"Why's this making no sense to me at all!?"
Ranma scratched his head roughly and tried to concentrate even more harder as he looked down heatedly at his open book. As if glaring down at the notes will make it easier for him to understand and the notes will make itself manageable for him to solve them.
"Damn it!" He whined loudly and pulled his braid in frustration. Ranma huffed defeated as he puts his arm over the table. He supported his cheek with his palm, then twirling his pencil on his other hand, he started to think to himself,
'What am I gonna do now? I am feeling so tired right now that I can't even concentrate in studying anymore! Oh well, it's ok that I don't have any pressure on my back to pass the exam or anything.. At this rate, I don't think I am ever gonna pass anyways..'
He yawned loudly and looked out from his open window. He saw the moon in the night sky and the stars twinkling on its sides. The sight was indeed beautiful and it certainly reminded him of someone. Someone who's as violent as ever and who's beauty pours through her personality. He smiled fondly thinking about his so-called uncute tomboy. These days, the more he thinks about her the more he feels proud of her. The way she is adopting and adjusting with all the changes that are happening, not complaining a single moment, keeping herself calm and the way she is caring for her family as well, is so amazing to witness. He knows that the Tendo's are very close and attached with each other, but it's looking as if their bond has become even more stronger than before.
He felt so happy and giddy that they always treat him like one of their family members. But, it's a harsh reality that he is still not. It's not permanent yet. And to think that, Akio may soon proudly call himself the part of their family, the thought alone is making him furious.
'Oh man! Damn! I should stop thinking about all this nonsense.'
He frowned as he sighs sadly, still watching the moon with his pity ocean blue eyes. This is also a part where he had to adjust himself. To see Akane and Akio spending so much time together. Not romantically, but not so casually as well. He knows they have to prepare for their finals. And unlike him, Akane has a big burden on her back, to pass the exam and to bring great marks for her further studies. That poor girl doesn't have any other choice left now and it's not possible for him to declare to her that he is going to arrange money for her further studies. He wants to help her so badly, but the truth is he can't. He is already having a hard time arranging necessities for her. He can't just risk her career for his insecurities. He knows how important her studies are to her. He knows, if he tries hard he can arrange money for her, but it may take longer, he just can't ask her to wait for him. And as far as he knows her, he doubts that she would ever let him help her with this. They are in no sort of serious relationship where he could ask her to do any of this. So, nowadays, the only thing that he can do is, watch them study together, watch them smiling and teasing, and not only that, to sometimes witness them talking over the phone.
He greeted his teeth angrily and in his bitterness, he snapped his pencil in two pieces. He growled and threw the pencil away as he balled his fists tightly and looked at his hand with hard eyes. Then he closed his eyes and tried to take some deep breaths to calm his beating heart as he tried to think about other things to calm himself.
'I need ta calm down. I need to trust her. She is just studying with him,that's all. I shouldn't get worked up about that… Right?! And thanks to Kami, I have decided to start working, or else it would have been more difficult for me to see all this happening..' He sighs tiredly and stretches his both arms behind him and sits upright by taking support from his arms. He again looked out from his open window and thought to himself,
'Did that tomboy get that box yet? I think she did... Well, I saw Kasumi taking it from the front door. I hope she gave it to her.. Would she like what's inside of it.. Well, it's nothing to be so proud of.. Honestly, these are the only things that I could manage to buy with all I managed to earn in this short period of time. Oh God, I hope she won't find out who sent it to her…Nah! How can she predict it anyway? I made sure to make it difficult for her to find out who the person really is.. I didn't leave any clue for her to know. Oh boy, I just can't let her know that it's from me or else she would shower me with all her curious queries. I don't wanna make her upset as well. I know if she finds out about my job, she would be very angry that I am working now, when we have exams knocking on the door. But, I had to do it for her.. I know she is struggling with things and I also know that she will never ever admit that she is having difficulties. That tomboy, I wish she acted more expressively so that things would have been much easier for me.'
