Author's Note: Sorry guys for the delay. I got sick for the holidays. I didn't even get to enjoy Christmas because of it. Even while posting this one, I'm still on my way to recovery.

Thanks for those who have review. I really appreciate all of it.

Young Heart

Chapter 3

A cold wind blew which made her shiver. Time had passed so quickly that Reiko had not even realized that it's almost winter again. A year had already passed since that painful incident and yet it was still very clear in her mind. The event that had changed her life has never faded in her memory. Her reverie came to a halt when another cold wind blew which made the figure resting beside her shudder. With great caution, Reiko carefully took out her jacket in her bag and covered the small form. She smiled at him while observing the tiny details of his face.

Her gaze transfixed on his boyish expression while she kept on thinking how he looked like a cherub that she used to see in the pictures. Then she wondered if children usually look like that or if there are some children who have angel-like features. Her thoughts did not stop right there. It also went back to the day, she first met Ranma. For the three days she saw him, he had showed her the different side of himself. She saw him get angry, upset, disappointed, scared, sad, and happy and now this peaceful side of him. He is indeed special in every way she looked at him. "The girl who will catch his heart will be very lucky," she thought while still staring at him. "Now, I sound like his mother." The last thought made her giggle.

Earlier that day…

Ranma was running frantically. He was breathless when he reached the park but he still managed to hide himself in the bushes. Following behind was a long-haired man wearing a white robe. The man obviously was pissed and was searching for someone.

After catching his breath, the man adjusted his glasses and continued to examine the people in the place. He circumnavigated the park for 3 times before giving up.

Ranma breathe a sigh of relief when the man left. He wouldn't have to hide if he was in his usual self but the fact that he is not, made him do this kind of thing. Knowing the reality that he couldn't win in a face to face combat, made him succumbed to doing such tricks just to get even with Moose. In the first place, he wouldn't have done such a thing if Moose wasn't so mean to him the other day.

When Ranma came out from hiding, he was still grinning widely as he walked. His thoughts were all wrapped up with what happened earlier that he didn't notice that someone was calling him from behind.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed his shoulder which made him turn. "Finally caught you," the voice said which was apparently breathless.

"What?!?" a feeling of tremor suddenly ran through his spine. For a second there, he thought it was the end of him. But as he lifted his gaze to face the person who caught him, he was pleased to see who it was.

"What's wrong with you? I've been calling you for several times and yet you didn't even answer me." Reiko immediately noticed the disarray in his appearance so she quickly dusted off the leaves that were sticking from his hair and put his looks into order. "Didn't you hear me calling you from behind?"

"Eh?!? Sorry Reiko. I really didn't hear you." His expression changed from that of fright to delight. He didn't mind the attention that Reiko was giving him and how intimate it looked to other people.

Smiling at the changed in him, Reiko asked, "Were you scared of me back then?"

"Me? Scared of you? Of course not," he confidently denied. 'I just thought you were someone else."

"Someone else, huh? Like who?" she inquired quizzically.

Ranma motioned for her to come closer as if he's going to whisper something but when she was at ear level, Ranma softly said, "…it's a secret." Then he was laughing really hard at her.

Reiko felt a little annoyed at his antic but seeing at how foolish she was to fall for it, she also joined him in laughing. "I guess you're not gonna tell."

"Yup," Ranma grinned evilly at her.

Reiko slightly shook her head in resignation. She obviously cannot make him talk. Giving up on the idea of finding who it was that scared Ranma, she decided to change to a lighter topic. "So how's your day?"

"It was boring up until a few moments ago before I came here." He blurted out but after realizing his answer, he covered his mouth as if to stop himself from continuing. It was evident though that while his hand covered his mouth, his eyes were twinkling.

"Why is that?" she pried.

"Because…," careful with what to say next, Ranma let his eyes roamed while he was thinking for a reason. Then seeing the bag that Reiko was holding he said, " … I know you have cookies for me." After that, he was congratulating himself silently for his quick wits.

"Oh, really? I think there's something more to that." She was curious to know about that someone he was referring to but she doesn't want to force him to tell her especially when he is in such a good mood. It would only ruin his good temper.

Ranma just looked at her with fake innocence.

"You look different today," Ranma commented after noticing the slight difference in her appearance.

"Different?" it made her think for a while. Looking down at her clothes, she understood what he means. "Ah, because it's the first time you saw me with my uniform today."

Ranma nodded his head in agreement. Then he started to walk towards one of the path going to a small clearing where an empty bench stood.

Reiko followed him behind. "Does it look bad on me?"

He stopped shortly to get a better look. "Nope. It looks good on you," he concluded after his careful inspection.

"Thank you," grateful for his approval. "I think your school uniform would also look good on you." When she was saying this, she was already imagining Ranma wearing those cute children's uniform with the matching hat.

They already reached the bench when Ranma loudly declared, "I don't wear a school uniform."

This had taken Reiko off guard which she immediately inquired about it. "Why?"

