One Night

By Lana Atkins



Wednesday

The next morning's walk to school was an entirely silent affair. There was no tension, no anger, nothing. Just silence.

This Ranma wasn't used to.

He glanced at Akane, walking quietly beside him on the ground by the rusty iron fence, her eyes on the ground. He wondered what the problem was, almost wished she'd get mad and yell at him what he'd done wrong this time and pound him into the ground. Painful as that sounded, it would probably ease the heavy feeling on his chest, for as clueless as he was over what was making her upset, he had a funny feeling it had something to do with him.

Sure, she had been perfectly normal to him. They'd even gone through an entire morning without yelling at each other. But this lack of conversation, any conversation, wasn't like Akane, who was actually quite chatty on a good day. Something wasn't right.

He frowned, considering.

It couldn't have been because of yesterday, right? She couldn't have known what he'd meant to ask..

He shook his head, placing a hand behind his head while staring into the sky.

Naw. It couldn't have been that. I mean, Akane's the toughest, manliest chick I know. She wouldn't be interested in a silly prom.

He looked at her again. The wind blew her bangs in front of her eyes, preventing him from seeing her face. The urge to ask her what was wrong welled up in him again. He opened his mouth slightly, only to realize that he couldn't utter the words.

--

At school, they both parted to their lockers to stash their books. Akane opened hers to an avalanche of letters that immediately collapsed on her. Picking them up and looking them over, she discovered they were requests to be the individual sender's date for the prom.

She winced. Just staring at the pink envelopes with their sickening little hearts made her want to upchuck something. Heaving a great sigh, she went through the names, wondering why the guys in school seemed to lack imagination of any sort. During her breaks and whenever she had spare time, she went around school politely declining each one. To her great relief, the day passed quickly, with no one ending up tremendously hurt.

Finally, Akane walked out the front door of Furinkan High, glad she'd returned all the letters and managed to stay in one piece. Yuka and Sayuri walked by her side and told her they'd accompany her home, seeing as Ranma had to run to the Tux Rental Shop to pick up his tuxedo for the prom. He was considering not showing up at all, claiming the idea of being in a stuffy tux for one whole night didn't agree with him, but a quick word with Kasumi convinced him to go, if he did it a little reluctantly. Akane didn't believe his little statement at all. He was probably just too chicken to go through with it, the jerk..

The two girls exchanged concerned looks as they gazed at Akane's hurt, angry face. They had noticed the quiet daze their friend was in today, and knew only one person could have had something to do with it.

"So, Akane," Sayuri said in a falsely bright voice, "Has Saotome asked you to the prom yet?"

Yuka nudged her sharply and gave her a look that said Insensitive, much?

Sayuri's hands immediately flew to her mouth, instantly regretting her stupid slip-up.

"U-uh, what I, what I mean was, since Ranma and you are engaged, he can ask you anytime he wants. Yeah."

Yuka smacked a hand to her forehead.

To the girl's surprise, Akane spoke wearily, in a sort of defeated voice that didn't sound like Akane at all, "It's okay, guys. No need to beat around the bush. He hasn't asked me and he probably won't."

"Oh Akane…" Yuka started sympathetically.

"I'm fine with it," Akane cut in abruptly, tightening her grip on the handle of her bag. "He can take whoever he wants. I couldn't care less."

Sayuri scoffed lightly.

"Oh, come off it, Akane, this is bothering you. Honestly, I don't know why you let him affect you like this. We both know he's too much of a chicken to ask anyone! You're one of the most gorgeous girls in school, just get another date. It's no big deal. Guys are lined up around the block to take you," she said, a hint of envy in her voice.

"And anyway, Akane," continued Yuka, a little despondently, "we're hopelessly dateless too. So you're not alone."

Akane sighed. "Thanks for the advice, but it's okay. I'll probably go stag anyway. But I'll have you guys, so it's not so bad." She smiled at them.

Sayuri caught hold of one of the girl's hands. "You bet, hon. Oh, hey, why don't you come over tomorrow? Yuka and I were planning to get ready there and leave together. It'll be fun."

"Sounds great!" said Akane, beaming at them. "I'll be there."

--

Ranma ran steadily. The Tux Rental Shop was far from the school, but he didn't mind the exercise, and considering how much he had on his mind, he didn't really think he would realize exhaustion from the running anyway. Not that he was exhausted. He was actually making pretty good time, having run without stopping for the last 25 minutes or so.

