… Part 2: 'Prophase' …
" Prophase. During prophase, the centriole duplicates itself, producing spindle fibers which surround the nucleus. "
Tendo Dojo: Monday, 7am
It had been one of those days. Well, it was only morning, truthfully, but Ranma was feeling pretty tired. As usual, Genma had woken him up well before sunrise for their daily training session, and predictably, Ranma had ended up in the koi pond. Like clockwork, Kasumi had breakfast on the table and a kettle on the stove when they came in.
Breakfast was a little quieter than usual. That is, until Nabiki spoke up. "Uhh, Ranma, are you going to leave any for the rest of us?" The prolonged silence was due to the others' shocked faces being unable to form words. From the moment he sat at the table, to Nabiki's remark, Ranma had been busy putting his previous speed records to shame.
"Oh, my…" The silence broken, Kasumi put in her two cents.
Akane opened and closed her mouth a few times before adding, "Honestly, Ranma, where do you put it all?"
Genma and Soun failed to comment, as they'd both fainted at the sight of all that food being inhaled at such a rate. After a few moments, however, the furry one came to long enough to try to steal another dumpling from Ranma's plate—promptly fainting again when he realized that not only were there none on Ranma's plate, but none in the serving dish, or anywhere on the table, for that matter.
Ranma looked at the girls' incredulous expressions; Kasumi's mouth was hanging wide open, and Akane looked like she was ready to cry, or perhaps to mallet him—or both. "Uh… I was… hungry?" he offered with a sheepish grin. Noticing that it was nearly time to leave—Nabiki had left several minutes ago, muttering something about "stopping at Ucchan's for a bite"—he picked up his bag and gave Akane a hand to help her up.
"Are you feeling all right, Ranma-kun?" Kasumi asked.
"Hai, I'm fine. Why d'ya ask?"
"Well, you're acting quite… differently today."
He shrugged. "I'm okay. Jus' hungry, 's all."
Furinkan High School: 7.55am
Ranma was grateful, as always, that Dr. Tofu kept a kettle of hot water at the clinic for him; he'd managed to get splashed once again. He and Akane were now nearly to the school, running a bit later than usual, but they saw no reason to worry. After all, it happened on a daily basis, so they basically planned for it. Now for the next part of their morning routine….
"Y'ready, Akane?" Ranma called out with a smirk, as they raced toward the school gates.
"You bet," she agreed, and let loose an extra burst of speed. Right on schedule, they could see Tatewaki Kuno stepping out from behind the large oak in the school's front yard.
"Halt, knave!" Kuno cried. "This disgrace far outshadows even the sorcery by which you enslave the pigtailed girl!"
"What're ya talkin' about, ya lard-head?"
"I speak of the dishonor you have brought upon the beauteous Akane Tendo, by promising yourself to her, yet having already consummated wedlock with another! May the vengeance of heaven fall upon you, through me its vessel, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High School!" Raising his bokken in trademark style, Kuno smiled as a crash of thunder sounded, despite the blue skies.
How did he know about that? Ranma wondered. Oh well; kick ass now, ask questions later. "Feh. Maybe ya should get'cher facts straight 'fore you go around accusin' people o' things," retorted Ranma, as he leaped toward Kuno, foot extended.
In an uncharacteristic display of skill, Kuno sidestepped the flying kick and brought his bokken down at Ranma's throat; it still hit nothing, though, as Ranma had sensed the attack and was already spinning back for a leg sweep. To everyone's surprise, Kuno dodged this as well, and replied with a vertical slash of his wooden weapon. Damn, the guy's putting up a decent fight today! What happened? Ranma considered using his Amaguriken as a desperation move, but feeling an eerie wave of fatigue, he decided against it. No point wasting my energy on Kuno, of all people, he reasoned. But that sense of exhaustion, the feeling that he was being drained, worried him a bit. He felt as if he wouldn't have energy to stay awake today, much less pound Kuno, or even keep up a good fight.
Fortunately for him, Akane chose that moment to whack Kuno over the head with her schoolbag. "Bakayarou! Leave Ranma alone; for once, he didn't do anything!" Caught in mid-slice, Kuno slumped to the grass.
