Those Magic Changes
by hikaranko
Summary: Akane drags Ranma with her on a shopping trip and they both get a wicked whiff of some strange perfume. Turns out, it's not a perfume at all, and it has some pretty potent side effects...
Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own the characters of the Ranma 1/2 series. Sometimes I wish I did, but the truth is that I don't. Credit for the idea of this story goes to Paperdoll, the author of the Harry Potter fanfic "Drawn to You". This story is named after a song from the play "Grease", and the chapters are named after various songs. Credits for all of those go to the appropriate people.
Author's Note: Wow, I wasn't expecting so many positive reactions:D I'm glad everyone likes it so far. The NWC will, of course, be appropriately featured, which is why this story is turning out to be longer than I had originally planned... I wanted it to be a one shot, but currently it's starting to look like it's gonna reach 4 or 5 chapters... Oh well. :D I hope you guys still have fun reading this!
Chapter 2
Accidentally in Love
How much longer will it take to cure this?
Just to cure it 'cause I can't ignore it if it's love
Makes me wanna turn around and face it
But I don't know nothin' 'bout love
"I think you both need to hear this," Nabiki told Ranma and Akane smugly. "It's pure gold."
Akane leaned forward, her eyes wide. "W-What? What's going on?"
Nabiki let out a breath and stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. "Well, you two couldn't have picked a better bottle of 'perfume'. I asked the owner of the store about it, and it turns out that you guys stumbled across a form of - dare I say it - love potion."
Both teenagers' jaws visibly dropped open. "WHAT? 'LOVE POTION'?"
The shocked, horrified tone in their voices was music to Nabiki's ears.
"That's right. Ranma? Akane? You two are head over heels in love with each other."
She couldn't help but smile as she watched Ranma and Akane. Now, Nabiki Tendo's life revolved around money and objects of monetary value. This was a good thing, since quite a large fraction of the Tendo family's income came from her various businesses. She could put a price on anything, from photographs to boys to break-ups. But the expressions that could be seen on Ranma and Akane's faces were just too good. Almost priceless.
"Well, I'm sure you already know that it's not the kind that takes away all control over your actions," Nabiki went on. "You're clearly able to resist. The potion has more an effect on the body than the mind. Though the body is often able to influence the workings of the mind." Her wicked smile deepened still. "But I'm sure you two already knew that as well."
Still in a state of shock, Ranma followed Nabiki with his eyes as she crossed the room and seated herself at the foot of Akane's bed. She crossed her legs and leaned back, propping herself up with her arms. She let out a long breath, then glanced over at Akane. Akane was frozen, her eyes wide.
"You alright, Akane?"
She nodded her head stiffly in response. Nabiki then looked back at Ranma with a smile.
"How about you, Ranma?"
For a moment there was only silence since Ranma found himself unable to speak. He eventually managed to will some strength back into him and turned his head to look at Nabiki.
"Are we... stuck like this forever?"
Nabiki had considered telling them exactly that, but had then decided it would be too mean. Besides, she didn't quite like the idea behind love potions. The way she saw things, people should be in love with each other because they really did fall in love. Having a love potion was like cheating. And as shrewd as Nabiki Tendo may be, she was not one to cheat. Especially since cheating had never been able to make her any money.
"Fortunately for you two, no," Nabiki answered honestly. "It wears off over time."
This news came as a great relief to Ranma and Akane, and they both let out an audible sigh.
"How long?" Akane asked.
"Well, let's see," Nabiki said thoughtfully, leaning forward so that her elbows were resting on her knees. "The man said that since you used up about half the bottle, it'll last for about a week. But, until that week is up, you two have to be together all the time."
The two teenagers looked at one another for a moment before turning their incredulous gazes on Nabiki. "Together? Always?"
"That's right," Nabiki replied coolly. "You have to stay within a certain distance of one another or be in the same room. You'll both pass out on the spot, otherwise."
Ranma ran his hands through his dark hair in frustration, spinning around on his heel so that he was facing the opposite wall. "You've gotta be kiddin'!"
"I never joke, Ranma."
