KTKG says: Okay… so I know that it's been a really long time since I've updated but I have to say I've been really busy with school and work… I'm glad to say however that I have officially made it onto the honor roll!!! Yay for me! Anyways I'm back with a new chapter and I hope that you guys enjoy it!
Chapter 11
"It's not working… forget it."
"Try again. You know, the twentieth time's a charm."
"It's not going to work. Let's just forget about it."
"Suck it in."
"Really? And exactly how am I supposed to do that genius?"
Ranma gave her a blank look and Akane couldn't do anything in return but sigh. They had been in her room for the past hour and a half trying to squeeze her into her school uniform now that summer break was going to be over in two days. Unfortunately for the two, the dress wasn't making its way past her chest.
"Well, I guess that means there's only one solution to it all… I'm not going back to school."
A frown spread across her features as well as Ranma's. He knew that wasn't the reason why she didn't want to go back to school, but right now he didn't want to push it; later on maybe, but definitely not right now, especially the way her mood swings had been, asking her now was like asking for a death wish.
"Look 'Kane, I'm sure there's something we can do. Kasumi's gotta have a trick up her sleeve to fix this."
She didn't say anything, just nodded, the frown still firmly set in place on her face. Ranma took this as his signal to head out and find the eldest Tendou sibling in the house. Maybe she would be able to talk some sense into his hard-headed fiancée.
Luck seemed to be on his side because as soon as he opened the door there she was making her way up the steps. "Oh! Ranma! How's it going in there?" He paused for a second, trying to find the words to describe the hellish experience he had just gone through (he swore he would NEVER go clothes shopping with Akane EVER!), but his face must have been easy to read like an open book. "Oh… that bad huh?"
He nodded in response as she headed to the hallway closet, grabbing what looked like a sewing kit and some measuring tape. Kasumi really was incredible. He didn't even mention any suggestions but she seemed to instantly know what he was thinking. He decided right then and there that Kasumi was the embodiment of awesomeness, hands down. Akane had that same talent, knowing what he was thinking without him having to say anything sometimes, and that's why he loved her so much.
"Well, let me see what I can do. Why don't you wander on downstairs or something while I handle Akane. I'm sure by now you two are ready to kill each other. That, or her mood swings are starting to kick in again."
He nodded and rushed down the stairs, eager to get to the dojo and clear his head. Akane wasn't the only one that was nervous about heading back to school after all.
The dojo was quiet, perfect for a morning workout. It was a bit humid, but he didn't mind, it was still early enough in the day that it wouldn't suffocate him or anything. With that last thought he steadied himself before launching himself into an easy kata and what he liked to think of as a different world.
Going back to school was in a sense almost like walking straight into hell. There was bound to be loads of drama ahead, especially with the rumors that were sure to be floating around thanks to the party. Akane kept throwing around the idea of dropping out of school, and it irritated him to no end. Akane was smart and they were in their senior year, he would be damned if she didn't finish school. That wasn't the real problem though. The problem was trying to keep the baby a secret while they could. They didn't really have anything planned out, and as far as the others finding out he still wasn't sure what to do about that seeing as Ryouga was a near disaster.
He stopped and wiped the accumulating sweat on his brow, now finished with his workout. Well, that didn't really solve anything now did it? He was still at square one with his problems and it was becoming painfully obvious that they weren't going to be solved anytime soon. Hell, he'd been trying to solve these problems for over two years now so he was sure that it wasn't going to happen in one day. One thing was for sure, he was going to protect her and their child, no matter what. He had a bad feeling, he just didn't know which one it was going to be to do the idiotic thing he was fearing the most.
"Ranma?"
He spun around only to see Akane standing in the doorway in none other than her newly tailored school uniform. She spun around once in a circle, striking a pose with a smile on her face. Obviously she was in a much better mood.
"So… what do you think?"
Honestly he was at a loss for words. Kasumi had done a wonderful job on the alterations. If it weren't for the fact that he knew himself she was pregnant, he would have just assumed that she had put on a little weight in the face over the summer. As his eyes travelled over her figure something caught his attention and she seemed to notice seeing as she placed her hands on her hips, a sign he knew to interpret as he was in trouble.
"It's the boobs, isn't it?"
