A Ranma ½ Fanfic written by Sabrina Anne
Disclaimer: The characters and stories of Ranma ½ are © Rumiko Takahashi, and are used here without permission or license. This work is for non-commercial use only and is produced for the sole enjoyment of fans, not to be distributed for sale.
Ranma fiddled with his pencil and stared blankly out the window. He always hated Calculus class and did whatever necessary so as not to pay attention. This time he found a nice blank spot in his notebook and took up doodling. Akane, who was seated on the other side of the room today because of a fight between them earlier this morning, was attempting to tackle a problem up on the chalkboard. From the looks of it, she wasn't getting it correct and kept aggressively going at her notebook with a giant eraser.
She's pretty cute when she's sitting quietly. He began to think about what his father had said earlier that morning along with Mr. Tendou.
"You had better take Akane to that dance, son. Or no training trip to China next month."
If it hadn't been for meddling fathers, he would have probably wanted to go with her anyway, but blackmailing him wasn't just unfair….it made him want to go to the dance even more.
The bell rang for the end of school and this time Ranma jumped to his feet, startled a bit from being knocked out of his daze.
"Hey Ranma, whatcha got there?" The boy seated next to him reached over and snatched the notebook off his desk before he had the chance to put it in his bag.
He began to laugh violently and scream, "Ranma loves Akane! Ranma loves Akane! Look look! He's been drawing lovey-dovey pictures!"
At first the shouts didn't sink in. But when a group of other classmates all stumbled around him to get a look at the notebook, he blinked in confusion.
"What the…?" Ranma grabbed the notebook and stared at it, cocking an eyebrow. Immediately his face turned as red as the shirt he had on as he looked around to see whether Akane had heard the shouts. He didn't see her, and thinking he was safe, he whirled around towards the door only to be face to face with Akane.
"Can I see?" She smiled sweetly, tilting her head as she reached out a hand for the notebook.
Without even thinking, Ranma quickly replied, "Forget it, Akane. I wasn't drawing you….I was drawing a dog."
And with that said, Akane's sweet smile turned to vicious anger as she picked up a nearby chair and swung it at Ranma's head, missing him completely but managing to injure the boy who had started shouting.
Back at the Tendou household, Akane was stewing in her room, obviously still annoyed from Ranma's earlier comment.
"And why should I care if he thinks I'm a dog?" She asked out loud, kicking at her garbage can. It knocked over and spilled pieces of paper onto the floor.
Akane growled and muttered, "Grrr….. Stupid jerk!" She got up from her desk and stomped towards the door, kicking it open and walking down the hall to the guest room that Ranma shared with his father, intent on giving him a piece of her mind. She listened for a moment before sliding open the door with all the anger she could muster, and looked around, realizing no one was in there.
"Now where the hell…" She stopped mid-sentence as her eyes focused on Ranma's schoolbag. Quickly she peered both ways over her shoulders and stepped quietly into the room and towards the bag. She knelt on the floor and lifted up the bag's flap, spotting the notebook at once since it was the only notebook Ranma ever kept. Looking over her shoulders again, she cautiously opened the notebook and flipped through it, curious to see what he really had been doodling. Suddenly her hands froze. Her eyes stopped solid on a doodle taking up half a page. It wasn't a particularly good drawing, she'd seen better from the boys in her animation class, but it certainly wasn't a dog. It was a girl's face, smiling pleasantly with chin-length hair that had been colored in black with the pencil and a roughly drawn flower tucked behind an ear. For all intents and purposes, it was her.
She quickly shook her head and blinked her eyes a few times. Obviously she wasn't seeing straight. Could Ranma have really drawn this? Her earlier hatred for him quickly shifted as she kept flipping through the pages only to find other doodles of the same girl but with different faces. On another page, the girl's face was winking and sticking her tongue out. The word "cute" was scribbled above it.
