Sneaky Chibi Otaku Geek presents...
A Rumiko Takahashi creation of
Ranma 1/2
Written by Hotaru Kimiko Lai...
Love is in the Air: A Christmas Story
Chapter 4
Caroling is an Xtreme Sport? Who would have known...
Akane.
Akane was in the kitchen.
Akane was in the kitchen and it looked like she was cooking.
Ranma stared at her back. It seemed amazing. But something strange was happening in the kitchen. Akane was cooking, at least, it looked like it.
"Is she cooking?" whispered Ukyo to Ranma. He shrugged. He couldn't tell. She looked like she was. After all, she was moving pots and pans around and moving knives up and down, and there was food on the counter, and there was something boiling in the pan on the stove. But then again, it didn't look like she was cooking. The vegetables that she had cut were in almost perfect cubes, and the cutting board didn't look broken, and there were no weird bottles around her, and whatever was being cooked in the saucepan was staying in, and there was no tentacle trying to escape. And Akane wasn't yelling and screaming or anything. He craned his ear... she was ... humming????? It was unbelievable, but she almost imagine Kasumi cooking instead of Akane... something weird was going on...
Akane was happy. She had a plan, which meant that she had a goal, and that meant that she wouldn't get bored this afternoon. How cool is that? Anyway... her thoughts were on Ranma and how she was going to help him get his memory back. Oh it was so simple. When she had her memory erased by that idiotic Shampoo, she had gotten it back because Ranma started to call her names (the stupid baka...). But now, if Ranma had forgotten how to insult her, well, she would teach him again. Since supper was over, which was too bad really, she was making a light snack for Ranma. Of course, since it's Ranma we're talking about, she was making a little more than the usual. Her hands cut the meat evenly and then seasoned them and mixed flour and egg with them. Notice, flour, not salt or sugar or baking soda, or lemonade mix... it was flour. But she didn't notice. She was so happy thinking of how Ranma would insult her that she let her hands do whatever. The pan had hot oil and she dipped the floured chicken in it and started to fry. Notice, she used regular cooking oil, not motor oil or sesame oil or vinegar... normal cooking oil. Wow. Notice the chicken in the pan, it looks a golden brown color. Notice, that it is also not moving, and does not look purple with green polka dots and it does not have tentacles. It looks dead and doesn't move, except when Akane moves it with her spatula. Then, it rolls. Isn't this exciting? Notice also, that the saucepan has a thick liquid that is red... could it be blood??? But Akane took a wooden spoon, and ...wonder of wonders... tasted her concoction. She smiles absentmindedly and adds a little more sugar (not flour, not salt... sucrose) OK, maybe it's not blood, but it looks like it...
Akane was happy. Life was beautiful, and soon Ranma would be normal, and then she could be happy, knowing that she did the right thing. She started to hum a small song she had heard the other day on the radio. It was a nice song, but it had a sticky tune... she hadn't been able to get it out of her head all day long... how annoying. So, she started to hum. Soon though, she found it slightly boring and decided to change part of it, and improvise. It was quite fun! She took the pan and poured out the fried chicken pieces onto a plate. She also poured out the red sauce into a small dish and put the two on a tray, along with a small canister of toothpicks. She happily took the tray. Now, to find Ranma. She smiled and turned around, to see a bunch of people staring at her from the kitchen door.
Her humming stopped. Her eyes froze. Her smile left, much to Ranma's disappointment. And she stared. And the rest just stared back at her. Finally, she gave a small exclamation of surprise, and reacted a lot like how Kasumi had when she had seen Akane with her short hair.
Ranma watched. Everything was in slow motion again. Her mouth formed a small O of surprise, and the tray, along with the dishes flew across the room. Quick as greased and oiled and just plain fast lightning, he ran across the room and caught everything, even the blood like liquid. He handed the tray back to Akane. Wordlessly, Akane put the tray on the counter top and turned to look at Ranma.
"May I ask..." she started with a skeptical look on her face. "What are you and the rest doing?"
"Um... we just wanted to see what you were doing." said Ranma nervously, hand behind his head, looking a little bit lost.
"Oh." said Akane and decided to ignore the fiancees behind him. "Hey, I made something for you!" Ranma froze. The fiancees behind him froze. The whole world froze! (Ok, not the whole world...) She took a plate of food that she had just made and gave it to him. And then, she passed him a small cup of a thick sticky liquid... so like blood...
"Um... for me?" asked Ranma nervously. Akane saw him get nervous and inwardly smiled.
"Yeah, try it!" said Akane, happily. She just couldn't wait till Ranma turned normal. Of course, he'd probably end up insulting her, but it was for a good cause! Ranma looked hesitantly at the food and took it slowly up till it was about mouth level. He looked at Akane. She had her fingers crossed, he noted, and a hopeful smile on her face. Her eyes twinkled, like glittering chocolate hard candy with caramel stripes. And for some reason unknown to him, he wanted to please those eyes, eyes that he knew, shone only for him at the present moment. So he took a bite, even though his other "fiancees" were telling him not to. Even though he had already encountered her cooking that day. Was it only an hour or so that he had insulted her cooking? It seemed... longer... He could feel everything entering into slow motion mode again. Shampoo started to run towards him, probably saying something around the lines of, "Stop airen! No eat silly girl's food!" So he took a bite, and the world stopped. Shampoo stopped. The others at the doorway stopped and time seemed to be frozen for them also. Akane's timing stopped.