Ranma sputtered a bit at her defectiveness and refused to meet her gaze, studying his feet instead hoping to avoid the beating that he was sure that was coming his way.
"I know… they're huge. Kasumi suggested that I bound them if I really bothered me so much but if I do they'll bother me even more."
He looked at her then, trying to forget what lay a little bit below her face. She still had the smile on her face but he could tell that she was upset about something. He guessed now was as good a time as any to try to get whatever it was that was bothering her out.
"You wanna talk about it?"
She blinked as her eyes met his, and her smile seemed to become genuine. He always knew how to get straight to the point without being rude to her.
"Sure."
She grabbed his hand and the two of them sat on the ledge, her legs dangling as she curled her fingers around his and leaned into him a bit. She focused her gaze on the koi pond in front of her, listening to his heart trying to calm itself down from the recent workout.
"So… what's bothering you? I can tell this isn't one of your mood swings."
His voice vibrated against her cheek and she sighed, swinging her legs back and forth a bit before she answered him. "Well… I'm worried about going back to school." Well, he figured that much, but there was something else that was bothering her. He decided to keep quiet, more than likely she'll continue on without having to be prodded for further answers.
"Actually… I'm worried about… Ukyo."
What? Ukyo?
"I, uh… I'm worried that she's going to… you know… maybe flip out or something when she finds out. I know there's a bigger chance that she won't, but… you never know. Look at Hibiki-san, he practically tried to kill you."
Ranma was lost in thought. Ukyo was what had her worried? Shampoo or Kodachi yes, he could understand, but Ukyo? He had a sudden flash back to their disastrous wedding and could understand why she would be worried. A wedding was nothing compared to a baby on the way. Ukyo showed her true colors that day, and that was something that was burned into his head permanently. If she acted that way for that occasion, he could just imagine how she would react to this one.
But now the question was what to do about her, about Ukyo? She was a good friend to him; regardless he guessed about what she had done, he still had some semblance of trust in her. But now that he thought about the points that Akane had brought up, he was beginning to become just as worried as her. Ukyo was indeed his friend, but it was obvious that she had changed within the past two years.
"Let me deal with that one. I trust Ukyo, but I don't really trust her with you."
He felt her nod her head and relaxed a little bit, trying to push the thoughts in his head out so he could enjoy the afternoon with his fiancée.
"You know, you look cute in your new uniform. "
She giggled as she sat up straight. "You're just saying that because it shows how big my boobs are!" His face instantly reddened and she laughed even harder. He told her he loved her, even got her pregnant for crying out loud, but he still blushed like a little boy whenever she or someone else mentioned her chest. Eventually she calmed herself down.
"Thank you though. Kasumi raised the waistline so it would hide my stomach. It'll work for maybe another month or so but after that…" He wrapped his arm around her, swinging his legs in time with hers.
"Well, we'll handle whatever may come our way… that is if your boobs and mood swings don't tip everyone else off first."
"Ranma!"
He did nothing but laughed in response as she hit him in his arm, his face red as a tomato.
"Come on 'Kane, let's get something to eat."
She watched as the batter bubbled on the grill in front of her, humming along with the radio as she sprinkled various toppings over the forming cakes.
Ukyo flipped the okinomiyaki and wiped her hands, a smile spreading across her face as she watched the many familiar faces of the students from Furikan High enjoying their meals. She was glad to be back in Nerima, seeing as she now considered this small, strange city to be her home. The plus side was the business was much better here than anywhere else, seeing as here she had some loyal customers.
The students were seemingly in an uproar about what they had been doing over summer break and what they were hoping to see once school started back up in two days. She tried not to eaves drop on any conversations, however when she heard Ranma's name dropped in the same sentence as Akane's, she couldn't help but listen.
"Were you at Sayuri's party? Did you hear about Ranma and Akane?"
Ukyo's interest was piqued now. She tried to busy herself with some dishes so it wasn't obvious that she was listening in.
"No, I wasn't there but I heard that they were all over each other! Also from what I heard they didn't come together but they sure left that way."
"Do you think it was the alcohol or do you think they finally confessed to each other?"
"Who knows, I just wanna see if they're still together. Makoto said she had seen them out the other day at the grocery store and they were holding hands!"
