Chapter Five: Interactions
A small tremor in her arms caused Akane to slowly open her eyes. Still groggy she just stared at the wall in front of her. That was when Sakura wiggled again in Akane's arms. Akane looked down at Sakura and smiled, acknowledging her existence. Sakura yawned, her small arms stretching above her head. From there Sakura snuggled right back into Akane's body. Akane just held Sakura quietly, staring at the small girl in her arms. Akane sighed softly and stared off into nothing, thinking to herself.
'What is it about Sakura... that makes me feel so... happy? I know I like children but I've never felt like this before.' Akane thought to herself quietly when she heard the floor creak softly behind her.
She turned her head slightly to see who it was. Ranma was standing behind them, his right hand behind his head, tugging at his ponytail. Akane just looked at him and sighed. She didn't have any of the animosity towards him that she had had before. Ranma broke the silence first.
"Umm, look, I don't know what I did to make you so angry or whatever..." Ranma started roughly. "But I didn't mean to do whatever it was I did... so umm... what I'm trying to say is... that... that I'm sorry. There I said it," Ranma spoke quickly, his face slightly red.
Akane just stared at Ranma. Akane just sat and thought to herself for a few seconds. Ranma had never really done anything wrong, had he? Akane thought about it when Ranma began to speak again.
"Look, are you going to say something or not?" Ranma asked quickly.
"Huh? Oh... umm, I'm sorry," Akane answered softly.
"What?" Ranma asked genuinely confused.
Akane giggled at Ranma's face, which was contorted in confusion. She slowly stood up and walked towards Ranma, holding Sakura in her arms. Ranma gulped as he stared at them. A flurry of images ran through his mind but he somehow managed to stay under control when Akane began to speak to him.
"Here's Sakura. I was taking care of her for you, and... I'm sorry for getting mad at you," Akane said as she walked passed Ranma, handing Sakura to Ranma.
Ranma just stood there and stared as Akane slowly walked out of the room. Ranma continued to stand there completely confused when Nabiki poked her head from around the wall.
"Hurry up and get in here, clueless," Nabiki muttered as she returned to the other room.
Ranma slowly began to walk into the family dining room with Sakura in his arms.
The statement, 'I don't understand girls... not at all...' ran through Ranma's head for the rest of the night.
*****
Ranma squinted his eyes as the morning light flashed through the window in his room. He yawned as he looked down at Sakura, who was nestled next to his, err... her body. Ranma smiled as Sakura let out a little yawn of her own. Ranma laid down in his futon and stared at the ceiling, not really thinking about anything when Genma started to talk in his sleep. Ranma sighed and got up, gently picking Sakura up. He walked out of the room and made his way to the crib that had been set up in the living room. He gently placed Sakura down and made his way back up the stairs. He looked at the clock that was hanging in the hallway. He had about an hour to get ready before school.
'Wonder why I woke up so early?' Ranma thought to himself.
He yawned again as he opened the door to the bathroom. He took off his shirt and pants, placing them on the top hamper, and walked into the bathroom, still groggy. He walked over to the sink, not really noticing the increase in heat, and took out a bucket and started to fill the bucket with hot water. When it got to the top he slowly raised the bucket over his head and dumped the water over his body. He felt the change instantly. He stared at the mirror and shook the water out of his hair when he finally noticed the person sitting inside the bathtub.
*****
Akane had gotten up much earlier than usual. She looked at the clock in her room. She had about two hours before school started. Akane rolled over in her bed and yawned. She felt pretty good today and stretched out her arms. She got up and walked out of her room and made her way towards the bathroom when she noticed that the door to Ranma's room was slightly open. She looked around a little and then took a little peek into his room.
'What am I doing?' Akane asked herself when she saw Ranma.
He was sleeping on his side in his female form, his arms wrapped around Sakura. There was a little drool coming out of both of their mouths. Akane giggled a little.
'He really is a sweet guy...' Akane thought to herself when she realized what she was doing and backed away from the door, blushing slightly.
She made her way into the bathroom, completely forgetting to place the occupied sign on the door. She slowly took off her clothes and placed them in the bottom hamper. She opened the door to the bathtub and walked in.