Finally, with a cry of triumph, he noticed the shop drawing closer and closer. He came to a screeching halt at the shop's front window, taking in all the tuxedos on display. Just before he stepped in, he stopped again, looking through the plain glass window once more at the items inside.

His eyes met with the range of corsages sold at the shop. They were all pretty, even to Ranma's inexplicably male mind, but one particular one caught his eye. He leaned forward and placed his hands on the glass to get a closer look.

It was a blue orchid corsage. It was attached to a long velvet ribbon, obviously to be tied around the hand. Taking in the pretty, sort of gentle shade of blue, which was the same colour as the Neriman sky, he couldn't help thinking it would look great on a certain blue-haired someone..

"For the young ladies," said a gentle voice.

Ranma turned towards the entrance, where an old man with gray hair and a beard stood, looking at him through his full-moon-shaped glasses that glittered in the sun. Suddenly, Ranma remembered he had a mouth.

"Yeah, I know. They're, uh, nice."

Mr. Matsumoto, the owner of the shop, lowered his glasses and peered at the young man. "So you have one then?"

Ranma blinked. "One what?"

"A young lady, of course," He raised an eyebrow. "A girlfriend?"

At the mention of this word, the same smiling image of Akane popped into his mind. He blushed, wondering to himself why he was thinking of Akane, of all people, but pegged it off on the fact that they were engaged, after all. He decided to spare the old man his whole chaotic tale and, looking away, replied a little uneasily, "Well, yeah, sorta."

The older man looked his young customer over. "Well, you seem like a nice enough young fella. Tell you what. I'll give you any corsage you want with the rental of your tux, free."

"Awh man, I couldn't.."

The owner shook his head and waved his hand as if batting something away, going back in the shop. "Nonsense. Come along inside. You're a strapping lad, so your girl ought to be a real gem. She deserves a really nice one."

He turned over his shoulder. "The tuxedo – it's for your first dance, am I right?"

Ranma's eyes widened in shock. "Well.. yeah. How'd you know?"

"I'd say marvellous intuition, but..." The man chuckled, further crinkling the lines on his old face. Then he smiled knowingly. "I could see the look in your eyes when you were looking at the corsage. You were thinking of someone who would wear it beautifully."

Ranma's face flushed.

The old man did not notice this. He instead when around to his counter and slipped the tux into its transparent case, his eyes taking on a faraway look. He spoke softly.

"You remind me of when I had my first dance. I was young then, of course, and could move a lot better than this old tin can will permit me now. And she.. my girl that is.. she was a sight to behold. As I held her, I thought nothing could ever be better than this moment; that I could die right there and then and I'd be the happiest man alive."

After dusting the case down in a sort of final way, he handed Ranma his tux, a shiny, smart black one, and smiled at him again.

"I'm sorry if I bore you with all these old yarns. In any case, I'm sure your dance will be as wonderful for you as it was for me," he said kindly. "And please, take that orchid corsage you were looking at. I've never met your girl before, but I've a feeling it'll suit her perfectly."

"Thanks, Mister." Ranma took the corsage, paused for a moment, then turned and looked at the owner. "I hope you don't mind me askin', but.. what happened to your, uh, girl?"

Mr. Matsumoto took his walking cane off a nearby rack, and walked to see his customer out the door, sadness surfacing in his eyes.

"Umiko.. passed away a year after the dance due to a long illness. I've been alone ever since," said the old man. "I have many regrets, but.. my greatest was that I never told her I loved her before she went. I know she knew it.. but I never got to say it to her right before she closed her eyes."

"I'm.. sorry." Ranma said, looking at the floor. The old man's story struck a chord deep within him, bringing his mind back to a year ago at Jusenkyo..

Akane.

"It's okay, my boy. That was so many years ago. But if I ever were to meet one as foolish as I was then," he said, clapping a hand on Ranma's back, "I'd tell him to make things right. Before it was too late."

He smiled once more at Ranma, who was already outside, and waved a weathered hand before stepping back into the comfort and shade of his store.

Ranma stared inside a while longer, then looked down at the small bit of flower and ribbon in his hand. His brows furrowed slightly.

Make things right..

"Ranchan!"

He turned behind him to see Ukyo approaching. waving her giant spatula to him in greeting.

"Ucchan! Hey— What are you doing here?"

As he tried to make eye contact, he slipped the corsage under the tux to remove it from her line of sight. Unfortunately, he wasn't quick enough.

