All About the Heart

" " - speaking | ' ' - thoughts


Akane could not believe her eyes. 'That face...that hair....no....this is just an illusion...this ain't real...' She reached to touch her hair. It was long, just as the mirror showed her. Akane shook her head violently. Suddenly she heard footsteps bounding towards her room. 'Ranma?'


"SHAMPOO!!! My love!" The door burst to reveal Mousse, the blind boy who's blindly in love, holding a bouquet of flowers.


'Oh my god!' Akane gaped. And fainted.


"Shampoo! Oi! Wake up!" Mousse gently shook Akane (Shampoo). No response. "Old ghoul! Come at once! I think Shampoo fainted!" In the kitchen of the Nekohanten, Cologne chuckled.


"Ah don't worry about it. She'll recover in no time." 'Good job Shampoo,' the matriarch added to herself.



Shampoo woke up from her slumber. She immediately looked at the surroundings and discovered they were exactly the way it was the night before when she visited Akane's room. She took out a mirror and looked at her face. "Oh good lord, I look so ugly! Blue, short hair, wide hips, small bust...hmmph...but definetely the one who Airen...no Ranma loves. Geez I can't start being my old self. I didn't practice out my new character – especially my Japanese - for one year for nothing." With one last chuckle, she opened the door to face the Tendos, and more importantly, Ranma. She proceeded to Ranma's room, where she saw him sleeping peacefully. She gently shook him.


"Wake up!"


*Snore* came the reply.


Unfazed, she kept rocking him around until finally, when she could take no more, gave Ranma a good hard push. Ranma immediately stood up, looking around wildly, getting into combat stance. When he saw Shampoo (Akane), he rolled his eyes.


"Oh it's you tomboy..." he said with a bored tone.


"Good morning." Shampoo replied. She giggled when she saw his reaction.


"Wha? Well...uh...good morning to you too..." Ranma scratched the back of his head. He was rather surprised that Shampoo (Akane) didn't mallet him after that comment.


"School's starting soon. I don't want to have to wake you up all the time." Shampoo (Akane) said with a slight menacing undertone. Ranma sighed in relief.


'Well..at least there's still some degree of normality in her...' Ranma proceeded down to the dining room and stuffed himself with Kasumi's breakfast. By the time Shampoo (Akane) finished, she headed out of the door. "Come on Ranma, let's go."


"Yeah yeah I'm coming..." Ranma replied. Soun just stared at Akane and Ranma. The waterfalls started up and flowed down his face.


"Oh Saotome-kun!"


No response.


"Uh...try again. OH SAOTOME-KUN!"


No response. The waterfalls abruptly stopped.


"Where the hell is he?!"



"Akane Tendo! How nice of you to visit ever chivalrous me!" Kuno waved his bouquet in one hand, bokken in other. "Saotome Ranma! Release her from your vile mind grip!"


Shampoo (Akane) smirked and kept running towards Kuno, seemingly oblivious to his presence. A few seconds later, they collided, but Shampoo kept running while many students watched the kendoist fly up to the heavens. Ranma just stared in shock. He noticed that her battle aura has increased significantly since yesterday. 'Since when did Akane become so good!? It's not like I saw her train last night. Nah...it's just an illusion. I've been seeing too many battle auras.' His thoughts were interrupted by Shampoo (Akane) who grabbed his hand and ran into the classroom to begin their school day.



Lunchtime...


"Ran-chan!" Ukyo, who was grilling an okonomiyaki, waved at Ranma.


"Heya Ucchan." Ranma waved back.


"Want an okonomiyaki?"


"Nah...I have lunch already." Ukyo glared at Shampooo (Akane) who followed Ranma.


"You're gonna eat that slop from her?!" Shampoo (Akane) glared back.


"Slop? This is made by Kasumi."


"Oh sorry. How stupid of me." Ranma laughed.


"Seeing me with Akane's cooking is like seeing a pig fly!" Ukyo pointed behind Ranma, who turned around. Behind him, Shampoo (Akane) fumed, but not with too much success.


"RANMA!!"


"Oops...uh...sorry?" Ranma put his hands up to avoid the almighty mallet.


"Don't worry." Shampoo (Akane) flashed a seductive smile. Ranma gulped.


"Akane? Are you ok?"


"Well I was...but now that you've asked me..."


A few seconds later, Ranma was on the ground with Xs as eyes.


"How dare you hurt my Ranchan!" Ukyo got into combat stance.


"Hmmph! Sp-Ukyo, wanna fight it out?" Shampoo (Akane) did likewise. Ukyo looked surprised. 'Akane? With that battle aura? She's that good?' But she didn't have much time as Shampoo (Akane) charged towards her. Ukyo managed to bring out her combat spatula in time to avoid Shampoo's punch. The fight raged on. Many of the students looked in shock, especially Nabiki.


