Akane sat with Herb around the campfire as Konatsu stirred a big pot of curry suspended over the flames. "We should probably give it another hour," Konatsu said to Akane. She nodded, and carefully stored that tidbit of information away. A pot of rice sat on a rock next to the flames, heating the water inside to boiling. "Shouldn't we check the rice?" Akane asked.
Konatsu smiled and shook his head. "Nope. Not for another 30-40 minutes at least."
Akane had cooked a meal for the group on the first night, but everyone became violently ill. She had agreed (been forced, really) not to cook again for the rest of the trip, but it didn't mean she couldn't learn. So, Konatsu had agreed to walk thru the process by which one made campfire curry. Konatsu sat down on the next to Herb. He glowed brightly for a second before his form shifted. Now female, she placed one of Herb's arms around her shoulders and leaned back into her husband.
This wasn't the first time Akane had seen the change, but it still surprised her. The fact that they treated the transformation so casually was puzzling. However, seeing Konatsu snuggle up to Herb, or vice versa, she had to admit it seemed right for those two. They were happy, and Akane was slowly coming to realize the wisdom behind Herb's words about form being irrelevant.
Akane leaned back against the log they had dragged over to the campsite. Gazing out over the campfire, she could just make out Ranma's form going through a complex kata that she didn't recognize. It looked alien to her, and she couldn't discern its purpose.
"What's that he's doing?" She jerked her head in Ranma's direction.
Konatsu looked over, and watched for a moment before answering. "Oh. Looks like he's doing the Neko-ken kata again."
"What's the Neko-ken?"
"Herb can explain it better than I can."
"Herb?"
The prince looked over at Ranma as the boy began to slowly speed up his motions. "I'll explain after he finishes. It might get a bit too noisy in a moment."
"What do you..." she was cut off by what sounded like a small thunderclap that quickly grew into a loud roar. The sound had come from where Ranma was practicing. She turned to watch but saw nothing. The boy had vanished; only by a wall of sound and an occasional puff of dust announced his presence.
Akane had to shout over the sound to get Herb's attention. He just shook his head, and mouthed 'wait a bit' before pointing and turning back to watch the display. She continued to watch the prince and Konatsu. Their eyes were tracking back and forth, tracking something she couldn't see.
She vainly stared out towards where Herb had pointed. Every once and a while, Ranma would suddenly materialize, holding a pose of either a block or some form of attack before vanishing. The sounds would stop with his appearance, and immediately resume upon again upon his vanishing. She slowly came to realize what the sounds were. Ranma was moving so fast that she couldn't see him and those thunderclaps were simply the shockwaves from the boy breaking the sound barrier.
Her brain locked up as she tried to comprehend this. She also realized that Herb and Konastu were having no trouble following the motions that were invisible to her. She began to wonder how truly powerful these people were, and for the first time began to have an inkling of how much Ranma must have lost from Happosai's 'punishment.'
Ranma flopped to the ground, exhausted by his workout. He smiled as Akane handed him a bowl of curry and rice. "Could you just hold that for a sec?" The girl nodded, and Ranma groaned as he pushed himself into a sitting position. He scooted back a bit till his upper body rested against the log, and then reached up and accepted the curry from Akane.
"Thanks." He patted the ground next to him. Akane smiled and sat down. She held her own bowl in her hands, while Herb and Konatsu were on the other side of the fire. They had both finished eating earlier. Konatsu pulled out a shamisen and began to tune it, plucking at a string before turning the peg it was attached to.
Ranma and Akane watched as the ninja finished tuning, and launched into a soft tune. Entranced, the two began to eat as they listened. Even more surprising, Herb stood, and pulled out a fan, and began to dance along with the music. The impromptu performance would start and stop sporadically, as the two practiced.
"I didn't know that they could do that." Akane took a bit of her curry, pointing at the pair with her spoon.
"Herb's quite good. He has to know, being a prince and all. It's necessary for the court, and all that. And Konatsu..." Ranma shrugged. "Part of being a kuno-ichi is playing instruments. I'm surprised there doing Noh, though."
"Oh. Why are they doing it at all?"
"Herb said we'd need it tomorrow."
"Ranma?"
"Hmm?" Ranma turned to look at Akane, slowly chewing on the big bite of curry he had just taken.
"What's the Neko-ken?"
