Chapter 2

As Akane awoke, her gaze caught the clock across the room, which read 7:30. Man, the day sure did seem to have flown by with her having slept through most of it. She wondered with as much as she'd slept during the day if she would be able to sleep that night. A soft snoring noise caused her to notice, to her complete surprise, Ranma fast asleep tucked in the tight embrace of her arms around his torso. She blushed profusely and was about to smack him despite the fact it was because of her grip that he was still there, then she remembered how sweet he'd been earlier, helping to take care of her and doing all he could to try and make her feel better. Which, amazingly, she did. Even if it was just a tiny bit better.

Akane blinked and panned her gaze to Ranma's face. She felt some unrecognizable emotion tugging at her heart as she watched the boy lying there slumbering peacefully in her arms. His eyes were closed with a serene expression. His lips were slightly parted. Her mind wondered how it would feel to kiss those unsuspecting lips. She blushed and mentally scolded herself for thinking such thoughts. Yet, she found she could not take her eyes off of him.

Slowly, her gaze traveled downward, drinking in the site of the unsuspecting young man laying beside her. They traveled down the silky shiny braid that draped over his left shoulder, then they leapt over to trace the tendons of his neck to the perfectly sculpted muscles of his chest and arms, however partially concealed the muscles of his chest were by the red silk Chinese shirt that he wore. He looked both harmless and dangerous at the same time. His chest gently rose and fell with each slow deep inhale and exhale of breath. Further down him, her eyes wandered. Before she knew what she was doing, her eyes had fallen upon the bulge at the junction of his legs causing her mind to flash the image of that part of him that one time she'd actually gotten to see all of him when she first met his male side. She blushed again and forced her gaze onward to play over the shapes made in his black silk pants by the strong, toned muscles of his legs. Then there were his feet, bare and perfectly vulnerable to tickling. She wondered if his feet were actually ticklish with all the training that he'd done. She knew other parts of him where.

Akane shook her head, then sighed as she laid her head back down. She would have turned onto her back except that her one arm was pinned underneath his back and couldn't be moved without waking him. Since it was far too peaceful with him asleep, she remained as she was. Returning her eyes to Ranma's face, she silently laid there watching him as she thought about their fickle relationship.

She'd never seen him being so sweet as he was to her today. It amazed her beyond belief what he was capable of when he put his mind to it. Why couldn't he be like this all the time? Though, then again, she had to admit her yelling at him all the time probably didn't help things much. To tell the truth, she really didn't think he was a pervert at all. He could be an annoying idiot sometimes, but he really wasn't all that bad. In fact, he was unlike guy she'd ever met before, and she wasn't even counting his curse in that thought. Despite how much he picked on her, he was still chivalrous. As much as she sparred with him, he never once hit her. He was hansom. He was incredibly skilled and strong. On top of all that, there was still this incredible air of mystery that hovered about him. As open as he appeared to be, the truest part of his soul was still, for the most part, unreadable. Ranma was indeed a true puzzle of a boy.

Akane was startled out of her reverie when Ranma suddenly produced a small snort as he shifted and started to turn over towards her. She instantly retrieved the arm that had been pinned beneath him and retreated back away from him as he completed the roll that put him now on his stomach. A moment later he was still again, sound asleep as ever. Akane hissed softly, but her anger was short lived as she felt another tug on her heart by that emotion she still could not name.

Yet again, she found her eyes drawn to him as he slept. She studied his silky black hair pulled back into a braid that always seemed to have a life of it's own. As she'd never seen him with his hair down, she wondered what he'd look like with it loose. Her eyes continued downward, across his back, over his sculpted biceps, back over to the small of his back and further to his shapely tush. All over again, Akane found herself blushing.

'What's wrong with me? What's up with these impure thoughts already? And of Ranma no less!' she thought to herself. Though, then again, as she thought about it. Ranma was the first person to truly attract her into thinking such thoughts. Her eyes widened in shock. Could it be? Could it be she's attracted to him? Him of all people? That thought took her breath away. It couldn't be. It simply couldn't be. This boy pissed her off far more than any of the others. But if so, then why would she be attracted to him like this? Then, another thought entered her mind as her heart pinged again. Could it be something more than that? Could it be.. could it truly be that.. she.. was.. in love with him? No! Absolutely not! There had never been such an absurd thought in her mind in all her sixteen years of life. Never! And yet, her heart had seemed to sing at that thought. Hell, her heart sang with each glance she drank in of him.

This was all so very confusing. How could she, who found this boy so unbelievably annoying, rude mouthed, and head strong, could be falling in love with him. How? Why? What was it that made her heart act in such a way at the very thought of him?

Akane was so caught up in her thoughts, that Ranma was propped up on his elbow staring at her with his beautiful blue eyes waving a hand in front of her eyes and repeating her name for a third time before she realized he was even awake. She blinked, and he was able to clamp a hand over her mouth a split second before she screamed in startled fright, his hand almost completely muffling the sound. She trembled and he made a worried look.