'I think I'm going to take a little bath before everyone gets up...' Akane thought to herself as she began to fill the bathtub.
As the tub filled with warm water she stepped in slowly sinking into the water, letting it cover her body. Akane sighed a sigh of relief as her body relaxed. She settled into a little groove in the tub and closed her eyes. She began to think about everything that happened in the past few days. From the moment the Saotomes had stepped into their lives to the fights at school, the concept of auras, old emotions to new ones, all the way to her own feelings on everything that had happened. Before she knew it she felt herself becoming drowsy.
Thoughts like, 'can't fall asleep... need to go to school soon...' and 'Kasumi's gonna call us down for breakfast soon...' kept Akane in a semi- awake semi-asleep state.
Before she knew it an hour had gone by. She stared at the wall, groggy from being in the bath for so long. She watched as a person suddenly walked into the bathroom and sat in front of the sink. Akane found herself just staring at the person not really sure why.
'Wonder why she's in here?' Akane found herself thinking, only semi conscious.
Akane slowly found herself drifting off. Her thoughts were starting to blur together as she stared at the person in front of her dump a bucket of water over her head. She found herself getting confused at the transformation taking place. Something finally clicked in her mind.
'Oh yeah, Ranma changes...' Akane thought to herself with a smile when everything slowly blacked out.
*****
Akane finally woke up in her bed. She opened her eyes slowly and looked around her surroundings. She was in her room as far as she could tell. She slowly sat up and felt a cool wet towel slip off her face and fall into her lap. She looked down and picked up the towel before it could get anything too wet. She looked at the clock and blinked. She still had about 30 minutes till school started.
'But why am I in my bed?' Akane asked herself when she finally noticed Ranma sitting in the corner of the room.
He was sitting on the ground against the wall. His head was buried in his arms, which lay on top of his knees.
'He must have carried me here...' Akane thought to herself when a sudden realization dawned on her.
That was also when she noticed the large shirt that she was wearing. It was way too big for her but it covered her enough so that nothing was showing. Something in her mind realized that that must have meant that Ranma hadn't gone through her clothes.
'But I was in the...' Akane thought as she stared at Ranma.
But no matter how much Akane thought about it, she couldn't really get mad at Ranma. Maybe it was cause she was still a little sleepy, or maybe it was cause Ranma had taken care of her so well, but whatever it was Akane just sat there and stared at Ranma. That was when she noticed the light aura covering Ranma's body. It was extremely light but the color was vivid. It was a deepest darkest color of blue that she had ever seen. Akane could almost feel the sorrow just by looking at the color. Akane quickly got out of bed and walked over to Ranma. She touched his shoulder lightly only to be completely surprised as Ranma's head shot upwards, hitting the bottom of her chin lightly, but enough to knock her backwards a little. Slightly disoriented Akane sat on the ground and stared at Ranma. As her vision cleared she stared at Ranma's face. His eyes were slightly red. Ranma broke the silence first.
"You're awake!" Ranma shouted as he jumped up towards Akane.
"Uh, yea..." Akane answered, still trying to grasp the situation, and slightly taken aback by Ranma's presence.
"Thank god..." Ranma sighed as he sat back down.
His aura almost immediately changed into a soft white color then slowly faded away. He sighed a sigh of relief and slumped against the wall, smiling lightly.
*****
Ranma had brushed the water out of his eyes and stared at the mirror in front of him. He was a man again. He turned around, stretching his arms when he finally saw Akane, sitting in the bathtub. Ranma immediately jumped backwards with his eyes closed. In his panicked state he slipped on the wet ground and fell, in the process hitting his head on the sink. Ranma rubbed his head as he nursed the bump that had formed. He slowly got up, slightly disoriented, trying to cover himself.
"I'm really sorry... oww... I'm leaving now so... I didn't see anything though so don't worry...damn this hurts..." Ranma stuttered without thinking when he realized something wasn't right.
