Kasumi was the first to wake up, around 6 am. It was normal, she had morning chores to deal with and on top of that it was also the day of the party, so she had lots to take care of. Ranma was the second at around 8 am, deciding that to clear his mind a bit he wanted to spar with Ryoga for a bit, a little friendly banter while fighting your friend never hurt to lighten up your mood. The third to wake up was Nabiki an hour later at 9 am. Typically, on the weekends she liked to sleep in, but since she was now the de facto planner of her little sister's party ever since they kicked Ranma out of it, Nabiki found it was best to maybe wake up a bit earlier to make sure none of her efforts were in vain, after all she was doing all of this for free. Now, Nabiki admits maybe, the decision was a little harsh considering they were only doing it because he had suggested it but nonetheless, Nabiki concluded that the responsibility to surprise Akane should be left up to someone who best knows her. Even if that knowledge was gained through unwilling means, such as eavesdropping and reading her little sisters diary, but knowledge was knowledge in Nabiki's book.
Even after Nabiki had woken up, much to everyone's surprise Akane was still not up. Usually, she would be working out by the time Kasumi had gotten to breakfast, but even after the others had eaten, she was still not awake. Kasumi had rationalized it by saying that she was very tired last night, and it was best to let her rest for the day ahead of her. But then 10 am rolled around and she began to worry but was quick to push that feeling away. Finally right before the clock hit 12 Kasumi had decided to check in on her little sister, leftover breakfast in hand and a smile on her face.
"Akane, are you feeling alright? I know you didn't eat dinner last night so I brought breakfast for you." Kasumi twisted the doorknob, slowly she pushed the door open and spotted a small body under the covers. Kasumi lowered her voice as she crept closer. "It's time to get up, dear."
Kasumi playfully lifted the covers, ready to whisper something sweet to her younger sister to wake her, but to much of her surprise there was an ugly stuffed animal instead of a head under the sheets. Surprise, she then pulled the covers over completely showing a laid line of pillows where Akane typically was. Well that's weird, Kasumi thought. She opened the closet door and looked inside, no Akane. She then crouched down under the bed, lots of clutter but still no Akane. It can't be. She wondered as a bad feeling set in the pit of her stomach.
"Akane!" She called out, worry beginning to show on her face. "Where are you?"
Kasumi put her hands on her hips. Where on earth was Akane? Did she manage to sneak past her earlier? No Akane's never quiet enough to do something like that. Perhaps she was pulling a prank? No that's just not like her either. Just before Kasumi was about to walk out to look for her, Nabiki had stopped by and peaked her head in looking for Akane as well.
"Where's the birthday girl? I got an appointment at the beauty salon set up for her at noon and I need her ready." She walked in, looking around the empty room. "She here?"
"Well that's the thing, Nabiki, I'm not sure. I didn't see her get up before the rest of us but she's not here." Kasumi set the tray of food on Akane's desk. "Do you think she's just on a long run or something of the sorts?"
Nabiki walked closer to the desk, spotting a small post-it-note under the corner of the tray. She picked it up. "Well, she left a note if you're curious." Nabiki sucked air in through her teeth. "But you're not gonna like it, sis." she waved the note in the air.
Kasumi grabbed the note and held it close to her face as she read. It was a short note, very straight to the point.
"Well, what do you think brought about this? Did Ranma piss her off yesterday even though I told him not to." Nabiki laughed, but quickly stopped as her older sister stood silently only looking at the note. "What's wrong?" She asked, a bit apprehensive.
The sisters stood in silence as Nabiki waved her hand, Kasumi was in some sort of shock as far as she could tell. Kasumi finally looked upwards at her sister, tears welling up in her eyes as she spoke. "I don't think it was Ranma."
And for the first time that Nabiki could remember, her older sister had burst into tears.
--
The wailing didn't last long, Kasumi wasn't that type of crier, in fact she didn't sob very often or for long periods of time about most things. No instead her bawling had turned into meek whimpers and cries with the accompanied incoherent babbling in between. Nabiki wasn't exactly sure of what to do, she usually didn't care about others feelings too much unless she had something to gain, but when it came to Kasumi Nabiki was never able to handle her expressing any sort of excessive emotion as she had long considered it one line she couldn't bring herself to cross. Which was inconvenient at the moment because Nabiki wasn't exactly sure of how to comfort others with no selfish intention.
"Oh there, there, Kasumi. I'm sure she'll be back soon and everything will work out in some weird way, like it usually does." Nabiki led them to sit on the bed, moving the horrible excuse her sister made for a fake body thinking Amateur. "Maybe at least calm down long enough to explain why you're crying...? If that's okay?" She clenched her jaw. This is so weird.
Kasumi blew her nose in a nearby tissue and let out one last sob before starting to speak. "Well, um, yesterday when the kids came home I lectured them right?" She said in between hiccups. Nabiki nodded as she went on. "Well, I-uh, got a little off track and I ended up asking her why she didn't like her birthday which then led to a little disagreement and then-" Kasumi took a deep breath, as if she was about to start crying again.
