"The Chance of Change"
A Ranma ½ fanfiction by Pia-san
Disclaimer:
All the legal stuff that everybody knows goes here. None of the characters are mine; they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and to Viz Communications. The characters are being used without permission, and if anybody has a problem with that, so what. I don't, and anyway I'm not making a profit out of this and neither can you, so there!
Chapter Four: Impressions
Latest Revision: 15/March/2015
He was just standing there.
Akane's mind was struggling to figure out her present situation. She just couldn't imagine what reasons could he have had to have been standing there. A quick look to his stance and body language told her that he was just standing, and nothing more.
She could usually tell about other's business from their demeanor. It was one of her father's constant lessons. She could tell if they're in a hurry even if they weren't running, or if waiting for someone, or looking for something, or lost, even if it wasn't really evident on a first look. It was always better to be prepared in any situation, his dad had told her. And knowing her surroundings and the state of the people nearby was an integral part of that picture.
Ranma was just standing there. He was staring. At… her.
This puzzled her a great deal, blocking her mind from coherent thoughts.
Plus, her heart just wouldn't go back to a normal pace.
A second or two may have gone by. Awkwardly.
She looked up at his face. He had a strange look in his eyes, something between surprise and expectation, she thought. And then the emotions of the day caught up to her. The high from her physical efforts gave way to the most obvious reaction that her body was having. As Akane felt her knees go weak, her throat went dry. Just as her brain was about to shut down too, she frantically thought for something to say, and mentally felt like laughing her head off at herself. All she had to do was greet back. How much more stupid could she get around him? When it finally came out, she felt her voice was very shaky.
"Mm… Hi-"
"Ranma," he interrupted her, leaning in a bit. "Saotome Ranma. Nice to meet you."
Right, Akane thought staring at his smiling face, inwardly amused at the irony of it all and desperate at the same time. As if she didn't know who he was. Right.
Still, for all her desperation, there was something that bothered her. Something she just couldn't quite figure out, nagging in the back of her mind. Oh! If only her stomach would stop doing all those back flips! Maybe then she could put her finger on it.
For a second she thought how troubled she must look to him. How deeply bothered and uncomfortable she must look.
"Hi, Ranma." She tried again, in a very soft, breathy voice. Where did that come from? She certainly hadn't tried for it. She took a deep breath to replace what air her lungs had used, finally pulling herself together. Or kind of.
"Hm…" she looked at her feet for a split second, as if looking away from his face might help her focus. It did, somewhat. Then she was looking up again, "I'm Akane," she said smiling shakily, "Tendo Akane." Gods, he was handsome.
"Yeah…" Ranma mumbled, a bit goofily.
Well… huh? Akane was confused.
Then, another awkward silence followed. It was unusually long, or so it seemed to both of them. But for different reasons.
Ranma was desperately digging his troubled brain for something to tell her. He was about to open his mouth and say something about weather, but a sudden image of his friends laughing at him stopped him from doing so. This had been a bad idea. He really should have taken the long way round instead of just waiting it out. He found he had nothing interesting to say to her, but then again, he hadn't planned for any of this to happen. Why couldn't he have kept his mouth shut? Say sorry, I wasn't looking, and walk away. That would have been the ticket.
Meanwhile, Akane's nervousness had suddenly decided to take a step back. She noticed Ranma's slight hesitation, and something clicked in her head. God knew why, but she felt strangely at ease all of a sudden. Comfortable, even. It seemed to her that for all his outer calmness, he was just as confused by this little ordeal as she felt. Since he wasn't coming up with anything, she mentioned the first thing that popped into her head.
"How's Ranko-chan doing? Forgot to bring her with you?" Akane asked in a lighter voice that sounded more like herself to her ears, and regaining normal movement of her body. She used her right hand to reach for the towel and lift it to her brow to continue drying herself, which she would have done a lot sooner had she not been so nervous before. Movement was good. It made her feel normal.
Ranma relaxed, right after kicking himself for being mentally slow.
