Ryoga's Girlfriend Ch13
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Ranma ½ is owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media, please support the official release.
Ranma
Ranma's gaze was on the center of the floor in front of her, her own words dancing around in her head, repeating themselves like echoes in a cave. Occasionally taking deeper than usual breaths, blushing lightly from the aftermath of her revelation. The fear, the anger, this irritation she knew she'd have to live with. She tightened her jaw as to suppress any signs of weakness, her head tilted down as she found her thoughts centered around Ryoga. Every time Ranma pictured being with Ryoga, she couldn't help but feel that Ryoga would act as he always does, loud and constantly jumping the gun. Well, Akane is like that too, however, that didn't mean she didn't have her good side. 'Just like Ryoga...' Ranma thought, realizing a theme here. Was Ranma's mom like that? Well, Ranma's mother had no idea she was actually her son and not Ranko but what if she was interested in another man? It worried the redheaded martial artist, 'Oh man... she's going to make me...' she thought, almost feeling like crying not just from the fact that Ranma knew she would never get to spend time with her mother again, but also by the fact that it'd be by Nodoka's hand. 'What kinda' messed up world do I live in!?' Rama thought, hands to either side of her head.
Here she was again, feeling caged, Ranma, however, would rather be actually caged, so that she could break free. Ranma sighed heavily, mostly from mental exhaustion. Usually, all Ranma had to do was wait for a someone to challenge her and she'd take care of them, deal with Akane and the other maniacs from their district. Now she had to deal with her own feelings of attachment, attachments towards a certain fang-toothed boy. Though Ranma portrayed a person who clearly wanted to be over with her thoughts, that was simply not the case in her head. It had only slowed down. Ranma's head drooped, showing clear signs of fatigue as her demeanor began to relax, her eyes slowly beginning to close, until popping open for a second, only for them to start closing again.
'Ranma Saotome... I love you...'
Dream Sequence
A somewhat fogged over version of Nerima was all Ranma could see as she walked on the path to the Tendo residence, hands in pockets as she appeared to be deep in thought, however in her dream state her thoughts were as fogged over as the area around her. However, she paid little mind to that detail as she was mostly in a daze, trying to make heads or tails of the situation. 'Wha...? Wha? What was I doin'?' she thought, taking a moment to place one of her palms over her eye.
"Ranma Saotome!" a masculine voice shouted, nothing more than a silhouette atop a nearby roof.
Ranma looked up to the figure, squinting her eyes before seeing the figure drop down, landing in a kneeling position to reveal that it was Ryoga Hibiki. "You've turned my life into a living hell, Saotome!"
Ranma acted on pure feeling as her mind recalled these past engagements with Ryoga, she leaped backward, preparing herself for the fight to come. "Heh..." Ranma gave a coy smirk, "What's your beef now?" Ranma asked, a Cheshire smile following her question. "Or should I say, pork?"
"Save your lame ass jokes for someone who cares!" Ryoga replied, throwing his arm out to his side, his other being clenched near his was hip.
Ranma's dropped her wide smile, feeling rather cocky in her abilities, ushered for him to come hither by raising her open palm and curving her hand towards herself, giving Ryoga a look that said 'Bring it'. The two began to exchange blows, Ranma ducking, and weaving as she allowed Ryoga to take the lead. However, in Ranma's they appeared to be doing a copy and paste of a previous battle between the two martial artists. 'Wow... déjà vu' Ranma thought, then started piecing some thoughts together, like, what was she even doing before this? Then as if to remind Ranma that she was in a battle, Ryoga gained the upper hand and kicked the poor red-head into a wall, the pain from having been slammed into one not actually appearing, in fact, the pain from the kick hadn't done anything aside from sending her flying in her own dream. 'Wait! I was!' Ranma thought in a hurried tone, as a brief instance of her most recent thoughts popped into her mind, which was her contemplation on her feelings about Ryoga.
Faster than Ranma could even blink, Ryoga's hands were now firmly gripping Ranma's shoulders, pinning her to the wall behind her. Her eyes widened as her look became that of a frantic women's, her heart racing as she was confronted by those familiar feelings, when she looked into Ryoga's eyes, she was met by a look of pure sorrow. "Why do you keep running from me, Saotome, isn't that supposed to be my thing?"
Ranma's pupils trembled as she was faced with her reality, even in her dreams, she couldn't run away. All she could do was stand there, frozen and lost in her thoughts, which in Ranma's mind could only be described as the incoherent ramblings of a madman. "Stop caring so much about your precious ego! Start living your life for yourself! And if they tell you otherwise Saotome, do you know what you tell them!?" Ryoga asked, a fire clear fire dream Ryoga's eyes as he spoke. Ranma could feel this burning, Ryoga's dream words reaching out to him or rather his inner thoughts were. "Go to hell!"
Ryoga watched as Ranma held her hands to her sides, fists clenched to the point they were as pale as ghosts, head casted down as she weighed all that was being said to her, the anxiety in her chest fluctuating between accepting her feelings, which alleviated her chest, however when Ranma's thoughts of doubt resurfaced, the panic in her chest would raise. Ranma was able to gauge how these feelings worked and was forced to accept the truth, she as Ranma Saotome, wanted to embrace this brave new concept.
"Ranma Saotome...I love you..."
Ranma's squinted her eyes shut before she grits her teeth, grinding her teeth before shouting. "Argh! Fine!" she exclaimed, pressing her lips to her dream Ryoga's, her arms reaching around Ryoga, embracing him as if it were their last.
End Dream Sequence
Ranma sat up from her futon and looked around her room, noticing Genma in his usual spot, snoring lightly. She panted deeply as she tried to collect her thoughts, from what she could tell, she must have had a disturbing dream if she was panting and not only that, she swore she felt something else. "Huh?" Ranma looked to her palm as she noticed that it was covered in a cold sweat. "What was I..." she stopped, her eyes going wide.
"Ranma Saotome... I love you..."
Ranma's eye twitched as she heard Ryoga's voice echo the words said in her dreams. The message quite clear to the Saotome prodigy, she was in love. Ranma groaned and picked up her pillow, smothering her face in it, and falling back into her futon.
