Ranma ½: Game of Pretend
Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and all related titles sole and exclusive ©Takahashi Rumiko; Shogakukan Enterprises; Shounen Sunday; Kitty TV; and Viz Communications LLC.
A/N: Sorry all! I know I said I'd be doing bi-weekly updates, especially with this one, because it's so close to being finished! But here is an update about a week after the last chapter…surprise you all? Hope you didn't have a heart attack from the surprise…(bad joke, sorry, was just thinking of Iago from Aladdin—gotta love him even if he's a parrot). Again thanks for all the great reviews! If you're wondering more about updates, after this chapter will be…I'm thinking about one more…perhaps two. Depends on how it writes. But I do have everything planned out, honest! Just…though it's summer hols, I've been really studying because I have to sit a series of standardized examinations next year so…I'm swotting up. But before I kill you with boredom, here's Chapter 9!
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Ranma ½: Game of Pretend
Part IX: And I'm Head Over Heels In Love With You
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With Nabiki's help, Ranma had wrapped Akane's gift.
'Well, well, well,' Nabiki had said, thoughtfully, as she cut a piece of gift wrap with pandas on. 'Guess you really will be my little brother-in-law.'
Ranma was silent a moment. 'No, I won't,' he said simply. Nabiki looked at him doubtfully but shrugged, knowing that it wouldn't be very long before he and Akane were really together.
Now, in the early morning, Ranma stood waiting for Akane to wake up. The fact that Ranma was up earlier than Akane was a phenomenon in itself, but it also showed how much Ranma really cared for her. He sat impatiently at the table, nibbling on some toast but not really eating.
Akane woke up, surprised she had woken up so late. Although it was a Saturday, she had felt like going for a nice four- kilometre jog and if she started late then it would be too hot to run by her second kilometre. She noted with alarm that Ranma's futon was already rolled up—she must have overslept more than she thought.
Akane threw on her jogging clothes and made for the door, where she was intercepted by Ranma.
'Ranma!' she exclaimed. 'What are you doing up? I mean,' she amended hastily, 'good morning….But I'm not used to seeing you actually awake at this hour.'
Ranma ignored the light jab and instead shrugged. 'I can wake up whenever I wanna,' he said. He swallowed. 'D'you mind if I come running with you?'
Akane brightened. 'Sure,' she said, her voice far less enthusiastic than she really felt. It surprised her to no end that not only was Ranma awake early, he was also offering to run with her, but he wasn't unwelcome company. The trees and flowers she usually encountered on her jogs were not very fascinating.
They left silently and ran for a good while without saying a word to each other. Ranma still had the small box with the perfum bottle in his pocket, and he fingered it nervously from time to time, looking around for a likely place. He found one suddenly, about half- way through their jog. It was a moderately secluded area, a bench set back from the path and surrounded by fragrant wild- flowers and tall trees.
'Akane,' he said abruptly, breaking their silence. He gently gripped her arm and pulled her toward the bench.
'Ranma…' she said, following him. He was so full of surprises! 'Ranma, don't tell me you're tired, we've barely gone two kilometres….'
'Akane,' he said, 'be quiet for a bit, will you?' Akane, taken aback by the civil but nonetheless severe admonition, followed his order. They reached the bench and Ranma let go of Akane, reaching in his pocket and pulling out the wrapped box.
'Happy Friendship Day,' Ranma told her, handing the pefume to Akane but not looking at her.
Akane, her eyes wide, slowly and delicately took off the wrapping paper and opened the box. 'Oh Ranma…it's beautiful! Thank you so much!' She turned the crystal bottle over in her hand. The many facets reflected the early morning sunlight, sending rainbows in her general vicinity. She frowned a bit. 'But Ranma, it was so expensive. Where did you get the money?'
Ranma shook his head. 'Don't worry 'bout it,' he said. He paused. 'Well, aint' you gonna put it on? I didn't buy it so you could look at it only!'