"Oh, Ko-chan's fine. Left her home hours ago. I was on my way home from a friend's house."
Akane had a brief flash of the boys hitting him earlier at lunchtime.
And then another one of Ranma sitting on the dust, blushing, staring at her…
She didn't realize the small smile forming on her lips.
"I wouldn't think anyone would be training at this hour," Ranma said gesturing at Akane's outfit. It was a completely stupid thing to say anyway. People trained at all times of day, and it wasn't even that late! But at least it was something to talk about, something he knew they both had more or less in common.
She smiled nervously, and looked to the side, once again aware at her state of dress, and how messy she must seem. "Yeah…" she mumbled, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Ranma just couldn't help it. Now she was looking somewhere else, he let his eyes wonder lower and lower, and felt the back of his neck heating up. He really needed to get a grip, he thought in a flash before abruptly turning his eyes up again.
Was she feeling shy? Oh, she was beautiful. Her eyes downcast like that, she looked suddenly so vulnerable to his eyes, so unlike the strength she'd just so selflessly displayed to him. He felt like reaching out towards her face, to have her look back at him.
"Yeah, well", she said reaching up touch her ear. "I just needed to work some tension out," she said smiling up at him again.
"School?" he ventured, even if the thought of being actually stressed with school was quite foreign to him.
"Yeah, I tend to get a little too involved… I'm in the carnival committee," Akane said. Ranma raised his eyebrows knowingly.
Akane sighed a bit, she didn't want to talk about stuff that might make her look like a lunatic, but since they were now talking, she braved on. "Seniors are putting a lot of weight on us, juniors. And I'm sort of organizing things. So…"
"So you're the boss," Ranma stated, leaning back a little bit, crossing his arms over his chest to make a point.
Akane grabbed both ends of the towel around her neck, looking up at the sky, her head tilting this way and that. "Well…" she mumbled, as if looking for an answer. The motion carried on to the rest of her body, and her hip started swaying a bit, almost as if she wanted to continue walking or running. "Sort of", she said smiling, and then looked at her feel again.
Ranma's eyes were automatically drawn to the motion of her hips. Good thing she wasn't looking at him at the moment.
Akane was focused on the word 'boss', and how it felt a bit like compliment, coming from him, and it that got her feeling shy and brave and great all at once. She looked up at him.
He was smiling at her. From this short distance she felt like he was towering over her, although he was only a few inches taller than her. She could also tell a few things she hadn't noticed before. Her eyes wandered up and started paying a bit more attention, trying not to openly stare, but she could hardly help herself. Of course.
She lowered her gaze from his eyes to the bridge of his nose, then to his lips and the angular jaw. She liked that. It looked really smooth for a boy. Her fingertips started itching. She was s bit shocked to realize she wanted to reach out and touch him.
Her lids fluttered a little. The air felt humid again. Akane found herself drifting to dreamland once more. Or as if she was being hypnotized just by staring at him. Her surrounding faded off a bit...
His skin wouldn't be soft. She would be able to feel whatever bit of stubble he had that hadn't grown out enough to shave yet.
Her eyes went lower, to his satin clad shoulders and chest. She could imagine him under his clothes. The way he'd moved earlier that day gave more than enough hints as to how developed his muscles would be. Not too much, like someone who works with no more weight than their own. They would be enough to show him as quietly powerful.
And then, her eyes stared at his hands. The one she could see with his arms crossed like that, anyway. They were large and roughish… And she wondered…
Akane took a deep breath.
Ranma's voice started her. And she blushed. A lot. What was she thinking, staring like that? She'd practically started drooling on the spot. Gods! What was wrong with her? She mentally slapped herself.
"You better do a good job then," Ranma sounded all too sure of himself. Too confident. "Because I really want a nice farewell." And he smiled lopsidedly, his head tilting to the side a bit.
Akane could have melted right that moment. If only he hadn't said that in such a challenging tone. She knew it was just a joke, but… All the dreamy quality of her thought flew away from her in a whiff.
