Arc VI: Making Amends
Chapter 21: Ranma's Feelings
Ranma was leaving school with his friends, Hiroshi and Daisuke, who had felt some pity for him and decided to take him to the local arcade. They figured a couple of hours of mindlessly blowing up space aliens or killing zombies would help Ranma's mood. They were all a little late leaving as Hiroshi had to stay after school to discuss something with their teacher.
When they finally got outside, they noticed students quickly heading towards the soccer pitch, some even running. They eyed the students but continued on their way. It was only when they heard the students passing them discussing a fight that Ranma stopped suddenly, an ominous feeling growing in him.
Fights at Furinkan were only a big deal and only drew a crowd when they involved a few people; him, Akane, Ukyo, or Kuno. Since he was obviously fine, it had to involve one of them and he had a sinking feeling in his gut that it was Akane. He raced to the field, outstripping everyone else, and saw that it was Akane and Ukyo who were at the center of the commotion.
He sighed a little in relief but was still tense. If the fight was between those two, he knew they wouldn't let it get too bad. Well, he was sure Akane wouldn't. He wasn't so sure about Ukyo, so he continued forward. He was too far away still to hear what they were saying but he was relieved when he saw Akane had turned to walk away from the fight but a moment later he tensed when he heard Ukyo issue her challenge in a loud booming voice.
He raced forward again to see the blue-haired girl stiffen and turn around. He reached the edge of the surrounding students just in time to hear Akane's response.
"Ukyo, I don't want to fight you."
"So you're forfeiting? I'll just swing by and get that sign then. It's not like you had a chance anyways, sugar," the chef said tauntingly.
Akane clenched her hands and narrowed her eyes. She saw no way out of the fight when she had been so publicly challenged. It wasn't just her pride at stake, the school had been challenged and she had a duty to fulfill.
"Fine. Name the time and place," she said with no other option but to accept.
"Here and now."
Akane nodded and they both turned towards the field.
"Stop!" Ranma bellowed as he approached them and both girls turned around. "You guys don't have to fight."
"Oh we absolutely must, sugar. I challenged her school," Ukyo said with a smirk.
"Fine, I will fight for her. I represent the Anything Goes School just as much as she does," Ranma said, trying to reason with the chef. He noticed her eyes narrow and saw her back stiffen. His entire focus was on Ukyo that he didn't notice Akane had also stiffened in response to his words.
"You will not fight for me!" Akane said with a growl, causing Ranma to whip his head around to her. He was shocked to see the fire in her eyes.
"Akane, you can't do this."
"Why? Because you don't think I can beat her? Because you are so sure she's going to win and I will embarrass the Anything Goes School?" she hissed.
"What? No…"
"Well, don't worry about it, Ranma," she said rolling over his objections. "She challenged the Tendo Dojo. She challenged ME! This has nothing to do with you!" she pointed her finger at him and added, "This is MY fight. You stay out of it."
Now angry at the perceived slight, she turned around and stomped towards the center of the soccer pitch where the ground would be even. It had become the default arena for challenges at the school and the other students would know to clear the area. As it was, several had backed up for fear of their safety and were finding locations higher on the pitch to watch the action. A few wanted to be closer to the action and sat closer to the edge of the field.
Ranma watched helplessly as she walked away. He couldn't believe she had misunderstood his concern but realized that was his own fault. He had insulted her abilities in the past and there was no reason for her to believe he had good intentions now.
"Don't worry, Ran-chan. I'll go easy on her."
Ranma turned his gaze to his "friend."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Oh, a lot of reasons. But mainly to teach her a lesson. It's about time someone took her down a peg."
Frustrated, Ranma said, "What has she ever done to you?"
Ukyo narrowed her eyes at Ranma's defense of her rival. She had been glad that Ranma showed up to witness the fight. It made her feel happy that he was finally going to see how weak and useless the other girl was. So she had planned to take it easy on the other girl, like she promised. But now her anger was back with a vengeance.
Why was he always trying to protect Akane? He stood there willing to fight her for Akane's sake and was still protecting her!
"Stay out of the way. This is just between us girls, got it?" she bit out before turning her back on him and joining Akane on the pitch.
Ranma could do nothing but watch with growing dread. He had meant to help but somehow he just made things worse.