'Oh…yes,' Akane replied. She was distracted by many things. First, Ranma had bought her a nice gift for Friendship Day, a holiday she had completely pushed from her mind. Secondly, he was with her in this romantic spot and he was standing a centimetre too close to her. This was so sensitive of Ranma she half- suspected it was one of her other suitors dressed up as Ranma.
'It smells so lovely,' she murmured, after spritzing some on.
You are lovely, thought Ranma.
'Thank you so much, Ranma,' Akane said, giving another sunny smile to him, her eyes shining.
No, thank you, Akane, Ranma said to himself. But the jasmine was getting to him and before he really knew what he was doing he had pulled even closer to Akane and had pressed his mouth to hers.
There was a small part of his brain that told him that if he kissed Akane, she would never let him near her again. But that voice was quickly and violently silenced, the larger part of his mind and his body telling him that kissing her was the only thing—the right thing—to do.
Akane was taken aback by his hands suddenly on her back, his hot mouth pressing on hers. But it wasn't unpleasant, and indeed, Akane had dreamt of this moment for a few months. She responded in kind, wrapping her arms around him and accomodating his invasive, exploring tongue.
There was a part of her that told her to smack Ranma. To push him away from her and call him a pervert and a host of other unpleasant names. But she was enjoying her kiss too much…she loved Ranma too much. All the love for him that had laid dormant under her tough, don't- care exterior suddenly exploded out of her and caused her to move even closer to him and savour the way her first kiss felt.
Ranma loved this. He loved Akane, and he loved kissing her. I shoulda done this a long time ago, he thought muzzily, most of his mind going toward the sensations of feeling her so close to him and kissing her and relishing the way she kissed back.
But suddenly, even in the throes of the warm feelings that rose within him, Ranma opened his eyes suddenly and realised fully that he was kissing Akane. He pulled away slightly and when Akane opened her eyes, put out because he had stopped, she saw he had a hunted expression in his eyes.
And then…
…Ranma bolted.
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Ranma didn't know where he was going. He didn't have a destination in mind. All he knew was that he had to get away from Akane. He ran faster than he had ever done before, his eyes wide but unseeing, feet pounding the pavement.
After some time—Ranma had no clue how long it was or how he got there—he found himself exhausted and panting from his sprint in front of the Neko- haten. Deciding he would drink a glass of water first and then figure out everything that had just happened, he opened the cool glass doors and walked inside.
It was absolutely empty. No customers sat at the tables; no Cologne was shouting orders to her cooks; no annoying, ubiquitous Shampoo came running to throw herself on him. He made his way to the door leading to the kitchens, and opened them slightly.
Oh Gods, Ranma thought, surveying the scene in front of him. The two occupants of the rooom looked rather…busy, preoccupied, with each other. Mousse was leaning back in a chair, his glasses pushed up on his hair and his shining dark locks cascading down the back of the chair. Shampoo was straddling him, Mousse holding her waist, and they were snogging with such unbridled passion that Ranma was surprised into taking a step back.
Neither of them noticed him. They were so lost in each other they did not bother with any one else, they were too insignificant. Ranma left hastily, dejectedly. Great. Ryouga's got Ukyou and I just saw Shampoo and Mousse macking like crazy and I'm the one who's stuck without Akane to hold!
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It took a moment for Akane to realise fully what was going on. At first all she knew was Ranma's warmth and the sensation of his kisses. But then for some reason the kiss stopped coming and she opened her eyes slightly, her mind still muzzy. Vaguely she saw Ranma run hell for leather away from her and then after a moment her eyes opened fully and she was left standing, cold, with the bottle of perfume still clutched in her hand.
Why…did he run like that? Akane wondered. She pressed two fingers up to her lips, unused to the kisses of another upon them. What went wrong?