Ranma & Akane
The chain link fence, often associated with the walkway to the Tendo household, wobbled like a wet noodle as Ranma's feet landed on it. Ranma's brought her hands behind head, having a head in the clouds, sort of her to her. The red-head knew that the air between Akane and herself was thick. What was she supposed to do? Ranma, much to her dismay, knew that what she felt for Ryoga went further than just friends and although she was aware of it, what she supposed to do? Find Ryoga and tell him how she felt? Ryoga was already gone and chances were, he would vanish for another long while. Ranma found herself thinking about all the time that Ryoga and she had kissed, however, now it was more like a pleasant daydream than a sudden abrupt thought. Ranma indulged herself, causing a blush to appear on her face, unknowingly allow a smile to form on her face. Even finding it somewhat humorous that someone like her can like someone like Ryoga.
Akane walked in calm silence, her eyes aimed towards the ground. Was this what she wanted? Ranma pretty much offered himself to her without any protest. 'Why do I care about so much about that jerk? Is it because of...' Akane thought, shutting her eyes, feeling the familiar sting of tears welling up in her eyes.
If Akane were to see herself right now, she'd compare herself to a turtle hiding in its shell. The fear of Ranma discovering her distress and possibly linking it to the prospect of them was too much for her to bare right now; given her mental state. However, she was only greeted with a loud thudding sound as she heard Ranma land on her head. Akane's first instinct was to check on her but instead realized that Ranma had suffered far worse and was only letting her mental distress cloud her judgment. This enabled her jealousy to raise to the surface of her thoughts, figuring that whatever caused Ranma to fall off the edge was redhead's feelings towards Ryoga. She successfully fought her feelings off and proceeded to walk, to school.
Ranma upon landing on her head had only herself to blame because she had gotten so caught up in her thoughts of Ryoga, that she ended up walking off the end of the fence. Immediately she found herself expecting Akane to come to her aid, this scared her, however, she saw that Akane did no such thing, but rather she decided not to even bother. This prompted some mixed signals from her, knowing that Akane's reaction to all this was clearly relevant to the day prior.
Ranma sighed, feeling a mixture of anxiety, fear, shame, and loss. Shame in the sense that she had been indulging her feelings towards Ryoga, openly to herself, only to have it be the cause of an embarrassing moment between her and Akane.
Tofu's Office
The light humming of medical equipment filled the air. Ukyo resting on her back while her heart rate monitor was beeping in the background. She began to stir, overwhelming feelings urging her to wake. "Ugh..." Ukyo groaned with a grit of her teeth, her eyes opening as if they weighed more than usual.
Just beyond the door to the room there a was shifting about, clear signs of urgency as Doctor Tofu came rushing in. "Ukyo! Please! Don't move in your condition!" Tofu exclaimed, now at the chief's bedside, applying a fair amount of pressure to Ukyo's shoulders.
"To-Tofu?" Ukyo asked, getting a nod and smile from the good doctor.
"That's right," he said. "Please calm down, we wouldn't want you to re-open your wounds, would we?" he asked, smiling and hoping that Ukyo would get the message and not raise.
"Wounds?" Ukyo asked meekly, feeling a quite drowsy for some reason.
"That's right, I got a call from Akane, thankfully for you, she didn't press charges." Doctor Tofu smiled, looking to the drowsy girl. "Anyways, Ms. Ukyo, you were struggling for a good while after your procedure, so I had to sedate you."
Ukyo may not have known much about the medical field but what she did what it meant to sedate someone. "But... Ranma... Ryoga..." she attempted to raise once more.
Doctor Tofu found himself thinking for a moment, wondering what she specifically meant when saying those two names, he was of aware what Ranma's role in the situation could possibly be but Ryoga's remained a mystery. 'What happened since my last talk with Ryoga?' Doctor Tofu thought. 'It'll have to wait...' he thought, as he reached out for a nearby needle.
"I'm sorry, Ukyo, I can't risk letting you open your wounds..." he stated, injecting the Okonomiyaki chief with a smaller dose of the sedative.
Ukyo found her vision blurring again falling back asleep. Doctor Tofu sighed as he really didn't want to subject his patients this kind of treatment, but he knew that if he didn't, Ukyo would try to be up and about, risking her own life. He looked to the nearby medical table and saw the glass fragments he had pulled out from her. 'Why would you go so far, Ukyo? It looked like you were fighting with shards embedded in you skin... some even appeared to have been shoved in.' Tofu thought, allowing his head to sink downwards. Truly sorry that the people surrounding Ranma were desperate enough to risk their own well-being over someone who didn't fully acknowledge their feelings.
Furinkan High
Ranma casually walked down the halls during a return trip from the restroom, as indicated by the men's room symbol behind him. Ranma kept his hands in his pockets the entire time, a perplexed look to his face as he wondered about his next course of action, should he just ignore these feelings of affection for Ryoga and continue with Akane? It wasn't as though there wasn't anything there for her, how couldn't there be? The two had gone through so much and even having actual romantic confrontations, but Ryoga introduced himself as an alternate variable. There was already no denying his feelings on that, no matter how much his scowl implied otherwise. Ranma seized his thoughts as the sound of squeaking footwear was heard in the halls, tearing him from his thoughts.
Shampoo's form could be seen dashing from roof top to roof top, Ryoga quickly in tow. However just far enough to make his presence unknown to her, that was, however, until Ryoga miscalculated the trajectory of his jump and ended up landed in someone's backyard, his eyes bugging out in a cartoon-like fashion; landing specifically in a bush.
Akane stood directly in front of the pig-tailed boy, a look of shock on her face as she stood there, eyes locked with Ranma's. For what felt like an eternity, they stared in silence until Ranma awkwardly raised his hand and waved, his averted to the side. There was no response from Akane, she only lowered her head and walked off in the opposite direction.
Ranma watched in relative silence before figuring that now wasn't the time, but honestly, what did he expect with what he had last said to her?
Campsite
A very short while after Shampoo's departure Kuno could be seen making his way over to the campfire, yawning as he did afterward he noticed Shampoo's absence. "Hmm... I say, Lady Cologne, where is the fair Shampoo?" Kuno asked, his head darting from left to right.
"Your dearest Shampoo is after Ranma, yet again..." Cologne said bluntly, stirring the cooking pot in front of her.
A devastated look went across Kuno's face, before becoming one of rage, his jaw tightening at the mention of the wicked Saotome. On top of that, Shampoo was trying to get to him. However, would have none of that.