"You a senior?" Akane asked, feigning nonchalance and a lot of surprise. Of course she already knew that, but that comment of his had triggered something. All that cockiness he had displayed had made her want to step up to whatever it was he was showing off about. She realized she had liked him better before he'd gone and… puffed his chest, as it were.
Ranma was a bit taken aback. Of course he was a senior. Didn't it show? Somehow? All his male pride was screaming at him. Did she really now know who he was? At all? Not even a little bit? Him? Mister Popular?
Meanwhile, Akane's eyes keep looking into his own, and all he could think of was, damn, did he suddenly feel stupid again or what?
"Um… yeah." He dropped his hands to his sides.
Akane felt momentarily relieved that he had seemed to lose the act in a matter of seconds. She didn't know why it had bothered her so much to begin with.
"So I guess I'll be seeing you around school then."
Ranma wasn't smiling so much anymore. It was like he had deflated. Literally. His frame seemed to have gone back to normal. Had she really done that to him? Make him feel insecure? At the very least, she'd known she would hit a soft spot with that comment, even before she'd opened her mouth, although she hadn't really thought it would have been so devastating.
Even so, she could still feel his strong presence overwhelming her senses. She could certainly feel the potential of his strength…
Again! Going away to dream land. Before snapping herself back to reality, Akane thought she really might be a bit crazy… Really, for real. Nevermind how unreal the whole situation seemed to her. As if she was watching it from far away. Not happening to her at all, but to someone else. Perhaps she was a bit entitled to feel crazy. Even for a while.
She noticed was Ranma, staring at her.
She couldn't stop the blush to creep up to her cheeks again. She started losing the confidence she'd gained.
Oh, yes, very unreal. Her heartbeat was rarely this crazy.
His eyes softened as he spoke.
"Yeah, I'll be seeing you then," and he smiled for her again.
"Bye, Ranma," Akane offered right before she started walking away. He turned around to follow her with his eyes. She started a light jog.
But right before he went on his way, she turned around.
"Oh," she said jogging on the spot. "Say 'hi' to Ranko for me, will you? And thanks for the flower! I set it up on my night stand." She smiled brightly at him.
Ranma only nodded, and waved a bit.
He watched her turn around again, jog for a couple of blocks, and disappear around a corner.
He tried to relax then, and sighed for the millionth time that day.
So in the end, he was just left standing there, staring into nothingness. He felt mentally exhausted and emotionally drained.
He sighed again.
Ranma turned around and quietly walked the rest of the way home.
OOOOOOO
After just a few blocks, Akane spotted the dojo gates. And so, she tried to erase that stupid grin off her face.
She felt good. Of course. Sports were a good thing, and she always felt better after a nice jogging session. But she was also happy with herself. As far as things were going, the day could still be full of surprises, even if the sun had already set a while back.
It'd gone down as she'd been talking to Ranma, she thought.
Or sort of talking.
As she stopped to open the gate and catch her breath, Akane closed her eyes. She sighed happily.
She remembered Ranma's face looking at her.
Akane never thought she'd be the kind of girl to play it cool, being around her crush and all.
Crush…
But that had certainly been the case. And so, she was utterly surprised at herself.
The gate gave way to the push of her arms, and she walked in.
The first thing she noticed about home was the quietness. Akane was hastily reminded of the situation at home. Typical depressed environment. She wondered how Kasumi dealt with it.
Akane saw her father sitting on the porch, facing an old shoji board. She sighed unhappily this time.
It was rare to see him outside of his room. At least he sometimes did things. Occasionally, some acquaintance or neighbor would drop by on weekends, or late at night after work, to share a game of shoji. But hardly any words.
Acquaintances.
Not friends anymore. Just people he'd known over the years.
In a sense, she was just like her father, she realized, if not worse.
Soun Tendo continued to stare at the board.
A hopeful thought. If she could realize she'd been losing mometum, maybe her father could too. Maybe her home could also be lively again. It could be that warm, happy welcome it had once been.
