Author's Note: So it's been a while, I know. I told you I wouldn't make any promises to update quickly because my rushes of inspiration are dwindling these days. A pathetic and weak excuse, I know, but you should be thankful that I still get these rushes. These bouts are when my best chapters come out.
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or any of its characters.
Chapter 14Akane took to the stairs quickly, jumping off the fourth step. She landed, hard, on the wooden floor of the first story. Her mind was still thick from the bathroom incident. She was about to go from incident to accident. Akane rounded the corner and dashed to the kitchen where Kasumi was waiting with the phone.
She arrived, out of breath, and stuck out her palm as she panted.
"Um, Aka…nice to see you?" Kasumi managed to say with a smile. Confused, Akane's mind finally caught up with her body. A quick replay of what had happened in the bathroom ran through her mind with an emphasis on the cold water and not the heat from Ranma's body.
"Oh…Kasumi, hi." Akane replied weakly and scratched the back of her head at her short hairline. "Er, Akane asked me to take this call. She's…uh…indisposed." She mentally kicked herself.
(Indisposed? C'mon, who says that? Could you be any shadier?) She thought to herself as she bit her lip.
"Indisposed?" Kasumi questioned. She seemed to forget there was someone on the other line waiting patiently to talk to her sister.
"Bath." Ranma answered shortly, appearing behind Akane. He had changed back to his male self and was wiping the wetness from his hair with a white, fluffy towel. Kasumi stared at the two wet boys in front of her and recognized the absence of her sister.
"Oh, Ranma, did you take a bath too, with Aka?" Kasumi asked, coming to a conclusion. Akane blushed deeply and Ranma turned so the girls wouldn't see his cheeks burning.
"If that's what you want to call it." He coughed. Ranma quickly moved to the next room to start a conversation with his father as if he were planning to talk to him all along.
"Kasumi, I need to take the call for Akane. She asked me to." Akane tried again.
(Just give me the damn phone!) She thought, irritated.
"Alright…" Her sister gave in and cautiously handed over the phone. She stared at Aka for a moment and then returned to her cooking.
Akane sighed before placing the handset up to her ear. "Hello?"
"A-Akane?" The voice on the other end hesitated. They did not recognize the deep voice on the other end.
"…Who is this?" She asked before revealing herself.
"This is Ryouga. Who is this? I need to talk to Akane." He said, his courage finally showing through. It must have been an important issue if it contained his stutter around the girl he loved.
"This is he." Akane hissed through her teeth, forcefully. She hoped that Ryouga would remember her visit to him and the secret that only he and Ranma carried. Kasumi looked up from the batter that she was stirring and threw a confused look at Aka. She continued to stir, more slowly, and more attentive on the one side of the conversation that she could hear.
"Ohhh…" He replied with a long sigh of realization. "I need to meet you somewhere." He added hurriedly.
"What? Where?"
"Meet me at the park near my house, at the bench closest to the entrance." Ryouga said, giving thorough instructions.
"When?" Akane asked. She had never really heard this kind of anxiousness in his voice before.
"Now."
There was a click and then the phone went dead. Akane held it to her ear a moment longer before slowly putting it back on the receiver.
"What was that about?" Kasumi asked, feigning interest so she could get closer to Aka.
"Ryouga wants to meet me-" Akane glanced nervously up at Kasumi, caught herself, and continued with, "Akane at the park. He sounded anxious. I'm gonna go tell her right now." She finished and quickly ran out of the kitchen. Kasumi stood, alone, in the entrance, the kitchen light flooding past her feet.
Akane made a short stop in the bathroom, sprayed her already wet self with hot water, and started for the stairs. Water droplets fell from her sopping clothes onto the wooden steps as she took them by two. She practically threw herself into her room and into her closet, switching into drier, feminine clothes. She chose a pale yellow dress with a lace liner and a light jacket.
The night had just conquered the sky and the streetlights had just dawned their yellow glow. Akane stepped out onto the concrete streets, pulling the front door behind her. She adjusted her jacket before springing into a light jog down the poorly lit streets. She was unaware of the person following her in the abundant shadows.
Akane found the park easily, hoping that her friend with horrible direction had made it as well. She entered the dark park, the dense trees allowing only so much light from the streets to pass through their layers of leaves. Instead of the nervousness in her stomach, Akane focused on the crunching of the dirt below her feet. She was confident that they would lead her to where she needed to go.
