A Ranma ½ Fanfic by INABN
Original Ranma ½ Characters and Settings ©Rumiko Takahashi
Used without express permission.
All characters not part of the Original Ranma ½ cast are property of INABN
Author's notes: My first official notes here people. Onto the first order of business; Yes, I realize I made Ranma a little weaker in respect to the Anime. Truthfully, I prefer the Manga version so I am keeping to that. That also considered, Ranma is weaker than his Manga counterpart as well – this is for dramatic purposes. Note the Drama/Romance on the website description of this story. Actually, that was really the only order of business, so without further ado I present the third installment to Ranma ½ …
Wasurenagusa Chapter Three: Lost MomentsWith a weary creak, the front gate of the Kunou estate yielded to Tatewaki's insistent push. "Saotome, you have besmirched my honor for the last time. I will have my vengeance! Swift and sure will be the hand of justice!" Kunou shouted to the open gate. It made no comment. "But first…I must take a rest, that doctor Toufuu can be most persuasive." With that, he brushed past into the yard, heading up the path to go inside. And to think, I nearly vanquished Saotome. A trying day this has been indeed.
Back at the Tendou home, one Nabiki Tendou was systematically working her way over the lower floor starting from the back yard, in her search for Ranma. "I know you don't run away from fights Ranma, so come out." Gah, where can he be? This is giving me a headache. Maybe he did leave already. Well, he has to come back sometime. I'll go see if Akane is ready to talk. She headed back inside and walked into the kitchen to ask Kasumi if Akane had come out of her room.
Just past the stairs, Akane was helping a very ill Ranma back into his room. "Just a little further Ranma, then I'll go ask Kasumi to make you something to drink. You've lost a lot of fluids already." Ranma just nodded as she lowered him onto the pallet. He didn't look good, and his skin was drawn and pale. "I'll be right back, ok?" Maybe I can find Nabiki too, just to keep her off his back. That's the last thing he needs right now. Down the hall, Akane could hear her sisters talking in the kitchen. Good, they are already together.
Nabiki was busy in conversation with Kasumi as Akane walked into the kitchen. She only had a moment to realize they were talking about her before Kasumi turned her head and smiled at her. "Akane, Nabiki said you were upstairs crying. Whatever is the matter?"
"It's something Ranma did, isn't it?" Nabiki cut in before Akane could even respond. "You can tell us what happened." Akane fidgeted slightly under the scrutiny Nabiki was giving her.
"It's not like that Nabiki. It wasn't Ranma's fault at all."
"What do you mean? Who made you cry then? It was Kunou, wasn't it?" Nabiki had trouble reigning in her accusations in light of the other day.
"K-Kunou? He doesn't even come around here, you know that Nabiki. Now you're just jumping to conclusions." Akane was surprised at her sister, she didn't usually act like this. Something was up for sure. "I didn't mean to worry either of you, but I'm better, really."
"Are you sure? Where is Ranma anyway," Nabiki narrowed her eyes. "I looked everywhere for him." Nabiki still had an aura of suspicion around her. Akane was going to tell her that he was in his room, but turned to Kasumi instead. Kasumi watched the little exchange with some interest, then brightened visibly when Akane turned to her. Kasumi could tell when a situation had changed for the better, and placed her full attention on her youngest sister.
"Kasumi," Akane began. "Could you make something for Ranma to drink. He's been really sick and I think he might be able to keep something liquid down." Kasumi nodded, thinking she should probably take a look at him first. They might have to call Dr. Toufuu over if he looked too sick. Akane had told them about the incident with Kunou, though Kasumi thought her sister had left a few things out. She wasn't positive, but it seemed likely given the way the two had been acting around each other lately.
"Ranma's sick?" Nabiki sounded dubious, even though she had watched Akane carry him in last night. "He wasn't in his room, so where was he then?"
"If you must know, he was in the bathroom, and if you don't believe me, go look at the floor." Akane told her sister with a little vehemence. She was getting tired of Nabiki acting like this. It wasn't natural for her sister to be this way, not right now anyway. A little suspicion was one thing, but near outright hostility? "Go on, go take a look for yourself!" Akane fumed when Nabiki just arched a brow.
"Fine, since you insist," Nabiki snorted, walking out of the kitchen. She had no intention of looking in any bathroom. Though, she was going to take a quick peek in Ranma's room, just to be sure. As Nabiki walked off, Akane slowly let out a breath in frustration. If it wasn't one thing…She instantly calmed down when she felt Kasumi's warm hand on her shoulder. She gave her sister a hug and looked up when Kasumi finally asked the question she had wanted to ask when Nabiki had first come in.
