-I'm so so so sorry this chapter took so long to be posted, people. This past month has been an utter mess! I had a car accident (not hurt, but car was totaled), and had to do some serious financial wrangling at the worst possible time of year to get a new one. Then I was sick the entire holiday and wasn't in the mood to write. But I'm all better now, and have wheels, so all is okay in the world of PepsiBeth. Thanks to all my reviewers, and to the people who have sent me emails. I'm glad you're all enjoying this story! This is a nice long chapter for your patience. ^_^
-Disclaimer: I want to own them, but I don't. I can't afford to buy them, so I won't.
Better Left Unspoken
Going up to the "Please wait to be seated" sign, Ranma gave the waitress their reservations. Quickly, she seated them at a small table in a quiet part of the restaurant. Handing them each a menu, she filled their water goblets and left to give them a few minutes to decide.
Akane looked around the restaurant. It was fairly new, and she hadn't been there before, but had heard some good things about it. Most of the dinner rush had already come and gone, so the atmosphere was quiet and relaxed. Looking at her menu, she read through the choices, trying to decide what to get. There was a wide variety of choices, most of them being dishes that she hadn't tried before. After all, there wasn't an abundance of Italian restaurants in Nerima. Finally coming to a decision, she closed her menu and placed it on the table.
Ranma also made his choice, and they sat quietly, waiting for their server to come take their order.
"Hi, I'm Antonia, and I'll be your waitress for the evening!" The friendly server spoke in quite good Japanese, with a slight Italian accent. "What can we get for you tonight?" Looking at Akane, she held a pen above her note pad expectantly.
"I'll have the Seafood fettuccine and a small Caesar salad, please." When asked what she would like to drink, she decided to try the raspberry Italian soda.
Ranma's order was a little larger than Akane's. "I'd like to start with a bowl of Minestrone and a large garden salad, and then have the Chicken Cacciatore and the Spaghetti Bolognese. For a drink, I'll try the Italian soda too, but I'd like vanilla for mine."
Antonia quickly wrote all this down, looking a little surprised at the amount that Ranma had ordered, especially after he waved off her caution that the main courses were quite large. She left, returning quickly with a dish of Antipasto and bread and their soda's.
While they waited for their first course, Ranma and Akane talked about the movie, and enjoyed the appetizer.
"So, whaddya think of that mind ray thingie that they have? That'd come in handy around here, that's for sure. Wouldn't mind having one of those to use to get someone's mind off of killing me." All the gadgets that had been in the movie fascinated Ranma. Sure, he knew that it was just special effects, and that it wasn't real, but still... it would be nice.
"Yeah, I have to admit, it would be nice to be able to zap someone halfway through whatever they're doing, and just take off, leaving them in the dust." Akane smiled.
"Might have saved me just a wee bit of trouble." Ranma said sarcastically. His eyes lit up as he saw their server approach the table with the first part of their meal. Rubbing his hands together, he grinned in anticipation.
"Honestly, Ranma. You'd think you hadn't eaten in a month! You're practically drooling!" Akane said, even though she was eyeing the food with a gleam in her eye.
"Mmmpphh. Can't talk. Eating." Ranma set to work on his soup and salad. Akane quickly followed suit, enjoying her salad.
Outside the restaurant, two pairs of eyes watched the teens carefully. One pair narrowed with a crafty look, the other pair opened wide with a determined, stubborn look.
"Shampoo go in now and get husband, Great Grandmother! Violent girl no right to take on date! You wait here, I get him, we take away to China, yes? And then all be happy! Shampoo be happy, Airen be happy once he know he love Shampoo, Great Grandmother be happy, Amazon sisters be happy! Okay, maybe Kitchen destroyer no be too too happy, but Shampoo not care." The purple haired girl leapt to her feet, ready to barge into the restaurant and grab her man.
The tiny, unbelievably old woman next to her reached up and grabbed Shampoo's arm. Pulling her back down with a strength surprising in one so aged, Cologne looked at her descendant. "Shampoo. Calm down. Now is not the time to be rushing in headlong. Have you lost all warrior instincts, child? Look at son-in-law. Although he may seem to be engrossed in his meal, he knows exactly every detail happening around him. No. We must bide our time, patiently waiting."
"But Great Grand..." Shampoo started to say.
"Hush. 3000 years of amazon traditions are ours to use - patience, stealth and cunning will make Ranma your true husband in all eyes. If not tonight, then tomorrow." The crone beckoned with her finger for Shampoo to follow her as she hopped away on her walking stick.
Shampoo sighed heavily and ran quickly after, throwing one last look of intense jealousy towards the couple.
At the table, Akane shivered. Ranma glanced at her, with a questioning look on his face. "It's nothing, I just had the oddest feeling that we were being watched or something, but it's gone now."
"You too, huh? Yeah, I had that feeling for a bit, but if anyone was watching, they decided to leave us alone I guess. Not that I mind. Hey! Food!" Ranma quickly finished his sentence, as their main courses were laid in front of them. He quickly dug in.
Akane smiled. She wished that someday someone - preferably Ranma, would show that much enthusiasm towards something she had cooked, but knowing that she couldn't even stomach what she made, it didn't bother her as much as it had only a few months ago. She too started eating.
The two teens sat in relative silence, each one enjoying their meal, not feeling the need to talk at the moment. Of course Akane knew that if she tried to initiate a conversation, it'd be entirely one-sided, what with how Ranma concentrated on his meals the same way he did everything else - whole heartedly.
When they had finished, Antonia came over and cleared away their plates. Akane decided to pass on dessert, as she was full, but Ranma couldn't resist trying the Tiramisu. When it came, Akane was a little disappointed she had said no to it, but Ranma caught the look on her face.
"Want a bite, Akane?"
