"I promise, dad, I'm doing just fine," Akane spoke into the phone, mindlessly twirling the cord with her index finger. She looked over at the clock and frowned, reading 6 am. "Now, can I ask why you wanted to talk to me so early this morning?"
Soun gasped, making his daughter wince. "It's not early! Besides, you said I could call once a week, but you never specified the time. Plus, I found that this time best fits my schedule."
His daughter leaned into the wall next to the phone, wondering what busy schedule. Lounging with Mr.Saotome? "I said, maybeonce a week,maybe.Maybe, here, being the keyword then, dad." She closed her eyes, rubbing them with her fingers to try and work through the need to fall asleep.
"Is it awful to want to know what your little girl is doing while she's away?" Soun pressed. "I just want to make sure you're okay up in the middle of nowhere, is that so bad."
Akane rolled her eyes. "Of course not." She sighed, growing tired she switched hands to hold the phone, using her left one now. "I'm doing fine here, dad. I wake up, go train, maybe do some sightseeing, I eat 3 meals a day, and sometimes we do a few group activities."
"Really?" Soun let out a sigh of relief, which offended Akane a bit, what did he think she was doing? "Well, that's good. How are the others, by the way? Are they nice to you? Surely Ranma would keep you safe from the other two if they got any ideas, how is that boy anyway?"
Akane tensed at the question, she wasn't sure how to answer. This last week had just been a lot of mindless playing around, focused on having fun and working around the situation. It had been fun, having him take her seriously for the first time, but she was a little fuzzy on the whole thing while she was in a normal state of mind. She was sure that they had placed some sort of bet alongside the rules of the game, though she had forgotten to ask what they were.
Though that didn't matter, what was she gonna come up with now? Think, Akane, what would I usually say?
"He's fine, pretty much doing the same thing I do but more... him. You know, always has his own way of being. No big fights around here, all good stuff, haha." Akane tensed. "As for the others, they've treated me just fine. Mousse doesn't do much, and Ukyo is about as civil as ever whenever Ranma isn't involved."
Now that, Akane knew was no stretch of the truth. Mousse didn't do much as far as she was concerned, his designated days were the calmest so far excusing the occasional fight with Ranma. And Ukyo had been pretty friendly, sometimes cooking her favorites when dinner time came. Akane smiled. "It hasn't been too bad all things considered; it's been tamed around here."
Soun said nothing, though his tone was nothing short of relieved. "I'm glad to hear that, dear." He chuckled a bit. "Would you like to speak to your sisters while I have you here? You must miss them."
"Are they even awake, dad?" Akane chuckled. "Knowing, Nabiki, she's surely knocked out."
Soun laughed with his daughter. "She does enjoy her time off, if it isn't being spent studying it's spent sleeping." He said, amusement ringing in his voice. "Kasumi is awake, if you'd like to talk to her at all?"
Akane agreed though she was tired due to the time she enjoyed talking to sensible people whenever she had the chance. A short exchange could be heard on the other line, ending with a sweet greeting from the oldest Tendo daughter.
"Akane, how are you?" Kasumi asked, eagerly. "I hope you're enjoying your break up in the woods."
"It's not the woods, sis, we're technically in a village, but yes, it hasn't been bad," Akane explained. "I have some photos of the scenery here as you asked. I'll take as many as possible through the next month, so you'll have plenty to look at."
Kasumi clapped her hands. "Oh goody, I'm excited to see them." She sighed whimsically. "I wonder if I can find the time to go up there with some friends, I'd like to see the area for myself... Oh well, someday, right? But, enough of that, have you been doing anything interesting?"
"Nothing that I haven't already told dad, it's only been a week."
"Still, in a week, a lot can happen when on a trip with your friends," Kasumi suggested amusingly. "Especially since one of them is your fiancé."
Akane's eyes widened, she never thought her sister would be as suggestive as she was currently being. If it had been from Nabiki sure, it was on brand to tease her no problem, but for Kasumi to say something, well Akane could only laugh nervously before answering her older sister. "You wouldn't be suggesting something... would you?"
"Well, um, I would never suggest anything that isn't appropriate for someone your age." Kasumi trailed off, incomprehensible mumbling following before she stopped.
"That wasn't what I was asking." Akane crossed her arm under the one holding the phone, this was a longer phone call than she was expecting. "But why do you say that? You think that us coming up here had something to do with Ranma and me?". Though that technically wouldn't be too far off.