Still feeling a little woozy, Ranma accepted her hand as she pulled him up. "Ah, thanks. But didja hafta add 'fer once'?"
"Um… force of habit, I guess," Akane answered, grinning. She was glad though, that they were on better terms.
"Yeah, yeah. Al' right. Oi, we better get ta class; we're gonna be late."
…
Upon reaching Hinako-sensei's classroom, they discovered that Kuno wasn't the only person to learn of the letter; nearly everyone in class had a slew questions for the pair. Nabiki's up to her old tricks, eh? Ranma was a bit flustered, to say the least, as most of the questions asked of him involved 'Mrs. Ranma Saotome,' and were of the 'Is she hot?' and 'When can we meet her?' variety; meanwhile, the girls asked Akane what she thought of things, and why she was in such a good mood despite the letter.
"Look, people, th' letter was a prank somebody pull'd on me, 'kay? There ain't no 'Mrs. Saotome' 'cept my mom."
His adamant response only caused more questions. "Who sent the letter?" "What did Akane do about it?" and most embarrassingly to both, "So when's Akane gonna be 'Mrs. Saotome'?"
Eventually he and Akane managed to dispel most of the rumors that had gotten around; unfortunately, in the confusion, the remaining rumors had everyone thinking the couple had finally made good on their engagement. Nearly surprising herself, Akane held tightly to the thought that, if all went well, the rumors might soon be the truth.
Furinkan High School: 12pm
When the lunch bell rang, Ranma took his favorite route down—through the third-story window, that is, though not into the pool—and propped himself up against a tree trunk. He opened his bentou, expecting the usual lunch Kasumi would pack for him, but instead found an unrecognizable charred mass, with what looked like specks of green and red peppers. He was about to throw it away and go get the hot lunch—which was only marginally better—when a loud rumble from his stomach convinced him otherwise. Shrugging, he sat back down and started to break off pieces of the… whatever it was, and pop them in his mouth. Actually, it's pretty good, considering that it looks like a charcoal briquette, he thought.
"So, you like it, huh, Ranma?" Akane asked from just behind his ear. Her sudden voice startled him and he launched himself into the tree's branches.
"Jeez, tomboy, don't scare m' like that!"
Akane giggled. "But it's so much fun! And you sure looked like you were enjoying the okonomiyaki I made for you. Ucchan's teaching me!" she announced proudly.
"Is that what ya call it?" Ranma looked curiously at the chunk he was still holding. "Looks more like okonomi-yucky to me, but I guess it tastes okay, at least." He ignored the glare she gave him, then hopped down from the branch he'd been crouching on and went back to eating. "And it's better than starving." Speaking of starving, he thought, I still am. Maybe I'll get a hot lunch, after all.
That certainly surprised her. "Are you sure you're okay, Ranma? Kasumi's right, you've been awfully strange today."
"I toldja, ev'rythin's jus' fine." Yeah, just fine, except I feel like I've got one of those proverbial tapeworms. He headed back toward the school building, when Akane stopped him with her hand on his shoulder. A worried expression was in her eyes, one that he'd only seen a few times before. "I'm fine, I said!"
"All right, Ranma, I… I believe you. But… I mean… we're friends now, right? So… you know, if, um, if you want to talk about it… I… I'm here to listen." She smiled at him. Ranma couldn't help thinking, kawaii… kawaiikunai. Then his stomach growled again.
"I'm, uh, gonna get th' hot lunch," he told her, scratching his head in embarrassment. Urgh… make that two.
Furinkan High School: 3pm
Four hot lunches, the leftovers from Akane's bentou, and a few classes (biology… ick) later, Ranma was feeling tired and sluggish again, as if he hadn't slept in weeks. What's wrong with me? he wondered. I haven't felt this tired since… since the Cat-Fist training, actually. The memory of that ordeal, and the months of sleepless nights that followed, made him a bit queasy, so he tried thinking of something else.
Akane looked over at him, worry evident on her face once more. Lost in thought, he didn't notice as she began to walk a little closer to him. "Ranma," she began.