Hmm…She kept flipping through pages until she reached the back of the notebook and found no doodles, but a bunch of crossed-out scribbles. The handwriting was barely legible, as Ranma never really cared much to learn to write properly or learn to spell, but she could make out most of it. She read the scribbles out loud in her mind:
"Dear Akane, I'm sorry I called you uncute. I didn't mean to tell you the truth."
Cross-out.
"Dear Akane, Please accept my apology for your poor cooking skills."
Cross-out.
Akane's anger began to boil up again, but before it could go any further, she read the last Cross-out.
"Dear Akane, will you go with me to the dance?"
Much like her reaction to the doodles, she looked up, dumbfounded.
"….Eh…?!"
The door to Ranma's room slid open as he stepped in, surprised at Akane's presence.
He blinked at first, and chuckled a bit to himself.
"Snooping around, Akane? That's not very ladylike y'know." He leaned himself against the wall with his arms folded.
She immediately stood and threw the notebook at him, folding her arms as well. Ranma quickly caught the notebook and blushed, realizing what she'd been looking at.
"You're such a coward, Ranma. If you wanted to ask me to the dance you should say so." She closed her eyes and turned towards the wall, but after his momentary silence she peaked over at him. He was still as red as the Chinese shirt he was wearing.
"Why you…that's private property! Who said you had any right looking at my stuff, huh?! And who says I wanted to ask you to the dance anyway?!" His face was no longer red with embarrassment, but red with fuming anger.
Akane was dumbfounded once more, but not by his reaction, by his sheer stupidity.
"You MORON! I just read it in your notebook! Are you that stupid that you can't even remember?"
"I was planning on asking you since everyone else already had a date. But now you'll just have to go by yourself." Somewhat proud of his comeback, he turned and slammed the sliding door as hard as he could possibly slam a sliding door, leaving Akane all alone.
She growled at the door and sat on the floor, folding her arms with a loud, harrumph.
"I'll never understand that dolt."
Ranma sat on the roof of the dojo, his usual resting place after an argument with Akane. He stared out over the rooftops of Nerima just pondering. Originally, his intentions were to ask Akane to the dance, but every time he meant to do it something always got in his way. Another guy professing the same intentions or sending her flowers and candy to get her to accept their invitations. Having spent the rest of his yen buying back some compromising photos of his female half from Nabiki, he knew he just couldn't compete for Akane's attention like that.
With a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes and attempted to figure out what to do next.
"You should go talk to him. You know you want to go with him."
Nabiki sat on Akane's bed, flipping through a fashion magazine, trying to decide what hairstyle would suit her best for the dance that night. Unlike most other girls in school, Nabiki preferred to go to the dance without a date, to keep her options open, as she had mentioned.
Akane was standing in front of her closet, admiring the dress she planned to wear. It was a Chinese-style dress, but not very traditional. It was black silk, with embroidered blue orchids, and was open down much of the back. Her friend Yumei had loaned it to her, knowing it would gain attention from a certain someone.
With a heavy sigh, she turned to look at her sister.
"Just go talk to him." She repeated. "Besides, you'll never find another date in time for tonight."
With a roll of her eyes and a low grumble, she plopped the dress back into her closet and set upon the house to look for Ranma. After an argument, there could only be one place he could be.
As she climbed up onto the guardrail of the porch and stood on her tiptoes, she could see the top of a fluffy black-haired head. Half-smiling to herself for knowing so well where he would be, she proceeded to climb up onto the roof of the dojo, the clay tiles making a click-click sound. Without realizing she had stepped onto a loose tile, she lost her footing and fell backward, scrambling to find something to hold onto only to find another loose tile. Her other hand reached towards the roof in one last resort and found a hand had grabbed her, pulling her up onto the roof away from the edge.
Ranma stood in front of her, still holding onto her hand. The look on his face was half concern, half curiosity.
"Clumsy," he said.
Akane blushed, looking down at her feet. For all the times she had been up here, she still didn't have it down pat exactly how to get onto the roof.
"Um….thanks.." she managed to get out.
Ranma must have realized he was still holding her hand and let it go, quickly, taking a step backwards to have a seat again. She hadn't wanted to say she was sorry for looking through his things earlier, and his silence was killing her.