Ranma swallowed. Where to begin? "This could take a while." Konatsu's music continued in the background as he told Akane about how his father had tried to train him and died because of it. He told her about the effects of the technique – how it had driven him crazy and unstable. That led to finding Konatsu, and venturing to China with him. He told her about the Joketsuzoku and Jusenkyo, the Musk and how they had originally created the Neko-ken, and his attempts to master it. She was silent the whole time, eyes wide as she listened to his story.
"I never knew that about your father... I'm sorry, Ranma."
He just shrugged. "It's in the past. I've made my peace long ago. But I still have to master it, if only for my father."
"And what you did just now isn't mastery?"
"Heck no. See how tired I am? It should be as easy for me as breathing. Right now, I have to work up to achieve that state. According to the guy who trained me, it should be like throwing a punch. I can just do it. I shouldn't have to think about it."
"Oh..." Akane looked down into her curry. She slowly stirred it with a spoon, before asking her next question.
"Besides for you father, why do you need it?"
Ranma was silent for a while. He put down his curry and stood. He walked away, disappearing into the woods that surrounded the campsite. She heard the rustle of leaves, and Ranma came back carrying a stone about the size of a bowling ball.
"Happosai took my strength, but that doesn't mean I'm defenseless or anything." He handed her the stone. She looked it over, puzzled. Ranma just held up a hand to cut off any questions, taking the stone from her hands and held it one hand, palm down, at arms length. He stared at the stone for a bit. His right hand made an almost lazy slashing motion towards the stone, missing by nearly a foot. Akane gasped as the stone began to fall apart like a loaf of bread. He turned and sat, picking up his bowl of curry once more. "Go on, pick it up."
Akane put her own meal aside and picked up the pieces of the stone. She carefully picked up each piece, examining the new edges, noting that they were as smooth as any glass.
"How'd you do that?"
"The Neko-ken is more than just a fighting style- its ultimate focus and control of your ki. It allows you to infuse every last muscle and bone in your body with your ki, allowing increased flexibility, strength, speed, you name it." Ranma motioned with his spoon towards the pieces of stone that Akane was holding. "It also allows you to manifest that ki into attacks like that one."
"But this kind of power..." Akane fingered the edges of the stones, shivering at the thought of what that kid of attack would do to flesh. "It seems only good for killing."
Ranma nodded. "If I never get my strength back, I'm going to need some way to protect myself short of deadly force. That is exactly why I have to master the Neko-ken. So I never have to kill again. I'm close, but I'm missing something."
Ranma took a bite of curry. Akane mirrored him, but her thoughts weren't on the food.
"What are you missing?"
"Balance. Acceptance. Compassion. Love." Ranma shrugged. "I don't know, exactly. It could be any number of things."
They were quite after that, concentrating on eating dinner. Ranma finished a bit before Akane, but he waited until she finished eating before taking her bowl. "No, Ranma, you go clean up. I'll do the dishes." The boy nodded, and quickly headed off to a nearby stream to wash up. Akane had finished cleaning up by the time Ranma returned in female form. Akane was muttering to herself as she looked at her.
"Huh? What's that about the form mattering, Akane?"
The girl blushed. With that, she grabbed Ranma's hand and dragged the protesting girl back to her tent.
"Who are we are looking for exactly, Herb?" Ranma was not the only one disturbed by the large animals roaming the forest. A flying squirrel the size of a truck leapt from the trees in front of him, crashing through the foliage before disappearing.
"My 'cousin.' He is said to reside in deep in this forest." Herb led the way, cutting a path through the underbrush with a blade of ki. "Watch out for that trap." He said that for Akane's benefit, who was lost in thought as she walked along.
Akane was startled by the warning, and stopped short, one step away from falling into the hole. "Thanks." She looked around, taking in her surroundings once again. "You know, I have the strangest feeling that I've been here before. What did you say this place was called?"
Herb grunted. "Ryuzengawa." He cut down another bush. "Let's hurry. It would be... unpleasant... to meet my 'cousin' in the dark."
Herb stopped at the edge of the forest before it gave way to a large lake. At one end a large cave had been carved out of the side of a mountain, and the lake flowed into it. He held up a hand to make everyone stop. "Akane, you are well advised to stay well clear. My cousin becomes... irrational around women." Taking off his backpack, Herb began to unload a number of large bottles of Sake. Konatsu followed his example, slinging the shamisen off his shoulder and unpacking his bag as well.
When the two were finished, Herb nodded to Ranma. "Follow me." As the three began to walk away, Herb turned once more to Akane. "No matter what, DO NOT leave the cover of the trees."