"Of course not... but you are engaged." Kasumi laughed at Akane's groan. "I'm just saying, you've been getting along pretty well ever since your birthday celebration, and so a sudden secret trip with two random people up north where there aren't many distractions? And not to mention it lasts the whole summer, come on, Akane, some assumptions can be made."
Akane pursed her lips, hadn't Ranma said they had told her about the situation or was she crazy? Whatever, not something she wanted to break to her older sister over a 6 am phone call. "Assumptions from who? Sounds like something Nabiki would make up and gossip about." A sudden click went off in her head. "Wait? Have you been talking to Nabiki more than usual lately?"
Kasumi paused. "... There aren't many people to have a civilized conversation with around right now, Akane. You can't suggest I visit Auntie Nodoka every day, do you?" She mumbled. "Though I'm not the only one hearing about these 'speculations'..."
Akane sighed, though she tried to stifle a smile. Her older sister, Kasumi, turned gossip, hilarious. "Well, let Nabiki know that it's not like that, as far as I'm concerned that is. It is just a sudden, secret trip with two randomly chosen people up north where there aren't many distractions." She laughed, how absurd. "Well, I'll let you go, I still have some sleeping to do and some breakfast to eat."
The oldest Tendo daughter hummed, not upset at the ending of their conversation in her typical fashion. "Alright, I still have to finish up breakfast so it's for the best. Stay safe, and make sure to have fun..." She paused. "Though, if something between you two happens you'd tell me, yes?"
"In the billion in one chance I come home in a romantic relationship with Ranma-which is unlikely-sure, I will. If it happens, sis, I promise I'll even kiss a pig since impossible things are on the table, how's that sound?" She huffed, a smug smile on the edge of her lips.
Kasumi exhaled sharply. "It's notthat unlikely to happen."
Akane yelled an amused 'Ha' at her sister. "Sure, have a good day, sis."
"I'm serious, Akane, you never know. Be ready to kiss that pig when you come home with a newly formed relationship." Her older sister giggled while Akane stuck out her tongue in disgust at the thought. They laughed together briefly before Kasumi said her goodbyes as well. "Have a good day, too, Akane." Kasumi said before finally hanging up.
Akane's face dropped as soon as the click was heard, cutting the line from the call. Just as immediately she felt the tiredness take over her body now that the conversation was over, she was not a morning person during the summer she was sure. What a weird phone call, she thought, what would possess her oldest sister to ask a question like that? She yawned, walking back to the room.
Much less likely is to propose such a bet, because in a way what had gone down was a bet on if this was the trip that would change her and Ranma's relationship. There have been more emotional trips and if those haven't done it, what makes sis think this would be the one? Finally, she opened the door, her knees weakening at the very sight of her futon.
Something between me and Ranma, huh? Maybe when the potion's active. Akane fell into her bed, snuggling under the covers and as the coolness of night had still been present, she shivered before covering her whole self to warm up quicker. I wonder what I'm like, maybe I'm cute. I wonder if I tell him I like him a lot? I probably do if what everyone tells me I'm like. I wonder if he humors me when I make a move on him at all. She thought and thought of all theifs and maybe's, though they didn't have much time to be dwelled on as Akane quickly fell asleep, forgetting to humor herself on the very idea of an official confession between the two. One with no possible death or lives at stake, a normal confession for once in her life.
Though in the end, she knew that was a long way away, even if there was a chance of it happening at all.
--
It was 8 am when Akane woke up next, though it was once again against her will. It was a very nice sleep despite the earlier discomfort, one that felt refreshing and resting until Ukyo waltzed in rather loudly, pulling the blankets off of the less energetic girl.
"Good morning!" Ukyo greeted, ignoring the initial confusion of Akane, who fought her immediate urge to fight her friend at the sudden intrusion. "We have some special errands to run today, hon." She smiled, looking down at the now sprawled-out girl.
Akane frowned, she had been sleeping with a sleep mask for a few days now, and Mousse had found it best to make sure that nothing happened so early in the morning. Well, for once, he may have had a point. Akane ran a hand through her hair before sitting up, staying silent to think about her words. It was never good to wake her up before she was ready and she knew it, so it was best to try and think before she spoke. Finally, after a minute of silence, she strained a smile and answered.
"And what would those errands be?"
Ukyo grinned before rummaging through Akane's belongings, looking for the most comfortable clothing that she had packed, surely it would not be an easy errand. "Well, my dad needs some specific ingredients for some special he's tryin' a run sometime soon and he wants me to go stop by the next town over to get 'em. But since I said I would watch you today, you got no choice but to tag along." She threw a pile of clothes at her bewildered companion, quickly exiting to let her change. "So hurry up, I already let you sleep in a bit since you had that mornin' call earlier."
