Ranma ½: Game of Pretend
*Disclaimer: * Ranma ½ and all related titles are sole and exclusive © Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan Entertainment and Shounen Sunday; Kitty TV; Viz Communications.
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Part III- And So It Goes…
Ranma ½: Game of Pretend
**
Ranma and Akane were walking on opposite sides of the street coming home that day. It had been a relatively uneventful day at Furinkan High School- that is to say, no more than the usual amount of death threats and general insanity that seemed to plague the school. Though Akane remembered a time when Furinkan was normal…before Ranma came. Not to say she was so unhappy that he came. It was just an observation- same as saying everything in Nerima got a lot crazier since Genma and Ranma came. All the same, at school that day there had been all the usual arguments, Ranma and Akane were late once more, and that annoyingly ubiquitous Ukyou was simpering all over Ranma again, feeding him her special okonomiyaki, which, Akane noticed, Ranma did not refuse. She bristled again at the memory, and growled slightly, eliciting strange looks from the passers-by.
'Saotome Ranma!' an all-too-familiar voice cried. 'Prepare to die!' And indeed, a few moments later, Hibiki Ryouga appeared, brandishing his famous umbrella. Or infamous, as the case may be.
'Oh, it's you, Ryouga,' Ranma said easily.
'Yeah, it's me,' Ryouga answered. He inclined his head towards Akane. 'Akane-san, how do I find you?'
'I'm well, Ryouga-kun,' Akane said pleasantly. It was Ranma's turn to growl.
'Well, at least you found her, which is saying something Ryouga,' Ranma said, hoping to cut off any further conversation between Akane and Ryouga. He did succeed in distracting Ryouga from Akane, and the latter young man turned instantly to Ranma. 'So, Ryouga, got any new techniques to test?' Ranma said. 'But even if you do, you know I'll beat you.' Ryouga started towards Ranma, ready to fight; Ranma did the same, advancing towards Ryouga…It was time to fight….
'Airen!' cried a female voice, along with the soft clanking of a bicycle. Ranma groaned.
'Not you again,' he moaned as Shampoo promptly threw herself on him. The foreign girl purred as she snuggled closer into Ranma's chest. Her glance as she looked at Akane was fatal- If looks could kill, Akane would have been six feet further by now, and her inanimate body would still be trying to dig deeper to escape Shampoo.
'Airen date with Shampoo,' she said. 'Leave violent girl to that other boy. Airen never date with Shampoo unless she have Nan'nichuan water,' she added, a bit petulantly. She looked up at him with what she hoped was a cute pout, making her eyes large and limpid, going for the classic "puppy-dog face."
Akane was standing apart from the two, watching furiously. Her face was drawn into a scowl, and her cheeks were dark with anger. Her eyes narrowed as she surveyed Shampoo's latest attempt to capture Ranma, and her hands clenched into such tight fists, her nails cut into her palms. The hand clutching her school bag had white knuckles from the force of her clenching.
And once more, standing in the middle of the sidewalk seething, Akane had to question why she cared so much. It was some time in the past, she wasn't sure at exactly what time, that Akane had started to get even more angry at Shampoo's come-on's than she had at first. Of course, it always made her angry, ever since that first time that Shampoo surrendered herself into Ranma's arms; but lately, the anger was tinged with hurt, a feeling of hopelessness and despair that no matter how hard she tried, no matter what she did or said, there was no place for her in Ranma's heart.
'Huh, right, Shampoo,' Ranma said, none too gently prying Shampoo away from him. Akane was drawn back into the present with Ranma's comment. 'Ranma is busy. Airen no can date with Shampoo,' he said slowly, mimicking Shampoo's speech in hopes she'd understand better that way. Her terrible Japanese had not improved with the time she had lived in Japan. Shampoo grabbed at his shirt.
'Airen come on date with Shampoo, yes?' she said eagerly, as if Ranma had not said anything. 'To-night, yes? Airen bring flowers, Shampoo bring self,' she said, in an attempt to be seductive. Ranma grimaced and bodily picked Shampoo up and deposited her on the ground a good few metres away. When she made a move to leap on him once more, he came up with an idea.
