"Of Loss, Life, & Love"
A Ranma ½ Fanfic by Luna12
Chapter 17: "Shock"
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Author's thanks:
The amazing Angela Jewell edited and made this story infinitely better. Special shout outs to: Sweet Sugarrrush, UrmixMoonstone, PurseMonger, caia-chan, VlightPhase, BiGDeal, linkgold64, AliaBobbwa, priSmcoloredseaturtle, and all of you for your supportive reviews.
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It was a sunny morning at the Tendo breakfast table. Nodoka smiled sweetly at Akane and her son from across the table. "I've hardly seen you two the past few days. What have you been up to?"
"Ranma and I started dan-" Akane began, but Ranma quickly interrupted.
"Training! We're training for this joint competition."
Akane's eyebrows scrunched in puzzlement at the interruption, before she remembered how sensitive Ranma was to taking dance lessons and his perceived manliness.
"Yes, Auntie. We accepted a ... challenge. It'll be in two months."
Ranma started to relax until Kasumi chimed in. "Why, I thought it was also a dance competition. Isn't that why you're taking ballroom lessons?"
Ranma blanched.
"Ballroom dancing?" Nodoka repeated, her voice neutral.
"Dance-and-Fight-Tournament, Mother. We got the fightin' part nailed, but there's this stupid dance portion..."
Akane finished for him. "Ranma and I are determined to win, hence the dance lessons."
Nabiki smirked teasingly. "Yeah. Pretty hot dancing, too. I saw the commercials on TV. The judges have to evaluate you two on passionate chemistry."
Genma perked up at that. This could be the perfect way to get his stubborn teenage son married, or at least properly flirting with the Tendo heir. Perhaps some specialized training for his son...so that he knew how to put on the right moves to Tendo-kun's daughter! Ah, if only Soun were still here to help him capitalize on the opportunity. Genma was so lost in thought that Ranma managed to steal an extra helping off of his pop's plate.
Nodoka smiled, accepting the competition as having a manly enough aspect for her son. "Ah, to hold a woman tightly in your arms, expressing all your physical strength and stamina…" For a moment Nodoka looked wistfully nostalgic, before coming back to attention. "That sounds wonderful for you two!"
Both Akane and Ranma blushed. There was no way either of them could make shy denials when Nodoka set her mind to something.
Feeling put on the spot, Ranma opened his mouth. "Yeah, but the judges are also looking for sexy. How the hell is Akane gonna pull that off?" Soon as the words escaped his mouth he knew he was doomed.
Akane's face went red with embarrassment. She was up on her feet, forcing down the impulse to bury his head into the wooden table. "Then go find some other partner! Or better yet, do it alone: you can play both roles!" With a quick grab at Ranma's collar, he soon found himself midair and landing in the koi pond.
Ranma, now a petite female redhead, wrung out his outer red shirt and squishily reentered the dining space. Akane was no longer there.
Nabiki clucked her tongue at the magically transformed teen. "You got off easy, Saotome."
Nodoka's face was scrunched in disapproval. "Ranma, how could you say that to Akane?"
Kasumi couldn't help but innocently mention, "Oh, but Ranma is always saying things like that."
Ranma put his hand over his face and groaned. He knew he was in for a lecture now.
His mother scowled. "A young lady wants to feel attractive to her betrothed. What you said was very insulting, son. I'm disappointed in you." In emphasis, unconsciously or not, his mother fingered her wrapped katana.
Ranma gulped. It's not that he wasn't attracted to Akane. As much as he had tried to fight it, his timing of seeing her naked in the bath provided proof she had a great body...and she wasn't lusted over by so many of the guys in high school without reason.
Still, there was just no comparing Akane's tomboyish, athletic ways to Shampoo's seductiveness, or Kodachi's forwardness… not that he wanted to be married to either of them.
Akane was cute and at times, (he had to admit), beautiful...but sexy wasn't an adjective in her toolbox. She was a strange contradiction; one minute wearing girly ruffled skirts, the next in tomboyish athletic gear or her worn out gii. Either way, she could certainly be called cute, but sexy...no. Well, other than when possessed by a vengeful doll spirit.
Even Kasumi was giving Ranma a relatively scolding glare. "Ranma, Akane may be a violent tomboy, but she's still a high school girl. With all the physical insecurities of that age."