"So…." She started. "….um…" she began twirling her fingers and stole a glance over at him. He was leaning against the roof tiles, his hands folded under his head and was looking away.
"….I'm sorry I was looking through your stuff."
There, I said it, she thought. Now it is his turn.
"It's ok, I guess." Ranma answered.
They sat in silence for what seemed like eternity, before Ranma spoke again.
"So are we goin' to this dance thing or what?"
Akane blinked, looking up at him. Finally, she thought.
He looked over at her, awaiting an answer. There was a smile on her face.
"I'll be ready by 7," she said, and slid down the roof and onto the porch with all the grace of a polar bear attacking new found prey.
Ranma chuckled to himself at the thought and slid down after her. I guess this means I need to find something to wear. Just as he reached the porch, Mr. Tendou and his father stood in front of the door waiting for him, Mr. Tendou with tears in his eyes.
"Oh my boy, you don't know what this means to me!" He patted Ranma on the back and wiped his eyes with his other hand.
Genma Saotome stood next to his old friend, nodding in agreement.
"Indeed, my son. 'Tis a good thing you are doing taking Akane to the dance."
"Oh geez," Ranma grumbled and rolled his eyes. "Look pops, I don't have time for the speech ok? I gotta go change."
Mr. Tendou stood between him and the door, blocking his way.
"Precisely why we are here, my boy. You'll need something to wear."
"The music, the atmosphere….you'll need some protection too, son."
Letting out a loud cough, Ranma's face turned a crimson rivaling that of his shirt. Why would he be needing any…?
Genma handed him a small packaged bar of soap. Jusenkyo was printed on the label.
"I managed to stea……purchase this from a Chinese traveling salesman. A sample of that special soap. I was planning on using it myself, but tonight is a special night, my son, and it looks like rain."
Ranma's eyes widened as he pried the soap out of his father's hand, shocked at how thoughtful his father could actually be sometimes.
"Kasumi will have a bath ready for you, son. And your clothes are waiting for you."
The two older men scooted a stunned Ranma back into the house.
Akane looked at her reflection in the mirror. The dress was a little snug, Yumei was built a little smaller than she was, but for tonight it was tight in all the right places. She had to admit it to herself, she looked like a beautiful young woman. The night played on in her head. They would walk back to the school together, Ranma would ask her to dance and they would step out onto the dance floor for a slow song, their eyes would meet for a brief moment before...
Knock-knock.
"Nothing like a snap back to reality," she thought out loud with a chuckle. "Like it would happen that way anyhow...Coming!"
It was Kasumi, and she was holding a small bouquet of blue orchids.
"Oh Akane, you look so beautiful!" She stepped inside and held out the orchids for her sister. "Why not put one in your hair?"
With a nod, Akane took the bouquet and walked back to the mirror. She picked out an orchid and tucked it into her hair behind her ear. Turning back to her sister, Kasumi nodded and smiled.
"I'm ready," Akane announced.
"Good, Ranma's waiting for you downstairs."
Ranma sat on a chair by the front door, trying his best not to look nervous His left leg wouldn't stop fidgeting. He could hear the girls laughing upstairs and wondered when they would actually be ready. The night played on in his head. They would walk together to the dance, one of his other fiancées would find them, Akane would get mad and storm off, he would have to run after her and apologize, perhaps Akane would forgive him and perhaps they would share a moment...
"Ranma, I'm ready."
Ranma looked up and blinked. She was surely a beautiful sight...
"Ranma?"
He blinked again and stood, shaking away his daze.
"Yeah, lets go," he said.
"What do you think of my dress?" She asked, turning around slowly, her hands by her waist. Ranma could see the dress hugging her curves, and his eyes widened at the hole that exposed most of her back.
"Um...I...uh...it's nice," he said, still staring at her.
She advanced towards him, still holding a blue orchid in her hand. Something told Ranma to take the flower...
He met her halfway and took the flower from her hand, gently tucking it behind her other ear.