Herb walked to the entrance of the cave and gently put down the bottles of rice wine he was carrying. Konatsu stepped forward and added his bottles to the pile before resuming his place behind Herb. Satisfied, Herb crossed his arms in front of his chest, and took a deep breath. Slowly exhaling, he began to release his aura.
Akane watched in awe as Herb began to power up. From nowhere a small breeze sprang up, stirring the leaves in the trees. Small stones and debris began to vibrate on the ground near Herb. His aura grew stronger and larger, and as it did the wind began to pick up. Stones began to levitate above the ground, suspended in the air. Herb stood burning as bright as the noon day sun, his aura a massive globe around him. His aura began to contract, condensing to a painfully bright corona around Herb until it seemed like a second skin before it exploded outward with a mighty roar, taking the shape of a one hundred foot dragon ascending to the heavens.
Near by, Ranma and Konatsu both shielded their eyes from the display. The form that Herb's aura created ceased its roar, and began to dissipate. The corona that surrounded Herb still blazed brightly, however.
"Um. Herb, what are you doing?"
"I am informing him of my presence. Now be quiet, Ranma. He comes. Speak only if spoken to."
The ground around there feet began to tremble. Faintly at first, and then with increasing volume, a gurgling noise issued forth from the mouth of the cave. The lake began to churn, and the water level began to rapidly sink. A massive plume of mist bellowed from the mouth of the cave, catching Ranma, and Konatsu unawares, triggering the curse. Herb's aura simply evaporated the water before he could be hit.
Herb told the two to change back. Herb picked up the bottles of sake in front of him, and walked into the cave, waving for Ranma and Konatsu to follow his example. The cave was massive, and the ground gently sloped towards the water. Herb walked to the edge of the water and took off his shoes and rolled his pants up to his knees. Hiking up his tunic, he stepped in to the water. It began to instantly boil when it came into contact with his aura, sending up a cloud of steam and obscuring Herb's form.
Herb allowed his aura to flare once again. The water at his feet was pushed back completely, creating and air space around the prince. "I call on you, Yamato no Orochi!"
Akane watched with trepidation as steam began to pour out of the mouth of the cave. The boys had gone in not a moment before. Herb had been very clear about staying here, but ... Akane leaned back against a tree and continued to stare at the billowing steam, pensively biting her lip.
Ranma heard Konatsu's echoing gasp as a giant seven headed hydra slowly rose from the churning water. The heads scanned the room, drawing a bead on the three figures standing before them. Three heads drew close to scrutinize Herb with its yellow eyes, while the remaining four heads scrutinized Ranma and Konatsu.
"I bring gifts." Herb held the bottles of Sake up for beast to examine. One of the heads swung from Herb to the bottle, carefully examining it. The beast narrowed its eyes, and swung back to Herb. It issued forth a low growl, flicking its forked tongue between slightly open jaws.
Herb nodded, and created a small ki blade, slicing the top off the bottle. He carefully approached the head, which came closer to the ground, and tilted its head back, opening its throat. Herb poured the entire contents of the bottle into the beast's mouth before stepping back a bit.
The head closed its jaws and swallowed. The corners of its eyes turned up, and it issued forth a prodigious burp. Immediately following this, the other six heads all lowered themselves to the ground, opened their jaws, and tilled their heads back.
"Ranma, quickly! Open more bottles!" Ranma jumped into action. Herb then turned to Konatsu. "Can you play some dance tunes?" Konatsu nodded, and pulled a shamisen from somewhere and began to tune it. Ranma was feeding the heads a bottle of sake one at time. By the time each head had consumed the contents of a bottle, Konatsu began to play.
The beast began to bob each head in time with the music. Herb stepped out of the water, and allowed his aura to die. He reached into his tunic, and pulled out a dazzling gold fan, on depicting a dragon on one side and the phoenix on the other. Herb waited until Konatsu finished the first piece before giving the ninja a nod. The tune changed to a dramatic piece, and Herb began dancing. The Orochi ignored the sake as it watched Herb, transfixed by the grace of his movements and the subtle use of his fan as he began to tell a story.
As Herb danced, he began to chant the following lines:
The world is so unsure, unknowable;
Who knows -- our griefs may hold our greatest hopes.
Truly in this uncertain world
All that befalls us comes our way
As recompense for what we've done before.