"So, tell me, what really happened Akane?" Kasumi asked, giving her sister a small hug before looking down at her. Akane felt a few of the old tears resurfacing, and she told Kasumi the whole story, starting from a few days ago. As she went on, she felt a load lifting from her shoulders like weights that had been holding her down. The whole time Kasumi just listened and nodded, asking for clarifications at intervals, and making the appropriate consoling sounds when necessary. Their talk lasted through most the afternoon, where they carried it to the couch before long.
When Akane finished, Kasumi suddenly put her hand to her mouth as her eyes widened. "Oh my!"
"What, what is it?" Akane looked around for the source of Kasumi's distress.
"We've forgotten about Ranma. He's still sick in bed." Akane gasped when she realized Kasumi was right. They both jumped up from the couch and ran to Ranma's room. When they opened the door they were greeted with an odd sight indeed. There on the floor kneeling over a sleeping Ranma was Nabiki. She had a warm washcloth rolled up and pressed to his forehead. Turning at the sound of the door, Nabiki gave them both a questioning look. Akane was the first to speak, "Nabiki, what?"
"Don't look at me like that. When I stopped in to see if he was really here, I saw just how sick he was and got him something to drink before he nodded off. You two were talking about who knows what and that left me to take care of him." Even Kasumi gave her a funny, but not disapproving look. "Ok, so it's not what I would do under normal circumstances, but I'm not heartless. Give me some credit. Besides, just look at him... We might want to call Toufuu if he doesn't wake by dinnertime."
Akane agreed with Nabiki, Ranma did look even worse than before. She and Kasumi exchanged glances and Kasumi left to make lunch for everyone. "Should we call Dr. Toufuu and tell him the condition Ranma is in, just in case?" Akane asked Nabiki softly. Her older sister turned and tilted her head thinking it over.
"Yea, probably. Do you want to call him, or should I?"
"You'd better call him, you've been tending Ranma for the past hour. I'll take over for now." Akane told Nabiki, who agreed that is was a reasonable switch. As Nabiki walked out, she couldn't resist whispering to Akane when they passed one another, "You two have fun while I'm gone."
"Nabiki! I would never," Akane started automatically before catching the ill-timed joke. Blushing, Akane went and knelt down on the ground, next to Ranma's head. She looked over him once, and sighed. He doesn't look good at all. I can't believe I forgot about him because of my stupid problems. Ranma, you just hang in there. I-We'll take care of you. Akane dipped the cloth in a nearby bowl of heated water, and mopped his brow again. She pushed his bangs gently out of the way with one hand, pressing the cloth to his forehead with the other. This is going to be a long day, I can already tell…but, I don't mind.
'Certainly, Nabiki, this sounds most serious. I have a few things left to do, but then I'll be right over,' the line went dead as Dr. Toufuu hung up on his end. Nabiki re-cradled the phone before walking into the kitchen to tell Kasumi that the good doctor would be coming over to take a look at Ranma's condition.
"Oh, My. Will he be here that soon? It's almost time for lunch. Do you think he has eaten yet?" Kasumi thought aloud, half to herself, and half to Nabiki as well.
"Hmm, I don't know. He did say that there was something he had to take care of first." Nabiki thoughtfully tapped an index finger against her cheek.
"I'll set an extra place, just in case."
"Ok, Kasumi, you do that. I'll let Akane know what's up." The middle Tendou daughter rolled her eyes in exasperation. Why does she ask me a question then answer it herself? Rhetorical question, isn't that what you just did? Nabiki tossed one last comment to her sister before heading into the hall, "Kasumi, are you sure it's safe for the doctor to eat with us? I mean…" Nabiki let it go at that, her sister sometimes seemed as careless as Dr. Toufuu was when they were together.
Souun and Genma both looked up from their game of Shogi at the faint mention of lunch. They were seated just outside the living room, on the porch. Genma turned to his good friend and asked bluntly, "You think there is something going on that we should know about? I haven't seen hide nor hair of my ungrateful son since Akane brought him in last night."
"No, if there were something important, one of the girls would tell me." Souun replied to Genma as he made his next move on the board. The two solemnly nodded at one another, returning their concentration to the all-important 1,339th game. Together they resolved to break from the game only for two occasions: to eat, or to bear witness to the marriage between Akane and Ranma.
Dr. Toufuu didn't arrive at the Tendou home until about fifteen minutes after everyone was finished eating. When Akane opened the door to greet him, he quickly apologized for the delay, requesting to see Ranma. Akane managed a faint smile, ushering the doctor inside. Only Nabiki was present, as the patriarchs had removed themselves to continue their game of Shogi, and Kasumi left to clean up the kitchen. "Dr. Toufuu, Ranma is upstairs, resting in his room. He's been sleeping all day, and well, we were starting to worry." There was the slightest hint of strain in Akane's words as she spoke hurriedly.