Akane sat in awe before removing her sleeping mask, finally looking down at the outfit her friend had thrown in her direction. It was a white t-shirt with a pair of athleisure shorts she had packed, they were exactly what she'd planned to wear for a workout. The girl flopped on her back and sighed. Akane had thought that the day with Ukyo would be best spent studying how to fight her, after all at the state she was in she couldn't beat Ukyo in most aspects, maybe brute strength, but in style, she was just out of reach. But instead, they were going on a trip to some town probably miles away, probably impossible to get a good training session in with her.
This can work... yeah, it'll be fine. She took a deep breath, and sat up once more, and began to change into the set of clothes. It didn't take long before she was able to meet up with Ukyo who was in the kitchen where she smelled breakfast happening upon walking in, because as it turns out, having one sense off limits for most of the day could heighten the others. Akane sniffed once more and smiled, breakfast awaiting.
"Ready to head out yet? The other two are still sleepin' so we can get the jump on 'em." Ukyo walked close to Akane, taking her hand into hers. Akane fought the urge to pull back, almost instinctively, as if them holding hands were now weird.
Nonsense, I hold hands with my friends all the time it's not weird,Akane though to herself, pushing any other thought to the side as she moved on to the conversation at hand.
"Won't they be worried if they wake up and we're just gone?" The shorter girl brought up. "Or at least, confused?"
Ukyo scoffed, pulling Akane to what she could only assume to be the door. "Ha, I doubt they'll be worried, hon, they know I got you with me f'r the day. Besides if they've got questions they'll just ask my dad over at the restaurant."
Akane pursed her lips as the other girl stopped to pig up a packed travel bag, throwing it over her shoulder before stepping foot outside. A feeling of dread began to overcome her slowly.
To be completely honest-something she was finding difficult as of late- Akane was a bit worried about the rest of the day. The last week had been spent with the other two and was much easier to brush off any weird things she had done since they were both boys, but what about now? It wasn't something she had wanted to deal with just yet in terms of what this meant for herself. Akane sighed, feeling the hairs on her arms rise from the early morning chill, but even so, she still felt warm. Maybe she was sick after all.
After a few minutes of walking through the town and a few minutes into the surrounding woods, Ukyo gave the dreaded okay to take off the blindfold. Akane hesitated causing them to stop, her hands right on the tie behind her head. A cold sweat ran off her as the other girl looked curiously.
"What's wrong?" Ukyo asked, stepping closer to Akane and reaching out a hand, surprised when the other girl leaned a bit away. "You don't want to take it off? I thought you hated it."
Akane felt her face heat up, a faint shyness in her voice. "Are you sure you're comfortable with me doing this? I mean, since we're-uh-both girls and all." She resisted the immediate urge to run away, why was she stuttering now?
Ukyo opened her mouth to refute the suggestion, so what if they were both girls? End of the day they were friends nonetheless. But she stopped, a smile curled on her lips, Akane was nervous, a bit scared even. A type of nervous that was usually reserved for Ranma on special occasions and the type of scared she hadn't seen at all in the past week when with the two boys.
The chef was well versed in the likes of a girl in love, especially one that was in love with her. It was common all of her life to receive love notes from the same gender ever since primary school, well who could blame 'em, she thought. Ukyo smiled coyly.
Since she had no interest in other girls and had learned to not let their interest bother her, the idea of Akane being in love with her for the day hadn't really affected her, it merely offered the small comfort of Akane being out of her way against Ranma for the day. But Akane certainly wasn't used to this, surprising to Ukyo, so a fun idea came to mind in the heat of the moment, or at least an entertaining one.
"I think it's fine, nothing wrong with a cute girl being your special friendfor the day." Ukyo nudged, stressing the word friend much to Akane's dismay.
"Don't say it like that!" Akane protested before turning around, embarrassed at the sudden teasing. "You know what? I can manage with the blindfold for the day, really I-" She was cut off, being turned around by her arm to face Ukyo, feeling the light cloth unveil her eyes. Her face felt hot as soon as she realized what had happened, and was surely boiling by the time her eyes saw the boyish smile meant for her.
"It's okay, no need to suffer for the day just because of some light teasin', hon. Here." Ukyo taking both of the other girl's hands into her own. "I'll take care of you real easy, Akane."
Before Akane could stutter another badly formed excuse for her behavior, she caught herself. For a moment, Akane felt in control of herself, but that didn't stop the jittery feeling she had been fighting from coming forth, though the feeling of control didn't last, and she was now someone unfamiliarly recognizable to Ukyo. She smiled, their hands still locked together.