And then, a bigger revelation. She was part of the household, too. She'd been blaming her father for the general sense of sadness she imagined was attached to her home now, but the truth was, she chose to let things get to her, didn't she? She too could try to make the home a better place. The way Kasumi did, unfalteringly.
Lifting her head up again, she greeted her father cheerfully, and proceeded to the bath, thinking how nice the water would feel on her body.
OOOOOOO
This was definitely not his day.
Ranma was absently walking the path back home, hands in his pockets. He knew he was dragging his feet, and that it probably looked like he was all hunched over, but he didn't really care. The already dark sky was making Ranma feel a bit isolated from the rest of the world.
He raised his head towards the few little starts that had already appeared above him.
He hadn't been able to talk to her like he would have liked. He hadn't been able to make the impression he so wanted to make. He had hoped she would at least know something about him, like most girls at school.
His ego had suffered a great hit. There was clearly no reason for him to be mad at his friends whenever they teased Ranma about his popularity with the ladies. He realized he was mostly just pretending to be annoyed by their jealousy, because deep down, he believed that it was true. He was awesome. He was popular. They ladies bought into that. He really thought he was popular. And he'd always enjoyed the comfort the idea brought him.
Turns out it was just a very inflated perception. Or maybe it wasn't that, and only just that Akane was different.
She could have at least pegged him for a senior. Underclassmen were supposed to look up to you, weren't they? Then his thought trailed back to what they'd been this morning.
Last month of high school…
Maybe that's how it went. The world that was now coming upon him was of such importance, that being at your last year in high school certainly didn't mean anything at all. All the effort you made to advance, just meant that you had chances of getting started from the bottom again. Stage after stage. Like there was no end to it.
And after that, even if living life didn't come with the silly grades, you went back to square one. Back to being an inexperienced brat for all it mattered. Hope to land a job somewhere. Being an intern. Being an assistant. Wasn't that how it worked?
Of course elders were so respected. They'd been rookies so many times…
Back at home, everything seemed very quiet.
In the dim light, he could see his father through the window. He was sipping sake by the TV.
He guessed his mother was in the kitchen, and Ranko was probably in there, too, 'helping' the older woman with dinner tasks.
At the thought of Ranko he smiled. She was their family's light. The little angel. She'd been sent to help his fragmented family get together and working as a whole again.
So pure, full of energy and carefree innocence.
No wonder she'd thought nothing of that flower she'd given to Akane. Why would she? It was only just a flower after all. Ranma found himself wondering, what could have Akane done with it? She'd said her night stand. In a little jar? Perhaps inside a book? Maybe as a bookmark, sticking out from between the pages she was currently reading. And this book, it would rest on her nightstand, all night, next to her while she slept…
Oh, great… he was suddenly a bit jealous of a nightstand and a book. Nevermind they were imaginary. He had to smile at himself.
He got a bit stuck there, lingering in the yard, wondering whether or not to walk in and greet his family, while thinking about Akane's nightstand. Because if she had one, she probably had a western type of bed, like he did, instead of a futon. Nightstands generally had a lamp on it, didn't they? And a phone set, maybe, and a framed picture of her boyfrie—
Ranma tightened his jaw at the sudden assault his own musings had brought upon him, his stomach twisting in weird ways. Sigh. He knocked his head a couple of times.
"Hello?" he whispered into the empty yard, talking to himself while softly knocking on his temple. There really was no point on thoughts like that.
He felt a bit lost, suddenly. He wanted to know things about this Akane Tendo. He wanted to know if she had a lamp on her nightstand at all. And it would certainly help him knowing if she had a boyfriend or not.
All he knew about her was that she was a beautiful, spirited girl. Smart, or so he thought. Nicely fit, too. He knew she puzzled him. He knew she was perfectly able of induce him into shutting his brain down.
He knew he liked her. A lot. And that he wanted to know her. He desperately wanted to know if all the things he sensed and imagined about her were true. He somehow believed he wouldn't be disappointed.