"Let's go see how he is faring then, shall we," Toufuu smiled in reply. He was curious to see what condition Ranma was in. I was quite sure that he would be up and about by now, Toufuu thought as he let Akane lead the way. Nabiki remained lounging on the couch as Akane and the doctor ascended the stairs. She figured that since Toufuu was here, she didn't need to worry over things anymore. Her thoughts turned to other matters that demanded her attention now that the situation here was in capable hands.
Ranma tossed and turned in his sleep, the sheets long since knocked off onto the floor. Cracking the door open, Akane peeked into the room to see if maybe he had woken yet. No such luck, she mused sliding the door open the rest of the way. She walked to the bed, Toufuu entering the room just after. Akane looked down at Ranma, worry creasing her brow. He's slicked with sweat, but it's not hot in here at all. When Toufuu motioned her to move out of the way, she reluctantly complied.
Nabiki looked up from the television when both Akane and Toufuu came back downstairs ten minutes later. "What's the verdict? How bad is he?"
"It doesn't look like he'll be going anywhere for the next couple of days. The blows he sustained had done more damage than I first thought, unless…"
"Unless what," Nabiki asked as he trailed off in apparent thought.
"Well, that is…did he injure himself further since he was brought home?" While Nabiki gave a noncommittal shrug, not having seen much of him after yesterday, Akane shrank in on herself, trying unsuccessfully to avoid notice. Which worked, at first, Toufuu was facing Nabiki after all. But, the critical gaze of Nabiki certainly did not miss her sisters none to subtle reaction. She was about to ask why Akane was acting like that, when Toufuu gave a sigh and looked over at Akane. "I thought you might be able to tell me where the fresh bruises on Ranma's face came from. Did he stumble and hit something?"
"Ah, um. No. I mean he did fall, but he didn't hurt himself doing it. He was in the bathroom, and I walked in. Then I accidentally hit him with the water bucket." Akane paused to think how what she said just now would sound to the others. Figuring it might sound a little off, she added a little clarification. "He wanted to be a guy again, and I was going to splash him since he was too weak to do it himself. It's just that the bucket, it slipped out of my hands." She lifted her eyes from the floor when she finished speaking.
Nabiki just stared at Akane, speechless. Wonder if she left anything out. I'll get the whole story from her later on. No sense in embarrassing her anymore than she already is right now. Toufuu is probably going to have a field day with this. Can't believe she hit Ranma, in the head, again! That's bad, even for her. At the moment, Toufuu just stared, before composing himself. "Akane, you really should be more careful around Ranma in the future. He's going to be ok, this time. And I think you've had enough on your mind today without my adding to it."
A few minutes later, Toufuu said his goodbyes, briefly stumbling over the table when Kasumi popped out of the kitchen to tell him hello before he went. As he left, he reminded the girls to call him should anything else happen. Akane saw him to the walkway, then went back inside to face the questions Nabiki was sure to have. She had already explained the whole ordeal at length to Kasumi, so thankfully there was that much less to agonize over. With a resigned attitude, Akane reentered the house. Yes, definitely a long day.
Akane watched over Ranma for the remainder of the day, though occasionally one of the other sisters would poke their head into the room to check up on how things were going. Seeing as Ranma was no longer sweating profusely, and his slight fever having broken mid-afternoon, Akane left his side to go eat dinner. They tried to avoid eating in the rooms, and she wanted to talk to the others any way. Not that I wouldn't mind eating in here, but I've been sitting here by Ranma's side for hours on end.
In the darkness of his room, Ranma's eyes wearily flickered open. His head was still a little sore, but otherwise, everything else was fine. Sitting up, he looked around for something. Not able to remember what it was, though he knew something was missing, it just didn't feel right. Moving to swing his legs out of bed, he tried sitting up. To his chagrin, he found that to be a bad idea as blue flares of pain blossomed behind his eyes. With a gurgled curse, Ranma dropped his head back onto the pillow.
He remained on his back, just staring at the ceiling for some time. Then, finding that boring, rolled to his side to look out the window between the nearly closed curtains. How long have I been sleeping? Can't be too long surely. Ugh, why is my head killing me? Oh, that's right…Kunou, and the vase, and then…Akane, with the bucket. Mentally he amended that last part, no, I'm pretty sure it was an accident with the bucket. Wordlessly, he watched the clouds drift by in the waning daylight through an opening in the curtains.