Ranma opened one of his eyes slowly to look at Akane when he noticed that she wasn't looking at him. In fact her eyes were closed. Ranma sighed as he slowly crept out of the bathroom. He grabbed his pants and quickly put them on, when he finally noticed the drastic temperature change between the two rooms. Ranma's eyes opened wide as he cursed under his breath. He looked back into the open door and made a quick decision and walked in again. He quickly made his way to Akane and looked at her face. It was really red. He felt her forehead.
'Shit, she's burning up,' Ranma cursed.
He quickly found a towel and slowly slid them under her arms, trying desperately not to look at Akane's body. His vision slipped a few times but he quickly averted his eyes as he put the towel around her body. He gently picked Akane out of the water and pulled her out, again trying desperately not to look at her.
'She's really light...' crossed Ranma's mind.
He quickly covered her up as best as he could. He placed her in his arms and walked out of the bathroom. He gently sat Akane down against the wall and ran out of the bathroom. Seconds later he was back with a very large t- shirt that he had had and put it over her head and he put the shirt over her and gently took the towel out from under her. He picked her up once more and walked out of the bathroom, first after making sure no one was in the hallway. He quickly took her into her room and put her in her bed. As he put her down a flurry of thoughts ran through his mind, those thoughts ranging all over the place. He quickly ended his thoughts and ran out to get a wet towel. When he placed the cool wet towel over Akane's forehead he sat down in the corner of the room.
'God I hope she's ok...' Ranma thought to himself as he sat there.
He buried his face in his arms and just sat there waiting. He didn't even realize how bad it hurt him to see Akane like this. He felt the tears forming in his eyes and cursed.
'Didn't think I was this weak...' Ranma thought to himself.
A few minutes passed. Ranma just sat silently, almost zoning everything out when he felt something touch his shoulder. Ranma shot his head up out of his arms feelings a slight bump in his head, which hurt cause the bump happened near the place where he had hit it earlier. Ranma put the pain aside and looked at Akane, who was on the ground rubbing her chin.
"You're awake!" Ranma shouted as he jumped towards Akane.
Ranma watched Akane's mouth move but didn't register what came out of her mouth. He just slumped backwards and sighed.
"Thank god," Ranma said to himself as he sat back against the wall.
He felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his body and he sighed a sigh of relief. That was when Akane's alarm clock went off. Both of them jumped, completely surprised. They got up and looked at each other for a few seconds then turned away, blushing slightly as they realized what the other was wearing. Ranma broke the silence first.
"Umm... sorry about walking in on you..." Ranma stuttered softly.
"It's ok..." Akane found herself saying.
"Umm... well I better get going..." Ranma said as he opened the door.
"Yea..." Akane answered when another voice interrupted their conversation.
"Oh my," Kasumi gasped as Ranma opened the door, right as Kasumi was about to open it.
Ranma just stood there like a deer caught in headlights. Kasumi looked at the two, going back and forth from the two. Ranma was wearing just his pants and his upper body was still slightly wet. Akane's hair was still wet as was Ranma's shirt, which she was wearing. Kasumi quickly deciphered that it was the only thing she was wearing. Kasumi just stared at the two and then looked at the wet footprints coming from the bathroom to Akane's room. Kasumi stepped backwards and thought about it for a few seconds, leaving Ranma and Akane frozen a little longer. Then she smiled and turned around, walking towards the stairs.
"Breakfast is ready you two. Oh, and I'd hurry up if you don't want anyone else to see you like that," Kasumi said as she walked away.
Ranma took off like a bat out of hell and ran into his room. Akane immediately closed her door and leaned against it. She breathed out as she tried to slow down her heartbeat. She suddenly found herself giggling. She looked down at the shirt she was wearing and blushed brightly as it was all but see thru at this point.
'Leave it to Ranma to give me a white shirt...' Akane said to herself, giggling lightly.
She quickly took off the shirt and dried herself and put on some clothes. She gathered up her belongings and walked downstairs. As she tried to dry her long hair she had an afterthought.
'Maybe I'll cut my hair... long hair has always been such a pain to take care of...'
*****
Ranma entered his room and breathed hard as he tried to slow own his heart. It was beating incredibly fast and he was having trouble focusing. He looked over and saw his father, in his panda form, still sleeping. He walked over and grabbed his clothes and quickly threw them on. He sighed as he felt his face finally start to cool off.