Ukyo stopped herself before she dropped the soapy plate in her hands. She had to calm down and remember the things that she was hearing were more than likely nothing but silly rumors created by silly little school girls. There's absolutely no WAY that what she was hearing was true, right? Before she had left, Ranma and Akane were ready to kill each other, which was normal to her. But then another thought popped into her head. She had been gone for two months.
A lot could change in two months.
She snapped out of her thoughts when the two girls she had been listening to announced suddenly that they were leaving and paid her.
What was she thinking, believing those silly rumors? Those two haven't changed a bit in over two years, how could two months possibly make a difference? None the less, she guessed she'd find out for herself on Monday when she headed back to school.
Hopefully she'll prove herself right and realize that it is indeed just rumors she's hearing.
Hopefully…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She was wide awake.
Why was she wide awake at 3 a.m.? Part of the answer was currently snoring loudly beside her in her ear, but she was too tired to tell him to get up and go back to his room. Suddenly he rolled over, throwing his arm around her and pulling her close to him. She tried to snuggle into him in an attempt to go back to sleep, but sleep wasn't within reach. Plus she had her hard headed fiancée making his existence known in her ear.
Poor Ranma.
She had fallen asleep earlier with him and vaguely remembered him leaving her like he normally does. However tonight was different. Around one in the morning she felt him crawling back in the bed behind her, not saying a word. She knew something was wrong with him, but she was too tired at the time to ask, instead opting to rub the hand that was rubbing her stomach. More than likely his dreams were coming back to him. She would of course ask him about that in the morning when he was awake and after he had had some food. For the time being she decided she was going to try to sort through her thoughts.
She was of course worried about tomorrow, or rather today. It was Monday morning, and that meant that she and Ranma were going to be headed back to school. She wasn't really worried so much about the rumors that had surely been circulating throughout the student population during the summer. She wasn't worried about the stares that she would more than likely be getting when they noticed she was wearing an altered uniform, or that her face had grown rounder and her chest had grown bigger (she did worry about Ranma's reaction to the latter). What she was worried about was a certain person's reaction to all of the above.
Ukyo was honestly the one thing that could possibly break her relationship with Ranma.
Well, maybe not but the possibility was still there. Ukyo was a dear friend to Ranma. She knew that Ranma didn't see Ukyo the way that Ukyo wanted him to see her, but the fact remained that she was another 'fiancee' of his, whether he wanted her or not. But that wasn't the real issue, she had Ranma's heart and that was final.
The thing that worried her was Ukyo's reaction when she found out, and Ranma's reaction in turn to that.
There was two ways that the situation could play out. One, Ukyo would explode and try to attack her, which would result in Ranma probably do something that would leave him upset and depressed. Then there was option two, which would be Ukyo confronting him about everything and his stupid foot-in-mouth syndrome would kick in and he would deny everything, including her and the baby.
She didn't want either one to happen, and even though she was sure that option two was just her overreacting, she was still scared to death that it was going to happen and that was what had her currently wide awake.
"Why aren't you asleep?"
Akane jumped slightly, placing a hand over her racing heart to calm it down. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't even noticed that he had stopped snoring. "How did you know that I was awake?" She felt him stretch behind her. "You weren't snoring." She stopped herself from elbowing him in the stomach, reasoning with herself that he was still somewhat asleep and he wasn't clearly thinking. Well, she guessed now was as good a time as any to ask why he decided to make another appearance in her bed.
"Why'd you come back in here?"
He shrugged, snuggling back down in the bed.
"Dunno… it's almost like I can't sleep comfortably without you anymore."
She felt her face redden. Okay, with that statement option two of her dreaded scenario seemed more and more less likely to happen. She felt him kiss the back of her head. "Get some sleep 'Kane, everything is going to be okay in the morning. I promise I won't leave your side for a second, and I promise I won't go back on my word." Suddenly she was feeling sleepy, her eyes closing on their own will now as his snoring started up again.
Maybe she was just overreacting to everything.
Tomorrow would be ok, just like he said. He would stand by her no matter what; he's done it this far, why should tomorrow be any different. He loves her and she loves him, nothing could ever change that…
Right?
KTKG says: Okay… sorry that was kinda short but I wanted to get it out there. I had this vision, and I had to get it down on paper… I have a clear view now where I'm trying to go with this. Also… I need names, baby names that is. I'm open to any suggestions you might have! Thanks for reading!!!