Finally making a sort of decision, Ranma walked around the house and onto the backyard. For a place in Tokyo, he thought they were blessed to have a detached house. It left enough space for a generous back yard.
But none of that really mattered at the moment. All he cared about was getting to know Akane. He wanted to know what made her smile that beautiful smile of hers, so he could coax her to smile up at him.
He wanted to be able to make her laugh. To make her blush. He wanted to know.
Well… things were getting pretty clear, then, he thought with a deep cleansing breath. He started a light warm up workout. He'd just have to get to know her before she finished school. And that was that.
He stretched his arms above his head, only to let them fall heavily by his sides a few seconds later. Another though invaded him.
But if there wasn't enough time? He closed his eyes and sighed, frustrated.
He started a basic kata.
And what would be the point anyway? He was going off to college whether he liked it or not. Even if he stayed in Tokyo, he assumed he'd be so busy with everything. And she would be, too, on her Senior year. He hardly thought they'd have any time to share after the end of the year.
Was it really worth it, the effort? Was it worth it to look and feel like a complete meathead every time he was near her?
He wished he could be near her again.
He thought of her, kicking up into the empty air. There was a bit of violence there wanted to be released, too. And his heart sped up together with his swift movements.
Ranma started to get into the choreographic movements.
He thought of her blushing face... Of her beautiful long legs, the way her long black hair got plastered all around her face wherever they escaped her ponytail.
Oh, she was worth it.
Say he actually got somewhere, and started getting to know her better. Then what? Friends? Well, clearly not what he was after. For a moment, he thought that he was attracted enough to take anything she would give him. Anything at all.
Well, damn, he thought as he punched high in the air. It was really frustrating. It truly bothered him to know there was nothing he could do about his troubled state of mind. This was very unusual in him. The only solution was to let it go. It was never this difficult to let it go. He strongly willed his brain to stop wanting to reach a satisfactory conclusion of all this rambling, much to no avail.
And it went on and on. He kept fighting his own newly discovered demons, unable to settle his troubled thoughts.
OOOOOOO
As Akane poked at her food in a rather distracted way, she though everything was just as quiet as ever. Good thing Nabiki would be coming back from college for the summer. Maybe things would lighten up a bit then.
Akane raised her eyes from the bowl of rice, only to find Kasumi's eyes fixed on hers.
She could tell her older sister was strangely amused. Her eyes were sparkling vibrantly, which if not out of character, was not that usual a sight anymore.
Akane returned her sister's stare with a questioning glance, silently raising her eyebrow. Was Kasumi up to something? Akane couldn't really tell. Kasumi was just enjoying her meal, for all she knew. That was until the older girl widened her eyes and raised her eyebrows to Akane.
What? Was there something on her face? She just shook her head in confusion, shrugging her shoulder a bit.
Kasumi only opened her eyes a little bit wider.
Akane was starting to feel frustrated. But she was amused, nonetheless. She hastily put her bowl down and tried to look at her sister with what she thought would be an intimidating look. 'What?' She mouthed. And then she wondered why the heck they'd forgotten to talk during mealtimes. And why they hell weren't they talking now, when there was something interesting to talk about? Apparently?
Soun Tendo continued to eat listlessly, as dull and unimpressed as ever.
But her oneesan had already looked away from her, and was blatantly ignoring her looks. Or trying to. A few minutes later, Akane could see Kasumi trying to hide a smile behind the rice bowl she was holding to her mouth. The smile started to spread into a grin across her face.
"What?" Akane finally asked, amusement evident in her voice now.
It was abrupt, so Soun raised his eyes to look at Akane.
Kasumi merely continued smiling.
Soun's eyes turned to look at Kasumi. Then they went back to Akane again.
He shrugged his shoulders and went back to his food.
Kasumi sighed a bit theatrically as she put the bowl down, with rather more force that you'd have expected. She was putting on an annoyed show now, like Akane should have guessed what this was all about by now.
'I know', Kasumi moved her lips soundlessly.
