I Won't Fall in Love
by
Nin Tendo
~ Disclaimer ~ Just you wait! I'll own Ranma 1/2 someday...n_n
Important Note: This takes place in the love pill story arc. I'm sure
that you'll be able to guess what happened here. n_n However, in
case you've haven't watched/read the love pill story arc yet, I'll
explain here. There is a bracelet with three love pills embedded in
it. The instant pill, the day pill, and the lifetime pill. After
swallowing one, you would fall in love with the first person you see
of the opposite sex for an instant, a day, or a lifetime (depends on
which one you swallow). Ranma swallowed the instant pill, and fell
in love with Cologne (hehe). Akane swallowed the lifetime pill,
blindfolded herself, and walked off, thinking it was the day pill she'd
swallowed. In the canon, she coughed it up after nearly drowning.
Ranma didn't know that, and forced her to look at him before she
looked at someone else (namely, Happosai). Of course, Ranma
doesn't get off so easily here...
Note#2: I believe that the love pills affect a person's personality. (If
it didn't, Ranma would've twiddled his fingers, stuttered, and
blushed instead of spouting an intelligent poetic statement before
attempting to elope with Cologne.) It is because of this that Akane
seems so out of character. Forgive me for abolishing Akane's
tomboyish nature....-_- I already feel horrible about it, so don't rub
salt into my wounds... :p
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Gathered on the beach were an odd handful of people. A withered
old man buried in the sand, a beautiful Chinese Amazon standing
beside a white horse, and a small black piglet named P-chan, who
really wasn't a pig at all.
All eyes were on the two people before them.
Ranma Saotome was one. He was holding an empty kettle, his face
a little flushed, but he still held the other's gaze intently.
Akane Tendo stared back, her eyes wide and full of wonder.
All was silent...but then the horse snorted, bringing everyone out of
their shock.
"Uh...have you...fallen for me...?" Ranma asked, managing to be
abrupt and hesitant at the same time.
"Oh, Ranma!" Akane whispered, quiet and breathless. She leaned
forward and captured his lips in a sweet, chaste kiss. A moment
later, she pulled away slightly to whisper "I love you" into his ear
before pressing her face into his neck with a contented sigh.
Ranma stared off into space, shaking slightly, taking long, deep
breaths to calm himself.
"No," Shampoo whispered, tears beginning to flow from her eyes.
She turned and fled, only pausing to kick the dirty old man into the
Pacific when he tried to grope her.
P-chan launched himself toward Ranma, intent to kill. Ranma
absently punted him into the stratosphere with his right hand.
Bored, the horse trotted off.
Ranma continued to stare into the distance, his gaze slowly
becoming more troubled as the moments passed by.
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Hesitant to have their families find out what had happened, Ranma
put off going back to the cabin they'd rented for as long as he
could. Akane didn't argue in the least bit, which was predictable,
considering her current state of mind. Not even his female form
discouraged her. She had fallen in love with the male Ranma, but
when he was female, she still thought of 'him' as a man, and didn't
bat an eye when the general public stared at the two 'lesbians'.
Ranma had thought that the love pill wouldn't be effective when he
was a girl, but it seemed that he was wrong. Maybe it had
something to do with his ki, or perhaps it was the pill itself that
caused it to happen.
Akane hadn't gone past small, closed-mouth kisses, so Ranma
wasn't very worried about being alone with her. Well...that
fluttering sensation in the pit of his stomach didn't count as
worrying, did it? She was currently sitting in his lap, staring at the
sunset. She seemed to be content.
Ranma anxiously wondered what he was going to do. With Akane
proclaiming her 'undying affection' 24/7, everyone was bound to
find out sooner or later. When that happened, there would be a
large amount of broken hearts to deal with, most of them resorting
to violence. He would be able to take it, but would Akane? He
had to think of something, and FAST.
It was after dark when he realized that Akane had fallen asleep.
Slowly standing and picking her up, he noticed a smile of complete
happiness on her face.
Ranma's heart ached.
The walk back to the cabin wasn't a very long one, but Ranma took
his time, hoping to give their families more time to fall asleep.
Seeing the lights off, Ranma breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up
the pace, quietly stepped onto the porch, and silently opened the
door.
He was greeted by the flash of a camera, a cry of "SURPRISE!",
and Akane stirring awake.
'Well, that's one plan down the drain,' Ranma thought, as a sleepy
Akane answered all questions in great detail.
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"Hey, old ghoul! I want a word with you!" Ranma shouted,
stomping into the temporary beach-side Cat Cafe. The small
amount of customers made themselves scarce.
"Ranma," Colonge acknowledged, hoping over to him. "I've been
expecting you."
Ranma found it hard to believe that he'd actually tried to elope with
the old crone, even if he was under the influence of the love pill.
Fighting the urge to shudder, he asked, "You've 'been expecting'
me?"
Cologne nodded. "Shampoo told me everything. It's an interesting
development to say the least."
Ranma tensed, waiting for her to attack. Experience had taught
him that she liked to surprise people during dialogue. If she was
going to try something, she would do it now, and Ranma sure
wasn't about to let himself be caught by the cat tongue technique
again.
Cologne cackled in amusement. "I'm not about to pick a fight with
you, Ranma."
Knowing that Cologne rarely told full blown lies, Ranma visibly
relaxed ...only to tense up again when he realized that something
important was missing. Something that had occurred so often in
the past that he'd started taking it for granted.
"Hey, old ghoul, how come you're not calling me 'son-in-law'
anymore?" Ranma asked apprehensively.
Cologne shrugged. "You're not my son-in-law, Ranma, so why
should I call you that?"
"What are you talking about?" asked Ranma, confused. "I though
you wanted me to marry Shampoo! I defeated her in combat, after
all! According to your whacked out laws, she's gotta marry me,
doesn't she?"
Sighing, Cologne replied, "Thanks to my great-grand-daughter's
spontaneous ways, that claim is now considered null and void."
Ranma couldn't believe his luck. "I don't have to marry her!?" he
exclaimed, but then he became suspicious, and demanded, "WHY
don't I have to marry her?"
Cologne took a deep breath. "You see, Ranma, magic is used by
Amazons only as a last resort. This is because the enchanted
objects available to our tribe are extremely unpredictable. The love
pills, for example. How could we be sure that the person would
look at the person we wanted them to? Incidents similar to what
has happened yesterday had occurred many times in the past, so we
were forced to create another law..."
Staring straight into his eyes, Cologne recited the law from
memory. "When an Amazon uses magic, it is her complete and
total responsibility to give the victim the antidote. If there is no
antidote, she must make the victim's life as comfortable as possible.
All concerns related to the issue become null and void. The
antidote may not be given if magic was used to stop extremely
dangerous people from causing harm to others, but the victim must
still be treated as highly as possible.
"Since Akane has never threatened humanity in general, at least not
purposefully, considering the girl's cooking skills, Shampoo is
honor-bound to either give her the antidote or see that she will be
happy for as long as possible. In this case, Shampoo must convince
you to marry Akane Tendo, and stay with her as long as she lives.
If she fails to carry out this task, she will be punished severely. She
may even be executed, since she has already failed to perform other
tasks."
Ranma bit his lip, and stared at the floor. 'Executed...?' "So," he
began, his voice a little shaky, "is there an antidote?" A sliver of
hope pierced his heart.
Cologne looked up at him a little strangely. "The love pills might as
well have been blessed by the powers that be. Other than their
effects, they are a complete mystery. Even their origin is unknown.
There is no cure."
Ranma slumped into a chair with a lost expression.
Confused, Cologne asked, "What is the matter, Ranma? Any fool
could see that you have some feelings for the girl. In fact, both
Shampoo and I considered her to be the largest obstacle preventing
your marriage to Shampoo. I thought you would be happy."
Ranma did a great job at looking helpless. "I-I...I...I just...I don't
know..."
It was at that moment that Cologne understood exactly what
Ranma was going through. Smiling her frog-like smile, she said,
"I'm sure that you'll sort this out in time, Ranma. Don't worry
about it. Shampoo will obey our laws, and you'll be able to take
care of loose ends. As for Miss Tendo...I want you to give her
this."
Ranma's eyes widened. "But what is this for? How could this
stupid thing possibly help me? Old ghoul?"
Chuckling, Cologne replied, "It's not a sure thing, since it has never
been tested. However, even if it doesn't work, it couldn't possibly
cause any harm. If it works, though, you'll have a chance to make
things right. How does that saying go? The one about poison?"
"POISON?!" Ranma exclaimed.
Rolling her eyes, Cologne replied, "I'm using it as a metaphor,
Ranma. I'm not going to poison anyone."
"Oh," Ranma said, feeling like a total idiot.
"No matter," Cologne said, waving it off. "But I'd like to ask you a
favor before you leave."
"What is it?" Ranma asked.
"This entire situation has broken Shampoo's heart. I don't want you
to hurt her any further by refusing to obey our law. Promise me,
Ranma. Promise me that you'll marry Akane voluntarily. If you do,
Shampoo will have no reason to stay here and be hurt any further.
We could go back to China immediately."
Ranma swallowed against his dry throat. "You have my word,
Cologne. So many things and people are depending on it...my
personal honor, my family's honor, Akane, and now Shampoo. I-I
was honor-bound to marry her even before now."