Ranma scrunched his nose as he chuckled and said to himself,
"Nah! 'Kane, expressive! No way! Hah, what am I wishing for? She won't be a tomboy if she starts acting so cute all of a sudden..heh!' He smirked to himself as his train of thoughts began again. But he could only blink his eyes when he suddenly felt a pull on his braid and his stunned blue eyes met none other than Akane's concerned filled ones. He blinked his eyes once, twice, still confused by her sudden appearance. He saw her sighing and shaking her head at him. Then clearing her throat she asked him,
"What is the matter with you?"
"Huh!" Was his brilliant answer. Then when he felt her removing her hand from him , he turned to her fully and asked her,
"Can't ya knock or something before coming in? What if I was changing?"
Akane frowned at him and said,
"Knock?! Oh honestly Ranma, I was knocking for almost half an hour! I was ready to leave when I heard you talking to someone! Who were you talking to anyway?".
Ranma looked at her with an dumbfounded expression , then when he saw her frowning at him again, he cleared his voice and said,
"Uhh.. To no one.."
"Uha!?" She asked with a suspicious tone and slowly sat on the ground beside him, "But I am sure I heard you talking.."
"Duh! Can't I just talk ta myself?!" He asked her with a moody tone. His feelings are still sore from the Akio fact.
"Hmm.. Aren't you being too moody for a change?"
Ranma sighs and relaxed his postures a bit, then looking at her firmly, he said,
"Yeah, sorry for that.. I was just uhh.. umm.. oh yeah! I was just concentrating on solving this math problem and it seems like I can't manage it anyhow…" he said, ready to whine again..
"Which one?This?!" Akane asked as she checked the open book over his table. After looking at the book, she gave him a funny look and said in an astonishing tone. "Ranma! This is not even in our exam! Why are you even trying this?!"
"It's not?!" He asked as he blinked his eyes in confusion.
"If you paid a tiny bit of attention in the class you would have known this, baka.." She said as she shook her head at him in an unbelievable manner.
Ranma pouted at her and said with a pained voice,
"Laugh at me if you want, sorry but I am not as smart as your Akio.."
"My Akio! What did you mean by that, Ranma?!" Akane was shocked to hear that coming from him, then she asked him in an annoying tone, "And why are you suddenly pulling him in all this?"
Ranma frowned at her and said bitterly,
"Oh sorry! My bad, I shouldn't have dragged him inta nothin' in front of ya.."
"Ranma!" Akane whispers harshly as she gives him a heated look. Then closing her eyes she tried to take some deep breaths to calm herself. Then after some brief seconds, she sighs and opens her eyes as she gives him a sad look. Then she told him in a soft voice,
"Ranma.. Please, let me help you with this. If things continue like this, I am afraid you won't even pass the exam at all."
Ranma noticed her instant mood changes, being bubbly to upset and then her sudden alarming tone. He knows very well that he is behaving like a complete jerk towards her. But, it's as if he has no control over his cold heart when he thinks about her being with someone else rather than him. Ranma sighs defeated as he nodded at her and that instantly rewarded him to finally being able to see her warm beautiful smile. He returned her smile with his own as he saw her flipping the pages for him and giving her full attention to his book. Ranma went closer to her, minding little gap between them as he also tried to focus on the things Akane was trying to tell him and trying his best to not to lose his senses at the way she smells. He could feel that he was slowly losing this battle with his inner self. His lonely nostrils suddenly filled with her familiar smells, which he was missing badly these days.
"So you understand it now Ranma?"
"Uhh?!" Suddenly pulled out from his daydream, he looked at her in confusion as he started blinking his eyes, "Oh yeah that! Umm yeah I got it now..!"
Akane sighed loudly and looked at him with an irritated manner, giving her full attention to him now.
"You haven't listened to a thing that I told you, have you?"
"I uhh.. Umm. I.. I.. " Ranma sighs and says, "Nop,I was kinda space out …."
"Okay then, if you don't want to do this then I am out of here.." Akane said angrily as she started to get up to leave, slightly hurt at his ignorance.