Mind processing has started. He chews. The flavors seep into his tongue, sending... could it be?... pleasant tastes to the brain for processing. CIA agents in there worked over time to think of how something Akane made, could taste... so... so... good! Unfortunately, a few seconds time wasn't enough to solve it, so it was put into the UNSOLVED MYSTERIES folder in a rusty filing cabinet.
"So, what do you think?" asked Akane eagerly. "Bad? Tasteless? Gross? Do you need to puke yet?" Ranma stared at her and at the plate in his hands. He was holding treasure! TREASURE!!!
"It was... it was..." started Ranma, not quite sure how to word it.
"Yes?" asked Akane as she leaned in eagerly. She smiled inwardly. Her plan was fool proof! Nothing could go wrong. Ranma and her cooking just didn't mix... and Ranma was sure to tell her that it was awful.
"It was... delicious!" said Ranma with a smile, deciding to keep it simple. Time froze again. On Akane's face was an expression of pure shock, which was mirrored by the others in the room. Akane's world fell through. No! It can't be! Impossible! How could this happen!? Her plan, so carefully thought up off, had backfired in her face. And worse yet, she couldn't get him to understand. He was Ranma, and he never understood. "Akane. What's wrong?" asked Ranma worried, seeing his fiancee's expression. Akane looked at him, pointing her watery brown eyes at him. She stopped for a moment before she ran to her room, not making a sound.
Ranma stood there confused. What did he do wrong? He had read somewhere that girls like compliments... so what went so wrong?
"Airen OK?" asked Shampoo as she inched closer to Ranma.
"Yeah, hon..." said Ukyo as she went into the kitchen. "Did her cooking affect you that much?"
"OHOHOHOHO!" said Kodachi as she bounced into the room. "OHOHOHOHO!!!" Shampoo looked at Ukyo and vice-versa. With a nod, they sent a double attack to the delusional girl that sent her out of the kitchen through a window so conveniently left open. Ukyo touched Ranma's shoulder.
"Ranchan, are you all right?" she asked, with care and concern. Ranma jumped as he felt her touch and leaped back, holding the plate in such a way that nothing would spill.
"No!" said Ranma. "It's mine! You can't take her chicken away from me! It's good! I won't share it!" Shampoo and Ukyo sweatdropped as Ranma leaped out of the window also, carrying his precious plate of chicken. (BTW, check author's notes) And the wind decided to blow and the curtains rustled and all was quite. Except for Kasumi calling the family together to go caroling. And everything looked so peaceful and calmed. Shampoo and Ukyo stared out the window. Today was just too weird.
Akane thought. What had gone so wrong? What was the world coming to? For once, she had tried so hard to get the food to be... bad, like it usually was... but this time... Fate had screwed up. Someone had cheated her of her ability to make food look like nuclear waste.
'Think Akane!' she thought to herself. She was in her room, huddled up on her bed. 'What do I do know? Give up?' She thought. 'Nah... I don't give up that easily. So what? What can I do to help him? Wait, why in the world do I want to help him in the first place?' And for the first time that day, she thought about that. Yeah.... why? Silence in the room as Akane thought. She had an inkling of a suspicion, but before it came to her, Kasumi called. And it was time to go caroling.
Ranma thought. What had gone so wrong? What was the world coming to? He had been... nice! And what did he get for all his troubles? Smelling that perfume all day and getting Akane to cry three million times. Funny thing about the perfume. During the kitchen incident, he smelled it slightly, but not from Akane, so he lost interest. Now, where was he? Oh, yeah... he was in the dojo, leaning against the wall. What to do next, he didn't want Akane to cry because of him. 'And why do I care so much?' asked Ranma to himself. Now, there was a question worthy of being pursued by his intellect. But his train of thought was canceled, since he heard Kasumi call every one. Oh...well... It was time to go caroling. Oh joy! Woopee... yeah right...
"We wish you a Merry Christmas,
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
And a Happy New Year!"
"Bleagh," muttered Nabiki. "Why do I have to sing carols?" She was all bundled up in a forest green coat with white trim and black pants and boots. She looked around her. Akane was on the end, beside her. On her other side were Kasumi, Soun, Ranma and Genma. Dr. Tofu stood behind Kasumi, smiling foolishly and holding Betty on his shoulders, beside Ukyo, Kodachi, and Shampoo, who were fighting a little over who got to stand closest to Ranma.
"Oh, Nabiki, it's fun to sing carols!" said Kasumi. "Don't you think so, Dr. Tofu?" She was wearing a periwinkle blue jacket and white pants with black boots. She looked at the doctor and smiled.