"What? Oh, umm, yes please." Akane was startled by Ranma's offer. Expecting to be handed Ranma's fork, she was even more surprised when he scooped up a small bite on his fork and held it out to her. Blushing, she leaned over and slid her mouth over the cutlery, savoring the taste. Her eyes lifted, and she caught Ranma watching her with an odd look on his face. She suddenly noticed that he too was blushing like crazy. Sliding quickly back in her chair, she muttered a quick thank you, trying to disguise her sudden shyness.
"Umm... Akane? You have a bit of cream right there... no, to the left, a little bit more... oh, here. I'll just get it." Ranma reached over and wiped the offending bit of the dessert off Akane's lip with his finger. Then, as if without thinking about it, he popped the finger into his mouth to lick it off.
Akane trembled. *Calm down girl. Stop it. Oh my god... I can't believe he just did that! Oh my god, I can't believe that made me tremble when he did that! Eek!* She hadn't thought it was possible to blush more, but she did. She was almost glad when Ranma had finished eating, and their check came.
Stepping out of the restaurant into the twilight of the evening, the two looked at each other. It seemed too early to put an end to the evening, but what to do now?
"Ranma? Would you maybe... that is... I was thinking, it's such a nice night, we could go for a walk in the park?" Akane asked hopefully, thinking she was being awfully forward.
"Yeah, I'd like that, Akane." Ranma sighed in relief inwardly. He didn't want this night to end - things were going so well. Sure, there had been that incident with Ukyo at the movies, but given his life, that was to be expected.
Walking at an easy stroll, the teens headed towards the park. It wasn't too far to go, and the air was fresh, with a warm breeze blowing through their hair. Inside the park, they walked along the path, not talking, just enjoying the moment. Reaching a fountain, they stood there, Akane looking up at the sky, searching for the first star of the night, Ranma looking at Akane. It seemed almost natural, perfectly normal in fact, for him to reach for her hand. Wrapping his fingers around her small hand, trying not to shake, he squeezed her hand gently.
Akane looked away from the sky with a questioning look. "Did you see the first star, Ranma?"
"Yeah, I do, Akane."
"But... you aren't looking at the sky, Ranma..."
"I know."
Akane could hardly seem to breathe at the look in Ranma's eyes. Nervously, she licked her suddenly dry lips, only causing Ranma's attention to be drawn there. They both, without realizing it, moved closer to the other, their faces drawing closer. Her body seeming almost to hum in anticipation, Akane's eyes slowly flickered shut as she moved even closer. It was finally going to happen! Their first real kiss!
Ranma could feel Akane's breath on his face. Just a few more inches and their lips would meet. He could hardly believe this was happening. He was going to kiss Akane! And she wanted him to! Looking at her face through half closed eyes, he smiled. Uncute tomboy? Not a chance... well, maybe a bit of a tomboy, but that was one of the things he liked best about her. Taking his free arm, he wrapped it gently about her waist so that while still holding hands, they were facing each other. Mentally taking a deep breath, he leaned in and...
"Nihao, Ranma!" Akane was suddenly torn out of Ranma's arms to be replaced by a purple haired blur. Knocked off balance, she almost fell down, but managed to save some dignity by catching her hand on the rim of the fountain. Her senses taking a few moments to come back, she stood there, frozen.
Shampoo could stand it no longer. That... that bossy, violent girl was going to kiss her husband! Having managed to escape the clutches of Cologne from their hiding place, she had pounced. And just in the nick of time, from what she could tell.
"Silly Ranma! Why kiss that girl when Shampoo have too too inviting lips? Perhaps you is pretending she is Shampoo, Ranma's one true love? Well, husband no have to pretend any longer! Real Shampoo is here now!" She pouted her lips into what she figured was a sexy, come hither look, and leaned towards Ranma, pressing her chest against his. Her hands snaked around his neck, pulling his head closer.
Ranma tensed up. He fully expected to feel the Mallet of Doom smashing down on his head at any minute. Trying to untangle himself from Shampoo, he kept finding his hands placed where he really didn't want them touching. Of course, Shampoo would then squirm ecstatically, yelling out things like "Oh! Ranma really do love Shampoo! Husband is so big man type! Shampoo loooovvvveee when Ranma touch her there..."
Looking over at Akane, Ranma prepared the old speech from memory. The spiel ran through his head like a rerun of some old, bad tv show. *Akane! It's not my fault! Put the mallet away Akane! I didn't do nootttthhhiiiinnnngggg...* The last usually said as he soared off into the air. Before he could even open his mouth, he saw it was already too late. Akane's battle aura raged magnificently. "Aww man..."
Akane planted her feet firmly on the ground, balled her hands into fists and glared. She was so angry she could only whisper. The night had been going so well, and now that... that... JERK! had to go and do this. She opened her mouth and quietly choked out a challenge.
No reaction. However, if looks could kill, Akane would have been a murderer. She tried again. This time, she managed to get some more noise out. Enough that Shampoo and Ranma looked her way, momentarily interrupted from her attempts to kiss him and his attempts to avoid that happening.
"What you want, Violent girl? Is too too rude to interrupt Shampoo and husband. Now go away." Shampoo turned back to her love, putting her palms on his cheeks, forcing his mouth into a pucker. "Akane see? Ranma want to kiss Shampoo!"
"Get. Your. Paws. Off. My. Man." Akane growled out the words, this time loudly enough to be recognizable. "The only person that's gonna be kissing him is me. Ranma is MINE!"
Ranma wondered if he should take offense at the proprietary tone in Akane's voice, but then decided to shut up and not say anything. Besides, it was a bit of a turn on. She sure was sexy when she was angry.
Akane stalked towards the two. Grabbing Shampoo by the arm, she yanked her away. Shampoo, somewhat surprised by Akane's statements, stumbled. Ranma took the opportunity to slide out of her clutches and went to stand by Akane.
"Akane! What are you doing? You know you can't take on Shampoo!"
"Maybe not, Ranma, but I'm better than I was before. And besides, this is my fight. She didn't pick a fight with you - she picked it with me."
