What About Us?

Chapter Three

As soon as Ranma returned to his house, all he could do was think. He didn't know why, but now things confused him more then ever. This new Akane… much like the previous… but still filled with secrets. The one that he wondered about most was… her new husband.

Who was he and how did she meet him? More importantly… what was he doing to her to make her cry so badly at night?

It was funny how in the past he'd hurt her countless times, taking her tears for granted. And he knew deep down that this was not his territory. She was not his wife and therefore it was none of his business. She didn't even consider him as a friend.

Still, he couldn't help it.

Ranma barely got any sleep for the rest of the night, spending most of his time thinking. When he finally drifted off to sleep, he felt a hand touch his face, waking him.

"Ranma…?" a soft voice cooed. He recognized it immediately.

"Shampoo," He moaned, turning his back. Why was she waking him up so early?

"Get up, you'll be late to school." She said, softly. "It's 3:00 in the afternoon."

"3:00?!" He said, jumping out of bed. How the hell did he sleep in that late?!

"Yes," she examined her nails eyeing him suspiciously. "I woke up during the night and realized you weren't there. Where did you go…?"

Ranma froze, but being the martial artist he was, tried not to show it. "Yeah, uhm… I just went for a walk, to clear my head." It wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't a lie either.

"Really?" Shampoo's eyes shone.

"Really." He repeated, his eyes narrowed.

Shampoo decided to drop it and walked away, her hips swaying.

The purple-haired girl bit her lip. She had a bad feeling about all this. She'd almost lost her husband to Akane Tendo once… damn it, she would not do it again!

She sighed as she saw Ranma dash out the door, book bag in hand. He gave her a slight nod as he left, and she returned a small smile to him.

She loved him. With all her heart. The last thing she' d want would be to lose him.

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Ranma boarded off the bus after his classes. It was now about 8:00 and he was dog-gone tired. School had been a killer, and he was glad to be finally going home.

Suddenly, his cell phone rang. He jumped, feeling the unexpected vibrate of the ringer.

Probably Shampoo… he muttered, hoping she wasn't calling to ask why he was two minutes late… again.

"Yeah?" Ranma answered, not bothering to look at the number.

"Ra-Ranma…?" said a familiar voice. It wasn't Shampoo's, no… and it sounded awful. As if the person were crying. Wait…

"Akane?!" Ranma hissed quietly into the phone. "What's wrong?!"

"I… I'm sorry for calling! I just didn't know what to do… I… I'm sorry, I'll hang up… goodbye."

"NO!" Ranma shouted into the telephone, with a bit too much force at first. He toned his voice down. "No," he repeated a bit more softly. "Akane, if you dare hang up, I swear I am coming there and-"

She laughed a slow, shaky laugh. He couldn't help but smile, despite his worry. "Thank you, Ranma… can we… meet at the park?"

"I'll be right there,"

"It's okay if you're busy or something…"

"I said I'll be right there."

"O-okay…. Thank you."

Ranma closed his cell phone and began walking quickly. He knew that it probably wasn't any of his business, but Akane was still someone he used to know and hopefully somewhat of a friend. Shampoo was going to be mad, however. But why? He was helping someone in need. That had nothing to do with the past. Nothing at all!

After ten minutes, he arrived at the park, panting from all the running he'd done. The taxi driver took too long in traffic, so Ranma had asked for him to just let him off a block away. He glanced ahead and saw Akane, sitting at the bench, looking off into the distance, spacing out. She was clad in jean cut-off's and a simple yellow t-shirt. Her hair was tousled and her mascara seemed to remain running down her cheeks, despite her obvious attempts to wipe the excess makeup off.

"Akane," Ranma said, breathlessly, taking a seat beside her.

"R-Ranma… you… came." She said, in disbelief.

"Of course I came," he said, as if that was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard.

"I… thank you." She said quietly, a small smile on her face.

"N-no problem,"

Damn. She still had that same smile. That same captivating, bring-you-to-your-knees smile. Even after all these years.