"It's okay, take a deep breath." Nabiki demonstrated a deep breath as Kasumi mimicked the action, regaining composure slowly with every repitition. "Calm down and continue."
Kasumi sniffed. "Then when she told me the reason why I told her we would try and fix it and I think that's where I messed up, because I-uh, noticed she wanted to not do that and I was so insistent which I think made her upset which I didn't pay attention to and she didn't show up to dinner and I-I-" Kasumi broke into sobs. "I put my interests over her wants!" She cried.
Nabiki leaned away as her sister had begun wailing again, feeling for the first time in a while sympathy for someone else. Thankfully, it wasn't overwhelming and she had quickly decided the next course of action.
"It's all right, sis, you read the note she'll be back." Nabiki grimaced as she patted her older sisters back gently.
"You don't know that." Kasumi cried into her hands. "We don't know that. What if she's just saying that."
The younger sister furrowed her eyebrows, she wasn't used to dealing with Kasumi's negativity at all, hell, until today she wasn't really sure Kasumi had any. "Well, let's think positively. Come on, you and Akane fighting? How bad could it have possibly been?"
Kasumi lifted her head. "After she told me the reason, I pretty much told her our birthday tradition was more important than her feelings." She let her face fall in her hands again, speaking through her muffled palms. "How could I have thought Akane would've been okay with me after that."
Nabiki set her hand and began rubbing on her sisters back, after all her older sister would be doing if it were her. Of course, not that it ever would. "I'm not sure I'm getting the full picture, maybe you could tell me what she said exactly."
"Don't you already know? Since your closer to Akane than I am."
"Eh, not really, since the majority of the stuff I know about her is mostly because I spy on her." The younger brunette shrugged.
"Nabiki!" Kasumi said in a scornful tone.
"Oh, come on are you really gonna try and scold me while your sobbing? We can talk about that later let's just focus on you telling me what she said so we can fix your mistake." Nabiki leaned closer in as her sister had returned to her previously depressed mood. She quieted her voice. "Just tell me, I can't help if I don't know what I'm fixing."
Kasumi sighed as she put her hands on her lap, the tears beginning to slow down and her voice ever so slightly returning to its usual volume. "You won't tell her I told you?"
"I won't."
"You promise me?" Kasumi looked into Nabiki's eyes, catching her off guard as she continued. "I don't want to betray her again in any way."
Nabiki nodded, a slim twinge of nervousness prickling on the back of her neck. "I promise." She let out a small laugh to try regain her cool. "You make it seem like your about to tell me a life altering secret just tell me."
Kasumi nodded, looking away as she spoke. "She told me that she doesn't like her birthday because of mom."
"Because of mom?" Nabiki cocked her head to the side.
"Mhm, Akane said that at first since they were at similar times that it felt like she was taking away something from mother, something that wasn't supposed to be shared was meshed together. After mother passed Akane said that the feeling had then shifted, a reminder that someone was gone too soon." Kasumi looked down. "I ignored all that and she's upset with me. I didn't even think about her reaction until I saw she was gone, I didn't think she'd react like this."
Nabiki sat silently as her sister stared down at her feet, not sure of what to say. Sure, she was used to her sister's blind positivity but she had never seen it backfire this badly before. Maybe after a bad encounter with some stranger she saw Kasumi get a bit gloomy but it had usually always been the other parties fault anyway. This time, it wasn't exactly Akane's fault for Kasumi's state, instead it had been Kasumi's fault for the problem at hand which was something that she hadn't expected.
"Well, you responded the way you thought was best, I'm sure Akane knows that and isn't mad at you. You read the note, she'll be back soon and when she comes back you two will settle everything." Nabiki consoled. "Trust me, if she can forgive everyone in else in her life for everything bad that they've done, I'm sure you're no different."
"Are you sure?"
Nabiki smiled. "I'm positive."
--
After getting Kasumi to regain better composure the two had made their way to the kitchen, where they ultimately decided since Akane will be coming back soon, they should go ahead with party preparations. Nabiki had left her older sister to her devices, going about her work in a better mood than before as Nabiki excused herself to go call the salon and cancel the appointment she had set up for Akane. Afterwards Nabiki quietly went into the dojo, shutting the door behind her as she came across just the two young men she had been looking for.
"What's up, Nabiki, is it lunch time already?" Ranma greeted as he pinned Ryoga down with his foot. "What are we having?"
Nabiki stood as she watched Ryoga struggle to get out of Ranma's grasps, she crossed her arms as her typical cool expression feel from her face. "I'm not some messenger girl that's not what I'm here for, and Ranma let go of Ryoga." She put her hands on her hips. "We've got some business to deal with."
