AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't do these very often. The last one was right before the hiatus, asking for feedback. But I've been getting some comments and reviews, so I wanted to clear some things up. I've been writing this fic off and on for almost five years now. In that time, I've changed a lot, and my reasons for writing have as well. If you didn't know, I'm a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and as I've grown to embrace that aspect of who I am more, it's also affected my writing. That's part of why I've been playing more with sexuality in these last few chapters, and the queer aspects aren't going to disappear, there's actually going to be more going forward. If you don't like that, now's a great time to bow out. I do feel like Ranma 1/2, of all series, is a great one for examining sexuality and gender fluidity in more detail, but I know not everyone shares that more liberal take on canon. Thank you for reading thus far, and I hope you stick with this.
As much as other people might have thought Ranma Saotome was a thick-headed Neanderthal, he at the very least thought he was a pretty clever guy. There was a difference, after all, between book smarts and, like, actually being smart. At least, Ranma thought so. Which was why it was so annoying to him that, as he, Akane, and Ryoga walked to school once the weekend was over, it was only then that he realized he'd forgotten one aspect of his whole 'date Akane' plan. As was common, he was walking to school of fences and walls and whatever else, while Akane and Ryoga stuck to the road. He always claimed he did this because it helped train his balance, but it was actually because it made him look cool, and Ranma couldn't help showing off.
But if Akane was impressed in the slightest, she wasn't showing it. In fact, she looked pretty annoyed. It wasn't obvious if it was about him or not, but in Ranma's experience, if the cause of someone being upset was unknown, it being about him was a good bet. Racking his brain to think of the reasons why she'd be mad, he realized something. They were dating now, but he was acting like things were normal. But they hadn't talked about what to do at school. Would they hold hands? Kiss? Or was Akane not into public displays of affection? By the time they actually got to school, Akane was refusing to look at him, and Ranma didn't know what to do.
Now, in the rare instances in which Ranma needed advice from anyone, he had a pretty standard list in his head. First stop was Akane, but considering the situation, that wouldn't exactly work. Second and third were Kasumi and Mr. Tendo, but they were both back at the home, and Ranma knew leaving school early would just make Akane more upset. Moving down the list, person after person was struck out. Nabiki wouldn't be objective, and was kind of scary. Ryoga had been acting weird about them dating, and he had no experience with dating. In the end, he was left with the bottom of the barrel. That meant the dynamic duo, who he turned to during the first break. "So..." he started, already feeling weird asking them about this. "Hypothetically, if Akane and I just started dating, and I didn't acknowledge that here at school, what would I do about that?"
Hiroshi and Daisuke looked back at him, then at each other. "Aren't you guys engaged?" Hiroshi asked, looking more confused of the two of them. "I thought you guys were already dating."
It wasn't like the other one was much help. "Neither of us have ever had a girlfriend, how would we know?" Daisuke asked, shrugging his shoulders. "You're the one who's a girl every couple days. You know more about girls than we do."
Ranma wanted to tell them how stupid that was. After all, even when Ranma was a girl, that didn't give him extra insight into Akane, any more than being a guy helped him understand what went through Ryoga's mind. Instead, he just sighed. Asking them was such a dumb idea in the first place. He was ready to give up completely when Hiroshi brought up a new idea, "Wait, why don't you ask Sayuri? She's Akane's friend, I think."
Sure enough, in the direction Hiroshi was pointing, Akane's friend with the dark hair tied up in a ponytail was sitting at her desk, reading a book. Getting up from his chair, and well aware the break would soon end, Ranma approached her and waved to get her attention. "So, uh, I had a question-"
"Is it about you and Akane dating?" Sayuri asked, without looking up from her book. Okay, Ranma thought, so Akane already told her friends. Probably not a great sign. "And you're asking me if you did anything wrong?" Once again, Ranma nodded, this time more hesitantly, afraid of the answer. For the first time, Sayuri looked up to meet Ranma's eyes, and told him, "Why don't you just ask her then?"