"That vile cretin! How dare Saotome use his villainous spells upon my fair Shampoo! Does his greed know no end!?" Kuno shouted, clenching his hands to his sides. All the while, Cologne paused from her stirring and as Kuno went on, with how Kuno was acting, she knew there'd be no hope for them.
"Silence!" Cologne shouted as she bashed Kuno over the head with her cane, a vein throbbing on her head as she stood before the huddled over sword user. "Child, I have seen many a fools in my life and I have to say, you are by far, one the most delusional, arrogant, self-centered man I've ever seen!"
Kuno gripped his head as Cologne spoke to him like this, yet again, but he couldn't understand why she'd hit him all of a sudden, especially with how she had been pushing for him and Shampoo to become an item, that, however, perished as Cologne explained herself.
Cologne sighed as she began, "Kuno child, I know you have a strange thing going on, though, you must understand returning to your old ways will not garner my great-granddaughter's attention," Cologne stared at Kuno for a bit. "As much as I didn't want to interfere in a budding relationship, I've grown tired of waiting for you both, so I will simply give you the answer."
There was no response from Kuno, as he remained silent for this moment, mostly in fear of being struck again but also because he honestly wanted to know how he could get Shampoo to be his women and only his women.
"My great-granddaughter has grown fond of the man you've truly shown yourself to be, the one who treats her as though she were not some woman to be despised or catered to, but with a level of respect... I'm not saying change who you are, completely, in fact, I think she rather enjoys your manner of speech." Cologne said, trying to offer him a smile. Cologne clearly had other motives behind her reasoning with Kuno, one being that if Kuno finally got his act together, Shampoo could more easily accept him into the family. There was also the possibility of her becoming a matchmaker since she had just moments ago helped Ryoga, 'I seem to be attracting many foolish children lately, perhaps this was meant to be...' she thought, humming to herself afterward.
Without a word, Kuno rose from his position, a very strong look to his face as he dashed off in the direction of his high school, knowing very well that Ranma was there. Also knowing that he'd probably get in trouble for skipping class today. That meant very little to him, right now, his biggest priority was Shampoo, though as he kept running, however, he noticed that there was way too many things keeping him from getting back to Nermia. 'There must be a more effective way to clear this forest!' Kuno thought, his mind racing for answers, his mind finding the solution, but a scowl appeared on his face as he did so. 'I haven't much practice but...' Kuno thought, before leaping to a nearby tree and jumping from branch to branch until reaching the top, his eyes wide. "I can do this!" Kuno shouted, gulping shortly after as he leaped from tree to tree as quickly as he could.
Cologne in watched Kuno as he ran off, lowering her head. "I wonder how long it'll be before this children learn to stay in one place..." Cologne commented. All of a sudden, there was a loud thudding sound as Sasuke fell, head first, from a nearby tree, his leg twitching like that of a flattened cockroach.
"Ow..." Sasuke groaned, his eyes twirling in the typical anime fashion.
"I told him sleeping on branches is a foolish idea... especially for a ninja of his caliber," Cologne said, shaking her head before getting back to her pot.
Akane
Akane's thoughts drifted like clouds in the sky, she just couldn't bring herself to drown out her thoughts involving what Ranma had said. What was she? Some consolation prize for Ranma? Why else say what he did?
"I already told you I picked you anyways! So just be happy with that!"
She mulled over her thoughts for what seemed like an eternity to her. Why was this so hard? Why wasn't Akane just the default choice? Hadn't they been through so much? Didn't she deserve to be with Ranma? After all this time? After all this tension between them? All their struggles to keep one another safe? What exactly did she mean to Ranma? Did Ranma want Ryoga now?
The blue haired girl picked up a nearby book she was supposed to be using for studying, but rather than using it for its intended purpose she merely clung to it, using it as a way to release her anger, squeezing it in her palms. 'Ranma... what am I to you?' she thought, sulking now. Akane stared at the page in front of her, finding the pictures involving historical figures looking strikingly similar to Ranma. 'Do I love him...? Do I honestly love him or am I obsessing over him, like Tofu?' her inner voice questioned. Akane allowed those words to sink in, finding it somewhat difficult to believe that her feelings for Ranma could be compared to what she felt for Tofu. There were moments between her and Tofu she liked, but she felt that it was because Tofu wasn't like the other boys around her, he was different. He was considerate, but there was no real growth between them. She still didn't know much about Tofu, whereas, with Ranma, the situation was different, there was time between them, a need to protect one another, even if the situation became dire. Though could she really accept this relationship if she was only keeping Ranma from truly being happy? Would Ranma be happier being with Ryoga? These thoughts caused Akane's head to drop, casting a shadow over her eyes a single tear dropped down the side of her cheek.
Akane, however, wasn't alone, Nabiki stood nearby, arms crossed with her head tilted up. Knowing quite well the reason for her sister's distress. 'Ah... great... I pick now of all times to grow a conscious.' Nabiki thought to herself, sighing silently enough for Akane not to hear. Chances were, though, Akane still wouldn't have caught that.
"Hey, Akane," Nabiki spoke out, catching her sister's attention.
Akane's posture straightened as she wiped her eyes with her forearm, somewhat panicking from the prospect of being caught crying in the school library. "What?" Akane asked, misery dripping from her tone, like maple, slow and thick.
"Ranma's still there, but he won't be unless you learn how to talk to him without biting his head off or ignoring the things that make you wrong, guys like him can't hide from everything if you're totally and completely honest," Nabiki said, now standing up straight and facing her sister's back.
Akane sat there, letting her sister speak, absorbing the advice given to her, however, she didn't have it in her to really say anything in return. Chances were, Nabiki said something Akane was failing to notice and was too in shock to really say anything. Nabiki's head raised a bit as she noticed the grinding noise her sister's chair made when Akane abruptly stood up, before leaving.
Ranma
Ranma traveled along the walkway from gym class, having some time to spare when it came to changing out of his uniform, mostly cause he didn't really break much of a sweat, such were the benefits of being a martial artist that could defy the laws of physics(What? You guys know it's true.). Ranma found himself thinking about how life used to be before all this chaos ensued, which he came to realize was probably more chaotic. Did all these events with Ryoga somehow reduce the overall chaos in his life?
