Author's notes:

/bows and kneels to readers/ Forgive me, please, for the incredibly belated update. This thing called 'last year of school' came along and distracted me, I am terribly sorry and have felt guilty for leaving this up in the air. I was obliged to come back to it because of all the lovely reviewers who gave me feedback, thank you all! I am planning on finishing this story in another 1 - 2 chapters which should hopefully be up and done within the next two weeks.

The Chaos That Lies Silently Beneath Serenity

Ranma did not bother to mask his irritated glares thrown to Ryoga, lying unconscious on Genma's futon on the floor with a warm towel over his head. Akane knelt beside Ryoga with Kasumi, checking his temperature and assisting to bandage the deep grazes on his arms. Ranma was sure his presence would cause problems, especially if he had seen anything between Akane and himself.

'Not like anything happened, anyway…' he told himself, fighting back the blush creeping into his cheeks. He needed a break, (ironically enough as they were on a vacation) a break from being around Akane; because whenever she was around he could not keep his eyes from wandering to her, leaving his mind to promptly follow.

Standing up, he wordlessly made for the door but was turned around by Akane's voice, "Where are you going?" Her dark eyes were questioning.

"For a walk," he said simply, but before he could leave, his mother appeared behind him and put a hand on his shoulder, saying pleasantly, "Try to find Ryoga's pack while you're out, will you? I think he'll need his things when he leaves." Ranma thought he saw the ghost of a wink from his mother's eyes, which seemed to read his turbulent thoughts. With that, he left into the chilly mountain air.

Akane kneeled in front of Ryoga and tried to dissipate her irritation at him for interrupting her moment with Ranma. She was sure Ranma had been close to saying something important; they had both been on edge since that night in the mountain cave where they had snuggled up together to gain the warmth needed to survive the cold. There was this terrible feeling between them now as though something was left unresolved, though it seemed to Akane to have been there for quite some time, and merely stirred up in the events of the past few days.

Looking over Ryoga's bandaged arms, she supposed it really wasn't his fault that he showed up at impeccable timing. It was just another of those coincidental, karmic events which her and Ranma's relationship was based around.

"There," said Kasumi gently as she put the finishing bandaid on Ryoga's cut hand, "All done. We should just let him rest now." Akane nodded mutely, taciturn since that morning. As soon as Kasumi had left the room, Nabiki strolled over and with a casual air noted to Akane, "Where did these new medical skills of hers come from? I think she must have picked them up while spending all that time at Nermia's medical clinic. Perhaps even private tutoring from Dr Tofu himself."

Akane chuckled half-heartedly. In a rare moment of sisterly intuition, Nabiki pulled Akane up by the hand and said, "C'mon, let's enjoy the peace of the hot springs while it lasts," avoiding any further small-talk and especially steering clear of mentioning Ranma's name. A smile floated to Akane's face, touched by her sister's selective kindness (though knowing it was only temporary).

-----

One fast step after another, Ranma's feet trampled over the rocky mountain path. Head down, his brow was furrowed in an uncharacteristically upset expression. His fast walking brought him quickly into the thick of the mountain vegetation which reaching into the area behind their cabin and leading to the opening of the hot springs, where Ryoga must have been wandering aimlessly. Ranma cared little for finding the eternally lost boy's backpack, having merely wanted to walk off his feelings of discontent, the uncomfortable air between himself and Akane which was tense with unresolved feelings. The hours slipped away from Ranma unnoticed as he continued walking in circles, in squares and in triangles, making no progress in his attempts to walk off his restlessness. In a burst of frustration, he swung around and kicked hard at a tree, sending bark flying off at diverse angles. Not noticing where he was going, he began to move again until his foot snagged on something and brought him crashing head-first into the dirty ground. With ill-humour he sat up, grumbling mentally as he picked his foot free from the thing which had snagged him: the strap of a backpack. A familiar looking backpack at that: dark brown and broad enough to be filled with an array of camping gear. It was Ryoga's.

'What a hilarious coincidence,' thought Ranma, wiping his dirt-ridden face with a sleeve. He went to pick up the backpack but noticed some of its contents sprawled upon the ground. One item snagged his eye as effectively as his foot had been snagged by the backpack: a postcard with the image bearing a striking resemblance to this particular mountainside. Curiously, he flipped it over and read:

"Dear Ryoga,

I'm thrilled to hear in your latest letter that you can make it to the Chubu region to meet me! I'm visiting my grandfather in the mountainside, I know you have difficulties with direction so I will wait for you as long as I stay here, though I will be leaving at the end of the month.

