"Of Loss, Life, & Love"
A Ranma ½ Fanfic by Luna12
Chapter 19: "Moving"

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"Get your filthy, scullery hands off Ranma-sama's undergarments, you harlot!" the pony-haired gymnast screeched, an accusing finger pointed at an equally irate young woman.

"Like I'm gonna let a crazed bimbo like you touch his shorts! Get lost, Kodachi!" Ukyo clutched the boxers protectively with one arm, and held her giant battle-spatula at the ready with the other.

Ranma groaned, and slowly backed out of his soon-to-be former room in the Tendo household. It was a bit like trying to avoid two rabid dogs fighting over a bone, the way the girls approached "helping" him to pack.

How they had heard he was moving was a mystery to Ranma, but there were two things he could expect from gossip in Nerima; it was fast and brought him trouble. That morning Kodachi had gleefully, and most unexpectedly, arrived at the Tendo residence. She brought with her a moving van and a servant to aid in packing his belongings. Considering he hardly had any, it seemed a bit of overkill. All the furniture belonged to the Tendo family. He only owned his own school supplies, camping gear, and clothing.

Of course, it wasn't just Kodachi who had arrived uninvited. Within minutes of the eccentric gymnast's arrival, Ukyo was at the doorstep also offering to help in the move. So although the Tendo attic was full of belongings (that survived the demolished Saotome house) that were in need of packing, the girls had stationed themselves territorially in his room, bickering over every article.

Ranma retreated successfully to the attic and sighed heavily. Once, he was really flattered by all the attention these girls paid him. Okay...he still kind of enjoyed it, despite the chaotic after effects. It was undeniably a huge ego boost to have pretty girls fawn all over him; being manly enough to attract so many of them eased his embarrassment over his curse.

Today though, he was in no mood for ego stroking. He bent over to pack some more items in a box, and felt a tortuous twist in his stomach. Packing made the unwelcome decision by his mother an unpleasant and undeniable reality. No matter how comfortable an abode his mother's new place might be, it wouldn't feel like home. He'd be away from Akane, no longer living side by side with her.

Ranma's head sunk. Normally he considered himself a pretty easy going guy. He could, and had, put up with a lot in his short life; he could juggle unwanted suitors, handle vigorous, agonizing training conditions, had come to terms with his curse, but this… this…

The overwhelming unfairness of the situation washed over Ranma like a tsunami, drowning in its intensity.

"ARGH!" he yelled, shredding a stack of collapsed packing boxes as if they were mere tissue, instead of thick, corrugated cardboard.

Ranma paused, his breathing as hard and ragged as if he'd just been in battle. It was rare that he lost control of himself; he prided himself on his ability as a martial artist and his own self discipline. He came to his senses as bits of cardboard and disturbed dust motes drifted down around him in mockery. With a chunk of his building frustration finally released, Ranma examined the ruined remains in his hand and sheepishly shook his head. At least without any usable packing supplies, he had a great excuse to check on a sulky tomboy downstairs.

Soon after Nodoka's announcement, Akane had gone quiet, without any real energy or response, and retreated to her room. Ranma had more than enough regrets from how he had handled the situation last time; he wasn't going to provoke another fight, but he wasn't sure if letting her alone to brood was the right response, either.

Ranma climbed to his feet, determined to learn from the past. He would see Akane, and this time he would not get her upset or say anything dumb before he had to leave. And maybe in the process, he could get her to smile...and help him pretend for a little while longer that he wasn't saying goodbye.

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Shampoo pressed further into the shadows and waited, grateful for her training in the advanced arts of aura suppression. It was only a matter of time before the victim revealed herself and presented an opportunity for attack.

Nodoka walked out into the Tendo yard, looking for her wayward son. She felt slightly guilty about the whole move, but it would be for the best. Now that she had made her position resolute, her husband was manning up. Genma had resumed working in Tofu's clinic to help with financial reparations. Nodoka had made it clear to her husband that she would stop all meal preparations unless she handed over his income checks directly to her. She even got Kasumi to agree, so Genma knew he was left with either working or starving.

She hated and feared the thought of failing Ranma as a mother; she would do all in her power to make sure he became a true man among men, even if it meant some unhappiness for him along the way. It was far better than resorting to seppuku, after all.