Ranma hastily snatched her arm slightly and made her sit next to him again. Then looking at her with hard weavery eyes he asked,
"Where are ya going?"
"Where else?! To my room, Ranma." She said as she tried to make him leave her arm, only resulting in making him grip her even more tightly..
"But ya said ya will help me study.." Ranma said in a small pleading tone which made her stop struggling as she gave him a soft look.
"I want to help you Ranma, but you are not listening to me at all. I think you are not in the mood to talk to me right now.." She said sadly as a matter of fact.
"Who said that?"
"Who else!"
"I have never said that! Stop putting words into my mouth, tomboy.."
"What did you just call me?" Akane asked him, getting more ticked off at his childlike behavior.
"I said I'm sorry 'kay? I didn't mean to ignore what ya said, I was just feeling too tired that I zoomed out.."
Akane calmed down fully and started thinking about what to do next with him. Then giving him a sly look, she said,
"Well, in that case, you have to do me a favor after I help you with all this.."
"Favor?! What favor..?!" Ranma asked, slightly confused at her sudden declaration.
Akane gave him a bright smile and to his surprise she started giggling as she said in an exciting tone,
"Yes.. I really need your help in this, Ranma.. I need you to find someone for me.."
That made him even more confused, "Find someone? But who?"
Akane giggled again and said with twinkle in her eyes,
"Ryoga.."
"Ryoga!?" He was too stunned to say anything else as he got even more disturbed. Then when he noticed how excitedly she nodded her head at him while smiling, he greeted his teeth in anger and asked her, not so politely,
"And why are ya searching for that bacon breath?!"
"Ranma!" Akane gave a warning look to a frowning Ranma. Then shaking her head at him, she said in a warm tone,
"Oh Ryoga!" The way she sighed his name and that tone of hers made him grip the edge of the table even more tightly, then he heard her saying again, "You won't believe what he did for me, Ranma.."
"And why would that pork butt would do anything for an uncute tomboy girl like you?"
Akane's mood again shifted to a happy one to an annoying one as she whispers to him harshly,
"Would you stop calling us names? Or you want me to get out of here, Mr poker face?"
Ranma realise a big sigh of his outrage as he greeted his answer to her,
"Okay, tell me why you want me to find that pork I mean .. Owink owink I mean .. Bacon, what I mean to say is.."
"You mean to say Ryoga.." She finished for him while giving him a cute smile.
"Yeah.. Yeah that.. that navigator.."
Akane couldn't control as she giggled again and said,
"Oh that sweet navigator of mine has came today and you won't believe what he did! He left lots of souvenirs for me! And guess what, every single thing that he gifted me this time is so important for me. I was actually yearning to get them. Well, I surely need to meet him in person so that I can thank him properly.."
When he heard what she said, his suspicious eyes went wide with surprise as well as his mouth. He couldn't believe what he was hearing from her. Yes, this is what he wanted, to make her believe that he was not the one who sent them to her. But that doesn't mean that he would let her get away with thinking that it's from Ryoga!... No way! He growled loudly as he saw the mesmerizing way she was smiling at his way, expecting him to accept her request to find that culprit for her. He looks away from her and said heatedly,
"No! I'm not gonna help ya find him.."
"Huh! But why!?" She asked him while pouting.
"Because.." He turned to her and almost yelled at her face. But at the last minute, he controlled his tone and said with a tight tone, "Because, he is not the one who sent it ta ya.."
Akane blinked her eyes at him in confusion, then she asked,
"But.. But how could you tell, huh?"
"And how could ya tell that it's him!" He asked her while frowning.
She shrugs her shoulders and says, "Well, for one thing, he is the one who always sends me gifts.."
"Oh so ya think he is the only one, huh?!" He asked, feeling irritated now.
Akane again blinked her eyes in confusion and said innocently,
"Oh my! So you think it's not him who sent me all those things? Then who it might be?" She puts her hand over her mouth in thinking, then she suddenly looked up at him as if a sudden realisation came to her,
"Is that mean.." She whispers unbelievably as she says all this.