Ranma was confused. "Shampoo didn't pick a fight... she tried to kiss me."
Akane sighed. "You know, for someone that turns into a girl, you've got no clue sometimes, you know that? Let me sum it up. Girl is on date with guy. Other girl tries to kiss said guy. That equals the same thing as saying to the girl "Let's fight, bitch." And that reminds me..." Akane turned to Shampoo.
"Let's fight, Bitch."
"Aiyah! Shampoo is ready. Akane going to lose, no problem." The two girls adopted fighting stances, and stood, poised, ready to leap into action.
"Whoa, hold on, Akane. No way I'm letting you take on Shampoo." Ranma blocked Akane's way to Shampoo. "Anyone's gonna fight her, it's me."
"Why, Ranma? Like I said, this isn't your fight! It's mine. I know I might not win, but that's not the point. Please, if you care about me at all, you'll understand that I have to fight my own battles, and that I might even get hurt in some of them."
Ranma groaned. "It's because I care about you that I haven't let you fight! I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt, you know. It tears me up inside just imagining it."
Akane smiled at Ranma. "I know, Ranma. I realized that's why you wouldn't willingly let me fight just recently. But I'm never going to get better if you don't let me defend myself sometimes."
"Damn, Akane. You just had to smile at me when you said that, didn't you? Okay, fine. Fight her. Get yourself hurt. I won't be there to pick up the pieces... Aww, who am I kidding? You start getting hurt too bad, and I'll be jumping in and no one is gonna stop me, got it?" Ranma was adamant.
"Got it." Akane gave a happy grin to Ranma. That had gone better than she had expected. They stood there for a moment, just smiling at each other until a small cough broke them out of it.
"Umm... Please to excuse Shampoo? We fight or no?" Shampoo tapped her foot impatiently.
Ranma stepped aside, as Akane, all business again, retook her fighting stance.
"I'm Akane Tendo, heir to the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, and I challenge you, Shampoo!" She stated matter of factly.
"Shampoo know who you are, stupid girl. Now fight!" Shampoo leapt forward. Not having her bonbori's handy, she had to settle for hand to hand combat. No matter though, she knew she'd get the better of Akane in no time, and then Ranma and her could walk off together forever.
Akane dodged the foot aiming at her head, and got in a low jab to Shampoo's midsection. The two broke apart for their second approach. This time Akane took the initiative and raced towards Shampoo, preparing to strike another blow.
Ranma watched the fight with trepidation, but also with appreciation. Akane had definitely improved her skills since he had last seen her in action. He didn't know if she was on the same level as Shampoo, after all, the girl was pretty good, but she'd give her a good run, that was for sure. He found himself subconsciously moving his body, as if he was trying to telegraph the right moves to Akane. Wincing whenever Shampoo would land a blow, his eyes never left the action.
The two girls broke apart and backed up from each other, both breathing hard. Akane held a hand to her side, where Shampoo had landed a strong blow to her ribs. Shampoo hadn't faired so well either, walking with a bit of a limp after a good kick from Akane had met with her shin.
"Akane can give up now, she no can win!" She sneered at the other girl, trying to over-confidence her opponent. She hadn't expected the fight to be, well, a fight.
"What's the matter, Shampoo? Afraid that if I don't stop now, you just might lose?" Akane taunted right back. Blowing a bit of hair out of her face, she prepared to launch another attack. She was hurting, but there wasn't a chance she wasn't going to see this through to the end.
The two rivals raced towards each other, hands and feet at the ready. Akane jumped up into the air at the last second, planning to land a kick at Shampoo's head, but Shampoo ducked in time, and she went right over her. Spinning around, Shampoo quickly shoved her palm into Akane's back, sending her sprawling to the ground. Rolling over, Akane quickly moved out of the way of Shampoo's foot descending towards her stomach. Trying to regain a standing position, she had to play the defensive, rolling about on the ground, dodging and blocking what she could, but Shampoo was starting to land too many blows.
Ranma was almost in a state of panic. The only thing holding him back was the looks Akane would send him, telling him not yet, to wait. His nerves were completely on edge, and finally, as Akane let out a small shriek of pain, as Shampoo hit again on her sore ribs, he couldn't stop himself. He started forward, ready to put an end to the fight.
"Son-In-Law, wait." A gravelly voice sounded from behind him. Turning around, he saw Cologne standing there.
"Not a chance, old bag. Akane's getting hurt, and that's where my promise to stay out of it ended." He spat at the old woman, turning his back on her and advancing on the girls.
"She has improved greatly. It is almost a shame that I could not have her as an Amazon daughter as well. But no matter. With you as an Amazon man, with Shampoo as your bride, our clan will be unbeatable." Cologne watched the girls struggling on the ground. "It seems it will be but another minute and the fight will be over. Perhaps you should just acknowledge Shampoo's claim on you now, and end it that way."
Ranma turned back to Cologne and yelled, completely frustrated. "When are you gonna get it through your head? I am not going to marry Shampoo! I don't choose her! I CHOOSE AKANE!!!"
Shampoo stopped in her tracks, standing with one foot on either side of Akane, lying on the ground. "R..Ranma... no... You not say that! You no mean that, is mistake! You choose Shampoo, say it!"
Ranma started to shout the same thing again, this time to Shampoo, but Cologne held up her hand. "Is this true? You say to us now that you choose Akane?"
"What are ya, deaf? That's what I said!"
"Shampoo. The fight is over. We will go now." Cologne said calmly to her great grand daughter, not managing to mask the disappointment in her voice.
"Great Grand Mother, no... He no mean it. Is big mistake!" Shampoo yelped.
"Shampoo. You disappoint me, child. You know Amazon law as well as I do. When an outsider male, chosen as groom, openly chooses another, naming her by name, then any claim which we might have is forfeit."