"Y...y...yeah, K...k..Kasumi," he stammered out.
"It's times like these I want to be like Scrooge." said Nabiki to no one in particular. She stuffed her hands in her pockets, and looked a lot like a petulant child. "He had lots of money and didn't have to sing stupid carols at Christmas time unless he wanted to." Kasumi smiled.
Soun and Genma conversed.
"Yes, it's a beautiful time of the year, right Soun, old pall?" asked Genma.
"Oh, definitely," said Soun. "It's wonderful, all the love and care flying around. Brings a tear to your eye, it does."
"Yes," said Genma with a smile. "A time of love and fellowship and presents... talking about that, Ranma my boy!"
"What do you want?" asked Ranma sullenly. It was cold, he wanted to think and most certainly did not want to be here singing Christmas carols.
"Show more respect for your father," said Soun.
"Anyway," said Genma. "I was wondering, did you get anything for Akane for Christmas?"
"Yes," said Soun. "After all, she's your fiancee. How are you two getting along."
"Peachy," said Ranma sarcastically before shutting up. Unfortunately, the two adults took it wrong.
"Oh!" said Soun with a shout. "I'm so glad! Saotome, the future of our two families is now secure!"
"Yes!" said Genma, loudly also. "Who knows, they might even be married by the New Year, Soun old pal!"
"That would be just wonderful!" said Soun, tears of joy streaming from his eyes.
"WHAT!!!???" shouted Akane, Ranma, Ukyo, Shampoo and Kodachi. Kasumi just smiled. Nabiki
rolled her eyes. Dr. Tofu danced about with Betty-chan.
"WHAT??????!!!!!!!! RANMA, PREPARE TO DIE!" shouted another voice. Everyone turned back and saw a figure with a poisonous green aura around him. His eyes glinted.
Sometime before, while they were singing, a young man looked at the stars. It was a beautiful night, with a clear sky and the stars twinkled brightly, as if somebody got a can of polish and had rubbed the grime of them and let them shine brightly once more. Such a beautiful evening. If only he could share it with
someone. But alas, the poor solitary boy was by himself, and lost and didn't know what to do, where to go...
Ryouga looked at the night sky. 'Akane', he thought. 'If only you could be here with me, I would tell you how much I love you... and make sure you' have a happy life, beside me, and not that uncivilized Ranma, who doesn't deserve you.' He walked. He was wearing his normal clothes, but they were thicker, since it was winter, and it was cold. Even though the night was beautiful, it reminded him of his loneliness. He started to draft a letter in his head.
'Dearest Akane,' it would start. 'How are you? I hope you are doing fine. Right now, I'm not sure where I am. Perhaps Hokkaido, or perhaps Russia... but I want you to know, wherever I am, I always think about you. I got a present for you. I got it... somewhere... I'm sure you'll like it.' Here he stopped. 'Oh Akane,' he thought. 'If only I could find you, but I am so lost without you. If only the gods would give me a sign...' and almost immediately, the sign was granted.
"We wish you a Merry Christmas,
And a Happy New Year!"
A sign! People were singing of joy and hope and telling him to not give up! He decided, since these people were so nice, he'd go by and tell them that they sang very well. He was almost there when he heard something else...
"Yes," said Soun. "After all, she's your fiancee. How are you two getting along."
"Peachy," said Ranma sarcastically before shutting up. Unfortunately, the two adults took it wrong.
"Oh!" said Soun with a shout. "I'm so glad! Saotome, the future of our two families is now secure!"
"Yes!" said Genma, loudly also. "Who knows, they might even be married by the New Year, Soun old pal!"
"That would be just wonderful!" said Soun, tears of joy streaming from his eyes. Ryouga felt his blood begin to boil.
"WHAT??????!!!!!!!! RANMA, PREPARE TO DIE!" he shouted as he ran the last block to the boy. Ranma saw him and immediately jumped out of the way, causing Ryouga to loose his balance.
"Yo, Ryouga, what's up?" he asked. Right now, he didn't want to think about fiancees. So Ryouga was a nice distraction.
"How could you Ranma?" asked Ryouga as he tried to punch him. Ranma avoided them easily.
"How could I what, P-Chan?" asked Ranma innocently. Akane watched from the sidelines along with everyone. What the heck, there was Ranma fighting again. He always fought, the stupid baka... but this time, she couldn't really blame him, after all, it was Ryouga who attacked. So she watched, and grew depressed. Ranma had been surprised at the talk of marriage, but he hadn't denied them. She tried to blink away a tear. It was always her fault! And now, poor Ranma... he probably didn't even want this, but he didn't know it. Maybe she should just run away. There was more of a chance of Ranma forgetting her. Nabiki looked at her sister.
"Yo, Akane," she said. "Are you O.K.?" she asked. Akane was about to answer when she heard something that made her heart soar. Back to the battle...
"How can you marry Akane with out her consent!!!" shouted Ryouga as he lunged at Ranma and managed to hit his side. Ranma stumbled back.