"Is that corsage for me?" Ukyo squealed ecstatically. "Oh Ranchan, I'm so happy!"

"Ucchan—"

"It's so sweet and thoughtful of you, I could just explode. I knew you wanted to give me something special on our special night. I just can't believe it! I've always wanted to be given a corsage.."

"B-but—" he stammered, unable to get a word in edgewise to his excited fiancée.

"Oh, Ranchan, you're so romantic! It's such a beautiful gesture. Oh," she said, just noticing the shock on her fiancé's face, "I'm sorry for ruining the surprise! I'm sure you wouldn't want your other fiancées to know that it's for me. I'll just keep quiet until the prom, don't you worry, Ranchan."

His childhood friend ignored the dejected look on his face and winked at him, as if they were sharing a secret. It was times like these where Ranma still found it hard to believe that the little boy that he had once played with ten years ago was really not a boy at all. One of his fiancées, no less.

"Anyway, I'm here to pick up my dress for the prom. You're here for your tux, huh?" She jerked her thumb towards his burden.

"Uhuh. Actually, I was just leavin', so I'll be seein' ya—" He slipped past her quickly.

"Not so fast."

Ranma felt a sharp pain at the back of his head as his pigtail was pulled backwards. He looked up into the angry eyes of his fiancée and gulped.

"Don't you have something to ask me?" Ukyo let go of his hair and folded her arms.

"Um... no?"

Ukyo shook her brown head, her eyes closed. "I tried to be subtle, but I guess you won't take the easy way. I'll make it plain and simple for you, okay, Ranchan? You, my friend, are taking me to that prom. You're not gonna be shortchanging me like you did last time. You got it?" she muttered dangerously under her breath.

Ranma felt a pang of guilt, remembering all that his stupid pop had put her through. He couldn't do the same to her.. It'd make him just like his father.. He'd be damned if that ever happened.

"Yeah— okay. I got it." He finally relented.

Her expression perked immediately. "Glad we have an understanding. I'll be expecting that corsage, sugar!"

He watched her bound towards the shop with a sinking feeling. Then he gathered himself and started home.

Great. Just what I need. Akane's never gonna talk to me again. He sighed. Now to find a way to break the news to her..

Ranma shook his head as he started into a jog. He had made it halfway home in a heartbeat, when he heard something. He slowed down, ceasing his footsteps to listen. Wait. Was that a bicycle bell.. ?

Oh. NO.

The next thing he knew was falling facedown on the ground, the weight of a bicycle and a very voluptuous Amazon crushing his back and skull.

"S-Shampoo.." he muttered injuredly into the asphalt.

The pretty purple-haired girl beamed at him over her bicycle basket with big, bright eyes. "Nihao, Airen!"

He got to his feet, in a way that could only be described as long-suffering, and turned on her.

"WHY DO YA HAVE TO KEEP DOING THAT?!" he yelled. "I AIN'T PAVEMENT YA KNOW!"

Ignoring his displeasure, Shampoo threw her arms around his neck. "But Shampoo miss Airen so much."

She glomped him tightly, rubbing her chest expertly against his.

Ranma's arms and legs went weak as jelly. Tiny beads of sweat started forming on his forehead as he tried not to think of what was being pressed against him. Try as he might to push her away, the girl just wouldn't let go of him.

Think, think, he berated himself, make use of those stupid techniques the old man always uses..

A moment later, Shampoo found herself grasping at nothing. Ranma, somehow, had slipped under her grip and was already quite a distance away. With a displeased cry, Shampoo sprinted after him.

"Airen, I need to talk with you something. Come back here!"

Ranma looked over his shoulder and pulled a face. "Not on your life, ya crazy chick!"

"Oh, that so," she said. Ranma could hear the smirk in her voice. "Then how Ranma like if Shampoo run up old tabs for Nekohanten that Shampoo keeping since start of year?"

He stopped in his tracks immediately. Shampoo caught up to him and patted his dark head.

"Good Airen. Now I come to talk to you about school prom. You taking Shampoo as date, yes?"

Ranma felt like his head was about to explode. "WHAT?! I can't take you! You don't even go to our high school!"

Shampoo closed her pretty eyes and pursed her lips in a way that most boys would have found irresistible. "True. But Nekohanten providing catering for prom night so Shampoo allowed to go. Anyway, it say that anyone allowed to go, as long as date."