Akane stood on the pitch and watched as Ranma and Ukyo had their discussion. Whatever was said between them had only seemed to make the chef angry because her sneering attitude was replaced by anger when she faced the blue-haired girl.
Good, she thought.
She had not wanted the fight and tried to stop it. Despite everything, she thought of Ukyo as a friend. But being called out by the other girl in front of her friends and then embarrassed by Ranma's lack of faith in her had only brought out her anger and competitive streak. Following so close to finding the truth about Ryoga, this felt like another betrayal, by both Ranma and Ukyo. Now she finally she had an outlet for everything she had been feeling.
Ukyo stood across from Akane and stared at her opponent. She waited for her to strike and only scoffed when she realized it wasn't going to happen. If the blue-haired girl was still waiting for her to back out, she had another thing coming.
With the tips of her fingers, she quickly pulled three mini-spatulas out of her bandolier and launched them at Akane, who jumped back quickly. The spatulas landed in a precise row at her feet. Ukyo knew the obvious attack wouldn't harm her but wanted to make it clear that she was serious. She had a moment to take a breath until she too had to jump back. At her feet lay a row of ninja stars embedded into the ground.
What the hell? Where did she get those?
She barely had time to finish the thought when she realized that Akane had started running toward her and had leapt into her air, her right foot aimed directly at Ukyo's chest. The chef did a series of back flips landing a few feet behind her original position. She reached behind her and pulled out her battle spatula before charging forward, swinging the flat side towards the blue-haired girl's chest.
Said girl dropped low under the blade and spun on her hands to sweep at the other girl's legs. The chef hopped back, trying to regain her balance, while Akane used her hands to back spring to her feet. She took a defensive stance before rushing forward at the same moment the chef did. Both girls clashed in midair, their kicks neutralizing each other.
Ranma had begun watching in apprehension. He didn't want to see either girl hurt. The fight started with the expected moves from Ukyo using her mini spatulas before predictably pulling out her large battle spatula.
It was Akane with her ninja stars and unexpected responses that surprised him. She was a lot more agile than he had ever seen her and didn't respond with the moves he had come to expect from her. He could see the influences of Mousse, Taro, and Konatsu's training in her movements. She had blended the styles seamlessly, choosing the techniques that best suited the situation.
And as well as she was performing, he knew that Akane was still holding back. He could see from where he sat that her breathing had stayed even and she hadn't even broken a sweat. It was obvious to him that she was assessing her opponent's skills before truly attacking because he had done the same thing in his own fights.
She had improved so much in so little time and he was ashamed to realize that he had no part in it.
Ukyo had her battle spatula in her hands and was panting heavily. She had expected an easy fight and was annoyed that her rival seemed to easily counter her every move. She breathed heavily and wiped the sweat from her brow. It didn't matter, she was determined to win and rushed forward to swing her weapon at the girl, this time blade side down as she tried to flatten the blue-haired girl like a pancake.
To her surprise Akane didn't back away from the attack but rushed forward. She was moving faster than Ukyo thought she could and was under the reach of the spatula before the chef knew what was happening. Suddenly Ukyo doubled over in pain as Akane landed a punch to her stomach as she ran by her. Gritting her teeth from the pain, she straightened up slowly as she turned and glared at her opponent.
For someone who didn't want to fight, she's sure getting into it, Ukyo thought with a grimace. Her stomach throbbed with pain. Ranma always said Akane was as strong as a gorilla but Ukyo always brushed off the idea. She had never been on the receiving end of her punches and was surprised by the power the other girl had. What the chef didn't know was that as naturally strong as her opponent was, fighting against Taro's chimera form had made her even stronger.
Angry that the blue-haired girl got the first hit in, she began to attack more aggressively but carelessly. She began to swing her giant spatula at her opponent with abandon, causing her to dodge quickly when she couldn't anticipate the erratic movements. Akane sprung backward, lost her balance and tripped just as Ukyo's spatula came down on her. The Anything Goes martial artist put her hand in her hidden pocket, quickly pulling out her baton and snapped it open. She put the baton in both hands over her chest just as the blade was coming towards her, stopping the edge of the weapon inches from her face.