"What?" he said, slightly confused. "Who said anything about marrying that tomboy?" Akane's ears perked up. Could it be? Were her ears deceiving her?
"How dare you call Akane san that?" shouted Ryouga as he got very mad and lunged for Ranma again. Ranma hastily blocked Ryouga's attacks. "You don't deserve her, Ranma Saotome!!!" Ranma leapt over Ryouga and landed in a ready position.
"She is a tomboy! I don't see why you see anything so special about her!" he said with out thinking. Akane gasped. Nabiki and Kasumi looked at her with a concerned look and noticed the tears pouring down her cheeks. Soun and Genma joined into the fray.
"How dare you, boy!!!" said Genma as he jump kicked Ranma.
"Ranma, show respect to your fiancee!" said Soun as he tried to sweep out Ranma's feet from under him. Mousse saw them, and smiled, from the shadows. He had been stalking the carolers and now was his chance to prove to his beautiful Shampoo that he was worthy of her by attacking Ranma. So he also jumped into the fray.
"Silly Mousse!!" shouted Shampoo as she saw Mousse shoot several chains at Ranma. "No hurt airen!!!" And with that, she too jumped into the fray. Ukyo sighed. These people were so predictable. She would show Ranchan just how perfect and nice of a fiancee she was by staying out of the fight. Until she saw Ryouga hit Ranma.
"Ryouga!" she shouted. "What do you think you're doing?" With that, she jumped in, whipping out her shuriken spatulas out. Kodachi looked at the fray and covered her mouth as she laughed.
"OHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!!" she laughed. "Ranma honey!!! I'm coming to save you!" There goes another bystander. Tofu looked at them, and hoped they didn't get hurt. Young people now a days...
"Akane, are you all right?" asked Kasumi worriedly on seeing the tears. But Akane surprised them all. She broke out into a huge smile of joy and happiness.
"He's back to normal," she said quietly. And she cried tears of joy.
"Um, Akane, are you O.K.?" asked Nabiki as she felt Akane's forehead. "You know, Kasumi, her forehead is a little hot."
"Oh my," said Kasumi. "Are you getting sick?"
"No, I'm fine," said Akane as she wiped her tears. "Let's sing!!!" Nabiki and Kasumi consented, hoping that it would get Akane back to normal. And they began to sing.
"Hark the herald, angels sing
Glory to the new born king!..."
And slowly, the fighting stopped. Ranma jumped out and landed on a branch to listen to them sing. Akane had quite a lovely soprano voice. Kasumi sang harmony in with her mezzo soprano voice, along with Nabiki in contra alto.
"Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled."
Shampoo stopped also. 'Stupid tomboy girl, money girl and calm girl have good voice.' she thought. Very good voices.
"Joyful all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies.
With angelic host proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn king!"
And the song finished. By then, everyone had stopped fighting. The people they were singing to smiled and cheered. The group that was fighting had calmed down a bit, and were awestruck.
Soun smiled, and for a minute, tears fell from his eyes. Not the all out bawling that usually came out. These were silent tears of joy and pride. Genma was also amazed at the singing. He looked at the calm around him.
"You know, boy, your fiancee is a wonderful singer." he said. "You should be proud of her!" Which of course, set off another bout of fighting as Ranma hastily tried to defend himself. And the sisters smiled at each other. They each loved to sing, so they went to the next house, followed by Dr. Tofu who sang along with them.
"Chestnuts roasting over an open fire,
And Jack Frost nipping at your nose.
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
And folks dressed up as eskimos."
Ranma finally made it back. He had had to fight everyone off and then, he tried to find Akane. She sang so well. Who would have known that tomboy could sing so well? Inwardly he scolded himself. He had to remember to stop calling her uncute and things like that. She probably hated that. So, with that in mind, he limped back to the Tendo dojo, holding a stick to prop himself up. And on the street, one solitary figure walked in the direction of the dojo, contemplating...
The End... not...!!!
Hello, welcome to this session's Author's notes, hosted by yours truly, Hotaru!!!
Anyway, so what did you think? Sorry for the long wait in between chapters. (How long has it been? A month? Two? A year?) Anyway, did you like it? If you did, please review. If you didn't still review!!!! Anyway, thanks for the encouraging notes. Honestly, I don't know how I could write if I didn't get them. Thank you people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Three Cheers to my awesome readers!!!!! Anyway, (again) I hope you enjoyed reading it... I certainly enjoyed writing it!!!! As always, R&R, and C&C are very welcome!
Yours truly,
Hotaru!!!
Quotes
"There are a thousand thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up a pen to write."
-William Thackarey
"A careless word may kindle strife; a cruel word may wreck a life; a timely word may level stress; a loving word may heal and bless."
-Anonymous
PS Anyone know what Shakespeare's epitaph says???? If you do, could you please tell me? Thanx!
PPS And about Ranma. Think about it, Ranma and food. Now think about Ranma and good food... Now think about Akane's normal food. Now, Akane's chicken. Ranma likes Akane, and food and likes Akane's food a lot, especially since it's rare!!! ^.^;;
A Rumiko Takahashi creation of
Ranma 1/2
Written by Hotaru Kimiko Lai...
