Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and Full Moon o Sagashite are not mine.

Fumbling for the Full Moon

By ToastedPine

Chapter 5

Akane's skin tingled from the difference in temperature as she exited the air-conditioned theatre. Around her there were couples talking, laughing, or walking together in silence, and for once in her life she didn't feel a sense of envy or isolation. The movie had been wonderful, not that she remembered any of it, Ranma had been perfect for the entire hour and a half, never letting go of her hand, and stealing glances at her when he thought she wasn't looking. It was a cute, cliched behavior you would see from a regular boy in love, and she savored every single second.

Nearly euphoric from how well their "date" was going, she let go of his hand and wrapped herself around his arm. As she did so, she felt Ranma go rigid.

Looking up, she saw that he was glancing uncertainly at her, and smiled radiantly at him to alleviate his concern. 'I wish we could stay like this forever, I feel like we actually have a chance together, out here, away from all the problems,' she thought to herself. She saw the row of clothing stores across the street and inspiration struck. "C'mon Ranma, I want to go try on some clothes," she said and nudged him towards it.

'Maybe this'll work after all,' Ranma thought. He had a good time on the "non-date." They watched the movie, which wasn't all that bad... even though he didn't know what they watched, and he prayed Akane wouldn't ask him to comment.
After the movie, Akane dragged him around while she did some shopping. He didn't care much for the waiting, but he admitted it was worth the boredom to see her in all those outfits. She managed to look nice no matter what she wore.

They took a break at a small cafe and talked about school and other safe topics over cake and tea. 'I'm not even having trouble keeping my foot out of my mouth,' he was amazed at how easily he was speaking to her. He wanted to spend some more time alone with Akane but the giant clock at the center of the strip mall rang six and they had to return.

Ranma strolled behind Akane, smiling at the sight of her giggling while skipping randomly. Why he ever called her sexless or uncute was beyond him. It was obvious that she was the most wanted girl in school for a reason and he was darn lucky to be engaged to her.

And then he sensed it, the familiar sensation of someone falling towards him, a cursed flaming meteor that had a single mission:

To make his life hell.

The next thing he knew, he was holding Shampoo in his arms, while she herself had a purple ribbon in her hand. "Airen!" She gave him a hug. "Shampoo too too lucky to find you. Ribbon get carried by strange wind all the way over here, and Shampoo chase. Ribbon must know Shampoo want to see you." She snuggled against him some more.

"Raaaaaaaannmmmaaaaaaaaaaa!" He was brought back to reality by the heat rolling off Akane in waves, gradually increasing in frequency and temperature. Part of him knew that the day had been too perfect, and he never should have let his hopes up. Closing his eyes, he braced for the inevitable trip towards lower earth orbit...

... only, the impact never came. Instead, Akane stood, openly weeping, her eyes reflecting sadness and a quiet acceptance, her shoulders devoid of any tension. So complete was the defeat shown that even Shampoo slowly dismounted.

"We were doomed from the start, weren't we Ranma?" She said, the dim light on the street casting shadows upon her countenance. "I should have never tried... WE, should have never tried." With that, Akane turned and ran.

"Akane," He called, much too weakly. He wanted to run after her, but in a rare moment of insight, he had the presence of mind to ask what he'd do once he caught up. There was no answer.

"Shampoo think airen need to be alone," the amazon said and disappeared onto the rooftops.

Akane was breathing raggedly as she stopped beside the fenced canal. 'No sign of Ranma anywhere,' she noted, unsure of how to feel about that. She knew it wasn't his fault the purple haired bimbo had shown up, but she couldn't help herself. What were the chances that Shampoo would find them in a crowded shopping strip, on the other side of town, FAR away from Ucchan's and the Nekohanten?
She felt tears running down her cheeks and tried in vain to stop them. The date had gone so well, like something she always dreamed an average romantic date would be. Love was there, she couldn't deny that after all they've been through together. After careful reflection over the past week, she also knew that she trusted him. Ranma didn't go to Shampoo, Ukyo, or any other girl behind her back, he only had eyes for her and that's why it hurt so much.