Nodoka gracefully walked on, oblivious to the eyes watching her hungrily. Despite being the wife and mother to supreme martial artists, she herself had no training. So when she turned the corner, it was over before she could utter a single gasp.

Shampoo gently dragged the unconscious woman out of sight and a cold expression of satisfaction across her face. This had proved far easier than she expected! Still, she had to work quickly and remain undetected. Within the tight confines of the blood pledge, she had little room to exact a secret revenge, and she didn't dare cause any real harm to Ranma's mother. She was under no illusions as to what catastrophe would result if she fully aroused Ranma's wrath.

Shampoo expertly applied the various formulas onto the unconscious woman's scalp in preparation for a very specialized Xi Fa Xiang Gao treatment. Long ago, she had used something similar against Akane to erase her memories of Ranma. At the recollection, she scowled in bitter disappointment. That stubborn food-waster of an obstacle had too strong a will! Unbelievably, Akane had broken through her conditioning. There was no point in repeat treatments on her or Ranma - he had just as strong a will. They would fail and Ranma would only be more upset at her for the attempt.

This time, the game had changed; Shampoo had nothing to lose and everything to gain for a bit of revenge. From her previous spying, she knew Nodoka's natural inclinations and mental weaknesses, and thereby planned the ideal treatment. One formula - with the proper pressure points - would increase Nodoka's natural fears and paranoia. Another would leave her in a permanently irritable state. The third was the most difficult and required the greatest care in manipulation. Rather than erasing memories, Shampoo would both eliminate and block Nodoka from all affection and positive emotions towards Akane.

Shampoo finished her work, carefully rearranging Nodoka's hair pristinely back in it's original hairstyle. She would awaken soon and think she had only stopped to take a nap, never realizing the tumult of new thoughts plaguing her would be artificially induced and enhanced.

Shampoo gathered her supplies back into her pouch with a satisfied smile. At worst, she simply caused a little chaos and disruption into the lives of those who thwarted her. At best though...Shampoo's smile widened.

Her former airen would never marry someone his dear mother hated, now would he?

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Ranma swung upside down, unconsciously resembling the comic book hero Spiderman, as he peered and knocked on Akane's bedroom window.

Ranma frowned. There was no response and he couldn't see Akane. He did not want to risk being seen by the feuding girls in the house, again. He had attempted to look for Akane inside, but before he made it near her door he'd run into Ukyo, whose possessive seizure of his arm was feeling increasingly annoying. It was a move he normally expected from Shampoo. He knew Ukyo had a crush on him, and that she felt honor bound to go through with marrying him, but her sudden increase in clingy behavior was driving him nuts. He had barely managed to get past her and out the door again.

Ranma thought over the possibilities. He hadn't heard World War III coming from inside the house, so he assumed Akane was still purposely ignoring his moving 'helpers'.

Ranma quickly made his way to the dojo. He didn't hear any battle cries or other sounds of destruction, but there was a small pile of newly pulverized bricks outside the entryway. It made for possible good news; Akane had been here venting alright, but she was probably calm by now. His mouth quirked into a small smile, remembering all the times Akane tried to reign in her temper and feign indifference, only to have her explode later from some final push. Hell, he had just reacted the same way up in the attic. So even if she denied it, Ranma knew Akane was feeling upset over the move.

He quietly opened the sliding door and entered. Akane was in her yellow gii, studiously moving through some complex aerial katas. He'd shown them to her last week during their regular training sessions. None of his advanced students were ready for it yet, but Akane was already gracefully transitioning and no longer stumbling through it. A beaded string of sweat on her forehead betrayed the amount of exertion it cost her.

Ranma couldn't help but open his mouth to comment. "Not bad."

Akane finished her final move before stopping to face him, absently batting away a stray lock of hair. Her eyes lit up at the compliment, but she still had a wary look on her face.

"Sick of your fan club already?" she teased him, but there was a warning undertone and challenge to the remark.

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Ha ha," his voice dripped with sarcasm. He shook his head ruefully. "I think it's a toss up if any of my stuff survives the move."