They struggled as Ukyo pushed down with gravity on her side. Akane pushed back. She bent her arms a little letting the blade come as close to her as she dared, making the chef think she was gaining strides. Akane then quickly thrust both her arms upwards, causing the chef to stumble back at the sudden movement. She gained her footing and stared questioningly at the baton.
Since when did Akane carry a weapon? And where was she keeping the damn things?
The blue-haired girl knew that she was lucky to get her baton out in time. Despite not wanting to fight, she had really got into it, and enjoyed testing her new skills. But she had gotten cocky and careless. She needed to end the fight before either of them got really hurt.
Ukyo was a good fighter but relied too much on her weapons. In hand to hand combat it would be easy for Akane to defeat the girl and they both knew it. She had to get the weapon away from the chef. She decided quickly on a plan.
Sizing each other up, the girls ran at each other once again. Akane watched as Ukyo took a side-ways swing at her. She jumped up and over the spatula and landed deftly on the thin edge of the blade, surprising the chef. Instinctively, Ukyo tried to throw the girl off the spatula by swinging it upwards but couldn't handle the sudden weight; she barely managed to keep the blade aloft. Using the balance she learned from Konatsu, Akane stepped quickly forward, striking the chef's knuckles with two quick snaps of her wrist, causing Ukyo to loosen her grip on the spatula. She then aimed a kick that landed squarely on the chef's chest. The pain caused Ukyo to drop her weapon completely as she fell backwards on her butt. Akane landed next to the spatula, and she quickly closed her baton, putting it back in the secret pocket, before picking up the spatula. She gave it some testing swings to judge the weight of the weapon like Mousse taught her.
Ukyo scrambled back with her hands and feet as Akane came towards her. The chef was horrified she was going to be attacked with her own weapon! The blue-haired girl swung the spatula down quickly, and Ukyo cross her hands over her head to protect herself, closing her eyes as she waited for the impact.
But nothing happened. She opened her eyes to see the spatula embedded deeply into the ground with only half the blade visible. She watched horrified as Akane executed a round house kick, snapping the handle off of the blade and sending it flying into the grass.
"No!" she screamed, horrified. Tears of frustration came to her eyes as she realized she would not be able to fight any longer. Without her weapons she had almost no way to defend herself. She refused to cry in front of her rival though and fought the tears back.
Panting now, Akane said, "It's over."
The blue-haired girl looked down at the chef as Ukyo pounded the ground with her fists furiously. Sympathy filled her at the sight. She felt no joy in beating the chef, but she reasoned she had no choice. She would never let the Tendo dojo sign go without a fight. Although she hoped that Ukyo could have her weapon replaced or fixed somehow. She turned her back on the other girl and saw Ranma running towards her.
"Akane, are you okay? Are you hurt?" he asked worriedly as he tried to reach out for her.
"I'm fine!" she snapped. The adrenaline and frustration spurning her on, she slapped his hand away. "I told you I can take care of myself! I don't need you fighting my battles for me!"
She walked quickly away and Ranma watched as Sayuri and Yuka joined her before the trio walked off the pitch. He wanted to run after her but he didn't think she would listen to him as angry as she was, and the last thing he needed was to have something else come between them. He sighed in frustration before turning his attention to Ukyo.
"Can you walk?"
She nodded and stood up with her head bent, unwilling to make contact with the pig-tailed boy. She had been humiliated in front of Ranma and the entire school. Her weapon was broken and she was sure she was going to have a boot print shaped bruise on her chest. But worse were her hands, they were still red and hurt from being hit by the baton and she prayed that nothing had been broken. How would she be able to cook if they were? She remained silent as Ranma walked her back to her restaurant.
Next to her, the pig-tailed boy tried to control his building rage. He knew that part of his anger came from the situation he was in with Akane. But a large part had to do with Ukyo. He could not believe that the chef had gone so far as to challenge the youngest Tendo. It looked like Akane wasn't the only one he had to talk to today and he planned to let Ukyo know in no uncertain terms were things stood.
When they reached Ucchan's, Konatsu opened the door for them with a smile.
"Miss Ukyo, good you're here! I was worried you wouldn't make it in time to..." he trailed off and gasped when he took in the state of her. Her clothes were dirty and in disarray, her hair a mess, and her eyes red rimmed. "What happened? Are you okay?"
Ukyo only nodded in response and the kunoichi looked to Ranma for an explanation. He only shook his head to dissuade the other boy from asking any more questions.