Lost in his thoughts, Ranma was unable to notice a strange purple blur dropping some odd, ball shaped things before running towards him. "Ranma!" Shampoo shouted as she leaped forward, wrapping her arms around the pig-tailed boy's midriff, clinging to him like a scarf.
"Shampoo!?" Ranma gasped as Shampoo's forward momentum caused Ranma to fall back, landing on his butt. "Hey! Calm down!" Ranma said, shouting in a hushed tone as to keep people from gathering. He noticed that instead of trying to make a move, she instead nuzzled her head into his chest. There was a small pause as he finally noticed her aura, it practically oozed with depression ki.
Ranma took a second to recognize this, however, knew that get getting involved would only lead to issues so he resorted to his previous lie to her, "Shampoo look!" Ranma exclaimed, grabbing her by her biceps and holding her at arms length, bring them to a standing position, Shampoo sniffling like a toddler "I told you, I'm-"
"No is true!" Shampoo shouted, tears forming at the corner's of her eyes. "Shampoo know Ranma no is with stupid-boy! Shampoo know Ranma no is with stupid-boy because Shampoo hear it from stupid-boy!"
Ranma blushed and knew the gig was, in a sense, up. However, that also brought him to another conclusion, did she just say that she heard it from Ryoga? That in and of itself caused Ranma to feel a sense of joy, which was outwardly expressed as a look of shock, as Ranma swore he felt a flutter in his chest, accompanied with a light lack of breath. Ranma was unable to press for more information as Shampoo embraced him yet again, showing that she was still in distress.
"Shampoo no like Kuno! Kuno is weak and stupid, Kuno no make sense!" Shampoo shouted as she clung to Ranma's midriff, again.
Ranma didn't know how to take this all he could do was allow her to hold onto him, but even he didn't want to do that for her, there was a reason he often avoided her advances most of the time. There was also the fact that whenever Shampoo or anyone showed up to bother Ranma, they always drew a crowd, crowds that often spoke amongst one another, spreading the word of whatever Ranma had to deal with.
"Ranma!?" Akane shouted in surprise, seeing only Ranma's back and a pair of hands looping around behind Ranma's back, Ranma looking over his shoulder, just far enough for Shampoo to be visible, to Akane.
The pig-tailed boy stood there, frozen in place, his eyes in shock as if expecting Akane to lash out at him again. However, there was no immediate response, instead, Akane appeared to be deep in thought, more people gathering to watch how Akane would react. There were even some members of Akane's betting pool there, eagerly awaiting Akane's foretold confession.
Nabiki also stood in the crowd, one arm crossed while the other was kept a closed hand near her mouth, a cold and calculating expression on her face, 'The ball's in your park now, Akane... what're you gonna' do?' Nabiki thought, then looked around and noticed the members of her betting pools, when she came across Daisuke she noticed him smirking at her, giving her a look of victory, Nabiki narrowed her eyes, biting her thumbnail.
Akane for her part resorted to clenching her hands near her sides, however, found that she couldn't bring herself to shout at Ranma. It was as though her voice was caught in her throat because continuing would mean that everyone in the school would know exactly how the Tendo girl feels about Ranma, that caused Akane's expression to be somewhat restrained. "Ranma, I-I-I... you... I mean..." Akane tried to continue, however, found her eyes drifting down to the ground as she saw everyone's eyes on her. Akane found that her feelings were far too mixed to actually confess right out, also, she didn't want to destroy the chances of them possibly getting together, especially not after all they'd gone through recently.
The purple-haired amazonian sensed this and felt the need to interrupt, this was until someone else did the job for her. "Fairest Shampoo! I know that the foul sorcerer has claimed you from a distance!" Kuno exclaimed, panting just the slightest bit, the journey for him being quite long. This earned him a chorus of groans from the audience, also some looks of intrigue as the prospect of Kuno defending Shampoo from Ranma earned some looks.
It even caught the attention of a certain brown haired business women, 'Well, well, what do we have here?' Nabiki thought, watching how everyone reacted to Kuno's sudden appearance.
"Hey wait! I didn't do anything!" Ranma shouted, trying to push Shampoo from him, however, she clung onto him harder and even buried her face in his chest, getting a look from Akane and rousing Kuno's anger.
"Lies! Unhand her you-" Kuno began, drawing his bokken, in a moment where Ranma was somewhat unable to move as freely as he'd like, given his current girl shaped accessory around his chest.
"Shampoo no like Kuno!" Shampoo exclaimed, pulling her head out from Ranma's midriff.
Kuno took a step back as his eyes widened, feeling a sting to her heart. Under normal circumstances, Kuno's mental barriers would come and protect his precious ego, however, his time with Cologne had taught him to listen more carefully, Kuno shook that feeling off and attempted to push the idea that Ranma was forcing Shampoo via magical spells. "Do you feel no remorse? Sorcerer!"
The bokken wielder's momentary pause did not go unnoticed by Ranma, Akane, and even Nabiki, their thoughts synchronized the following, 'Did Kuno just...!?'
"No is magic! Shampoo no like crazy man!" Shampoo shouted, now releasing Ranma enough to just stare down The Blue Thunder, who at the moment appeared to be more like a spark than any real thunder.
Kuno with his head held down, his hair shadowed his head eyes as he stood there, looking as though he were a statue before taking his bokken and sheathing it. That caused the crowd to stare in amazement, had Kuno actually given a sane response to someone rejecting his signs of affection? This was all just so much to process for the group, Ranma, and Akane included.
"A thousand pardons, my-" Kuno started but instead choose to correct himself, "Lady Shampoo." Kuno finished with a somewhat hushed tone. There wasn't much Kuno could do if Shampoo was, in fact, unwilling to accept him. All he could do was pack his things back at the campsite and his ninja as well. It felt as though a thousand needles pierced his chest, thanks to all the training with Cologne and Shampoo, Kuno had become more aware of the sad facade he called his life.
Shampoo watched as Kuno turned to leave, a defeated, shell of a man. Did she want that? She placed a closed palm near her heart and felt the ache associated with hurting someone's feelings. Particularly the feelings of someone she had, strangely enough, grown accustomed to. That allowed Shampoo to think back to their moments together, sure, they weren't anything like the fairytale romance she assumed she'd have with Ranma, but they were certainly there. Why else would she consider comforting him? Her head dropped as she forced herself to allow Kuno to leave.