Reiko was expecting a tearful Ranma to come confessing of how sad it was not to have any uniform but seeing how his reaction was, she instantly remembered how different he is. Of course, most kids would have that kind of reaction but with him it's usually the opposite. His reaction did not indicate any signs of sorrow for not having worn one or humor if he was joking about it. He simply took the matter as a trivial one. "Because… it makes you look like everyone else."

It took a while for her to comprehend what he said. By the time she did, Ranma was already leaning in the bench with his arms over his head.

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked as she placed her things beside him.

"No. But if I wear my uniform and I get into a fight. It would only get ruin and I would have to buy another one," he lamely answered. But somehow he thought it was more of what he made himself believe rather than the truth. In reality, he never imagined to settle in the Tendo Dojo for a long time. He never wanted to stay with the Tendos because he was eager to get back to China. He attending to Furinkan was merely a compliance with his father's desire. Perhaps that's why he was still wearing his Chinese shirt when he goes to school because he was still indecisive about remaining. "…and I don't really have the money to buy one," he continued softly.

"I get your point." She understood about the money part but with the fighting, she was a little doubtful. Somehow, she couldn't imagine how he could get his clothes torn with just fighting. If it was bullying, she knew from experience that it isn't that severe in elementary school. In fact there isn't any bullying in kindergarten which she thinks Ranma is right now, because the teachers are hands on with the student. So for him to say that it must be very vicious. After mentally analyzing his answer, Reiko decided to find out the name of his school and talk to his teachers about it. But for the meantime, she set it aside to continue her conversation with the boy. "So what do you wear when you go to school?"

"My Chinese shirt," he said after yawning. He rubbed his eyes a few times to wake his sleepy eyes. It seems that with his body right now, he gets sleepy a lot even though he had enough sleep the night before. He remembered he was not like this when he was this young before. In fact, he was very energetic that time that he often sneaked to get away from his father and play. So now, he was wondering how come he feels this way. Unable to think properly, Ranma turned his attention to the sky and watch the clouds.

"Chinese shirt? Is it a cloth made of silk and has a long sleeve?" she inquired. A silly smile was creeping when she was watching him.

He yawned again before he responded. "Mmmm… It is made of silk but it doesn't have a long sleeve." He roamed his eyes to keep from sleeping but no matter what he did, his eyelids seemed to close on their own.

"Why do you have Chinese shirts?" Reiko persisted even though it was quite obvious that the little boy was struggling to keep himself awake.

"Because… I went to China," he sleepily answered. By that time, he was already lying in the bench with his arms as his pillows.

Just as he finished answering the question, he quickly dozed off. Reiko then slowly lifted his head and placed it on her lap to give him a better sleeping pose. For that reason also, she wasn't able to do a lot of things but she was quite contented knowing that Ranma is in a comfortable position.

End of flashback…

Reiko took the moment to contemplate about the things in her life while he was soundly sleeping. It's been almost one hour since then and he hasn't shouted any indication of waking up. She already felt her legs growing numb and she was already anticipating the cramps that would soon follow. To her the pain need not matter what's important is that she won't interrupt his sleep. As that idea came to her, almost instantly she remembered her when they were waiting for the train together. She was a bit older than Ranma then but they were equally stubborn. She remembered falling asleep at that time and when she woke up they were 2 hours behind on their train. Her mother did not tell her about it but she found out about it because they bought another ticket. She asked her mother why she didn't wake her up but she just smiled at her and said that they weren't in a hurry anyway. Now, experiencing the same situation as her mother did, she realized that her mom's reason for not waking her up was because she doesn't have the heart to do so. When she looked at him and see how peaceful Ranma is, how can she be so cruel to deny him that short tranquility for himself?

Caught in the moment, Reiko planted a kiss on his forehead which had caused for him to wake up. He was bright red when he sit up, obviously embarrassed at the gesture. Silently, he scooted a few inches away from her where he remained silent in a few minutes.

Reiko smiled at his reaction that she wanted to tease the little boy but decided not to as she already saw how self-conscious he was. So instead, she took something from her bag and offered it to him. "Want some?"

Unable to look at her eye to eye, Ranma shyly extended his hand and took a handful of her cookies.

Quietly, Ranma munched his own cookies while stealing glances at the girl beside her. On the other hand, the girl seemed to ignore him by watching the empty baseball field.

After several minutes when they had finished eating, she just suddenly stood up with her hands outstretched. She declared, "Did you know that I always wanted to be a baseball player? I already have a uniform with a matching cap, a glove with my initial on it and a hard ball." Ranma could only stare at her somewhat mesmerized at her storytelling. The look of surprise in his face made her smile but it didn't stop her from continuing, "But then I got hit when I was playing."

"Did you stop because of that? Didn't you even try again?" he questioned with all his attention on her.

She kept on pacing right and left while she was telling him everything. But after that question, she stood her ground and like an ace pitcher in a crowd filled stadium: she imaginarily pitched the ball. "No. I did try. But I was hit again and again and again," she answered after letting out a sigh.