"Well what if I don't wanna take you?" He moved close to her in what he hoped was an intimidating manner.

Under slitted, almost bored eyes, Shampoo coolly took a large wad of tabs and shoved it right in his face.

"I'll take you." Ranma mumbled against the pieces of paper.

The Amazon clasped her hands together tightly and jumped up and down. "Oh Airen, Shampoo so happy! I tear up tabs right away! I pick out most beautiful dress for you so everybody see that we couple."

She smiled seductively at him before hopping on her bicycle and riding away.

Ranma stared after her retreating form. He toppled over.

Dare I ask what else can go wrong?

Then he heard the psychotic laughter.

"Oh, Ranma-samaaa!"

He closed his eyes.

--

Akane lay sprawled on her bed, leisurely flipping through a magazine. She was pretty much free for the day; her homework having been done, her chores for the day completed, and her daily work-out over. She stretched mightily and yawned, partly from boredom and partly because she slept much the night before. She flipped one more page, then tossed the magazine aside and stared dreamily out her open window.

Just thinking about last night sent an unbelievable thrill down her spine. She remembered how he'd looked at her when she came down wearing the tank top. How his arm had fitted so comfortably around her shoulder. The way he'd gripped it so protectively.. Was she wrong in thinking that there might have been something there?

It could have been because of the trauma of what happened at Jusenkyo only a year ago. He did come and check on her every other night or so, she'd seen him, maybe to make sure she was still there.. maybe he was scared to lose her?

But it didn't necessarily mean that he had any feelings for her. It could have only been concern for a friend.

A friend.

Would she ever be something more?

She plopped her head facedown into her yellow pillow and shut her eyes tightly, trying to wish all her problems away. Just then, a loud knocking on her bedroom door took her out of her stupor and would have resulted in a muffled 'Come In' if Nabiki hadn't simply opened the door without waiting. She smiled down at her younger sister, who had bolted upright to look at the door.

"You do know the whole point of knocking is to get the approval of entering from the person on the other side." Akane retorted.

"Save the sarcasm. You've got a visitor," said Nabiki, exiting with her signature smirk.

Akane's annoyance was neutralized by curiosity. Who could it be? She didn't usually have visitors. The people who normally dropped by were always for Ranma; whether they came to kill him or try to marry him.

She made her way down but saw no one at the front door. She called to her older sister, who was now going over the month's accounts in the dining room.

"Nabiki-onnechan! You weren't pranking me, were you?"

"Look in the guest room," replied her older sister, not even bothering to look up from her calculator.

Akane ran up again to the guest room Ranma and his father shared and opened the door. There, lying on Ranma's futon was none other than—

"Ryoga!" Akane exclaimed. "Oh my gosh.. what happened to you?"

She dropped to the floor by his side.

There was no answer; Ryoga was unconscious. Kasumi looked up from squeezing a sponge over a water basin.

"He made it to our doorstep and then fainted, poor boy. Not to worry though, Akane. Ryoga's just had a very bad week, that's all. Look, he brought these back for you." She held up souvenirs.

Akane picked them up and examined them closely.

"Hmm.. Some of these are from Osaka and Fukuoka— Wow, there are even some from Switzerland! And Africa!"

Kasumi touched her cheek lightly, saying, "Oh my. Switzerland. If I'd known he was going there, I would have asked him to pick up some cheese. I've heard it's very nice there. What a shame."

Akane stared at her sister in wonder, not quite sure the older girl truly understood the weight of the situation. Then she turned and gave the unconscious boy a sympathetic look. If only he didn't have such a terrible sense of direction. She couldn't even imagine what he'd been through to get here..

"Oh look. He's waking up. I guess I'll go cook dinner then. Akane, would you please look after him?" asked Kasumi pleasantly, her request answered with a nod from her sister. She put the sponge that had been held to Ryoga's forehead back in the basin, got up and left the room.

Ryoga stirred. His burning head pounded, and his arms and legs felt glued to.. a futon? Where was he again? He opened his eyes slowly and painfully, and the first thing he saw was Akane bending over him and smiling.

Am I in Heaven?

"Ryoga, you're awake."

"Akane? Where - Where am I?"

Akane patted his large hand. "You're at our house. Don't you remember? I think you came over to drop off some souvenirs. Oh, and thank you, by the way."

Ryoga turned very red at the touch of her warm hand, not wanting to move in case she took it away.

"S-sure. You're welcome."

"Hey, you'd better rest. I'll go."