"Well, then I trust I'm in your care today then, Ukyo." Akane fumbled over her words, looking nervously over the other girl's face.
Ukyo smiled back, oh this was gonna be great teasing material for both Akane and Ranma.
--
In the village, 8:30 am
Ranma felt something was off, something... missing. Usually, he paid no mind to the feeling but with the whole Akane situation, he was more on his toes than usual. The pigtailed boy opened his eyes and looked around the room, shared between Mousse and himself it was hardly a room, more of a den with a short curtain dividing the hallway from them. He looked to his side, seeing an empty futon left on the floor.
He could at least bother to put it away,Ranma thought to himself, annoyed already before 9 am. Still groggy, he forced himself up to try and remember what was missing. Slowly he made his way to the kitchen where the faint smell of Ukyo's cooking swam through, a very welcoming smell in the morning.
"Good morning." Mousse said from the table, seemingly writing on a piece of notebook paper with a mouthful of food while he spoke. He pushed his glasses up, focusing on the task at hand. "Ukyo and Akane are gone already, but they left breakfast for us."
Ranma snapped his fingers. "That's what it is." He smiled. "I thought somethin' was missin', thanks man...? What are you doin' over there?" He peered over, furrowing his eyebrows at the odd text he could only try to read. Ranma squinted, and the unexpected decent penmanship from Mousse added to his confusion.
Mousse scowled before instinctively covering his paper. "That's none of your business, Saotome; it's private." he huffed.
"Geez, okay, I was just makin' conversation no need to get all fired up." Ranma laughed. "Also, there's it ain't necessary for you to cover the paper, I can't read Chinese remember? Kinda why you're here in the first place."
The young amazon felt his face flare in embarrassment, his hands moving to the side of the paper no longer hiding the contents. Quickly he regained his composure, sliding his glasses up and out of his face before speaking again. "You won't say anything about it, will you? If I tell you?"
Ranma picked out a pair of chopsticks before answering, quickly glancing at the other boy sitting at the table. "It's too early in the mornin' to be startin' stuff, so go for it." He went to sit across from Mousse, picking up the now cold frying pan with even colder eggs on his way there. He began to eat, waiting for Mousse to continue talking in the meantime.
Of course, bothered the boy, he felt annoyed already talking to his enemy so early in the morning, but eating so casually seemed to make him more irritable to the fact. He frowned, oh well, like Ranma said, it was too early in the morning for an altercation anyway, might as well take it with a grain of salt. Just this once.
Mousse took a short breath. "It's for my family, I try and write letters home every month or so." He held out the paper in front of him. "My mom especially, she keeps wondering when I'm coming home."
Across from him, Ranma finished his chewing before talking, recent habit, Mousse assumed. "Well, when are you goin' home?" He took another quick bite. "How long have you been here anyway? A while for sure."
Mousse felt his eyebrow twitch. "You're bold for asking that, Ranma. You know, considering you're the damn reason I'm stuck here!" He pointed his finger, slamming his other hand into the table, startling Ranma. "I want to go home but I can't exactly leave Shampoo here running around on a wild goose chase with an array of stupid girls at her side!" He huffed. So much for 'too early in the morning'.
Ranma frowned. "Running around on a wild goose chase, that's new, what do you mean by that exactly?" He asked though he knew the answer. I'm not the one runnin' the stupid chase.
"Oh come on, you know, just a pointless pursuit of an impossible relationship with you that you've managed to drag three girls into." Mousse crossed his arms, leaning back into his chair. "Of course, I only say impossible because we all know who you're dead set on."
Ranma shot up from his seat and slammed his chopstick onto the table, causing it to shake as he protested. "I am not dead set on Akane!"
Mousse stared up at Ranma, his chin tilted up and a deadpan look on his face spoke. "I never mentioned Akane."
Shit.Ranma slapped his forehead, maybe it was too early for a fight after all. He sat back in his seat, looking away as Mousse continued to dig into the boy across the table.
"And in the end, it's even more pointless considering the aspects of your current situation. You may be dead set on Akane, but who knows if she's all so set on you, y'know, if we're considering... recent events." Mousse said, catching Ranma's eyes.
"Recent events...? She drank a potion that makes her fall in love with whoever she looks at, that has nothing to do with if she's set on me."
Mousse gapped, his glasses sliding back down his nose as he stared in shock. "Huh, don't tell me you haven't put two and two together?"
Ranma rolled his eyes. "Put what and what together?"