It had all been going well. Ranma had as good as declared himself to her. He had given her the exquisite Friendship Day present and she looked at the bottle in her hand, her palms sweaty. Quickly, she packed away the perfume in its original box and sank onto the bench.
What did I do wrong? Why did that stupid jerk just leave like that? She insulted Ranma in her thoughts, hoping the familiarity of the salty words would help balm the pain. Instead, it just made her pain worse because she knew Ranma wasn't a stupid jerk—at least, not most of the time.
Akane felt a burning behind her eyes and a constricting of the throat; she reached tentative fingers to her face and brought them back wet with salty tears.
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Ranma went back to the Tendou compound slowly, hands jammed in his pockets and his shoulders slumped over. He wondered what had happened to Akane. He hoped his father and Mr Tendou would not notice he and Akane had…well, not quarrelled exactly…seperated.
He was relieved when he finally came back, late in the evening. He had wandered around Nerima the entire day, looking up Daisuke but finding his friend of little comfort. He hadn't even told Daisuke what had happened between him and Akane.
'Worst Friendhsip Day ever,' Ranma muttered to himself as he opened the door to his home. He found Kasumi in the kitchen, cleaning the dishes. He didn't see Nabiki but suspected she was holed up in her own room. Ranma heard his father and Akane's laughing drunkenly. This, at least, meant they had not—and would not—know what had passed between him and Akane.
What had started out as a ruse, as a farce, became painfully real to Ranma. He started out having to pretend to love Akane. Now, he couldn't pretend. Surely Akane knew it by the way he had kissed her. Surely the world knew it by the expression on his face.
But she was upset with him, wasn't she? I don't see Akane, Ranma thought worriedly. God I hope nothing's happened….
He made his way upstairs to the room he and his fiancée shared. The metal of the doorknob was cool and smooth beneath his hot palms, and he paused a moment before entering the room. Akane was already stretched out on the bed, and Ranma could tell she wasn't faking slumber. He went over to her and fulfilled what he had not the other night—he bent down to her and placed the softest kiss on her forehead. She didn't stir.
Ranma unfolded his own futon and changed into his pyjamas, wondering what would happen tomorrow. The last day they were required to be together. Ranma didn't ever want to be seperated from Akane. But if Akane…surely Akane couldn't love him? Especially after today?
Mad world, this is, Ranma said to himself. And then he let sleep wash over him.
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Around midnight, Akane woke suddenly. She glanced around her dark room for a few seconds, the light from streetlamps her only guide. Rolling over to where Ranma's futon was situated, she watched him breathe for a few minutes—inhale, exhale; inhale, exhale; inhale, flip around, exhale.
He must have thought kissing me was a mistake, she thought gloomily, turning her eyes back to her dark ceiling. That's why he ran. That's why he didn't say anything to me. She regretted ever agreeing to Ranma's stupid plan in the first place. How could she go back to hating Ranma and calling him names now? Now, how could she deny the love that raged inside of her?
But he didn't…couldn't…love her. If he did, he would not have run. He would have kissed her before today. He would have done scores of other things.
Akane shut her eyes again and willed herself to go back to sleep.
Thank God it's almost over, she thought before dozing off once more.
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A/N: Hehehehe, here's your promised update. Finally some Akane/Ranma action! Though it's not much…I generally like to keep my stories relatively chaste.
So…Akane and Ranma's first real kiss together. ::blush:: I remember my first kiss…it was actually pretty recent ::blush again:: Too bad they have no clue what each other is thinking! It'd save them both a lot of heartache and confusion.
Justified Cord: Were you a bit more satisfied with this chapter? Well they didn't say anything to each other exactly…but they did at least do something!
Lol in case you couldn't tell I was listening to Tears for Fears while writing this...that's where I came up with chapter names for 8 and 9 (Something happens and I'm head over heels in love with you...) and Mad World is another AWESOME song...hahahaha yeah I'm mad on the 80s.
So stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of Game of Pretend coming…sometime soon…I swear on it!