she had an odd charm about her that had, over some time, grown on him. He knew her departure would affect him; he had severely underestimated just how greatly so.
Life with her hadn't been perfect, but it had damn well been enjoyable. He found himself in the days after she left staring endlessly at his bedroom ceiling, morning after morning, wondering just what the hell he was suppose to do now.
His choices eventually came quite naturally.
Ranma Saotome re-opened the Tendo dojo, with an emphasis on the "Saotome school of anything goes martial arts" exactly two weeks after his favourite fiancée left. He didn't really know what to expect from it all, but had proceeded regardless.
To be honest, the entire household had been in a form slump since the youngest Tendo had departed. But re-opening the old dojo gave them all, in a way, renewed purpose. Nabiki, now a third year economics student, set up the books and accounts. Mr. Tendo and Ol' Man Saotome spent their days travelling the streets of Nerima, demonstrating their respective art, and encouraging anyone interested to visit the dojo and sign up for classes. And funnily enough, it worked rather well.
Within the first week they found themselves in routines. Ranma spent his days surrounded by young children and teenagers eager to learn his cherished talent- desperate for him to impart his knowledge and skills upon them. It helped fill the time, the emptiness. Mainly, it helped him move on into adulthood.
But it wasn't enough, and he knew it.
She was lying on her bed, reading through the next morning's course textbook when her small phone rang from across the room. She recognized the ring-tone as the one she had assigned to home, to the lil' dojo in Nerima. She thought it must be Kasumi checking in on her, so she smiled as she reached for it.
His voice came in soft, almost whispered- "Hey?"
Ranma wasn't sure why he had chosen to call so spontaneously that night or what had truly inspired him to grab the phone, dial her number, and- well, he wasn't entirely sure what would happen after that.
They talked. For what felt like the longest time. And that's all they did- just talk. And they enjoyed every single moment of it.
When a few days later she called the family house and asked to talk to him, he was extremely pleased, not that he told her that, but still.
And this is how it went from then on.
And for the first time in so many weeks apart, the two of them felt right again. Hell, they even admitted that to each other, it was their little secret. As time and weeks went on, they found themselves calling each other to talk almost every other night. They set apart time, they always knew when to expect the other and for the most part made sure that they were free.
Sometimes he unexpectedly wouldn't call though, and Akane would find herself lost in her days. It was an unexplainable mood that almost haunted her- she did not feel like herself. When, usually a day or two later he would finally chime in, there was always a good reason behind his actions- a spontaneous training trip cross-country or a ghost hunting expedition a town over… stuff like that. She still didn't understand why he didn't buy a mobile phone.
He told her about the dojo, his pupils, his day to day activities. She couldn't explain why she loved hearing about them, maybe it was the way he talked with such burning passion; he never failed to force a smile across her lips. She found herself caring about such things more and more.
Ranma worried sometimes about her. Worried about who she met and what she did with her time. He couldn't deny how protective he was of her, even with her ever so far away. He would smile to himself, just thinking about her during a quiet moment between classes, or if he saw something that reminded him of her, which he often did.
Sometimes, when it was very late and the two felt very tired, their conversations would take turns into areas both of them typically avoided. Mainly: how they felt about each other. There were during these times incredibly small concessions on both their behalf's. She admitted she got jealous of his other fiancée's, he admitted that he worried about her meeting new 'dudes'.
Most important of all however, is that they both confessed they missed the other very, very, much.
At that moment she heard his laugh carry across the yard. A young girl of no more then eight years old sent him an angry look as she again tried to hit with the new punch he had taught her. He blocked it easily and spun her around.
"You're doing well, keep at it. Ok?" he spoke softly, "You all did well today, ill see you tomorrow afternoon, alright? Take care getting home." He bowed, so did his class. "Sayonara."
How much had time the time apart changed them? She wondered this for a moment, watching him closer. She felt very odd. But it was a good kind of odd.
She knew she wouldn't be back forever, a month at most. She would have to return to university once her holidays ended. She would have to leave him again.
But he wasn't going anywhere.
He told her this, after all.
Ranma Saotome finally turned around to face towards her, a kind smile plastered across his face, sweat dripping down his cheek, his fringe tossed messily along his forehead, his lips parted.
"Hey."