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Armed and Dangerously in Love

&&&&& Setting - Three weeks prior &&&&&

Ranma sat in the dojo, the silence surrounding him, welcoming him, and relished his pressence. However all could not be when it came to Ranma, and a shrill cry of "RANMA NO BAKA!" filled the air, causing Ranma to turn around. He stared blankly at the dojo entrance, where Akane was standing, her aura a blazing red and scorching the spot where she stood.

Blinking at the venom in her voice, but not unaccustomed to it, Ranma tilted his head and stood up "What's wrong Akane?"

Narrowing her eyes at him, as a tick appeared in her left eye, Akane growled out "I heard what you did with Shampoo! HOW DARE YOU SLEEP WITH HER!"

Going wide eyed, Ranma warded away anything she accused him of with the waving of his hands "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING AKANE! I SWEAR!"

She summoned her trusty mallet and slammed him over the head, but not before screaming "EVERYONE IN SCHOOL KNOWS YOU TWO SCREWED EACH OTHER!"

Kasumi stepped out of the house and over heard the conversation, before letting out a 'oh my', and stepped into the dojo "Oh my Akane, Ranma-kun was helping me today. We bumped into each other in the market and he helped carry everything home"

Deflating a bit, Akane frowned "But Nee-chan, Ranma's always being a pervert!" She pretended not to notice the hurt look on Ranma's face and continued "If he didn't do Shampoo today, he would end up having his way with her eventually! He's always thinking of something perverted!"

Kasumi looked at the dejected Ranma with a slight look of apprehension, before shaking her head "Akane,... I know you mean the best, but you can't keep making assumptions about other people"

Staring wide eyed at her sister, Akane growled and turned onto Ranma "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT BAKA!" and proceeded to send him flying through the air via Akane-air.

Staring in abject horror at the blatant show of violence, Kasumi gave her best repromanding look before sternly setting Akane straight "Akane dear,... maybe you should go to your room for the night. I think you need to calm down"

Blinking at the timid way of punishing her, Akane shrugged "Sorry Nee-chan, but I promised Yuka I would see a movie with her" She pushed past Kasumi before anything else could be said, and proceeded out of the gate.

Kasumi stared at her retreating form with a slight frown (to most it seemed like a less smile) before heading into the house - I wonder when dear Akane will realize she is hurting Ranma-kun- she sighed to herself before stepping into the kitchen, and starting to chop some onions for her stew -Then again,... Akane did seem quite content with hurting him. I wonder,... no, no way little sister could do such a thing. She may be a violent maniac, but she's not so sadistic as to purposely hurt Ranma is she?- With a choked back sob, that Kasumi didn't even realize, she went about cutting the onions for her stew, all the while tears running down her face.

---- Three hours Later ----

Ranma grumbled a bit as he, now a she, stepped lightly into the house. He didn't know why Akane did such a thing to him, but he did know that it hurt. A lot. Broken hearted and hungry, or so his stomach told him, Ranma treaded into the kitchen in hopes of reheating some of Kasumi's delicious stew. Once he was in the kitchen, Ranma's mouth dropped open as he caught Kasumi laying on the table, sobs racking her body. Quickly moving to her side, Ranma gave her a nervous glance "K-Kasumi, ya okay?"
Stiffening in shock at being found in such a compromising position, Kasumi looked up and saw him cringe -poor boy must be really nervous- she stiffled a giggle and nodded her head, wiping her eyes in the mean time "Oh my, I'm so sorry Ranma-kun. I thought everyone was already in bed, I will get out of you-"

She never got a chance to finish that sentence as relief flooded Ranma's face "Oh thank goodness, I thought someone had hurt you or sumthin. I'm curious though Kasumi, do you do this all the time?" He saw the shock on her face, and gave her a soft smile "I hear you from time to time, but after checking in on you, you always seemed to stop, so I never thought twice about it. I honestly thought it was because you were just stuck here while everyone else had such lively lives"

Kasumi's eyes went wide as the tears threatened to descend again -He,... He noticed me?- she looked into Ranma's eyes and noticed they were still nervous, but was won out by the concern he was feeling toward the oldest "R-Ranma-kun,.. Do you ever feel like,... your alone? Like everyone around you just want you because of something you do?"

Gicing a soft sigh, Ranma quinched any thought of running from this question -I owe her this much,... she has done so much for me, as well as her family- giving a small nod, Ranma sat in the chair across from Kasumi. At first he stared at the table in thought, but then smiled slightly and looked Kasumi in the eye "I know exactly how you feel Kasumi,... To be honest, My whole likfe is just like you said. Shampoo wants me because of my skill in the art, and the fact that I beat her. Ukyou only wants me because I was 'hers' before anyone else's. Akane,..." Ranma sighed and broke eye contact with the eldest Tendo, before looking at his hands nervously "Akane is just,... I just can't trust her. I know she has been hurting me on purpose lately. To me, that doesn't show how much you care for someone. I thought it would be quite the opposite. At first I thought it was normal-"

Kasumi gave a slight gasp at that little tid bit of information -Ranma didn't know that her malleting him was meant to cause pain? That's so,... so sad!- as tears started to trek down her cheeks.

Ranma continued on without even noticing, or rather, not able to notice, as he stared at his hands in frustration and half anger "Until I came across a couple who was just holding hands, relishing in the feeling of one another. It was like a rev,... revo-" He gave a confused grunt before looking at Kasumi to recieve her thoughts, only to blink as he stared at her tear slicken face "K-Kasumi? Ya alright?"

Nodding her head slightly, and giving a smile she thought passed as the norm, Kasumi quelched his fears "Don't worry Ranma,... I'm not angry or anything, I was just so sad that you never knew what Akane was doing to you." Seeing Ranma's confused face, Kasumi gave a small giggle "Ranma,... I tried,... I tried so hard to stop her, so many times. But she just doesn't listen to me,... only when I'm being strict with her, will she do what I want her to, but she'll hate me for a few days. It's so hard!"

Seeing Kasumi having such a burning hatred on the topic, Ranma felt a small chill run down his spine -Kasumi's been trying to stop Akane? I thought that it was just normal for her outbursts like that. Oh man, I am so stupid!- His memory flashed a bit as he recalled some of the times Kasumi stepped into their little spats -Of course she tried,... she cares about everyone,...- For some reason, Ranma felt a little depressed about that last thought "Ah, don't worry about it Kasumi, I've taken harder hits than that" He mock grunted and patted his chest.

Kasumi giggled a little again, before sniffling and drying her eyes "I guess,... but it doesn't mean that it is right. I am going to try and talk to her about it tomorrow. No one deserves that kind of punishment, least of all you Ranma-kun, and the word you were looking for is revelation"

Staring at her in wonderment, Ranma flushed slightly "Ah,... where was I?" Seeing her smile demurely, Ranma blushed a bit more and remembered "Oh yeah,... it was like a revelation,... I mean, I finally opened my eyes as to how couples should act." He lost his blush and once more stared at his hands "I mean, imagine my surprise when I found out that the closest person to a girlfriend I have, is you Kasumi. I mean, I was rather shocked-" He looked up to see her eyes wide and panicked "Not that you aren't cute of nuthing, Your definately beautiful, but I mean. Your not even one of my suitors, and your the closest to the person society deems appropriate of me."

TO BE CONTINUED -----

Just wanted you all to know that I have started to take Marissa out to meet new people, and hopefully she will open up to one of them. I know I will personally victimize the punk if he wrongs her, but hey, step-by-step.

Thank you all for caring so much to leave your thoughts on the subject.