Cologne smiled at the pale, yet determined expression on Ranma's
face. "Well, I suppose this is goodbye, then. I never told you
before, Ranma, but I'm proud of you. Stop by the village
sometime. I'll see about finding you a cure to your curse."
Astonished, all Ranma could say was "Thank you."
"Pshaw," replied Cologne. "Go back to your fiancee. You have
some things to sort out with her."
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After his conversation with Cologne, Ranma went back to the cabin
to find that everyone had packed their belongings, and were waiting
for him.
Ranma yelped as Akane tackled him with an affectionate hug.
He remembered the time when he thought Akane would be cuter if
she was as affectionate as Shampoo. He had been right, but he
wished she would act that way on her own, not when a pill was
controlling her every move...
"Guess what, Ranma?!" she exclaimed from her position above him.
She smiled cutely.
Ranma felt his face start to burn in embarrassment. "I dunno,
what?" he asked, his voice a little higher than normal. He cleared
his throat to disguise his nervousness.
"You're not getting sick, are you, dear?" Akane asked in concern.
His face was pure crimson now. "Ah, no. What is it that you
wanted to tell me?" He could feel four pairs of eyes on him, and he
wanted to get up, but he didn't want to hurt Akane's feelings, either.
Akane's eyes sparkled. "We're going back to Nerima early so we
can get married! I'm so excited! I can't wait!"
Ranma's eyes widened. "Excuse me?!"
Startled, Akane asked, "You mean...you don't want to..." She
trailed off, tears coming to her eyes.
Panicking, Ranma blurted, "Ah...! Uh...! I didn't mean it that way,
Akane!!! I just don't think that...um...that we're ready for that sort
of thing right now! Yeah, that's it! We're just kids! We shouldn't
get married just yet! We have to...you know...do other stuff before
that!"
Akane blinked and wiped her eyes. "I guess...I guess that makes
sense. We have to tell our friends first, and I've always wanted a
big wedding, so we'll need more time to prepare. And then there's
our...physical relationship to think about..." She flushed a deep
crimson, perfectly matching Ranma's face.
It wasn't exactly what Ranma was thinking, but at least she agreed
with him about putting off the marriage for a little while. Promises
or no promises, Ranma just wasn't ready to settle down and tie the
knot. Yeah, he'd marry Akane...eventually...but first he had some
loose ends to take care of. Most of them were potentially
dangerous. One of them concerned his own feelings.
The couple stood up and headed toward their families. Luckily,
they hadn't heard a word of the previous conversation, so Ranma
and Akane were able to break their decision to them lightly.
Kasumi and Nabiki didn't have much of a problem with it, but their
fathers were a different story. It took Ranma nearly an hour to
convince them to give him some time to straighten things out.
They gave him a month.
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Ukyo Kounji looked up as someone stepped into her restaurant,
glad that she'd finally gotten a customer. It had been a slow day,
since most of her usual customers were on vacation.
Her eyes lit up at the sight of her fiancé. "Ran-chan!" she
exclaimed. "You're back from your vacation already?" She quickly
made him a heart-shaped okonomiyaki, and set it down in front of
him as he sat down at the grill.
"Thanks, Ukyo," Ranma said, unenthusiastically. He seemed to
look everywhere except her eyes.
'Why didn't he use my nickname?' Ukyo thought, worried.
"Ran-chan...?" she asked, hesitantly. "Is something wrong?"
"Some stuff happened at the beach, Ukyo," he replied.
Ukyo's heart beat a little faster when he failed to call her by her pet
name for a second time, but she waited patiently for him to venture
into the subject.
He sighed. "It's got me thinking. I've had to do a whole lot of soul
searching lately. It seems like my life is starting down that road to
eternal damnation, and I need to turn it around before I bring
everyone else with me."
Blinking in confusion, Ukyo asked, "Just what are you getting at,
sugar?"
"I used you, Ukyo," Ranma said, looking up at her with the
slightest hint of wetness in his eyes. "I'm supposed to be your best
friend, and I used you."
'Used me?' Ukyo pondered. 'Where did he come up with that idea?'
Amused, she replied, "Don't be silly, Ran-chan! You haven't used
me!"
"No, Ukyo, I did. I used you for free food. I used you to piss off
Akane. I used you." Before she could respond, he blurted out,
"Do you love me, Ukyo?"
Momentarily forgetting the pet name issue, Ukyo smiled and said,
"Yes! Yes, I do! I love you more than life itself!" A deep, rosy
hue came to her cheeks, but she was glad to have finally confessed
her feelings.
Ranma's shoulders slumped and his eyes went dull.
"Ran-chan?"
"She said the exact same thing," Ranma groaned. "The EXACT
same thing."
"WHAT?" Ukyo shouted, outraged. "WHO?"
"Akane," Ranma answered, baring a humorless grin.
"I was under the impression that she HATED you," Ukyo growled.
"That was before..." Ranma replied, trailing off.
"Before what?!" Ukyo demanded.
Ranma swallowed hard. "Before the love pill."
Ukyo blinked. "'Love pill'?" she repeated, more curious than angry
now.
"You know...the 'fall in love with the first person you see' crap.
Akane swallowed one, then looked at me." He decided to omit the
fact that he'd practically forced Akane to look his way, for fear that
she would look at someone else.
"So, you're looking for a cure?" Ukyo asked hopefully.
Ranma's eyes filled with pain. "Ukyo, I hope we can still be
friends..."
Ukyo was too shocked to register her shattered heart. The first
thought that occurred to her was 'I can't believe he just gave me the
"let's be friends" speech.'
However, the shock dissolved into anger soon enough.
Slamming her hands on the counter, Ukyo shouted, "You can't do
this to me! I wasted TEN YEARS of my life tracking you down!
Does that mean ANTHING to you?!"
Ranma tried to take her hand, but she recoiled from him as if he
were the plague. Biting his lip, Ranma replied, "It means a lot to
me, Ukyo, but you'll get over me someday. Yeah, you gave up ten
years for me, but I can't just let Akane give up the rest of her life!
You'll get over me, but Akane CAN'T. Do you understand,
Ukyo?" Ranma took a deep breath, and prepared for her answer.
An eternity seemed to pass by before Ukyo answered, in a
monotone voice, "Yes, I understand."
Ranma exhaled in relief. "I'm glad, Uk--"
Interrupting, Ukyo growled, "I don't know why you'd be glad,
Saotome, since there is currently one less place in town that'll
accept your freeloading ass inside. Get out of my restaurant, you
bastard."
Ranma's chest constricted in pain, almost as if his heart had been
torn in half. Without a word, he left Ucchan's Okonomiyaki for the
last time.
Ukyo glared after him until he was out of sight, then closed her
shop. Returning to her grill and seeing the untouched, heat-shaped
okonomiyaki topped with sauce in the form of Ran-chan & Ucchan,
a solitary whimper escaped her lips before she burst into tears.
The next morning, Ucchan's Okonomiyaki closed for eternity.
Ukyo was on the road again.
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"What's the matter, Ranma?" Akane asked, concerned. "You
haven't said much of anything since you came home yesterday..."
Sitting next to the Tendo's pond wasn't something that Ranma did
very often, for fear that he would fall in, but he didn't care much
anymore. He felt like a hollow shell of his former self.
He didn't want to talk about it, but he knew that his silence was
upsetting Akane. He didn't want Akane to be upset because of his
problems.
He didn't deserve her concern.
Ranma took a deep breath, and said, voice cracking, "I told Ukyo
everything. We broke off our engagement. I asked her if we could
still be friends. She declined. I went back to try again today, but
she was already gone. I just hope she's okay..."
He was startled when Akane wrapped her arms around him, but he
didn't pull away.
"You're just too kind for your own good, honey," Akane
whispered. "You try so hard to befriend all the people around you,
but you have to understand that it's impossible to be friends with
everyone."
"I know," Ranma replied, "but I thought Ukyo would be different.
We were friends for so long. I thought we could be friends forever.
It hurts to know that Ukyo wasn't interested in that."
She pulled away slightly and their eyes met. "But that's just the
way life is," Akane murmured.
Ranma didn't know what came over him, but his grief slowly faded
away and he felt the sudden urge to lean forward and take her lips.
His desire was probably reflected in his eyes, because Akane closed
her eyes and drifted closer.
All at once, Ranma forgot that she'd ever swallowed the love pill.
The only thing to register in his mind was how cute Akane looked
in that instant, and that he wanted to kiss her so bad...
"SAOTOME!"
Ranma's eyes snapped open before he even realized they were
closed. Acting purely on instinct, he scooped his fiancee into his
arms, and lept onto the porch.
Whipping around to face his opponent after putting Akane down,
Ranma was surprised to see that the rock he had been sitting on had
been reduced to rubble. By air pressure alone...
A pale-faced Akane croaked, "Kuno...?"
Standing in the middle of the Tendo's backyard, wielding a very real
katana blade, Tatewaki Kuno growled, "Saotome, today your evil
reign shall come to an end! Your spell over Akane Tendo and the
pig-tailed girl will stand no longer! Prepare to die!"
Usually, Kuno's wild accusations didn't faze Ranma in the least.
However, this time, they struck a little close to home. Clenching
his jaw, Ranma was about to retort, when...