'What the hell just happened...?' Ranma silently thought to himself.
Vivid images pulsated through Ranma's skull causing him to flush again. He looked over at the clock in his room and cursed. School was starting in fifteen minutes. He figured he could make it to school in about 3 minutes running at full speed.
'Shit, might as well get ready...' Ranma sighed gathering up his stuff and finally exiting his room.
Ranma slung his bag over his shoulder and stepped out of his room just as Akane stepped on the first step of the stairs. Ranma froze as he watched Akane walk down the stairs. He quickly shook his head and followed after her. He went straight to the living room and checked up on Sakura. She was still sleeping. Ranma smiled as he stared at the peaceful expression on Sakura's face. Ranma sighed.
"You don't have to worry about anything... except what to eat... probably..." Ranma rambled off.
Ranma sighed. He looked at Sakura one last time and patted her on the head gently, stroking her soft hair.
"Well, I'm off to school again... I'll be back later, so be a good girl until then," Ranma said softly.
He picked up his hand and exited the room, as Sakura merely turned around and snuggled into the soft pillow inside the crib. As Ranma entered the dining room he locked eyes with Akane and immediately blushed, as did Akane. Ranma quickly sat down next to Akane. Ranma quickly devoured his food and leaned back slightly with his arms propping himself up. Ranma stared at the empty spot in front of him. Nabiki had already left for school some time ago, a small blessing that Ranma coveted. Ranma sighed. Frankly Nabiki would have been the worst person to find out about what had happened. He looked over at the clock as he thought this.
'We're going to have to go soon...' Ranma thought to himself.
Akane, who had been sitting down for some time now, glanced at the clock. There was about five minutes before school started. They were going to be late. Akane jumped up just as Ranma began to move. They gathered their stuff and headed out the door, saying their goodbyes in a rush. Kasumi just stared at the two and smiled.
'Wonder what really happened.?' Kasumi thought to herself. 'I'm sure it was nothing to worry about though.'
Kasumi just smiled and turned to her father.
"Would you like another serving, father?"
*****
Ranma walked out the door and waited as Akane quickly put her shoes on while hopping on one foot as she slipped her second shoe on. Ranma sighed as he watched Akane fumble in front of the doorway.
'We're going to be late... unless... never mind... she'll kill me... but... ah what the hell.'Ranma thought to himself as he rationalized something. 'Maybe she won't mind.'
Without a word he slipped slightly underneath Akane and picked her up. In an instant she was in his arms as he jumped straight onto the Tendo roof. From there he commenced to roof hop at an incredible speed leaping from building to building with incredible grace. During the entire process, Akane could do nothing. Akane just looked forward as everything blurred past her. The wind blew through her long hair blowing it into Ranma's face at times. Akane looked up at Ranma once only to find Ranma looking down at her. They both looked away as fast they could turn their heads as their faces began to heat up. Ranma felt his heartbeat jump as he ran. Akane felt her heartbeat jump as she sat in Ranma's arms. Time seemed to disappear as they ran towards the school. Ranma was the first to notice the school and began to slow down. He jumped off the roof he was on and gently placed Akane on the ground. Akane just looked at him, as if asking why he put her down.
"Uh... I didn't want people to think anything... I mean... I didn't want anyone to misunderstand..." Ranma began to stutter.
"Am I that shameful to be around?" Akane asked suddenly, surprising herself and Ranma.
"Uh... that's not what I meant... I mean... you looked like you were getting picked on the other day and... I don't know..." Ranma stuttered as he grabbed his pigtail and looked away when the bell rang.
"AH!" They both yelled as they raced towards the school.
Akane looked at Ranma who was running right next to her. She stuck out her tongue and giggled. Ranma stumbled slightly then caught up with Akane frowning. The two of them raced into the school laughing as the entire class watched them.
Author's notes: I wanted to write a segment into this story that involved an in depth interaction between Ranma and Akane. I wanted to express a lot of detail that I wouldn't be able to do if I had just continued on with the plot. I guess you could call this a little side story. I don't really know if it worked but if enough people liked it I may do another one later on. I'll return to the regular plot next chapter. Thanks for the continued support. Until next time!