"I'm sorry for calling you out like this… it was just a spur of the moment. I was upset and-"

"Don't worry about it, 'Kane… it's nothing. Are you okay?"

She let out a shaky breath. "Yes, I'm fine. Just a little too much alcohol today. I think he's calmed down though."

"Akane, listen to me." He said, through gritted teeth. "You can't stay with this guy."

"Ranma… he wasn't always like this… he's going through some-"

"He's not good for you!"

Akane sat there, stunned for a moment. "Who are you to say… what's good for me?"

Ranma opened his mouth, but no words came out. He then closed it.

"I'm sorry." Akane said quickly. "I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that… I appreciate your coming."

"No… that's okay. Do you want to walk?"

"Sure."

Ranma got up off the bench, a little too quickly, and offered Akane a hand. She looked up at his blue eyes, smiling a little as she took the hand. It was warm, strong… But… wrong. She quickly brushed it off, releasing his grip as she got up off the bench. She blushed slightly, but hid it skillfully, not wanting him to catch her. Akane quickly brushed off the bottom of her shorts, walking onto the side walk.

Ranma felt it too. The electricity that had seemed to have run through his fingers once she touched his. He felt a little saddened by her quick release… did she still… hate him?

They walked silently for a few moments, neither really quite sure what to say. It was awkward how things had changed so much.

Ranma looked down the street, trying to think of something to say. That's when he saw a couple. He recognized the couple, they both went to his college. The girl, a tall, pretty brunette was named Kimiko. The boy was a transfer student from Canada, a blue eyed and honey-blonde male by the name of Ryo. They looked so happy together, walking hand-in-hand. Ranma smiled at the couple, catching Ryo's eye when he noticed…

A ring on Kimiko's finger.

Since when had they gotten engaged? He remembered that in the past Ryo didn't even notice Kimiko. She'd always seemed to write him love notes and he'd ignore them, never taking a second glance. How did they get together?

Then again, it had been five years… things changed. And they looked inseperatable. He sighed, then started a conversation with Akane about the first thing that came to his mind.

"So… Akane," Ranma said, breaking the silence. "You study in University..?"

"Well, I took English, and I currently teach English at Fujioka High School down in south Nerima."

"Nice job, Akane… you always liked English."

"I remember how I used to tutor you for hours, and you'd never get it."

Ranma laughed lightly. "And how you'd still never give up on me."

"Well, judging on how you're in mechanical engineering… I'm glad I didn't."

"Ha-ha, how'd you know?"

"Nabiki told me," she said, smiling.

"Of course!" he laughed. "Still the gossip, isn't she?"

Akane laughed back. "Hey! How dare you… eh, it's true."

He smiled at Akane's laugh, which seemed much more honest this time.

Ranma and Akane talked for a little while, walking around familiar parts of town. They asked one another questions, though very subtle ones. It was strange how comfortable they were with one another, though they stayed away from two topics. One… the whole P-Chan ordeal. Two… their past engagement.

Soon, it became late and although Ranma didn't want to break off the conversation, he knew that Shampoo would be furious once he got home.

Suddenly, he got an idea. However, he hesitated.

"Akane…" he said.

"Yeah, Ranma?" she replied.

"Tomorrow, after school… d-do you wanna… go to lunch with me? As friends, I mean."

Akane froze. "Ranma… I'm sorry. I can't."

Ranma swallowed, feeling slightly rejected. "Oh… I understand, okay… other plans?"

Akane didn't catch his gaze. "Something… like that."

"Ah," he bit his lip. "Alright. Well I have to go…"

"Okay…" She replied, feeling the hurt tone in his voice.

Ranma nodded slightly, and began walking away. Akane watched and, before she could stop herself, she took a step forward and called out his name.

"Ranma!" she said, loudly.

"Huh?" he replied, turning around.

"I'll meet you at two o'clock."

"Huh…?" he said again, his eyebrow cocked in confusion.

"Tomorrow… after school."

"O-O-Oh!" He said, a grin on his face. "Okay! Changed your mind, huh Akane?"