Ranma lay there, just thinking, for the last half-hour before the sun set behind the houses on the horizon. Red-orange streaks of light lazily faded into the pale hues of moonlight as he watched. It was quiet in here and he could hear the sounds of talk and movement from downstairs. Must be finishing up with dinner. Man, now I'm getting hungry. Maybe I can, that thought was cut off when he tried again to rise, to the same effect as earlier. Just great, well guess I'll go down and make myself something later on. I'm not going to call for help, it was embarrassing enough in the bathroom with Akane.
Sighing heavily, he leaned back, closing his eyes to try and clear his head. Just as his head hit the pillow, there was a small creak, and the door quietly opened. Fighting the urge to call out and see who was coming in without knocking, he kept still when he remembered he had been sleeping before anyway. There was the shuffle of a pair of feet, then a light thump of an object being placed on the small stand next to the bed. "Here, Ranma, Kasumi made some dinner for you, in case you woke up and were hungry." As the owner of the voice padded off, he opened one eye to watch Akane leave the room. For a moment, he had thought she knew he was awake, but her tone of voice was hushed. It had been as if she were talking more to herself than anything else.
For a second there, things had felt alright again to Ranma. Now he tried to figure out what was going on. When Akane had spoken, even thought she was talking to herself, it had seemed, familiar somehow. Suddenly it clicked in his mind's eye. That's what was missing from the room, Akane. Revealing as the insight was, it didn't solve much of anything. Why would Akane be what was missing? And why did she sound so familiar speaking aloud that way? Ranma certainly couldn't remember her talking to herself before, at least not habitually.
This is strange, I feel like she's been in here for a long time, heck the place even…smells like her. "Ok, what's going on here?" Ranma spoke this in a very confused tone. "I get whacked on the head a few times, and everything changes on me." Maybe that's it. I'm not even awake yet, still in some strange dream. "Don't remember getting hungry in a dream before, much less having such a bad headache." Ranma eyed the plate of food just a few inches from his head. Tentatively, he reached out for the plate, carefully pulling it from the table over onto his lap. He could just manage to prop himself against the wall to sit up.
Shortly, Ranma set the empty plate back onto the side table. He felt better, but tired again. I've been sleeping forever, though I guess a short nap isn't going to hurt. Slumping against the pillow, he drifted off into a dreamless slumber. In her room, Akane was getting ready for bed, when she decided to check on Ranma one last time. The conversation over dinner had been strained between herself and Ranma's father. Even Nabiki had confided in Akane later that she thought Genma was more than a little callous when it came to Ranma's injuries.
Peeking her head inside Ranma's room, Akane saw that he was still fast asleep. She was about to leave and close the door, when she noticed the plate she had brought in was empty. Dr. Toufuu was right, he'll be better soon. Akane felt her lips draw into a small smile. She would talk to Ranma in the morning, he's surely be well by then. Quietly, Akane walked in and took the empty plate from Ranma's room to put it in the sink downstairs. Ranma blinked, opening his eyes, he hadn't been able to sleep very long at all after eating, and had watched Akane take the plate and leave.
Stretching, Ranma craned his neck from side to side, working the kinks out. Pushing the covers off, he rose to his feet, feeling much, much better than he had upon waking last night. He shot a glance to the clock hanging against the wall. "Five fifteen, not too bad. Wonder if anyone else is up? Hnh, Pop might be. Then again, he'd have tossed me out the window if he was up already." Ranma did a few more standing stretches, just to see how his head handled the extra blood flow. "Perfect. Feelin' mighty fine if I do say so." With that, he gathered a change of clothes and went to wash the remnants of sleep away.
Lowering himself into the steaming furo, Ranma relaxed, content to let the heat melt away the soreness in his shoulders and neck left from laying in bed all day yesterday. It was nearing five forty when Ranma pulled himself out of the bath, refreshed and ready to face the day. He had wanted to do a few kata's before taking a bath, especially since he hadn't gotten in any practice yesterday. However, he felt that he should take it easy for just one more day. He really had no wish to be bedridden again so soon.
He finished drying his hair, tossing the towel onto the rack he kept most of his things on. Ranma decided he was hungry and walked out into the hall to head downstairs, nearly colliding with a bleary eyed Akane in the process. She had just woken and gone to check and see if he was up. "Mornin' Akane," he managed a smile as he caught her before she stumbled. She went wide eyed for a split-second, clearly surprised to find him up and dressed. "You alright? Seem kinda, well, never mind. Anyone else awake yet?"
"R-Ranma, you're feeling better?" She struggled to find words that wouldn't sound stupid, when she realized that his hands were still on her shoulders. He seemed to notice at the same time, and brought his hands quickly down to his sides.
"Yeah, lots better really. So, is anyone up?" Ranma repeated out of embarrassment. Which was fine, because Akane had missed the question the first time. She nodded at his reply before answering.