A small tremor in her arms caused Akane to slowly open her eyes. Still groggy she just stared at the wall in front of her. That was when Sakura wiggled again in Akane's arms. Akane looked down at Sakura and smiled, acknowledging her existence. Sakura yawned, her small arms stretching above her head. From there Sakura snuggled right back into Akane's body. Akane just held Sakura quietly, staring at the small girl in her arms. Akane sighed softly and stared off into nothing, thinking to herself.
'What is it about Sakura... that makes me feel so... happy? I know I like children but I've never felt like this before.' Akane thought to herself quietly when she heard the floor creak softly behind her.
She turned her head slightly to see who it was. Ranma was standing behind them, his right hand behind his head, tugging at his ponytail. Akane just looked at him and sighed. She didn't have any of the animosity towards him that she had had before. Ranma broke the silence first.
"Umm, look, I don't know what I did to make you so angry or whatever..." Ranma started roughly. "But I didn't mean to do whatever it was I did... so umm... what I'm trying to say is... that... that I'm sorry. There I said it," Ranma spoke quickly, his face slightly red.
Akane just stared at Ranma. Akane just sat and thought to herself for a few seconds. Ranma had never really done anything wrong, had he? Akane thought about it when Ranma began to speak again.
"Look, are you going to say something or not?" Ranma asked quickly.
"Huh? Oh... umm, I'm sorry," Akane answered softly.
"What?" Ranma asked genuinely confused.
Akane giggled at Ranma's face, which was contorted in confusion. She slowly stood up and walked towards Ranma, holding Sakura in her arms. Ranma gulped as he stared at them. A flurry of images ran through his mind but he somehow managed to stay under control when Akane began to speak to him.
"Here's Sakura. I was taking care of her for you, and... I'm sorry for getting mad at you," Akane said as she walked passed Ranma, handing Sakura to Ranma.
Ranma just stood there and stared as Akane slowly walked out of the room. Ranma continued to stand there completely confused when Nabiki poked her head from around the wall.
"Hurry up and get in here, clueless," Nabiki muttered as she returned to the other room.
Ranma slowly began to walk into the family dining room with Sakura in his arms.
The statement, 'I don't understand girls... not at all...' ran through Ranma's head for the rest of the night.
*****
Ranma squinted his eyes as the morning light flashed through the window in his room. He yawned as he looked down at Sakura, who was nestled next to his, err... her body. Ranma smiled as Sakura let out a little yawn of her own. Ranma laid down in his futon and stared at the ceiling, not really thinking about anything when Genma started to talk in his sleep. Ranma sighed and got up, gently picking Sakura up. He walked out of the room and made his way to the crib that had been set up in the living room. He gently placed Sakura down and made his way back up the stairs. He looked at the clock that was hanging in the hallway. He had about an hour to get ready before school.
'Wonder why I woke up so early?' Ranma thought to himself.
He yawned again as he opened the door to the bathroom. He took off his shirt and pants, placing them on the top hamper, and walked into the bathroom, still groggy. He walked over to the sink, not really noticing the increase in heat, and took out a bucket and started to fill the bucket with hot water. When it got to the top he slowly raised the bucket over his head and dumped the water over his body. He felt the change instantly. He stared at the mirror and shook the water out of his hair when he finally noticed the person sitting inside the bathtub.
*****
Akane had gotten up much earlier than usual. She looked at the clock in her room. She had about two hours before school started. Akane rolled over in her bed and yawned. She felt pretty good today and stretched out her arms. She got up and walked out of her room and made her way towards the bathroom when she noticed that the door to Ranma's room was slightly open. She looked around a little and then took a little peek into his room.
'What am I doing?' Akane asked herself when she saw Ranma.
He was sleeping on his side in his female form, his arms wrapped around Sakura. There was a little drool coming out of both of their mouths. Akane giggled a little.
'He really is a sweet guy...' Akane thought to herself when she realized what she was doing and backed away from the door, blushing slightly.
She made her way into the bathroom, completely forgetting to place the occupied sign on the door. She slowly took off her clothes and placed them in the bottom hamper. She opened the door to the bathtub and walked in.