"Shhh.. it's okay Akane. I'm sorry I startled you. You just.. you were staring holes into me while wearing this dazed look on your face like the lights were on but no one was home," he whispered softly. Akane gave him an instant deer-in-headlights look as a profuse blush appeared upon her face before she could chase it away. He double blinked. "Oops. I said something I shouldn't have. Sorry," he quickly apologized as he backed away, excepting as he did so, he fell right off the side of the bed with a thump and a squeak. Akane's surge of anger from embarrassment instantly changed to humor as she found herself in a fit of giggles.

The bedroom door opened and the light turned on to show Nabiki standing there with Kasumi behind her. Ranma turned and blinked as he looked at them, then groaned and flopped over towards the bed and onto his stomach, sprawled on the floor with his blushing face hidden from view. Akane only continued to laugh at the scene till it brought her into a coughing fit that left her quite breathless.

"Oh man, that was just priceless!" she panted with a sly grin.

"Shut up," came Ranma's muffled reply from the floor.

"Are you two okay?" Kasumi asked with a worried look.

"Do we even want to know what that loud noise was?" Nabiki smirked. Akane was about to explain, then she decided that might not be such a good idea.

"We're fine and no," Ranma and Akane replied in unison. Nabiki and Kasumi looked at each other before Nabiki wiggled her eyebrows and drug her sister away after closing the door again.

"Oh great. We're never going to hear the end of this one," Ranma groaned.

"Well if you hadn't been a pervert laying down next to me and going to sleep like that, we wouldn't have this problem," Akane growled.

"Excuse me, but I was tucking you back in when you decided to glomp me in your sleep then pin me to your side like a human teddy bear," he fussed back. "I didn't want to wake you up by forcing my way out of your arms so I stayed there. I stared at the ceiling a good half hour before I fell asleep."

"Oh come on. Like I'm going to buy that one," she shot back.

"You have to cause it's the truth. Whether you like it or not!"

"Hmph!" she folded her arms across her chest and looked away. "You should have woke me up. Now you'll probably get sick too!"

"No I won't. Dr. Tofu gave me an immunization shot for it this morning when we were at the clinic," he countered. Akane pouted at him. That look tugged at his heart strings. Blinking and tearing his gaze from hers, he got up off the floor and sat back down on the side of her bed. Reaching over, he made an inquisitive look as he brushed the back of his hand against her forehead. Akane was a bout to smack him, but stopped when a frown appeared upon his face from the result of the action, "You're still burning up. Perhaps it might be a good idea to go take a cool bath. Maybe the water will be able to drop your body temperature a little bit."

"Yes Nurse Ranma," Akane replied with a soft voice and a puppy dog look. Her comment produced a nice blush on Ranma's cheeks. A small grin appeared on Akane's lips seeing the desired results of her joke manifest upon Ranma's face.

"Silly girl. Come on. Let's go. I'll help you at least get there. We'd get it even worse if I did happen to follow you, which you'd probably beat me up for even thinking about it," he rambled as he stood up and was already helping her to her feet with a strong arm around her torso.

"You've got that damn right I would," Akane said, smacking him upside the head. Ranma just groaned and kept his mouth shut as he assisted her out of the room and down the hallway to the bathroom.

"I'll be near by. Should you need me, just call for me," he said simply before turning tail and exiting the room, shutting the door behind him before Akane could say anything else.

*                      *                      *

Out in the hallway, Ranma sighed as he leaned against the wall then slid down it to sit on the floor. His thoughts of the day gave him no peace. He was falling in love with that girl, and he knew it clear as anything. But, what he wondered was... did she feel the same way? Is that why she was looking at him so oddly when he'd woken up a few minutes ago?

"This is a very kind thing you're doing for my daughter," came the voice of Mr. Tendo suddenly from Ranma's side.

"ACK! Don't do that!" Ranma barked at him irritably.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," the man said with a soft smile.

"Ahhh... that's okay. And about what you said, I don't mind it. Really," he offered the man a soft smile. In the bathroom, the sound of running water became audible. Mr. Tendo glanced at the bathroom door before looking back at Ranma.

"You love her, don't you?" he inquired with a sly smile.

"What?! What ever gave you that idea?" Ranma sputtered with a look of surprise.

"The way that you've treated her today. Taking such good care of her and hardly leaving her side the entire time she's been sick today," Soun replied.

"If you must know, the answer is yes. But, it's not because of anything you and my dad or anyone else in this family has done. If you want us to grow to become a couple, you've got to lay off and let us do it on our own. No one can force two people to love each other," Ranma preached. P-chan squeaked at him from the end of the hall. Ranma glared at him. "You keep quiet. This is none of your business. Quit eves-dropping and go find someone else to annoy, you runt!" Ranma growled. The pig snickered as it left the hallway to find one of the other girls to cuddle him. Ranma sighed again.

"You speak truth on the matter. Your father and I will leave this to the two of you to sort out. However, if I may make a suggestion… it may be beneficial to your relationship if you continue to treat her as well as you are now," Soun said, then rose and walked away without waiting for a reply.

Yet again, Ranma sighed. Why did life have to be so complicated?