"Konatsu, can you please leave us alone? Ukyo and I have some things to discuss," he said tiredly.
"Ummm," the kunoichi said, as he drummed his fingers together in nervousness. He had finally sensed the tension between the two and he didn't know what he should do. He looked over at Ukyo for direction.
"It's fine, sugar. Why don't you go up for a while? We're staying closed today."
Konatsu just nodded his head before disappearing up the stairs.
Ranma stood watching his childhood friend as she chose a stool and sat down, her head still bent. He knew what he had to say to her. Things would never be settled for any of them until he did, but that didn't make it easier.
"Why did you challenge her? What did you hope to accomplish?"
"It doesn't matter, does it? I lost, didn't I?"
"Did you hope that this would make me choose you?"
Her head snapped up and he saw the anger in her face.
"Yes. I hoped it would show you once and for all how pathetic she is!"
"Don't talk about her that way!" he shouted angrily before he added, "She's your friend."
"Friend? She was never my friend! She's always been in my way. She's never done anything for me that didn't help her somehow."
"She took you into her home. Her family helped you for no other reason than they thought you needed it." Ranma retorted, thinking of the time when the Tendo's invited Ukyo to stay with them when the chef learned that her okinomiyaki sauce had been ruined.
"You mean when Akane forced you to pretend to be married to her instead of letting you leave with me?"
"She did that to help me!" Ranma exclaimed. He then remembered everything that happened to lead to the fiasco. "They took you into their home and you repaid their kindness by trying to move in on me, under their roof."
What kind of person did that? he thought. When it happened he had only thought of it as another silly attempt by Ukyo for his affection. But looking at it now, he realized what it said about her as a person. She was willing to betray someone else's kindness as long as it benefitted her in the end.
Ranma shook his head in disappointment, more at himself than her. This entire situation was his fault for letting things go on for so long. For not making a decision and letting all the girls think they had a chance with him. It was long past time he be honest and say what he needed to.
"Ukyo," he ignored his nickname for her, and said bluntly. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to marry you. I don't love you."
"But you love her?!" she asked disbelievingly.
"Yes," he answered honestly, hoping the truth would end the chaos in their lives.
The chef reared back in shock, not expecting him to admit it and so bluntly. He had always shied away from his feeling before. She wasn't surprised by the fact, somewhere deep down, she knew the truth. She had just never wanted to acknowledge it.
"It's always been her, hasn't it?" she asked bitterly.
"Yes. It's always been her. I was in love with her before you even came to town."
"So, I never had a chance? Then why didn't you tell me? Why did you lead me on? You called me cute!"
"Yeah, I did. So what?" Frustrated, he ran his hands over his face. "You are cute. So is Shampoo and Akane. Hell, even Kodachi is!"
"But...but you called Akane uncute!"
Ranma looked at her incredulously.
"Mainly to annoy her when she was around. I antagonized her on purpose. Sometimes 'cause I'm annoyed with her and others…" He trailed off. Ukyo didn't need to know that he secretly enjoyed having all of Akane's attention, even if it was negative.
"And that was always about how she acted, it was never about her looks." He shook his head in amazement.
Yes, he had made comments about her looks. He had called her flat chested and thick thighed. He had even told her that her body was lacking compared to his own female form. But all of that was at the beginning. She had hurt him after they met so he hurt her back. He continued to use it as a way to push her away. But even then he knew his comments were a lie. He remembered being so distracted by how pretty she looked while she was playing softball that he had allowed himself to get hit in the face with a ball.
No, he had always found her attractive.
As their relationship progressed he insulted her less and less, and even then those were uttered strictly for form so that no one would guess how he truly felt about her.
Maybe his plan had worked too well.
"Do you really think I didn't find her attractive? This is Akane we're talking about. She has half the school chasing her just because of her looks."
"Then why didn't you tell me this sooner? Why did you lead me on and let me think I had a chance?"
The time Ranma spent with Ukyo when they were young was one of the few happy memories he had from his childhood. He hadn't had many children to play with while traveling all over Japan to train. So when his old friend Ucchan came back to town, he naturally wanted to renew the friendship that was precious to him.