Mousse shook his head before answering, in awe. "Don't you remember? At the beginning of this whole fiasco what was said in the manual about the attraction aspect?"
"... The thing you said was a mistranslation on your part." He squinted in thought. "What about it."
In the defeat of the other boy's poor personal analytical skills, Mousse slouched, almost pitying whoever his teacher was for his lack of nuance. "Might've, you idiot, might'vebeen a mistranslation." He leaned closed, resting his elbows on the table. "So, you just accepted it as an effect of the potion? Is that it? Because it's not."
Ranma raised an eyebrow, curious. "I don't get it."
Mousse was struck, unsure if he should be the one to burst the boy's bubble. Though the dilemma didn't last, telling him this would make things progress in one way or another, along with the bonus of messing with Ranma's day. He slumped back into his chair, pushing his glasses up.
"Akane likes girls, you idiot."
--
"Achoo!" Akane shivered, rubbing her nose. "Gross, that gave me goosebumps."
Ukyo chuckled, poking the other girl in the shoulder teasingly. "Hmm, you know they say when you sneeze at random it means someone's talkin' bout you?"
"Really? Do you think so? I wonder who..." Akane held a hand over her mouth, giggling girlishly at the thought. "If I know anything it's probably my family, they sure do like to gossip."
"Really? Your sister Nabiki I believe but the rest of 'em too?" Ukyo asked.
Akane rolled her eyes, smiling and shaking her head as she recalled the earlier phone call. "My dad calls me at the crack of dawn before the rest of the world is awake, asking me how I've been and all that before handing the phone over to my sister Kasumi who then comes to tell me that everyone in the house has been speculating the real reason behind this trip." She snorted before continuing. "Can you guess what they've been thinking?"
Ukyo cocked her head to the side, curious. "Nope. What d'they say?" An interesting look in her eye.
"Well, she said that on a sudden trip with your friends a lot can happen... dot, dot, dot, especially when one of them happens to be your fiancée." Akane scoffed. "Can you believe it? And apparently, they are all talking about it with Nabiki, she's been filling these ideas in their heads, ha, it's hilarious really."
"'Hilarious'? Why do you say that?" Ukyo raised an eyebrow. "I mean, it's not impossible and I'm not saying I want it to be true but... isn't that what you want them to think? Like, deep down somewhere this trip is a chance at some alone time with him?" She said, but more so for herself than for Akane.
"Oh, come on you can't be serious, Ukyo. Me? And that guy? In his dreams." Akane rolled her eyes. "They're just saying that in hopes of us not trying to break off our engagement."
Ukyo faltered, slowing down to a halt as Akane looked behind her to face the brunette. She took a moment to find the proper words. "Break off your engagement? You would never do that." She gapped before stating. "Multiple people have scars that would say otherwise."
Akane smiled softly taking the other girl's hands into her own before answering. "But why wouldn't I? I have you now." Slowly, Akane locked her fingers in between hers and Ukyo, beaming with joy all while Ukyo hardly noticed how close the two were. "We don't need him, just us, together."
"What do you-" Ukyo paused, unsure of what to say. "-We can't, i-it won't work."
As if it were the most natural practice in the world, Akane rested her hands on the other girl's shoulders, staring lovingly into her eyes and at everything around it. Almost a whisper, she spoke to Ukyo. "I think we can manage; what I feel for you can overcome anything, and what you feel for me can too."
Ukyo stared down into the eyes of the girl in her hands, noticing just how genuine everything about her was. In the way smiled with that soft expression right into her, in the way her words and declarations felt like common sense, in the very eyes that she had so casually allowed to fall in love with her for some teasing material. Something so temporary feeling so real. It was, for lack of a better word, nauseating, she knew of girls in love with her but never like this, never this close. She pursed her lips, thinking.
This feels... not like it should.
The shorter girl leaned in closer, snapping Ukyo back into reality. "Normally this is the part where you kiss me, you know after I've declared my love for you and all." She closed her eyes, barely containing a smile as their faces were only a few centimeters apart.
That was all Ukyo could handle before getting her body to physically react, leaning away so fast that her legs couldn't keep up and causing her to fall on her back. Though she hardly noticed her fall as she merely stared up to the sky, paying little to no attention to the questions of worry from the other girl, unsure of what to make of the situation now. It was weird, seeing Akane act like that was so unfamiliar, she had never seen her be that way with anyone, though to be fair she wasn't exactly the most lovey-dovey type but the point still stands. She sighed.
Still, just as it was unfamiliar, it was still Akane.