The crowd watched as this came to a close, finding themselves suddenly losing interest as they really hadn't gathered to watch Shampoo and Kuno end up together. Daisuke lowered his head, having expected the focus to return to Ranma and Akane, however, as the crowd of students waited for Akane to somehow reignite their interests, she returned their looks with a look of anger, as if telling them to back off. The students eventually dispersed, leaving Akane, Shampoo, and Ranma behind.
Nabiki relished in the fact that Akane and Ranma had yet to get together, mostly cause that meant that Daisuke couldn't smile triumphantly anymore. Was that pity? Yes. Did She care? Not really. Did that mean she never wanted Ranma and Akane to get together? Not really. She just doesn't like the feeling of someone having the upper hand on her. 'Hm... Kuno to the rescue.' Nabiki chuckled to herself as she left the scene.
Akane and Ranma looked towards one another before seeing Shampoo begin to somewhat cautiously walk towards Kuno's direction. As if having waited until the students needed to get back to class.
"Uh... I should go... class is starting..." Akane commented, gulping a bit. That, however, was probably an understatement as there was a large percentage of students that watched that whole thing, so chances were they all to some extent, going to get punished, 'Why do they always come during school... I hate having an audience!' Akane thought to herself as she was leaving, though, was somewhat grateful that she didn't have the whole school watching her love life unfold.
"Yeah..." Ranma uttered, at a bit of a loss. Ranma looked over his shoulder to see Akane leaving, not sure what to say at a moment like this. He wanted to reach out to her in some way, maybe even comfort her in some way, but found it difficult. Though found that he didn't know exactly what to say, causing him to sigh as he raised one hand up to scratch the side of his head, the other on his hip. What was holding him back? Even if he couldn't flat out help, Ranma still should have said something. What was causing this?
"Ranma..." a voice called out to him.
Ryoga
Ever since Ryoga lost track of Shampoo, the lost boy had struggled to find his way towards Ranma's highschool. Constant twists and turns, sometimes even running around in circles and sometimes literally running in circles only because he couldn't decide where to go, panic rising in his chest as he would only find himself right back where he started.
"Where the hell is it!?" Ryoga shouted, throwing his head up in frustration. He thought to himself, placing his hands to the sides of his head, covering his ears, as if to drown out the distractions of the world, 'Think Ryoga! Think! What do I do, to get to Ranma!?' Ryoga thought, knowing by this point Shampoo had probably reached Ranma by now. Ryoga envisioned Shampoo from earlier, focusing in on that memory, searching for anything that could help. Then it struck him, the school was visible by that point. It actually stood out as taller than all the rest.
"That's it!" Ryoga shouted, jumping back to the rooftops and checking out the area before catching sight of the school. Feeling a little ashamed with how close it had been this entire time. "I hate my curse..." Ryoga mumbled as his face went a little flat, but regardless of the fact, he was still going to get to Ranma, dashing towards it, he leaped from rooftop to rooftop before making one large and final leap, landing on school grounds. From there Ryoga looked around and ran through the school grounds, catching a few people's eyes along the way. Though it seemed as though they didn't pay him much mind, as Ryoga had a history of sometimes just coming to see Akane. He kept going until he saw Ranma, Akane just standing there, the lost boy instinctually hiding behind a corner and watched from afar, 'What happened to Shampoo...?' Ryoga pondered for a second before dismissing that idea, whatever worked he figured.
Ryoga watched Akane leave, taking that as his opportunity, his goal was different. He casually strolled over to Ranma until he was standing before his object of affection.
"Ranma..."
Ranma's eyes widened as he froze in place, resembling a concert statue. "R-Ryoga?" Ranma questioned, his mouth partially agape as he felt through various feelings at once. Then some particular memories came rushing into his mind, like the one from his most recent dream, the image of Ryoga with a longing look in his eyes.
Ryoga gave no reply, he simply met Ranma's eyes. "Ranma, there's something I gotta' tell you-"
Ranma felt the unbearable need to avoid confrontation with Ryoga, so he took a battle stance, "What, you here for a rematch, huh?" Ranma said, not actually sounding as if he were into it.
"Saotome, you know damn well, we're passed that part..." Ryoga took a step forward, although having said some hostile words, his tone didn't match that of someone intending to force Ranma into a conversation.
Ranma blushed before averting his eyes, unsure of what to do really, was this really what he wanted? He was happy to see Ryoga, especially with how he had come to realize were his actual feelings for him, but, there was the uncertainty that Akane presented to. That only served to make the pig-tailed boy second guess himself. Ranma wanted to tell Ryoga that he already made his choice and that Ryoga should accept that, but found that he simply wasn't able to get the words out, his voice being caught in his throat to the point it felt as though it hurt.
Ryoga gulped as noticed Ranma stand completely still, he was sure that Ranma remembered their last conversation but noticed Ranma being reserved with his expressions. Ryoga recalled Cologne's advice and noticed that Ranma appeared conflicted, even seeing Ranma trying to open his mouth to say something, only to have him close his mouth and not say anything. Ryoga blushed deeply and forced himself to get past these feelings of unease whenever it came to do romantic gestures to Ranma's male side.
"Ranma Saotome," Ryoga said, taking the last few steps he needed to be within Ranma's personal space, "I love you, no matter who or what you are," Ryoga confessed, "Even if it takes years off my life, even if it ends in cold bitter defeat, I won't stop until I know, for damn sure! That you'll never feel the same for me!"
Ranma went bugged eyed for a moment, realizing one thing here, he wasn't in his girl form, yet Ryoga had confessed to him, even more than that, might as well have said that he doesn't care that he's also a guy, "Damn it, pig-brain! Do you know what you're saying?" Ranma questioned, not sure exactly why he said what he did, his mind just instantly tried to defend itself from such a sudden change.
"I'm saying, if it wasn't clear enough for you, Saotome... I want you, curse and all!" he proclaimed before taking Ranma by the sides of his arms.
Akane
The second Akane made it past the door to the hallway she breathed a sigh of relief, glad that the trauma of that situation had passed. Although Akane couldn't help but feel like a total coward when it came to being honest about her feelings, she was always a little shy in some regards but never allowed that to get the best of her, well, shy in when it came to someone she legitimately liked. Her foots steps echoed in the halls as she continued to walk, not even really close to her classroom. 'I know I'm probably gonna' be forced to stand outside...' Akane thought.