Instead of laughing at the joke, Akane frowned. "Then why don't you tell them to leave? If you needed help, you could have asked me. Or do you really need the reminder that you have other fiancées at your beck and call?"

Ranma frowned, Akane's remarks hit a little too close to home and stirred up his defenses. "Like me telling them has ever worked? And you've been hiding since my mom made the announcement!"

"I've not been hiding!"

Ranma scoffed. "You could have fooled me. You didn't come down for breakfast, then you weren't in your room - "

Akane cut him off, her expression suddenly softened in pleasant surprise. "You were looking for me….?"

"Yeah, dummy. Who else?" The words escaped before Ranma could think, and the revealing admission triggered his old habit of backpedaling. "I mean, we gotta talk about our training and teaching schedule, with me goin' out of the house and everything…"

Akane's eyes dulled. "Oh." Her posture stiffened. "I should have known that'd be all you care about..." Akane turned to exit.

"Hey, don't be uncute! I never said that." Ranma felt like tearing his hair out. Why was he always such a train wreck at communication? He had to get her to understand, and if he couldn't get his mouth to work for him, he needed action. Desperate to stop her, Ranma reached for Akane's shoulder.

At the unexpectant contact, Akane stopped, suppressing the instinct to judo throw an opponent into the wall. Their eyes met. Hers were wavering with a mixture of temper and bruised emotions, but his...

Akane felt her breath catch. The expression in Ranma's dark gray eyes were at direct odds with the callousness of his words from before. They were heavy with loss and longing. For a moment, she felt she was getting a glimpse into his soul. His bravado was stripped away, and Akane realized that Ranma was struggling with this move as much as she was.

Her previous temper melted away, replaced by a twinge of embarrassment at her earlier sulky behavior. "I'm sorry… I'm trying to be happy for you, getting to move into your own place with your family, but - "

Akane's response was cut off by two competing voice.

"Oh Ranma-sama!

"Ranchan!"

Akane gritted her teeth and mentally counted to ten. "Accept their help or not, Ranma. I'm going to wash up."

Ranma groaned and face palmed. Any protest died on his lips, as each girl grabbed an arm, and pulled.

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Not surprisingly, Ranma found the guest room in shambles. At some point, Ukyo and Kodachi's fighting had resumed and then escalated into a full blown battle in the hallway. Kodachi's gymnastic ribbon was flying, but Ukyo's giant battle spatula was effectively blocking it.

Ranma wasn't sure whether to watch and get popcorn, or to break it up. They were pretty evenly matched.

The door to Nabiki's room opened, and the middle Tendo daughter lounged playfully against the doorframe, talking loudly and pointedly into her phone. "Hello? Kuno-baby? It's me. (Pause) Kodachi's here. (Pause) Uh huh. (Pause) Uh huh. Yeah, so transfer papers settled yet?" There was another pause and then Nabiki broke into a devilish grin. "Excellent. Then I have the mother of all exclusive, innocently- lascivious photos of Akane for you, as promised." Ranma nearly growled during the pause, but she ignored him and resumed in a syrupy sing-song. "Pleasant doing business with you!"

Both Kodachi and Ukyo had stopped their battle, their fighting instincts registering a threat greater than physical blows.

"Oh Ko-daaaa-chiiii..." Nabiki held the phone out to the gymnast, a satisfied gleam in her eyes that resembled a cat with a well earned bird in its mouth. "...your big bro has news for you. Here."

Tentatively and with a scowl, the gymnast accepted the offered phone. Kodachi's face went from white to red and back again. "Brother! You- you-!"

Kodachi slammed the phone into the ground. Without further explanation, she stormed out of the room and out of the house.

Ukyo and Ranma both starred at Nabiki in total bewilderment. Ranma was the first to regain his voice. "What the hell just happened?"

Nabiki smiled. "Oh, Kuno-baby talked his daddy into transferring Kodachi to a private boarding school. In France. Starts tomorrow."

Ranma continued to stare at Nabiki in surprise, but there was an extra look of cautious respect there, too. Then he remembered the bribe she had offered Kuno. "You're telling me Kuno sold out his sister? And what kind of photos of Akane?" The last question carried a threatening note.