'Look Shampoo, it's Mousse! Flying high!' Ranma said, pointing. Shampoo fell for the trick, and Ranma took the opportunity to get in to hiding. When she turned back, he was no where to be found, and Shampoo rounded angrily on Akane.
'What violent girl do to airen?' Shampoo demanded of Akane. The second scowled deeper and stuck her nose in the air.
'I've done nothing to Ranma,' she said forcefully. 'He's all yours for all I care.' Shampoo engaged Akane in a staring contest, the both of them trying to bore holes into the other with their glances.
'Hmph!' Shampoo said, after a few moments had passed with no exchange of sound or blinking by either of the two. 'Shampoo go and find airen,' she said, mounting the bicycle and pedaling quickly down the street, calling out for Ranma.
'I wonder where Ryouga's gone?' Akane said to herself, almost carelessly, for her mind was not occupied by that particular young man, but with the thoughts of another. She had just turned and noticed he wasn't there.
Ryouga had, in fact, gotten bored, subsequently gotten hungry, and then left in a search for the Utchan. Good luck, Ryouga.
Ranma emerged from the bushes behind which he was hiding, picking stray twigs and leaves out of his hair and clothes. 'She's gone now, isn't she?' he said, looking around to verify that Shampoo was not in hiding, waiting to ambush him the moment he exited his hiding place.
Akane didn't answer his question, but instead started down the street once more, swinging her bag.
'Oi, Akane!' Ranma called, jogging to catch up with her. But Akane simply quickened her pace, still not speaking to him. Ranma caught up to her, stepped in front, and waved his hand in her face, but she still did not respond. And so Ranma gave up on speaking to her, and they walked in uncomfortable and awkward silence all the way back to the Tendo dojo.
'I'm home!' Akane said listlessly, then deposited her shoes and went down a corridor. Ranma stood still for a moment, watching her retreating form.
'Why doesn't she see that I don't want Shampoo?' Ranma muttered to himself, frustrated. 'It's not like I ask her to come and glomp me everyday.' Ranma shook his head, and went off towards the kitchen, hoping to find Kasumi and some after-school treat.
The dojo was quiet. Soun and Genma must have gone out somewhere-, which was just as well, as far as Ranma was concerned, because if the two men were at home and saw that he and Akane were fighting…well then, there went the entire plan. Once more, Ranma berated himself for ever agreeing to this plan of being 'in love' with Akane. And what is worse, he was the one who had come up with it! So he really had himself to blame, though it was more convenient to blame Akane for being unlovable because she was a macho chick.
'Hello, Ranma-kun,' Kasumi said warmly, as he entered the kitchen. As he expected, a plate of warm cookies was arranged on a plate, on the centre of the table. Ranma immediately threw a few gooey, wonderful chocolate chip cookies into his mouth and mumbled a greeting to Kasumi.
'Mmmm, mmmmm,' Ranma moaned in ecstasy, as he chewed the next few cookies a bit slower than the first few and swallowed. Oh, but they were heavenly! If only Akane could cook like this, Ranma thought longingly. Then I'd marry for her for her cookies….
'Slow down, Ranma,' Kasumi said, chuckling a bit. 'You'll choke.' Ranma said something around his mouthful of cooky that sounded vaguely like "Who cares?"
Nabiki came into the kitchen at that moment. 'So, little brother,' she said conversationally. 'You've had yet another fight with Akane-chan?' She shook a lasy finger at him. 'You really should stop doing that.'
Ranma furiously finished eating his cookies to reply. 'Whaddaya you know about that?' he demanded.
'Ah, Akane's my little sister, remember?' Nabiki said, choosing a cooky and taking a dainty bite. 'I just saw her a few minutes ago. She did look rather upset.'
'Oh my,' Kasumi said. 'Perhaps you should go talk to her, Ranma-kun,' she suggested. 'After all, Father and Saotome Uncle will be coming back soon. And it would not do for the both of you to be in a stew.'
'Why should I talk to her?' he said. 'It's not my fault she always gets so mad.'
'If you're still mad at each other when our dads come home, then,' Nabiki said, 'it's hello marriage for you. Of course,' she continued, choosing another cooky, 'I can only imagine that's the way you want it to be.'
'Fine! I'm going, I'm going,' said Ranma, and hastily departed from the kitchen.