"That's good, you weren't doing well yesterday. We had to call Dr. Toufuu over to take another look at you. Everyone was concerned about you Ranma. And, um. I think everyone else is still asleep. I didn't hear Kasumi downstairs, plus it's Sunday." Ranma nodded understanding.
"Right, they might want to sleep in. Not a problem, but I'm kinda hungry, want to get somethin' to eat?" Ranma asked Akane, whose stomach started to gurgle. She turned red and said that she would be down in a minute after she washed up. "Okay, I'll go and see what there is in the kitchen for breakfast." Ranma left Akane to clean herself up, taking the stairs lightly down so he didn't wake anyone. Akane watched him go before she smiled to herself and went into the bathroom.
In the kitchen, Ranma looked through a few cupboards first. Ok, so there isn't much here. A few packets of instant ramen and miso soup. Though I don't feel much like cooking, I'd rather not go with the insta-stuff. There's gotta be something reasonable to eat. Maybe there are leftovers from dinner. That in mind, he opened the refrigerator to see what there was to be had inside. It took a little searching, and then he found what he wanted. "Here we go, steamed rice and roasted chicken. Just hav'ta find the Teriyaki sauce."
Akane came down just as he finished heating up two bowls of food. "Smells good, dinner from last night?"
"Ah, it was all I could find, don't mind do ya?" Ranma looked over at her as he set the bowls down on the table. She shook her head, offering up a small grin. "Ok, there was nothin' else anyway. Nothin' that didn't need to be cooked first anyway. Don't know about you, but this stuff looks great to me," he said, pointing to the bowls with his chopsticks. At his mention of things that didn't need to be cooked first, Akane felt herself getting a little hot. Her temper wanted badly to spill over and she was determined not to let it.
Her mantra started up in her head to settle her mood. It consisted of the phrase, he didn't mean it the way you think, repeated nearly twenty times before she calmed down. Ranma started to eat when he noticed her forcing a smile at him. This caused him to tense involuntarily, and he visibly relaxed when her smile became more natural two minutes later. Gah, that was close. What did I say this time? Certainly not going to ask her what I said. That never works, just hurts. This is getting awkward, should I say something? Thank her for watching over you, dummy.
"Akane. About yesterday."
"What about it?"
"Thanks, for watching over me and all." She blanched at his words, and then recovered reaching across the table to swat at him.
"Hey, what's that for?" Ranma backed up, indignantly.
"You were awake and didn't tell me! You just let me sit there and, and talk like that." This started to confuse him, what is she talking about?
"I don't know what you mean Akane, I was asleep the whole time. I only woke up for a few minutes after you brought the food. Then I saw you when you came to take the dish away. I just thought you were checking up on me from time to time." Ranma attempted to explain.
"Oh, I thought," Akane trailed off again.
"What? Tell me what you thought Akane, please. I don't want to get off to a bad start, not after things have been going like they have." Ranma set his bowl down, giving her his full attention. Something he rarely did, and it was showing in they way she reacted. Under his questioning gaze she blushed and tried to give voice to her feelings. She had been apologizing to him a lot the past few days and that wasn't how she wanted to start this conversation.
"Ranma, I wasn't 'peeking in on you from time to time,' I stayed in your room with you for most of the day. I was worried, but Dr. Toufuu, when he came over, said you would be ok in a day or two." She said all this as normally as she could muster, trying hard to sound meek or anything.
"The whole day?" Ranma was trying to picture that. He thought her looking in on him had been nice. But, this was unexpected. He didn't know what else to say. Akane on the other hand looked relieved, and she was. He didn't hear me, the thought came with mixed emotions. Deep down, she had wanted him to hear her, even in his sleep. It would have brought things out into the open. At the same time, she was terrified of the thought. The fact that he was asleep had been the only thing letting her talk freely.
"The whole day?" Ranma was still trying to get his mind around that little fact. "I had no idea, I'm grateful Akane. You didn't have to do that. But, it was nice…even if I was sleeping at the time." Ranma looked over at Akane as he spoke, who was now most definitely red in the face. He was about to say something else, when he remembered her telling him inadvertently that she had been talking about things while he was sleeping. "Akane, what were you talking about yesterday, in my room?"
"Talking about?" Akane managed to turn a few shades redder. "Just things, you know. School, friends, that kind of stuff. You know, like we normally talk about." Ranma scratched his head, why would school make her turn all red? Unless, there was someone she…Wait, she is my fiancée. Can't be another guy. Can it? Now Ranma was confused. He didn't know what to think about this. Watching his brow furrow, Akane didn't understand his expression.
"Ranma, what's wrong?" She had thought things were going fine, up until this. Fortunately, any further misunderstandings that might have arisen were cut short by a cheerful voice from the stairs, Kasumi's to be precise.