Today had been perfect. Today had been calm. Today had been NORMAL. For the first time since the pigtailed martial artist blew into her life like a hurricane, she had a taste of what it would be like to have that illusive something that Kuno, and later Ranma had denied her, and it was sweet. And then Shampoo broke the spell, forcing her to face reality.

She had no illusions about love. Nabiki had warned her early not to take the engagement too seriously, there were options for an out if she really chose to end the arrangement. A future with Ranma would be wonderful; she had no doubt that he would solve his problems and Genma's mistakes. However, the taste of what she could be having would not be denied, Akane recognized that she wasn't willing to wait for him to grow up. She had her own life to live.

Lunch hours sucked when you have no food, Ranma morosely regarded the lunch bread in his hands from his spot on the rooftop. He glared at the unremarkable brown surface, worse yet it was plain, old, unflavored lunch bread. He'd forgotten his lunch on the way to school, rushing off to practice finer ki manipulation... and to avoid seeing Akane.

Holding up two glowing fingers, Ranma allowed himself some satisfaction, even through recent events, he was still the best, capable of learning techniques quickly.

"There you are, Saotome." He saw Nabiki coming up the stairs.

"Hi Nabiki," he slowly greeted back. Was she going to talk to him about Akane?

Nabiki smirked. "Relax, I'm here to help."

"Okay, NOW I'm worried."

"Keep that up Saotome and I may not be so pleasant."

He lowered his head. "Fine."

"You're going to have a basketball game in a few days. I thought you'd like to see some tapes of who you're up against. Here," she tossed a tape towards him, "give them back to me when you're done."

Before turning to leave, Nabiki paused. "It's not your fault. As much as I'd like to blame you for hurting Akane, this was her decision."

Not wanting to think about Akane, he distracted himself with the task at hand. 'It'll be a bad idea to not watch this, if I know Nabiki, she has bets going on the game, and it looks like she's betting on Furinkan to win.' Ranma got up. 'I guess I'll have to visit the AV club or the basketball team's room.'

He soon discovered that the AV club had been demolished in a previous... accident, and the basketball team's room was locked. Fortunately, asking the faculty revealed that the Home Economics room did have a small viewing booth at the back used for cooking shows and such.

He was in the middle of the second quarter, wearing a pair of oversized headphones, when he heard the sound two girls walk into the cooking area over the announcer's comments.

"Thanks for helping me out Chisato," Yuka's voice registered at the back of Ranma's mind, "I can't wait to see the look on sempai's face when he tastes the bento I make for him tomorrow"
The ruffling of paper and the metallic ringing of pans reached him, proving that thin plastic partitions and ill fitting listening gear did not provide good insulation-- much to his annoyance. Touga Kiryu made another graceful three point shot and the crowd rejoiced, their cheers mixing with the sizzling oil.

Sionji evaded the defense practically unhindered, his moves forceful and precise, his dribbling coinciding with the rhythm of chopping knives.

"It's no problem, my dumb boyfriend asked me to make a bento so I've wanted to try this recipe first... even though it'll go to Ranma, I feel like there's pride involved." The mention of his name caused Ranma's attention to stray from the screen, though not for long; he already knew the bentos were going to be home made.

"What! That insensitive jerk! How could your boyfriend ask you something like that? Ranma too, this is a new low even for him." Now THAT got his attention. He shut off the TV and did his best to stay quiet. What the heck did he do now!

"Oh Yuka, you poor, naive little girl. I'm guessing this is your first boyfriend."

"Yes... but, I don't see what that has to do with anything."

"Guys are stupid, you could be dating a rocket scientist and he still won't be smart where it counts. They can't help it. Why do you think they're so desperate to find a girlfriend? Without us women, they'd go extinct, taking us with them, which is why I take care of my big idiot."

