Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma and Co...I always return them after thoroughly messing with their heads...
The Dojo
Akane wandered aimlessly homeward after an afternoon spent at the mall with Yuka, Sayuri, and some of their other friends. It had been an odd afternoon, and she'd felt on edge the whole time, unable to completely enjoy the shopping, girl talk, and ice cream. It had been a while since she'd had the chance to hang out with the girls and she was frustrated that she'd been unable to enjoy herself the way she'd wanted to.
She sighed as she slipped through the gates of the Tendo compound. At least Ranma should be home by now. He'd been away on a training trip with his dad for the past week, and she found that she'd missed him more than she had expected. She always missed him when he was away, but this time it had been worse, like some essential part of her had gone missing. This being in love business was not all it was cracked up to be – it was getting in the way of her girl time. She snorted at her own folly as she walked into the kitchen to find Kasumi preparing for dinner.
"Hey Kasumi, how's it going?" Akane snagged a raw carrot stick from pile being chopped for the stir fry.
"Welcome home little sister," Kasumi smiled. "Did you have a good time with your friends?"
"Yeah, it was pretty fun," Akane answered half-heartedly, nibbling on the carrot.
Kasumi's smile widened and took on a knowing edge. "He's in the dojo," she whispered.
Akane's heart leapt wildly in her chest. She took a steadying breath and rose on her tiptoes to place a fleeting kiss on Kasumi's cheek. "Thanks. Let us know if you need any help setting the table," she offered, knowing better than to offer to help with the meal, regardless of how much she wanted to. The last thing she needed was to poison her poor fiancé the day he got back.
She was almost at the half-closed dojo doors when she heard voices and paused to make sure Nabiki, Uncle Saotome, and her father weren't nearby. She leaned against the wall to the right of the door and focused on the low voices from inside the dojo.
"I can't do this anymore man, it's wrong and cruel, and she doesn't deserve this from either of us," Ranma stated earnestly from inside the dojo. Akane frowned at the words, wondering what Ranma meant and who he was talking to.
A growl echoed through the dojo. "Ranma this is all your fault. You're the reason I can't tell her the truth and now you want me to give her up completely? You can be such a bastard sometimes."
"I don't understand why this is such a big deal Pork Butt. You've got Akari, so why are you hanging on to this schoolboy crush you have on my fiancée when 'Kane just thinks of you as a friend?" Ranma demanded, beginning to sound exasperated.
Outside the doors, Akane frowned. What was Ranma talking about? Clearly Ryoga was in there with him, but what was going on? Ryoga has a crush on me? That explains so much, Akane thought. She returned her attention to the strange conversation in the dojo.
"W-well...Akari's great and everything, but Akane is my first love and I can't stand idly by and watch the way you jerk her around all the time. She deserves better than a two...uh, three-timer like you." Ryoga's growl was gaining volume as he spoke until he was shouting. At least he was shouting up until he started stuttering over how many girls Ranma was supposedly cheating on Akane with.
Akane's frown deepened as Ranma's voice filled the dojo at the subterranean levels that indicated he was furious. "God dammit Ryoga, you've got no idea what you're talking about. I would never hurt Akane, and I ain't a two or three timer. What you've been doing to her is a million times worse than anything I've ever put Akane through and you know it." Akane heard the sound of a body slamming against the wall and felt the boards she leaned against shake. "I swore I wouldn't tell anyone your secret and look at all the trouble it's caused me."
"Ha! Keep my secret, that's a joke," Ryoga laughed mirthlessly. "You drop hints like crazy, you taunt me, and you flaunt your other girls in front of Akane without caring how much it hurts her. You are an arrogant, heartless cur and need to be put down, and I am just the man to do it."
"Gah!" Ranma shouted in frustration. Akane followed the sound of Ranma shoving Ryoga back against the wall storming across the floor. "I ain't flaunting anything and I've caused the Tomboy more pain by helping you keep this from her than with anything else. 'Sides, you've caused more than your fair share of fights between her and me. I'm lucky I've been able to salvage any kind of relationship with her the way you've been fucking with us since you got here."
Akane stared across the yard, not taking in any details, chewing on her lip as she tried to puzzle through this weirdly disturbing conversation she was now actively eavesdropping on.
"What are you talking about Ranma? You and Akane don't have a relationship beyond you annoying her and her sending you into the stratosphere," Ryoga snorted.
"You got no idea what you're talking about Pork Butt," Ranma growled.
"Oh really? You think I don't see how much you love to cause sweet Akane pain?" Ryoga demanded and Akane gasped at the viciousness of his tone.