A bout of insane laughter brought their attention to Kodachi,
standing atop the Tendo's outer wall. Her ribbon glinted in the sun
as she swirled it above her head, indicating that it was lined with
some sort of metal.
Satisfied that she had gotten their attention, Kodachi shouted,
"Ranma darling's so called 'spell' won't be a problem once those
harridans stop breathing!"
Kodachi gracefully jumped from the wall to land beside her brother.
In unison, they shouted, "How dare you attempt to steal the lips of
Akane Tendo/Ranma darling?! For that you shall pay dearly!" and
proceeded to rush them, yelling their battle cries and wielding their
weapons in such a way to ensure maximum injuries.
Immediately noticing the improvement in the siblings' speed, Ranma
realized that he was not going to leave this battle unharmed, and
judging by the psychotic glint in Kodachi's eyes, neither would
Akane. Seeing no other way to keep his fiancee safe, he wrapped
her tightly in his arms, and dove straight through the Kunos'
assault...and into the pond.
Never being good with water, Akane coughed and spluttered, but
eventually got her footing with Ranma's help. She leaned a little
too much onto Ranma's now female body, and was rewarded with a
sharp hiss of pain and a slight flinch.
"Ranma...?" Akane gasped. "Oh, my GOD!"
The red-headed girl had received three major wounds from her
effort to keep Akane safe from harm. A sword wound on her right
side, a clean slice from Kodachi's ribbon under her left eye, and it
seemed as if one of the pond's rocks had penetrated her right
shoulder, dislocating it in the process.
All three were bleeding profusely.
'But Akane is okay,' Ranma thought, fighting the pain. 'It doesn't
matter how much they hurt me, just as long as Akane is okay. I...I
owe it to her... It's all my fault...'
The Kuno siblings turned to attack again, and were surprised to see
that 'the pigtailed girl' had taken Ranma's place. In Tatewaki's
mind, he had finally defeated Saotome, and that his loves were free
at last. In Kodachi's mind, the wretched girl had spirited away her
darling Ranma, and now she would pay.
All according to Ranma's last second plan, Tatewaki dropped his
sword and rushed to glomp her. Using the kendoist's momentum,
Ranma used her good arm to launch him headfirst into the Tendo's
outer wall, where visions of Akanes and pigtailed girls danced in his
head.
Not batting an eyelash at her fallen brother, Kodachi lept at Ranma,
screaming, in rage, "You cannot have him, Peasant!!!"
Ranma tensed, ready to defend Akane at all costs, when...
Akane stepped in front of her, and spread her arms out in an
attempt to protect her fiancé. Kodachi's eyes gleamed in
anticipation of killing her beloved's betrothed. Surely Akane was a
better target than that filthy pigtailed girl, who had no ties with her
Ranma darling.
Ranma gasped in horror, knowing that she couldn't possibly stop
Kodachi in time. "AKANE!" she screamed.
But then Akane shouted, at the top of her lungs, "NO! PLEASE!
LEAVE HER ALONE! I LOVE HER!"
Kodachi skidded to a halt, her ribbon harmlessly floating to the
ground. "Pardon me?" she murmured, shocked.
Akane was shaking in fear, but she continued to hold her ground.
"Please...please don't hurt her...I-I couldn't live without her..."
Kodachi raised her hand to her face. "Akane Tendo...you...you're
a...lesbian?" She said that word with disgust evident in her voice,
and Ranma picked it up immediately. With it came another plan.
"Yes," Ranma said, trying to hold back a smirk, "Akane loves me,
not some dumb jock. Didn't you know that I was a lesbian,
Kodachi?"
This was a lesson that she'd learned from Nabiki: always tell the
truth, but only in parts. 'Some dumb jock' could be anyone on the
planet, Akane loved her, and Ranma didn't like guys even when she
was a girl, which made her a lesbian.
Akane turned to Ranma, and asked, quietly, "Are you going to be
all right, dear?"
Ranma gave her a reassuring smile. "Of course I'll be all right,
Akane. Dr. Tofu'll patch me up good. Look, I've almost stopped
bleeding already." She pointed to the cut on her face with her
working arm, which seemed to be scabbing over.
Kodachi's face was rapidly turning green, but the implications of
what they were saying came to her immediately. With Akane and
the pigtailed girl...a couple, Ranma was ripe for the picking! "Well,
then," Kodachi said, swallowing against the bile rising in her throat,
"I must be off."
On her way out, Kodachi remembered to bring her brother with
her, and told him of her discovery when he regained consciousness.
He remained in denial for almost a week, but when Nabiki showed
him some pictures of Akane and the pigtailed girl in various states
of intimacy, Kuno finally allowed the information to seep through
his thick skull. He spent the rest of his summer in Hawaii, where he
had no problem discovering another beautiful girl to fantasize
about. Surprisingly, the girl somewhat welcomed the attention, and
Kuno decided to remain in Hawaii permanently. (But, y'know, that's
another story...n_n)
Kodachi still showed up from time to time, looking for Ranma, but
never actually finding him. She no longer attacked Akane or the
pigtailed girl without warning. In fact, she seemed to go out of her
way to AVOID them.
And so, to Ranma's great relief, the Kuno's just weren't a problem
anymore.
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It was during Ranma's last week as a bachelor that Ryoga finally
found his way back to Nerima.
Kasumi had sent her soon-to-be brother-in-law out to buy various
things for the wedding, and he was currently on his way home.
Usually, Ranma would attempt to weasel his way out of it, but this
time he supposed that he might as well get used to it. Keeping
Akane happy was at the top of his priority list, and she would no
doubt ask him to run errands for her every once in a while. Picking
up groceries, for example.
Ever since she had swallowed the love pill, her cooking had
improved rapidly. Ranma supposed it had something to do with the
fact that she was a happier person, and was able to take
constructive criticism a lot better now that her temper was all but
gone. Before the love pill, she was always angry about one thing or
another, and most of the time she tried to 'improve the recipe' to
prove that she was actually a fantastic cook, which didn't work all
that well. Now that her frustrations were over with, all she needed
was a supervisor to make sure she didn't try to add
anything...special...to the recipe. Kasumi was happy enough to help
out her little sister, but as the days went by, Ranma found himself
taking over the role, even though Akane didn't really need to be
watched over anymore.
The thing was, Akane kept asking him to accompany her, and
Ranma just couldn't refuse, since she seemed to enjoy talking to him
while she cooked. And he would make her happy no matter what,
because...because...
Uh...because...
Well...just BECAUSE!
Ranma suddenly felt as if his heart was made of stone. It seemed to
fall into the pit of his stomach, and the sensation was so powerful
that he was nearly driven to his knees.
He had never been so depressed in his life.
And it was ALL HIS FAULT.
"Ranma."
Ranma's head jerked upwards, and only then did he realize that he
had sat down in an alley, putting down the shopping bags full of
flowers and confetti, and had pulled himself close, resting his
forehead on his knees.
Too late did he realize that tears were steadily winding their way
down his cheeks.
Seeing the person in front of him, Ranma's face flushed in
embarrassment, and he cursed underneath his breath. Of all people
who could catch him in his moment of weakness, it had to be HIM.
Turning his head away, Ranma growled, "What the hell do you
want, Ryoga? Come to kill me? You know what? Go right ahead,
and see if I care."
Ryoga didn't answer. Ranma heard him inhale, then exhale with an
angry growl. There was a slight rustling of cloth as Ryoga
crouched down before he felt the raw pain of a backhand across the
face. Ranma's head snapped to the side, and he bit his tongue to
keep from shouting out.
"SAOTOME! I'VE NEVER HEARD SUCH A SELFISH THING
IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! WHAT ABOUT AKANE, YOU
BASTARD?! AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A MAN?!" Ryoga
shouted at the top of his lungs.
"So, you heard," Ranma croaked, tentatively touching his already
bruising cheek.
"Damn right I did!" Ryoga growled. "By pure chance, I happened
to cross paths with Nabiki. She told me what happened on the
beach!"
'For a price,' Ranma thought, morbidly. "So, what are you going to
do? Kill me and put Akane out of her misery? That would
probably be the nicest thing to do."
Ryoga backhanded him again, this time across the opposite cheek.
"IDIOT!" he shouted. "I WOULD kill you for this, but I CAN'T!!!
Don't you see?! I LOVE AKANE!!! All I want is for her to be
happy! And now she can't be happy unless she has YOU! Do you
understand, Ranma?! Because, if you don't, by God, I will beat you
into a living pulp, and Akane can spend the rest of her life taking
care of a mentally handicapped person that can't help but LOVE
HER BACK!"
Nursing his other cheek, Ranma mumbled, "Of course I understand.
It's only the same damn thing that everyone has been telling me for
weeks."
Ryoga took a deep breath, and hauled Ranma to his feet. "You
WILL make her happy, Saotome. You WILL, because I WILL
carry out that threat if I ever hear of you mistreating her!"
"I wouldn't dream of it," Ranma grumbled.
"Good," Ryoga said, shoving him into the alley's wall, "because I
wouldn't want to have to tell everyone that I saw the 'great Ranma
Saotome' crying like a baby!"
"SCREW YOU, RYOGA!!!" Ranma shouted, but the lost boy just
smirked, turned, and walked away.
Ranma was left standing there with a fist that ached to pound
someone's face in.