"That doesn't sound quite right..."

"Whatever." The sizzling grew louder for a moment as if some liquid made contact with the oil. "My boyfriend's part of the basketball team, and this has happened before, when they made a deal with Nabiki to have Ranma Play for bentos. Since he's almost always broke, he asked me to make him a bento while hiding who it was really for. You know how word gets around though, on the day of the game, every girl with a basketball player for a boyfriend knew what was going on so we made a plan. We attached messages to our lunches and presented them to Ranma ourselves, and then had fun with the Ohtori team."

Yuka giggled. "Well that's one way to get even, but weren't you worried about the fiance brigade?"

"Oh them, nah, Nabiki guaranteed our safety. She understood what we were angry about... I think."

"So your boyfriend and his teammates hired Ranma again."

"That's the long and short of it."

"Doesn't Ranma know that we only cook for the ones we care about? He's the worst!" Chisato's voice was resigned. "I can't really blame Ranma, he's the thickest of all the guys out there. I'm sure that the only thing going through his mind was the extra food he'd get. It hurts that my boyfriend would give something filled with my feelings away so easily, but I doubt he sees it that way"
Ranma slumped in his seat, that girl was right, he was stupid. As he snuck out, he considered his options; knowing what he knew now, guilt laden lunches would be hard to swallow. What should he do? If he plays, then the girls would do what they did last time, making talking to Akane even harder. If he doesn't play, he loses honor for going back on his word. It was like everything else in his life, always one length beyond his control. The memory of Akane standing before him in sad resignation kept playing in his mind. He had to change if he wanted those he cared about to be happy. 'I won't give up, not anymore. I'll make this right one way or another.'

The Furinkan basketball team warmed up, doing some stretching, shooting, and plays. Ranma stood at the sidelines, scrutinizing every player on the floor. He nodded to himself when he was satisfied with his assessment, and waved to Jiro.

"Ranma, I'm glad you could make it!" the team captain greeted.

"I watched Ohtori's tapes," Ranma said, his face hard as stone. "You want to win, then the training has to be tough, and we only have a few days left so hurry up and pass me a ball."

Ranma caught the ball and raised his voice so everyone could hear. "We're going to play a game. All of you against me, you can switch team members mid-game, no time-outs." his grin bordering on manic, "and we ain't stopping 'till I say so."

Ranma was the only one left standing when the clock's hand reached six. "Not bad," he said, pulling at his shirt to stop it from clinging to his sweat covered back, "same time tomorrow."

'We'll make it, all that's left is Mitsuki,' he thought. 'I need to look at her ki again to see if I can manipulate it.'

Mitsuki laid yet another letter to rest in her drawer. She looked upon the growing pile within with sad eyes, her hand hanging without any strength on the handle. 'Maybe I should give up...'

"Mitsuki." Soft rapping came from the sliding screen. "You there?"

Recognizing Ranma's outline, she shoved the drawer closed. "Ranma-kun? What are you doing here?" She straightened out her pink pajamas with white lace trim and opened the screen to reveal the pig-tailed martial artist hanging from the rooftop.

"Came by to look at your ki, and see if the technique I learned will work."

"Okay." Mitsuki hesitantly stepped back into her room. "What so you need me to do?"

Ranma put a hand on the small of her back and guided her to sit in front her desk, noticing that the drawer wasn't fully closed. She gasped. 'Oh no, it's open!'

"Mitsuki, you alright?" He asked, trying to discover what startled her, noticing the drawer containing fancy stationery, and a full blown grin developed. "Those are love letters aren't they?"

"No-- they're nothing." Mitsuki's face was red as she tried to close and lock the drawer. Unfortunately, Ranma's superior speed was able to open it and stanch up the stack before she could even reach.

Ranma flipped through them idly. "Look at how thick this is, he must've written back... to you..." He frowned. "Why are all these addresses in your handwriting? Don't tell me you haven't mailed any of these, there must be at least thirty in here!"