Snapped out of his reverie, he cocked his head in her direction. "Hm?"
"Ranma, do you still… do you… still want to get married?" She was a bit apprehensive of asking so soon after their first failed attempt, but she had to know; she wouldn't be able to stand a repeat performance of that utter fiasco.
"M- married… so soon?" He was shocked that she was taking this kind of initiative but managed to stutter, "I… well if ya… I mean… if it's al' right with you, I, uh… well, yeah, I guess."
She gave a smile and a small nod, and they walked on in silence. Ranma watched her in wonder, while she simply looked straight ahead, still smiling happily.
Tendo Dojo: 6pm
The family was seated around the supper table, waiting for Kasumi to bring out the food. Remembering the events of that morning, however, Nabiki warned Ranma with a smile, "You'd damn well better leave us some food this time."
"Uh, yeah… sorry. I dunno, I'm jus' feelin' a lot hungrier than usual."
Nabiki face-faulted. "More than usual? You're going to eat us out of house and home if you keep that up!" She shook her head in amazement. "You nearly did at your 'usual' pace."
Soun burst into tears. "Waaah! You eat so much; food's not free you know! Now we'll have to sell the dojo, and we'll never see the schools joined! WAAAAH!!" He slouched over, sobbing into the table.
Patting him on the shoulder, Nabiki tried to reason with him. "Daddy, I said 'nearly.' We'll be just fine, as long as," she glanced at Ranma, "we're a bit more conscious of how much we eat, et cetera." Ranma looked at his hands resting in his lap. Hey, I'm a growing guy, he argued, but knew better than to voice it to Nabiki. "I'm not blaming you entirely, Ranma, although you do eat the most of any of us—except maybe your dad," she added with a sickeningly-sweet smile in said man's direction. "But you really should cut back a bit, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I guess," he sighed. That mean's I'll probably be spending plenty of time at Ucchan's… or the Nekohanten. And that's just trouble waiting to happen. It was the price one paid for living, he supposed. "By th' way, Nabiki, couldja tell me somethin'? How'd Kuno know about th' letter?"
Giving him her best 'money' smile, Nabiki replied, "Five thousand yen." As he started digging for his wallet, she continued, "No, no; I mean, that's how he knew." She gave him a wink, and his face began to get red with anger. "Hey, fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly—I've gotta make money somehow, you know." It was a valid point, he knew, so he managed to calm down—some.
He was still steaming a bit to himself when Kasumi came out of the kitchen, a tray of ramen bowls in each hand. "Supper's ready, everyone!" Seeing that everyone was already at the table, she passed the bowls to them; Ranma watched greedily as everyone, including Kasumi, received a bowl before he did. Before handing him the bowl, Kasumi gently reminded him, "Ranma-kun, could you please wait for everyone to finish before taking seconds?" As always, it was hard for Ranma to refuse Kasumi, so he nodded a 'yes', though a pout on his face belied the otherwise good-natured gesture.
Fighting the urge to pour the contents of the bowl down his throat in one gulp, Ranma distracted himself by looking intently at Akane, who was busy eating and didn't notice. What made her say that earlier? he wondered. I guess she… really does want to marry me, like she said the other day. Well, not in so many words, but…. He broke off when he realized that Akane was looking back at him, questioningly. He quickly looked down at his bowl, blushing—which by no means went unnoticed by the rest of the family.
"Problem, Ranma?" Nabiki inquired, a smile on her face that most would call 'evil.'
"N-nah, it's j-jus' a bi' hot, 'S all." He forced himself to calm down as best he could.
"Really, now? I didn't even see you take a bite—which, I admit, is a welcome change."
As though contagious, the same evil smile began to spread across Akane's face. "Ranma no hentai," she stated simply, and his blush returned in full force. "Yup," she continued, "very, very hentai."
Nabiki's eyebrow went up. What, did she lose Mallet-sama? Or maybe… nah. She must just be in a good mood—for once. But she said nothing aloud; Akane apparently didn't notice her gesture, so she wasn't about to make it known.