The two boys shared a confused look before Ranma finally let Ryoga out of his grip. Ranma crouched down as Ryoga opted to stay laying on the ground, attention set on the older girl ahead of them.
"What's wrong?" Ryoga asked.
"Yeah, it's gotta be serious for you to be talkin' like that." Ranma followed.
Nabiki looked between them before answering. "Akane's gone." She held up a hand, signaling them to stay quiet. "And before you two start talking just listen. First, Kasumi and Akane had a minor dispute making this strictly a family issue so you guys cannot ask me anything about it. Second, I need you two idiots to go out and find her, console her, and get her home so we can settle this and get everyone happy and chipper, alright? And lastly, please for the love of my patience just act like normal empathetic people for Akane."
Ranma raised an eyebrow. "This must be super serious if it's got you actin' like a rational person."
Nabiki frowned. "Just go find her, I put way too much effort into this party thing for some minor detail to mess it all up." she rolled her eyes.
"That sounds more like you, okay, any idea of where she's gone?" Ranma asked.
"No idea, she just left this note on her desk that said 'I need to think, I'll be back' or something like that. I know she left sometime before 7 am and sometime after dinner last night." Nabiki shrugged. "I was thinking one of you two would know since you guys spend so much time with her."
The boys cocked their head to the side, unsure of how to answer. Ranma raised an eyebrow before speaking.
"How would we? She always runs away from me when she's upset and Ryoga's never really been a person of comfort for her." He stated. "Shouldn't you know? Since you are the closest to her after all."
Nabiki scoffed. "Oh please, diaries and eavesdropping can only get you so far that's why I'm not dealing with this myself. If I had a clue of where she's gone I wouldn't be here with you two fools wasting time." She paused. "So get thinking we only have until 6 to find her."
"6? That's plenty of time to find her." Ranma brushed off as he turned over to Ryoga. "We have at least 6 hours, we've found her in less time."
"Yeah, I'm sure we'll figure it out in no time." Ryoga said.
Nabiki glared down on them as she walked over, grabbing the boys by the ears and pulling them closer, caring little for their cries of pain.
"Now listen here and listen good, okay? We haven't a damn clue of where she is, we have to set up for the party, and Kasumi's rationality and emotional state relies entirely on getting Akane home in time to make up. To top it all off I have to rely entirely on you two-who are dumber than a pack of bricks- to find her because I have to stay here and make sure things run smoothly." She smiled, looking both of her victims in the eyes. "Let's not waste any more time, got it?" They shook their heads furiously before she let go, walking towards the door as they agonized over their repective ear.
The two rubbed their ears as they watched her walk out of the dojo, closing the door behind her. They shared a look.
"I never figured her as they scary type." Ryoga winced in pain as he touched his ear.
"You'd be surprised to know they're all a little scary in their own way, it's just that Akane is more outwardly scary with how violent she can be." Ranma sighed, deciding that it was best to ignore the throbbing pain in his ear. "Anyway, you heard her, got any ideas?"
Ryoga crossed his arms in thought, he closed his eyes as he hummed. "Not really, like you said, sadly I don't get to spend that much time with her."
"Yeah, 'sadly'." Ranma rolled his eyes. "We should start somewhere familiar then. If she's sad then she must've gone somewhere she'd be comforted."
"Oh yeah? And where would that be?" Ryoga opened one eye, curious.
Ranma extended a hand, coxing his old friend to get up with hi and follow his lead. "Well, I'm not sure if you've met him but it's a local doctor. He takes care of most injuries in the household."
Ryoga frowned. "I don't think I have." Ryoga said. The two stepped out of the dojo, making their way to the street. "Who is he?"
"Doctor Tofu." Ranma smiled. "Good guy, he almost broke my neck once."
"Hah, really? No wonder Akane likes him." Ryoga laughed, much to the annoyance of his company.
The pig tailed teen frowned. "She actually had nothing to do with that, it was an accident." He scoffed. "Taking me to him was one of the first nice things she did for me."
"Really? What did she take you in for?"
Ranma grimaced slightly. "She kinda roughed me up a little." His eyes wandered playfully. "To be honest I don't really remember why, I just know she got something out of taking me there anyway."
"What'd she get?"
"Well, first of all Akane got to make sure she didn't get in trouble at home, and second she got to see the Doctor." Ranma smiled, thinking to annoy Ryoga. "You know, I almost forgot she was in love with him."
Ryoga stopped, whipping his head in surprised. "She was what?"
"Yeah," Ranma's smile turned mischievous. "The Doctor was her first love, you jealous?"
Ryoga huffed and began walking ahead as his friend pepped along. "No way, it's not like she's still in love with him so there's no problem."
"Hmm? Not even a little? Even though she's your first love?" Ranma prodded. "You know he was the whole reason she had her long hair back then."
"Oh yeah? And I was the whole reason she got it cut back then so again, no big problem."