"The rest are in my closet..." she said silently, grasping at her other arm to stem the tears that built from the deep sadness within. She could hide it from him; Ranma would leave her alone if she asked, but she had no one to talk to. For Nearly two years, she held it in. Even in a crowd, she felt alone.

She saw Ranma was looking dumbly at the large box he'd found in Mitsuki's closet. Was it okay to tell him? She had no one else, not Tanaka-san, and certainly not her grandmother. Her friends at school were casual acquaintances at best. It seemed that this strange teenager, who she scarcely knew anything about, who she knew was hiding the details of his life from her, was the only one she could talk to.

She stood up, walked to her desk, and pulled out an astronomy book. Flipping it open, she pulled out a picture and handed it to Ranma, and sat a few feet away. "I met Eichi at an orphanage when I was six. We got along so well, the two of us were inseparable." She smiled wistfully. "He confessed to me, Ranma. He said that he loved me, and I couldn't give him an answer. How could I? I never even thought about that kind of love." Her tears trickled down her cheeks which she made no effort to dry. "Then... then he got adopted. When I saw him off at the airport, and I couldn't even say goodbye. He smiled at me anyway, and told me to forget him." She paused, feeling Ranma's presence near her, giving her the will to continue.

"I was alone in the orphanage again, because of my health; I was never able to play with the other kids. Eichi had been there for me, I started to miss his presence, like there was a part of me that was missing ever since he left. It took me a while realize that I loved him too." She wondered why she felt so peaceful, talking to Ranma like this.

"I begged my sensei at the orphanage to give me Eichi's address, and I started writing letters to him, but he never wrote back, not once. After a while, I stopped mailing them.

He's too kind Ranma, he never wrote back because he knew it would hurt me to live so far away from him, assuming the chances we'd ever be together would hurt me more, but he was wrong. Seeing Wakaouji-sensei after grandmother took me in, knowing that death could claim me at any moment has let me see that I'd rather go on loving him from afar than not at all."

"I want to be a singer Ranma, not only because I love music, but also because I want Eichi to listen to my heart."

"Don't worry Mitsuki," Ranma forced a smile, "now sit still so I can look at your ki. I'll make sure Eichi hears you."

Students from two different schools made their way to the Gym. The day of the basketball game between Ohtori and Furinkan had arrived. One school's students had very conservative uniforms, navy blue long sleeved cadet uniforms for boys, and light teal dresses that reach past the knees for girls. The other school's uniforms were another matter entirely, while the guys wore cadet uniforms, theirs looked to be made from material of a finer quality, the creases were impeccably pressed, and some went so far as shoulder guards with tassels. The women from the same school weren't any batter, neatly pleated wearing short aqua skirts and overly puffy, white, short sleeves and bright red neck ties beneath matching aqua sailor-style collars.

"Furinkan high's gonna kick your asses!" yelled a student standing in line.

"Hardly," another sniffed, "you are remiss to forget that we've won all other games against your pitiful school."

"Yeah, but back then, we didn't have Ranma, your pack of pretty-boys are so wasted."

Inside, Ranma watched the basketball team from his spot on a roof beam, covered in shadow. He saw the basketball team, especially the captain scanning the crowd, most likely searching for him.

"I promised to help and I did, the rest is in your hands." He had done his best to prepare them. Ohtori's team was made up of three talented players but they were all too confident in their individual skills, the rest of Ohtori's players we mediocre at best. Leaning back on the wall, he watched the fans take their seats and the game start.

At first, Ohtori blasted straight through Fruinkan's defense, leading by a staggering 52 to 21 by the end of the second quarter. Most of the Furinkan players were panicked; dribbling unsteadily, missing passes, and shouting curses. They could do nothing against against Touga Kiryuu's long three pointers, Kyouichi Siaonji's fiery charges, or Miki Kaoru's brilliant timing.