'I think I'm going to take a little bath before everyone gets up...' Akane thought to herself as she began to fill the bathtub.
As the tub filled with warm water she stepped in slowly sinking into the water, letting it cover her body. Akane sighed a sigh of relief as her body relaxed. She settled into a little groove in the tub and closed her eyes. She began to think about everything that happened in the past few days. From the moment the Saotomes had stepped into their lives to the fights at school, the concept of auras, old emotions to new ones, all the way to her own feelings on everything that had happened. Before she knew it she felt herself becoming drowsy.
Thoughts like, 'can't fall asleep... need to go to school soon...' and 'Kasumi's gonna call us down for breakfast soon...' kept Akane in a semi- awake semi-asleep state.
Before she knew it an hour had gone by. She stared at the wall, groggy from being in the bath for so long. She watched as a person suddenly walked into the bathroom and sat in front of the sink. Akane found herself just staring at the person not really sure why.
'Wonder why she's in here?' Akane found herself thinking, only semi conscious.
Akane slowly found herself drifting off. Her thoughts were starting to blur together as she stared at the person in front of her dump a bucket of water over her head. She found herself getting confused at the transformation taking place. Something finally clicked in her mind.
'Oh yeah, Ranma changes...' Akane thought to herself with a smile when everything slowly blacked out.
*****
Akane finally woke up in her bed. She opened her eyes slowly and looked around her surroundings. She was in her room as far as she could tell. She slowly sat up and felt a cool wet towel slip off her face and fall into her lap. She looked down and picked up the towel before it could get anything too wet. She looked at the clock and blinked. She still had about 30 minutes till school started.
'But why am I in my bed?' Akane asked herself when she finally noticed Ranma sitting in the corner of the room.
He was sitting on the ground against the wall. His head was buried in his arms, which lay on top of his knees.
'He must have carried me here...' Akane thought to herself when a sudden realization dawned on her.
That was also when she noticed the large shirt that she was wearing. It was way too big for her but it covered her enough so that nothing was showing. Something in her mind realized that that must have meant that Ranma hadn't gone through her clothes.
'But I was in the...' Akane thought as she stared at Ranma.
But no matter how much Akane thought about it, she couldn't really get mad at Ranma. Maybe it was cause she was still a little sleepy, or maybe it was cause Ranma had taken care of her so well, but whatever it was Akane just sat there and stared at Ranma. That was when she noticed the light aura covering Ranma's body. It was extremely light but the color was vivid. It was a deepest darkest color of blue that she had ever seen. Akane could almost feel the sorrow just by looking at the color. Akane quickly got out of bed and walked over to Ranma. She touched his shoulder lightly only to be completely surprised as Ranma's head shot upwards, hitting the bottom of her chin lightly, but enough to knock her backwards a little. Slightly disoriented Akane sat on the ground and stared at Ranma. As her vision cleared she stared at Ranma's face. His eyes were slightly red. Ranma broke the silence first.
"You're awake!" Ranma shouted as he jumped up towards Akane.
"Uh, yea..." Akane answered, still trying to grasp the situation, and slightly taken aback by Ranma's presence.
"Thank god..." Ranma sighed as he sat back down.
His aura almost immediately changed into a soft white color then slowly faded away. He sighed a sigh of relief and slumped against the wall, smiling lightly.
*****
Ranma had brushed the water out of his eyes and stared at the mirror in front of him. He was a man again. He turned around, stretching his arms when he finally saw Akane, sitting in the bathtub. Ranma immediately jumped backwards with his eyes closed. In his panicked state he slipped on the wet ground and fell, in the process hitting his head on the sink. Ranma rubbed his head as he nursed the bump that had formed. He slowly got up, slightly disoriented, trying to cover himself.
"I'm really sorry... oww... I'm leaving now so... I didn't see anything though so don't worry...damn this hurts..." Ranma stuttered without thinking when he realized something wasn't right.
Ranma opened one of his eyes slowly to look at Akane when he noticed that she wasn't looking at him. In fact her eyes were closed. Ranma sighed as he slowly crept out of the bathroom. He grabbed his pants and quickly put them on, when he finally noticed the drastic temperature change between the two rooms. Ranma's eyes opened wide as he cursed under his breath. He looked back into the open door and made a quick decision and walked in again. He quickly made his way to Akane and looked at her face. It was really red. He felt her forehead.