"Perfect," he said, smiling down at her.
From the staircase, Genma and Soun watched their children, wiping away their tears.
"Shall we, old friend?"
"We shall."
The two men returned to the back porch for a night of sake and shogi.
It didn't look much like rain, then again the night was still early. The sun was setting and the soft spring breeze was blowing the scent of flowers all around them. Ranma was glad his father had given him the soap even if it was just a one time use only. Akane was in such a good mood, it would be a shame to waste it.
"You clean up pretty well," a voice came from Ranma's back. He hadn't realized how fast he was walking and Akane was struggling to keep up.
"Huh? Oh…thanks," he replied back, realizing his pace and slowing down. His own outfit, similar to his day to day wear except for being all black, had a blue sash which matched the orchids in Akane's dress. His father and Mr. Tendou no doubt had something to do with that.
Just hold her hand, his inner voice told him. Just take it and walk together. Do it.
Mentally shaking his head in response, Ranma struggled with the inner voice. It wouldn't take no for an answer and was practically screaming in his head. Coward!
Without looking at her, Ranma reached out his hand just slightly away from his body. He wasn't sure if Akane was even paying attention or if she would reciprocate and take his hand, but he felt the inner voice couldn't argue if he at least tried.
And so she was paying attention. A soft warm hand slipped into his and gripped onto his fingers. Ranma felt his face blush and he watched the sidewalk as they continued to walk together, hand in hand.
Akane smiled as she held onto his hand, she hadn't noticed how it was so much bigger than hers. She was surprised that he had made such a move, bold even for a cocky brute like him. , snuggling
He can be so sweet when he wants to be, she thought. She wondered just how long it would take for him to ruin it.
Unfortunately, Akane was about to find out the answer to that thought. A familiar bell behind them chimed as the sound of a bicycle came closer.
"Ranma! So handsome! What you doing with violent girl?"
That voice, a chill ran up Ranma's spine as he inadvertently let go of Akane's hand.
"Uh...nothing Shampoo. Just out for a walk..." he sputtered, casually trying to look like nothing was happening. Shampoo had hopped off her bike and jumped in his arms, about to nuzzle his cheek when she stole a glance over at Akane, her eyes narrowing in confusion.
"What you doing in dress Akane? It too small for wide hips," she said.
Ranma looked quickly at Akane to see her reaction. She had a clenched fist and gritted teeth, but stayed quiet.
"Look Shampoo..." he began, but wasn't quite sure what to say. If he told Shampoo the truth, he'd actually have to admit to himself and out loud that he was on a date with Akane, a task he wasn't sure he was ready to do. Then again, if he didn't say anything, Akane's good mood would soon turn sour.
He stole another glance at Akane and came to the sad realization that it wouldn't matter what he said...Akane's mood had already turned sour. He had to come up with a plan and fast, he knew Akane wouldn't stick around long enough to hear what he had to say. And so he tried again.
"Look, Shampoo, we've got to go. See, there's this thing..."
Yeah, smooth, he thought.
"Shampoo come too," she said. "Shampoo make much better date."
Akane let out a growl, she'd had enough and stomped right in front of the Amazon's face. "Shampoo can't you see you're not wanted around here? Leave us ALONE!"
"Violent girl want fight? Shampoo ready." With a flick of her wrists, Shampoo's bonburi's were aimed at her opponent.
"Let's go," Akane replied, slinking into a fighting stance and then it began, Shampoo taking the first swing, Akane blocking and going in for her attack.
"Shampoo, Akane, this is stupid!" Ranma tried to peel them apart, but it was to no avail. He ducked punches and kicks and even got knocked in the face before he'd had it.
"Aw man, forget this!" He shouted and tore off down the street in the direction of Furinkan High, jumping up onto a fence and continuing along his path.
It took the two fighting girls a second before they realized Ranma was no longer watching nor was he around.
"See what you do? You make Ranma leave!" Shampoo shouted, shoving Akane to the side.
"You don't honestly believe I'm the one that made Ranma leave do you? Everything was fine until you showed up!"