"Good morning! Ranma, you must be feeling better!" Kasumi smiled at the two. Then she noticed the half-full bowls of food. "Oh my, you've both already eaten? I was just about to make something for breakfast."
"Ah, sorry about that Kasumi, we thought you wanted to sleep in, so we ate leftovers." Ranma told the elder Tendou daughter. "But, I'm still kinda hungry, Akane might be too. We'll eat with everyone else when they get up." Ranma wasn't actually feeling all that hungry at the moment, however, he didn't want to hurt Kasumi's feelings.
"Ranma's right, I'll eat then too." Akane wasn't feeling hungry either, but this was her sister. So she took Ranma's cue on this one. In the meantime, she was going to go take a bath before everyone tried to get in there before her. "I'm going to go get dressed. I'll be back down in a few minutes." With that, she rose from the table, heading for the stairs. Ranma watched as she left, turning to Kasumi when Akane had disappeared upstairs.
"Kasumi, Akane really stayed in my room all day yesterday?" It wasn't that Ranma hadn't believed Akane, but he felt that he had to ask. Kasumi turned around in the kitchen with a warm smile.
"Of course Ranma, Nabiki did too for a little bit. But, Akane was there for hours sitting by your bed." Now it was Ranma's turn to change a funny color.
"O-Of course. Silly of me to ask."
"It's ok Ranma. She was really concerned, and worried. We all were, but she showed it the most. Breakfast will be ready soon."
"Alright Kasumi, I'll be back in a minute, I'm gonna wake pop, and the others." Ranma slid from the table and went to wake up his father. With a swift kick, he punted Genma out of bed and through the open window of the guest room. "Wake up, pops!" Ranma heard a satisfying thud as his father hit the ground outside, preferably with his head. He smiled as his father pulled himself in through the window.
"Have you no manners boy?" Genma stood up, jumping down from the futon he had been sleeping on.
"Yea, old man, learned 'em from you. Let's get downstairs, people are waitin'." Ranma walked out and Genma dropped out of a relaxed fighting stance. His stomach growled, and to him food was just as important as combat, so he followed after his son.
"Healed are you boy?"
"You know me, good as new pop." Ranma left his father to go wake Nabiki and Souun. If Akane was up, those two should get up too, he reasoned. Not that he looked forward to bloodshot-eye Souun, that was almost, but not quite as bad as big demon-head Souun, in Ranma's opinion. Several grumbles and door slams later, Ranma went back downstairs to eat. If they didn't want to wake up, it's fine by me. Ranma went down and sat across from Akane, who was bathed and dressed at this point.
A few minutes after everyone started eating, if what Ranma and Akane where doing could be called such, Nabiki and Souun came down. Both father and daughter glared daggers at Ranma, while Kasumi looked back and forth from Ranma, to Akane. "I thought you two said you were still hungry?" Kasumi asked, a little downtrodden. The aforementioned pair were only picking idly at the breakfast laid out on the table. "You were stuck in bed for a whole day, why don't you go for a walk? That should give you an appetite. You go with him Akane, you were sitting around too."
Ranma tentatively agreed with Kasumi, he had been wanting to get out of the house. Akane was another matter. She wanted to get out too, but take a walk with Ranma? What is Kasumi thinking. Oh, right. Sometimes my sisters can be too much. As if to prove Akane right, Nabiki had to go throw her input in as well, making some off the wall remark. "See ya guys later then." Ranma got up and went to slip on his shoes by the front door. He didn't stop to wait for Akane before he walked outside.
"Hey, wait for me, Ranma! Jerk." Akane muttered the insult out of habit, which Ranma didn't catch. She hurried to go after him, and the rest of the family just stared for a second. Then, as if nothing had happened, they went back to eating. Down the walkway, Ranma was leaning against the front wall, watching in amusement as Akane rushed out the door. He smirked lightly, when she saw him waiting and pulled up short, huffing in annoyance. "Ranma, that's mean!"
"What? You told me to wait, ya know."
"That's not what I meant, you pretended to run off without me." Akane was still a little cross with him at this point. He's treating me like some big joke again. Ranma softened his grin when he saw how seriously she was taking the whole thing.
"Hey now, I didn't think you would take it like this. So you really wanted to walk with me then?" When he said it that way, Akane bowed her head. Oh, I didn't think about it that way. This is embarrassing. Why do I have to get so riled up over things like this? She didn't notice Ranma push away from the wall and walk over to her. When she looked up, it was right into his eyes. "C'mon tomboy, let's get a move on." Ranma patted her shoulder, walking with her around the corner and onto the sidewalk.