From what she had interacted with so far that was far from the usual as far as Ukyo could tell. Had Akane ever asked the others for a kiss as well? Did she say all of those things to them too while they watched her for the day? It all felt so genuine she couldn't quite wrap her head around the idea, it felt too personal for that to possibly be true.
Finally, she furrowed her eyebrows deciding to chalk it up to something not worth dwelling on, that was way too close for comfort.
"-Are you alright?! Do you want me to carry you back home or-" Akane jumped back as the brunette shot back up to her feet. "-are you good... Ukyo...?"
Ukyo stared ahead, straight-faced before answering. "I'm all good, we should get goin', the vendor is waitin' for us and we shouldn't keep 'em waitin' anymore, haha."
Akane watched the other girl walk ahead, almost like a robot programmed on a mission. She frowned, confused at the sudden change of mood before watching Ukyo walk face-first into a tree, which she promptly ran over to go and aid her.
--
"I mean, have you ever noticed anything about her that could point towards this?" Mousse asked. "I mean, the potion doesn't lie and Akane sucks at keeping a secret, maybe she dropped clues somewhere along the last year." He spun his pen in between his fingers, this was entertaining at the very least.
"No, not from what I've seen..." Ranma paced.
"Oh come on, think about it, she must've dropped some sort of hints along the way." Mousse hummed, his pencil falling to the table in his annoyance. He picked it up. "Maybe thinking about it can bring some piece of mind."
Ranma stopped in front of the table, a finger to his chin as he tried to conjure any sort of clue she may have dropped along the way. "Well, the obvious is her natural tomboy nature, she hated boys when we first met, and she was super friendly to me when we first met as a girl." He looked down at Mousse, who was far from concerned about the issue. "But those don't mean anything exactly."
Mousse shrugged. "Maybe, maybe they do."
"But she liked the neighborhood doctor all her life."
"Things change."
"She really had a thing for him though. Like, a long-termthing for the doctor."
"And it eventually died, didn't it?" Mousse looked up. "Look, maybe it was something she just realized herself, knowing her she probably didn't know until recently."
Ranma frowned. "That's stupid, how could she have not known?.. then again she is a little dumb." He shook his head. "Not the point. How are you so sure? Maybe it was a mistranslation, read it again."
Mousse rolled his eyes before digging through his sleeves and pulling out the comically large manual that had been the bane of Ranma's existence for the last week. Pulling his glasses down, the young amazon read the section of interest once more over and over again. He held it closer, held it farther, angled it, flipped it, but still, he did not see anything wrong.
"No mistake here." Mousse sighed, shoving the paper into his sleeves casually. "That girl is, for lack of a better word, a bit bent."
Ranma's shoulders stiffened, been a while since he heard of that word being used to describe his fiancée, though usually it had been thrown by Nabiki while in arguments with Akane the first few weeks he spent at the Tendo household. Or at least, that is, until the two started getting into more complex romantic affairs. Still, not an unfamiliar term in reference to Akane.
"Well... I don't believe it." Ranma finally declared dismissively. "Not until I hear it from her mouth it's still up in the air for all I know."
Mousse rolled his eyes. "Of course, you're jumping straight to denial, not surprising." He clicked his tongue. "Doesn't matter anyway, that girl is still bent."
This was beginning to strike a nerve he never knew was there; Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Not until she says she is."
The Amazon smiled, sensing the annoyance growing in the other boy. "Y'know, I'm surprised this is catching you off guard since you were always the one to bring up her femininity, or lack of, more specifically. What is it, you always call her...? Right, a tomboy." Mousse snapped his fingers. "Crap, look at that now you can expand your insults since she's like that."
Ranma scowled. "Like what?"
"Lemme think... how about muff diver."
"Never heard that one before, how creative." Ranma furrowed his eyebrows as Mousse kept going, both fully aware of how this would end.
"Donut puncher."
"You definitely made that one up."
"Wait, maybe the classic lesbo would do-" Mousse gasped, an even better word coming to mind. "-Oh, even more classic what about dy-"
"-Okay, that's it!" Ranma stood up abruptly, pulling the other boy by the collar. "You finish that word and consider yourself our next meal."
Mousse looked up at Ranma, unfazed. He understood the situation he was in, but some things are worth the consequences.
"Right, wouldn't wanna be eaten by your dy-"
--
A shiver ran up Akane's spine sending goosebumps up her arms as if a chill had run through the area, someone was definitely talking about her. She rubbed her arms trying to make the hair settle down, what else could it be that was making her get these random goosebumps? Oh well, maybe it was just one of those days.