Love is in the Air: A Christmas Story
Chapter 4
Caroling is an Xtreme Sport? Who would have known...
Akane.
Akane was in the kitchen.
Akane was in the kitchen and it looked like she was cooking.
Ranma stared at her back. It seemed amazing. But something strange was happening in the kitchen. Akane was cooking, at least, it looked like it.
"Is she cooking?" whispered Ukyo to Ranma. He shrugged. He couldn't tell. She looked like she was. After all, she was moving pots and pans around and moving knives up and down, and there was food on the counter, and there was something boiling in the pan on the stove. But then again, it didn't look like she was cooking. The vegetables that she had cut were in almost perfect cubes, and the cutting board didn't look broken, and there were no weird bottles around her, and whatever was being cooked in the saucepan was staying in, and there was no tentacle trying to escape. And Akane wasn't yelling and screaming or anything. He craned his ear... she was ... humming????? It was unbelievable, but she almost imagine Kasumi cooking instead of Akane... something weird was going on...
Akane was happy. She had a plan, which meant that she had a goal, and that meant that she wouldn't get bored this afternoon. How cool is that? Anyway... her thoughts were on Ranma and how she was going to help him get his memory back. Oh it was so simple. When she had her memory erased by that idiotic Shampoo, she had gotten it back because Ranma started to call her names (the stupid baka...). But now, if Ranma had forgotten how to insult her, well, she would teach him again. Since supper was over, which was too bad really, she was making a light snack for Ranma. Of course, since it's Ranma we're talking about, she was making a little more than the usual. Her hands cut the meat evenly and then seasoned them and mixed flour and egg with them. Notice, flour, not salt or sugar or baking soda, or lemonade mix... it was flour. But she didn't notice. She was so happy thinking of how Ranma would insult her that she let her hands do whatever. The pan had hot oil and she dipped the floured chicken in it and started to fry. Notice, she used regular cooking oil, not motor oil or sesame oil or vinegar... normal cooking oil. Wow. Notice the chicken in the pan, it looks a golden brown color. Notice, that it is also not moving, and does not look purple with green polka dots and it does not have tentacles. It looks dead and doesn't move, except when Akane moves it with her spatula. Then, it rolls. Isn't this exciting? Notice also, that the saucepan has a thick liquid that is red... could it be blood??? But Akane took a wooden spoon, and ...wonder of wonders... tasted her concoction. She smiles absentmindedly and adds a little more sugar (not flour, not salt... sucrose) OK, maybe it's not blood, but it looks like it...
Akane was happy. Life was beautiful, and soon Ranma would be normal, and then she could be happy, knowing that she did the right thing. She started to hum a small song she had heard the other day on the radio. It was a nice song, but it had a sticky tune... she hadn't been able to get it out of her head all day long... how annoying. So, she started to hum. Soon though, she found it slightly boring and decided to change part of it, and improvise. It was quite fun! She took the pan and poured out the fried chicken pieces onto a plate. She also poured out the red sauce into a small dish and put the two on a tray, along with a small canister of toothpicks. She happily took the tray. Now, to find Ranma. She smiled and turned around, to see a bunch of people staring at her from the kitchen door.
Her humming stopped. Her eyes froze. Her smile left, much to Ranma's disappointment. And she stared. And the rest just stared back at her. Finally, she gave a small exclamation of surprise, and reacted a lot like how Kasumi had when she had seen Akane with her short hair.
Ranma watched. Everything was in slow motion again. Her mouth formed a small O of surprise, and the tray, along with the dishes flew across the room. Quick as greased and oiled and just plain fast lightning, he ran across the room and caught everything, even the blood like liquid. He handed the tray back to Akane. Wordlessly, Akane put the tray on the counter top and turned to look at Ranma.
"May I ask..." she started with a skeptical look on her face. "What are you and the rest doing?"
"Um... we just wanted to see what you were doing." said Ranma nervously, hand behind his head, looking a little bit lost.
"Oh." said Akane and decided to ignore the fiancees behind him. "Hey, I made something for you!" Ranma froze. The fiancees behind him froze. The whole world froze! (Ok, not the whole world...) She took a plate of food that she had just made and gave it to him. And then, she passed him a small cup of a thick sticky liquid... so like blood...
"Um... for me?" asked Ranma nervously. Akane saw him get nervous and inwardly smiled.
"Yeah, try it!" said Akane, happily. She just couldn't wait till Ranma turned normal. Of course, he'd probably end up insulting her, but it was for a good cause! Ranma looked hesitantly at the food and took it slowly up till it was about mouth level. He looked at Akane. She had her fingers crossed, he noted, and a hopeful smile on her face. Her eyes twinkled, like glittering chocolate hard candy with caramel stripes. And for some reason unknown to him, he wanted to please those eyes, eyes that he knew, shone only for him at the present moment. So he took a bite, even though his other "fiancees" were telling him not to. Even though he had already encountered her cooking that day. Was it only an hour or so that he had insulted her cooking? It seemed... longer... He could feel everything entering into slow motion mode again. Shampoo started to run towards him, probably saying something around the lines of, "Stop airen! No eat silly girl's food!" So he took a bite, and the world stopped. Shampoo stopped. The others at the doorway stopped and time seemed to be frozen for them also. Akane's timing stopped.