"Since when did Akane become that good in fighting?" One student asked.


"Beats me. But the more important question is, I thought Akane gets mad so easily?"


Nabiki stared at the two combatants. 'Akane has sure improved in fighting...but I don't understand how it could happen so fast...I have to take a look into what the heck's going on.' She left the scene.


Ranma meanwhile recovered from the punch, and seeing Akane fight Ukyo he immediately shouted, "STOP!" Both girls looked at him. Ranma continued, "You OK both of you?" Both girls nodded, and glared at each other. Just as they were about to fight again the bell rang.


Ukyo said to Shampoo (Akane) with an icy tone, "You're lucky this time."


Shampoo (Akane) smirked in reply. Ukyo left the cafeteria, partly mad, partly confused. 'Akane has improved so much. But how?'


Ranma looked at Shampoo. He noticed a small gash on her arm. Instinctively, he took it, and gazed at the wound. "Does it hurt or not?"


"No, it's ok." Shampoo smiled at Ranma. He blushed in reply, which deepened when he realized he was holding her arm. Shampoo, too, blushed as she saw Ranma's face. "Come on, let's go to class?"


"Umm..sure..." with that, they both left the cafeteria.



"Come on my child, you gotta work harder than that. You're getting lazy!" Cologne said to Akane (Shampoo).


"Yeah hold on...geez." Cologne glared at Akane (Shampoo).


"You will treat me with respect, Shampoo."


"Sorry, GREAT-grandmother." Akane was visibly annoyed. Suddenly she noticed Ranma and...herself? walking together. She gaped in surprise. 'No way! That stupid bimbo!' Peering closer, she also noticed that Ranma was walking side by side, and was very close to Shampoo (Akane), not on the fence! Akane couldn't help but let the tears fall down her face. She knew she couldn't do anything because Ranma doesn't know about the situation. Suddenly she had an idea.


"Great-grandmother. Can I go out? I can see Ranma there, and I found an ingenious way to get--"


"No. You will stay." Akane gasped.


"But Ran--"


"I said, you will stay."


"Look Great-grandmother. If you don't let me go those two might elope or something and I cannot let that happen! And..." she added evilly, "you don't want the Council to know that such an event has occurred right?"


Cologne sighed. If she let Akane go she may spoil everything, but if she didn't then many people would think something's wrong. "Very well. You can go."


"Thank you."



Ranma and Shampoo (Akane) were walking towards home, side by side. Neither said much, but Ranma noticed that it was unusually peaceful. For Ranma, this was very rare, and he evidently enjoyed the peace and quiet with who he thought was Akane. Tentatively, he held out his hand, just like in Ryukenzawa (is that right?) Shampoo gladly put her hand on his, which sent electricity to both of them, much more on Ranma.


"Hey Akane?" Ranma looked at Shampoo.


"Mmm?"


"It's...it's so peaceful. Don't you think? And there's no Shampoo around either." Shampoo suppressed the urge to growl.


"Yeah..." They kept on walking.


"So um...how did your fighting improve so quickly? In one night as well?"


"Well...let's just say it was a matter of bringing out my potential." 'Wow that was a good lie,' Shampoo thought.


"True. You did have lots of potential. Gee...I actually said that." Ranma scratched his head nervously. Shampoo put a hand on Ranma's cheek and kissed it. Ranma felt his legs wobble.


"Thanks. That was really nice of you to say."


"Akane?"


"Yeah?"


"You want to know something?" Ranma twiddled his thumbs nervously. Shampoo looked at him.


"What is it?"


"I...I...l-l-..." Ranma looked around to see if there's any sign of spying. Coast clear. "I love you." Shampoo (Akane) gasped. "Oh Ranma...I love you too!" And flung herself on Ranma. Ranma hugged back, smiling all the time. But he noticed that something about the hug was unnerving, something familiar. 'Pssh, I really need some Prozac. I'm starting to think Akane is Shampoo...what a joke.'


From a bush not far away, Akane silently sobbed. 'Ranma...I do love you too...but...too bad it's not really me you're hugging...' For the first time, she felt helpless. She wasn't her usual confident self anymore. Sighing, she turned away as the 'couple' moved in to kiss.




Author's notes: Umm...I'm stuck on how to describe Akane or Shampoo....should I wirte like how I did? Like Akane (Shampoo) and Shampoo (Akane) where parentheses are the body forms? Anyone with better ideas? Reviews greatly appreciated :).


BTW Shampoo can speak Japanese in this fic...I changed it a bit so it assumes Shampoo's Japanese improved over the year.