"Does that mean, what?!" Ranma asked as he sat up straight and gulped in complete nervousness as he thought to himself, 'Oh no! Did she.. did she find out?' His thinking stopped when he saw her looking at him with complete shock in her beautiful brown eyes. Then he heard her saying,
"Kuno?!"
"Huh!" He checked the room left and right and asked dumbfounded, "Where is he?"
"Why would he be here , Baka?!" Akane shook her head and said, "What I mean to say is, if it's not from Ryoga, then I think it might be from Kuno.. Right? Oh Kami, now how am I gonna go and say thanks to him! Ranma, you will help me right?"
Ranma looked at her as if he saw horns coming out from her head. His mouth started opening and closing like a fish out of water. Then his stunned stance broke when he saw her shaking her hand in front of his face, to get his attention back.
"Ranma! Hey! You spaced out again?!"
That made him come back to reality as he snapped at her and started yelling at her without even thinking what he was saying anymore,
"What the hell, Tomboy! First it was Ryoga, then Kuno, then next you would say Akio or worse Senusuke! Are ya dumb or what!"
"Hey! Don't call me that!" She pouted at him heatedly, then asked him in a confused tone,"So, you're saying , it's not from them either!"
"Not in a million years!" He yelled, his blood boiling with rage.
"Oh! Then, what about Hiroshi or maybe Daisuke?!"
Ranma growled loudly as he went closer to her face and snapped his answer to her,
"You know what? You are sooo so sooo un-cute! Uncute! Un-ce-ute..! Baka! Baka! Ba-ka! Bakaa!"
Their faces were inches apart from each other as he loudly said those words to her while panting and frowning with anger. Akane tried harder to hold onto her confused face, but looking at his facial expressions she couldn't control herself anymore as she burst out laughing at his face.
Ranma got agitated when he saw her laughing historically at him as she hid her face behind her palm. Her laughter was getting louder and louder, making him even more confused than before. After some moments, he clears his voice and asked her in an irritated tone,
"What are ya laughing at?!"
Hearing his voice only doubled up her laughter, she puts both her hands over his shoulder to steady herself as she tried to say in between her laughter,
"Oh honestly! Haha.. Ranma, you are! Oh my God! Hahaha! Just look at your face!"
Her laughter died down a bit , but she was still giggling softly while holding onto him. And just like a bulb turned on, Ranma suddenly realized what's this was all about..
'She knew it was me from the beginning! She was playing with me…!'
He growled and slowly removed her hands from him. Then turning to his table he again looked out from his window, completely ignoring his giggling tomboy.
Akane stopped laughing as she sighed happily. She looked at his backside as she saw him avoiding her. She smiled warmly and got closer to his side. But when she reached his side, he instantly looked away from her while pouting at her.
"Ranma.. Hey! Look at me.."
"You knew it was me, didn't ya?" He asked, still not turning to her.
"Well, it was not that easy for me to guess it , you know.. You hardly even left any clue for me.." After saying this, she bites her own tongue to stop herself from laughing. Then she saw him giving her a narrow look as he asked her,
"Then… How'd ya find out then?"
That made her smile at him warmly as she said with a genuine tone,
"I… I just knew, okay? I know that, it's always you, Ranma.."
"Really!" He asked in an unsure tone as he turned to her slowly.
She nodded her head at him as she smiled and said, "Thank you, Ranma.. I.. I really appreciate you doing all this for me.. But.."
"But what?" He asked her softly.
Akane sighs and slowly clasps her hand over his hand on the table. Ranma blushed at her sudden action but didn't said anything, waiting for her to finish what she wants to say to him,
"Ranma, I am sorry but.. but I can't take all this from you.."
A/N: I am back! I hope you are all doing fine.. Sorry for the long wait :) .. Trust me i had reasons :p.. i have kind of forced myself to comeback to writing. I hope you guys will like it :)