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While all of that was going on, Ryoga was stressed out of his mind. When he'd reached the shoe locker, he'd found a note in his pair of home shoes he hadn't noticed before. 'I know about your secret. Go to the roof during lunch, or everyone knows.' Normally, someone doing something like this would have made him furious. But considering the secret he thought this mystery person was referring to, he couldn't get angry. Instead, he just felt tense, anxious. If everyone learned...that...he'd have to leave.
The second lunch period started, Ryoga booked it to the stairwell, up and up and up, until he reached the roof, the ground covered with pebbles. For a second, he remembered his fight with Ranma, the one that left him with no choice but to put his anger aside and change his lifestyle. It had been a good fight, and looking back at it now, Ryoga couldn't help but feel thankful to Ranma, for all the help he'd received.
"Reminiscing?" came a familiar feminine voice from behind him, and Ryoga turned around to see Nabiki Tendo standing there, giving him an all-knowing smile. "Was it then that you fell for him? Or did that come before? Or later?" Ryoga froze, paralyzed by the knowledge that he had been correct about what the note meant, and the realization of just who had that information. Even after months of living with the Tendo's, Ryoga still didn't know Nabiki well at all. She mostly kept to herself, and when she didn't, all he saw was a greedy, manipulative girl.
What was going on here wasn't pushing against that interpretation of her at all. Giving his best disarming laugh, which any outside observer would immediately see as confirming his guilt, Ryoga tried to pretend this wasn't a world-shattering problem. "What are you talking about Nabiki? I mean, I did fall off the roof, but that-"
Before he could even finish the sentence, Nabiki had pulled out a playback device of some kind and hit play. Out of it came Ino's voice, crying to Kasumi, telling her about the feelings for Ranma. Raising an eyebrow, Nabiki hit pause, and asked, "Want to try that one again, Ryoga? I'll give you a free do-over."
In the time before he gave her an answer, a dozen ideas crawled through Ryoga's head. He could take the recorder, destroy it. He could threaten her, she'd seen how strong he was. He could plead for mercy. In the end, he just let out a pained sigh and asked her, "What do you want from me?"
For a few seconds, he was ready and waiting for her to ask for all the money he had, or for even more than that. Instead, she asked, "Tell Ranma about how you feel." Ryoga's confusion must have shown on his face, which just made Nabiki's smile wider. "What, did you think I'd ask you for money? Don't forget where your money comes from. I'm not going to waste my dad's money on this." Then, her features softened, just an iota, and she told him, "I'll be nice and give you a week. If you haven't told him by then, the whole school gets this sound bite emailed to them, with a full explanation." Then, Nabiki left the rooftop, retreating back into the school, leaving Ryoga with his conflicted feelings. What was he going to do about this?
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While all that was going on, Ranma was facing his own struggle. Akane had been avoiding him all day, but the second lunch period started, he darted up to her before she could leave the classroom. "Hey, Akane!" That got her to turn her head slightly towards him, though she still wouldn't look at him. "Could we, uh, talk?" She turned away from him once again, apologized to her friends for ditching them during lunch, then moved towards the door by myself. Realizing he was supposed to follow, Ranma sped up to catch her.
Akane was speed-walking through the halls, and while it wasn't hard for Ranma to keep pace, it did make him a little more stressed about all this. Eventually, they reached where she had been heading to, the same empty classroom he'd asked her out in. Once they were in there, Akane faced him, and he could see she had a lot of emotions going on, even if he couldn't exactly tell what they were. "What did you want to talk to me about?" The words didn't come out clipped, but they were pointedly devoid of emotion.
During the day, Ranma had tried preparing what he was going to say, but all that went out the window, all his lines forgotten, when he saw Akane's face. "Listen, 'kane...I can tell you're upset about somethin'. But I don't know what it is." He let that hang there in the air for a few seconds, but when Akane didn't say anything, Ranma continued talking. "I feel like...it's because you might feel like I'm ignoring you. I'm not trying to do that! I just...don't know how we should be at school. Like, do you want use to hold hands? Can we kiss around other people? I don't know."