'Funny how all boys love little Akane except for Ranma,' Kasumi said, as she herself tried one of her creations.
'And how all girls love Ranma except Akane,' Nabiki added.
'Funny,' they both said at the same time.
**
Ranma found Akane in the practise room, furiously moving through a kata. Ranma knew by now that Akane always practised extra- hard when ever she was angry. However, her anger made her movements tight, and tense; and that was not good.
Ranma leant against the doorjamb for a few moments, watching Akane, who was oblivious to her watcher. 'Sloppy,' he said presently, after Akane had executed a series of roundhouse kicks.
She turned so she could see him. Now, her face was flushed with exercise, and a bit of embarrassment at being called "sloppy" by Ranma. 'Why?' she said icily.
Ranma sauntered to her. 'Look,' he said, demonstrating. 'Your leg's not in the right position. See, your shoulder, hips, and knee should be in a straight line when you're prepping for the kick.' He held up his own leg, so the three points formed a straight line, with his heel gently touching his backside.
Akane made a small noise in the back of the throat for acknowledgement that she'd heard Ranma and then continued with her kicks once more. Though this time, she tried to incorporate Ranma's technique of doing the roundhouse kicks.
'Akane, if you're still mad at me for the whole Shampoo thing…' Ranma started. Akane abruptly stopped in her kicking, and instead came to Ranma.
She fell into him, resting her hands against his chest and letting her head fall comfortably under Ranma's own, her actions reminiscent of Shampoo's.
'Ranma…let's go outside…' she said softly.
'A-Akane?' Ranma squeaked, unsure. This was so un-Akane-like….He allowed himself to be led out into the courtyard. The day had progressed into evening, and the air was cool.
'Ranma…You….I….' Akane said slowly. Her voice was low, breathy. Ranma backed up some more, but Akane stayed with him. It was exactly how Shampoo behaved. Akane traced a finger on his chest.
Suddenly, Akane shoved with her hands so that Ranma fell into the koi pond with a satisfying SPLASH. 'I think you're a jerk!' she yelled.
'Oi!' the now female Ranma said, standing up indignantly in the pond, dripping wet. 'I don't care what an uncute tomboy like you thinks, anyway!'
Akane opened her mouth to reply, but stopped when she heard the voices of her father and Ranma's coming closer.
'Oh, no,' she whispered. If Genma and Soun saw an angry, female Ranma, opposite Akane, then there was no way she and Ranma could convince their fathers that they were in love.
'Where're the two lovebirds?' Soun called genially. Ranma started to look panicked.
'Here, take this,' Nabiki whispered next to Akane, pressing a kettle of hot water in to her hands. She nodded gratefully and wasted no time in pouring it over Ranma. Nabiki produced a towel also, and gave it to Ranma, who quickly dried himself off.
'Here they are,' Nabiki said out loud, calling to Genma and Soun. The two men came into the courtyard to see Ranma and Akane with linked hands.
'How ever did you fall into the lake, Ranma?' Akane queried loudly, aware of Soun and Genma's presence.
'Uh…tripped,' Ranma said.
'But you are okay now, aren't you?' Akane said. Now she was starting to sound wooden. After all, it was his fault he fell into the lake, and forcing this latest performance on them.
'Of course, Akane,' Ranma replied. Soun had joyous tears running down his face.
'Ah, my little Akane and Ranma!' he said happily. Genma too was nodding and dancing with Soun. The two youngsters forced another smile, and Nabiki surveyed the scene from the corner she had drifted to.
One day down…six more to go, Akane thought.
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A/N: Well. Another chapter done.
Thanks for all the reviews. It seemed that Genma's "eating for two" line was the favourite. I appreciate all your reviews.
Special thanks to Daouid who told me about how Ranma's hair can't be out of its pigtail. I didn't know that before, not having finished the anime or the manga.
For all who are interested: Look forward to bi-weekly updates at best. Now that tenth class has started, I'm swamped with work, and the only times I can be on the computer are early in the mornings and late at night on weekends.
More romance will be present in the coming chapters. I have big plans for this story. If anyone is interested in the length of this story, I'm estimating around ten chapters of approximately 2400 words per chapter, give or take a few (hundred).