"I didn't say anything sooner because I wanted to be your friend! I should have said something when I realized how I felt. That's on me but some of it is your fault, too. You always saw things exactly the way you wanted to and ignored anything that you didn't like. Didn't you think it was odd that I was happy for you when I thought you and Ryoga got together? But in comparison, I got completely jealous at the idea of Akane just walking off with the same guy?"
Ranma was pacing now as frustration overtook him and things he had been stewing about finally came out.
"I only ever wanted to be your friend. But you wouldn't be happy with that, would you? Damn it, Ukyo, you brought bombs to my wedding!"
"What was I supposed to do? Let it happen? You are my fiancé!"
Ranma shook his head at her. "That's all you see me as, isn't it? You, Shampoo, Kodachi, you all just see me as something to win or own. Something that's yours."
"Oh, like she's any different! She would have never let you leave with someone else."
"That's where you're wrong. If she thought I was happy, she would."
Ukyo scoffed at that, "Yeah, right."
"Can't you take any responsibility for your actions?! Damn it! My mother was at the wedding! She could have gotten hurt! Kasumi, Nabiki, our friends from school could all have gotten hurt and you don't care!"
He stopped and said, "Let me put it this way, you acted crazier than Kodachi Kuno. At least she only wore a black wedding dress to the event. But you and Shampoo actually bombed the place! Bombs!" he said incredulously.
Ukyo was unwilling to accept his criticism of her but she knew that she was losing him and pulled out her trump card. She brought her hands up to cover her face and began to sniff loudly, shaking her shoulders as she began to cry, or pretend to, knowing that Ranma couldn't handle a crying woman.
The pig-tailed boy looked at her critically. He couldn't help but remember the heart wrenching site of Akane in tears after she found out about Ryoga. The way she had completely broken down, how blotchy her face looked, and how her entire body trembled with pain. How even then she hid it from him.
He saw the tears come to Ukyo's eyes but they remained clear and he could see her subtly looking at him from the corners of her eyes. Her shoulders shook and she sniffed but it all sounded hallow to him in comparison to the guttural sobs he had heard from Akane. For the first time in his life, he was completely unmoved by a woman crying. Something shifted for Ranma then as he understood that she was trying to manipulate him.
"Stop. It's not going to work."
"I...I don't...," sniff, "know wha-what, you mean," Ukyo said dramatically.
"Knock it off!" he shouted suddenly.
The sudden anger in his voice had her blinking at him in surprise. When she saw that he was serious and had remained unmoved she dropped her act.
"It's over. I've made my choice and it isn't you." He took a steadying breath and added, "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Shampoo; if you try to do anything to harm Akane, you will have me to answer to. I won't put up with anyone putting her in danger anymore."
"What? So you'll hurt me? Is that what you're saying?" Ukyo asked doubtfully.
"Yes. And I will never forgive you if you do anything else to her."
Ranma gave one last look at Ukyo before walking out the door. The simple response and the determination in his face had her heart sinking. When she understood that she had lost him for good, she began to cry in earnest.
The pig-tailed boy walked home sedately. Despite everything, he still wanted to remain friends with Ukyo but he didn't see how that would happen. He hadn't wanted to threaten his old friend but after her increasingly rash behavior, he could no longer give her the benefit of the doubt. The silver lining to this whole mess was, he had finally told Ukyo the truth. It had been exhausting and really emotional but also was liberating. He sighed and shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts.
He had other things he had to focus on. He was determined to fix things with Akane, or at least some of their misunderstandings. The conversation he had to have with her was going to be much harder than the one he had just finished. He had a lot more at stake now because he could not lose Akane.
When he got to the house he checked the dojo first and was unsurprised to see his fiancée there. Even after such a strenuous fight earlier, she was there working on some katas. He smiled as he watched her, admiring her form. She was currently working on a kata that involved some aerial flips. She had trouble getting the height she needed to do the spinning kick she attempted next. She fell onto the ground and stumbled instead of landing smoothly on her feet as she intended.
He recognized the kata as something derived from the Saotome Branch of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. It was a series of moves he knew by heart and executed flawlessly at a much faster speed. He mastered the kata when he was ten years old. But that was only after having been drilled by his father on it for days. His father had him practice through each separate movement until he had perfected them before trying all the moves together at once. After he successfully completed the kata he had to repeat it, over and over again until he could do it seamlessly. He knew that most people would never be able to master it and here she was teaching it to herself. Everything Mousse had said about her determination and skill was right.
