Sendai
By M. Zephyr

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Ranma x Akane. See the bottom of Chapter 1 for an author's note dealing with the entirety of this story.

Warning: brief lime scenes in this chapter.

Chapter 10. End of First Term

One Friday evening not long before the end of term, Akane and Ranma returned to the apartment from ice skating, faces still flushed from their exertions. It had taken a great deal of practice, but Ranma had finally become an excellent skater. Standing just inside the door, knowing that Kasumi and Tofu had planned to go to a movie tonight and would not be back for at least another hour, Ranma pulled Akane into his arms and kissed her deeply. As they felt the passion rise strongly within themselves, they pulled each other into an even tighter embrace.

"Mmm, God your lips taste good Akane!"

"Well don't stop," she replied, pulling him back so that their lips met again. After a few minutes, however, when they shifted position slightly, Ranma's skates hit him in the back from where they were slung over his shoulder. he winced and pulled away.

"What do you say we put our skates away, and then I'll meet you in your bedroom to continue this. Okay?"

"Okay, Ranma," she said a little huskily. "Don't take too long."

"Don't worry. I'll be right with you."

But when he threw open his bedroom door and strode in, he found a situation which made him stop short in shock after two steps. Kasumi was sitting in Tofu's lap on the bed, their lips locked together, and Tofu's arm was clearly under Kasumi's shirt. The outline of his fingers could be easily traced through the thin material, and those fingers were engaged in an activity which was anything but innocent. Tofu's eyes widened in surprise as they locked with Ranma's.

"Oh crap," Ranma said. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," as he backed out the door, closing it behind him.

He walked across the hall and into the other bedroom where Akane was waiting for him. The smile faded from her face and a look of concern replaced it, as she took in the dazed expression which he wore.

"Ranma, what is it? What's wrong?"

"Tofu. Kasumi. Improper. Urgh."

"What? They weren't ... I mean, they wouldn't ... they're not even engaged!" Akane realized that she was blushing very brightly.

Ranma managed to get his brain operating again. "No, no. They're not ... doing that. Just ... a little improper. Um." He made a gesture in the vicinity of his chest, and realized that he was also blushing.

"Oh." Akane giggled. "Even that's pretty hard to believe. Good heavens, prim and proper Kasumi, who'd have believed it? Wait until I tell Nabiki!" She giggled again.

Ranma cocked an eye at her. "I must say you're taking it more calmly than I am. It's going to take a while for me to get over the shock. I think that I'll go out and see what's on television. Want to join me?"

She pouted then shrugged. "Maybe later, I still need to finish putting away my laundry." She pointed to the clothes lying on her futon, where they had been left earlier that day.

A little later Kasumi, looking completely unmussed, joined Akane in the bedroom. "So what did Ranma say to you?" she asked Akane, sounding casually curious.

"He only mentioned that he accidently walked in on you and Tofu making out in the other bedroom, and that you were being, in his words, a little improper."

Kasumi giggled. "Perhaps I should make little 'occupied' signs to hang on the bedroom doors, like the one we had for the furoba back in Nerima."

Akane snorted. "It never seemed to do a whole lot of good there."

"And how well are you and Ranma getting along these days? Is he trying to be a little improper with you?"

Akane blushed. "All we've done so far is kiss, although the shock you gave him seems to have spoiled most of that for tonight. I ... I think I might be ready for a little more, but it's not something I can come out and ask him to do!" She was now blushing even more furiously.

Kasumi nodded sagely, but forbore to give advice. After all of the pressure which had been applied to these two in the past, she judged it far wiser to leave them alone to find their own way.

"There's something else that's bothering me a little, that maybe you can help me out with, Kasumi. There's a school dance coming up at the end of term, and I'd like to go, but so far Ranma hasn't asked me! I don't know if he just hasn't thought about it, or if he's taking it for granted that I'll go with him."

"It could be either one, or even that he wants to ask you but is unsure if you want to go. After all, neither one of you have a very good track record of being able to enjoy school events. If you'd like, I can ask Tofu to drop a hint into his ear."

"Thanks, Kasumi. I'd appreciate that."

A little later, the message having been passed along, Tofu joined Ranma out in the living room.

"Hey, doc! Sorry about interrupting you earlier."

Tofu waved this aside. "Don't worry about it Ranma, you didn't know we'd decided to change our plans tonight, so you had every reason to expect the apartment to be empty. We should have been paying enough attention to hear the front door when you came in."

"I suppose. It was still pretty embarrassing."