"Oh yeah!" Ranma shouted, turning around again. "Then what about when you--"
Nabiki shot a mean glare in Ranma's direction. "I never joke, Ranma."
She then calmly rose to her feet and walked toward the bedroom door. Ranma and Akane watched her for a moment before dropping their embarrassed gazes to the floor. Nabiki gave them one last smug look before opening the door and stepping into the hallway.
"Oh, and by the way," she called over her shoulder, "I would suggest calling a truce. As in, no arguing or fighting. That goes double for you, Akane. Sending Ranma flying through the roof will knock you both out."
Akane bit down on her lip nervously before nodding in silent agreement. A smug smile crossed Ranma's face. He couldn't help but rejoice at the idea of not getting beaten up and sent flying through the air over and over again.
'The week might not be all that bad,' Ranma thought.
Nabiki looked back at the couple before closing the door and winked. "Later, you two."
Just as the door began to shut, Kasumi's voice rang out from downstairs and Nabiki halted.
"Akane! Time for your bath!"
The youngest Tendo daughter was confused. "Right now?"
"Please, Akane."
Akane sighed in defeat. "Okay, Kasumi."
Letting out an annoyed breath, Akane got out of her bed. Then, realizing for the first time that she was still fully dressed, she walked over to her closet and rummaged through the clothes for her pajamas. Nabiki watched her for a moment, pulling open the door and standing next to it expectantly. She then looked over at Ranma, who had just seated himself on the futon and looked to be deep in thought.
"What're you doing, Ranma?" Nabiki asked him, exasperated.
"Huh? What?"
"Akane has to go take a bath now."
"Uh... so?"
Nabiki narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "Hello? Love potion?"
For a moment, Ranma had no idea what she was talking about. And then it hit him. His cheeks flushed red. "Wa-Wait a minute. Y-You don't mean..."
She rolled her eyes. "You're going to have to go in with her, of course."
Now it was Akane's turn to blush. She hadn't really been listening, but Nabiki's last statement had been difficult to ignore. Having already retrieved her pajamas, Akane jumped to her feet and spun around to face Ranma and her sister.
"But he can't!" Akane protested, red faced.
Nabiki wagged one finger in the air. "Oh, but he can."
The martial artist in question looked thoughtful for a moment before realizing what Nabiki meant. He groaned slightly.
'Then again, the next week could be all that bad,' he thought.
Nabiki smiled.
Ranma grumbled in annoyance while changing out of the wet clothes. She blew some of her wet red hair out of her eyes in annoyance as she shoved her pants and boxers down over her legs and tossed them toward the laundry machine. Ranma changed on one side of the room while Akane changed on the other. They were both facing the wall in front of them so that neither one of them could see anything. Ranma snorted to herself. Not that Akane had anything she wanted to see.
As soon as she had completely stripped down, Ranma grabbed her towel and threw it over her shoulders. She straightened slightly, flicking her pigtail over her shoulder, and drew in a deep breath.
"You ready?"
"Almost."
She gritted her teeth together in mild annoyance while she waited a little while longer. Ranma had half expected that the dousing of water would cancel out the effect of the potion, but so far she had no such luck. As soon as Ranma had gone girl, she tried to march out of the room without Akane, but when she stepped through the doorway, she staggered backwards, dizzy.
After a few moments, Ranma could hear Akane's footfalls coming toward the laundry machine and the rustling of her clothes as she put them in. She was suddenly overcome with the urge to look over at Akane, knowing that she was now completely naked, but immediately resisted.
'Get a grip on yourself, Saotome!' she mentally warned herself. 'Akane's a thick-waisted tomboy with nothin' to look at! The urge is just the potion at work! Just the potion! Resist!'
Ranma heard the door slide open.
"Okay, Ranma. Close your eyes and we'll go."
Unwillingly, the cursed martial artist obeyed, and shut her blue eyes. "Closed."
She could hear Akane take a few steps closer. Ranma winced when Akane grabbed hold of her pigtail and began to drag her into the bathroom.
"Ow!" she shouted, one hand reaching up and grabbing her pigtail defensively. "Could ya take it easy! This is my hair, y'know!"