To Ranma's immense relief, Akane's features softened at his words, though it was still evident there was more to be said. "I was feeling a little upset that we just acted like everything was normal," Akane began, confirming at least part of what Ranma had feared, "But that isn't the main reason I am...was...upset." Tears started to build up in the corners of her eyes, the sight an immediate dagger in Ranma's heart. "You went to Sayuri! Not me." She wiped the beginning of tears away before they could fall, but Ranma could still see the pain she was feeling without them. "If we're going to be together, you need to be able to ask me about what I'm feeling, instead of asking other people. Communication is important."
Realizing now where he'd gone wrong, Ranma nodded, looking serious. She'd made a good point, and he wanted to make sure he knew how to avoid stuff like this going forward. "Okay, I get that. I'm sorry I didn't go straight to you." But, what she'd said had brought up something else for him. "But, Akane, why didn't you just tell me this morning how you were feeling, instead of leaving it up to me to ask you? I'm not a mind reader."
It looked like Akane wasn't expecting Ranma to ask anything like that, and more than that, hadn't considered what he was saying at all. Hanging her head a little, she admitted, "You're right too. I should have just told you I wanted you to hold my hand, or at least walk next to me." Then, their eyes met, and Ranma felt like this had turned out pretty well. Akane gave him a smile, which only confirmed that feeling. "We've both got to do a lot of learning, but I think we can do this."
Rather than address any of what she'd just said, Ranma gave her a teasing smirk and came closer, grabbing one hand. "So, you want to hold hands and junk?" That made Akane blush, so Ranma just kept going. "I'm good with that. What about kissing? Just around close friends? Or when we're alone? Or can the whole school watch?"
That last barb had gotten the desired effect, as Akane punched his chest, none of her immense strength in the faux blow, and pouted. "Right now, when we're alone. But...I'll let you know if I'm okay with more than that." Ranma accepted that, then realized they were alone right then. Akane seemed to have the same thought, and by the end of lunch period neither had actually eaten any lunch. They'd been too busy using their mouths for something more fun.
From there, the rest of the day passed by in a haze for Ranma. He and Akane had just gotten over the second hurdle in their whole dating thing, and he was feeling like they could get through anything. But shortly after getting home, Ranma was approached by Mr. Tendo. "Ranma, my boy, I just received this letter, addressed to you. It seems the mail system had a hell of a time finding you, it was sent months ago."
Taking the brown envelope, Ranma wondered who on Earth would be mailing him. Hope bloomed that it could be his mom, and fear whispered that it could be his Pops. But looking at the sender on the front, it became clear it was neither. Instead, it was from Ukyo Kuonji, a name Ranma hadn't heard in what felt like a lifetime. He quickly tore up the envelope, and found a letter inside.
Dear Ranma,
How's tricks?
But seriously, how are you doing? It's been years since we last saw each other. Are you still doing all that martial arts stuff? Why haven't you and your dad passed through the shop?
Well, I'm actually kind of glad you haven't. My dad finally kicked me out. I didn't really know where to go, but I heard your dad had friends in Nerima, so that's where I'm heading right now. I'm transferring schools and everything. Hopefully, you'll be in the area. If not, get over here quick, even if you have to kick your dad's ass to do it. I should get there and be all set up by the 25th.
Keep being your awesome self, and don't be afraid to write back.
Your friend,
Ukyo
It was great to hear from his favorite childhood friend, and even better to hear she was moving in nearby. But that day she mentioned, running the numbers in his head, depending on what month she'd meant, Ukyo would either be in Nerima the next day, or a month from then. Or she was already there, and at a different school. No matter what the case was, Ranma was excited to see Ukyo again. He showed the letter to Ryoga and Akane, telling them a little about his friend, hoping the day he'd introduce them to her wouldn't be far away.