Tofu grinned. "I'll bet. For all the things you've seen in your life, you're still a remarkably shy young man, Ranma."

Ranma hoped he wasn't blushing, but feared that he was.

"So, I understand your school has a dance coming up soon," the doctor continued.

Ranma felt his face grow even hotter. "Uh, yeah? Where'd you hear about that? I've been thinking about it off and on, wondering whether to go. Akane and I had some pretty bad experiences with school functions back at Furinkan, so I'm not sure whether she'd want to go to this. Not quite sure how I feel about it, either."

Tofu contrived to look puzzled. "You're not sure whether she wants to go? Haven't you talked about it with her?"

"Ah, well. Not exactly. Not yet."

Tofu pursed his lips and shook his head slightly. "Well, Ranma, you ought to be learning by now that the right way to find out what she wants is to talk to her, not to try to guess what she wants or to make up your mind by yourself. As a matter of fact, a little bird told me that she would like to go to the dance, with her boyfriend, but she expects to be asked."

"Oh," Ranma replied, rather sheepishly. "You're right, I ought to know better by now. I guess I'll ask her then."

"That's the spirit. You coming to bed soon?"

Ranma shook his head slightly, turning back to the television. "Naw, I've gotten interested in this movie. It'll be on for another hour or so."

"Okay. Kasumi and I have plans for early tomorrow, though, so I'm going to turn in now." Tofu turned back toward the hall.

"Good-night doc. See you tomorrow."

A few minutes after Tofu's departure, Akane came out dressed in her pajamas, and joined Ranma on the couch. She drew her feet up underneath herself, and leaned up against his shoulder. "Kasumi's gone to bed already. She said that she and Tofu are going out early tomorrow."

"Yeah, that's what he told me too. He's gone to bed also."

Akane looked at the television. The character on screen at the moment seemed to have a rather cold and metallic smile. "Whatcha watching?" she asked.

Ranma shrugged to indicate that he was clueless as to the title. "It's a spy movie. Some bad guys have stolen an American space shuttle, and a British agent is trying to find out what's going on. The plot somehow involves some nerve gas, as well."

"Oh." She turned her attention to the television, and started watching as well. Some time passed.

"Akane?"

"Mmm?"

Ranma sounded a little apologetic as he addressed the issue Tofu had brought to his attention. "You know, there's a dance coming up at the school soon. I wasn't too sure about it, since that kind of thing has been a bit unlucky for us in the past, but would you like to go?"

Akane smiled. "We haven't really had too much trouble at this school so far. I think I'd like to go with you. Thanks for asking."

"Sure thing." The boy now sounded relieved.

They turned their attention back to the movie again but, when they noticed that the final credits were rolling, they realized that at some point they had started kissing, and they had no idea how the movie had concluded. On further consideration, they decided that this was fine with them, and turned in for the night to have some pleasant dreams.

On the night of the school dance, Akane emerged from her bedroom wearing a red, clinging, off-the-shoulder dress. Tofu caught sight of her first and his eyes widened with appreciation. He nudged Ranma who turned around, saw Akane, and suddenly found it difficult to remember how to breathe.

"Wow, Akane! That dress looks ... wow! You look great!"

Akane gave him a slight bow, and looked admiringly at the figure he cut in his suit. "Thank you, Ranma. You look pretty good yourself. While I do like your Chinese shirts, it's nice to see you wearing other styles like that once in awhile."

Ranma proffered his arm. "Shall we, my lady?"

She smiled and took the arm. "Yes, let's."

They left the apartment and entered the taxi which Ranma had called, rather than walking to the school. A few minutes later he was helping Akane to step out of the cab, where they joined other couples entering the school gates. The night was quite warm, and even a little humid.

"Hey Ranma, Tendo-san!" Daiki, one of Ranma's friends, was waving at them. His other arm was linked with that of one of Akane's friends, Rinko. They walked over and joined the other couple.

"I didn't think that you two were planning to come tonight," Rinko admitted. "While everybody else has been talking about the dance for weeks, you two never said a word."

Akane punched Ranma's arm. "This baka here only asked me last week."

Daiki smirked. "Not too smart, Ranma. You need to learn to treat your girl better than that."

"Pay attention to him, Ranma," Akane teased, making as if to punch him again. He pulled his arm back protectively.

"Okay, okay. Jeez."

Everyone laughed, and they all walked into the gym where the band was just finishing setting up. As the evening progressed, Akane and Ranma enjoyed several dances together, getting to hold each other closely during some of them. At other times they rested and drank punch, while chatting with friends. About three hours in, as a dance was winding down, Akane placed her mouth close to her fiancé's ear. "It's getting awfully warm in here, Ranma. Why don't we step outside for a while to cool down?"