"Stop being such a baby," Akane snapped, giving Ranma's pigtail an extra tug. "Your eyes are shut so you can't see in front of you, and there's no way I'm gonna touch you."
Ranma groaned. "I don't see why my eyes even should be shut. I've seen naked girls before. I mean, I've seen myself plenty of times. I've seen you naked before. So closin' my eyes is ju- Ow! Cut it out already!"
Akane tightened her grip and pulled even harder on Ranma's pigtail as she continued to drag her over towards the shower. "Pervert."
Ranma pressed her lips together into a tight, annoyed line. 'This chick has called me a pervert since day one,' she thought. 'Geez. She never believes a word I say.'
The thought stung Ranma in the heart a little. Akane then released her fiancee, leaving her near the wall a few feet away from the shower. For a second Ranma was confused and raised her hands slightly in search of the knobs, only to find herself feeling the surface of the blank wall.
"I'm gonna go first," Akane called. "I'll tell you when I'm done, okay?"
Suddenly more annoyed than before, Ranma folded her arms over her chest and snorted. "Yeah, yeah, got it."
Her eyes were still shut tight, but it was easy for Ranma to see the frustrated look on Akane's face. She'd seen it so many times on so many occassions that she had every detail of it memorized. Ranma waited for Akane to finish her shower, and then waited a while longer until she heard her step into the tub.
"My turn?"
"Go ahead."
She was hating the fact that she had to ask. What was she, a child? Ranma sighed as she opened her eyes. As she turned around, she couldn't help but notice Akane sitting in the bath. She had her back to Ranma and was looking out the window, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. Ranma rolled her eyes as she picked up the shower nozzle and turned her attention to bathing herself.
As soon as the heated water touched Ranma's skin, he breathed a sigh of relief. Being a girl was interesting, but it wasn't as enjoyable as most boys his age would think. Sure, his girl self was attractive and, well, busty, and it had been fun for a while, but when the idea of his body being this way permanently began to sink in, "fun" turned into "burden".
He let out an exasperated sigh, closing his eyes and just listening to the sound of the hot water pouring out of the shower nozzle. Ranma raised the nozzle slightly so that it was above him and water poured all over his face, his eyes still shut. He smiled. Hot water always felt good. Especially after a pitcher of icy water got poured over one's head.
After a long moment of silence, Akane rose out of the tub with a contented sigh. But as she turned around, she let out a small, high pitched squeal and turned back. Ranma almost spun around to face Akane at the sound, but quickly managed to stop himself.
"What?"
"Could you, um, turn back into a girl?"
Ranma raised his head slightly, his brow furrowing in confusion. "What?"
"You're a boy. Right now. And I... um..."
He almost burst out laughing when he practically heard the blush in her voice. Trying hard not to release his laughter, Ranma turned the other knob. She shuddered at the touch of the cold water on her skin, taking a step back. She ran one hand through her red hair, pushing her shaggy bangs out of the way, and quickly turned the shower off, putting the nozzle back in its place.
"Okay, I'm a girl again."
She listened to the sounds of the water in the tub as it stirred once again when Akane stepped out of it. Akane grabbed a towel and quickly wiped herself dry. She then wrapped it around her body and scooped up her pajamas, which had been sitting on a small plastic stool near the tub before dashing to the other side of the room. She came to a halt a foot or two away from the door and quickly began to put on her pajamas. Ranma ran her hands through her hair again as she made her way toward the tub.
"Y'know," Ranma said with a laugh, "I'm just gonna turn back into a guy once I step in the tub, so there's really no point in this."
Akane twiddled her thumbs for a moment before speaking. "Ranma?"
The martial artist halted. "Uh... yeah?"
"Could you change back into a guy later? Like, once we're both changed?"
To Ranma, the very idea of waiting to transform back to normal was not something she was willing to do. But given their unusual circumstances, she'd have to let Akane have her way. After all, Akane was the real girl, and seeing a naked boy (especially a naked boy as attractive as Ranma) probably wasn't something someone like her would find particularly appealing. Ranma sighed in defeat, stepping away from the tub and moving to join Akane at the doorway.