"Damn it," he whispered, when Ryoga was gone. Everyone seemed
to be closing in on him. Marry Akane, they said. Make Akane
happy. Keep Akane happy for the rest of her life.
He didn't have a choice anymore.
Even his own honor was against him.
And it was ALL HIS FAULT.
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Ranma picked up his shopping bags
and continued home with a stony face.
Akane greeted him at the door with a happy smile and a big hug.
"Welcome home, Ranma!"
Ranma roughly pushed her away, and dropped the shopping bag in
her arms, grumbling, "Just leave me alone, Akane."
Akane's eyes opened wide, and she whispered, "R-Ranma...?" but
he was already walking away. A moment later, a door slammed
closed.
Two people in the Tendo household didn't get any sleep that night.
================================================
=============================
Ranma stood in front of Akane's door, trying to work up the nerve
to go inside. He owed her an apology as well as an explanation.
After all, they were getting married today. It probably wouldn't by
a good idea to tie the knot while there was still a bit of bad blood
between them.
Clenching his jaw, Ranma threw caution to the wind, and knocked.
"C-come in," a voice whispered from the other side.
'Is she crying...?' Ranma thought, painfully. He took a deep breath,
and opened the door.
Akane was dressed in her wedding gown, looking out her window,
probably attempting to fool her visitor into believing that she was
just fine, but Ranma knew her too well to fall for the ploy. Akane
didn't like others to worry about her, so she hid her feelings from
the people around her, preferring to cry alone.
It was one thing that the pill hadn't changed.
She was beautiful, too. The dress fit her form perfectly, accented
her feminine curves. The curves that he'd always tried to ignore,
but never totally succeeded.
Her shoulders were shaking with barely controlled sobs. Ranma
gulped. Crying girls were always one of his biggest weaknesses.
He still didn't actually know how to make her stop, but now he
knew what NOT to do.
'Now is not the time to stutter an apology from a couple meters
away,' Ranma decided. Taking a few long, deep breaths, he slowly,
but surely, stepped forward to take Akane in his arms.
Startled, Akane gasped, "R-R-Ranma?!" After a few seconds, she
started to relax, but then she felt his hand move toward her face,
and she tried to squirm out of his embrace.
Instead of letting her go free, Ranma grabbed her arm, and pulled
her around so he could see her face. He wasn't surprised to see the
narrow trails of tears winding down her cheeks. Akane closed her
eyes, and turned her face to the side, as if she was expecting him to
shout at her.
Ranma bit his lip at the sight. Didn't she know that he would never
intentionally hurt her? Especially not now, when she wouldn't even
bother to defend herself from verbal attacks.
Tentatively, he reached out with his other hand, and gently wiped
her tears away. Akane inhaled sharply and opened her eyes wide,
as if she didn't expect him to actually do such a caring thing.
Ranma frowned slightly. Did she really think he was that bad?
He'd have to show her that he could actually be a kind person.
Being thought of as a jerk by his....wife....really wasn't on his
priority list.
"I'm sorry," he blurted out. "Honest to God, I'm SO sorry for how
bad I've treated you this past week...this past month...hell, for as
long as I've known you! I was a jerk...I was scared...I was...I was
just trying to live my life the way _I_ wanted, not they way
everyone else did, and I ended up doing the exact OPPOSITE of
what I wanted all along! But...but now, I want to try to make up
for it, Akane!"
Amazed by the soulful look in Ranma's eyes, all Akane could do
was breathe and stare.
"I love you," Ranma whispered. "I love you so much it hurts. It
hurts so bad when I think of how many times I've made you cry. I
feel so low, I just want to crawl under a rock and die."
Tears came to Akane's eyes.
"I've been so selfish," Ranma continued. "I don't think I've ever
considered your feelings when I went to do something. I never let
any guys come close to you, because I was scared that you'd fall in
love with them, and leave me. Last month, when you swallowed
that love pill...I've never been so scared in my life. It would have
been so easy to lose you forever. I-I just couldn't take it. I...forced
you to fall in love with me. There's no excuse for that. You should
have been able to choose. I've been such a jerk because I wasn't
able to make my own decisions, then I go ahead and make YOUR
decision for you, and then I have the NERVE to be a jerk again,
because I didn't have a choice anymore!"
Seeing Akane take a step forward, Ranma backed away, and said,
"No, don't! It shouldn't be so easy! Akane, please don't forgive me
just because I've apologized! It's not supposed to be so easy!
You're...you're supposed to hit me and call me an idiot, then think
about it while I recover, and then MAYBE forgive me, Akane!"
Akane stopped in her tracks. She wiped her watering eyes, and
said, "But, Ranma...I can't...I can't hit you and insult you on our
wedding day! I forgive you!"
Ranma took a deep breath, and removed an object from his pocket.
"Swallow this, and say that again, Akane."
She didn't ask any questions. She recognized the object, and didn't
entirely understand, but she didn't ask, she just obeyed.
And Akane swallowed the day pill.
Poison counteracts poison, after all.
Ranma braced himself, expecting a beating, a string of insults, or
whatever a pissed off Akane would do when she found out that he'd
totally taken advantage of her.
She nearly knocked the wind out of him when she smiled and
hugged him.
"B-but..." Ranma stuttered, "...aren't you...mad?"
"Stupid idiot," she whispered in a soft voice. "I've never been so
happy in my entire life. I forgive you."
Ranma was absolutely sure that this was the before-love pill Akane.
The new one had never called him a 'stupid idiot' before. It didn't
stop him from being confused, though.
"You're supposed to be mad? Why aren't you mad? I forced you
to fall in love with me?" he asked, all questions.
"Idiot," Akane replied, fondly, "you didn't MAKE me fall in love
with you. I already WAS."
Ranma's eyes widened. "Y-you loved me...before...?"
Akane nodded against his chest. "For a long time now, actually. I
think I first realized it when we were fighting the Golden Pair."
"Way back then?!"
Akane nodded again. "The love pill was sort of a miracle, actually.
My temper just...vanished. I can cook almost as good as Kasumi.
All my stress just...disappeared. I've never felt so much at peace.
I've become the person I've always dreamed of becoming, Ranma."
"R-really?" Ranma asked. "You're happy that way?"
Akane smiled a little. "Well, I've gotten out of practice in martial
arts. You know that I've always wanted to be one of the best. But
under the influence of the love pill, I was focusing on your
happiness. Of course, you'd be happy to teach me, wouldn't you,
Ranma?"
Ranma smiled, too. "Yeah, maybe you'd forgotten all your bad
habits, then. I could train you the RIGHT way, now!" he teased.
"Ranma you jerk!" Akane exclaimed, pulling out of his embrace,
and shoving him away, playfully.
Ranma laughed...and nearly swallowed his tongue when he tripped
over her CD player.
Akane gasped, and moved to help break his fall...only to trip over
the same fateful CD player, sending her straight after him. She
threw her hands forward to break her fall.
Ranma safely landed against the side of Akane's bed. Seeing his
fiancee tumbling after him, instinct took over, and his hands went
up...
All at once the room was silent.
Akane's hands rested on Ranma's shoulders, preventing her from
falling on him completely.
Ranma's hands rested on Akane's cheekbones, just barely
preventing their foreheads from touching.
And both of them suddenly felt that irresistible urge to pull the
other closer, sealing the promise of a new life, when...
A knock on the door shook them from their trance, and they heard
Kasumi say, "Akane? The wedding will begin in a few minutes.
Daddy and Mr. Saotome just have to find Ranma. He seems to
have disappeared, but they'll find him soon!"
"O-okay, Kasumi," Akane replied, trying not to start laughing.
Ranma was having a hard time controlling his mirth, too. When he
was sure Kasumi was gone, he whispered, "Isn't it funny how we're
always interrupted when we're about to kiss for REAL?"
Akane giggled. "Kasumi was a little late this time. I mean, on a
normal day, you wouldn't have been able to get CLOSE to saying 'I
love you'!"
Ranma smiled. "Maybe it's a sign. Instead of waiting for the right
time, we're going to have to MAKE the time to do things like this."
"Yeah," Akane said, softly, as Ranma pulled her down to meet her
lips in their first real kiss. All the others were imperfect, and most
incomplete. This time there was no magic, no tape, no temporary
insanity, and both parties were contributing.
When they broke apart a couple minutes later, Ranma whispered,
"I'm looking forward to a lifetime of those kisses, Akane."
Smiling, Akane replied, "Me, too, Ranma. Me, too."
And so, in the span of a day that was Akane's freedom from the
love pill, Ranma and Akane shared their first kiss, they were
married, they danced, and they stayed up late doing Lord knows
what. Consciences cleared and feelings revealed...they lived happily
ever after.
Author's Notes:
1. Ahhhh....finally DONE! You wouldn't believe how much time I
spent working on this little monster...grumble grumble
2. A nice mixture of sap, angst, and a smidgen of humor, if I may
say so myself. n_n I'm so proud of my ficcie!