'Shit, she's burning up,' Ranma cursed.
He quickly found a towel and slowly slid them under her arms, trying desperately not to look at Akane's body. His vision slipped a few times but he quickly averted his eyes as he put the towel around her body. He gently picked Akane out of the water and pulled her out, again trying desperately not to look at her.
'She's really light...' crossed Ranma's mind.
He quickly covered her up as best as he could. He placed her in his arms and walked out of the bathroom. He gently sat Akane down against the wall and ran out of the bathroom. Seconds later he was back with a very large t- shirt that he had had and put it over her head and he put the shirt over her and gently took the towel out from under her. He picked her up once more and walked out of the bathroom, first after making sure no one was in the hallway. He quickly took her into her room and put her in her bed. As he put her down a flurry of thoughts ran through his mind, those thoughts ranging all over the place. He quickly ended his thoughts and ran out to get a wet towel. When he placed the cool wet towel over Akane's forehead he sat down in the corner of the room.
'God I hope she's ok...' Ranma thought to himself as he sat there.
He buried his face in his arms and just sat there waiting. He didn't even realize how bad it hurt him to see Akane like this. He felt the tears forming in his eyes and cursed.
'Didn't think I was this weak...' Ranma thought to himself.
A few minutes passed. Ranma just sat silently, almost zoning everything out when he felt something touch his shoulder. Ranma shot his head up out of his arms feelings a slight bump in his head, which hurt cause the bump happened near the place where he had hit it earlier. Ranma put the pain aside and looked at Akane, who was on the ground rubbing her chin.
"You're awake!" Ranma shouted as he jumped towards Akane.
Ranma watched Akane's mouth move but didn't register what came out of her mouth. He just slumped backwards and sighed.
"Thank god," Ranma said to himself as he sat back against the wall.
He felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his body and he sighed a sigh of relief. That was when Akane's alarm clock went off. Both of them jumped, completely surprised. They got up and looked at each other for a few seconds then turned away, blushing slightly as they realized what the other was wearing. Ranma broke the silence first.
"Umm... sorry about walking in on you..." Ranma stuttered softly.
"It's ok..." Akane found herself saying.
"Umm... well I better get going..." Ranma said as he opened the door.
"Yea..." Akane answered when another voice interrupted their conversation.
"Oh my," Kasumi gasped as Ranma opened the door, right as Kasumi was about to open it.
Ranma just stood there like a deer caught in headlights. Kasumi looked at the two, going back and forth from the two. Ranma was wearing just his pants and his upper body was still slightly wet. Akane's hair was still wet as was Ranma's shirt, which she was wearing. Kasumi quickly deciphered that it was the only thing she was wearing. Kasumi just stared at the two and then looked at the wet footprints coming from the bathroom to Akane's room. Kasumi stepped backwards and thought about it for a few seconds, leaving Ranma and Akane frozen a little longer. Then she smiled and turned around, walking towards the stairs.
"Breakfast is ready you two. Oh, and I'd hurry up if you don't want anyone else to see you like that," Kasumi said as she walked away.
Ranma took off like a bat out of hell and ran into his room. Akane immediately closed her door and leaned against it. She breathed out as she tried to slow down her heartbeat. She suddenly found herself giggling. She looked down at the shirt she was wearing and blushed brightly as it was all but see thru at this point.
'Leave it to Ranma to give me a white shirt...' Akane said to herself, giggling lightly.
She quickly took off the shirt and dried herself and put on some clothes. She gathered up her belongings and walked downstairs. As she tried to dry her long hair she had an afterthought.
'Maybe I'll cut my hair... long hair has always been such a pain to take care of...'
*****
Ranma entered his room and breathed hard as he tried to slow own his heart. It was beating incredibly fast and he was having trouble focusing. He looked over and saw his father, in his panda form, still sleeping. He walked over and grabbed his clothes and quickly threw them on. He sighed as he felt his face finally start to cool off.