"But that was an accident so it don't count." The pig tailed boy teased, looking ahead to see the Doctors office. "Ah, we're here. Excited to meet him?"
"Oh would you shut up already, you're wasting your time tryin' a tease me." Ryoga growled as he walked ahead to the office, Ranma skipping behind to catch up. "Let's just see if she's here and move on."
Ranma grinned as he opened the door, allowing Ryoga to enter first as he closed the door behind him. "Doctor Tofu?" Ranma called out, walking towards the examination room. "Doctor, you here?"
Finally, Ranma peaked inside the room, spotting the doctor sitting at his desk looking through papers and not currently attending to any patient. The boys' opened the door fully, Ranma walking in first followed by a rather hesitant Ryoga.
"Doctor, are you free?" The doctors familiar guest stepped closer to Tofu, who had seemed unbothered by the unexpected guests. "We need to ask ya something quick."
Tofu looked up, turning his swivel chair around to face them with a smile. "Ah, Ranma, long time no see, what's the problem?" He looked past Ranma to Ryoga before returning his gaze to the known teenager. "Did you hurt your friend over behind you over there?"
Ranma shook his head. "No way, this guy right here is built like a rock." He laughed as he slapped Ryoga's back, sending him a few steps forward.
"I see, then what can I do for you?" Tofu chuckled.
"Nothing really, we just came to ask if Akane was here, or to ask if she's stopped by at all." Ranma said. "She left and hasn't come home since the early morning and thought that she'd maybe be here?"
Tofu hummed. "I'm afraid that I haven't seen Akane since the last time she got injured." He sighed. "I can't believe she'd run away on the party day, did something happen?"
Ryoga sighed. "'Fraid we can't share that with you, Doctor, we should get going now." He began to walk towards the door but was held back by Ranma, who had grabbed his collar and pulled him back towards the coversation.
"Don't be rude, pig boy." Ranma quickly chided before returning his attention back to Tofu. "Well, if you haven't seen her today you think you'd know where she'd run off to when she's upset? You've known her since she was kid, right? I'm sure you'd know."
Tofu shook his head no with a solemn expression. "As far as I know Akane's always been a happy kid so I don't have a lot of experience with her being upset. But on the odd occasion that she was feeling down she would always go get a bite to eat with her friends."
"...Really?" The two boys questioned.
Tofu nodded, a small smile on his face now. "That's right, before you came along Ranma Akane was a very normal kid. Now, I'm not saying she's weird now or anything like that, but her reactions used to be a lot more typical of a girl her age." He laughed. "Don't you remember how she was when you two first met? It was only a year or so ago."
Ranma winced as he let go of his grip on Ryoga's shirt, but quickly snapping back into the conversation. "Right, I forgot. Guess I'm used to all the weird stuff around us." He said, quickly recovering from the brief feeling of awkwardness. "But that actually helps us a bit, we know where to go from here on. We'll talk to you later, Doctor."
Tofu waved goodbye as he watched the two boys head out of his office, back onto the street with Ranma leading the way.
"Where to now?" Ryoga asked. "Or did you only lie to get out of there?"
Ranma scoffed. "I would never. I don't go all on the defensive when I'm faced with an Akane fact I that catches me of gaurd, unlike you." He stuck his tongue out.
"I didn't go on the defensive I just figured we got what we needed out of him and needed to get going." Ryoga glared at his friend. "And you're no better, you got super uncomfortable when the Doctor pretty much said you shifted Akane's personality with all your weirdness."
"Okay, yeah whatever, you were way more rude then me so ha I win." Ranma prided. "But moving on, I do have 'n idea of where to go next. The Doctor said something about going out with friends, so maybe she went to their place for comfort."
"Right, that would make sense. A normal solution for a normal problem." Ryoga agreed. "Where would we find them though? Do you know where they live?"
"Of course, they're my classmates and Akane goes over to their place sometimes."
"She takes you with her?"
Ranma avoided eye contact. "... Sorta."
"Sorta?" Ryoga asked. "That sounds suspicious, what do you mean by that?"
"... You word it like I'm some sort of criminal-"
"-I wouldn't be surprised-"
"-Shut it." Ranma grit his teeth. "Listen, I only know because I wanted to make sure she didn't get lost or something."
Ryoga gave a disgusted look, much to his friends dismay. "You really are a creep, y'know?"
"Oh you're one a talk! You sleep in her bed at night." Ranma huffed. "I'm surprised I haven't caught ya doing that lately, ya little freak."
Ryoga smiled. "That's cause I now get to spend time with her as my true self. With all the training Akane and I have been doing there's no need for the guise of P-Chan, since I get to spend my morning and afternoon with her now."
Ranma grumbled. "Whatever, when this party thing is over you'll be back on the streets gettin' lost and all that precious Akane time will be out the window."
"Oh yeah, what if I decide to stick around a bit longer? She did ask me to train her after all and I would never break a promise to Akane." Ryoga said half heartedly, poking fun at Ranma.