She was completely caught off guard by his action that the familiar jibe failed to register. When they were out of sight of the front of the house Ranma's hand fell from her shoulders. Immediately, she missed the close contact, fleeting though it was. Akane glanced over at Ranma, who was walking with is hands folded neatly behind his back, just a few steps to the side of her. She wanted to say something to break the silence, but had no clue as to what to say. Ranma just continued to walk along, seemingly oblivious to her presence.
Ranma glanced over at Akane, who had just turned her eyes forward, he felt slightly nervous for some reason. To make things even stranger, his hand was tingling from where he had brushed her skin while leading her out of the front yard. From the corner of his eye, he continued to watch Akane's profile as he kept an even pace with her, matching her step for step. The morning sun was only just beginning to peak its rays over the tops of the houses as they walked. Ranma noted the way a few of those rays shone against her blue-black hair.
Back inside the Tendou home, Kasumi was smiling to herself at her handiwork as she watched Ranma steer her sister towards the corner. Some things just need a little push, and with those two, it might take quite a few. Finally, things were going the way they should've long ago. Even with the frequent fiancée problems here and there, this was bound to pan out. I just hope nothing interrupts their little walk. That would be such a shame. Kasumi turned her attention back to the meal at hand when Ranma and Akane disappeared around the wall.
I wonder if he's going to say anything. This is kind of nice, just walking and not worrying about anything for a while. Akane watched one foot proceed the other, then repeat again with the opposite foot. She didn't mean to stare at the ground, but staring at Ranma was out of the question. I'm afraid he might be looking back, or maybe he won't be looking at me at all. This is what it all came down to, indecision. If he doesn't feel the same way, I…I just don't know.
Ranma watched as they passed by numerous houses along their way to wherever. He started thinking that a little time at the park might be nice. He turned to tell Akane where he wanted to go, to see if she would be up to it as well. She was staring down at her feet, she looks bored maybe she didn't want to go for a walk after all. Ah, stuff it Saotome, no harm in asking is there? She might,…what? Say no? Come off it guy, where's that martial art's mentality? Thought you lived by the no-pain-no-gain attitude.
"Hey, Akane." Ranma started, to get her attention. It appeared to work since her eyes shifted from her feet to his face almost immediately. Maybe she was just distracted by something a second ago. "I was wonderin', up for a little stroll over to the park?" He canted his head to the side as he asked, one of those lopsided grins plastering his face. Akane nearly giggled, catching herself at the last moment, though she did manage a smile.
"I'd like that Ranma." She meant it too, maybe we can just sit down on the grass for a while, that would be nice. That's it, just have to tell him that's what you'd like to do. "Um, Ranma?"
"Yeah?"
"Do we have to walk in the park?"
"Hmm, I guess we don't have to go. But, I thought you wanted to go to the park?" Akane smiled as Ranma missed her point.
"No, what I meant was couldn't we just find a spot to sit for a while. I don't feel up to walking all over right now." Ranma chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.
"Sure, you confused me for a sec there. But, yea, that's fine by me." Inside, Ranma was shaking nervously. She just said spot right, not quiet spot? Man, was asking to go to the park a bad idea? Akane looked over at Ranma, now that they had started talking again, she was sure it was ok to look. The first thing she noticed was that something was off, not wrong, but off, about his demeanor. Did I say something? Maybe going to the park was a bad idea. But, he suggested it, not me. She shook the doubt away, and decided to ask him what was wrong when they found a good place to sit.
Five minutes later, they had found a nice grassy hill to sit on. Well, Akane found it, Ranma was just following at this point. Plopping down, she smoothed her dress under her legs, not so hard as to get grass stains on it. Ranma just sat, leaning back with his hands behind him, propping himself up. He could tell that Akane wanted to say something, but he didn't know what it could be. He was still a little edgy from his earlier thoughts when they walked to the park. Akane sighed, turning her face up to the light blue sky above.
It was still early enough to see the moon out in its little corner of the sky. Akane watched the few remaining rays of dawn fade into the white fluff of clouds overhead. This is nice, but it'll be better once I find out what is bothering Ranma so much. Still cloud watching, Akane asked him what was on his mind, "Ranma, if you didn't want to come, why did you suggest the park?" She looked over at him when he failed to respond. He appeared to be thinking the question over, because his eyes were closed as he sat there next to her.
When his eyes finally did open, Akane took a breath as strong twin blues focused on her. Ranma blinked at her reaction, twisting his head to see if someone was sneaking up on him from behind. Akane caught her breath when he broke his gaze off, turning away. "What is it Ranma?"
"Huh, nothing. I thought. You didn't see anyone behind me?" Oh, he doesn't know I was looking at him.
"No, must've been a shadow out of the corner of my eye. You didn't answer me Ranma. Is something wrong?"