Nabiki cocked her head confidently. "Relax, the photos are innocent. Kuno was already interested in protecting his sister from her own 'vulgar impulses', and 'your sorcery', blah-dee blah blah." Nabiki made air quotes and other dismissive gestures in the air as she spoke.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," Ranma quipped as he walked away back to the attic.

Nabiki just smirked, then turned a slightly icy glare in Ukyo's direction. "I assume you'll be on your best behavior in my home, right Ukyo-chan?"

Ukyo swallowed hard. Akane's sister was one scary bitch.

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Akane stepped out of the bathroom, feeling physically refreshed but still emotionally drained.

Ugh, why did Ranma have to be moving away now? Things were finally going so well between them. It felt like they were really engaged, and with their dance lessons of late, she kept catching glimpses that Ranma did find her attractive.

Her mind raced. Ranma had been living side by side in her home for the last two years. What would it mean to have Ranma leave and live somewhere else? At least his apartment was still in Nerima, but the reality of how everyday life would change depressed her. He wouldn't be there for morning breakfast. No more (secretly entertaining) duels with Genma and crashing into the koi pond. No more racing to school together. No more late nights together doing homework, or watching TV before bed under the comforts of the heated kotatsu blanket in autumn and winter.

It was hard enough the past few weeks adjusting to the loss of her father. Now, in a way, she had to lose Ranma, too?

Akane walked downstairs to the kitchen for a snack, purposely avoiding Ranma's room. She didn't want to see it being packed up and laid empty.

Akane was halfway to the kitchen where she found Ukyo taking out the trash. Akane paused. She didn't have anything directly against Ukyo, even though she was still miffed at that stolen kiss. She had always been on fairly friendly terms with the chef before, at least as long as rivalry for Ranma wasn't involved.

"Hi Ukyo, do you -" Akane stopped mid sentence. In Ukyo's hands was a wire waste bin from Ranma's room, filled with a variety of rubbish. But what made Akane freeze up was sitting on top of it...

...a familiar, hand-knitted yellow scarf.

Akane's face was red with anger. "What are you doing?!" She rescued the strip of wool from the bin.

Ukyo looked back at her innocently. "Jeeze, Akane. I'm just trying to help. What's with keeping the tattered rag? It looks like it was target practice for a blind archer."

"It's Ranma's scarf," Akane growled.

Ukyo cocked her head in disbelief. "Hun, scarfs are meant to keep you warm. This thing has enough gaps in it to be a fishing net."

Before the banter could escalate any further, Nodoka turned the corner. Her eyes shifted to the yellow scarf in Akane's hands. "What in heaven is that?"

It was one thing to defend her knitting against the insults from Ukyo, but from her supportive Auntie? Akane felt her face flush in embarrassment. "Oh, uh, it was a scarf I knitted. I may need a bit more practice…"

Nodoka gave a righteous sniff, feeling a sudden and inexplicable surge of irritation. "I would say so." She pinched the area near the bridge of her nose, trying to ward off the startings of a killer headache. She wasn't sure what made her express such a rude comment (even if it was true, she usually managed to have an excellent filter), but before she could truly question the reaction, she was going on. "I'd want a daughter-in-law who could at least do something womanly."

Akane staggered a step backward as if physically slapped. Even Ukyo's eyes went wide in disbelief. Before Akane could even gather her wits enough to say anything, Nodoka had bustled off.

"What…?" Akane felt her head spin. Auntie had always been so patient and supportive of her efforts. Did she really think she wasn't womanly enough? And to have her say that right in front of Ukyo made the insult sting even worse. Along with her eldest sister, Nodoka had filled a large part of the void in her life left by her deceased mother. To have such an adopted maternal figure suddenly reject her sent Akane reeling.

Akane gazed sadly at the scrunched up scarf in her hands. Her emotions felt so raw today, and her insecurities were roaring stronger than usual. With new eyes she saw the misshapen gift in her hands for what it was: filled with uneven stitches, blunders and gaps. No wonder Nodoka disapproved of something so ugly. She was surprised Ranma even kept it for this long.

Akane's eyes burned with unshed tears and she felt the remaining vestiges of her emotional control crumble. The last thing she wanted was Ukyo to witness her break down. Seeking privacy and refuge as quickly as possible, Akane ran out of the room and headed blindly up the stairs.