Akane looked up groggily from the ground, slowly pulling herself to a sitting position. She stared unbelievably at Cologne and a crying Shampoo. That was it? That was all that had had to be done? But when she thought about it, it made sense. Ranma had never stated his choice out loud before. He had often said he wouldn't marry Shampoo, but he had never said he chose someone else over her.
Ranma too was in shock. He mentally kicked himself for not taking a closer look at Amazon laws before. Not that there were any texts readily available to the public though. And when he thought about it, he doubted that even if he had known about this particular loophole in the past, that he would have been able to say his choice then. Shaking, he walked over to Akane and held out his hand. After grasping it, he pulled her to her feet, and held her close. Looking at the two Amazons, he made sure his decision was clear. "That's right. I choose Akane. Not Ukyo, and not you Shampoo. Akane is the one I want."
Cologne sighed. Walking up to Ranma, she spoke. "It is done. The Amazons hereby release you from any claim we had upon you as groom. May I be permitted to wish you both happiness in the future." Then, looking at Akane, she continued. "You do justice to Martial Arts, girl. The Amazons would have been proud to call you a sister." She bowed to the two of them.
Akane managed to bow back. "Thank you, Cologne. That is one of the nicest compliments I have gotten." She watched as Cologne walked off.
Ranma and Akane turned their attention to Shampoo. The purple haired girl stood there, her head hanging in defeat. Tears dripping from her eyes, her body shook in muffled sobs. She started to run after her Great Grand Mother, wanting to be out of this park, to be out of Japan. It was no consolation that she'd be able to go home with her honor intact - it would still be without Ranma. Darting past the two, she brushed against Akane, who was still wobbly on her feet.
Akane teetered, trying to regain her balance. Ranma, still holding on to her, tried as well, but they each tried to recover by going a different direction. The only thing this accomplished was them landing smack into the fountain with a noisy splash.
Sitting up in the water, Akane shook her wet hair out of her face and looked at the girl sitting across from her. "Well, I guess it's safe to say the date's over, huh?" Then she started to laugh, albeit a bit hysterically.
Groaning, Ranma stood up, wringing the water from her pigtail. "Are you okay, Akane? You looked like you were taking a pretty bad beating there."
"Oh Ranma. I'm okay. Nothing that a few days of relaxing won't take care of. I might see if I need my ribs taped though." She said as she winced.
Helping Akane out of the fountain, Ranma paused before they started to walk home. "Akane? I wanted to say before I forgot. You fought well. I'm proud of you, and I'm sorry for doubting your abilities." He suddenly found himself wrapped in a huge hug.
"Ranma, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me!" Akane snuggled in closer and sighed in happiness.
"Umm, I'm a girl right now - I don't know that you'd want to be hugging me like this." Ranma was embarrassed. She didn't mind the hug, but knew how Akane had felt in the past about things like this.
"No. You're not a girl. You're Ranma, and I don't care what you look like on the outside. And I'll hug you if I damn well want!" Akane laughed.
As they walked slowly home, taking it easy for Akane's sake, they didn't say anything. Reaching the front door, Akane put her hand on the doorknob, ready to open it. Stopping her by pulling her hand away, Ranma looked her in the face.
"Did you mean it when you said I was yours?"
The look in Akane's eyes gave Ranma her answer. She knew she could kiss her now if she wanted, but she pulled away instead. At the puzzled look in Akane's eyes, she smiled in re-assurance. "Our first kiss is gonna happen soon, you can bet on that, but I want it to be right - that is, I want to be a guy. Oh, I know you don't care, but there's still a big part of me that does."
Akane smiled back at him. "I can wait if you can."
They entered the house, their wet and in one of their cases, bruised appearance causing gasps of dismay from the parents and sister's waiting for them. Telling them they'd explain everything in the morning, that all they wanted now was a nice hot bath and a comfortable bed, they went upstairs.
"You can have the bath first, Akane."
"Thanks, Ranma. I won't take too long." Pausing at the furo door, Akane turned back to Ranma. "I had a good time tonight."
"Even with everything that happened? I know it didn't end up being the perfect date..." Ranma stopped as Akane put her finger to her mouth.
"I had a good time tonight." She repeated, as she entered the bathroom. Akane quickly washed herself down and slipped with a sigh into the hot water of the furo. She would have liked to relax longer, but knew Ranma was waiting. And besides, she was totally exhausted, and looking forward to climbing into her nice comfortable bed. Finishing up, she went into her bedroom. A knock on the door soon followed. Opening up the door, she found Kasumi on the other side.
"Akane, this came for you while you were out." Kasumi handed her a brown paper package, smiled and left.
"It came..." Akane sighed as she unwrapped the parcel. Sinking down on her bed, she started to sift through the contents.
A little while later, Ranma, after washing up and changing back into a guy, stopped in front of Akane's bedroom. He could hear rustling and what sounded like crying coming from within. Worriedly he knocked on the door. "Akane? Are you okay? Did I do something wrong tonight? I thought you said you had a good time?" Getting no answer, but still hearing the soft cries, he continued. "I'm coming in, Akane." He opened the door and looked in.
Akane sat on her bed, tears pouring steadily down her cheeks, clutching a handful of papers to her breast. She looked up at Ranma, her eyes shining brightly, wonderfully, through the sparkling tears. Still sobbing, she smiled. "Oh, Ranma..."
Ranma's eyes darted to the papers. They opened wide as he recognized the handwriting. "My letters..."
End Chapter Ten
-One more chapter to go, folks! Yay! Next chapter is entitled "Letters to Akane" and yes, we will finally get to see what Ranma learned on his little six month journey of self discovery! I know my fight scene was probably lacking, but I'd never written one (you can't really count the fights in Ranma and Akane's Special Attack now, can you?). So, did the best I could. I didn't have Akane beat Shampoo, because although she's a good fighter, she really isn't in Shampoo's class. What did you think of my way of Ranma getting out of the Amazon husband thing? A cop-out? Or an okay idea? He really never made an open choice in the manga or the anime. Sure, he was doing the whole marriage thing at the end, but he never came out and said that he chose Akane, so I thought it worked. Read and Review!
