Chapter 4


RANMA! Where are you! Akane yelled while hopping out of their makeshift shelter and into the bright sun, shading her eyes and scanning the beach. Just this morning she had decided that it was time to build a sturdier hut, something that would withstand a major storm and one that was much larger than the one they shared now. When Akane didn't see him anywhere around she sighed in frustration. Five weeks of not being able to do anything except maybe learn how to cook over a campfire and braid palm mats is very boring. Where is that baka anyway? I'm so tired of just sitting around, Akane mumbled to herself as she grabbed the crutch that Ranma had made for her and started towards the hot springs. Maybe a quick bath would do me a world of good, she thought as she walked into the clearing where the springs were located. Quickly, Akane striped and enter the steaming water.

that feels so good, she moaned in relief as the soothingly hot water lapped over her skin. The hot-springs weren't very deep as they only reached up to her neck when she sat down. Closing her eyes, Akane relaxed against the rim letting all the stress from the last few days melt away. When she got too hot, she pulled herself out and hopped over to the largest rock. Ranma had conveniently place it in the sun a few days ago, so they could sit on it without getting dirt back on themselves after their baths.

As Akane laid face down on the rock, she thought of the last few weeks they had been on the island. Sure, Ranma had been nice to her but there were times that he reverted to his old ways and she just had to hit him with something. Unfortunately, since she couldn't walk or run very well due to her injury, Akane had resorted to throwing things. One memory in particular made its way through her mind, causing her to laugh softly to herself. That baka, if he had kept his mouth shut then I wouldn't have had to throw that seaweed at him. It sure was funny though when it landed on his neck and slid down his shirt. I've never seen him dance around like that beforeI mean, how was I supposed to know there was a crab inside the handful I threw? Yawning, Akane closed her eyes and enjoyed the warm sunlight on her skin. I hope Ranma doesn't decide to take a bath now or he'll be in for a big surprise was the last conscious thought she had before she drifted off to sleep.

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On the other side of the island, Ranma had been exploring for most of the day. So far he found a few interesting caves, a bunch of blueberry bushes, crossed paths with some wild pigs and found a run down shack that looked to be over eighty years old and wasn't holding up to its age. The sun beat down on the pig-tailed martial artist, making the temperature seem to be well over ninety degrees. As he walked he thought about the past few weeks with Akane and no one else to bother them.

Man, it's boring with just Akane and me on this island. But on the other hand, Pop and Mr. Tendo aren't pushing at us to get married, Shan-Pu isn't glompin me, Mu-Tsu and Ryoga aren't attacking me and Ryoga can't sneak into Akane's bed, Ranma said out loud as he ducked under a low hanging tree branch. I miss Ukyo's okonomiyaki though, he said as he covered his growling stomach, then glancing at the sky, Ranma judged it to be around lunchtime. I better get back since Akane won't be able to cook anything even though she's gotten a little better at making simple things, but her larger meals could kill a whale! he muttered to himself as he started running back towards their camp.

When he arrived at the hut, he couldn't find her anywhere, so he searched the clearing and then the beach. But she wasn't there. There's only one place she could be right now since she can't get too far, he said before taking a deep breath and yelling, AKANE! Hey Akane, it's time to eat lunch! Ranma waited for a reply but didn't hear anything; he was in a dilemma. Akane could be taking a bath or she could be in trouble. If she is taking a bath and I walk in on her, she'd mallet me for sure. On the other hand, she could be in danger or hurt than she wouldn't be able to call out for help

Making his decision and preying that she wouldn't kill him, Ranma walked towards the hot-springs. Just before he entered the clearing he called out, Akane are you decent? Ranma waited a few minutes straining his ears for any sounds just incase she didn't hear him, then he tried again.

Akane gasped as she tried to suck in enough air to her constricted lungs to answer him. But every time she exhaled, the constriction got tighter. help m Akane gasped out on her last breath just before she blacked out.

Ranma heard the distress in her voice and pushed into the clearing. What he saw made him frantic. Akane was lying on the rock he had put in the sun a few days ago, but what made Ranma frantic was the huge snake wrapped around her, choking the breath from her body. The snake had to be larger than fifty feet long and its body was larger than a horse's torso.

Oh Kami, Akane! Ranma yelled as he ran into the clearing heading straight towards the snake. Just as he was about to grab it, the snake swung its huge head and knocked Ranma away. The blow hurt but it was only enough to bruise. Ranma tried a few more times to get close enough so he could pull the snake off of her, but each time he was rebuffed in the same manner as before. Ok that's it! I've had it, he muttered, gathering his ki, he extended his hands out in front of himself and yelled, MOKO Takibisha!

The ki ball was larger than any he had ever performed before, it left his hand and headed straight for the snake's head. Exploding upon impact, tearing its head from its body sending the remains crashing to the ground with a loud WHOMP!