"Okay, let's go."
Kasumi passed a full bowl of rice to her father, who passed it on to Genma.
"A love potion?" she echoed, looking at Nabiki with wide eyes.
"That's right, sis," Nabiki answered after swallowing a mouthful of her breakfast. "Right now, Ranma and Akane can't resist each other."
Soun and Genma looked at one another. Both of their faces seemed to be almost completely expressionless, save the excited, mischievous glimmer in their eyes.
"You don't say."
"Can't resist each other, eh?"
Nabiki raised an eyebrow at her father. "Just like you've always wanted, right, Daddy?"
The head of the Tendo family laughed loudly, scratching the back of his head as Kasumi put a bowl of rice on the table in front of him. His daughter rolled her eyes as she inserted more of her breakfast into her mouth.
"You should stop relying on potions and spells and tricks to set those two up," Nabiki said bluntly. "Love isn't something you just tinker with."
Soun looked guilty. "Yes, but as long as they fall in love..."
It was Kasumi's turn to give their father a stern glare. "Father. You know better."
The middle aged man bowed his head in shame, tears rolling down his cheeks. Genma patted his best friend's back sympathetically before returning all of his attention to eating his meal, seemingly forgetting all about Soun's troubles. Within moments, Ranma and Akane walked sleepily into the sitting room together, rubbing their eyes and yawning.
"Good morning."
"G'mornin'."
"Good morning, you two! Did you have a good night's rest?"
"Uh-huh..."
Kasumi immediately began to prepare two more bowls of rice to be passed down to Ranma and Akane. They wandered to the other side of the table, nearest to the entrance to the garden, and seated themselves side by side near Nabiki. Nabiki studied them carefully from head to toe, screwing up her eyes slightly as she searched for even the slightest changes of behavior. Though she didn't completely approve of it, the whole love potion thing was a very intriguing matter to her. Genma was studying them in a similar manner, watching his son carefully behind the glare of his glasses.
Akane passed the bowl of rice on to Ranma, who thanked her sleepily as he took it into his left hand. He was just about to reach for his chopsticks when he realized that his hand was already holding something. Ranma didn't think right away to look at what it was. He tightened his grip around it carefully, a puzzled expression now on his face. Whatever it was, it was warm and soft, though part of its surface did seem a bit rough. It was quite firm, but not firm enough to withstand too much pressure. When he finally decided to look, his cheeks turned bright red.
It was Akane's hand.
His mind began to race. They were holding hands? How long had they been holding hands? Had anyone noticed they'd been holding hands? Did Akane know they were holding hands? The questions came to mind before he thought to let go. In an embarrassed panic, he raised their hands up into the air, still staring at it with his eyes as wide as saucers. He had half expected their hands to separate automatically. The action brought Akane's attention to it, since her body had gotten slightly raised. Of course, it also caught the attention of everyone else in the room.
"Uh... umm...!"
There was a moment of silence as everyone's eyes turned on Ranma and Akane. They then stared at their interlaced fingers. Ranma and Akane constantly switched between staring at their hands and at one another before they finally figured out how to let go and turned away, their faces red. The fathers immediately rejoiced, jumping to their feet (while still holding their bowls of rice) and singing happily to one another. Nabiki couldn't help but smirk.
"Feels good, doesn't it?"
Both martial artists looked at Nabiki in horror. Kasumi clasped her hands together and smiled.
"It's so wonderful to see you two getting along so well!"
Frustrated, Akane slammed her hands down on the table and quickly rose to her feet. "We're not getting along! That was because of the potion!"
Silence fell over the sitting room, everyone's eyes on Akane as she growled at them. He hated to admit it, but that had stung Ranma in the heart slightly. Nabiki was the first to return to normal, inserting another bit of food into her mouth. Slightly rattled, everyone followed Nabiki's example and slowly began to eat their breakfast. Akane watched them carefully for a moment plopping back down into her seat and picking up her chopsticks just as everyone else had.
"Itadakimasu!"