"As if. Even if you wanted to you'd just be wastin' everyone's time. You can't cook, you get lost, ya can't even do laundry right-"
"-You still butt hurt over your shirts?" Ryoga chuckled.
Ranma stomped his foot down. "They were authentic, very comfy, pricey, Chinese silk for your information, so yeah I am a little butt hurt!" Ranma stopped, reigning in his anger a bit as they continue walking. "Arg, whatever, my point is you'd just be wasting space and time here. It's nice have'n you around but not much longer than this, especially when I know your hidin' your dirty little secret from Akane. You stickin' around would just make mean more close calls and heavier guilt."
Ryoga shrugged. "Geez, it ain't serious, I was just pullin' your chain. I don't exactly want to spend more time with you than I already have." He looked away. "Y'know, for someone who's not in love with her you sure don't like any another guy bein' around er."
"I wouldn't have a problem if you weren't interested in her." Ranma said, rubbing his brow as he began to recognized the street. "You know what, we're here, lets go find her and hope to get home."
Ranma walked ahead as he made it in front of his classmate's house, aggresively ringing the door bell. Before the dreadfully stiff aura that Ranma's reaction created fully set in, a familiar face opened the door, followed by another, showing the two girls he had in mind to help them were right in front of him. His hopes lifted, since both of Akane's friends were here there was a good chance that maybe Akane was here and Tofu was right. He smiled.
"Sayuri, Yuka, how's it goin'?" Ranma greeted.
The two girls shared a confused look, but offered a welcoming smile towards their classmate.
"Oh, hey, what brings you here...?" Yuka asked, looking past him towards Ryoga, she felt even more confused. "I see Ryoga's here too."
Ryoga raised his eyebrows. "You know me?"
Sayuri smiled awkwardly. "Duh, your kind hard to forget since you were the first one to make a big scene after Ranma showed up." She paused. "You like, attacked him a bunch during school hours and you also cut off Akane's hair."
Ranma stifled a laugh as Ryoga felt his cheeks turn pink, a bit embarrassed. "Oh right."
Ignoring the infamous attacker, Sayuri turned her attention back to Ranma who was enjoying the embarrassment his friend was suffering. "Anyway, what are you two doing here?"
Yuka added. "Yeah, the party isn't until later did something happen?"
Ranma shook his head. "No it's still a go and all that, we're here to ask if you've seen Akane. Has she stopped by or anything at all..?"
The two girls shared another look. "We haven't seen her, we thought she'd be getting ready about now." Sayuri said.
"Rats, we were kinda countin' on ya." Ranma snapped his fingers. "You guys wouldn't happen to know where she would go if she were upset would you?"
"Don't you know?" Yuka crossed her arms. "Since you spend so much time together and all."
The pig tailed boy frowned. "No, she doesn't really tell me these things." He said an annoyed tone. The third people to say that today.
"Yeah, when she's upset she tends to run away from him cause he's usually the reason why." Ryoga chimed in.
Ranma glared at him before returning his attention to his classmates. "Right, but are you sure you haven't got a clue?"
The girls stopped to think before Yuka gasped. "Oh, I might know! She said something about liking to go to the park or to the woods to clear her head."
"That's a little vague isn't it?" Ranma sighed. "You know what, better than nothing let's start at the park, Ryoga. Thanks, guys!"
The two girls waved off the two boys, wondering if they were really gonna look through the neighboring woods. They shrugged, it best to leave them to their own devices.
--
Akane sat up a bit confused after finding herself lying on a futon in a somewhat familiar room along with a slightly more familiar face seated next to her. She squinted her eyes as her eyesight began to clear, seeing that the familiar face was none other than Konatsu. Why was she in Ukyo's home again?
"Good afternoon, Akane, would you like something to drink or eat?" Konatsu chirped.
Akane tilted her head as she rubbed her eyes. "What?" She paused to yawn, feeling herself become more awake. "Why am I here?"
Konatsu smiled, closing their eyes as they scooted closer to Akane. "I guess you would be wondering that."
Akane raised an eyebrow, leaning closer to hear the reason behind her stay at Ukyo's.
"Well, when I was out this morning to go on a run, I spotted you sitting at a park bench completely knocked out." Konatsu began. "I was a little frantic when I saw you, worried about what would happen to you if I just left you there, so I picked you up, took you home, tucked you in and let you sleep."
"Oh." Akane felt her face heat up, embarrassed of the whole situation. "Thank you for picking me up."
"It was no problem, you don't weigh much after all." Konatsu beamed. "But if I may ask, what were you doing out there? It around 5 am and you weren't in work out clothes so I'm a bit curious." They asked.
Akane looked down at her appearance, a little messy for lack of better terms. "...It's a long story, but just know I'm thankful you didn't take me home, I'm trying to stay away for as long as possible today."