Ranma nodded, feeling somewhat overheated himself. He took her hand and led the way to the door, out into the school grounds, and around the side of the school. They bypassed several other couples, heading for a spot that was fairly private, beyond some trees near the wall. There was even a bench there, on which Ranma sat, pulling Akane down onto his lap. Their lips met, and soon they were so deeply involved with one another that they lost all track of the dance they had left behind.

While they kissed, Ranma was slowly stroking Akane's back, while she was rubbing the back of his head and neck. He brought his other hand around, and gently brushed the backs of his fingers along her cheek and neck, sending shivers down her spine. As he went to put his arm around her again, he misjudged his position and brushed his hand across her breast. He winced inwardly at his clumsiness, expecting her to break off the kiss and have some sharp words with him, but instead she moaned strongly into his mouth and seemed to press herself against him even more firmly.

Ranma froze for a moment, remembering the scene he had inadvertently witnessed between Tofu and Kasumi, and how he had wanted to do something like that with Akane but hadn't dared. Unexpectedly, Akane had not objected to his accidental caress; she had even seemed to enjoy it. Slowly, and with much trepidation, expecting to get slapped or worse at any moment, he brought his left hand back up and lightly caressed her breast again. He was rewarded with another moan. He placed his hand there again, and started to lightly squeeze and caress her, remembering how his touches had felt on his own breasts the few times he had experimented in his cursed form. Akane started kissing him even more passionately, and at one point even tilted her head back and whispered, "oh, yesss Ranma."

Ranma continued to give part of his attention to his kisses and the hand which was still stroking her back, but another part of his attention was definitely on what his other hand was doing. After a while he decided to give equal attention to her other breast, and then slowly alternated between them. He was painfully rigid against the underside of her left thigh where she was sitting in his lap, and both of them were starting to breathe very raggedly.

It was doubtful whether, left to themselves, they would ever have stopped. However at some point somebody started honking a car horn, from the direction of the parking lot, and the noise broke the spell they were under. Ranma dropped his hand, and they pulled their faces apart, each taking note of the intense desire staring out of the other's eyes.

"There's no question that I'm here with the most beautiful girl in school, tonight," he told her breathlessly, in a voice made deeper by emotion and longing.

"Oh, Ranma," she replied in a very husky voice, "and I'm with the most handsome, wonderful guy in all of Japan."

"I suppose we ought to think about leaving," Ranma suggested reluctantly.

"Hmm. I suppose so. Another taxi?"

"Naw. I thought we'd walk home. It's getting kind of late to get a taxi."

Akane frowned slightly. "I don't think that's such a good idea, Ranma. My dress and shoes weren't exactly made for long walks through the streets."

He gave her his urchin grin. "I could carry you. I don't mind." Without waiting to hear any objection, Ranma swept her up into his arms, startling her into grabbing convulsively at his neck.

"It's over a kilometer back to the apartment," Akane protested.

"Aw, heck, Akane. I've carried you further than that before!" Feeling well-pleased with himself, Ranma began to walk toward the school gates. Akane was very conscious of their appearance, and some of the things her classmates called out to them made her feel warm with embarrassment. But at the same time, it felt very nice. They slowly moved through the darkness toward their home. She lay her cheek against his chest, and allowed herself to be overwhelmed by a feeling of utter peace and contentment, lying there in his strong arms.

"I'm not too heavy for you, am I?" Akane asked when they were about half-way there.

"Not at all," was the gallant reply.

Once they reached their apartment it was clear that Tofu and Kasumi had already retired for the evening, unsurprising as it was now well past midnight. Ranma sat down on the couch and pulled Akane back down into his arms, and they exchanged some more kisses. After several minutes of this, Ranma paused, and looked at the girl in his arms tenderly. "Akane, do you remember when we were deciding to do this, to come live here?"

"Of course," she murmured contentedly, eyes closed.

"And do you remember how I told you that I cared about you a lot, and that I probably loved you, but sometimes I wasn't completely sure?"

"Mmm-hmmm."

Ranma took a deep breath. "Well ... I'm sure now. I love you, Akane Tendo. I love you with all of my heart, and I never want to lose you. I don't have any doubts anymore."

Akane snuggled against him closer and gave a deep sigh, treasuring the moment and the words she had so longed to hear.

"I love you too, Ranma Saotome," she whispered, opening her shining eyes and gazing into his with a sort of fierce determination. "Always and forever, and I'm never letting you go again. I'm yours, and you're mine, and anyone who tries to get between us is toast."