Akane rolled her eyes, jokingly. "Shut up before your ego swells to the size of Tokyo!"

He winked at her, walking away. "See ya, tomboy."

Akane waved at him, walking in the opposite direction, a smile never leaving her face.

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Ranma came home at 9 o'clock sharp. He opened the door slowly, making sure it didn't make a sound. He knew Shampoo was going to be furious. The young man bit his lip, trying to think of an explanation.

I had to stay after school, sorry honey.

I had car troubles.

I was starving and decided to get a bit to eat with my friends.

… none were good. However, the last thing he could possibly say was he was with Akane. Even if it was only as friends.

Ranma creaked into his bedroom slowly, looking around to see if his wife was anywhere in sight. He looked around, realizing she was no where to be seen. The boy relaxed but rolled his eyes. He was a MAN dammit! He wasn't afraid! She had no right to get angry because he was helping a FRIEND!

Ranma walked out of the bedroom confidently, approaching the kitchen. He looked around once again, not finding his wife… but a note instead.

In pink ink, it stated:

Ranma, since you were late I decided to go to the Cat Café to get a bite to eat with friends.

- Shampoo

He bit his lip gently. She was angry. Shampoo always signed her letters off with "I love you" or something along those lines.

The boy sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her. She was his wife and he felt a little bad, even if it wasn't his fault.

For the next half hour, Ranma decided to do the laundry, a chore both he and Shampoo hated to do. He also left her an ice cream sundae, which he made especially himself. He knew the girl liked ice cream, so he hoped she wouldn't be too mad when she saw him.

Ranma sat down, watching some random movie on television when he heard the door open at midnight. He looked up, seeing Shampoo's purple eyes meet his own.

"Ranma," she said, softly. She walked into the room, placing her sweater onto a chair. Ranma stood up, grabbing the sundae and walking slowly over to her.

"I made you this… sorry I was late."

Shampoo continued walking, looking from the sundae over to Ranma and again. "Ranma… you made this for me?"

"Yeah… I thought it'd make you happy."

The young girl's eyes softened a bit. "Where were you?"

"… I was just helping a friend out with something…" it wasn't a total lie.

"Mmm. Don't be late again, okay?"

"I won't." He said, letting out a breath. Did this mean he was off the hook?

Shampoo approached him, laying a cheek on his chest. "I missed you…"

He embraced her back, rubbing her back. "I missed you too, baby," he mumbled against her hair.

The purple-haired Amazon stood on her tip-toes, leaning in for a kiss. He kissed her quickly on the lips and grabbed the ice cream, handing it to her.

"Here," he said, spoon feeding her a bite. She ate it happily and grabbed Ranma's hand.

"Ranma," she said, sighing and hugging him. "Remember what I said about wanting a baby?"

The boy froze. "Uhh…. Yea?"

"Well…" she said, kissing him again. "I really, really want one…"

"O-Okay," he said, kissing her back, a little halfheartedly.

She giggled and shifted closer to him. Ranma wrapped his arms around her softly and glanced at the time.

"Gosh, look, it's late. I have to wake up really early tomorrow."

"But… I want to spend more time with you," she pouted, reaching for his lips yet again.

"Listen, I promise we'll spend lots of time together tomorrow. I'll even take you out to dinner tomorrow night."

"Okay!" she giggled, happily. "I'll get my hair done!"

He smiled and kissed her quickly. "Okay, goodnight, hun."

Shampoo walked over to the sofa and sat down, clicking the T.V. on. "Goodnight, sweetie."

Ranma walked over to the doorway and was about to enter his bedroom when he heard his wife call out his name.

"Ranma…" she said, softly.

"Yeah?" he replied, turning around.

"I love you,"

"I… I love you too, Shampoo."

The young girl smiled a bright smile and returned to her program.

Ranma bit his lip, entering his bedroom. Why did he have to second think that? He loved Shampoo. She was his wife. They were married! Him and Akane were just friends.

… even if he did have feelings for her in the past.