I hope to see you as soon as possible.

Akari

P.S. I've drawn you another map, in case you lost the last one: )"

Attached was a fairly well-drawn map which was easy to read, marking out a clear path from the bottom of the mountains to the cabin where Akari was staying with her grandfather. It was further up from the cabin where the Tendos and Saotomes were staying: Ryoga had evidently tried to cut through the thick of forest in a crude shortcut. Ranma smirked, pleased that Ryoga's relationship with Akari seemed to be continuing well. Maybe he'd given up on Akane, he hoped, and wouldn't cause problems between them. Folding the postcard and putting into his back pocket (he had the feeling he'd need it later), he hastily pushed the rest of the items into the backpack, shouldered it and ran back to the cabin feeling energized and optimistic.

------

"WHAT!" shouted Ryoga, eyes bludging and veins popping out in indignation, "They did WHAT!"

Kasumi frowned, her eyes remaining on the soup she was stirring for dinner. Ryoga wasn't taking the news of Ranma and Akane's mountain quagmire very well. He had awoken recently, finding Kasumi the only one inside (cooking). She explained how he had been found and that the families had extended their welcome for him to stay with them that week while he recovers from the nasty bruise on his head, where he was concussed. He spluttered many grateful thanks for allowing him to stay, eventually asking what they were doing here. Kasumi filled him in, not failing to mention finding Ranma and Akane lying in each others' arms some two nights before, going on to explain that this is also why they were now sharing a room with a double bed.

"B-but…" Ryoga weakly said in denial, his world crashing down around him.

"Oh I know, they aren't married – it simply isn't right! But they assure us nothing is going on between them. Anyhow, father and uncle Saotome are so eager to get them married. And you know Nabiki, she loves to tease them."

Ryoga went silent, having instantly forgotten about Akari partly due to his concussion and partly because of this new information. He was still deeply infatuated with Akane, and whenever he was around her he could not keep himself from daydreaming about being with her. His relationship with Akari was more genuine, real and was solidly-based, but Ryoga was having trouble disconnecting himself from his 'love' for Akane – the first person to have accepted him as P-Chan. Consciously, he did not mean to be unfaithful and had nothing but pure intentions and regard for both of the girls, though he tended to have a limited attention span which was often tugged between either.

'Right, I'll set Ranma straight! He can't just play around with girls' feelings! How dare that Casanova toy with Akane when he has all those girls in Nermia hanging off of him. No shame at all!' he thought, blindly not noticing his own hypocrisy.

He spent the rest of the afternoon benevolently helping Kasumi in the kitchen while scheming subtle ways to interrupt Ranma. Out of respect to the families to which he was a guest to, any fighting or loud disruptions were out of the question.

-------

Dinner that night was served to the eight people sitting around the crowded dining table. Akane stole glances at Ranma, who she hadn't seen since that morning; his face was dirt-smudged and his forehead pasted with dry sweat. She couldn't help but think he looked attractive, though mentally reproached herself for this train of thought. She guessed he had been exerting himself - training or running like he usually did when he had something on his mind. Was that a good sign?

Ranma wasted no time upon clearing his throat and loudly asking, "So Ryoga, what were you doing wandering around in these parts?"

Akane and Ranma both listened intently. They had been trying to gauge from Ryoga's behaviour how much he had seen between them.

Ryoga blinked a few times, fighting his urge to yell random abuse at Ranma for his women-seducing ways, replying, "Well… My memory's a bit foggy still, but I remember that I was making my way up the mountains," he paused. "Though I can't remember the reason," Ranma's eyes narrowed, remembering Akari's postcard. Was Ryoga telling the truth or was he just suffering from his 'selective memory'?

"I got lost, and couldn't find my way out of this forest, when I heard voices and what sounded like running water. I ran towards it, seeing two figures, but I too late I saw a branch above me and I hit against it, falling into the water."

Ranma and Akane concentrated their willpower into not fidgeting.

"Ah, and that's when Ranma saw you and brought you back," concluded Soun.