In his previous existence
He observed intently the laws of Buddha
And in this life was born a prince,
Yet why was it -- ever since he lay,
An infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
His eyes have both been blind: For him
The sun and moon in heaven have no light;
In the black of night his lamp is dark;
The rain before the dawn never ends.
Behold -- this is how a prince,
Has reached the last extremity of grief.
Travelers and men on horses
Riding to and from the Capital,
Many people, dressed for their journeys,
Will drench their sleeves in sudden showers
How hard it is to abandon him,
To leave him all alone --
How hard it is to abandon him,
To tear ourselves away.
But even farewells must have an end;
By the light of the daybreak moon
Stifling tears that have no end, they depart.
They say that sandalwood reveals its fragrance
From the first two leaves dashed; but how much closer still
Are we who sheltered beneath a single tree!
The wind rising in the orange blossoms
Awakens memories we shall preserve
We who flowered once on linking branches!
The love between brothers is told abroad:
Jozo and Jogen, Sori and Sokuri;
And nearer at hand, in Japan
The children of Emperor Ojin,
The princes Naniwa and Uji,
Who yielded the throne, each to the other:
All these were brothers and sisters
Bound in love, like us, like linking branches.
The sound of the shamisen died away with the last of Herb's words. Only the sounds of the Orochi's breathing could be heard as silence reigned in the cave. The seven heads of the Orochi each bowed to Herb before quietly slipping under the waves. Ranma started to ask a question, but Herb shot up a hand and a warning glare to silence his friend.
The middle of the lake began to churn once again as the Orochi's eight and largest head arose from the waters. It gazed at each boy in turn, lingering longest on Ranma. The Orochi approached the shore. The other seven heads broke the surface of the waters, and for the first time Ranma got a glimpse of the whole creature. It had seven heads, attached by serpentine bodies to the eight head, the last and largest. Each of the smaller heads were about the size of an elephant, while the final head's teeth were each as big as Ranma.
The Orochi rested its largest head on the ground in front of Herb, dwarfing the man. The beast opened its mouth slightly and inhaled sharply, almost pulling Herb into its jaws.
"YOUR PERFOMANCE HAS PLEASE US, LITTLE DRAGON." The Orochi's voice boomed through the cavern, causing Ranma and Konatsu to wince. Herb, for his part immediately dropped to his knees and bowed, touching his forehead to the ground.
"You honor me with your kind words, Venerable Ancestor." Herb did not move from his position as he spoke.
"RISE."
Herb rose from his bowed position, but remained seated with his shins tucked underneath is legs, his hands on his thighs.
"WHY DID YOU CALL UPON US?"
Herb bowed again, but rose before he spoke. "We seek knowledge and Wisdom, Wise One. My brother has been stricken by an evil man, and the remedy to the malady has been lost." Herb paused. "He has been marked, and as a result has lost his strength. The only know cure has been destroyed. It is said that you know many things lost to us lesser beings, Venerable Ancestor."
The Orochi's eyes flicked towards Ranma. "SHOW US."
Ranma turned around, and quickly pulled his shirt over his head. He could hear the Orochi coming closer as well as feel its hot breath on his back. After a careful examination of the mark, the Orochi withdrew. It drew it head up until it brushed the top of the cavern, its yellow eyes flashing bright red. The beast lowered its head, and extended its tongue towards Ranma. It held a single scroll wrapped carefully in the tip, which uncurled and dropped to the ground by Ranma's feet
The Orochi turned and slowly sank back beneath the waves. When the beast was completely submerged, Ranma heard Herb release a loud sigh of relief. He smoothly rose to his feet from where he still knelt, walking over towards Ranma. Konatsu put away his instrument and hurried over as well.
Ranma bent over to and picked up the scroll. Undoing the bindings, he unrolled it and began reading. Herb looked over his shoulder as Konatsu arrived. Ranma read the scroll twice to make sure he understood the instructions completely. Ranma handed the scroll to Konatsu, who shared it with Herb. The two finished reading then looked up at Ranma. As one they turned and marched quickly out of the cave.
Akane was fidgeting uncontrollably as she waited for her friends to come out of the cave. The sounds of the shamisen had long since died away, leaving the area silent for quite some time now. Reaching into her pack, she started to rifling around looking for some food when she saw the three boys emerge. Jumping up, she raced over.
"Did it work?"
Ranma shook his head, saying, "We're about to find out."
Back at the campsite, Herb stared intently into the fire as it blazed, poking the glowing embers with a stick until they were evenly spread. "Akane, have you got a 500 yen coin?"