-Disclaimer: I want to own them, but I don't. I can't afford to buy them, so I won't.
Better Left Unspoken
Going up to the "Please wait to be seated" sign, Ranma gave the waitress their reservations. Quickly, she seated them at a small table in a quiet part of the restaurant. Handing them each a menu, she filled their water goblets and left to give them a few minutes to decide.
Akane looked around the restaurant. It was fairly new, and she hadn't been there before, but had heard some good things about it. Most of the dinner rush had already come and gone, so the atmosphere was quiet and relaxed. Looking at her menu, she read through the choices, trying to decide what to get. There was a wide variety of choices, most of them being dishes that she hadn't tried before. After all, there wasn't an abundance of Italian restaurants in Nerima. Finally coming to a decision, she closed her menu and placed it on the table.
Ranma also made his choice, and they sat quietly, waiting for their server to come take their order.
"Hi, I'm Antonia, and I'll be your waitress for the evening!" The friendly server spoke in quite good Japanese, with a slight Italian accent. "What can we get for you tonight?" Looking at Akane, she held a pen above her note pad expectantly.
"I'll have the Seafood fettuccine and a small Caesar salad, please." When asked what she would like to drink, she decided to try the raspberry Italian soda.
Ranma's order was a little larger than Akane's. "I'd like to start with a bowl of Minestrone and a large garden salad, and then have the Chicken Cacciatore and the Spaghetti Bolognese. For a drink, I'll try the Italian soda too, but I'd like vanilla for mine."
Antonia quickly wrote all this down, looking a little surprised at the amount that Ranma had ordered, especially after he waved off her caution that the main courses were quite large. She left, returning quickly with a dish of Antipasto and bread and their soda's.
While they waited for their first course, Ranma and Akane talked about the movie, and enjoyed the appetizer.
"So, whaddya think of that mind ray thingie that they have? That'd come in handy around here, that's for sure. Wouldn't mind having one of those to use to get someone's mind off of killing me." All the gadgets that had been in the movie fascinated Ranma. Sure, he knew that it was just special effects, and that it wasn't real, but still... it would be nice.
"Yeah, I have to admit, it would be nice to be able to zap someone halfway through whatever they're doing, and just take off, leaving them in the dust." Akane smiled.
"Might have saved me just a wee bit of trouble." Ranma said sarcastically. His eyes lit up as he saw their server approach the table with the first part of their meal. Rubbing his hands together, he grinned in anticipation.
"Honestly, Ranma. You'd think you hadn't eaten in a month! You're practically drooling!" Akane said, even though she was eyeing the food with a gleam in her eye.
"Mmmpphh. Can't talk. Eating." Ranma set to work on his soup and salad. Akane quickly followed suit, enjoying her salad.
Outside the restaurant, two pairs of eyes watched the teens carefully. One pair narrowed with a crafty look, the other pair opened wide with a determined, stubborn look.
"Shampoo go in now and get husband, Great Grandmother! Violent girl no right to take on date! You wait here, I get him, we take away to China, yes? And then all be happy! Shampoo be happy, Airen be happy once he know he love Shampoo, Great Grandmother be happy, Amazon sisters be happy! Okay, maybe Kitchen destroyer no be too too happy, but Shampoo not care." The purple haired girl leapt to her feet, ready to barge into the restaurant and grab her man.
The tiny, unbelievably old woman next to her reached up and grabbed Shampoo's arm. Pulling her back down with a strength surprising in one so aged, Cologne looked at her descendant. "Shampoo. Calm down. Now is not the time to be rushing in headlong. Have you lost all warrior instincts, child? Look at son-in-law. Although he may seem to be engrossed in his meal, he knows exactly every detail happening around him. No. We must bide our time, patiently waiting."
"But Great Grand..." Shampoo started to say.
"Hush. 3000 years of amazon traditions are ours to use - patience, stealth and cunning will make Ranma your true husband in all eyes. If not tonight, then tomorrow." The crone beckoned with her finger for Shampoo to follow her as she hopped away on her walking stick.
Shampoo sighed heavily and ran quickly after, throwing one last look of intense jealousy towards the couple.
At the table, Akane shivered. Ranma glanced at her, with a questioning look on his face. "It's nothing, I just had the oddest feeling that we were being watched or something, but it's gone now."
"You too, huh? Yeah, I had that feeling for a bit, but if anyone was watching, they decided to leave us alone I guess. Not that I mind. Hey! Food!" Ranma quickly finished his sentence, as their main courses were laid in front of them. He quickly dug in.
Akane smiled. She wished that someday someone - preferably Ranma, would show that much enthusiasm towards something she had cooked, but knowing that she couldn't even stomach what she made, it didn't bother her as much as it had only a few months ago. She too started eating.
The two teens sat in relative silence, each one enjoying their meal, not feeling the need to talk at the moment. Of course Akane knew that if she tried to initiate a conversation, it'd be entirely one-sided, what with how Ranma concentrated on his meals the same way he did everything else - whole heartedly.
When they had finished, Antonia came over and cleared away their plates. Akane decided to pass on dessert, as she was full, but Ranma couldn't resist trying the Tiramisu. When it came, Akane was a little disappointed she had said no to it, but Ranma caught the look on her face.
"Want a bite, Akane?"
"What? Oh, umm, yes please." Akane was startled by Ranma's offer. Expecting to be handed Ranma's fork, she was even more surprised when he scooped up a small bite on his fork and held it out to her. Blushing, she leaned over and slid her mouth over the cutlery, savoring the taste. Her eyes lifted, and she caught Ranma watching her with an odd look on his face. She suddenly noticed that he too was blushing like crazy. Sliding quickly back in her chair, she muttered a quick thank you, trying to disguise her sudden shyness.