Ranma rushed to Akane's side and unwrapped her from the strangle hold of the dead snake, Ranma froze when he noticed that she wasn't wearing anything. He blinked a few times, hoping that he was seeing things, then he blinked again while denying that she was naked. When he opened his eyes for the final time and stared at her body, Ranma felt a tingle that signaled a bloody nose. Taking a deep breath he pushed aside all perverted thoughts of Akane without any clothes and tried to get her to wake up. Ranma noticed that Akane wasn't breathing, so he tried to recall the procedure for CPR. Now he wished that he hadn't fallen asleep in that class so much. Grabbing her head, he tilted it to the proper position, pinched her nose and opened her mouth. Swallowing nervously as he gazed at her soft lips that seemed to be inviting him to kiss her, he thought about how cute she was and about how much he would really like to kiss her. Blinking, he shook his head and pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and concentrated on resuscitating her.

As he was giving her his breath after several times of repetition he felt her start to respond. Smiling, Ranma started to draw away when he felt her arms encircle his neck and with amazing strength Akane pulled him into one of the most amazing kisses he had ever experienced in his life.

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As Akane came to, she could feel his lips pressed firmly on hers. She decided without conscious thought, to pull him closer so she could continue this feeling of having Ranma kissing her. After all, I can do anything I want when I'm dreaming, she thought to herself as she wrapped her arms around Ranma's neck and brought him down closer while firmly pressing her lips against his in an open-mouthed kiss. Ranma, for his part was so shocked that his pigtail stood straight up. "Akaneee...," he thought. Then he moaned in pleasure as his brain shut down while his instincts took over. Ranma started kissing her back with all of the repressed emotions he had ever had about his uncute fiancée.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Akane released her hold on him. Slowly opening her eyes, she stared into the blue depths of Ranma's eyes. As she took stock of herself and her surroundings, Akane absently noted that, one, she was lying on the ground, two, she was holding Ranma closer than she would have liked and he was breathing extremely fast. He also wore a dazed expression and his eyes seemingly refused to focus. And finally, three, she had just kissed him. Oh myI just k-kissed Ranma

Akane was confused, her anger warred with her feelings about him from the last few weeks. Pushing her anger away, Akane decided that she had enjoyed it very much and wanted him to do it again. Akane licked her lips, catching Ranma's attention as he stared at her mouth, unconsciously mirroring her actions.

"A...Akane what...why...um," Ranma stammered incoherently before he gave up completely, a blush suffusing his face as he kept glancing at her lips then towards her eyes before settling on the ground.

Grinning, Akane slowly shook her head in amazement at how embarrassed Ranma looked at the moment. "He sure does look adorable when he gets like this. I liked what we didbut it seems that Ranma isn't ready for it to happen again. I'd better act like I'm mad at him." Sighing, Akane took a deep breath before getting his attention by clearing her throat.

Ranma glanced up again to see what she wanted. "Yeah?" he said while trying to keep his gaze above her neckline.

"In case you haven't noticed Ranma, I'm not wearing anything at the moment and I'd like my clothes...NOW!" Akane yelled, as she tried to cover anything that was giving him an eyeful.

"ACK!" Ranma yelped as he fell over backwards from the force of the wind as Akane yelled the last word. Then jumping up quickly he searched the area for her clothes. Nothing was left except her shorts; everything else looked to be fried from his ki attack. Thinking quickly, Ranma grabbed his favorite shirt, grimaced, tore the sleeve off to serve as a makeshift halter top then walked over towards Akane and handed them to her. "I'm sorry about your clothes Akane, but I must have burned them when I tried to save ya from the snake," he said as he turned his back while she got dressed.

"That's all right, clothes aren't important compared to someone's life," Akane replied while she finished tying the sleeve across her chest. "I know you were worried about me instead of my clothes so you must have done it by accident." Akane hopped up to Ranma, placed her hand on his shoulder and turned him around with one quick tug. "Thank you my fiancé," Akane whispered, before slowly leaning closer as she tilted her head up towards his face, then she kissed him softly on the lips.

Ranma stood frozen as she leaned upwards, his thoughts ran in circles remembering the kiss from earlier. He wanted to kiss her again but he was afraid to make any moves towards her that might seem threatening. "If I do that she would just pound me flat, but that was one hell of a kiss and I liked it alot." Then he felt her hot breath against his lips again and focused his attention on her again, just in time to hear her thank him. He almost passed out when she kissed him again. "WOW!" he thought as she pulled away and a grin slowly started to form on his face.

"Ranma, we have to build a permanent home now since no one has come to the island and we aren't sure how long we'll be here," Akane said as she leaned up against his chest, taking her weight off of her leg. "Thank kami I only have one more week to go before I can walk again without the aid of crutches."

"Huh? Oh, yeah you're right about that. Lets go back to the lean too and we can get some floor plans ready before we start to build it," Ranma said as he helped Akane to walk. Blushing slightly, he noticed what Akane wore at the moment made her look very sexy. Swallowing the lump that had suddenly lodged in his throat, he decided to take a chance and wrapped his arm around her waist. Cautiously, Ranma started to slowly rub her side. "I hope she won't pound me into the ground for this," he thought, as they traveled back to camp. Akane decided to ignore her first instinct to smash him into the ground. Inside she was beaming that he would show her some affection even if it was unconsciously.