"Akane, I'm back. Sorry I took so long, I wouldn't have left you here if I knew the seller was a chatterbox" Ukyo called out, pulling a cart behind her full of merchandise. "You're gonna have to help me carry this back home, it's way too much for me to carry it home by myself." She laughed, smiling at Akane.
It was almost immediately noticed that the potion had kicked in when they had locked eyes, a shy demeanor took over Akane as soon as the smile had curled onto Ukyo's lips. Her face was pink as she ran over, taking the cart from the other girl and pulling it behind her back to the path they had come from.
"I'll carry it for now, you can catch your breath for the time being," Akane said. "You can take a seat on the cart, I can carry you just fine."
"Oh no I couldn't possibly do that, it's really heavy and I don't think your strong enough to-Woah!" Ukyo yelped as Akane lifted her, placing her on top of the boxes in the cart. She gasped, a chuckle escaping her at the absurdity of the tomboy who-for lack of a better word- had just manhandled her.
"I'm plenty strong, you practically weighed nothing and this cart can't be much heavier," Akane said triumphantly, paying no mind to Ukyo's giggles. "So just sit back and relax and I'll get us a good chunk of the way back to your place."
Ukyo hummed as the other girl began their way home, treading along a familiar road and quickly growing bored with sitting back. She was Ukyo Kuonji after all, just when was she not working? Even on this vacation she was either spending her free time working with her father or she was doing some sort of activity with her friends, no real sitting back had occurred since the train ride here and that was fine, she felt fine. Still, Akane did not budge, insisting that Ukyo should ride most of the way home if not all of it, after all, it was the least she could do for not helping get the merchandise in town. She crossed her arms, frowning briefly before an entertaining idea had come to mind. Ukyo smiled.
Quietly, Ukyo steadied herself on the cart carefully approaching Akane from where she was crouched, trying her best to balance herself atop the bumpy road. She waited a moment, holding back a laugh just imagining the look on the other girl's face a few seconds in the future. Slowly, her arms snaked around Akane's waist, pulling her in and falling back, almost knocking the cart over with the motion.
"My turn to lug yer butt home!" Declared Ukyo, laughing triumphantly as the other girl tried her best to sit up and look at the girl below herself. Flustered, was the first thing Ukyo noticed. "Did I catch you off guard? I bet I did." She giggled. "Lemme carry you home, I've got a lot more stamina than you anyway. You were probably gettin' tired 'bout now but were too proud to admit it."
Akane said nothing, staring directly at Ukyo before averting her eyes and forcing a smile, furrowing her eyebrows. "I could've finished the trip home either way. I may not be as strong as you but I am just as capable of taking you home as you are." She frowned, crossing her arms. "Why can't you just let me treat you kindly? You're a girl, just like me so I really don't get it."
Ukyo's smile dwindled as her words sank in; that was new. Of all the girls to crush on her, none of them had decided to try and treat her like the girl she was. She had always been the masculine one so it made sense for her to do the heavy lifting, in fact the other girls always expected it. But here was Akane Tendo, the only other person that wasn't Ranma that wanted to treat her kindly. Like a girl, she thought distantly, paying no mind to the increasing pink on her face. Akane did, in all her current romantic self, and moved her hand to the other girl's face, caressing it.
Of course, it was at that moment that Ukyo snapped back into the reality of the two being in a very hard-to-explain situation.
She gasped, trying her best to sit up, though finding it difficult with the bane of her existence sitting on her lap.
Akane laughed as Ukyo struggled to find her composure, not fighting the other girl in her struggles against Akane but certainly not trying to make it easier for her. Ukyo groaned as she pressed a hand on Akane's forehead, forcing the distance between herself and the much more amused girl on her lap.
"Your face! It was so funny!" Akane said in between laughs, wiping tears from her eyes. "I've never seen you so embarrassed!" She wheezed before looking down once more, forcing the two to lock eyes once more. "Oh, Ukyo, you lighten up my world whenever I'm with you."
Ukyo said nothing, letting Akane continue laughing, watching as she threw her head back and almost hit a box of produce, causing her to laugh even harder until her stomach began to cramp. Eventually, Ukyo let out a weak laugh with her, and then a chuckle, before joining in and have her stomach cramp too, deciding that the butterflies in her stomach were nothing to worry about.
--
"Ranchan! Phone for you!" Ukyo called out from the kitchen, rubbing her eyes to try and stay awake as she read the clock. 12:30, Ukyo read, glad that the phone call was for someone else after the day she had.
"For me?" Ranma yawned. "At this hour? Who is it 'cause depending on who it is I'll kill 'em." He threatened, dragging his feet as he walked in.