Ranma sighed, gratefully accepting the proffered tea kettle to return to his male form. "I guess I better apologize..."
Nodoka, surprisingly, stopped him with an arm on his shoulder.
"You certainly should, but not yet...let me speak to her first."
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Nodoka knocked gently on Akane's door. "It's Auntie, dear. May I come in?"
Akane opened the door, nervous at what her prospective mother-in-law would say over her very unladylike behavior.
"It was very rude of Ranma to say something like that."
Of all the things she expected Ranma's mother to say, that was not it. Akane didn't know how to respond. At the sudden kindness and understanding, she felt her throat tighten with emotion. She wondered, again, if this was a taste of what her life would have been like if her mother was still alive.
Akane pushed those thoughts aside, addressing the real problem. "But it's true. I'm not sexy. I'm the unfeminine tomboy."
Akane felt her insecurities welling up. Compared to Shampoo and Kodachi, she wasn't sexy. It wasn't something she tried to be, really. She tried to look nice, of course, but makeup and flirting was neither something she had confidence or interest in.
Nodoka paused. "Do you want to be sexy?"
The question, put so bluntly, made Akane think carefully. "I guess...maybe...occasionally." She felt genuinely confused. Akane was pretty happy with the way she was, even if it did sting to be called unfeminine. She was a bit of a tomboy, and she accepted that. Although she would like to improve on her cooking and sewing skills, the rest didn't matter to her. She didn't want to change what made her fundamentally herself. Still, she wanted to be acknowledged as a woman and be thought of as attractive. Ranma flat out declaring she was unsexy hurt.
As if reading Akane's thoughts, Nodoka patted Akane's knee comfortingly. "Either way, my son likes you very much just the way you are now."
Akane's eyes widened. "Did he tell you that?"
Nodoka smiled secretively. "Not in so many words, but it seems fairly obvious, doesn't it? He spends his free time with you more than anyone else. Even with all those other girls chasing him."
Akane paused to let the information sink in. There was a ring of truth in it, even if Nodoka was biased. Maybe Ranma didn't like everything about her - just as she didn't like everything about him - but she accepted the entire package. She even...if only to herself, could admit...loved him. The Mirror of True Love had revealed both of their feelings, even if they struggled at confessing them. Maybe, just maybe, Ranma wasn't being entirely honest about that "unsexy" comment.
Nodoka watched the emotions play out on Akane's face before giving a small motherly chuckle. "Now, you don't have to change your entire fashion sense or who you are… but it certainly couldn't hurt to prepare for this competition as you would for any other battle."
Akane nodded, following the logic.
Nodoka smiled. "Your sisters and I have just the idea to help."
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Later that afternoon, in the ladies' dressing room of a hip department store...
Akane tried to keep from rolling her eyes. Both of her sisters and Auntie seemed to be taking perverse glee forcing her in and out of all sorts of clothing in search of the right look. They hardly listened to her own opinion, and Akane was starting to feel like a life sized Barbie doll.
After losing track of how many pants, skirts, shorts, and other bottoms they had forced on her, Kasumi presented another article.
"This will be better for your large hips, Akane-chan."
Akane grimaced. She was mostly muscle, not fat, but it never failed to irk her when it was pointed out how much she didn't fit the the idealized slender body plastered on the magazines.
As if Nodoka could read her mind, she gave Akane a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Your figure is quite lovely, dear. So perfectly suited for childbearing!" Akane's face started to mimic a tomato but she at least managed to suppress the impolite groan. Auntie was already taking on the role of affectionate mother-in-law and was only trying to help.
Nabiki crowed triumphantly at her latest find. "This is the winner. Here!" She shoved a sparkly black piece of cloth at Akane's head.
The black shirt, if it could even be called that, was a spaghetti strapped halter top that clung tightly to Akane's bustline. It ended well above her belly button to expose her toned midriff. Akane was appalled. "I've worn bathing suits that have covered me up more!"
Nabiki rolled her eyes. "We know, oh modest one. Isn't our school Anything Goes?"
Akane grimaced. "Yeah…"
Nabiki smirked. "So shut up and flaunt it."