Mind processing has started. He chews. The flavors seep into his tongue, sending... could it be?... pleasant tastes to the brain for processing. CIA agents in there worked over time to think of how something Akane made, could taste... so... so... good! Unfortunately, a few seconds time wasn't enough to solve it, so it was put into the UNSOLVED MYSTERIES folder in a rusty filing cabinet.
"So, what do you think?" asked Akane eagerly. "Bad? Tasteless? Gross? Do you need to puke yet?" Ranma stared at her and at the plate in his hands. He was holding treasure! TREASURE!!!
"It was... it was..." started Ranma, not quite sure how to word it.
"Yes?" asked Akane as she leaned in eagerly. She smiled inwardly. Her plan was fool proof! Nothing could go wrong. Ranma and her cooking just didn't mix... and Ranma was sure to tell her that it was awful.
"It was... delicious!" said Ranma with a smile, deciding to keep it simple. Time froze again. On Akane's face was an expression of pure shock, which was mirrored by the others in the room. Akane's world fell through. No! It can't be! Impossible! How could this happen!? Her plan, so carefully thought up off, had backfired in her face. And worse yet, she couldn't get him to understand. He was Ranma, and he never understood. "Akane. What's wrong?" asked Ranma worried, seeing his fiancee's expression. Akane looked at him, pointing her watery brown eyes at him. She stopped for a moment before she ran to her room, not making a sound.
Ranma stood there confused. What did he do wrong? He had read somewhere that girls like compliments... so what went so wrong?
"Airen OK?" asked Shampoo as she inched closer to Ranma.
"Yeah, hon..." said Ukyo as she went into the kitchen. "Did her cooking affect you that much?"
"OHOHOHOHO!" said Kodachi as she bounced into the room. "OHOHOHOHO!!!" Shampoo looked at Ukyo and vice-versa. With a nod, they sent a double attack to the delusional girl that sent her out of the kitchen through a window so conveniently left open. Ukyo touched Ranma's shoulder.
"Ranchan, are you all right?" she asked, with care and concern. Ranma jumped as he felt her touch and leaped back, holding the plate in such a way that nothing would spill.
"No!" said Ranma. "It's mine! You can't take her chicken away from me! It's good! I won't share it!" Shampoo and Ukyo sweatdropped as Ranma leaped out of the window also, carrying his precious plate of chicken. (BTW, check author's notes) And the wind decided to blow and the curtains rustled and all was quite. Except for Kasumi calling the family together to go caroling. And everything looked so peaceful and calmed. Shampoo and Ukyo stared out the window. Today was just too weird.
Akane thought. What had gone so wrong? What was the world coming to? For once, she had tried so hard to get the food to be... bad, like it usually was... but this time... Fate had screwed up. Someone had cheated her of her ability to make food look like nuclear waste.
'Think Akane!' she thought to herself. She was in her room, huddled up on her bed. 'What do I do know? Give up?' She thought. 'Nah... I don't give up that easily. So what? What can I do to help him? Wait, why in the world do I want to help him in the first place?' And for the first time that day, she thought about that. Yeah.... why? Silence in the room as Akane thought. She had an inkling of a suspicion, but before it came to her, Kasumi called. And it was time to go caroling.
Ranma thought. What had gone so wrong? What was the world coming to? He had been... nice! And what did he get for all his troubles? Smelling that perfume all day and getting Akane to cry three million times. Funny thing about the perfume. During the kitchen incident, he smelled it slightly, but not from Akane, so he lost interest. Now, where was he? Oh, yeah... he was in the dojo, leaning against the wall. What to do next, he didn't want Akane to cry because of him. 'And why do I care so much?' asked Ranma to himself. Now, there was a question worthy of being pursued by his intellect. But his train of thought was canceled, since he heard Kasumi call every one. Oh...well... It was time to go caroling. Oh joy! Woopee... yeah right...
"We wish you a Merry Christmas,
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
And a Happy New Year!"
"Bleagh," muttered Nabiki. "Why do I have to sing carols?" She was all bundled up in a forest green coat with white trim and black pants and boots. She looked around her. Akane was on the end, beside her. On her other side were Kasumi, Soun, Ranma and Genma. Dr. Tofu stood behind Kasumi, smiling foolishly and holding Betty on his shoulders, beside Ukyo, Kodachi, and Shampoo, who were fighting a little over who got to stand closest to Ranma.
"Oh, Nabiki, it's fun to sing carols!" said Kasumi. "Don't you think so, Dr. Tofu?" She was wearing a periwinkle blue jacket and white pants with black boots. She looked at the doctor and smiled.