"The two figures must have been Ranma and Akane then," nodded Ryoga, on his best behaviour.

Nabiki, back to her usual self, suggestively contributed to the conversation in her usual manner, "Hmm, I wonder what you two were doing out there so early, by yourselves…"

Ryoga flinched. Akane feigned ignorance in a much practiced act of nonchalance while Ranma put his energies into a frenzied fight with his father over the last piece of potato. The remained of dinner was spent with Nodoka preoccupying everyone and skilfully avoiding further discussion on the subject, aware of its effects on the three lovelorn adolescents at the table.

----------

The time came again when the household was to sleep. Ranma and Akane walked self-consciously to their shared room, Ryoga's eyes obsessively fixated on them from when he lay on his futon in the corner until Akane shut the door behind them, blocking his view. They stood at different ends of the room, shuffling nervously and not saying anything – this was the first time they had been alone together since that morning.

Suddenly, a thought hit Akane, who looked at Ranma and asked, "How're we going to get changed?" Then she added out of habit and annoyance at the awkwardness between them, "You pervert!"

He pulled a face at her, stuck out his tongue and replied, "Hah! No need to worry Akane. We Saotome's have skills and techniques to deal with problems arising in all areas of life."

She arched an eyebrow questioningly as he got into one side of the bed, fully clothed, proceeding to say, "Saotome ultimate technique: shedding snake-skin!"

Ranma was wriggling around under the covers with an expression of intense concentration and utmost seriousness, and within seconds his arm appeared at the side of the bed and dumped down his shirt and pants.

Akane grabbed a chair and threw it at him, agitated, "What do you think you're doing! You expect me to sleep in a bed with you naked!"

He caught the chair, laughing, "Naked?" He then stood up on the bed; Akane shrieked but then noticed he was in his usual boxer-shorts and singlet top.

"I dunno bout you," he continued, smirking at her expression, "but I don't sleep naked. Sorry to disappoint you," he added grinning.

She shot him a glare, "I certainly don't either." She threw off his composure instantly as she said, "Now turn around and close your eyes because I need to get changed. I don't possess the Saotome skill," the last word was emphasised with sarcasm.

Ranma lay at the very edge of his side of the bed, putting a hand over his shut eyes and burying his face in the pillow as Akane insisted, "And don't peek or I'll kill you."

She was very pleased to not hear the usual retort, 'Who'd wanna peek at a tomboy like you?'

Ranma tried to clear his mind, make it blank. 'Did she have to tell me? Jeez couldn't she just have slept clothed… or changed in some other room…' it was torture for Ranma, who could not fend off the memories of when they had kept each other warm that night in the mountains.

They said quiet goodnights, turned out the lights and stayed at opposite ends of the bed, both thinking of each other and pretending to sleep. Eventually, they both managed to drift off into a sleep filled with disjointed dreams of confessing their feelings but being interrupted by numerous obstacles. Their unconscious bodies moved closer, almost naturally.

----------

Ryoga heard the distant ticking of a clock as the hours slid past midnight. He couldn't sleep. Eyes staring at the door of Ranma and Akane's room, he couldn't bear to think of them being there together, doing who knows what. Not that Akane would be so impure, but Ranma! Decisively, he got up and tipy-toed his way to the kitchen, picking up a glass which would be his tool for Plan A.

The door creaked as it opened. The dim moonlight streaming in from the large window illuminated the bed, where the figures of Ranma and Akane were sleeping, leaning on each other. Ryoga worked desperately to control his fury and outrage, tempted to beat the living crap out of Ranma for being such a womanizing scoundrel. But he was bound by a debt to the families, so instead he merely walked to the side of the bed. With narrowed eyes he threw the contents of the glass of cold water over Ranma's slumberous face, leaving the room swiftly and clicking the door shut after him. As girl-Ranma shot bolt-upright, Ryoga was already back on his futon feigning sleep. Running a hand through her flaming red hair, Ranma shivered with confusion and cold, wondering, 'How on earth did I transform?'

Noticing Akane's arm draped around her waist, Ranma became startled and blushed furiously. 'I'll never get back to sleep now,' she concluded shaking her head vigorously from side to side, leaving the bed silently after carefully tucking the blanket back over Akane's arm. With one last look at Akane's peaceful expression, Ranma left the room and made her way to the hot springs. Ryoga saw girl-Ranma leave the room from where he lay, jet-black fringe draped over his peering eyes. He sighed as drowsiness overtook him, at last being able to sleep peacefully.