"Huh?" Akane asked leaning forward a little bit, as if she were trying to get closer to her sister.
Kasumi sighed, and mouthed again.
'Ran-ma'
Akane's head finally made the connections, but instead of asking, her mind went rambling.
So did Kasumi know him? Really? Oh, Gods. Akane blushed, thinking of Ranma yet again. Feeling a wave of shyness engulf her, she looked up at Kasumi.
Her older sister was still smiling. Grinning like her face was stuck that way was more like it.
Was it really so funny to see Akane all troubled over a boy? Kasumi started chuckling softly. She raised a hand to her mouth, to try and stifle some laughter.
"Is this for real?" Akane finally asked, finally remembering that they were in fact able to speak freely, "Do you really know him?"
Kasumi nodded.
Soun looked up again.
"Really, really?"
Kasumi nodded again.
"You're not just trying to laugh at me, are you?"
Kasumi shook her head.
"What?" Soun asked looking confused. His head kept coming back and forth between Akane's blushing face to Kasumi's laughing eyes.
"What is it?" he asked again.
Both girls turned their head to look at their father, blinking curiously at him.
And a after a moment's silence, both sisters started laughing softly, unlike they'd done in a really long time.
Soun just kept staring at them, a confused look in his normally inexpressive eyes.
OOOOOOO
As Ranma had first thought, training had most certainly helped him to put his mind at ease. He was cheerful again, at least enough to play the fool with Ranko over dinner. He could also feel his mother's questioning glance burning down on him.
What was it with these women anyway? Did they have some kind of radar or something? It hardly mattered. He was feeling normal again, and he dug into his food in earnest. He loved his mother's cooking. It could usually help him forget his problems. At least while the meal lasted. Which sadly wasn't very long. Ever.
Hardly surprising that he enjoyed it so much, especially when he compared it to what his father used to make when they'd been training.
Ranma had been so happy, when they'd finally returned.
His plate was empty in a flash. He stared at it, willing it to be suddenly full of food. But it never happened. Oh, well.
He looked up to find Nodoka staring at him, a smile on her eyes.
"You shouldn't just swallow your food like that, dear. No one's chasing after you."
Ranma grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.
"Mmm… Sorry."
Then, her mother's stern gaze fell over his father, although the hidden smile was no longer there.
"Genma, dear…"
Oh, yes. If there was anything Ranma had inherited from his father, it was that incredible appetite of his.
Genma stopped his gulping, his chopsticks hanging in mid serving. He raised a pair of guilty eyes to look up at his wife from his hunched position over the table.
And the old man blushed.
Ranko started giggling. It was contagious, Ranma discovered, although he felt a little sorry for his father.
Genma left everything he was holding on the table, cleared his throat, and struggled for control over the situation. As if that was possible, the way his mom run everything in the house.
"Yes, dearest?"
"Are you enjoying your dinner, honey?"
"Yes, wife. Very much so", He added with a smile.
Ranko just continued to giggle.
Ranma reached out to slap his father's back in a friendly manner.
"Cheez, old man."
Genma just sighed.
Nodoka smiled, as Ranko continued to giggle.
After a while, dinner was over.
OOOOOOO
Akane was changing into her pajamas when she heard a knock on the door. It had to be Kasumi, Akane reasoned. Her older sister had mutely refused to tell her any details. Instead, she'd just gotten herself busy cleaning the table and disappearing into the kitchen.
"Come in!" Akane answered after a few seconds.
Kasumi opened the door, and smiled as she spotted Akane sitting on her bed patting the empty space next to her. So Kasumi walked in and sat by her sister after quietly closing the door.
The room was dimly lit by the lamp on Akane's night stand only, it's dim yellow glow giving a very intimate and secretive atmosphere.
"What took you so long?" Akane finally asked, raising legs and spreading them on the bed, leaning back on her arms.