"Y...y...yeah, K...k..Kasumi," he stammered out.
"It's times like these I want to be like Scrooge." said Nabiki to no one in particular. She stuffed her hands in her pockets, and looked a lot like a petulant child. "He had lots of money and didn't have to sing stupid carols at Christmas time unless he wanted to." Kasumi smiled.
Soun and Genma conversed.
"Yes, it's a beautiful time of the year, right Soun, old pall?" asked Genma.
"Oh, definitely," said Soun. "It's wonderful, all the love and care flying around. Brings a tear to your eye, it does."
"Yes," said Genma with a smile. "A time of love and fellowship and presents... talking about that, Ranma my boy!"
"What do you want?" asked Ranma sullenly. It was cold, he wanted to think and most certainly did not want to be here singing Christmas carols.
"Show more respect for your father," said Soun.
"Anyway," said Genma. "I was wondering, did you get anything for Akane for Christmas?"
"Yes," said Soun. "After all, she's your fiancee. How are you two getting along."
"Peachy," said Ranma sarcastically before shutting up. Unfortunately, the two adults took it wrong.
"Oh!" said Soun with a shout. "I'm so glad! Saotome, the future of our two families is now secure!"
"Yes!" said Genma, loudly also. "Who knows, they might even be married by the New Year, Soun old pal!"
"That would be just wonderful!" said Soun, tears of joy streaming from his eyes.
"WHAT!!!???" shouted Akane, Ranma, Ukyo, Shampoo and Kodachi. Kasumi just smiled. Nabiki
rolled her eyes. Dr. Tofu danced about with Betty-chan.
"WHAT??????!!!!!!!! RANMA, PREPARE TO DIE!" shouted another voice. Everyone turned back and saw a figure with a poisonous green aura around him. His eyes glinted.
Sometime before, while they were singing, a young man looked at the stars. It was a beautiful night, with a clear sky and the stars twinkled brightly, as if somebody got a can of polish and had rubbed the grime of them and let them shine brightly once more. Such a beautiful evening. If only he could share it with
someone. But alas, the poor solitary boy was by himself, and lost and didn't know what to do, where to go...
Ryouga looked at the night sky. 'Akane', he thought. 'If only you could be here with me, I would tell you how much I love you... and make sure you' have a happy life, beside me, and not that uncivilized Ranma, who doesn't deserve you.' He walked. He was wearing his normal clothes, but they were thicker, since it was winter, and it was cold. Even though the night was beautiful, it reminded him of his loneliness. He started to draft a letter in his head.
'Dearest Akane,' it would start. 'How are you? I hope you are doing fine. Right now, I'm not sure where I am. Perhaps Hokkaido, or perhaps Russia... but I want you to know, wherever I am, I always think about you. I got a present for you. I got it... somewhere... I'm sure you'll like it.' Here he stopped. 'Oh Akane,' he thought. 'If only I could find you, but I am so lost without you. If only the gods would give me a sign...' and almost immediately, the sign was granted.
"We wish you a Merry Christmas,
And a Happy New Year!"
A sign! People were singing of joy and hope and telling him to not give up! He decided, since these people were so nice, he'd go by and tell them that they sang very well. He was almost there when he heard something else...
"Yes," said Soun. "After all, she's your fiancee. How are you two getting along."
"Peachy," said Ranma sarcastically before shutting up. Unfortunately, the two adults took it wrong.
"Oh!" said Soun with a shout. "I'm so glad! Saotome, the future of our two families is now secure!"
"Yes!" said Genma, loudly also. "Who knows, they might even be married by the New Year, Soun old pal!"
"That would be just wonderful!" said Soun, tears of joy streaming from his eyes. Ryouga felt his blood begin to boil.
"WHAT??????!!!!!!!! RANMA, PREPARE TO DIE!" he shouted as he ran the last block to the boy. Ranma saw him and immediately jumped out of the way, causing Ryouga to loose his balance.
"Yo, Ryouga, what's up?" he asked. Right now, he didn't want to think about fiancees. So Ryouga was a nice distraction.
"How could you Ranma?" asked Ryouga as he tried to punch him. Ranma avoided them easily.
"How could I what, P-Chan?" asked Ranma innocently. Akane watched from the sidelines along with everyone. What the heck, there was Ranma fighting again. He always fought, the stupid baka... but this time, she couldn't really blame him, after all, it was Ryouga who attacked. So she watched, and grew depressed. Ranma had been surprised at the talk of marriage, but he hadn't denied them. She tried to blink away a tear. It was always her fault! And now, poor Ranma... he probably didn't even want this, but he didn't know it. Maybe she should just run away. There was more of a chance of Ranma forgetting her. Nabiki looked at her sister.
"Yo, Akane," she said. "Are you O.K.?" she asked. Akane was about to answer when she heard something that made her heart soar. Back to the battle...
"How can you marry Akane with out her consent!!!" shouted Ryouga as he lunged at Ranma and managed to hit his side. Ranma stumbled back.