Ranma and Akane had agreed on a plan, which they announced during breakfast. They'd decided that they would confine themselves to Akane's room for the rest of the week. Ranma would have to arm himself with a rather large collection of comic books to keep himself busy, as well as his backpack of clothes. They would only leave the room when necessary, such as trips to the bathroom or meal times. School would have to be missed, as leaving the dojo was a definite no-go.
This plan would have worked - if it weren't for the other members of the family.
Soun and Genma wanted them to leave the house as much as possible so that other people could see them together all the time. Kasumi needed them to run errands for her, while Nabiki insisted that they most certainly could not miss school, especially with Ranma's grades being as low as they were (which had been the same reason Ranma was willing to miss school). His average was somewhere in the C range. It wasn't like he was failing, but shrewd Nabiki convinced both families otherwise.
At the moment, Ranma and Akane were in the guest room that the Saotomes usually occupied, gathering things for Ranma. He was busy stuffing his backpack with clean sets of clothes while Akane watched. She had offered to help, but Ranma insisted he didn't need any.
"Good thing it's Sunday," he said. "Don't have to go to school and face everybody yet."
Akane was confused. "You think you can prepare for that?"
Ranma looked thoughtful. "I guess not... But having to go to class right away with that love potion in full effect would probably be worse than if we had one day to ourselves."
"But today isn't exactly 'to ourselves'," Akane reminded her fiancee while eyeing the comic books that he had lying on the floor. "After this we have to go get groceries for Kasumi."
"Oh, yeah." The martial artist groaned. "Damn, we're still gonna be out in public."
Akane nodded absentmindedly as her eyes caught on one of the comic book titles. She bent over and picked it up, staring at the cover. "Yeah..."
Having finished stuffing clothes into his bag, Ranma started on the comic books. "I just hope we don't end up running into any of those guys..."
As he began to pick up some of his favorites, he saw Akane staring at one of them. She seemed to be analyzing the front cover, not daring to open the book to see what was inside.
"What're you-"
"Why on earth is there a comic series about ramen toppings?"
Akane turned the book she was holding so that Ranma could see the cover. It was entitled 'Naruto' and had a picture of a boy with spiky blonde hair on the front. Recognizing it, Ranma immediately snatched the comic book out of Akane's hand and tossed it into his bag.
"It's not about food, it's about ninjas," Ranma explained calmly. He hoped that he didn't sound like a comic book geek. He hurriedly put the rest of the comic books into his bag before Akane could scrutinize any of the other series that he read. "Though a comic about food does seem kinda interesting..."
"Maybe you should suggest it to someone," Akane laughed.
He slung the bag over one shoulder as he finished and rose to his feet. He smiled thoughtfully as they exited together, heading for Akane's bedroom.
"Nah," Ranma replied. "Besides, if I could tell someone what kinda comic to make, I'd want 'em to make one about me."
"There's that ego of yours," Akane said with a sigh as she opened her bedroom door.
"No, really!" Ranma dropped his bag on the floor. An excited smile had made its way onto his face as he began to explain his idea. "Think about it! A guy that turns into a girl when wet? Guys turning into pandas and ducks and-" Ranma caught himself before mentioning pigs. "-cats? Martial arts, love webs... Sounds like a hit to me."
His heart skipped a beat when he realized he'd mentioned "love webs".
"And what would they call it?"
Ranma thought for a moment as he walked toward Akane. "I think 'Ranma 1/2' works pretty good, doncha think?"
Akane smiled and rolled her eyes. "If you say so."
They both laughed heartily at the idea. It was only when they stopped that they realized that they had wrapped their arms around one another's waists and their faces were only a few inches apart. They stood frozen in that way for several moments, their eyes wide and their faces red. He wasn't entirely sure, but Ranma could've sworn that their faces were slowly moving closer together.
Eventually, Akane lifted her hands and pushed Ranma away gently, lowering her eyes to the floor and biting down on her lip. Ranma was equally embarrassed. For that instant, he had completely fallen to the power of the love potion.
"This is going to be harder than I thought," Akane said softly.