The question caught her off guard. "Uh, I think. Just a second." She opened the one of the outside pockets on her pack and began to dig. She flipped it to the boy with a "here you go." She watched with curiosity evident on her face as Herb tossed it into the fire. "What's that for?"
"For my cure." Ranma crawled out of his tent, only wearing his pants. Akane blushed when she got caught staring at his muscular chest by a wink from Herb. "I'm ready when you are, Herb."
Herb nodded. "This could hurt."
"Most things that are good for you do."
Herb instructed Ranma to lie on the ground face down next to him. He snapped a small portion of the stick he had been holding and offered it to Ranma.
"What's this for?"
"To bite down on, if you need it."
Ranma just gave Herb a flat lidded gaze from his position on the ground.
Herb grinned. "Yeah, you're right. That was pretty stupid. Let's do it." With that, Herb used the stick he had been holding to flip the coin into from the fire and into air, towards the pig-tailed martial artist. Right before the coin could land on Ranma's back, Herb lashed out with a lighting fast punch to Ranma's lower back, sandwiching the burning coin between his fist and Ranma. Akane blinked as she heard a sizzling sound.
"SON OF A BITCH!" Ranma whipped around and smashed Herb with a vicious uppercut. To Akane's surprise, Herb flew high into the air before he was able to use his ki to stop his flight. Herb slowly lowered himself to the ground, grinning and rubbing his jaw.
"Seems like it worked..."
The celebration was... lively. They had several bottles of sake left over from what the Orochi hadn't drank, and between Konatsu's playing and booze, it turned into a drunken party. Herb was in his female form, draped over a stupidly grinning Konatsu, who was struggling to play his instrument as Herb's hands wandered.
"Get a room, you guys..." Ranma slurred and leaned back to look at the stars, trying to keep the world from spinning. Akane stumbled back from woods where she had just finished relieving a full bladder. She came over to Ranma and snatched the bottle he'd been holding and took a deep swig.
Ranma sat up and tried to take the bottle away. "Might wanna slow down a lil', Akane." She just waved his concern away, and handed the bottle back to him. She pushed him back to the ground before swinging her legs over his hips and straddled him. With a grin, she leaned forward and kissed him, ignoring the cat calls from Herb and Konatsu.
Her voice was husky as she asked, "Wanna show me how much of a big strong man you are?" Ranma obliged by lifting her off of him before sweeping her up into his arms. Konatsu and Herb's laughter echoed into the night as Ranma carried Akane to his tent.
"And you complain that we're loud?" Ranma grimaced as Konatsu ribbed him once again.
"Can you hold it down a bit? My head's killing me." Ranma peered over at Akane who was passed out against the train window. She was in even worse shape than he was. Considering how much they drank last night, it wasn't surprising. Herb was in the best shape of all – he had the highest tolerance, and after he resumed his male form was hardly affected by the previous night.
"You're still louder. You can hear Herb almost a mile away."
"How long has this been going on, Ranma?" Herb failed to keep the amusement out of his voice.
"Not long. She... took advantage of me when I was weakened. I couldn't fight her off." He grinned. "It's not like I fought tooth and nail, but..."
"Doesn't that violate some sort of teacher-student principles?" Herb asked.
"Hey, I was the one who was violated first. She started it."
Konatsu jumped in, "Do you love her?"
Ranma shrugged. "Do I have to?"
Konatsu was scandalized. "Ranma! You should have stopped her."
"I couldn't, honestly. You know how she is when she gets determined to do something... I didn't want to, either. I mean, hell, she's pretty, and spunky, and... Plus, with you guys constantly raving about how great everything is, I wanted to find out for myself."
"And?"
Ranma just grinned. "Well, she does this thing where she..." Konatsu and Herb both 'oohed' at Ranma's descriptions.
"We'll have to try that some time." Konatsu gave Herb a meaningful look before looking over at the sleeping girl. The conversation quickly devolved into a conversation about sexual preferences and techniques. Afterwards, Ranma looked at the pair with a whole new appreciation.
"And you really like it when Herb does that to you? Wow. I mean... Uh."
Konatsu became serious for a second. "You guys are using protection, right?"
Ranma flipped the question back around. "Are you guys?"
"Of course! You don't acquire 3000 years of Amazon history with out learning a thing or two." Konatsu frowned. "You still didn't answer my question!"
Ranma grimaced. "She said it would be safe."