Akane thought for a moment. Ranma may have gone ahead to the dance without her, but if she headed in that direction, Shampoo was sure to follow her. Shampoo was fast, but not that fast.
"I'll go find him," she said quickly, running towards the direction of the dojo.
"Shampoo find Ranma first!" Shampoo hopped back on her bike and sped down the street, looking behind her once to stick her tongue out at Akane.
Akane pretended to jog before ducking behind a corner of a small noodle shop. She stuck her head out to see Shampoo still going and only hoped she would get distracted by something...or get showered with cold water.
"Ok, time to go," she said to herself, running this time towards Furinkan High. When she got there, there were plenty of people in the school yard but none of them Ranma. A few of her friends waved and she waved back, but continued scanning the area.
"Oh Ranma, where the heck are you?" She grumbled and continued her search, heading towards the field. A lightbulb suddenly lit in her brain and she made a quick stop at a refreshment table before heading back out to the field.
"Just great," Ranma said to himself, his legs dangling from a tree branch. The night had started so well...and ended up just like another day out of his typically chaotic life.
smack
Ranma blinked, and caught the plastic wrapped bundle that smacked him across the cheek.
"What the...? Eh?" He scratched the back of his forehead and looked down to see where it came from.
"You're such a jerk." It was Akane, and she was climbing up the tree to sit next to him on the branch. Her expression wasn't apparent to him, he couldn't tell if she was angry or not. She had another plastic bundle in her hand and began to unwrap it, revealing a red bean mochi cake.
"How was I supposed to know Shampoo was..."
"That's not what I mean, Ranma. You could have told her we were on a date."
"It's not a date!" He shouted, without thinking. Akane's eyes narrowed at him. He looked at her quickly, a bead of sweat forming at his temple. "At least...it's not a date anymore," he finished.
Whew.
Akane merely cocked an eyebrow.
He said, unwrapping his mochi and taking a bite. "You have to admit, it started out pretty well."
"You say that as if the night is over," she said, licking a bit of red bean paste from her lips. "We just got here."
In the distance, an announcer over the loudspeaker could be heard, followed by cheers. Music began to play, and all at once, the school and the yard surrounding it lit up with strings of paper lanterns.
"So you're not mad?" He shoved the rest of the mochi into his mouth, his cheeks puffing out like a hamster.
She crinkled her nose at him, but had to admit it was a funny sight and let out a short giggle.
"No, I guess not," she said, sounding a little surprised even to herself.
"Ok good," he gave her a short nod and looked over the school yard. It was actually a pretty sight and he was really glad to be sitting there with Akane. No meddling fathers, no Tendou sisters, and certainly no other fiancées.
They sat in silence, as was their usual routine, until Akane attempted a conversation.
"So...what are you thinking of doing this summer?"
"Pops and I are planning a trip to China. Dunno how we'll get there, but he said we'd go."
Akane looked down at the grass. That's what you get for asking, she thought.
"I suppose he'll meet some fisherman with a boat and a daughter. I'll end up with another fiancé but at least we'll get to China."
Ranma laughed at his own joke and looked over at Akane, who wasn't laughing.
"Sorry," he said. She was staring down at the grass, seemingly bothered by his joke. Ranma could still hear the music playing and so he took a chance. He hopped down to the grass and looked up at her. Her expression remained unchanged.
"A...Akane..." he stammered. "...do you want to dance?"
A smile crept across her face and he had his answer. He held out his arms as she slipped off the tree branch and fell into his arms. He held her just a brief moment before setting her down on the soft grass. She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and rested her cheek against his chest.
Ranma, feeling Akane's body against his, felt his face turn scarlet and wasn't sure what to do or where to put his hands. He started at her shoulders, but his arms were in an uncomfortable position, so he decided on her waist. But as his hands slipped downward, he felt the opening in her dress and the soft bare skin of her back. He quickly slid his hands to her waist, his heart beating faster as they gently swayed to the music.