'What the hell just happened...?' Ranma silently thought to himself.
Vivid images pulsated through Ranma's skull causing him to flush again. He looked over at the clock in his room and cursed. School was starting in fifteen minutes. He figured he could make it to school in about 3 minutes running at full speed.
'Shit, might as well get ready...' Ranma sighed gathering up his stuff and finally exiting his room.
Ranma slung his bag over his shoulder and stepped out of his room just as Akane stepped on the first step of the stairs. Ranma froze as he watched Akane walk down the stairs. He quickly shook his head and followed after her. He went straight to the living room and checked up on Sakura. She was still sleeping. Ranma smiled as he stared at the peaceful expression on Sakura's face. Ranma sighed.
"You don't have to worry about anything... except what to eat... probably..." Ranma rambled off.
Ranma sighed. He looked at Sakura one last time and patted her on the head gently, stroking her soft hair.
"Well, I'm off to school again... I'll be back later, so be a good girl until then," Ranma said softly.
He picked up his hand and exited the room, as Sakura merely turned around and snuggled into the soft pillow inside the crib. As Ranma entered the dining room he locked eyes with Akane and immediately blushed, as did Akane. Ranma quickly sat down next to Akane. Ranma quickly devoured his food and leaned back slightly with his arms propping himself up. Ranma stared at the empty spot in front of him. Nabiki had already left for school some time ago, a small blessing that Ranma coveted. Ranma sighed. Frankly Nabiki would have been the worst person to find out about what had happened. He looked over at the clock as he thought this.
'We're going to have to go soon...' Ranma thought to himself.
Akane, who had been sitting down for some time now, glanced at the clock. There was about five minutes before school started. They were going to be late. Akane jumped up just as Ranma began to move. They gathered their stuff and headed out the door, saying their goodbyes in a rush. Kasumi just stared at the two and smiled.
'Wonder what really happened.?' Kasumi thought to herself. 'I'm sure it was nothing to worry about though.'
Kasumi just smiled and turned to her father.
"Would you like another serving, father?"
*****
Ranma walked out the door and waited as Akane quickly put her shoes on while hopping on one foot as she slipped her second shoe on. Ranma sighed as he watched Akane fumble in front of the doorway.
'We're going to be late... unless... never mind... she'll kill me... but... ah what the hell.'Ranma thought to himself as he rationalized something. 'Maybe she won't mind.'
Without a word he slipped slightly underneath Akane and picked her up. In an instant she was in his arms as he jumped straight onto the Tendo roof. From there he commenced to roof hop at an incredible speed leaping from building to building with incredible grace. During the entire process, Akane could do nothing. Akane just looked forward as everything blurred past her. The wind blew through her long hair blowing it into Ranma's face at times. Akane looked up at Ranma once only to find Ranma looking down at her. They both looked away as fast they could turn their heads as their faces began to heat up. Ranma felt his heartbeat jump as he ran. Akane felt her heartbeat jump as she sat in Ranma's arms. Time seemed to disappear as they ran towards the school. Ranma was the first to notice the school and began to slow down. He jumped off the roof he was on and gently placed Akane on the ground. Akane just looked at him, as if asking why he put her down.
"Uh... I didn't want people to think anything... I mean... I didn't want anyone to misunderstand..." Ranma began to stutter.
"Am I that shameful to be around?" Akane asked suddenly, surprising herself and Ranma.
"Uh... that's not what I meant... I mean... you looked like you were getting picked on the other day and... I don't know..." Ranma stuttered as he grabbed his pigtail and looked away when the bell rang.
"AH!" They both yelled as they raced towards the school.
Akane looked at Ranma who was running right next to her. She stuck out her tongue and giggled. Ranma stumbled slightly then caught up with Akane frowning. The two of them raced into the school laughing as the entire class watched them.
Author's notes: I wanted to write a segment into this story that involved an in depth interaction between Ranma and Akane. I wanted to express a lot of detail that I wouldn't be able to do if I had just continued on with the plot. I guess you could call this a little side story. I don't really know if it worked but if enough people liked it I may do another one later on. I'll return to the regular plot next chapter. Thanks for the continued support. Until next time!