"Ranma!" Konatsu was scandalized. "You idiot! You can't depend on 'she said.' Now, listen carefully..."
Ranma was rather embarrassed by the graphic content of the conversation. He promised to heed Konatsu's advice in the future. Once Konatsu was placated, Ranma asked a question, his tone turned serious. "Now, what did you guys do to Happosai?"
First things first - A shamisen is a japanese banjo. Great twangy sound, often used in Kabuki, Bunraku, dance, and other classical japanese arts.
second, the 'poem' that herb chants is a translated excerpt from a Japanese Noh Drama called Semimaru. the full text, in Japanese and english, can be found at this excellent website:
Some complain that Noh is torture. I beg to differ - under the right circumstances and with a proper mind set, it can be considered one of the world's high arts. I might be biased, considering how I have been heavily influenced by the Japanese theater, and Noh in particular. (One of the most profound influences on this story, even if this is really the first chance i had to work it into the story.)
Plus, the plight of Semimaru fit Ranma's percisely.
Now, for questions and answers: (i PROBABLY won't answer every review)
Hiryo writes:
Even if it's headed there (Akane). I like the story even that much to read it although it bugs me mayorly. My only hope is that he have really more experience in the fare away future... Must he be coupled up? ;p Seriously I like your story and until the 'danger' of R&A pairing I liked it very much... but than that's my quirk with having problems with ALL fics to read witch pairs them up and must 'motivate' myself to read them... Most authors forget what they want after a 'review' and want to please their reviewers that much to change the story path. There are good reviews and such... but you and all there should limit how much they want to change their fics. After all all reviewer are biased on their believes... BTW thanks for updating
Glad you like the story - And you make a valid point. My story has already been influenced by my reviewers to some extent, but I am trying ot minimize that as much as possible. I am well on track to the achieving the original end that I had envisioned even before I started writing this. Had I written it all in one go, as opposed to chapter by chapter, I am sure it would have been a little more tightly focused.
I won't address the 'danger' of a Ranma/Akane pair up. If it annoys you, I'm sorry. But I am not going to change what I have written, nor what I intend to write.
obsidian-fox writes:
"Honestly, I do hate Akane... but you aren't doing a Ranma/Akane matchup. You don't have Ranma or Akane in your fiction; you have this new character with the name Ranma and a completely different attitude towards life, and another new character named Akane that has somehow learned to deal with emotions. "
Someone who understands! Thank you!
"They say you can never step into the same river twice, for both you and the river change in each moment. In any case, your Akane is somewhat out of her original character. Not unreasonably so, with the events in your story... but she isn't the same Akane we all know and hate. "
"You're writing a story about the four virtues. I'm sure you know what I mean."
I might. I know about the four truths that want to write about, but there are many virtues. :) (just pulling your chain.) Thank you for the understanding review.
Rudy writes:
"It's a very entertaining
fic, and I'm enjoying it thus far. I guess I'll just have to cross my
fingers that it doesn't end up RA."
Jerry Unipeg writes:
"I LOVE THIS CHAPTER!"
Thanks!
I love that you love all my chapters. That kind of encouragement is
wonderful, but sometimes authors seek a little more specificity, like
"I LOVE THIS CHAPTER BECAUSE IT ROCKS." You were one of my first
readers, and most loyal fan. (god, do I have a fan?) I'm glad you like
it, and hope you keep reading.
: )
Warp Wizzard writes;
"I don't hate Akane, she's just a boring love interest."
I would have to disagree. She is the most interesting because she is so conflicted about her feelings. Ukyo loves Ranma, Shampoo loves/covets Ranma (anything that clear cut truly IS boring) while Akane is
Ambivalent
at best. It can be easy to inturpret Akane's behavior in any number of ways. Since I have only the comics to go by (in the original), it is very clear over the course of the 38 volumes that Ranma and Akane do feel strongly towards each other, but again this is left deliciously undecided and
Ambivalent
. (Notice a theme?) Other pairings that I have seen and enjoyed trememdously have been Nabiki and Ranma, and Akane and Shampoo. Well writen, there is enough ambiguity and complexity in those relationships to merit interest, but for me, nothing beats the good ol' Ranma and Akane, provided it's well written, and not just some sappy wank fest.
Okay, so that's it for now. Thank you all so much for reading. I leave you with a final thought:
A monk walks into Ucchan's, and asks her for an okonomiyaki. "What do you want on it, sugar?"
The monk replies, "Make me One with everything"
(you can facefault.)