"Well…" Kasumi started, closing her sleeping robe more securely across her chest. "This is nice. I thought I'd try to make it last, for a change. Don't you think this is exciting?" Kasumi explained with barely contained joy, spreading her palm open over her chest, as if to hold her voice from rising too loud.
Akane giggled at her sister's like excitement, although she wasn't exactly sure what Kasumi meant. But she suspected.
"You're right, oneesan," Akane answered in the same low, secretive tone of voice, as if afraid to wake someone up. "But you're killing me!"
Akane thought how silly it was. It was quite unlikely, since the only person they could wake up was probably sitting by the shogi board again. She sighed, forgetting to smile for a moment. A change was most definitely needed.
"Did you see daddy's face?" Akane asked softly, trying to distract herself from her mellow thoughts.
Kasumi nodded. "That's exactly what I want to last longer…"
"That's all nice and good. But? So? Out with it!" Akane demanded.
"Okay…" Kasumi said, pausing a bit for surprise.
"Okay… Andddd?" Akane asked a little too anxiously.
Kasumi laughed softly, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Oh my! You're so impatient, Akane-chan!"
"Oww, you're just being mean now," Akane pouted.
Kasumi's laugh died down and she continued.
"Alright. What I remembered was that Ranma was our neighbor many years ago."
"Neighbor?" Akane asked, lowering her voice some more and staring intently at her sister.
"Why yes. Ranma and his parents used to live across the street more than ten years ago."
Akane lowered her head thinking very hard. Neighbor? She simply couldn't place it. It didn't ring any bells at all.
"So I guess it must be destiny that you two found each other again."
Akane looked even more confused now.
"You really missed him when he left all those years ago. Although it didn't last for more than a week, though."
Kasumi just looked at her sister and waited.
It didn't take long.
Suddenly, Akane's eyes widened, and Kasumi smiled.
"Husband to be, remember? Or maybe not. You weren't older than six. I almost didn't remember him either. And I remember a whole lot of things from that time" The older girl said, "You two played husband and wife all the time. You even claimed to be engaged."
"Ran-ran," Akane said in a whisper, finally putting a name to a long forgotten childhood face in memories that were very rapidly coming to the surface.
"Oh, gosh, so much excitement for one day. I'm really tired," Kasumi yawned. "I'm glad I could remember something. Maybe you should ask him about it."
Akane continued to stare at her toes in wonder. Would asking him be a good idea? It would certainly make for some sort of conversation.
"I'm going to bed now. Good night, Akane-chan." Kasumi said leaning into her sister for a small hug.
"Night," Akane replied absently.
Kasumi stood up and opened the door.
"And thank you," Akane muttered. Her sister turned around to look at Akane.
Kasumi nodded and closed the door behind her.
That little brat… Akane was now getting amused. Who would have thought he would develop into such a nice specimen? A wide smile spread across her face. She fell back on her pillow with a thud, her arms spread at her sides.
After a while, she reached for the lamp switch to turn it off, but her eyes fell on the small white flower she'd place in a glass. Turning her head completely to take a better look at it, she sighed.
Her fingers lightly brushed the small white petals a couple of times.
Her arm fell heavily on the bed again as she stared at the flower.
And she remembered.
Akane sat on the bed pulling at the sheets and tucking herself in for the night. She clicked the light off and stared into the initial darkness as her eyes adjusted. There was still some light coming from the lamps on the street. Akane enjoyed that semi-darkness. She didn't fall asleep right away. There was too much to think about. Akane stared out her window, gazing out at the bit of night sky that she could glimpse from her current position. Her mind was in a haze.
Oh! There were just so many things she wanted to do! She felt so positive and full of energy. The more she thought about her encounter with Ranma, the more excited she felt about the fact that she'd had some sort of effect on him. She couldn't find a word for it. But she liked the little sense of victory she'd gotten. It was an amazing feeling, knowing she could do things to him.
Just like he'd always been able to anger her all those years ago.
Maybe this was some sort of payback, then.
To distract herself, Akane replayed the few words they'd exchanged that evening. There was something about it that still bothered her. It had been there since the moment they spoke, but she just couldn't tell what.