Ranma said nothing. He merely spun around on his heel and opened the door. He stepped slightly to the side, making room for Akane to pass.
"We should get goin'," he said, scratching the back of his head.
"Y-Yeah," Akane said with a nod, walking through the doorway.
They had to be extra careful when they were no longer in the safety of the dojo. By now, almost everyone in town knew who Ranma and Akane were. If they let their guards down for one instant and the potion slipped through, everyone would know about them before the day was done. By nightfall, they would get several violent visitors, which was something that both Ranma and Akane could do without, even if it was just for one night.
They walked side by side with about a foot of space between them. Ranma had bought himself a popsicle stick to keep him busy while Akane shopped for groceries. Another thing to keep his mind off of Akane was staying on the lookout for Shampoo, Ukyo, Ryoga, Mousse, Kuno, or anyone else who would pop out and attack them.
Akane accepted the paper bag from the grocer with a smile and a slight bow and then turned to Ranma. He stuffed part of the popsicle into his mouth as he took the bag into his arms and then turned to walk away, trailing just behind Akane. She looked over at Ranma, a concerned look on her face.
"Are you okay? Do you want me to..."
Ranma shook his head vigorously from in refusal. He then adjusted his hold on the bag so that he could comfortably continue to eat his popsicle as they walked. "I'm good."
She nodded her head as she slowly turned around and continued walking. Ranma adjusted himself again as he continued to follow her, still nibbling at his popsicle.
"Has anyone seen us yet?" Akane asked after a moment.
The martial artist raised his eyes and scanned the market. "Nope. And I think we're okay, since we're not doin' anythin' right now."
"Okay, good," Akane said with a sigh. "I don't know what I'd do if-"
"Ranma!"
Ranma bit clear through the popsicle stick at the sound of the familiar voice. He almost choked on the half that was already in his mouth and had to spit it out onto the floor. Akane rubbed Ranma's back soothingly, looking back over her shoulder to see who was coming.
"Oh, no," Akane groaned.
With one last cough, Ranma turned around slightly to see. He groaned.
"And we almost lasted two hours without anyone noticin'," Ranma drawled.
Running up the sidewalk toward them was a girl that they both recognized as Shampoo, one of Ranma's other fiancees. She was waving one arm high in the air as she approached them on her delivery bike, an excited smile on her face. Ranma sweatdropped as Shampoo slid to a stop and hastily dismounted her bike to run to him, letting it fall noisily to the ground. The Chinese Amazon grabbed Ranma's free arm, giggling cheerfully.
"H-Hi Shampoo!"
"I looking for you, Ranma!" she said to him sweetly.
Ranma laughed nervously. "Oh, really?"
Akane growled deep in her throat, her hands clenching at her sides as she glared at Shampoo. Her right eye twitched in agitation as she watched Shampoo squeeze Ranma's arm tightly and smile sweetly into his face. Her battle aura flared brilliantly, something that did not go unnoticed by Ranma. He glanced warily in Akane's direction.
"Akane? Are you...?"
Shampoo tightened her hold on Ranma's arm. "You doing something today, Ranma?"
He sweatdropped heavily as he looked back at Shampoo. "Uh... actually..."
"We're running errands for Kasumi right now," Akane managed to say through gritted teeth.
Ranma quickly switched his shocked gaze from Shampoo to Akane. He was almost certain that this was the potion acting up again. Then again, Akane became malicious and violent quite often. Shampoo merely smiled as she took the grocery bags from Ranma and handed them hastily over to Akane.
"Is okay! Akane can do errand by self! Ranma go on date with Shampoo!"
The martial artist panicked as Shampoo began to drag him away. He couldn't afford to pass out on the street because of that stupid potion! Especially not in the hands of Shampoo. Who knew what Shampoo would do to him while he was out like a light. He looked back toward Akane somewhat desperately, pressing his feet on the floor to slow Shampoo down.
"Akane...!"
Akane dropped the groceries to the floor and ran forward, grabbed Ranma by his pigtail, and yanked him out of Shampoo's clutches. Ranma winced only slightly, having gotten somewhat used to being pulled in all directions by his long hair. The Chinese Amazon looked at Akane angrily, clenching her fists at her sides.