"What?" he said, slightly confused. "Who said anything about marrying that tomboy?" Akane's ears perked up. Could it be? Were her ears deceiving her?
"How dare you call Akane san that?" shouted Ryouga as he got very mad and lunged for Ranma again. Ranma hastily blocked Ryouga's attacks. "You don't deserve her, Ranma Saotome!!!" Ranma leapt over Ryouga and landed in a ready position.
"She is a tomboy! I don't see why you see anything so special about her!" he said with out thinking. Akane gasped. Nabiki and Kasumi looked at her with a concerned look and noticed the tears pouring down her cheeks. Soun and Genma joined into the fray.
"How dare you, boy!!!" said Genma as he jump kicked Ranma.
"Ranma, show respect to your fiancee!" said Soun as he tried to sweep out Ranma's feet from under him. Mousse saw them, and smiled, from the shadows. He had been stalking the carolers and now was his chance to prove to his beautiful Shampoo that he was worthy of her by attacking Ranma. So he also jumped into the fray.
"Silly Mousse!!" shouted Shampoo as she saw Mousse shoot several chains at Ranma. "No hurt airen!!!" And with that, she too jumped into the fray. Ukyo sighed. These people were so predictable. She would show Ranchan just how perfect and nice of a fiancee she was by staying out of the fight. Until she saw Ryouga hit Ranma.
"Ryouga!" she shouted. "What do you think you're doing?" With that, she jumped in, whipping out her shuriken spatulas out. Kodachi looked at the fray and covered her mouth as she laughed.
"OHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!!" she laughed. "Ranma honey!!! I'm coming to save you!" There goes another bystander. Tofu looked at them, and hoped they didn't get hurt. Young people now a days...
"Akane, are you all right?" asked Kasumi worriedly on seeing the tears. But Akane surprised them all. She broke out into a huge smile of joy and happiness.
"He's back to normal," she said quietly. And she cried tears of joy.
"Um, Akane, are you O.K.?" asked Nabiki as she felt Akane's forehead. "You know, Kasumi, her forehead is a little hot."
"Oh my," said Kasumi. "Are you getting sick?"
"No, I'm fine," said Akane as she wiped her tears. "Let's sing!!!" Nabiki and Kasumi consented, hoping that it would get Akane back to normal. And they began to sing.
"Hark the herald, angels sing
Glory to the new born king!..."
And slowly, the fighting stopped. Ranma jumped out and landed on a branch to listen to them sing. Akane had quite a lovely soprano voice. Kasumi sang harmony in with her mezzo soprano voice, along with Nabiki in contra alto.
"Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled."
Shampoo stopped also. 'Stupid tomboy girl, money girl and calm girl have good voice.' she thought. Very good voices.
"Joyful all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies.
With angelic host proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn king!"
And the song finished. By then, everyone had stopped fighting. The people they were singing to smiled and cheered. The group that was fighting had calmed down a bit, and were awestruck.
Soun smiled, and for a minute, tears fell from his eyes. Not the all out bawling that usually came out. These were silent tears of joy and pride. Genma was also amazed at the singing. He looked at the calm around him.
"You know, boy, your fiancee is a wonderful singer." he said. "You should be proud of her!" Which of course, set off another bout of fighting as Ranma hastily tried to defend himself. And the sisters smiled at each other. They each loved to sing, so they went to the next house, followed by Dr. Tofu who sang along with them.
"Chestnuts roasting over an open fire,
And Jack Frost nipping at your nose.
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
And folks dressed up as eskimos."
Ranma finally made it back. He had had to fight everyone off and then, he tried to find Akane. She sang so well. Who would have known that tomboy could sing so well? Inwardly he scolded himself. He had to remember to stop calling her uncute and things like that. She probably hated that. So, with that in mind, he limped back to the Tendo dojo, holding a stick to prop himself up. And on the street, one solitary figure walked in the direction of the dojo, contemplating...
The End... not...!!!
Hello, welcome to this session's Author's notes, hosted by yours truly, Hotaru!!!
Anyway, so what did you think? Sorry for the long wait in between chapters. (How long has it been? A month? Two? A year?) Anyway, did you like it? If you did, please review. If you didn't still review!!!! Anyway, thanks for the encouraging notes. Honestly, I don't know how I could write if I didn't get them. Thank you people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Three Cheers to my awesome readers!!!!! Anyway, (again) I hope you enjoyed reading it... I certainly enjoyed writing it!!!! As always, R&R, and C&C are very welcome!
Yours truly,
Hotaru!!!
Quotes
"There are a thousand thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up a pen to write."
-William Thackarey
"A careless word may kindle strife; a cruel word may wreck a life; a timely word may level stress; a loving word may heal and bless."
-Anonymous
PS Anyone know what Shakespeare's epitaph says???? If you do, could you please tell me? Thanx!
PPS And about Ranma. Think about it, Ranma and food. Now think about Ranma and good food... Now think about Akane's normal food. Now, Akane's chicken. Ranma likes Akane, and food and likes Akane's food a lot, especially since it's rare!!! ^.^;;