Akane closed her eyes and smiled, listening to Ranma's heartbeat. It was so fast, he was so nervous. She wasn't sure why she wasn't nervous, normally being this close to him would have made her a wreck, but something about it was so calm, so peaceful.
Relax,Ranma's inner voice kept repeating. In his mind, dancing was a lot like martial arts. Being swift and light on your feet was easy. It was being so close to Akane that made him so nervous. He paced his breathing and felt his heartbeat return to a normal pace. With a sigh of relief, he lowered his cheek down to the top of her head and in haled the sweet scent of her hair. They stood there, gently swaying for hours, what seemed like an eternity.
It was almost too perfect of course, but things could never be perfect in Nerima, at least not for this pair. The rain started gently at first, a few droplets here and there, then came a little heavier. Standing beneath the tree, Akane and Ranma hadn't noticed, until the rain fell between the leaves. The pair quickly separated, looking out over the school yard.
"Yikes, that's really comin' down," Ranma said, thankful his father had given him the special soap.
"Wait here, I'll see if I can find you an umbrella." Akane turned to run out towards the school, but Ranma grabbed her hand.
"No, it's okay," he said. "Lets walk home in the rain." He stepped out from under the cover of the tree, looking up to the sky and letting the rain hit him in the face. His male face. He had always enjoyed the rain, especially as a young boy. The soft sound it made against the rooftop and the windows, the way it made everything smell so fresh after it passed, but he never appreciated it fully in male form until this moment. Even if it was just for tonight, he hadn't wanted it to end.
Akane's eyes widened. "Ranma! You're…you're still a boy!"
He held out his hand to her and smiled. "C'mon slowpoke!"
She returned the smile and grabbed his hand as they jogged together out of the school yard and down the street. Ranma made an extra point to splash in the puddles. Normally Akane would have been angry that she was getting soaked or that Ranma was dashing her through puddles, but he seemed so happy... and he hadn't changed! She jumped into a particularly large puddle and kicked her feet in his direction, sending a nice splash his way. They laughed together and Ranma returned the splash.
By the time they had returned back to the dojo, the rain had begun to fall even harder and every inch of the two had been completely soaked. For some reason, Ranma had stopped before the entrance of the dojo between the welcoming gates and turned to look at her.
"Akane," he said softly, barely audible with the pouring rain around them.
"Yes Ranma?"
"This was fun."
She smiled and nodded, holding a hand to her forehead to shield her eyes from the rain.
"Well g'night," he said, turning towards the dojo. Akane's heart sank. After such a wonderful night, she was so sure that he'd... and without thinking, she reached for his arm and missed, grabbing the sopping wet material of his shirt.
"Wha…?" he spun around and there she was, barely an inch from his face, her eyes closed. His face reddened again, but he went in anyway, closing his eyes as he leaned down and met her soft lips. His hands were at her waist again, holding onto the fabric of her dress. Akane's hands were still gripping his shirt. The rain continued to beat down around them, but that didn't matter, nothing did.
"Well done, m'boy!"
And that was enough to break the moment. Quickly, the two separated, looking at each other, half in a daze and half unsure what to do next.
Genma Saotome and Soun Tendou were standing in the doorway of the dojo entrance, the proud looks on their faces showed they had clearly been spying.
Quickly, Akane planted a slap across Ranma's face.
Bewildered, he took a step back. "What the heck was that for?!"
"I didn't know what else to do!" she replied.
"Akane, my dear! Come inside before you catch a cold!" Mr. Tendou ran outside and scooped up his daughter, shooing her inside. Genma closed the door behind them and the men went back to their spot on the back porch.
Ranma looked up at the night sky, and closed his eyes, letting the rain hit his face and pour down his cheeks and neck as he thought about the day's events. He had fought with Akane, managed to ask her to the dance, saved himself from a fight with Shampoo, and shared a kiss in the rain with Akane. Overall, not a bad day, he thought to himself. There he stayed for what seemed like hours. He wasn't sure how long the soap would last, but he didn't want to waste any minute of it.
Ranma fan-fic, completed May 24, 2007.