"What you doing?"
"Ranma does not want to go on a date with you, Shampoo!"
"Who say?"
"I say!"
Shampoo narrowed her eyes. "If Akane want Ranma, then Akane fight Shampoo. Winner get Ranma for date."
The eyes of the martial artist in question widened. "Hey, hang on a sec!"
Both girls ignored him. "Bring it on!" Akane shouted.
By now, a relatively large crowd had formed a circle around the scene. Everyone watched the two girls face off, murmuring their surprise to one another. Ranma sweatdropped. They really didn't need to be attracting so much attention. Ranma and his so-called friends were infamous enough already. He immediately sprang to his feet and grabbed Akane by the shoulders, pushing her gently in the direction of the dojo. He put on his best smile under the circumstances as he led his fiancee away. Shampoo blinked, all of her previous malice vanishing from her face as she stared at her "beloved husband".
"O-kay! We should probably be gettin' back now, don't you think so, Akane? Nice talkin' to ya, Shampoo! See ya soon!"
"Hopefully not too soon!" Akane shouted over her shoulder.
Ranma immediately clasped a hand over Akane's mouth. He laughed nervously in Shampoo's direction, trying to cover up what Akane said. He definitely didn't need to deal with this.
"What's gotten into you?" he whispered into her ear as they walked away.
Akane's eyes scanned the floor as though the answer was somewhere there. "I, um..."
Upon seeing that the action had died down, the crowd began to disperse. Shampoo, unwilling to forgive Akane for her sudden insolent display, stomped one foot on the floor before bending over to pick up the bags of groceries that had been dropped.
"Akane forget groceries!" she yelled.
Shampoo then threw the brown paper bags toward Ranma and Akane with all the ferocious might that she could muster. Gasps immediately erupted from the remnants of the onlookers. At this, Ranma immediately spun on his heel and caught the bags without dropping any of the precious food that was inside. The onlookers applauded for the feat. Akane breathed a sigh of relief and took the groceries from Ranma carefully. Shampoo blinked in mild surprise as Ranma turned around, fed up.
"Knock it off, Shampoo."
The purple-haired girl put her hands on her hips. "Why Ranma so nice to Akane all of sudden?"
"Why can't you just get it through your thick skull that I don't wanna go on a date with you!"
"Tomorrow then?" Shampoo said quickly, persistent as ever.
"Not today, not tomorrow, not even next week!"
Ranma turned to leave. Still, Shampoo insisted, stepping forward.
"But Ranma love Shampoo! Wo da airen!"
At this, Ranma spun back around in a fit. "I DON'T LOVE YOU, YOU SELFISH CAT GIRL!"
The words struck a soft spot. Shampoo went rigid, shocked to hear the words come straight out of Ranma's mouth. Even Akane stared at Ranma in surprise. Everything was silent for a moment as Shampoo stared dumbly at Ranma, who could only glare back.
"Go home, Shampoo," he ordered.
He then turned back, took one of the bags from Akane, grabbed her by the hand and led her away. The crowd parted, making a clear path for Ranma and Akane to walk through. They all stared at Ranma, their eyes wide. It was only then that he truly realized what had just happened. And as he thought about it, Ranma couldn't quite explain what had come over him.
Shampoo was left thunderstruck, unable to do little more than watch as they walked down the street, away from her.
"Why did you yell at Shampoo like that, Ranma?" Akane asked incredulously.
They were back in the safety of Akane's room. Akane sat at her desk, finishing off her homework for the next day, while Ranma lay down on the floor, balancing and lifting fifty pound barbells with his bare feet. The pigtailed boy turned his head so that he was looking at Akane, tossing one of the heavy weights up in the air and catching it again with his foot.
"What about you?" he answered quickly. "What'd you think you were doin', pickin' a fight with Shampoo? You usually go after me when that kinda stuff happens."
Akane paused in her writing, her brow furrowing thoughtfully. "I'm not really sure." She shook her head slowly, dismissing it, as she continued to do her work. "It might've just been the potion. But what about your outburst?"