Guilt washed over him as he realized he had no part in it. He should have been training with her for the simple reason that they were both students of the same school. But more so because she was his fiancée and deserved to be respected for her martial arts skills.
Now was as good a time as any to start.
"You need to get a little higher before you try the kick. You aren't giving yourself enough time complete your kick so you're stumbling when you land."
Akane looked around curiously and nodded at him in acknowledgement. She began the kata again and this time jumped higher and was able to successfully land on her feet.
She smiled at him and said, "Thank you." She walked to the edge of the dojo, picked up her towel and bottle of water before she took a swig.
"'Kane, can we talk?"
She nodded at him and sat down with her back to the wall. He moved into the dojo and sat down next to her. He said nothing for a moment, not knowing where to start. For once, he had too much to say and he didn't want to mess it up.
"You did good today. You surprised me a couple times with you attacks."
"Is it really that surprising that I would do well or win?" she asked quietly. She had only just begun to calm down from the fight and did not want to hear him insult her skills.
"No!" he shouted before he could stop himself. "That's not what I meant! I didn't want to stop you from fighting because I thought you would lose. I definitely didn't think you would embarrass the school. I just...just didn't want you to get hurt."
"I can take care of myself. I know you don't think much of my martial artist skills but you should have enough faith in me to believe that I won't injure myself in something as simple as a challenge."
"I know you can take care of yourself and I wasn't doubting your skills. But I still worry about you. Ever since…ever since Jusendo, the thought of you hurt…I can't stand it. I just…can't."
Understanding entered her eyes then. Jusendo was a dark spot in their past that had haunted them both. They had spoken briefly about it, neither willing to dwell on their fears or speak of the effects that event had on them. Now that she understood that he had been motivated by concern, and not by his doubts in her, the frustration she felt over the situation was gone. She reached out tentatively, her hand hovering over his for a moment before she brought it down to clasp his gently.
He looked over in surprise and gratitude as hope swelled in him. They had successfully navigated themselves through one issue...somehow. He prayed luck would stay on his side. He sat for a moment just enjoying the physical contact, small as it was.
"There is something else I need to talk to you about."
Ranma closed his eyes in disappointment when he felt her hand lift off of his. He could all but feel her pull into herself and he sighed inwardly. When he opened his eyes, he saw that her hands were folded neatly on her lap. Well, he knew that it wasn't going to be easy.
"You were right about me not thinking about you when it came to Ryoga. But it wasn't on purpose, it was because I tried not to think about it at all. I...I lied the other day. No, just listen before you get angry," he said putting his hands up in a placating manner when she narrowed her eyes at him.
"I told you that I didn't tell you about the curse because I made a promise to Ryoga to keep his curse a secret. But I always intended that for enemies, people who would abuse his curse to hurt him. It was never meant for you. That first night you found P-Chan, I was going to tell you about his curse...this whole misunderstanding was my fault."
"What stopped you?"
"You. You kissed him on the nose and I got so jealous and so angry that I couldn't think straight. I just stormed off. By the time I realized the mistake I made, you were already sleeping with him in your room. I came in to take him out and...umm...woke you up. The next morning, everyone was giving me such a hard time about it that I was embarrassed, too embarrassed to admit what was really going on. It sounds stupid now that I think about it, but that's what happened."
He scrunched his face and scratched his head then.
"After that, I was afraid that you would get mad, so I tried to keep the secret. And the longer it went on, the harder it was to be honest about it. I just kind of pushed things out of my mind until recently. I honestly just stopped thinking about the consequences of keeping the secret as it became automatic. I'm sorry."
Akane sighed as she took in the information. It really didn't change anything. He still kept the secret, still lied to her, still hurt her.
But...the explanation shed a new light on things. She of all people knew what it meant to do something stupid, say something stupid out of jealousy. Then become stuck in a situation because you were unable to admit that you were wrong. Her breaking their engagement and "giving" him to Nabiki was the perfect example of that.
What made the biggest difference though was his willingness to tell her the truth. His willingness to open himself up to her. To make himself vulnerable.
"Is there anything else you've been keeping from me? Anything else you have lied to me about?" she asked, voicing the concerns that had run through her head for the past week.