3. (looks up at AN#1&2) I must have a split personality, or
something...(sweatdrop)
4. Eh....I hope I didn't screw up anywhere. I'm just too tired to check
it out right now. Please tell me what you think. If you _really_ hated
it,though, tell me, so I can fix it. n_n (Too bad if you didn't like the
pairing, though...buahahahahaha...)
by
Nin Tendo
~ Disclaimer ~ Just you wait! I'll own Ranma 1/2 someday...n_n
Important Note: This takes place in the love pill story arc. I'm sure
that you'll be able to guess what happened here. n_n However, in
case you've haven't watched/read the love pill story arc yet, I'll
explain here. There is a bracelet with three love pills embedded in
it. The instant pill, the day pill, and the lifetime pill. After
swallowing one, you would fall in love with the first person you see
of the opposite sex for an instant, a day, or a lifetime (depends on
which one you swallow). Ranma swallowed the instant pill, and fell
in love with Cologne (hehe). Akane swallowed the lifetime pill,
blindfolded herself, and walked off, thinking it was the day pill she'd
swallowed. In the canon, she coughed it up after nearly drowning.
Ranma didn't know that, and forced her to look at him before she
looked at someone else (namely, Happosai). Of course, Ranma
doesn't get off so easily here...
Note#2: I believe that the love pills affect a person's personality. (If
it didn't, Ranma would've twiddled his fingers, stuttered, and
blushed instead of spouting an intelligent poetic statement before
attempting to elope with Cologne.) It is because of this that Akane
seems so out of character. Forgive me for abolishing Akane's
tomboyish nature....-_- I already feel horrible about it, so don't rub
salt into my wounds... :p
================================================
=============================
Gathered on the beach were an odd handful of people. A withered
old man buried in the sand, a beautiful Chinese Amazon standing
beside a white horse, and a small black piglet named P-chan, who
really wasn't a pig at all.
All eyes were on the two people before them.
Ranma Saotome was one. He was holding an empty kettle, his face
a little flushed, but he still held the other's gaze intently.
Akane Tendo stared back, her eyes wide and full of wonder.
All was silent...but then the horse snorted, bringing everyone out of
their shock.
"Uh...have you...fallen for me...?" Ranma asked, managing to be
abrupt and hesitant at the same time.
"Oh, Ranma!" Akane whispered, quiet and breathless. She leaned
forward and captured his lips in a sweet, chaste kiss. A moment
later, she pulled away slightly to whisper "I love you" into his ear
before pressing her face into his neck with a contented sigh.
Ranma stared off into space, shaking slightly, taking long, deep
breaths to calm himself.
"No," Shampoo whispered, tears beginning to flow from her eyes.
She turned and fled, only pausing to kick the dirty old man into the
Pacific when he tried to grope her.
P-chan launched himself toward Ranma, intent to kill. Ranma
absently punted him into the stratosphere with his right hand.
Bored, the horse trotted off.
Ranma continued to stare into the distance, his gaze slowly
becoming more troubled as the moments passed by.
================================================
=============================
Hesitant to have their families find out what had happened, Ranma
put off going back to the cabin they'd rented for as long as he
could. Akane didn't argue in the least bit, which was predictable,
considering her current state of mind. Not even his female form
discouraged her. She had fallen in love with the male Ranma, but
when he was female, she still thought of 'him' as a man, and didn't
bat an eye when the general public stared at the two 'lesbians'.
Ranma had thought that the love pill wouldn't be effective when he
was a girl, but it seemed that he was wrong. Maybe it had
something to do with his ki, or perhaps it was the pill itself that
caused it to happen.
Akane hadn't gone past small, closed-mouth kisses, so Ranma
wasn't very worried about being alone with her. Well...that
fluttering sensation in the pit of his stomach didn't count as
worrying, did it? She was currently sitting in his lap, staring at the
sunset. She seemed to be content.
Ranma anxiously wondered what he was going to do. With Akane
proclaiming her 'undying affection' 24/7, everyone was bound to
find out sooner or later. When that happened, there would be a
large amount of broken hearts to deal with, most of them resorting
to violence. He would be able to take it, but would Akane? He
had to think of something, and FAST.
It was after dark when he realized that Akane had fallen asleep.
Slowly standing and picking her up, he noticed a smile of complete
happiness on her face.
Ranma's heart ached.
The walk back to the cabin wasn't a very long one, but Ranma took
his time, hoping to give their families more time to fall asleep.
Seeing the lights off, Ranma breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up
the pace, quietly stepped onto the porch, and silently opened the
door.
He was greeted by the flash of a camera, a cry of "SURPRISE!",
and Akane stirring awake.
'Well, that's one plan down the drain,' Ranma thought, as a sleepy
Akane answered all questions in great detail.
================================================
=============================
"Hey, old ghoul! I want a word with you!" Ranma shouted,
stomping into the temporary beach-side Cat Cafe. The small
amount of customers made themselves scarce.
"Ranma," Colonge acknowledged, hoping over to him. "I've been
expecting you."
Ranma found it hard to believe that he'd actually tried to elope with
the old crone, even if he was under the influence of the love pill.
Fighting the urge to shudder, he asked, "You've 'been expecting'
me?"
Cologne nodded. "Shampoo told me everything. It's an interesting
development to say the least."
Ranma tensed, waiting for her to attack. Experience had taught
him that she liked to surprise people during dialogue. If she was
going to try something, she would do it now, and Ranma sure
wasn't about to let himself be caught by the cat tongue technique
again.
Cologne cackled in amusement. "I'm not about to pick a fight with
you, Ranma."
Knowing that Cologne rarely told full blown lies, Ranma visibly
relaxed ...only to tense up again when he realized that something
important was missing. Something that had occurred so often in
the past that he'd started taking it for granted.
"Hey, old ghoul, how come you're not calling me 'son-in-law'
anymore?" Ranma asked apprehensively.
Cologne shrugged. "You're not my son-in-law, Ranma, so why
should I call you that?"
"What are you talking about?" asked Ranma, confused. "I though
you wanted me to marry Shampoo! I defeated her in combat, after
all! According to your whacked out laws, she's gotta marry me,
doesn't she?"
Sighing, Cologne replied, "Thanks to my great-grand-daughter's
spontaneous ways, that claim is now considered null and void."
Ranma couldn't believe his luck. "I don't have to marry her!?" he
exclaimed, but then he became suspicious, and demanded, "WHY
don't I have to marry her?"
Cologne took a deep breath. "You see, Ranma, magic is used by
Amazons only as a last resort. This is because the enchanted
objects available to our tribe are extremely unpredictable. The love
pills, for example. How could we be sure that the person would
look at the person we wanted them to? Incidents similar to what
has happened yesterday had occurred many times in the past, so we
were forced to create another law..."
Staring straight into his eyes, Cologne recited the law from
memory. "When an Amazon uses magic, it is her complete and
total responsibility to give the victim the antidote. If there is no
antidote, she must make the victim's life as comfortable as possible.
All concerns related to the issue become null and void. The
antidote may not be given if magic was used to stop extremely
dangerous people from causing harm to others, but the victim must
still be treated as highly as possible.
"Since Akane has never threatened humanity in general, at least not
purposefully, considering the girl's cooking skills, Shampoo is
honor-bound to either give her the antidote or see that she will be
happy for as long as possible. In this case, Shampoo must convince
you to marry Akane Tendo, and stay with her as long as she lives.
If she fails to carry out this task, she will be punished severely. She
may even be executed, since she has already failed to perform other
tasks."
Ranma bit his lip, and stared at the floor. 'Executed...?' "So," he
began, his voice a little shaky, "is there an antidote?" A sliver of
hope pierced his heart.
Cologne looked up at him a little strangely. "The love pills might as
well have been blessed by the powers that be. Other than their
effects, they are a complete mystery. Even their origin is unknown.
There is no cure."
Ranma slumped into a chair with a lost expression.
Confused, Cologne asked, "What is the matter, Ranma? Any fool
could see that you have some feelings for the girl. In fact, both
Shampoo and I considered her to be the largest obstacle preventing
your marriage to Shampoo. I thought you would be happy."
Ranma did a great job at looking helpless. "I-I...I...I just...I don't
know..."
It was at that moment that Cologne understood exactly what
Ranma was going through. Smiling her frog-like smile, she said,
"I'm sure that you'll sort this out in time, Ranma. Don't worry
about it. Shampoo will obey our laws, and you'll be able to take
care of loose ends. As for Miss Tendo...I want you to give her
this."
Ranma's eyes widened. "But what is this for? How could this
stupid thing possibly help me? Old ghoul?"
Chuckling, Cologne replied, "It's not a sure thing, since it has never
been tested. However, even if it doesn't work, it couldn't possibly
cause any harm. If it works, though, you'll have a chance to make
things right. How does that saying go? The one about poison?"
"POISON?!" Ranma exclaimed.
Rolling her eyes, Cologne replied, "I'm using it as a metaphor,
Ranma. I'm not going to poison anyone."
"Oh," Ranma said, feeling like a total idiot.
"No matter," Cologne said, waving it off. "But I'd like to ask you a
favor before you leave."
"What is it?" Ranma asked.
"This entire situation has broken Shampoo's heart. I don't want you
to hurt her any further by refusing to obey our law. Promise me,
Ranma. Promise me that you'll marry Akane voluntarily. If you do,
Shampoo will have no reason to stay here and be hurt any further.
We could go back to China immediately."
Ranma swallowed against his dry throat. "You have my word,
Cologne. So many things and people are depending on it...my
personal honor, my family's honor, Akane, and now Shampoo. I-I
was honor-bound to marry her even before now."