Those thoughts seized to bother her as she stopped, contemplating her next course of action. What should she do? Go to class or talk to Ranma while everyone was in class? She was going to get punished anyways, might as well make it worth it and with that in mind she turned around and attempted to take her first step forward, but immediately became scared and stopped. "Come on..." she mumbled, placing her hand over her chest as she lowered her head. "I can do this..."
Akane suddenly turned to the direction of her classroom and began to walk, for three whole steps before stopping again, knowing the longer she stalled the closer Ranma would get to class. Finally setting a fire in her heart she lifted her head as a passion burned in her eyes, there was nothing that could stop her. She knew if she hurried she could catch Ranma and have that long awaited talk with him. Sure Ryoga would still remain a factor, but at least she'd say her peace.
Akane rounded a bend before catching sight of Ranma and Ryoga, Ryoga taking Ranma by his arms.
"I'm saying, if it wasn't clear enough for you, Saotome... I want you, curse and all!"
Akane stood in horror as she stared, she reacted as quickly as she could to the site. "Stop!" Akane shouted catching their attention. This caused Ranma to pull away from Ryoga and hold his arms out, waving them defensively.
"It ain't what you think Akane!" Ranma claimed.
Akane wanted to just let Ranma derail the conversation like they always did, however, even she knew they were passed that point and now that students weren't interfering as much. She was able to get her courage back. "Do you really think this is the place for this?" Akane asked, looking to Ryoga, who only narrowed his eyes and looked around, starting to notice a few students talking amongst themselves and even probably going to tell the others about it.
Ranma stared in shock at Akane, taking a second to actually blink in shock, "Huh?"
Akane wanted to explain herself but found a blush forming on her face as she saw how Ranma was reacting to this, finally treating her as he had before. She averted her gaze from him and clasped her hands together. Neither were able to enjoy this awkward moment as Ryoga quickly grabbed each of them by their wrists and dragged them off somewhere they could talk in private, 'Damn, I was so close... well, I guess I knew it was coming to this,' Ryoga thought.
"Ah!" both Ranma and Akane screamed a little as Ryoga lead them.
Shampoo & Kuno.
Kuno walked the streets near Furinkan High, a downtrodden look on his face as he had so easily surrendered Shampoo to Ranma. Though what else could he do? Shampoo was clearly afraid of him. In his mind, Shampoo was too far gone, so far that even if he tried going back to the way he used to treat her, chances were she'd still harbor feelings for Ranma, 'Tell me you old crone... how am I supposed to win her back... how!? If she won't even allow me to bask in her presence!?' Kuno thought, gritting his teeth, wondering what use was Cologne's advice now.
The bokken wielder was so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't even noticed Shampoo catching up to him, a worried expression on her face, she was finally within speaking distance. She felt that maybe he'd noticed and turn around, however, when he didn't, she found herself confused. Had she really done this to him? He appeared utterly destroyed by her refusal to even see him, but how, she wondered? Their relationship consisted mostly of spite and anger towards one another. Wasn't love supposed to be gaining the strongest man possible to better the tribe?Also making cutesy faces and speaking sweet nothings? Not to mention use any advantage they could over the one they wanted to be with? Yet, here she was, trying to stop him from leaving. Shampoo recalled the moment she saw Kuno withdraw from the challenge he had made to Ranma and even apologize, the way he spoke reminded her of the kind and the somewhat strange man she had gotten used to.
"Is stopping?" Shampoo said, making it seem like a question only due to her hesitation.
Kuno halted suddenly and thought that maybe he was hearing things, "Do my ears deceive me?" he questioned, immediately looking over his shoulder to see Shampoo standing behind him.
Shampoo felt herself blushing as she saw that there were tear streakings on his face, it reminded Shampoo about how worried he had gotten when he first saw that she was going to fall downstream; in her cat form. Before she even knew what was going on she found herself in an embrace, one where Kuno had brought her head into his chest, nuzzling his head atop of hers while tears streamed down his face. The bokken wielder all the while thinking that Cologne was right, he just needed to treat her as though he wasn't just trying to court her, but rather treat her as an equal, but as quickly as this had happened, it ended as Shampoo was seen elbowing his head, bring him to his knees. "Is too, too touchy!" she exclaimed, feeling a vein throb on her head.
This did little to stop Kuno, as he rose up from her strike to stand before her, smiling with a small lump on his head, that will for some reason vanish at a non-specific point, "Forgive me, I was simply overjoyed to see you." Kuno stated, smiling not as he would normally when being his usual insane self but rather one of a kind, sane, man.
Shampoo suddenly found herself experiencing something people having referred to, time and time again as, lover's perspective. The atmosphere around Kuno appeared to be a bit hazy, his facial features more, defined. Her only response to this was to go wide eyed and found herself blushing at the very idea of viewing Kuno this way, this haze was one she often associated with Ranma.
"Lady Shampoo..." the voice of the man before her said, his voice as gentle as his features were. However, in real life, they were more like a question being directed at her as Kuno could be seen wondering what was up with her.
"Lady Shampoo...?" Kuno asked, raising a brow as he noticed her expression was just wide-eyed and staring at him.
A period of silence befalls the two as Shampoo allowed this moment and sensation take her, this lead to some interesting thoughts on her part, 'Is bad to kiss? No is Ranma...? Ranma no want kiss from Shampoo...' Shampoo thought, finally throwing caution to the wind, she was tired of giving kisses and not having it be returned! Well, for anyone she really liked! He was no Ranma, but he was the next best thing.
The blue thunder of Furinkan High suddenly found Shampoo hand's on his collar, his first response was to stare in fear as this could mean she was going to hit him. However, the look on her face said something else entirely, Shampoo blushed deeply and with a reluctant look she closed her eyes and pressed her lips against Kuno's. Shampoo tilted her head to the side and relaxed her hold on Kuno's collar, easing herself into it.
Tatewaki Kuno was speechless, seeing as his lips were pressed against someone else's, there really wasn't much he could do about that, nor did he want to. He relished at the moment before returning Shampoo's kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist, like he's done so many times before in his dreams, granted those dreams involved either Akane or Ranma's girl side, this was still more than acceptable.