Akane got up to leave and was just out the door when Ryoga found his voice and called out rather feebly, "Akane-san - wait, please."

He sat up slowly, wincing as he did, and the cold bandage fell off his forehead; forgotten.

"Yes, Ryoga?" she said, turning to look back at him.

God, she just radiated beauty..

"I've got s-something to ask you."

Akane placed both her hands in front of her dress demurely, looking at him with beautiful brown orbs and smiling at him kindly. "What is it, Ryoga-kun?"

He blushed deeply, tongue-tied at the sight. He looked at his toes.

"Oh.. um.. uh.. I heard about this prom thing Furinkan High is holding— and I know it is a little late to be asking and all— but if you ah.. if you don't have.. well, what I mean is.. I don't have a.. and erm.. I guess what I'm trying to say is— I.. uh.. was wondering.. whether you'd like to go with me?"

His words came out in such a rush that Ryoga didn't even know what he was saying until he said it. It took everything in his power not to get a terror-induced nosebleed at that very moment. He tried to meet Akane's eyes, but they were now fixed on the ground before him. He scanned her face, looking for a reaction, an emotion, something. He couldn't read her at all. All he saw was this terrible, blank look..

Then she spoke.

"Thank you for asking me," she said softly, "But I'm sorry, Ryoga.. I can't.."

He heard her words, loud and clear, but it took a while for them to sink in. And then his heart shattered into a million pieces. He looked down at the floor, right on the spot she had fixed her eyes on.

"Oh. I see. Well, that's okay. Next time then."

I will not cry..

He heaved a sigh. "Well, I won't take any more of your time. Places to go, people to see." He got to his feet and smiled sadly. "Goodbye Akane."

"Ryoga, I'm sor.."

She looked up and stopped, seeing an empty room. He had left, presumably out the bedroom window.. not even giving her time to explain.

Oh, Ryoga.. Please don't be too hurt.

She heard the door open and slam downstairs, and Ranma's voice called, "Hey, Akane? Come downstairs. I need to talk to you!"

She knew she had to move, but she stood in the doorway, still thinking about the disappointment she'd seen in Ryoga's eyes. She had hurt a very good friend.

Then, remembering her fiancé, she half-heartedly replied, "I'm coming." She slowly came downstairs.

The moment she set eyes on Ranma, she knew something was up. The thumb-twiddling. The shifting of weight between the legs. Not to mention the VERY GUILTY neon sign that was flashing across his forehead.

"Uh, Akane.. I just thought you should know— And just so we're clear, this is NOT my fault.. I, uh, ain't quite sure how to say this.."

"Oh, spit it out already." she snapped.

Ranma scratched the back of his head uneasily. "Uh, well.. see.. I'm takin' three dates to the prom. Listen, before you mallet me, just know that it ain't my fault and I got a very good reas— hey wait, Akane, put that thing back, let's talk about this.. Oh, crap."

Ranma backed slowly against the wall and winced in preparation for a thrashing.

To his surprise, it didn't come.

He looked at her. Akane looked just about ready to murder him, mallet held high above her head, ready to descend in a crushing blow that promised pain.

Then she dropped her eyes to the ground. She let the mallet go, which dropped to the floor with a crash and therefore proceeded to disintegrate.

Ranma unwound his arms slowly, stunned.

"Akane.."

The girl spun around, made her way to the front and slipped on her shoes. She walked out the sliding doors and halted, her shoulders trembling slightly. Then she muttered, barely audible, "It's alright, Ranma. Why should I care? You can have your three dates, it has nothing to do with me. I don't mind because.."

She turned around and smiled at his bewildered face.

"I'm already going with someone."

She slammed the front doors behind her, not caring to see his reaction, and started sprinting.

It was raining heavily now, but Akane found she didn't care. She ran through the streets, blindly through the water pouring around her and from her own eyes, but she knew them well, and knew she wouldn't crash into anything.

She stopped to lean against a lamppost for a minute, watching the puddles grow bigger around her, and put her hands over her face.

she'd never felt stupider.

Ranma, you jerk— I can't believe —I can't believe I wasted my time waiting for you to ask me. You know what? I'm not going to bother anymore— I don't need you. No, I'm taking someone who actually wants me to go with him.

She wondered whether Ryoga was still in the neighborhood.

Author's Note:

Do NOT grab your torches and pitchforks just yet! I am a strong believer in happy endings.

Still one more chapter to go.