He lay back on the roof, eyes closed in deep thought, his hair kissed gently by the passing breeze. The night sky was clear and stars dotted the stretch of unending black, like little white spots of paint on a dark piece of paper. The moon hid behind flat clouds, refusing to come out.
Tucking his long, wet hair back over his shoulders, Ranma gazed up at the sky.
What do you wish for?
That question that popped out of nowhere had surprised him. He never knew that Miss. Hinako was the reflective, soulful type; he definitely did not expect her to come up with such a question while they were in class. He'd always thought that debates and discussions in class were limited to the issues and knowledge that came from textbooks, so why did his teacher suddenly put forth this question?
He'd heard answers like "I want to become a millionaire" and "I wish for a life of luxury", trivial and light-hearted replies from his classmates. Materialistic, avaricious desires were the only things they could think of, except for the rare "I don't have any wish" responses which turned up every once in a while from certain indifferent students. Or maybe they just wanted their answer to stand out. To show that they were different from the others. Which was silly, really.
He heard a gasp sound from below him on the veranda. Letting curiosity rule, he got up from his recumbent position and leaned over the rooftop. There she stood, gaping at the coins and notes, which she'd accidentally dropped when she upturned her purse to search for the gym membership card that she'd stashed in a hurry on her way home from school. If she'd lost the card, she'd need to pay around five hundred yen to create a new one, and seeing as to how she could not afford to live lavishly and waste a precious sum of five hundred yen, she'd panicked when she realised that she could not find the aforementioned membership card.
As the wind grew stronger, it absconded with the notes, sending the faded, worn-out bills flying high up into the sky in a light flutter. "Oh, no!" she cried, desperately reaching for the tips of the notes, although she knew it was an abject attempt, for they had risen past the ceiling out into the dark, starry night.
Ranma smiled fondly at her panic-stricken face, a face which he knew she never let slip when others were around. He'd seen her make that expression a few times already. Like the time she'd failed her Math exam (only to later discover that the teacher had made a mistake when correcting her paper), like the time she'd realised that the Tendo Household were facing a severe problem of food (and capital) shortage, like the time she could not finish her assignments and projects in the given time. Although Ranma wished she'd give herself a mental break, let her resilient façade capitulate sometimes, and share her troubles with him, he also understood her need to present herself as a dignified, independent teenager. They were both martial artists, after all, and were nurtured into being self-reliant in different, multifarious situations.
Ranma caught the notes just as the wind blew them further up, up, onto the roof. Encompassing them safely into his hands, he hopped down from the roof and landed before her, his feet softly tapping on the floorboards. Instantly, the frenzied face turned into a relieved one, and a genial smile graced her lips.
"Ranma." She uttered his name, her voice small from the embellished worry she'd felt a while ago.
"Is this the total amount of money you had earlier on?" he passed the notes to her.
She counted them prudently, making sure she didn't miss a single one, before putting them back into her purse, a child-like happiness appearing in her movements.
It wasn't that he hated her. Nor did he dislike her. All those times he'd called her mean names like "kawaikunai" and "tomboy" were in actual truth, his secret appellations of endearments meant only for her. It was meant in the same way a parent would boast about how his child scored 'A's for all his subjects in school and yet claim that his child was a lazy lout who got lucky.
She always took it into stride; those 'mean' comments he made always upset her. But he didn't mind that almost every single private moment they had together was wasted in their raucous arguments. All that wasn't important, not at all. What he really wanted was for her to understand that he would give his life to protect her. That he would sacrifice numerous things for her, just to see her smile and laugh. Yes, all this sounded cheesy, in a sense. And yet…
The question came back, flooding his train of thoughts again. What do you yearn for?
When Miss. Hinako had questioned the class, only one thing bombarded his mind. He knew, without a doubt, what his answer was. And yet, as he leaned back on his uncomfortable seat and his eyes caught a glimpse of that familiar sapphire-black hair in the corner of his eyes, he found that he could not say it out. The thought was jammed in the back of his mind and he was not able to disclose this piece of confidential information to his two good friends.
All he wanted was her. For her to realise that he felt deep adoration for her. For her to realise that his feelings went deeper that just 'liking'.
For her to love him.