Ranma, Ryoga & Akane
The trio ran across school grounds until they were finally out, now officially ditching school; not like it was their first time anyways. Both Ranma and Akane now being hoisted off the ground with how fast Ryoga was going, clearly he had some things to get off his chest. Eventually, there were far away enough from the school to have a private conversation, which coincidently lead them to their local park, thankfully only old people and birds were the only ones around as school wasn't even over yet.
Ryoga came to a screeching halt, turning around to address the two, Ranma's eyes wide and Akane breathing just a little deeply, "Alright you two, let's talk." Ryoga commented, showing how confident he had become.
"We were trying to! But you just kept running!" Ranma barked, annoyed that Ryoga had pretty much dragged the two across the district without letting them get a word in. Mostly Ranma and Akane just wanted to know where Ryoga was taking them.
"So... the park?" Akane questioned, panting a little, until composing herself.
"Honestly, I really didn't think this far ahead, cause I know Saotome here," gestures to Ranma, "freaks out whenever anyone's looking."
Ranma's eyes widened for a second before he crossed his arms and looked to the side, a light tinge of red on his cheeks. Akane, for her part, looked down a little, she was kind of the same, which is why most of her near romantic moments with Ranma didn't always involve an audience or rather she'd like it to be a private moment, however, fate was cruel to her, for whatever reason.
"I'm tired of all this beating around the bush..." Ryoga turned to Ranma, as did Akane, "You both know why we're here."
Silence befell the three, both Akane and Ranma suddenly becoming a little stiff.
Ryoga sighed and tilted his head down for a second before picking it up again, "Fine. I'll start," Ryoga looked towards Akane. "Akane, what I said still stands, as long as you're trying to get with Ranma, you're my rival and I won't let you have him without a fight." before Ranma could protest, Ryoga's eyes darted to the pig-tailed boy. "Even with what you said to me before, Ranma!"
Ranma flinched in response to Ryoga's outburst but shot back, "I already told you-"
"Don't give me that Saotome!" Ryoga shot back, taking a step towards the pig-tailed boy, glaring and baring his fangs as if he were looking to tussle.
"But how do you know, Ryoga!?" Akane exclaimed, making herself known, blushing a bit as she saw Ranma noticing her stand up for the idea as the two of them being a couple, Akane gulped before continuing. "How do you know if Ranma really doesn't mean what he said?"
Ranma's breath quickened as it showed a level of fear when the prospect of not exploring his feelings towards Ryoga surfaced.
"Because Akane, people often speak without words..." Ryoga replied, having watched Ranma the moment Akane asked her question. "I just saw Ranma's breath cut short, the look in his eyes, all signs that he doesn't think the same, at least, not completely."
Ranma found himself feeling embarrassed for being so easy to read, as being a martial artist usually meant that he had to keep his composure or risk letting enemies in on his attacks, in this case, however, there was no fist to fist contact, there was simply three people trying to make sense out of their strange predicament.
Akane just so happened to look towards Ranma as Ryoga spoke, as to see how he was fairing in this discussion, she saw that Ryoga was indeed right. The signs were all there, it wasn't as simple as just stating what you felt, sometimes body language factored into it.
"That's something you really should have understood about yourself Akane," Ryoga commented, bringing up old wounds, the lost boy showing some hesitation in his words. "How many times did I show you that I wanted to be more than friends!?" he exclaimed.
Akane felt backed into a corner, unable to say anything in retaliation to Ryoga's words. She looked towards Ranma for help but saw that he was going through his own things at the moment.
"That's your biggest problem Akane, you can't read people! All you do is jump the gun whenever someone challenges your precious way of life!" Ryoga exclaimed.
"What about you, huh!?" Ranma shouted, finally having something to say. "That's what you do too, how many times have you shouted "Prepare to Die!"? Without even knowing what's goin' on!?"
Ryoga took a step back, seeing Ranma defend Akane, "I'm not going to lie Saotome, you're right," Ryoga lowered his head a bit, "I-I... need to stop being such a damn hypocrite!" Ryoga declared, raising his head and baring his teeth. "There's no running from it! No matter how much I want to!"
Ranma felt his tool for fighting back, shot down, all he could do was remain speechless.
Ryoga panted a bit as he swore being this honest was shortening his lifespan somehow, an embarrassed blush on his face.
"Why are you saying all this, Ryoga?" Akane asked, now seeming a bit more timid, quite vulnerable now as Ryoga had managed to drop some barriers.
Ryoga paused for a moment, taking a shallow breath as he readied himself, "What I wanted to get at was... I'm sorry I've been lying to you for so long, Akane..." Ryoga gave a pause to allow Akane to gasp, as her reaction got a raise of fear out of him, but he urged himself to continue, "I'm sorry if it looks like I'm attacking you, it's just that, I just wish we could still be friends..."
Akane seeing this, felt a pain in her heart as she remembered awhile back, missing her conversations with Ryoga, he was someone she could vent her problems out to, someone who would offer support even in her worst moments. This was genuine, this was him actually reaching out to her and letting her know that though things between them were estranged, he still enjoyed the time they spent together. However, knew that was impossible given the fact that they were there for who got to be with Ranma.
"And what do you got to say about me, huh?" Ranma asked, sounding somewhat defensive.
"What's there left to say, Saotome?" Ryoga asked, looking into his eyes. "We've already said everything..." the lost-boy blushed, then looked away. "At this point it'd just be so Akane hears it..."
"Ryoga... this isn't just about you saying you're sorry to me, is it?" Akane asked, sounding scared but knowing that they had to continue, because honestly, she wanted to reach a conclusion just as much as Ryoga.
Both Ryoga and Akane looked towards Ranma, who noticed their eyes settling on him. The girl in question leaned back as he was now the center of attention. "W-what?"
Akane and Ryoga looked to one another, sighing in frustration, "Ranma, who do you actually want to be with?" Ryoga asked.
"We have a right to know," Akane stated, giving a somewhat harsh expression to her.
Ranma took this in and found himself closing his eyes and trying to make sense of it all, here he was, trying to decide whether to end up with Akane or Ryoga. Akane had quite a few moments where they nearly found one another falling into a deeply romantic moment, however, Ryoga had history along with a strange rival slash friend angle, someone who could understand him at a martial artist's level. Compelling all these feelings and all these memories around the two, Ranma was able to finally able to answer with.
"Both!" Ranma shouted, throwing his arms to his sides. Ryoga and Akane leaned their heads back, shocked expressions on both of their faces.