"Umm... Akane? You have a bit of cream right there... no, to the left, a little bit more... oh, here. I'll just get it." Ranma reached over and wiped the offending bit of the dessert off Akane's lip with his finger. Then, as if without thinking about it, he popped the finger into his mouth to lick it off.
Akane trembled. *Calm down girl. Stop it. Oh my god... I can't believe he just did that! Oh my god, I can't believe that made me tremble when he did that! Eek!* She hadn't thought it was possible to blush more, but she did. She was almost glad when Ranma had finished eating, and their check came.
Stepping out of the restaurant into the twilight of the evening, the two looked at each other. It seemed too early to put an end to the evening, but what to do now?
"Ranma? Would you maybe... that is... I was thinking, it's such a nice night, we could go for a walk in the park?" Akane asked hopefully, thinking she was being awfully forward.
"Yeah, I'd like that, Akane." Ranma sighed in relief inwardly. He didn't want this night to end - things were going so well. Sure, there had been that incident with Ukyo at the movies, but given his life, that was to be expected.
Walking at an easy stroll, the teens headed towards the park. It wasn't too far to go, and the air was fresh, with a warm breeze blowing through their hair. Inside the park, they walked along the path, not talking, just enjoying the moment. Reaching a fountain, they stood there, Akane looking up at the sky, searching for the first star of the night, Ranma looking at Akane. It seemed almost natural, perfectly normal in fact, for him to reach for her hand. Wrapping his fingers around her small hand, trying not to shake, he squeezed her hand gently.
Akane looked away from the sky with a questioning look. "Did you see the first star, Ranma?"
"Yeah, I do, Akane."
"But... you aren't looking at the sky, Ranma..."
"I know."
Akane could hardly seem to breathe at the look in Ranma's eyes. Nervously, she licked her suddenly dry lips, only causing Ranma's attention to be drawn there. They both, without realizing it, moved closer to the other, their faces drawing closer. Her body seeming almost to hum in anticipation, Akane's eyes slowly flickered shut as she moved even closer. It was finally going to happen! Their first real kiss!
Ranma could feel Akane's breath on his face. Just a few more inches and their lips would meet. He could hardly believe this was happening. He was going to kiss Akane! And she wanted him to! Looking at her face through half closed eyes, he smiled. Uncute tomboy? Not a chance... well, maybe a bit of a tomboy, but that was one of the things he liked best about her. Taking his free arm, he wrapped it gently about her waist so that while still holding hands, they were facing each other. Mentally taking a deep breath, he leaned in and...
"Nihao, Ranma!" Akane was suddenly torn out of Ranma's arms to be replaced by a purple haired blur. Knocked off balance, she almost fell down, but managed to save some dignity by catching her hand on the rim of the fountain. Her senses taking a few moments to come back, she stood there, frozen.
Shampoo could stand it no longer. That... that bossy, violent girl was going to kiss her husband! Having managed to escape the clutches of Cologne from their hiding place, she had pounced. And just in the nick of time, from what she could tell.
"Silly Ranma! Why kiss that girl when Shampoo have too too inviting lips? Perhaps you is pretending she is Shampoo, Ranma's one true love? Well, husband no have to pretend any longer! Real Shampoo is here now!" She pouted her lips into what she figured was a sexy, come hither look, and leaned towards Ranma, pressing her chest against his. Her hands snaked around his neck, pulling his head closer.
Ranma tensed up. He fully expected to feel the Mallet of Doom smashing down on his head at any minute. Trying to untangle himself from Shampoo, he kept finding his hands placed where he really didn't want them touching. Of course, Shampoo would then squirm ecstatically, yelling out things like "Oh! Ranma really do love Shampoo! Husband is so big man type! Shampoo loooovvvveee when Ranma touch her there..."
Looking over at Akane, Ranma prepared the old speech from memory. The spiel ran through his head like a rerun of some old, bad tv show. *Akane! It's not my fault! Put the mallet away Akane! I didn't do nootttthhhiiiinnnngggg...* The last usually said as he soared off into the air. Before he could even open his mouth, he saw it was already too late. Akane's battle aura raged magnificently. "Aww man..."
Akane planted her feet firmly on the ground, balled her hands into fists and glared. She was so angry she could only whisper. The night had been going so well, and now that... that... JERK! had to go and do this. She opened her mouth and quietly choked out a challenge.
No reaction. However, if looks could kill, Akane would have been a murderer. She tried again. This time, she managed to get some more noise out. Enough that Shampoo and Ranma looked her way, momentarily interrupted from her attempts to kiss him and his attempts to avoid that happening.
"What you want, Violent girl? Is too too rude to interrupt Shampoo and husband. Now go away." Shampoo turned back to her love, putting her palms on his cheeks, forcing his mouth into a pucker. "Akane see? Ranma want to kiss Shampoo!"
"Get. Your. Paws. Off. My. Man." Akane growled out the words, this time loudly enough to be recognizable. "The only person that's gonna be kissing him is me. Ranma is MINE!"
Ranma wondered if he should take offense at the proprietary tone in Akane's voice, but then decided to shut up and not say anything. Besides, it was a bit of a turn on. She sure was sexy when she was angry.
Akane stalked towards the two. Grabbing Shampoo by the arm, she yanked her away. Shampoo, somewhat surprised by Akane's statements, stumbled. Ranma took the opportunity to slide out of her clutches and went to stand by Akane.
"Akane! What are you doing? You know you can't take on Shampoo!"
"Maybe not, Ranma, but I'm better than I was before. And besides, this is my fight. She didn't pick a fight with you - she picked it with me."
Ranma was confused. "Shampoo didn't pick a fight... she tried to kiss me."