Cologne smiled at the pale, yet determined expression on Ranma's
face. "Well, I suppose this is goodbye, then. I never told you
before, Ranma, but I'm proud of you. Stop by the village
sometime. I'll see about finding you a cure to your curse."
Astonished, all Ranma could say was "Thank you."
"Pshaw," replied Cologne. "Go back to your fiancee. You have
some things to sort out with her."
================================================
=============================
After his conversation with Cologne, Ranma went back to the cabin
to find that everyone had packed their belongings, and were waiting
for him.
Ranma yelped as Akane tackled him with an affectionate hug.
He remembered the time when he thought Akane would be cuter if
she was as affectionate as Shampoo. He had been right, but he
wished she would act that way on her own, not when a pill was
controlling her every move...
"Guess what, Ranma?!" she exclaimed from her position above him.
She smiled cutely.
Ranma felt his face start to burn in embarrassment. "I dunno,
what?" he asked, his voice a little higher than normal. He cleared
his throat to disguise his nervousness.
"You're not getting sick, are you, dear?" Akane asked in concern.
His face was pure crimson now. "Ah, no. What is it that you
wanted to tell me?" He could feel four pairs of eyes on him, and he
wanted to get up, but he didn't want to hurt Akane's feelings, either.
Akane's eyes sparkled. "We're going back to Nerima early so we
can get married! I'm so excited! I can't wait!"
Ranma's eyes widened. "Excuse me?!"
Startled, Akane asked, "You mean...you don't want to..." She
trailed off, tears coming to her eyes.
Panicking, Ranma blurted, "Ah...! Uh...! I didn't mean it that way,
Akane!!! I just don't think that...um...that we're ready for that sort
of thing right now! Yeah, that's it! We're just kids! We shouldn't
get married just yet! We have to...you know...do other stuff before
that!"
Akane blinked and wiped her eyes. "I guess...I guess that makes
sense. We have to tell our friends first, and I've always wanted a
big wedding, so we'll need more time to prepare. And then there's
our...physical relationship to think about..." She flushed a deep
crimson, perfectly matching Ranma's face.
It wasn't exactly what Ranma was thinking, but at least she agreed
with him about putting off the marriage for a little while. Promises
or no promises, Ranma just wasn't ready to settle down and tie the
knot. Yeah, he'd marry Akane...eventually...but first he had some
loose ends to take care of. Most of them were potentially
dangerous. One of them concerned his own feelings.
The couple stood up and headed toward their families. Luckily,
they hadn't heard a word of the previous conversation, so Ranma
and Akane were able to break their decision to them lightly.
Kasumi and Nabiki didn't have much of a problem with it, but their
fathers were a different story. It took Ranma nearly an hour to
convince them to give him some time to straighten things out.
They gave him a month.
================================================
=============================
Ukyo Kounji looked up as someone stepped into her restaurant,
glad that she'd finally gotten a customer. It had been a slow day,
since most of her usual customers were on vacation.
Her eyes lit up at the sight of her fiancé. "Ran-chan!" she
exclaimed. "You're back from your vacation already?" She quickly
made him a heart-shaped okonomiyaki, and set it down in front of
him as he sat down at the grill.
"Thanks, Ukyo," Ranma said, unenthusiastically. He seemed to
look everywhere except her eyes.
'Why didn't he use my nickname?' Ukyo thought, worried.
"Ran-chan...?" she asked, hesitantly. "Is something wrong?"
"Some stuff happened at the beach, Ukyo," he replied.
Ukyo's heart beat a little faster when he failed to call her by her pet
name for a second time, but she waited patiently for him to venture
into the subject.
He sighed. "It's got me thinking. I've had to do a whole lot of soul
searching lately. It seems like my life is starting down that road to
eternal damnation, and I need to turn it around before I bring
everyone else with me."
Blinking in confusion, Ukyo asked, "Just what are you getting at,
sugar?"
"I used you, Ukyo," Ranma said, looking up at her with the
slightest hint of wetness in his eyes. "I'm supposed to be your best
friend, and I used you."
'Used me?' Ukyo pondered. 'Where did he come up with that idea?'
Amused, she replied, "Don't be silly, Ran-chan! You haven't used
me!"
"No, Ukyo, I did. I used you for free food. I used you to piss off
Akane. I used you." Before she could respond, he blurted out,
"Do you love me, Ukyo?"
Momentarily forgetting the pet name issue, Ukyo smiled and said,
"Yes! Yes, I do! I love you more than life itself!" A deep, rosy
hue came to her cheeks, but she was glad to have finally confessed
her feelings.
Ranma's shoulders slumped and his eyes went dull.
"Ran-chan?"
"She said the exact same thing," Ranma groaned. "The EXACT
same thing."
"WHAT?" Ukyo shouted, outraged. "WHO?"
"Akane," Ranma answered, baring a humorless grin.
"I was under the impression that she HATED you," Ukyo growled.
"That was before..." Ranma replied, trailing off.
"Before what?!" Ukyo demanded.
Ranma swallowed hard. "Before the love pill."
Ukyo blinked. "'Love pill'?" she repeated, more curious than angry
now.
"You know...the 'fall in love with the first person you see' crap.
Akane swallowed one, then looked at me." He decided to omit the
fact that he'd practically forced Akane to look his way, for fear that
she would look at someone else.
"So, you're looking for a cure?" Ukyo asked hopefully.
Ranma's eyes filled with pain. "Ukyo, I hope we can still be
friends..."
Ukyo was too shocked to register her shattered heart. The first
thought that occurred to her was 'I can't believe he just gave me the
"let's be friends" speech.'
However, the shock dissolved into anger soon enough.
Slamming her hands on the counter, Ukyo shouted, "You can't do
this to me! I wasted TEN YEARS of my life tracking you down!
Does that mean ANTHING to you?!"
Ranma tried to take her hand, but she recoiled from him as if he
were the plague. Biting his lip, Ranma replied, "It means a lot to
me, Ukyo, but you'll get over me someday. Yeah, you gave up ten
years for me, but I can't just let Akane give up the rest of her life!
You'll get over me, but Akane CAN'T. Do you understand,
Ukyo?" Ranma took a deep breath, and prepared for her answer.
An eternity seemed to pass by before Ukyo answered, in a
monotone voice, "Yes, I understand."
Ranma exhaled in relief. "I'm glad, Uk--"
Interrupting, Ukyo growled, "I don't know why you'd be glad,
Saotome, since there is currently one less place in town that'll
accept your freeloading ass inside. Get out of my restaurant, you
bastard."
Ranma's chest constricted in pain, almost as if his heart had been
torn in half. Without a word, he left Ucchan's Okonomiyaki for the
last time.
Ukyo glared after him until he was out of sight, then closed her
shop. Returning to her grill and seeing the untouched, heat-shaped
okonomiyaki topped with sauce in the form of Ran-chan & Ucchan,
a solitary whimper escaped her lips before she burst into tears.
The next morning, Ucchan's Okonomiyaki closed for eternity.
Ukyo was on the road again.
================================================
=============================
"What's the matter, Ranma?" Akane asked, concerned. "You
haven't said much of anything since you came home yesterday..."
Sitting next to the Tendo's pond wasn't something that Ranma did
very often, for fear that he would fall in, but he didn't care much
anymore. He felt like a hollow shell of his former self.
He didn't want to talk about it, but he knew that his silence was
upsetting Akane. He didn't want Akane to be upset because of his
problems.
He didn't deserve her concern.
Ranma took a deep breath, and said, voice cracking, "I told Ukyo
everything. We broke off our engagement. I asked her if we could
still be friends. She declined. I went back to try again today, but
she was already gone. I just hope she's okay..."
He was startled when Akane wrapped her arms around him, but he
didn't pull away.
"You're just too kind for your own good, honey," Akane
whispered. "You try so hard to befriend all the people around you,
but you have to understand that it's impossible to be friends with
everyone."
"I know," Ranma replied, "but I thought Ukyo would be different.
We were friends for so long. I thought we could be friends forever.
It hurts to know that Ukyo wasn't interested in that."
She pulled away slightly and their eyes met. "But that's just the
way life is," Akane murmured.
Ranma didn't know what came over him, but his grief slowly faded
away and he felt the sudden urge to lean forward and take her lips.
His desire was probably reflected in his eyes, because Akane closed
her eyes and drifted closer.
All at once, Ranma forgot that she'd ever swallowed the love pill.
The only thing to register in his mind was how cute Akane looked
in that instant, and that he wanted to kiss her so bad...
"SAOTOME!"
Ranma's eyes snapped open before he even realized they were
closed. Acting purely on instinct, he scooped his fiancee into his
arms, and lept onto the porch.
Whipping around to face his opponent after putting Akane down,
Ranma was surprised to see that the rock he had been sitting on had
been reduced to rubble. By air pressure alone...
A pale-faced Akane croaked, "Kuno...?"
Standing in the middle of the Tendo's backyard, wielding a very real
katana blade, Tatewaki Kuno growled, "Saotome, today your evil
reign shall come to an end! Your spell over Akane Tendo and the
pig-tailed girl will stand no longer! Prepare to die!"
Usually, Kuno's wild accusations didn't faze Ranma in the least.
However, this time, they struck a little close to home. Clenching
his jaw, Ranma was about to retort, when...