When she saw Ryouga, a broad smile broke out on her face as she jogged the last few steps to meet him. She sat down next to him, hoping that he would do all the explaining. Ryouga returned the smile before shifting his body to face her.
From a nearby tree, Ranma spied down from the branches. He had followed his fiancée from the house. He found it suspicious that she would get a phone call and then suddenly flee the house.
(So, a secret rendezvous?) Ranma thought to himself sarcastically. He knew that he didn't have to worry about Ryouga making a move on her. He was aware of his feelings, but the bumbling fool couldn't make out a sentence around Akane let alone kiss her. Ranma relaxed on the lowest branch, hoping that his ears wouldn't fail him now.
After a moment of silence, Akane decided to speak first. "Why did you call me here?"
Ryouga hesitated, caught by the beauty of her voice. "It-It's about the match. I-I have to w-warn you."
"Warn me?" Akane asked, slightly alarmed. "About what?"
"W-well…Mousse, Shampoo, and I have been practicing. I-I know Ranma could beat us all in a one-on-one match, but together, I don't think even he could." Ryouga stammered. He couldn't help but smile as he gloated.
Ranma suppressed a laugh as he almost fell from the branch. (Those idiots have nothing on me.)
"Well Ranma isn't alone. He has me." Akane answered full-spirited. "He always pulls through. I think we'll manage." A shy smile escaped from her lips as she thought of all the times he rescued her in the most impossible situations.
Ranma fell silent. He wasn't sure of how to take Akane's shy and civil response. It seemed foreign for the tomboy.
"That's not all." Ryouga added defensively. "Our principal convinced the others to allow the students to combat on a special arena. That's what has me most worried. I-I'm w-worried about…you."
"Whatever it is, I can manage it, Ryouga. I can fight despite what everyone thinks around here. I know you and Ranma don't have any confidence in me, but I just want you guys to trust me for once. I don't want to have to rely on someone else all the time." Akane encouraged.
"But-" Ryouga started.
"No. I'll be fine. It'll be fine. Whatever it is, it'll be fine." She reassured. The air fell silent as Ryouga looked down at his shoes. He did not know where Akane got the notion that he didn't have faith in her. He believed in her always, in everything she ever did. That was one of the attributes that he liked about her, that she never quit and she always managed to come out of it, at worse, okay. Ryouga wanted to tell her all this. He wanted her to have someone to count on to be behind her at all times. He wanted to be that someone.
"A-Akane…the reason why I-I'm telling you this…it's not because I don't believe…" Ryouga trailed off as he looked up and caught her gaze. "It's…It's….because I-I…I care for you." Akane's breath caught in the back of her throat. She stared across the bench at the boy she had always thought of as her friend. She had no idea he had ever even thought about her this way. "Akane…I don't think…I don't think I could take it if I ever saw you hurt. I think…I think I would g-go insane." Ryouga stammered. His breathing became shallow. It seemed like his heart was throbbing against his lungs.
Ranma, feeling the opposite reaction, started to breath very deeply and quickly. He could feel his hands tighten on the branch. He looked down at his white knuckles. He felt the rage and jealousy curling up his throat. This bimbo had the courage to admit something that he couldn't.
"Ryouga, I…" Akane croaked. She didn't know how to react. His sincerity and intensity had her thrown.
Ryouga didn't let her finish. He had decided before he even came that this night would happen the way he wanted it to. He didn't want his nerves to ruin the chance he had been waiting for forever since he met Akane. That's why he threw his whole self into this kiss.
Akane, astounded, wasn't in the right sense of mind to push him off of her. She, in fact, kissed him back. She didn't necessarily want to, but she was now relieved of her lips' hunger for flesh that grew every time she was with Ranma. The bath incident was the final straw that had pushed her over the edge. It was in that moment that she realized it wasn't Ryouga she wanted to kiss.
Ryouga withdrew and stared at Akane wearily. He was finally granted his one solid wish and he didn't want it to be spoiled with talk. Ryouga stood up quickly and ran off. Akane was the one left baffled on the bench. She brought her hand up to her lips and pressed her fingers softly against them.
Ranma, caught in a fury of disbelief, felt his nails dig into the wooden branch. His hands began to shake as the same thought repeated through his mind.
(I am going to kill that pig.)
Author's Note: I love when the characters take control of the story. It always seems that they make it more interesting than I can. I'm hoping to update soon. The story is getting pretty intense, I must say.