He had gotten worried until he noticed Jiro's movements and orders change near the start of the third quarter. The Furinkan team captain called a time out after Touga scored another three points. He couldn't hear what Jiro said to his teammates while they were huddled together, but he had a good guess.

When Furinkan stepped back onto the floor, they were like an entirely different team. Their defense was an impenetrable wall, blocking Ohtori's key players every step of the way. Offensive attack patterns also shifted from desperate scrambles to create openings to well calculated passes and shots. Ohtori's strategy of passing to the best players quickly fell apart, and the game ended with a 5 point lead for Furinkan high. The crowd went wild, rushing towards the court to celebrate their victory.

Ranma jumped down from his vantage point, hands in his pockets, waiting patiently.

"Ranma!" Jiro pushed his way out of the crowd, followed by the rest of his team, and bowed to him. "Thank, we couldn't have done it without you."

"I didn't do nothing," he grinned. "You guys won on your own."

He pointed a thumb at the girls holding bentos to the side, "If you want to thank someone, thank them." And with that, he headed for the exit. "I got somewhere to be, see ya."

Ranma found one more reason to be glad that he hadn't joined the basketball game that day as he focused on Mitsuki's ki pathways from where he sat cross-legged behind her. He was going to need every ounce of ki at his disposal, controlling even a small amount of energy so tightly was taking a lot more out of him than he'd like to admit. Hinako was also there, quietly observing from her spot on the floor far enough away to avoid being a distraction.

"Get ready, I'm gonna hit another."

Mitsuki nodded, prompting him to push the blue light into her back. Happosai's alterations to Hinako's metabolism were ingenious enough to make him respect the old goat a little.

"nghh..." Mitsuki winced when Ranma's ki passed through her skin.

Ranma paused. "Sorry."

"I... I'm fine Ranma-san." Mitsuki smiled at him through the pain.

Young Hinako titled her head at that then frowned. "I don't remember it hurting when Grandpa Happy did it."

"My techniques not perfect ya know," Ranma said, his brow creasing in irritation. "'Sides I gotta change this if Mitsuki's gonna look like a sixteen year old by the end of the week. I'm usin' my ki ta speed things up and reinforce her pathways so they flow right. 'Sides you were younger then... err... whatever-- point is your pathways were a lot less likely to try to force their way back." He knew having foreign ki messing around with a person's natural flows would hurt.

'Remember she agreed to this,' Ranma thought to himself in a useless attempt to suppress his guilt. Recalling the deal they had struck four nights ago did nothing to stop Mitsuki's cries from twisting into him like a knife.

"Kyaaaa! Ranma-san is sooo scary." The girl mock cowered, covering her head with her hands and facing away.

Ranma waited for her to settle down, "Ya had your fun." He tried to look annoyed but couldn't keep himself from smiling. "Listen for a sec will ya? This is important."

"Okay." Mitsuki timidly peaked at him from beneath her bangs.

"I have three conditions; one, that you eat well. Food makes your body stronger so you can do the stuff you want. Two, you let me put your metabolism back to normal after one year."

"Only a year? How am I going to reach..." She trailed off at Ranma's hardened gaze.

"Using the technique for a long time is dangerous for non-martial artists, if you use it for too long, it'll damage your pathways. On top of that, all the technique does is give you a healthier body to fight off the tumor, it's not a real cure, which is why my third condition is that after a year, you promise on your honor that you'll get the operation no matter what happens."

Mitsuki stayed silent, the tension rose as the seconds ticked away. Ranma ran a finger around his collar. What was she thinking? Would she reject his conditions and hate him when he refused to teach her the technique?

"I... promise." Mitsuki said quietly.

"Huh?"

Mitsuki locked eyes with Ranma and he was blown away by her smile. "I promise, I'll undergo the operation. I'm sorry for being so selfish; you really do care don't you?"