He chuckled. "Agreed." His face then became a little more solemn. "Um, about earlier tonight, on the bench. You don't mind ...?" He broke off, unable to complete the question.

Akane smiled at him and shook her head. "No Ranma, I don't mind," she said softly. "In fact, I enjoyed it. I thought I made that pretty clear at the time. I don't want to move too fast, but I don't really want to have to give you engraved invitations, either."

Ranma smiled crookedly. "I'll try to keep it in mind. It probably won't be easy for me though. After all, there was this tomboy who kept calling me a 'pervert' and hitting me over the head with a mallet whenever she thought I was behaving improperly. That sort of thing tends to make an impression, even on a hard head like mine. I would hate to do anything to bring her back."

Akane sighed sadly. "I'm sorry about that, Ranma. It wasn't really because of you, or what you did, or anything like that; I think I acted that way because I was afraid of my own feelings and that was the only way that I knew how to deal with them. Please try not to worry, I'm sure that girl is gone for good. And I do want to know that you find me desirable. I promise, if you go too fast for me, I'll let you know without bringing out the mallet."

"Thanks Akane, and I'll try. That's the best I can say. You're too precious to me to risk screwing things up."

The school term had finally ended. Akane and Ranma found summer jobs to fill the time when they would normally be in classes; Ranma doing construction work and Akane helping out in a daycare center. A few days after the term, they came back to the apartment for a late lunch before going on to the hospital and medical center for their long-term jobs, and among the mail Akane pulled out of the mailbox were a couple of official school envelopes addressed to Ranma and herself.

"Ranma, we got some letters from school. I think that our first term grades have arrived."

They went upstairs into the apartment, and opened the envelopes before worrying about lunch. They each looked them over for a couple of minutes before speaking.

"Two A's, an A-, and one each of a B, B, and B-," Akane reported for herself. "Averages out to a B+. Shoot, I thought that I was doing better than just a B in English."

"It's better than my C in English. Also an A, in gym of course, a B, two B-'s, and a C+. Seems to be a B- average. Well, I'm just going to have to pull some of those up, especially the English and Math. I'd like to have all A's and B's for my college application."

"Actually, I'm surprised that you managed the C+ in math," she said, looking at the report over his shoulder. "You've always just barely managed to avoid failing it before."

"Yeah, well those kisses you give me when I solve problems correctly are a great motivator," he responded. "Still, maybe I need a little more motivation in order to bring it up more."

Akane grinned and punched him in the arm. "You're getting all the motivation of that sort you're going to get for now, buster."

"My tomboy isn't willing to help me succeed in math," he wailed, while winking at her at the same time.

"You need to pull up the history grade as well, baka. You should be getting an A in that course, not just a B."

Ranma cast his eyes down, making a pretense of heavy shame. "Sorry. Sure, I'm pretty good with Japanese history, and Chinese too. But they expect me to know all of these other countries as well." He sighed, dropping the pretense. "I will do better at it next term, I promise."

"You'd better. Enough about your grades, now. We need to eat lunch and catch the bus to our other jobs."

"Slave driver!" he complained while stepping into the kitchen to make their lunch.

"Yep, and don't you forget it!"

Later that evening, Akane found an email from Nabiki waiting when she logged on. Eagerly, she opened it and began to read.

Hey sis, sis, Ranma

Daddy wants to know if you could consider coming home for a visit during summer break? He says he misses you, and won't put any pressure on you about weddings. I'm not entirely certain whether to believe him, but that's what he says. ...

There was more to the e-mail than that, but the suggestion stopped Akane short. She closed the window while she thought about it. Her father's betrayal in the matter of P-chan/Ryoga was a hidden, bleeding wound - one that she felt she couldn't share even with Kasumi - and which she didn't want to share with Ranma. She felt like such a fool over the entire thing, and her father had let her.

But on the other hand, she didn't feel that she had the right to keep Kasumi from going home and Akane admitted to herself that she wouldn't mind seeing Nabiki again, and maybe even some of her old friends. She decided that on the whole, she wouldn't much mind going back for a short visit. After all, she could probably avoid talking to her father very much.

After discussing this with the others, she sat back down and replied.

Hi Nabiki

Tell father we'll think about it but, just between you and us, we're not sure how much we can trust him yet. Also, both Ranma and I are working two jobs each during summer break, so it would be sort of difficult to take time off, not to mention the money we wouldn't make if we did, and we need that money. But we will think about it.

Akane