A bout of insane laughter brought their attention to Kodachi,
standing atop the Tendo's outer wall. Her ribbon glinted in the sun
as she swirled it above her head, indicating that it was lined with
some sort of metal.
Satisfied that she had gotten their attention, Kodachi shouted,
"Ranma darling's so called 'spell' won't be a problem once those
harridans stop breathing!"
Kodachi gracefully jumped from the wall to land beside her brother.
In unison, they shouted, "How dare you attempt to steal the lips of
Akane Tendo/Ranma darling?! For that you shall pay dearly!" and
proceeded to rush them, yelling their battle cries and wielding their
weapons in such a way to ensure maximum injuries.
Immediately noticing the improvement in the siblings' speed, Ranma
realized that he was not going to leave this battle unharmed, and
judging by the psychotic glint in Kodachi's eyes, neither would
Akane. Seeing no other way to keep his fiancee safe, he wrapped
her tightly in his arms, and dove straight through the Kunos'
assault...and into the pond.
Never being good with water, Akane coughed and spluttered, but
eventually got her footing with Ranma's help. She leaned a little
too much onto Ranma's now female body, and was rewarded with a
sharp hiss of pain and a slight flinch.
"Ranma...?" Akane gasped. "Oh, my GOD!"
The red-headed girl had received three major wounds from her
effort to keep Akane safe from harm. A sword wound on her right
side, a clean slice from Kodachi's ribbon under her left eye, and it
seemed as if one of the pond's rocks had penetrated her right
shoulder, dislocating it in the process.
All three were bleeding profusely.
'But Akane is okay,' Ranma thought, fighting the pain. 'It doesn't
matter how much they hurt me, just as long as Akane is okay. I...I
owe it to her... It's all my fault...'
The Kuno siblings turned to attack again, and were surprised to see
that 'the pigtailed girl' had taken Ranma's place. In Tatewaki's
mind, he had finally defeated Saotome, and that his loves were free
at last. In Kodachi's mind, the wretched girl had spirited away her
darling Ranma, and now she would pay.
All according to Ranma's last second plan, Tatewaki dropped his
sword and rushed to glomp her. Using the kendoist's momentum,
Ranma used her good arm to launch him headfirst into the Tendo's
outer wall, where visions of Akanes and pigtailed girls danced in his
head.
Not batting an eyelash at her fallen brother, Kodachi lept at Ranma,
screaming, in rage, "You cannot have him, Peasant!!!"
Ranma tensed, ready to defend Akane at all costs, when...
Akane stepped in front of her, and spread her arms out in an
attempt to protect her fiancé. Kodachi's eyes gleamed in
anticipation of killing her beloved's betrothed. Surely Akane was a
better target than that filthy pigtailed girl, who had no ties with her
Ranma darling.
Ranma gasped in horror, knowing that she couldn't possibly stop
Kodachi in time. "AKANE!" she screamed.
But then Akane shouted, at the top of her lungs, "NO! PLEASE!
LEAVE HER ALONE! I LOVE HER!"
Kodachi skidded to a halt, her ribbon harmlessly floating to the
ground. "Pardon me?" she murmured, shocked.
Akane was shaking in fear, but she continued to hold her ground.
"Please...please don't hurt her...I-I couldn't live without her..."
Kodachi raised her hand to her face. "Akane Tendo...you...you're
a...lesbian?" She said that word with disgust evident in her voice,
and Ranma picked it up immediately. With it came another plan.
"Yes," Ranma said, trying to hold back a smirk, "Akane loves me,
not some dumb jock. Didn't you know that I was a lesbian,
Kodachi?"
This was a lesson that she'd learned from Nabiki: always tell the
truth, but only in parts. 'Some dumb jock' could be anyone on the
planet, Akane loved her, and Ranma didn't like guys even when she
was a girl, which made her a lesbian.
Akane turned to Ranma, and asked, quietly, "Are you going to be
all right, dear?"
Ranma gave her a reassuring smile. "Of course I'll be all right,
Akane. Dr. Tofu'll patch me up good. Look, I've almost stopped
bleeding already." She pointed to the cut on her face with her
working arm, which seemed to be scabbing over.
Kodachi's face was rapidly turning green, but the implications of
what they were saying came to her immediately. With Akane and
the pigtailed girl...a couple, Ranma was ripe for the picking! "Well,
then," Kodachi said, swallowing against the bile rising in her throat,
"I must be off."
On her way out, Kodachi remembered to bring her brother with
her, and told him of her discovery when he regained consciousness.
He remained in denial for almost a week, but when Nabiki showed
him some pictures of Akane and the pigtailed girl in various states
of intimacy, Kuno finally allowed the information to seep through
his thick skull. He spent the rest of his summer in Hawaii, where he
had no problem discovering another beautiful girl to fantasize
about. Surprisingly, the girl somewhat welcomed the attention, and
Kuno decided to remain in Hawaii permanently. (But, y'know, that's
another story...n_n)
Kodachi still showed up from time to time, looking for Ranma, but
never actually finding him. She no longer attacked Akane or the
pigtailed girl without warning. In fact, she seemed to go out of her
way to AVOID them.
And so, to Ranma's great relief, the Kuno's just weren't a problem
anymore.
================================================
=============================
It was during Ranma's last week as a bachelor that Ryoga finally
found his way back to Nerima.
Kasumi had sent her soon-to-be brother-in-law out to buy various
things for the wedding, and he was currently on his way home.
Usually, Ranma would attempt to weasel his way out of it, but this
time he supposed that he might as well get used to it. Keeping
Akane happy was at the top of his priority list, and she would no
doubt ask him to run errands for her every once in a while. Picking
up groceries, for example.
Ever since she had swallowed the love pill, her cooking had
improved rapidly. Ranma supposed it had something to do with the
fact that she was a happier person, and was able to take
constructive criticism a lot better now that her temper was all but
gone. Before the love pill, she was always angry about one thing or
another, and most of the time she tried to 'improve the recipe' to
prove that she was actually a fantastic cook, which didn't work all
that well. Now that her frustrations were over with, all she needed
was a supervisor to make sure she didn't try to add
anything...special...to the recipe. Kasumi was happy enough to help
out her little sister, but as the days went by, Ranma found himself
taking over the role, even though Akane didn't really need to be
watched over anymore.
The thing was, Akane kept asking him to accompany her, and
Ranma just couldn't refuse, since she seemed to enjoy talking to him
while she cooked. And he would make her happy no matter what,
because...because...
Uh...because...
Well...just BECAUSE!
Ranma suddenly felt as if his heart was made of stone. It seemed to
fall into the pit of his stomach, and the sensation was so powerful
that he was nearly driven to his knees.
He had never been so depressed in his life.
And it was ALL HIS FAULT.
"Ranma."
Ranma's head jerked upwards, and only then did he realize that he
had sat down in an alley, putting down the shopping bags full of
flowers and confetti, and had pulled himself close, resting his
forehead on his knees.
Too late did he realize that tears were steadily winding their way
down his cheeks.
Seeing the person in front of him, Ranma's face flushed in
embarrassment, and he cursed underneath his breath. Of all people
who could catch him in his moment of weakness, it had to be HIM.
Turning his head away, Ranma growled, "What the hell do you
want, Ryoga? Come to kill me? You know what? Go right ahead,
and see if I care."
Ryoga didn't answer. Ranma heard him inhale, then exhale with an
angry growl. There was a slight rustling of cloth as Ryoga
crouched down before he felt the raw pain of a backhand across the
face. Ranma's head snapped to the side, and he bit his tongue to
keep from shouting out.
"SAOTOME! I'VE NEVER HEARD SUCH A SELFISH THING
IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! WHAT ABOUT AKANE, YOU
BASTARD?! AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A MAN?!" Ryoga
shouted at the top of his lungs.
"So, you heard," Ranma croaked, tentatively touching his already
bruising cheek.
"Damn right I did!" Ryoga growled. "By pure chance, I happened
to cross paths with Nabiki. She told me what happened on the
beach!"
'For a price,' Ranma thought, morbidly. "So, what are you going to
do? Kill me and put Akane out of her misery? That would
probably be the nicest thing to do."
Ryoga backhanded him again, this time across the opposite cheek.
"IDIOT!" he shouted. "I WOULD kill you for this, but I CAN'T!!!
Don't you see?! I LOVE AKANE!!! All I want is for her to be
happy! And now she can't be happy unless she has YOU! Do you
understand, Ranma?! Because, if you don't, by God, I will beat you
into a living pulp, and Akane can spend the rest of her life taking
care of a mentally handicapped person that can't help but LOVE
HER BACK!"
Nursing his other cheek, Ranma mumbled, "Of course I understand.
It's only the same damn thing that everyone has been telling me for
weeks."
Ryoga took a deep breath, and hauled Ranma to his feet. "You
WILL make her happy, Saotome. You WILL, because I WILL
carry out that threat if I ever hear of you mistreating her!"
"I wouldn't dream of it," Ranma grumbled.
"Good," Ryoga said, shoving him into the alley's wall, "because I
wouldn't want to have to tell everyone that I saw the 'great Ranma
Saotome' crying like a baby!"
"SCREW YOU, RYOGA!!!" Ranma shouted, but the lost boy just
smirked, turned, and walked away.
Ranma was left standing there with a fist that ached to pound
someone's face in.