"Why would you think something is wrong Akane?" She can't tell I'm nervous can she? Hate to think I'm that obvious. Guess so, or she wouldn't have brought it up.
"You've just been a little distant on the way over here." Akane replied.
"And you weren't?" Ranma sounded a little flustered now. Akane watched him. This was supposed to be nice, and he's getting all bent out of shape.
"I just wanted to know if something was bothering you. Sorry for caring!" Akane folded her arms across her knees. There I go, apologizing again. He can be so insensitive.
"Jeez, Akane, I didn't know you would get so worked up. I shouldn't have snapped at you. It just that…I don't know what it is. Can we, can we talk about it? Start over again?" Ranma felt like he was grasping for straws now. He never had much luck at salvaging a situation like this before. Usually that was due to untimely interruptions. But, who would look for them here? Much less, them here together, alone. Ranma slid closer to Akane trying to coax her out of her funk.
Akane felt an arm around her shoulders for the second time that morning. She looked up once again to find Ranma only scant inches away. He actually seemed concerned, for her. "Do you, do you mean that Ranma? Just start over? Can we even, I mean, its not too late?" Ranma gave her another crooked smile.
"I'm up for giving it a shot if you are. What do you say?"
"You want to be friends?" Akane nearly teared up, uttering that phrase again from what seemed a different lifetime ago.
"Yea Akane, I really do." Ranma smiled a full smile this time, something he hadn't done in a long while. Akane felt good seeing him smile like that, and she felt there was a chance that she might be able to say some of the things to him now. Things that she had told him in his sleep, just last night. Right now she didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the situation. This was going almost too well, even considering the shaky start. She was so preoccupied that she never noticed when Ranma scooted close enough to lean her against his chest.
Akane noticed only a thump at first, before her brain registered what the sound was, and just as importantly, the fact that her head was pressed against something firm and warm. She listened to the sound of Ranma's heartbeat for a second longer, then looked up at his face. He was leaning back holding himself up with one arm, and his other was wrapped around her waist. Just thinking about this made her blush madly. Watching him look up at the sky, she wondered what he was thinking about. "Ranma?"
"Hmm?" His voice seemed to rumble since she was still pressed against his chest.
"Can we, a-are we more than just friends? I want to know, that is, I like you and," Now she was all embarrassed asking him, but she 'did' want to know. Because if that wasn't the case, just sitting here, being this close, it would tear her apart.
"I like you too Akane. I liked you when we first met, it's just that things got in the way. Pop was dragging me all over the place. He didn't even tell me what we were doing here in Nerima at first. Just that we were going to see an old friend of his. Then they go and spring the whole fiancée thing. Not to mention this stupid curse."
"I know, I was there remember. I didn't know what to think when daddy told us one of us was to have a fiancée. Then, when you showed up as a girl, I thought the whole fiancée deal would be done with." Akane watched Ranma to see what he was thinking about.
"And now? What do you think about the whole fiancée thing?"
"You mean about the other girls?" Akane scrunched her face just picturing shampoo.
"No, I mean just you and me."
"Oh, can't we wait a little to think about that part?"
"As much as I'd like to, you know if our fathers catch wind of our, uh, current status, they'll be rushing us to an altar right then and there."
"Just what is our, current status, Ranma?" Akane hoped he would answer her in just three little words. That was all she wanted right now. Naturally, a guy's mind did not run the same tracks as a woman's. And even gender-switching considered, Ranma was no exception.
"I ah. Still trying to figure that part out."
"Ranma!" Akane sat up and hit him on the arm. "Are you being serious with me right now?" That had not been among the answers she was expecting from him. Now, love was not a foreign concept to Ranma at this time. He knew he loved the Art, and he loved Okonomiyaki, to an extent. But, did he love a person? More importantly, did he love Akane? Searching his thoughts and his experience, he struggled with the answer. This seemingly innocent question had the power to change everything he knew.
Furthermore, it would mean having to confront not only himself, but everyone else with his decision. He imagined Ukyou's face, and Shampoo's. What would they look like if he told them he loved Akane? Almost as important, what would they do to him, or to Akane, if he told them. Yes, this was even more difficult than he had imagined in his countless wonderings. Not only that, but he now had a deadline, Akane was expecting an answer, and it was wanted now, not tomorrow, or the next day.
Strangely, the one thought prominent in his mind at the moment was of his father, shouting for him to be a man, be a man right now damn it! Ranma would question himself many times in the future, if the voice of his father had been the deciding factor. Each time, the answer to that would always be unanimous. Ranma cleared his head and opened his eyes, meeting Akane's expectant gaze. "Akane, I…
Chapter Four: When It Rains- Coming soon