Konatsu nodded. "I see, Good thing then." They stood up, patting down their kimono and extending a hand to Akane. "Well, I understand, you can stay here as long as necessary. Until then, let's get you fed, can't stay too upset when your belly's full."
Akane laughed as she took Konatsu's hand, standing up with their help. "Thank you, and don't worry it's nothing too serious. I'll be back in time to smooth things over with them."
--
"I can't believe her, runnin' off the way she did with no regard to us." Ranma slid down her seat. They had spent almost 3 hours searching the park and nearby wood area and turned up nothing. "After all the preparation we did and she runs off the day of the party, just because she needed to cool off. Typical Akane."
Ryoga felt a pang of annoyance hit him, usual for when he interacted with Ranma for too long. "When I hear how you talk about Akane, I figure it's no wonder she runs off when she gets upset." He slammed his fist on the table. "But on another note, what in the hell are we doing here?"
Ranma rolled her eyes as she waved her spoon around. "Well, Ryoga, if you have to know we're here cause this is the last place in my head where I thought Akane could be. But since she's clearly not here I decided we might as well take a break and eat one of these parfaits." She dunked the spoon into her dessert. "You should eat yours, these things ain't exactly cheap."
Ryoga's eyebrow twitched as he looked down at his parfait. "You know as well as I do that it's embarrassing to eat one these things as a man."
"Well, you could always turn yourself into a pig if you wanna be spared the embarrassment." Ranma stuck her tongue out.
"... You're a real sicko you know." Ryoga said, finally giving in and taking a bite. "You get to turn into a cute girl and I have to turn into a pig to eat one of these things." He began to scarf down the treat. "I hate that they're good."
"I don't make the rules." Ranma shrugged.
Deciding it was best to enjoy the little break they had, the two enjoyed their desserts in a mutual silence. Ryoga was at first reluctant but after realizing that the dish was much tastier than expected he rationalized that since he was technically here with a 'girl' onlookers would just think Ranma brought him here. He also knew it bothered Ranma to be seen as girl, so that helped his reasoning too.
"So, is there really no other place Akane could be?" Ryoga said, biting into a strawberry wafer. "No other place she could run to clear her head?"
"Like I told everyone else, she doesn't really tell me things like that so yeah this is it." Ranma extended her arms, presenting the restaurant. "This is the last possible place!"
"Hmm..." Ryoga thought. "Do you think she'd go someplace... unexpected?"
Ranma stopped eating as she thought about it. "Like where?"
"I dunno, maybe since she left and didn't want to be found, Akane would ran off somewhere that you would never think she would." Ryoga posed. "Even if she doesn't tell you these things, you could at least figure out an unlikely hiding place for her."
"Somewhere unexpected..." Ranma paused.
"Yet somewhere familiar..." Ryoga added.
"That could offer comfort..."
"And where the people she's fighting with wouldn't think to look..."
The two trailed off before a light bulb went off, they shouted in unison.
"Ukyo's!"
--
Akane felt a chill run up her spin, sensing something shifting in the air. Maybe someone was thinking about her.
"Don't mess with that batter, Konatsu!" Ukyo yelled.
Or maybe it was the batter that was shifting. Akane shrugged as she entered the main restaurant from the back area, watching as Konatsu was scurrying away from behind the counter to be of better use serving customers on the floor instead. She looked over at Ukyo who was serving the people that had entered.
"Hey, Akane, if you got a minute could you run on back and grab some more sauce? I'm a little held up at the moment." Ukyo called out.
Akane nodded, running back and looking around. Akane already felt bad enough for imposing on Ukyo so the least she could do was help around until she was ready to go home. The young Tendo sighed, it was 3 already, she could only hide for so long before having to go home and fix the problem before the party began.
While initially she was a little sad about the whole argument-staying up all night crying as Akane thought the whole thing-by the time 2 am had rolled around her tears had turned to ones of frustration rather than those of sadness. After laying it all out like that to her older sister she was angry at the fact Kasumi could brush past all that and continue to pursue her own personal interest of birthday celebrations. This was the first time in any recent memory that she had felt so upset towards Kasumi. And it showed, she had never left her house so early in the morning, much less after not even sleeping a wink.
Akane sighed as she finally laid her eyes on the flour Ukyo had asked for, being careful not to drop it on the way to the grilling area. She placed it next to the wall and returned to the backroom, taking a seat on a box of produce waiting to be needed again and to think a little more on the issue at hand. Akane looked over at the clock, reading 3:05 now.
Sure, now that she thought about it everything about why Kasumi would want to celebrate her birthday made sense. Kasumi just wanted to keep a tradition that their parents had started together when they're mother was still alive, there wasn't a lot that she had left them after all. Akane even felt a little bad for her sister, she must feel responsibility to do all the things their mother was supposed to do so of course that included traditions. In the end, this whole thing was just a series of misfortune on the Tendo's, that was just how it had played out. No hijinks, just unconventional feelings and bad luck.