Of course, that would happen to be the exact time Ranma was coming down with a large box pilled past his eyes.

The pair crashed and tumbled down the stairs in a ball of chaotic motion and limbs. Ranma had just enough time to maneuver his body so that Akane landed on top of him. Ranma felt the air escape his lungs in a sudden whoosh from the impact.

"Oww…" he heard Akane mumble on his chest. Ranma felt a split second of panic. Akane was still supposed to avoid impacting her healing ribs. There was no telling what the fall could have done.

"Akane, are you okay?!" He carefully helped her up to her feet, critically watching her every movement for injury. It was then that he noticed the tears in her eyes. She was crying? Ranma felt his stomach twist in anxiety.

"Where does it hurt?" he asked in a rush, ready to lift her up and drag her to the doctor's that second.

Akane quickly wiped away at her eyes. "No, no, I'm fine." She tried to wave away his concern, feeling doubly mortified at her clumsiness and being caught crying. "Really! You broke my fall. Are you okay?"

Ranma nodded, carefully watching Akane to make sure she wasn't trying to hide anything. "You may have gained your weight back, but - OW." Akane playfully poked him in the ribs, preventing him from accidentally shoving his foot in his mouth.

Akane shook her head at him. "When will you ever learn to not comment about my weight?"

Ranma wisely kept his mouth shut. They gazed down at the mess around them. An assortment of items, some still wrapped in old newspaper print, had spilled everywhere from the tipped cardboard box onto the floor.

He watched as Akane helped him pick up the items, but her demeanor seemed off.

She wasn't physically hurt, but was Akane depressed? Ranma felt his heart beat a little faster. Neither of them had sat down and talked about what the move meant, but maybe Akane was just as bummed as he was to be leaving.

Ranma picked up the scarf Akane dropped. Nodoka's words from before were fresh in her mind and Akane felt embarrassed. She tried to snatch it back, but Ranma held it out of reach.

There was deep bitterness in her voice. "It's ugly, Ranma. Why keep it?"

Ranma rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "Yeah...but you worked hard on it for me, right?"

Akane ignored the fact that Ranma agreed it was ugly, instead concentrating on the friendly tone and acknowledgement of her effort. "Yes, but -"'

"Then I'm still keepin' it." Ranma put it on with a suave swish.

Akane couldn't help but laugh. The overly confident gesture, it was so incredibly Ranma! And only Ranma could have the cockiness to make it work.

Feeling good about cheering Akane up, Ranma continued. "Who else could put up with your attempts at knitting?" he gently teased.

Akane's eyes lit up with that passionate fire again, exactly what Ranma wanted. They were back on familiar territory, but with enough confidence in each other to recognize the kindness behind the words. She stuck her tongue out at him, but didn't feel the need to escalate further. It was impossible to get annoyed with Ranma while he was proudly donning her scarf.

They continued placing spilled items in the box, until their hands collided. Instead of drawing away, they lingered and their eyes met. Ranma didn't realize how horrible his poker face was, and the enormity of the moment was written all over his features. Unlike last time, there was no distraction of a tiff for Ranma to focus on. The stark reality of moving out crashed over him again, leaving him aching and hollow. It was worse than simply leaving the most stable and comfortable home he had ever known; he was leaving behind Akane. He had done this once before, and the foreknowledge of what to come only increased his misery. His chest grew tight and heavy. Even though he was only moving to an apartment walking distance away, he didn't want to go.

Ranma felt Akane fiddle with the scarf around his neck, both figuratively and physically pulling him away from his gloomy reflections. She tugged on it gently to bring his head down to her eye level. Her voice was breathy and just above a whisper. "It'll be okay, Ranma." Her lips, soft and gentle against his right cheek, stunned him in place.

Before his mind could catch up, Akane raced up the stairs; leaving him a brief image of a cutely flushed face framed by raven dark hair.

Later, Ukyo found Ranma standing dazed in the hallway as his hand numbly caressed the lingering warmth Akane's kiss left on his face.

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Author's Note:

This story would not be possible without the exhaustive efforts of my editor, (she does too much work to be simply called a beta-reader), Angela-Jewell, and your reviews.

Original Publication Date: Sept. 5, 2014