Legal Note: N/A *************************************************************************************

Chapter Thirteen and a Half: Both

"So you got it Akane?" Ranma asked Akane who was sitting on the beach near the water.

"Yeah. So that's how you fought Samba?" Akane asked as Ranma sat next to her.

"I didn't use it the whole time. Man I'm beat." Ranma said lying back on the ground with his arms under his head. "It was a good day though. Right?" Ranma asked with one eye closed and the open one pointed at Akane.

"You can say that. I can swim, and you won a battle." Akane said hugging her knees. "It is late, or rather early. I mean the sun will come up in a half hour." Akane said as the wind blew her hair a bit.

"Do you want to wait for it?" Ranma asked sitting up.

"If you want to." Akane said turning to Ranma with a smile.

"I remember saying that once you could swim you'd take a swim with me." Ranma said with a bit of red on his cheeks.

"You did say that and I agreed to it. Do you want to right now?"

"Uh, well, no, uh, kind of, but not at the moment." Ranma said in a nervous voice. "Ahem. What I mean to say is after the sun rises." Ranma said in a calmer manner, but still with red cheeks.

Akane sighs. "What is our relationship Ranma?" Akane asked Ranma with a more serious face as Ranma became a bit tense.

"O-Ou-Our relationship? What are you getting at Akane?" Ranma said after a series of coughs.

"Well, are we friends…" Akane began.

"Yeah we are." Ranma said becoming less tense.

"…or something else?" Akane finished. A long silence followed.

"Er, I didn't know there was a second part to that question. Look, Let's worry less and have more fun without thinking about that stupid engagement our fathers made. You do know that this whole trip was another one of their tricks to get us together right?" Ranma said looking out to see the sky become lighter.

"This trip was?" Akane questioned looking out as well.

"Did it work or not?" Ranma said turning to Akane.

"Their schemes never do. Why?" Akane turned to meet him. "Don't tell me it did work?"

"Uh, n-no, no. Of course not Akane." Ranma said turning back to the horizon where the sea met the sky. The sun was coming up.

"They're just stupid is all." Akane said looking out again. "Look the sun is coming up."

"Yeah." Ranma glanced over to Akane.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

"It is isn't it." Ranma said still staring at Akane.

"Red sky. That means rain right?" Akane said turning to Ranma as he snapped his head to face the horizon.

"Yeah I believe so." Ranma said with a nervous chuckle and red face.

Akane smiled at this sight. "How about that swim now?" She stood up trying to get some sand off that was on her butt.

"Why not?" Ranma said looking to her, but not at her face. "Uh, we could swim back towards the house I guess." Ranma said standing up with sand all on his shirt and trunks.

"Look how dirty you got." Akane said with a laugh.

"Well when I get in the water it won't be there. So we swim back towards the beach house. Then I can finally get some warm water and get back to being a guy." Ranma said stepping towards the water.

"Thanks for bearing with your curse to teach me." Akane said following.

"Stop thanking me okay. They mean nothing really." Ranma said looking back to her while going into the waist deep water.

"Hold on." Ranma stopped turning to her as she met him. They were close to one another. "Er, uh, nothing. I forget what I was going to say. Maybe later." Akane said with a red face forming.

"Okay then." Ranma said turning and beginning to swim out some.

"What was I thinking?" Akane said to herself in a whisper.

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Next update will be the last. I will put up the last two closing chapters soon and soon after I'll put up the beginning to the sequel sometime after. More on that next time.

Thanks to:

Butterfly10: They changed everyone's name if there were multiple ones. Luckily I didn't so ha-ha!

Pen21: Don't know why your reviews never showed up, but I got them via mail. I'm glad you like it so much. Bad news that my story is already engaged to Ranma as well.