"You have a good form," he said after a short preview of her skills.

"Thanks." She sat back again to her spot after stretching her sleeping muscles.

He watched her with interest and curiosity this time. For the two days he was talking to her, he thought he knew everything about her. He presumed she was like every other girl in Japan. With her figure and form, he expected her to be so girly, so feminine like Kasumi. To add to that they both are good in cooking so he eventually assumed that she was just like her. But she proved him wrong in just a couple of minutes ago which made him curious about her. "So you just stop because of it?"

For her to let it out in the open, it made her remember the days where she would spend watching her friends play while she was sitting in the bench. "No. I stop because no one would play with me anymore. They said I look so horrible when I get hit. They also said that they could tell when I'm holding down the tears and the pain," she said with a bittersweet smile.

"So then you stop?" he persisted wanting to learn the truth from her.

"Nope. I didn't. I secretly practiced on my own and played with my father. Also, they made me their manager. It was frustrating at first because I couldn't play but later I realized that it doesn't really matter when I'm out there on the mound or not. What really matters is that at least I'm part of the team." She answered calmly while finding her fingers more interesting than their topic.

He stood up from where he was sitting then took a pose as if he was going to swing a bat. When he finally swung his imaginary bat, he acted as if he hit the ball and it flew further away that his eyes can see. Then he declared daringly, "If it were me, I would have challenged every one of them. Then I'll make them sit in the bench while I defeat all our enemies."

"That would have been nice except for one little problem. You can't play baseball alone," she said but still admiring his fearless attitude.

He slightly wrinkled his brows but after turning his head and noticing the group of children from behind her, he immediately stated, "Then I'll go find a better team than them."

Turning her head to the direction where Ranma focused his stare, she understood what she meant. "Its easier said than done. It's hard to find more than 9 members. Also, even if I find the members I needed, there is still something that they don't have." A replacement to her is just temporary because unlike the ones who have dedicated themselves for the game and for the team, they are just there for the moment and not until the finish line.

"What is it?" he inquired puzzled with what she was talking.

"They won't have team spirit. Because it is not something that can easily be achieved. It takes a lot of time for them to trust each other in order for them to cooperate with each other." She enumerated the things that she had always admired with her team. Slowly a smile crept to her face as she reminisced the old times.

"That's why you accepted being a manager." He wasn't watching her by then which made him missed her smile. He didn't see the contentment that she displayed with every word she said.

Turning her full attention to the boy beside her, she answered simply, "Yes. It's because of that."

When he saw the look in her eyes and how calm she was with it, he was ready to drop the question but something about it the bugged him and he just couldn't stopped himself from wondering. "If they trusted you that much then they would have given you a chance to pitch."

"They would have if I had asked them to but you see I didn't."

"Why?" his anger suddenly diffused as he saw her face void of any ire or sorrow.

She messed his hair a little to lighten up his mood. When he was already smiling, she placed her pointer to his nose and then said, "Because sometimes in life you just have to learn to accept things as they are. Besides, I don't want to fight against them in the first place. All I wanted was to fight with them and I accomplished that by being a manager."

"I don't understand it." The smile didn't left his face and his confusion was still there.

"You will understand it someday," she stated with a knowing conviction.

Ranma stayed quiet for a period contemplating about her answer. He managed to understand her point of view but to him it was a bit cowardice. The fact that she didn't try made her a coward. But of course, he didn't tell her that because he already knew she regretted that part. The longing in her eyes was there when she told him the story. It is the longing to get into the mound and pitch even for just once so that she could see and measure how different she was before.

When he looked up to her again, an idea was already formed in his mind. "Would you like to play baseball tomorrow? Of course, it's not really a game but more like a catch since it's just the two of us. Besides I'm not really a team player. And if you like to pitch we can borrow the bat to some of the kids."

"That sounds like a good idea to me," with her eyes already glowing with enthusiasms as his.

"Thanks," he answered with embarrassment. He became silent again. Playing with his fingers, he looked up to her with his begging blue eyes, "Ummm… could you let me borrow a spare glove since I don't have one?"

The laughter just escaped from her after knowing his problem was and how simple it was. "I'll bring another one for you."

"That's great." His eyes matched the sparkles that her eyes have somewhat a secret agreement that only the two of them knew.

"Tomorrow it is then. But I'm warning you I won't be easy on you," she said then extending her hands to shake his and to seal their impending baseball match.

Without second thoughts, he took her hands and gave it a strong grip. "I don't want you to be. Haven't I told you that I'm really good with sports?"

"We'll see about that tomorrow."

They were both grinning when they ended their conversation. Ranma for his part took her words as a challenge and knowing him, it is exactly what he wanted. Reiko on the other hand, was happy for the show of affection of the little boy. She didn't expect sympathy from him but he had. He also gave her another reason to be happy and that is she will be able to throw a ball again. She hasn't done that for years and now she'll try again.

They parted with their hearts looking forward for the next day. Both couldn't wait for the thing that will happen.