Ranma raised his entire body off the floor with his arms, still balancing the barbells on the soles of his feet. He began to swing himself gently, his eyes on the weights, making sure they never fell.
"Well... It mighta been the potion. But I couldn't just let her hit you."
Akane drew in a small breath, her cheeks turning pink. "R-Really?"
"I mean, if you and Shampoo got into a real fight, I'm pretty sure Shampoo would win."
Akane's grip around her pencil tightened in anger. "Really..."
Ranma continued without noticing. "She's got a lot more fighting experience than you do. And with that old hag trainin' her, she's got the advantage of havin' some pretty good techniques. Bein' an Amazon, she was probably born with some crazy strength. As for you, well... you haven't been doin' much trainin' lately, other than your morning jogs and cinderblock smashing."
Frustrated, Akane dropped her pencil, spun around in her seat, grabbed one of the barbells off Ranma's feet and thrust it toward his head. With a loud yelp, Ranma managed to dodge the weight by a hair. Of course, this caused the other barbell to fall, dropping heavily into Ranma's gut. The boy shouted out in pain, rolling over so his forehead was pressed to the futon, his hands on his stomach.
"If Shampoo's such a good martial artist, maybe you should just go and marry her!"
"I don't wanna marry her!" he managed to wheeze out. "She's a psychopath! I'd much rather marry-"
Ranma immediately cut himself off. His eyes grew wide and he clasped one hand over his mouth. His cheeks flushed red. It was a good thing that Akane couldn't see his face while he was in that position. Akane's gaze turned slightly less vicious.
"Who? Who would you rather marry?"
His whole body went rigid. 'I... I almost... At least, I think I... Was I really about to say...?'
He couldn't even bring himself to finish the thought. He struggled to get into a sitting position, his back facing Akane. He folded his arms over his chest and hoped to high heaven that Akane couldn't see the redness in his face as he moved.
"Who were you going to-"
"Nobody, okay?"
Akane stared at Ranma, her cheeks pink as she figured it out. "Ranma..."
A long, awkward silence followed as Ranma tried to think of some way to cover up what he had said. Clearly the "nobody" line hadn't worked. It just seemed to make it more obvious. He wasn't sure whether or not he should deny the statement. Would denying it help? Ranma couldn't be sure.
He cursed under his breath at this failure, pressing his lips into a tight line. He didn't dare say anything more. Ranma strained his ears, waiting to hear something from Akane, but heard nothing but silence. At length, he could hear graphite scratching on paper as Akane returned to her homework. Still, neither of them spoke.
The awkward silence was eating at Ranma's heart. The potion had flared up again, demanding that Ranma go over to Akane and hug her or kiss her. He fought the urge off, lying down on the futon with his arms behind his head. He rolled onto his side that Akane couldn't see his face. He lay perfectly still, waiting for sleep to overcome him.
As Ranma began to fall asleep, he could hear light footfalls approaching him. He heard a rustling of clothes and was suddenly vaguely aware of a body hovering over him. Though Ranma's eyes were shut and he was practically asleep, his heartbeat involuntarily quickened. The body hesitantly drew closer, and a pair of lips touched Ranma's cheek in a soft kiss.
"Goodnight, Ranma."
Then the presence left. A small, drowsy smile played on Ranma's lips.
Author's Note: Before anyone threatens me with bodily harm: YES, there is more to come. :D
Okay, this one was a tadrandom. A lot is happening in this chapter, so I had to do a lot of jumping from scene to scene. I was kinda hoping that that would help make it feel more like the TV show, but I'm not sure if that succeeded.
I wanna clear some stuff up: Ranma is NOT a pervert. He's just a typical guy, and currently under the influence of a strong love potion. Yes, Naruto has a cameo here.This is notout of pure fandom to Naruto, but because it makes sense to me that someone like Ranma would like to read that kind of comic book. I know that Naruto was published after Ranma, but in my world, everything crosses over. :P And also: Shampoo is poisoned honey (not my saying, I got that from my friend). No offense, Shampoo fans, but she just poses such a threat to my plans.