Kasumi added a slightly more modest touch; to layer over the halter, she handed Akane a crimson red short sleeved top. The color was a perfect match to Ranma's favorite Chinese silk shirt, and it sported a wide neckline with a low v-cut. The sleeves barely caressed the edge of her shoulders, leaving most of the sparkling black material visible and eye-catching. This shirt cropped even shorter than the skimpy halter, but was flowing instead of skin tight. It had the effect of luring the eye to the gap between the two fabrics, emphasizing Akane's feminine shape while adding a playful element. It turned the outfit from a direct shout of "come hither!" to a mischievous "you like?".
Nabiki gave her younger sister an approving thumbs up. "Ranma won't know what hit him."
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Ranma exited the bathroom, (fully clean and dressed after a hard training session with Pop), and marched to Akane's bedroom door. He still hadn't had the chance to properly apologize; after his mom had gone to talk to Akane, they had suddenly left to go shopping. Ranma figured it was some girly thing he'd heard about from school: "retail therapy".
Now, though, he couldn't put it off any longer. It wasn't just Akane who was miffed with him. All the women living in the Tendo household made it clear that Ranma's hurtful comments would no longer be tolerated. Kasumi had even threatened to skip his dinner! He wondered how much that had to do with his mother's presence in the house, or just the extra defensiveness the sisters felt for each other after their father's death.
Either way, the time to face his temperamental fiancée had come.
Ranma knocked on the bedroom door.
"Akane? You in there?"
Akane's voice replied from the closed door. "Why, so you can insult me some more?"
Yup, she's still feeling hurt. Ranma felt a twinge of guilt. "Sheesh, I just wanna talk. About the tournament."
The door remained close, but Akane's voice drifted through. "Wait a sec, I'm getting dressed."
Ranma paused. It was hard enough apologizing, let alone facing Akane when she might still be really upset with him. It was probably best to say his piece through the door rather than wait.
"Uh, so..." Ugh, why was this so hard? He took a deep breath. He was Ranma Saotome. He was the best martial artist of his generation. He would not let something as stupid as an apology keep him from expressing himself. "Look, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. I need you as my partner. Will you still do it with me?"
The door opened.
Ranma's eyes went wide. That was...Akane?
Eye shadow made her eyes seem brighter, and a slightly redder tint to her lips brought out the tantalizing fullness of their shape. But it wasn't the subtle makeup that had Ranma's jaw hanging open.
Ranma's eyes trailed down to Akane's exposed midriff and low hanging black mini skirt. Although she wore opaque capri tights for some level of modesty, there was no hiding the beautiful curve of her legs or the hourglass shape of her exposed waist. He felt his mouth go dry. Even though he'd seen Akane's body before, it was never in this context. The fluttering gap between the layered tops made his fingers twitch, and unbidden thoughts of wanting to snake his hand up the teasing space flooded his male mind.
Eventually Ranma's brain registered that Akane was speaking to him. "So, am I sexy enough for the competition?"
Akane gave Ranma a bemused smile and she playfully closed his open jaw with her fingertips.
Ranma gulped and managed to get his mouth working. "Uh, yeah. You look really ..." Ranma gulped again, daring to voice his thoughts and hoping he wouldn't get pummeled for it. "...hot."
Akane's smile widened, but he could see the fire in her eyes hadn't diminished. She pointed a finger at him, warningly. "I'm not doing this for you. I want us to win. Got it?"
Ranma nodded dumbly. Part of him was relieved Akane wouldn't dress like that on a regular basis - he wasn't sure his self control could manage the strain - while another part of him felt disappointed it would be a rare sight.
"Good." Akane's eyes softened and her posture relaxed. "I accept your apology."
Ranma crossed his arms and dared to make a joke. "So if I say stupid stuff again, you'll keep dressing like that?"
Akane playfully smacked him in the head. "Baka."
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Ten days later, Shampoo sat on the edge of her bed. Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at the proof in her hands. It was so small, but it had changed her world and signified the end of a long held dream…
...a plastic stick with a colorful pink plus sign.
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Author's notes:
Sorry it was a short chapter. The next one is 2 x as long!
The review challenge and incentive remains, but revised as this chapter was so short: Only 25 new reviews = early chapter release! If you haven't reviewed an older chapter, those count too!
Publication date: Aug. 28, 2014
Reviews at time of publication: 234