"Are you enjoying that sinking box of produce over there?" Ukyo spoke.
Akane looked up and then down at the box she was sitting on, seeing that she was pretty much crushing all of the produce inside. She stood up quickly, rather flustered about the whole situation.
"I'm so sorry, Ukyo. I didn't mean to I was just deep in thought, and I thought it would support me and-" Akane stopped her rambling to look Ukyo who stood in front of her with an amused smile, finally giving in a defeated sigh. "Sorry, really I am."
Ukyo hummed. "It's alright, you didn't sink it too deep I'm sure it's fine or at the very least still usable." She paused. "Y'know, Konatsu is taking care of the restaurant right now since our little rush is over, let's go get you cleaned up, hun."
Akane didn't say much but smiled and followed Ukyo up the stairs, entering her room and taking a seat on her vanity. It had certainly gotten a lot more furniture than the last time Akane had stepped foot in the room.
"Are you okay with letting me do your hair and makeup?" Ukyo said sliding a makeup case out of her closet. "I think it's the best thing to do when your down in the dumps, helps you feel better."
"Well, if you say so." Akane shrugged, looking into the mirror. "I haven't gotten my makeup done since I almost got married."
Ukyo froze at the last statement before bringing the case up to the vanity. "Yeah, and you're gonna look just as good as you did that day, ahaha."
"Right..." Akane trailed off.
As Ukyo brushed Akane's hair there was no words said, a faint discomfort grew inside Akane. Here she was getting all dolled up by Ukyo, who had not invited her into her home yet was still taking care of her. After almost a whole year of knowing him, not until today had she ever felt this comforted by one of Ranma's fiancées.
"Thank you, for letting me stay with you today." Akane started. "And for taking care of me."
Ukyo brushed Akane's bangs further to the side, sliding two hair clips to hold them back. "Of course, friends are always welcome here."
Akane watched as Ukyo picked up a brush and began to work on her eyelids, she closed her eyes before continuing. "Still, thank you. I feel bad for imposing on you guys while you two are working."
"Well, like Konatsu said, we couldn't leave you out there alone." Ukyo said. "But I feel the need to ask, what were you doing there?"
Akane pursed her lips. "I was hiding out."
"From what? Konatsu said something about troubles at home so I'm figuring you had a fight with your family about Ranchan." Ukyo stopped to wipe a bit of the color away. "Or am I wrong?"
Akane paused before responding. "No, this time it wasn't anything to do with Ranma, technically. It was with my sister."
"What happened?"
Akane sat silently. She hadn't wanted to speak about it with anyone in the first place, so why would she want to tell Ukyo of all people. Even if they were friends, she had no reason to know any details of her problems.
"Do you not want to talk about it? Too personal?" Ukyo worked on the eyes. "I get it, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
Akane opened her eyes, a bit surprised as Ukyo finished. She watched her set down the brush and begin to look at a few eye liners, showing them to Akane.
"Which one do you want?" Ukyo presented.
"... Aren't they all the same?"
Ukyo's eyes widened in shock. "Of course not! This one is a liquid pen, this one's a pencil, and this one is even a wand with a bottle! They all do different things." She set them down, grabbing the first one she had presented. "You know what, I'm just gonna pick the one I like best."
Akane closed her eyes again, feeling the cool ink hit her eyelids to draw what she felt to be a very thin line. She was a little confused.
"Why didn't you didn't press any more on the issue?" Akane asked.
"I didn't find it appropriate, do you think I'm pushy or something?"
"No, not at all!... Well maybe, but not for stuff like this." Akane laughed nervously. "It's just that, most people usually press for answers."
Ukyo held Akane's face closer as she brought a thumb up to clean a line she had messed up. "Yeah well, I don't. If I know it's familial, I understand that you're not always gonna feel comfortable talkin' bout it with others." She analyzed Akane's face, looking for any out of place touch on her eyelids. "It's lookin' good so far, just see for yourself." Ukyo pushed Akane's face to the side, a little forceful.
Akane opened her eyes and looked into the mirror, admiring the work Ukyo had done. The lids were a pretty coral color with a slight shimmer, a graceful black line across each one making a symmetrical look. "Wow, I love it. I never figured you could do stuff like this! Since I imaged you had no need for it."
"Yeah well, I am a woman of many talents. Even I like to give myself some more glamor sometimes, y'know." Ukyo prided. "You want to pick the lip color? I have lip tints if you don't want anything too dramatic, hmm." She paused, looking over at Akane with an unsure look. Ukyo returned to the tints, picking one out of the line. "... Actually, you know what, I think this tint would work best for you. Yes, we'll go with this one."
"You didn't even let me decide." Akane said.
"And you didn't even know the difference between those eye liners over there, so I think it's best if you just let me decide." Ukyo rebutted. "Anyway, close your mouth I need to make sure I don't mess this up."