------------

The next morning, they all found Ranma in the hot springs, his arms leaning behind him on the rocky surface as he dozed. The prolonged exposure to the heat of the water had made his skin go down wherever he was submerged in water: from the chest down. Genma ran at him shouting melodramatically, "Son! You're going to destroy your muscles with prolonged exposure to scorching temperatures!"

He then picked Ranma up and threw him in the air; Ranma (managing to keep the towel draped around his waist) landed expertly, though his legs gave way from under him like jelly. "You invalid!" continued to yell Genma, charging at him in his usual fashion, "How can you possibly inherit the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts with an indulging attitude like that!"

"Aw shuddup Pop," yelled back Ranma, getting to his feet with determination and throwing a fury of punches at his father, (thankful that his arms had not been submerged within the water) "You're just jealous that I got here before you, stupid old man."

Akane looked upon the scene puzzled. That had been the second morning she awoke alone, with strange behaviour from Ranma.

The day passed in a rather uneventful manner. Everyone mostly kept to themselves, with Ranma being forced to stay away from the springs (to heal his raw muscles) and Ryoga's scheming put away at present. Ranma pondered over the events of the night before and sent the occasional suspicious stare at Ryoga.

-----------

That night, Ranma was prepared. He slid into a very light sleep, attempting to ignore the ever-affecting presence of Akane at the other side of the bed, with which he had still not cleared anything. He awoke instantly when he heard the creak of the door, staying perfectly still but sensing the movements of a person in the room. He opened his eyes in time to see Ryoga, as he suspected; but instead of tipping the glass of water over Ranma he threw it over himself, landing at the edge of the bed. P-Chan's eyes widened as he noticed too late that Ranma was awake, and had sat up. They were perfectly still, shooting daggers at each other through their eyes, each with fury that could pierce.

"Look at what we have here…" Ranma whispered, moving closer to P-Chan, "a little piggy…"

P-Chan started to growl, but as soon as Ranma pulled a warm kettle from under the bed he fell quiet. Neither wanted Akane awake at that moment.

"Doesn't poor widdle piggy want a warm bath?" Ranma shot him a maniac smile. Fear and desperation shone from P-Chan's eyes as he instantly made a break for the door, but Ranma was too quick. He shot up from the bed and landed silently on the pig with one foot securing him to the floor. Picking him up with one firm hand, Ranma grabbed Ryoga's clothes (which were left on the bed from his change), his own pants, jacket and the kettle, silently and swiftly exiting the room.

As the door clicked shut, Akane stirred from her uneasy sleep. Absentmindedly, she reached an arm over to Ranma's side of the bed, finding nothing but a warm but empty indent in the mattress. Her eyes flickered open in disappointment and worry. Her dreams had been unsettling, a reflection of the mental turmoil of the past few days. Ranma and she seemed to be stuck in some kind of relationship limbo, halfway between a couple and nothing at all. They couldn't even participate in the same petty fights as they used to. Then there was the mystery of his nightly disappearance, though she suspected something to do with his being uncomfortable sleeping in the same bed with her.

'Maybe I kick too much when I'm sleeping…' She got out of bed, threw on some warm clothes and told herself that tonight, it was going to be resolved one way or another. She would make the situation with Ranma either move forwards or backwards, because at present she couldn't stand it. First though, she would have to find him – and with that thought, her hand reached the handle of the door.

A/N: Heh, so, maybe you might all be annoyed and disappointed with this chapter (but I hope it wasn't too bad), but don't worry - the next one should be worth it ; )

Please review and tell me your thoughts! Feedback helps to motivate writing!

By the way - in case anyone didn't know, Akari is a girl character in the Ranma 1/2 manga who learns of Ryoga's curse (p-chan) and finds it adorable because she loves pigs. Ryoga likes her quite alot but gets lost on the way to their dates frequently. Theybecome penpals and write to each other while he's wandering the country (who knows how that works). Poor Ryoga attempts to court both Akari and Akane at the same time in some circumstances. Anyhow, go read the manga! It's great.