"Hi, Akane…" he'd said. And she'd fallen unnaturally silent, shocked to see him there, standing in front of her.
"Mm… Hi-"
"Ranma," he interrupted her, leaning in a bit. "Saotome Ranma. Nice to meet you."
She sighed, a tiny smile forming on her lips.
Even his voice was nice. Strong and steady. Just remembering his voice made her heart flutter all over again.
"Hi, Akane…"
And then, it hit her. Her eyes snapped open and she abruptly sat up on the bed, barely containing the excitement brought on by this new discovery. It was so strange that she just didn't dare to form the whole entire thought out of fear that it might be just her imagination. She replayed the moment again and again.
"Hi, Akane…"
"Oh Gods…" she whispered into the darkness.
He already knew her name...
There was nothing Akane could do to stop the warmth that enveloped her entire being. Call it silly, but she didn't care about anything anymore. All that mattered was that warmth, and the desire to talk to Ranma again.
She laid back down, and giggled like... well, like a schoolgirl, as she wiggled under the sheets, holding them to her chest tightly, with barely contained excitement.
She breathed in and out, staring at the ceiling, and started calming down. Despite her sudden craving for activities, yearning for action, the day had been a very long and incredibly surprising one. And it had to show at some moment or another.
She smiled softly, her lids finally dropping closed for the night.
This is going to be fun. Ne, Ran-ran?
And with that last thought, she drifted off to sleep, more content than she'd been in a long time.
OOOOOOO
Ranma was lying on his bed, all lights off.
He'd gotten stuck, intrigued by his parents' relationship. It was a wonder they were still together. Especially after Genma had taken him away. Ranma had not been able to tell if Genma and Nodoka still loved each other when they'd returned from their training more than five years later. His parents barely spoke to each other then. That much he could remember.
But then, Ranko had come along. So he guessed things were all right. He figured love was just tougher than it looked. They were a happy family again, thanks to Ranko, he reasoned not for the first time.
Ranma found himself hoping to be lucky enough to have a family of his own, even if he got old and fat and bald. Or a woman to love, the way his mom loved his dad. Old and fat and bald. Even after big fights and disagreements. While he knew it was far, far too soon for him to be settling down, the idea of it gave him a strange kind of comfort that he appreciated.
He sighed and rolled over onto his side. He supposed it was all a matter of finding the right person.
He closed his eyes, willing himself to sleep.
After a few minutes though, his eyes snapped open again. He sighed, his mind already filled with images of Akane.
Would he be able to know her? Before school was over? Would they get along?
Ranma yawned and turned onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. Well, damn. His mind just wasn't cooperating today. At all.
At some point, Ranma just gave up, and resigned himself to the inevitable, settling down for a rather restless night. As long as it was Akane plaguing his mind and making him sleepless, he guessed he would be fine. Hopefully.
TBC…
Author's Notes:
Latest revision: .2015
It's kind of strange this writing about the distant past. I kept trying to find ways of making the childhood memories seem more realistic. How could they possibly not remember someone that was apparently a fixture at their own place? I'm going to say that I had two neighbors when I was younger than five years old. I remember their names. I don't remember their faces at all, or their last names, or what their parents looked like. Or maybe I do, but very, very vaguely. Though if I ask my mom she'd probably remember. I certainly wouldn't recognize them today if I met them on the street. But I remember we were friends, that playing house was actually very standard, and that I received a teddy bear from one of them once, for a birthday, that still resides somewhere in my parent's house. It's the oldest thing I remember owning.
In previous versions, you could read what Nodoka and Kasumi were thinking. I figured I wanted to get rid of all that, because it got confusing. I much rather try and guess what they were thinking from another character's perspective.
Also, I apologize for the 'girl chat' with Ranma and his mom. I know it's weird to have a mom and their teenage son speak like that. I suppose it's the only way I found to show that Ranma is close to his family, which affects his values on family life and such things.
That's that for now. Thanks for reading!