"Nah, I'm jus'… well, I was wond'rin' about what'cha said e'rlier… y'know, about getting' married an' all. Didja… were ya… serious abou' that?" At this, her face did its best to outshine Ranma's rouge cheeks. Did he have to bring that up?
"You're kidding! Akane, you broached it, of all people? Oh, this is rich. Heh, and if I play it right, I'll be rich—" She broke off at the glares she got from them both. "Come on, come on; I was only kidding. Anyway, were you? Serious, I mean."
"Well, if you must know, I… well, yeah… I guess I was."
"You 'guess'?" Nabiki couldn't resist eking out another blush from her little sister—as well as admission to the 'crime,' despite the unspoken agreement she'd made to keep it hushed up.
"Umm…" Akane faltered, unable to find the courage to say it again as she had to Ranma. Looking over at him, though, and seeing the anxious light in his eyes, she pulled herself together and uttered a meek, "yes," trying hard to maintain her hard-won composure. Her heart did a nervous little jig when she saw Ranma relax and smile at her reply.
Soun, who'd been suspiciously quiet during the entire exchange, shouted joyously, and swept his little girl—and, though none were certain if it was by accident or intent, Ranma as well—up into his arms, and spun around the room, crying non-stop and carrying on a mile a minute about making wedding plans, inviting guests, preparing food. Genma's panda ears perked up at this last. "Dad!" Akane squealed indignantly. "Put me down!"
Ranma just held his head in his hands, muttering to himself, "Why me?" and having rather a lot of trouble keeping down his massive lunch.
…
Later in the evening, as Ranma meditated with his father, an idea came to him. "O- otousan?" he asked hesitantly. Genma was quiet for a moment longer; Ranma almost never called him that. He considered Ranma silently before replying.
"Yes, my son?" His voice was quiet, reverent. The chiding tone he often used with Ranma was gone, replaced by an awed whisper; his son must have something very serious on his mind to address him so, and he felt it best to not make light of it. "What is it?"
"Otousan, about mom…"—at the mention of his wife, Genma cringed a little, but tried his best to hide it—"how'd ya know… I mean… when'd ya…" He couldn't quite find the words to voice his question. Taking a chance, Genma interjected with what he was almost certain the youth was trying to ask.
"How did I know I loved her?" Ranma nodded slowly.
I thought that might be it. He and Akane… despite our interference, it seems they had feelings for one another after all.
"Well… I don't suppose it's an easy thing to explain. Perhaps the clearest I could say is that… you know you love someone when you… feel like that person is part of you; you feel that if she was taken away, you couldn't find any other reason to go on living, because you're no longer whole…. That's how I felt with Nodoka, once. I still do, really, but… I've made many mistakes, mistakes that will take a very long time to atone for, and she… well, as you know, she wasn't very happy about any of them."
Ranma nodded again, and pondered his father's words for a short while. Then, with these things in mind, he closed his eyes once more and drifted off to nirvana.
Author's Notes:
For those who don't know some of the Japanese vocabulary I've used in this story so far, the definitions are here (in no particular order):
Kawaii = cute
Kawaiikune = uncute/ugly
Kawaiikunai = very cute
Bokken = a wooden sword, often used in practice or training
Ramen = a Chinese noodle dish (pronounced "rah-mahn")
Okonomiyaki = a pizza- or pancake-like pastry with spices, vegetables, and/or meat
Otousan = father (addressing respectfully)
Bentou = lunch box
Hentai = pervert/perverted (Anyone who is looking up anime fanfics and doesn't know this one needs to be taken out back and shot.)
Nekohanten = Cat Café (The same as above applies for those looking up Ranma ½ fanfics.)
If you're fluent, or at least well-educated, in Japanese, please correct me if I'm wrong in the use of a word, or if another word is more appropriate, etc.
This chapter is mainly to develop more the relationship between Ranma and Akane, and introduce the "change" (many thanks to Wharpt for this suggestion). I've about four more chapters planned in which to not only concrete this, but also effect the change, so this is by no means "The End." I'll also try to add in (almost) all the "regular" characters in later chapters.
Oh, and by the way: when I say "nirvana," I do NOT mean the band! ^o^