Ranma was going to answer "no" automatically, but he realized that that wasn't true.
"Shampoo isn't on vacation. She's gone. I don't think she is ever coming back. There is no more kiss of marriage on me or kiss of death on you."
Shocked, Akane goggled at him. She had not expected that. Ranma went on to tell her about what happened after he had thought she had been kidnapped.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't know how. I'm not...good at expressing myself. If I told you why she left, it would have been like...like declaring myself to you. And I...I wasn't ready."
He was ready now, but he knew from Akane's conversation with Konatsu that he couldn't say it before she forgave him, or she would always feel like he said it to manipulate her.
Akane couldn't help but feel a little glad that Shampoo was finally out of their lives. No more schemes, no more broken walls, no more having to watch the Amazon throw herself at Ranma! She wondered if it made her a bad person. She then thought of how Mousse was probably feeling and felt guilty. She shook her head of the thoughts. She could think about that later. They had more to discuss.
"I guess you should know that I also had a talk with Ukyo after your fight today."
Akane looked at the hands in her lap, the guilt coming back to her. She had no choice but to participate in the match earlier, but that didn't make her feel good about it. She had always thought of Ukyo as her friend.
"Is she okay?" Akane asked quietly.
He smiled at her. It was so like her to worry about people, even after they had challenged her. "She's fine." Then he told her about the recent conversation they had.
Akane goggled at him again. Her heart began to beat faster as hope filed her. Two of his other fiancées had been dealt with. The two girls were no longer obstacles to their relationship. He had...he had finally told them how he felt about her. She couldn't help but blush at the thought. She breathed deeply, she needed to calm down before she got ahead of herself.
"Is there anything else?" she asked tentatively.
Not noticing her response, Ranma began to squirm as he thought of Kasumi. "There is one more thing, but it's not my secret." At her suspicious look the pigtailed boy said quickly, "It's not like Ryoga. I swear to you, it's not. I made a promise to...someone we both know to keep a secret. That person..." he thought carefully how to craft his words so he would not inadvertently give details away, "has started seeing someone else we know and they want to work on their relationship before they tell anyone else." He hesitated and said, "I'll tell you if you really want me to."
Although she was burning with curiosity she said, "No. That's not something you have to tell me if you made a promise to keep it a secret. Is that all?"
Ranma scratched his head in thought before he said, "Yeah. I think so."
Akane sat there for a while before she nodded and said, "Okay."
"Okay?" he asked, confused.
"Staying mad won't change what happened. We just have to deal with it. I have to deal with it," she clarified. "I forgive you, even if I'm still feeling hurt. But it's going to take some time before I can feel like I can trust you again." She blew out a breath and added, "But I don't think I could take it if you kept something like this from me again."
"I promise I won't keep anything from you again."
Akane thought of the all the possible implications of that and burst out laughing.
"I don't need you to tell me every detail of every day, just don't keep big things from me. And," she added, poking him on the arm, "no lying."
"I promise. No lying."
Akane leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Everything wasn't perfect, they still had things to work out but she finally thought they had a real chance. They reached a point in their relationship that she didn't think they were ever going to get to.
Ranma put his arm around her and closed his eyes to fully appreciate the feel of her against him. He had so missed the simple yet intimate contact between them. The way her touch could evoke so many feelings in him.
He opened his eyes and looked down at the crown of blue hair on the top of her head. He still had a couple things he wanted to get out and he thought he knew a way to address it without getting too mushy.
"So, that kata you were trying earlier. It looks like one from the Saotome school."
She nodded slightly. Head bent Ranma couldn't see the blush on Akane's face. "Yeah. The Tendo school is more ground based and...well, I need...want my moves to be more agile and the Saotome style seems good for that," she said with a shrug.
"Well, there are a few katas I could show you that would be easy for you to learn since it has some of the same moves as some of the Tendo katas."
Akane went perfectly still. She couldn't have heard him right. Ranma volunteering to work with her? No, she definitely imagined it.
"So, you want to...what? Teach me?" she asked apprehensively.
"Yeah."
"Why? You've never wanted to before."
"I know," he took a deep breath and added, "and I should have."
Akane sat up and looked into his face, searching for any signs that he was teasing her. Ranma began to get nervous when she only continued to look at him questioningly.