Akane sighed. "You know, for someone that turns into a girl, you've got no clue sometimes, you know that? Let me sum it up. Girl is on date with guy. Other girl tries to kiss said guy. That equals the same thing as saying to the girl "Let's fight, bitch." And that reminds me..." Akane turned to Shampoo.
"Let's fight, Bitch."
"Aiyah! Shampoo is ready. Akane going to lose, no problem." The two girls adopted fighting stances, and stood, poised, ready to leap into action.
"Whoa, hold on, Akane. No way I'm letting you take on Shampoo." Ranma blocked Akane's way to Shampoo. "Anyone's gonna fight her, it's me."
"Why, Ranma? Like I said, this isn't your fight! It's mine. I know I might not win, but that's not the point. Please, if you care about me at all, you'll understand that I have to fight my own battles, and that I might even get hurt in some of them."
Ranma groaned. "It's because I care about you that I haven't let you fight! I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt, you know. It tears me up inside just imagining it."
Akane smiled at Ranma. "I know, Ranma. I realized that's why you wouldn't willingly let me fight just recently. But I'm never going to get better if you don't let me defend myself sometimes."
"Damn, Akane. You just had to smile at me when you said that, didn't you? Okay, fine. Fight her. Get yourself hurt. I won't be there to pick up the pieces... Aww, who am I kidding? You start getting hurt too bad, and I'll be jumping in and no one is gonna stop me, got it?" Ranma was adamant.
"Got it." Akane gave a happy grin to Ranma. That had gone better than she had expected. They stood there for a moment, just smiling at each other until a small cough broke them out of it.
"Umm... Please to excuse Shampoo? We fight or no?" Shampoo tapped her foot impatiently.
Ranma stepped aside, as Akane, all business again, retook her fighting stance.
"I'm Akane Tendo, heir to the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, and I challenge you, Shampoo!" She stated matter of factly.
"Shampoo know who you are, stupid girl. Now fight!" Shampoo leapt forward. Not having her bonbori's handy, she had to settle for hand to hand combat. No matter though, she knew she'd get the better of Akane in no time, and then Ranma and her could walk off together forever.
Akane dodged the foot aiming at her head, and got in a low jab to Shampoo's midsection. The two broke apart for their second approach. This time Akane took the initiative and raced towards Shampoo, preparing to strike another blow.
Ranma watched the fight with trepidation, but also with appreciation. Akane had definitely improved her skills since he had last seen her in action. He didn't know if she was on the same level as Shampoo, after all, the girl was pretty good, but she'd give her a good run, that was for sure. He found himself subconsciously moving his body, as if he was trying to telegraph the right moves to Akane. Wincing whenever Shampoo would land a blow, his eyes never left the action.
The two girls broke apart and backed up from each other, both breathing hard. Akane held a hand to her side, where Shampoo had landed a strong blow to her ribs. Shampoo hadn't faired so well either, walking with a bit of a limp after a good kick from Akane had met with her shin.
"Akane can give up now, she no can win!" She sneered at the other girl, trying to over-confidence her opponent. She hadn't expected the fight to be, well, a fight.
"What's the matter, Shampoo? Afraid that if I don't stop now, you just might lose?" Akane taunted right back. Blowing a bit of hair out of her face, she prepared to launch another attack. She was hurting, but there wasn't a chance she wasn't going to see this through to the end.
The two rivals raced towards each other, hands and feet at the ready. Akane jumped up into the air at the last second, planning to land a kick at Shampoo's head, but Shampoo ducked in time, and she went right over her. Spinning around, Shampoo quickly shoved her palm into Akane's back, sending her sprawling to the ground. Rolling over, Akane quickly moved out of the way of Shampoo's foot descending towards her stomach. Trying to regain a standing position, she had to play the defensive, rolling about on the ground, dodging and blocking what she could, but Shampoo was starting to land too many blows.
Ranma was almost in a state of panic. The only thing holding him back was the looks Akane would send him, telling him not yet, to wait. His nerves were completely on edge, and finally, as Akane let out a small shriek of pain, as Shampoo hit again on her sore ribs, he couldn't stop himself. He started forward, ready to put an end to the fight.
"Son-In-Law, wait." A gravelly voice sounded from behind him. Turning around, he saw Cologne standing there.
"Not a chance, old bag. Akane's getting hurt, and that's where my promise to stay out of it ended." He spat at the old woman, turning his back on her and advancing on the girls.
"She has improved greatly. It is almost a shame that I could not have her as an Amazon daughter as well. But no matter. With you as an Amazon man, with Shampoo as your bride, our clan will be unbeatable." Cologne watched the girls struggling on the ground. "It seems it will be but another minute and the fight will be over. Perhaps you should just acknowledge Shampoo's claim on you now, and end it that way."
Ranma turned back to Cologne and yelled, completely frustrated. "When are you gonna get it through your head? I am not going to marry Shampoo! I don't choose her! I CHOOSE AKANE!!!"
Shampoo stopped in her tracks, standing with one foot on either side of Akane, lying on the ground. "R..Ranma... no... You not say that! You no mean that, is mistake! You choose Shampoo, say it!"
Ranma started to shout the same thing again, this time to Shampoo, but Cologne held up her hand. "Is this true? You say to us now that you choose Akane?"
"What are ya, deaf? That's what I said!"
"Shampoo. The fight is over. We will go now." Cologne said calmly to her great grand daughter, not managing to mask the disappointment in her voice.
"Great Grand Mother, no... He no mean it. Is big mistake!" Shampoo yelped.
"Shampoo. You disappoint me, child. You know Amazon law as well as I do. When an outsider male, chosen as groom, openly chooses another, naming her by name, then any claim which we might have is forfeit."
Akane looked up groggily from the ground, slowly pulling herself to a sitting position. She stared unbelievably at Cologne and a crying Shampoo. That was it? That was all that had had to be done? But when she thought about it, it made sense. Ranma had never stated his choice out loud before. He had often said he wouldn't marry Shampoo, but he had never said he chose someone else over her.