Akane sat back as Ukyo held her face still, staring right at Ukyo as the host stared at her lips, applying the tint carefully. Akane's cheeks turn pink; she'd never been this close to Ukyo before and felt a bit embarrassed. Especially this kind of close, as it felt so personal. Hopefully Ukyo didn't notice her distressed complexion, perhaps she'd blame the May heat on it.
"Okay, all done. Now just for some finishing touches." Ukyo grabbed her eyebrow pencil, placing her hand near Akane's face as she began to fill in areas. "We gotta add blush, gloss and mascara too. Really just bring it all together."
Akane giggled as Ukyo finished up, moving onto the next thing. "You really care about these details, huh."
"Of course, details are what can make or break anything you do. Cooking, schoolwork, painting, most everything is brought together by details." Ukyo smiled. "Beauty of course is no exception." She shook the blush brush a bit before gently applying the product onto Akane's cheekbones. "You have the beauty already, so this makeup is just here to bring it all together."
"Really?" Akane felt her face heat up much more fiercely than before. "You think I'm pretty?"
"Of course, I may be the cute fiancée but you're the pretty one." Ukyo said.
Akane smiled, but before Akane could return the compliment, a loud bang was heard downstairs. The two jumped to their feet as they rushed down to see the trouble, spotting a very startled Konatsu being talked to by two boys of the same age. Akane sighed as the two teenagers called out her name.
"Akane!" They ran past Konatsu.
"We were right, you are here." Ryoga slapped her back.
Ranma joined in. "I never woulda figured you'd trust Ukyo this much." He laughed, takin Akane by the arm gently. "Let's go home now, we still have to set up a few things."
"Wait what?" Akane took a step back. "What are you doing here?"
The two nodded. "Nabiki told us to go find you." Ranma said.
Akane frowned. "I said I'd be back I don't understand why she wanted you two to come find me." She rubbed her temples in frustration. "Go home and tell my sisters I'll be back home soon, and not to worry about the party I'll be there on time."
The two boys shared a shocked expression.
"Why can't you just come back now?" Ryoga asked. "Nabiki said it was a minor dispute so she wants you home as soon as possible."
"She said that?" Akane said, taking their silence as confirmation. "Why-You know what, I'll just ask her all this myself. But the two of you, you have any idea of why I left? Like at all?"
They shook their heads no. She sighed, a bit relieved at the news. "Okay well than I guess I can't be too upset about you two coming out to find me." Akane said.
Ranma smiled. "Exactly, we're too in the dark about this issue for you to-"
"-I'm gonna go sort this out with my sisters then, you two can stay here in the meantime." Akane interrupted, walking past the two boys. "I'll see you guys in a few hours. Thank you, again, Ukyo."
The 3 teenagers stood in awe as they watched Akane walk out of the building just as quickly as they had stormed it. The first to snap out of the shock was Ranma who quickly ran after her, leaving Ukyo and Ryoga a little confused on what to do. As curious as they were, they figured it was best to stay out of Akane's way. After all, being in Akane's business was for the Tendo sisters and Ranma.
"Wait, Akane!" Ranma caught up. "What do you mean sort this out?"
"Well sort out with Nabiki why she wanted me home so soon and just the whole issue in general." Akane marched forward.
Ranma frowned. "You do know I have no idea what you're talking about."
"And?"
Ranma paused before answering. "Can't I know? I live with you all don't I?" he caught his step up with her quickly. "you said you'd tell me later, Akane."
Akane whipped her head around, stopping them in their tracks. "I said later, this isn't later. Once it gets sorted out I'll tell you."
Ranma furrowed his eyebrows, his frustration beginning to fester. "I'm getting really sick of you not telling me things, you know. You don't tell me anything."
Akane gapped, not sure of how to respond. "I tell you things."
"Do not."
"I so do. I tell you when things annoy me, I tell you when I get annoyed, even menial things I tell you about like my day or my events. You know most things about me because I tell you." She defended, her own anger beginning to show.
"Yeah, useless things. Today I went around town looking for you in record time and for the life of me couldn't even come up with places you'd go to when you're upset. You know how many people said 'I thought you'd know' to me? I lot!" He stated. "So can you tell me actually important things from now on."
His fiancée scowled. "Have you ever thought that maybe I don't tell you important things for a reason." She slowly raised her voice, taking slow steps forward as she continued. "Right now, I am having a bit of an emotional day after I just had a crappy argument with my sister and all you can talk about is how ticked off you got because people are disappointed you don't know these things about me. You wonder why I don't tell you 'Important things' when you gave yourself the reasons already."
The two stood in silence, Akane catching her breath as Ranma bit his tongue with guilt rising within him. Akane slowly backed turning her back away from him before he grabbed her hand and pulling her back, letting go as soon as she returned her attention to him. She crossed her arms, glowering as she waiting for him to say something.