Ukyo shrugged, not fazed by the reaction from her fiancé, she wouldn't be very happy either if it was for her. She waved dismissively before handing the phone over to him, immediately heading to bed before answering his question. "It's yer ma on the line, so maybe don't kill her."
Ranma's eyes shot open, pressing the phone to his ear before answering with the necessary drop of attitude that had been previously present a mere few moments ago. He spoke calmly. "Hey, Ma, wassup, what's with the late call? Somethin' wrong?" He cleared his throat, reminding himself to speak as politely as possible whenever speaking to his mom.
His mother sighed tiredly into the phone. "Does something have to happen for me to call my son? No, nothing happened, I just wanted to check up on you since it's been a week already." Her voice lifted. "I asked Soun and Kasumi how you were, but you know how it is, they only knew as much as Akane was willing to tell and I wanted a clear answer for myself. So here I am, how's it going so far, dear?"
The pigtailed boy looked around as if trying to avoid eye contact despite being alone. He gave a lopsided smile. "Well, I think it's been fine, not too much of anythin'." More like the most awkward 7 days of my life. Ranma scowled as he recalled his afternoon, especially after today. He cleared his throat once more before asking. "So what did Akane say I was doin'?"
Nodoka hummed. "Soun said you two were being civil and Kasumi said that there was nothing special going on between you two." She chuckled. "Oh, that Kasumi, one week with Nabiki, and suddenly she has her assumptions between you two... though I do wonder sometimes..." Nodoka trailed off.
Ranma's eyebrow twitched, what was she suggesting exactly? "Wonderin' what exactly, Ma?"
His mother let out an amused 'ha' before answering, almost giddy at her response. "Well, she suggested that the two of you used this as an excuse to go on a trip together, which if you think about it makes a lot of sense." Ranma groaned as his mother paid him no mind. "You know, inviting two random people, on a whim trip, in a secluded part of the region, adamant to keep your family to limited contact. All that and it's no surprise we made up gossip."
Her son furrowed his eyebrows, the two of them? On a getaway to be alone? "Who started all this? I know Mr. Tendo and Pops ain't exactly the world's biggest gossips."
"It was Nabiki," Nodoka answered calmly. Ranma rolled his eyes, he should've guessed. His mother let out another chuckle. "Don't worry, it was all in good fun. As long as nothing harmful happens to you two, whether it's a romantic trip or not, is none of my business."
"Well, for the record, it's not." Ranma began to clam up. The revelation Mousse had dumped on him earlier today sat in the back of his mind, quickly leading to a tangent that had been building up all day. "Me and that nerd have never and will never go on a sudden, on a whim, romantic trip together. Neither of us is interested. Not specifically just one of us though, it's mutual, trust me. This suggestion just has Nabiki's name all over it, only she'd know how to annoy us when we're miles away, God, the second I get my hands on her-"
"-Okay, I understand, please don't threaten to harm Nabiki when I'm right here." Nodoka stopped him mid-sentence. "I understand, son, you don't have to get so defensive over this, dear, besides, it's more a joke than anything else. As you said, it has Nabiki written all over it, don't take it to heart. It's just chatter, dear."
"I know, but you lot should get it that all of these jokes are annoyin' to hear all the time." Ranma frowned, taking a deep breath. "We don't like it, Akane doesn't like it," he said, a little defeated in the last part.
Nodoka exhaled sharply. "Okay, I understand." She dragged out a dramatic sigh. "I suppose my son isn't man enough to take a few jokes... He's too boyish to speak to his mother respectfully as well, because, just so you know, I didn't appreciate that tone."
Ranma banged his head against the wall, paying no mind to how loud the noise was. "Sorry." It was too late at night to talk about a subject like this, especially after everything he was feeling.
Nodoka stayed quiet before answering, softly. "It's fine, your frustrated, but always remember that I am not to be spoken to that way."
Her son took a deep breath. "I know, it's just been a long day."
"I thought you said it had been a good week? What happened today? Are you not telling me something-"
"-A long training day." Ranma lied. "Me and Mousse really went at it today, that's all."
"Oh, I see..." Nodoka spoke. "Alright, I'll let you rest."
"Okay," Ranma yawned. "Good night, ma."
"Goodnight, Ranma, and one last thing."
"Yes," Ranma said, his eyes closing.
"Remember to be nice to Akane." She hummed lightly. "You're so close to winning her over, so be on your best behavior, son."
Ranma pursed his lip, moving the phone slowly from his ear before quickly replying. "I can only try."