"Damn it," he whispered, when Ryoga was gone. Everyone seemed
to be closing in on him. Marry Akane, they said. Make Akane
happy. Keep Akane happy for the rest of her life.
He didn't have a choice anymore.
Even his own honor was against him.
And it was ALL HIS FAULT.
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Ranma picked up his shopping bags
and continued home with a stony face.
Akane greeted him at the door with a happy smile and a big hug.
"Welcome home, Ranma!"
Ranma roughly pushed her away, and dropped the shopping bag in
her arms, grumbling, "Just leave me alone, Akane."
Akane's eyes opened wide, and she whispered, "R-Ranma...?" but
he was already walking away. A moment later, a door slammed
closed.
Two people in the Tendo household didn't get any sleep that night.
================================================
=============================
Ranma stood in front of Akane's door, trying to work up the nerve
to go inside. He owed her an apology as well as an explanation.
After all, they were getting married today. It probably wouldn't by
a good idea to tie the knot while there was still a bit of bad blood
between them.
Clenching his jaw, Ranma threw caution to the wind, and knocked.
"C-come in," a voice whispered from the other side.
'Is she crying...?' Ranma thought, painfully. He took a deep breath,
and opened the door.
Akane was dressed in her wedding gown, looking out her window,
probably attempting to fool her visitor into believing that she was
just fine, but Ranma knew her too well to fall for the ploy. Akane
didn't like others to worry about her, so she hid her feelings from
the people around her, preferring to cry alone.
It was one thing that the pill hadn't changed.
She was beautiful, too. The dress fit her form perfectly, accented
her feminine curves. The curves that he'd always tried to ignore,
but never totally succeeded.
Her shoulders were shaking with barely controlled sobs. Ranma
gulped. Crying girls were always one of his biggest weaknesses.
He still didn't actually know how to make her stop, but now he
knew what NOT to do.
'Now is not the time to stutter an apology from a couple meters
away,' Ranma decided. Taking a few long, deep breaths, he slowly,
but surely, stepped forward to take Akane in his arms.
Startled, Akane gasped, "R-R-Ranma?!" After a few seconds, she
started to relax, but then she felt his hand move toward her face,
and she tried to squirm out of his embrace.
Instead of letting her go free, Ranma grabbed her arm, and pulled
her around so he could see her face. He wasn't surprised to see the
narrow trails of tears winding down her cheeks. Akane closed her
eyes, and turned her face to the side, as if she was expecting him to
shout at her.
Ranma bit his lip at the sight. Didn't she know that he would never
intentionally hurt her? Especially not now, when she wouldn't even
bother to defend herself from verbal attacks.
Tentatively, he reached out with his other hand, and gently wiped
her tears away. Akane inhaled sharply and opened her eyes wide,
as if she didn't expect him to actually do such a caring thing.
Ranma frowned slightly. Did she really think he was that bad?
He'd have to show her that he could actually be a kind person.
Being thought of as a jerk by his....wife....really wasn't on his
priority list.
"I'm sorry," he blurted out. "Honest to God, I'm SO sorry for how
bad I've treated you this past week...this past month...hell, for as
long as I've known you! I was a jerk...I was scared...I was...I was
just trying to live my life the way _I_ wanted, not they way
everyone else did, and I ended up doing the exact OPPOSITE of
what I wanted all along! But...but now, I want to try to make up
for it, Akane!"
Amazed by the soulful look in Ranma's eyes, all Akane could do
was breathe and stare.
"I love you," Ranma whispered. "I love you so much it hurts. It
hurts so bad when I think of how many times I've made you cry. I
feel so low, I just want to crawl under a rock and die."
Tears came to Akane's eyes.
"I've been so selfish," Ranma continued. "I don't think I've ever
considered your feelings when I went to do something. I never let
any guys come close to you, because I was scared that you'd fall in
love with them, and leave me. Last month, when you swallowed
that love pill...I've never been so scared in my life. It would have
been so easy to lose you forever. I-I just couldn't take it. I...forced
you to fall in love with me. There's no excuse for that. You should
have been able to choose. I've been such a jerk because I wasn't
able to make my own decisions, then I go ahead and make YOUR
decision for you, and then I have the NERVE to be a jerk again,
because I didn't have a choice anymore!"
Seeing Akane take a step forward, Ranma backed away, and said,
"No, don't! It shouldn't be so easy! Akane, please don't forgive me
just because I've apologized! It's not supposed to be so easy!
You're...you're supposed to hit me and call me an idiot, then think
about it while I recover, and then MAYBE forgive me, Akane!"
Akane stopped in her tracks. She wiped her watering eyes, and
said, "But, Ranma...I can't...I can't hit you and insult you on our
wedding day! I forgive you!"
Ranma took a deep breath, and removed an object from his pocket.
"Swallow this, and say that again, Akane."
She didn't ask any questions. She recognized the object, and didn't
entirely understand, but she didn't ask, she just obeyed.
And Akane swallowed the day pill.
Poison counteracts poison, after all.
Ranma braced himself, expecting a beating, a string of insults, or
whatever a pissed off Akane would do when she found out that he'd
totally taken advantage of her.
She nearly knocked the wind out of him when she smiled and
hugged him.
"B-but..." Ranma stuttered, "...aren't you...mad?"
"Stupid idiot," she whispered in a soft voice. "I've never been so
happy in my entire life. I forgive you."
Ranma was absolutely sure that this was the before-love pill Akane.
The new one had never called him a 'stupid idiot' before. It didn't
stop him from being confused, though.
"You're supposed to be mad? Why aren't you mad? I forced you
to fall in love with me?" he asked, all questions.
"Idiot," Akane replied, fondly, "you didn't MAKE me fall in love
with you. I already WAS."
Ranma's eyes widened. "Y-you loved me...before...?"
Akane nodded against his chest. "For a long time now, actually. I
think I first realized it when we were fighting the Golden Pair."
"Way back then?!"
Akane nodded again. "The love pill was sort of a miracle, actually.
My temper just...vanished. I can cook almost as good as Kasumi.
All my stress just...disappeared. I've never felt so much at peace.
I've become the person I've always dreamed of becoming, Ranma."
"R-really?" Ranma asked. "You're happy that way?"
Akane smiled a little. "Well, I've gotten out of practice in martial
arts. You know that I've always wanted to be one of the best. But
under the influence of the love pill, I was focusing on your
happiness. Of course, you'd be happy to teach me, wouldn't you,
Ranma?"
Ranma smiled, too. "Yeah, maybe you'd forgotten all your bad
habits, then. I could train you the RIGHT way, now!" he teased.
"Ranma you jerk!" Akane exclaimed, pulling out of his embrace,
and shoving him away, playfully.
Ranma laughed...and nearly swallowed his tongue when he tripped
over her CD player.
Akane gasped, and moved to help break his fall...only to trip over
the same fateful CD player, sending her straight after him. She
threw her hands forward to break her fall.
Ranma safely landed against the side of Akane's bed. Seeing his
fiancee tumbling after him, instinct took over, and his hands went
up...
All at once the room was silent.
Akane's hands rested on Ranma's shoulders, preventing her from
falling on him completely.
Ranma's hands rested on Akane's cheekbones, just barely
preventing their foreheads from touching.
And both of them suddenly felt that irresistible urge to pull the
other closer, sealing the promise of a new life, when...
A knock on the door shook them from their trance, and they heard
Kasumi say, "Akane? The wedding will begin in a few minutes.
Daddy and Mr. Saotome just have to find Ranma. He seems to
have disappeared, but they'll find him soon!"
"O-okay, Kasumi," Akane replied, trying not to start laughing.
Ranma was having a hard time controlling his mirth, too. When he
was sure Kasumi was gone, he whispered, "Isn't it funny how we're
always interrupted when we're about to kiss for REAL?"
Akane giggled. "Kasumi was a little late this time. I mean, on a
normal day, you wouldn't have been able to get CLOSE to saying 'I
love you'!"
Ranma smiled. "Maybe it's a sign. Instead of waiting for the right
time, we're going to have to MAKE the time to do things like this."
"Yeah," Akane said, softly, as Ranma pulled her down to meet her
lips in their first real kiss. All the others were imperfect, and most
incomplete. This time there was no magic, no tape, no temporary
insanity, and both parties were contributing.
When they broke apart a couple minutes later, Ranma whispered,
"I'm looking forward to a lifetime of those kisses, Akane."
Smiling, Akane replied, "Me, too, Ranma. Me, too."
And so, in the span of a day that was Akane's freedom from the
love pill, Ranma and Akane shared their first kiss, they were
married, they danced, and they stayed up late doing Lord knows
what. Consciences cleared and feelings revealed...they lived happily
ever after.
Author's Notes:
1. Ahhhh....finally DONE! You wouldn't believe how much time I
spent working on this little monster...grumble grumble
2. A nice mixture of sap, angst, and a smidgen of humor, if I may
say so myself. n_n I'm so proud of my ficcie!
3. (looks up at AN#1&2) I must have a split personality, or
something...(sweatdrop)
4. Eh....I hope I didn't screw up anywhere. I'm just too tired to check
it out right now. Please tell me what you think. If you _really_ hated
it,though, tell me, so I can fix it. n_n (Too bad if you didn't like the
pairing, though...buahahahahaha...)