Ranma too was in shock. He mentally kicked himself for not taking a closer look at Amazon laws before. Not that there were any texts readily available to the public though. And when he thought about it, he doubted that even if he had known about this particular loophole in the past, that he would have been able to say his choice then. Shaking, he walked over to Akane and held out his hand. After grasping it, he pulled her to her feet, and held her close. Looking at the two Amazons, he made sure his decision was clear. "That's right. I choose Akane. Not Ukyo, and not you Shampoo. Akane is the one I want."
Cologne sighed. Walking up to Ranma, she spoke. "It is done. The Amazons hereby release you from any claim we had upon you as groom. May I be permitted to wish you both happiness in the future." Then, looking at Akane, she continued. "You do justice to Martial Arts, girl. The Amazons would have been proud to call you a sister." She bowed to the two of them.
Akane managed to bow back. "Thank you, Cologne. That is one of the nicest compliments I have gotten." She watched as Cologne walked off.
Ranma and Akane turned their attention to Shampoo. The purple haired girl stood there, her head hanging in defeat. Tears dripping from her eyes, her body shook in muffled sobs. She started to run after her Great Grand Mother, wanting to be out of this park, to be out of Japan. It was no consolation that she'd be able to go home with her honor intact - it would still be without Ranma. Darting past the two, she brushed against Akane, who was still wobbly on her feet.
Akane teetered, trying to regain her balance. Ranma, still holding on to her, tried as well, but they each tried to recover by going a different direction. The only thing this accomplished was them landing smack into the fountain with a noisy splash.
Sitting up in the water, Akane shook her wet hair out of her face and looked at the girl sitting across from her. "Well, I guess it's safe to say the date's over, huh?" Then she started to laugh, albeit a bit hysterically.
Groaning, Ranma stood up, wringing the water from her pigtail. "Are you okay, Akane? You looked like you were taking a pretty bad beating there."
"Oh Ranma. I'm okay. Nothing that a few days of relaxing won't take care of. I might see if I need my ribs taped though." She said as she winced.
Helping Akane out of the fountain, Ranma paused before they started to walk home. "Akane? I wanted to say before I forgot. You fought well. I'm proud of you, and I'm sorry for doubting your abilities." He suddenly found himself wrapped in a huge hug.
"Ranma, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me!" Akane snuggled in closer and sighed in happiness.
"Umm, I'm a girl right now - I don't know that you'd want to be hugging me like this." Ranma was embarrassed. She didn't mind the hug, but knew how Akane had felt in the past about things like this.
"No. You're not a girl. You're Ranma, and I don't care what you look like on the outside. And I'll hug you if I damn well want!" Akane laughed.
As they walked slowly home, taking it easy for Akane's sake, they didn't say anything. Reaching the front door, Akane put her hand on the doorknob, ready to open it. Stopping her by pulling her hand away, Ranma looked her in the face.
"Did you mean it when you said I was yours?"
The look in Akane's eyes gave Ranma her answer. She knew she could kiss her now if she wanted, but she pulled away instead. At the puzzled look in Akane's eyes, she smiled in re-assurance. "Our first kiss is gonna happen soon, you can bet on that, but I want it to be right - that is, I want to be a guy. Oh, I know you don't care, but there's still a big part of me that does."
Akane smiled back at him. "I can wait if you can."
They entered the house, their wet and in one of their cases, bruised appearance causing gasps of dismay from the parents and sister's waiting for them. Telling them they'd explain everything in the morning, that all they wanted now was a nice hot bath and a comfortable bed, they went upstairs.
"You can have the bath first, Akane."
"Thanks, Ranma. I won't take too long." Pausing at the furo door, Akane turned back to Ranma. "I had a good time tonight."
"Even with everything that happened? I know it didn't end up being the perfect date..." Ranma stopped as Akane put her finger to her mouth.
"I had a good time tonight." She repeated, as she entered the bathroom. Akane quickly washed herself down and slipped with a sigh into the hot water of the furo. She would have liked to relax longer, but knew Ranma was waiting. And besides, she was totally exhausted, and looking forward to climbing into her nice comfortable bed. Finishing up, she went into her bedroom. A knock on the door soon followed. Opening up the door, she found Kasumi on the other side.
"Akane, this came for you while you were out." Kasumi handed her a brown paper package, smiled and left.
"It came..." Akane sighed as she unwrapped the parcel. Sinking down on her bed, she started to sift through the contents.
A little while later, Ranma, after washing up and changing back into a guy, stopped in front of Akane's bedroom. He could hear rustling and what sounded like crying coming from within. Worriedly he knocked on the door. "Akane? Are you okay? Did I do something wrong tonight? I thought you said you had a good time?" Getting no answer, but still hearing the soft cries, he continued. "I'm coming in, Akane." He opened the door and looked in.
Akane sat on her bed, tears pouring steadily down her cheeks, clutching a handful of papers to her breast. She looked up at Ranma, her eyes shining brightly, wonderfully, through the sparkling tears. Still sobbing, she smiled. "Oh, Ranma..."
Ranma's eyes darted to the papers. They opened wide as he recognized the handwriting. "My letters..."
End Chapter Ten
-One more chapter to go, folks! Yay! Next chapter is entitled "Letters to Akane" and yes, we will finally get to see what Ranma learned on his little six month journey of self discovery! I know my fight scene was probably lacking, but I'd never written one (you can't really count the fights in Ranma and Akane's Special Attack now, can you?). So, did the best I could. I didn't have Akane beat Shampoo, because although she's a good fighter, she really isn't in Shampoo's class. What did you think of my way of Ranma getting out of the Amazon husband thing? A cop-out? Or an okay idea? He really never made an open choice in the manga or the anime. Sure, he was doing the whole marriage thing at the end, but he never came out and said that he chose Akane, so I thought it worked. Read and Review!