Ranma blushed, suddenly finding the "Phases of the Moon" poster on her wall very interesting. "Y-yeah, I want you to get better as soon as possible." He felt something warm and soft press against his side, "Hey!" He looked down at Mistuki hugging him and tried to pry her off.

Mitsuki resisted his attempts and laughed. "I love you Ranma-san!" she said.

"S-stupid kid, don't use lo... that, word, so easily." Ranma turned a brighter red.

"I'll do my best for a whole year and I'll never give up. I can do anything if you're around to support me." Her grip on his shirt tightened as she whispered into his shirt. "I'll really become a singer, won't I, Ranma-san?"

Ranma had no idea what becoming a singer involved, and he didn't care. He'd do everything in his power to make her dream come true. "You've got my word as a martial artist... and your friend that I'll be there every step of the way."

It had been an hour since the initial treatment had begun, which made Ranma marvel at Mitsuki's determination. At the same time, he silently cursed as his ki vision began fade. He gritted his teeth and pressed on, digging into his remaining reserves.

After what seemed like an eternity, he relaxed, lying completely back with an audible thud. "Ughh... that's the last of it."

Mitsuki used one hand to keep herself upright while kneeling, her other arm was pressed against her body as if trying to keep her soul from seeping out. Still, she had enough in her to swallow the pain and smile. "Thank you Ranma-san," her voice was weak and shaky.

Ranma lifted his head and was surprised that, even after being in so much pain, she still had the strength to smile for him. She had lived life one day at a time, knowing that her life could end at any moment, and yet, she followed her dreams with solid determination that refused to crumble despite the possibility of an uncertain future. He gave her a thumbs up. "Ya did good, kid. Tomorrow's the audition, we'll wait until then so your body can adjust to its new metabolism." He laid back down and closed his eyes.

A moment later, Mitsuki crawled to Ranma's side and curled up to rest, close enough to that she could feel his warmth, but far enough not to touch. Young Hinako, not to be left out, dragged a few thin sheets out of the closet, and draped them on top of her student and Mitsuki, then settled herself beneath Ranma's arms, using his body as a pillow.

Even Kasumi's ever present cheer faltered in the intangible atmosphere that coalesced whenever Ranma and Akane occupied the same room. Things didn't seem... nice between them anymore.

To the side, she watched Mr. Saotome and her Father engaged shogi. She could tell they could feel it too-- based on how much they were concentrating on the board and very little else. They hadn't even switched the board position for the last hour.

Kasumi went into the kitchen, and let her lips curve downwards out of view. She hoped whatever it was between them would get better soon. If only she had insisted on talking to Ranma that night when he came home late, it was clear something was wrong. Then again, she might have just been imagining Ranma's distress...

Kasumi bit hard on her lower lip. She couldn't carry everyone's burden! What could she do to make a difference anyway? If by some miracle she did help the two get along together, the next disaster waiting in line would be ready to pounce. They needed to learn how to solve their own problems for the sake of their marriage.

Ranma and Akane were meant to be together, after all.

She went to the sink, rinsing her hands to wash away the filth, and the kettle of water she had set to boil earlier whistled. Kasumi dried off her hands and poured some tea, then finished the serving tray with the best sweets and snacks she could gather.

Drawing a breath, she slipped on her happy face. While she couldn't act directly, she could offer pleasant place to rest and an ear to listen. What they needed the most was a break from each other, and the pressure of their engagement.

"This is all you can do Kasumi," she reminded herself, not for the first time, and definitely not the last.

Author's Rambling:

Many thanks to J. St. C. Patrick and Slade3 for prereading, and to Fallacies to hammering out my story bumps.

No preview this time, I've been considering adding some other extra instead. It'll probably depend on my mood.

Some of you may recognize members of the Ohtori basketball team. Fans of that particular series probably want to BBQ me alive for my blatant abuse of the series. I say only this in my defense, "Saotome Secret Technique, Runawaaaaaayyyy!"