Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½.

Akane sat up on the couch and stretched. She had to think for a moment to remember why she was in the basement. She turned on the light and looked around again, taking a closer look for any changes to the old hangout.

Nothing's changed since the last time I was here.

The old pictures, the ripped up posters, the ugly makeshift curtains which they both agreed to replace but never got around to the chore, even the stupid pillow they had made in art class as partners.

Uncomfortable as hell, too.

She sat down on the carpeted ground to look at the bookshelf. All her favorites were there, all those stupid books they had collected over the years, and of course, Ally's favorite bedtime stories. She heard a creak on the stairs and turned to see who had come down.
"Akane, what are you doing here?" A small girl of five was rubbing her eyes sleepily. She walked over and sat on Akane's lap. "Nothing, Ally. I came over in the middle of the night." Ally was holding her teddy bear. The girl was waking up though, and soon she would be at full energy.

"Can we go somewhere today?"

"Maybe. How about we go upstairs and get you some breakfast?" Ally nodded her consent.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Akane was surprised (and a little angered,) to find Ranma was still there. Didn't he trust her? Ally let go of Akane's hand and went to sit on a stool.
Ranma tilted her head at the little one. "Hello. What's your name?"
"Ally." The girl grumbled.

Ranma smiled at her uncomfortably. "She looks tired. Maybe you should give her some sugar or somthin'?"

"NOO!!" Three voices screamed in his ear. Akane calmed first.

"You don't want to give her any extra energy. Trust me." Ranma looked around as if expecting someone to attack him. "Why??"

"Just trust me."

"Whatever you say, 'Kane." Ranma looked at the clock. "We should probably go home now. You're dad's probably cryin' his eyes out by now." Mrs. Peach looked angry for the first time. "Yes, you're beloved and oh, so wonderful father. I'm so SURE he's worried sick." Akane shot her a look. A look Ranma didn't quite understand. Not the angry glare he had become so accustomed to, but there was an anger there, no doubt. Mrs. Peach turned to talk to him and plastered a smile on her face. "Come back anytime, Ranma. And Akane, I'll see you later tonight?"

"Absolutely."

"Great. I'll tell Kyle you said goodbye."

While walking home….

Ranma had decided to walk beside Akane instead of on the fence. "Are you sure there's nothing goin' on between you two?" Ranma had asked her that exact question many times, and quite frankly it was getting on her nerves. "Don't you think I would know if I was?"

Ranma glared at her. "Not that I care. After all, who would wanna date a stupid, uncute, tomboy like you?"

"RANMA WOULD YOU JUST SHOVE IT?!?!" Ranma looked over in surprise at the now extremely upset Akane. Her shoulders were shaking and he felt a gnawing guilt in the pit of his stomach. "Akane, listen…" Shampoo picked a very wrong moment to drop in. "Nihoa, Airen!!" Ukyou apparently had been passing by as well. "Hey Ranchan!!" Of course, this only fueled Akane's fire. She started walking in another direction. "Ranma, just tell Kasumi where I was when you get home, ok?" She broke out into a full out run until she disappeared from sight. Shampoo and Ukyou chose that moment to glomp on Ranma. His anger got the better of him. "Will you two GET OFF?!?!" He shook them off forcefully. "When will you get it through you're thick heads that I don't want to go on a date??" He started to follow the path Akane had taken, leaving the two stunned girls in his wake.

About an hour later…

Akane sat under an oak near a cliff where she could see the water. ((A/N: Is there water near Nerima? Oh well…)) True, she couldn't swim. Never had been able to grasp the concept and probably never would. But she was still drawn to the cool peacefulness of the seas. She didn't understand it, because the truth is that nothing was more enjoyably to her than burning candles. She liked Fire far more than water, but on days like this when she needed to escape reality, she would just lose herself in the empty waves. She had sat under this oak many times before. It was her favorite tree to think under. Its leaves seemed to beckon to her. She had only confessed about her favorite tree to a few people, and she had only ever shown it to one person. Kyle. Probably because when she told him about the tree, he didn't laugh at her. Akane was jolted out of her thoughts by a crunching noise behind her. She turned and saw Ranma standing under a different tree. "What are you doing here 'Kane? Your father wouldn't let me stay at home until you came back. Awful selfish of you." There was a twinge of annoyance behind it, but no real anger. That somewhat surprised her. "I need some time to think. Go get dinner from Ukyou or Shampoo and I'll be home before you finish."

"Aww… C'mon Akane… tell me whats up." Akane looked at him, surprised. Ranma panicked.
"Not that I care! It's just that you're dad won't let me in until you're back, and if I get caught not searchin'…." Akane sighed.

"I'll come home and let everyone know where I was. Then I'll leave again. That way, you can go home and I'll get some piece and quiet."

Akane stood up, brushed herself off, and started walking towards home.

"Ok…. Are ya' sure ya don't wanna talk about it?"

"Positive."

"Ok….'Cuz ya know, 'Kane, even though I know it doesn't seem like it…" Ranma blushed. "Ya can talk to me. I mean, if ya want to. I mean, I guess we're kinda friends, right?" Akane gave him one of her rare smiles.
"Sure, Ranma. I guess you could call us friends." Ranma blushed furiously.
"Well, I guess we should be goin' home now! Yeah, everyone's bound to be worried about you and ya know how you're dad gets…"

Akane smiled again. "I guess we should."

At home…..

"YOU WERE WHERE?!?!?!" Ranma was actually surprised by Mr. Tendou's reaction. He had expected him to be overjoyed when he saw Akane. Instead, he was shaking in anger. And, also unexpectedly, Akane was keeping her cool.

"You heard me daddy. I was at Kyle's."

"YOU MADE US THINK YOU WERE KIDNAPPED SO YOU COULD SPEND TIME WITH THOSE LOW-LIFES?!?!" Ranma sighed.

And here comes Akane's temper.

Naturally, Akane began to fume.
"THEY ARE NOT LOW-LIFES, DAD! AND I DIDN'T TRY TO MAKE YOU THINK I HAD BEEN KIDNAPPED! KYLE CAME AND NEEDED TO TALK TO ME ABOUT SOMETHING BEFORE EVERYONE KNEW HE WAS BACK IN TOWN!"

Kasumi decided to step in. "Now daddy, Where Akane was is her business. Although…" She gave Akane a stern look. "I think you should have told us where you were." Akane sighed. "Well, id you're all done, I'm going back out." She began to walk and Ranma began to follow her.

"What's the matter, Ranma? Doncha trust me?" She gave him a smile, but not a genuine one. It was a superior smile, as if saying that she had won. Ranma scoffed.

"Like I care what you do. You're dad would make me anyway, so why not save us all time?" Akane became visibly annoyed.

"Fine. Come on."

A/N: YAY!!! ANOTHER CHAPPIE DONE! Thank you to all who've reviewed!!! And thank you to a few of my friends who helped me get over my writers block! ANYWAY…. Still working on making my chapters longer. PLEASE REVIEW!!