Was he supposed to apologize for not paying more attention to her training? Was she going to get mad because he inadvertently told her she needed help? Would she take it as an insult?
Just as he began to sweat, Akane smiled at him. No, she beamed at him. She looked so happy and suddenly she threw her arms around him, knocking him sideways as she hugged him tightly.
He was serious about helping her! He acknowledged her skills and was going to help her improve! She loosened her grip but didn't move from her position, settling on top of him as he wrapped his arm around her.
She couldn't believe it. The engagement mess had been settled. Ranma had started talking to her about his feelings. And now he was offering to teach her. It was everything she had always wanted. She didn't think she had ever been this happy.
He wrapped one arm around her waist and he placed the other to the back of her head and brought her closer to him. Ranma smiled as he kissed her on the top of her head as he began to stroke her gently. He took a sniff of her hair and smiled.
She smelled like raspberries. His favorite.
He loved the feeling of her pressed against him. Her skin was so soft and her muscles so firm. The warmth of her had relaxed him like nothing else before. This is what he had been missing. This simple affection that was still so new to them both but had quickly become an integral part of his life.
He couldn't believe that they had talked through so much. He didn't want to ruin this moment but there was something else he needed to talk to her about.
"There's just one more thing." When he felt her stiffen, he stroked her back soothingly. "It's not bad. At least, I don't think it is. Hopefully you'll like it. I think you'll like it..."
He stopped when Akane's placed a finger on his lips. It was really cute when he got flustered but if she didn't stop him, she may never know what he wanted to say.
"What is it, Ranma?"
"I...I need to tell you that..." He took a deep breath and said simply, "Akane...I love you."
The blue-haired girl stayed frozen for a moment as she let the words she had been wanting to hear for so long sink in.
He loved her.
He loved her.
She moved off him slowly and put her weight on her elbow as she looked into his face. He looked so earnest.
"I've loved you for so long and missed so many opportunities to tell you. When you asked me if I loved you at the wedding, I panicked. When…when I thought you were..." He took a deep breath. He didn't think he could ever think about Jusendo or her dying without it physically hurting him.
"When we were in Jusendo, in that cave. When I thought you had…left me, I…I was so hurt that I started talking to you, telling you everything I was never able to. And…at the end, I was so…" Even now, just thinking about it he could feel the tears begin to build. Taking another deep steadying breath, he said, "I thought it, I screamed it in my head. Or at least I thought it was in my head. I don't know if I said it out loud. That is what I meant by 'I'm sure I didn't say it out loud.' But I felt it. I feel it. I love you, Akane."
She gave him a little smile and said, "I love you, too, Ranma." She leaned down and kissed him sweetly.
All week he had felt off, felt like something was missing. That his life just felt wrong. With that simple kiss, things shifted inside him. Things he didn't even know were off. And suddenly everything in his life felt right. Everything fell into place. All the insanity, the pain, the worry, and jealously had all been worth it for this single moment. Finally, he had the only thing he ever truly wanted, Akane.
Their lives may never be easy and would probably always be chaotic but if they had each other, they could get through anything.
A/N: I've had a few people tell me that they didn't like the way I have handled Ukyo in this story, saying that she is not as bad as the other girls and more reasonable than I have portrayed her. If you are in this camp, I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you. I believe that the perception that Ukyo is self-sacrificing, less violent, and/or more understanding than the other fiancées is mainly supported by the anime. Except for a minor reference to the anime in the next chapter, my story is solely based on the manga. In the manga she does not do anything for Ranma without some sort of gain for herself, even going so far as hoping Ranma doesn't regain his strength so that he will be forced to help raise their children and run her restaurant because he would be dependent on her. She doesn't give thought to how much that would break his spirit. Not to mention that she has gotten increasingly violent as the series progressed. This is, of course, how I interpret the character and her actions, so if it offends you, I'm sorry.
I've always believed that the biggest problem between Ranma and Akane was their lack of communication. Him winning her forgiveness was more about just being honest with her and sharing his feelings, not about doing silly things. I hope that I've addressed both the Ryoga issue and their lack of communication to everyone's satisfaction.
Big thanks to alwaysZutarian for all her help!
Original Publication Date: March 3, 2015
Revised: August 10, 2015