Akane glared and threw her hands to her sides, in a huff. "You can't have us both, Ranma! That's not how it works!"
"I know! I don't know which one to pick!" Ranma exclaimed, averting his gaze from the blue haired girl, legitimately unable to pick. They had both grown on him so much that deciding was nearly impossible.
Akane felt tears swell up in her eyes as she felt hurt from not being the choice, but rather Ranma chooses, yet again, to keep stringing them along. Ryoga all the while was debating with himself, wondering how he should handle this. His breath quivered from the rush of emotions cycling through his body, even some excitement as he knew that Ranma's affection towards himself was on par with Akane's. Ryoga clenched his fist until suddenly relaxing it, his eyes widening.
"Why can't Ranma have us both...?" Ryoga muttered, catching Akane and Ranma's attention.
"Huh?" Akane and Ranma said in unison.
"Who says you can't have us both?" Ryoga stated, raising the volume of his voice, to be heard clearly, "Society? Gender roles? Who the hell cares about that! Society is the one telling me I can't be with you Ranma, just because you're actually a man! I say, to hell with society! If you want to be with two people, who the hell are they to tell you otherwise!?"
Ranma's eyes widened as what Ryoga said was true, why do they have to follow all these rules? Why does he have to hurt so many people? He's lived his entire life bound to some rules made by society and his father. All for what? Just so they could get by? What if Ranma wanted to do things his way?
"But know this Saotome! I can't speak for Akane! I'm just sayin', I'm all in!" Ryoga exclaimed, his voice quivering as he spoke. It wasn't exactly getting what he wanted, but as long as it involved Ranma and himself, he would take what he can get.
Ranma emotionally shut himself down, this was all just so much to take in. What was right? What was wrong? Yes. Ryoga was all in, but Akane would more than likely reject the idea, causing Ranma's heart to ache, making him grit his teeth.
Akane saw this and looked between the two boys, her face darting left and right and then down to the ground. What would everyone think? What would her dad say? What would happen to Ranma? Her chances of being with Ranma were hanging on a thread. She noticed Ryoga's eyes landing on hers, a saddened expression on his face as if he were pleading with her.
Ranma gasped as he suddenly felt someone embracing him, he looked down to see Akane wrapping her arms around his chest, burying her face. "Please, please don't leave me, Ranma..." Akane cried, fighting the urge to just break down. "I'll do it... I'll do it... I don't care anymore, I love you! I've loved you for so long now! Please..." she whimpered.
"Akane..." Ranma whispered, wrapping his arms around her delicate form. "Thank you."
Akane took a deep breath and pulled back from Ranma and looked up to him, the pig-tailed boy looked down, only to have her press her lips against Ranma's. Ranma's only response was to allow this, his eyes wide the entire time. The two felt a surge of emotions flooding them, constant hit and misses suddenly being addressed after so long. Akane slowly pulled back from the kiss and fluttered her eyes open, little tear dots at the corner of her eyes as she offered a small but somewhat sad smile.
Ryoga watched with a somewhat timid smile, his eyes looking towards Ranma's lips as he and Akane pulled back, Ryoga shook his head and closed his eyes, allowing himself to sigh in relief, as the unease in his chest slowly fades away.
The pig-tailed boy returned Akane's smile with one of his own. Though heard Ryoga's sigh at the last moment, his eyes going wide as he knew that kissing just Akane was probably unfair in this situation, after all, Ryoga had pitched the idea which in turn made it so that he could be with both Ryoga and Akane.
Ryoga opened his eyes to see Ranma standing before him, eyes awkwardly staring into his as there was a small blush on Ranma's face, Ryoga even finding this cute enough to compare to Ranma's girl side, watching as Ranma's eyes looked down and then back up to him.
Ranma saw that Ryoga appeared to be mesmerized with him, judging by the blush on Ryoga's face, that was obvious, "Hey! Don't stare so much! Just be patient with me, okay!?" Ranma exclaimed, then stomped away from the two.
Akane and Ryoga watched, unsure of what was going to happen, Ryoga seemingly a bit hurt that he didn't actually get that kiss he wanted, so he lowered his head. Akane looked towards Ryoga, looking as though she was about to comfort him, at least that was until she heard the sound of running water being violently splashed against someone's face, Ranma apparently using the park's water fountain as a means to change into his girl form.
Ryoga also caught wind of this sound and looked towards the source, seeing Ranma casually walk over to him, now in his girl form.
"I ain't ready to kiss ya' as a guy, yet..." Ranma paused, fighting the urge to say a pig-related insult, "Ryoga." Ranma finished, showing the struggle.
Ryoga smiled tenderly when he heard this, after his smile the lost-boy took the redhead into his arms, one hand on her hip and the other on her cheek. Ranma flinched noticeably, her hair standing on end. At first, Ranma was somewhat resistant, however, that familiar feeling sank in and allowed her mind to go blank as Ryoga took her breath away. To Ryoga, this wasn't a kiss just to be fair, this was a lover's kiss. Ranma could almost feel the amount of passion Ryoga was pouring into this.
Akane watched with wide eyes, only getting wider as she noticed how 'into it' Ryoga was getting, it got to the point that she had to avert her eyes. "Alright... calm down you two..." she said, keeping her tone somewhat reserved as she stuck her hand out and waved it for them to stop; a small blush on her face.
Ranma was now at the point where she was just as into it as Ryoga, tilting her head to the side, parting her lips ever so gently as to keep going back in for more. Doing that, though, only caused Ryoga to become more confident, which in turn lead to him french kissing the redhead in his arms. Ranma inhaled deeply through her nose and allowed this to happen, the two just living in the moment.
"Hey! Are you two listening to me!?" Akane shouted, blushing brightly now, as being the audience to such a steamy moment wasn't all too comfortable.
Ryoga felt the ice around his heart begin to melt away, losing that empty feeling in him. Continuing to kiss Ranma feverishly, despite the protests from a blue haired girl.
Continuing to kiss Ranma feverishly, despite the protests from a blue haired girl.
Both Ranma and Ryoga knew that the road ahead of them wasn't going to be an easy one, but since when were they known for doing things the easy way? It's just who they were, it's what helped them come together.
One would only come to expect that from...
Ryoga's Girlfriend.
Foxes From the Foxxy~
DaisukiFox~