"God, you are so stupidly blind. I just l-l-love her Hibiki and you know what, she wants to be with me." Akane could practically feel the pressure of Ryoga's shocked and angry silence. "I want to be with her Ryoga, not any of those other girls, just Akane." Ranma huffed and Akane could picture him scrubbing his hands through his hair, the way he did when he was frustrated. "I've never wanted anyone but her."
Akane closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall, savouring the words that Ranma was so rarely able to articulate. She bit her lip and sighed happily. Even if Ranma was arguing with Ryoga, it was worth it to hear this.
"I think you're lying," Ryoga growled desperately. "I think you want me to tell her that I'm P-Chan to destroy her love for me because you're jealous."
Akane froze, feeling the blood drain from her face. A thousand images flashed before her eyes, her beloved pet pig...who wore a black speckled bandana, just like Ryoga's; who was always getting lost, just like Ryoga; who blushed when she hugged him, just like Ryoga; who attacked Ranma all the time, just like Ryoga. She whimpered, forgetting that she was supposed to be eavesdropping, and thudded to the floor as her knees gave out.
"What was that?" she heard distantly over the pounding blood in her ears.
Suddenly Ranma was crouching in front of her, reaching for her. "Oh Tomboy, I'm so sorry. I didn't want you to find out like this."
"You knew," Akane whispered, clinging desperately to his shoulders. "You knew and you didn't tell me." Her lip quivered as she tried to understand the magnitude of this betrayal by the two boys she'd trusted the most. Ranma had known that Ryoga had a Jusenkyo curse and had used it to cuddle with her...and sleep in her bed. Akane gagged quietly at the thought. "No, no, no, no, no, no," she muttered under her breath.
Ranma cuddled her close, stroking her hair and murmuring his own chant in her ear. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
"A-Akane," Ryoga croaked from the doorway of the dojo. "I-I'm sorry, it's just..."
Akane pulled away from Ranma, shaking off his arms and climbing to her feet, hardening her heart against his desperate expression. "It's just what Ryoga? What excuse can you possibly have for pretending to be my pet? For lying to me? For sleeping in my bed?"
"I...um...well," Ryoga stuttered, pressing his fingertips together anxiously. Ranma snorted behind Akane and Ryoga's eyes narrowed. "It's all Ranma's fault," he snarled, leaping forward to grab Akane's hands.
She yanked her hands free and backed away, coming up against Ranma's broad chest. He rested his hands on her hips to steady her, squeezing slightly in support when she didn't pull away. Akane watched as Ryoga's face darkened in rage at the intimacy of the gesture.
"He's the one who shoved me into the Spring of Drowned Pig at Jusenkyo, he's the reason we haven't been able to express our love for each other, and he is the reason I have seen hell!"
"I'm trying to understand how you can even think...how you could..." Akane trailed off, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger as she tried to rein in her temper. "I don't love you Ryoga, I'm really sorry, but I have only ever thought of you as a friend. After all this though..." Akane drew in a deep shuddering breath. "I need you to leave now Ryoga."
"B-but...Akane..."
"No. I am angry and hurt and disgusted right now and I need you to be not here for a while. Maybe someday we can be friends again, but right now I need time to figure out if I can forgive you first." Akane clenched her fists at her side to stop their trembling.
"What about Ranma? He knew about this too. He kept secrets from you – about this, about the other girls..."
"Just stop," she snapped, taking a step away from Ranma's warmth at her back. Akane shivered slightly at the dejected air that radiated off him as soon as she pulled away. "I don't want to hear any more excuses. Ranma's going to have a lot of explaining to do, but he isn't the one who betrayed me so thoroughly."
She watched as shoulders drooped and he slowly walked disconsolately away from where she and Ranma stood on the porch of the dojo. He got lost three times trying to find the gate, wandering the yard for almost ten minutes before he finally left. As soon as he was gone, Akane turned to Ranma with an icy expression on her face.
"I am going to take a bath. Then I am going to my room. You will tell Kasumi that I am not coming down to dinner and you will explain the reason why." She watched as he visibly folded in on himself at her harshly precise diction and began to slink toward the house. She grabbed his arm and spun him back to face her, waving her finger threatening under his nose. "If you even think about leaving before I am ready to talk to you, I will hunt you down and teach you the meaning of pain Ranma Saotome."
His expression lightened slightly and he nodded, reaching out to tentatively caress her cheek. "You got it Tomboy. Just let me know when you're ready and I'll be there."
Akane nodded curtly and spun on her heel, heading for the bath and the faint hope that she would be able to scrub away the skin crawling feeling she'd had since the moment she'd looked at Ryoga's face and known the truth. Taking care to avoid running into anyone, Akane reached the furo, stripped off her clothes and stepped into the bathing room. Sitting on the low stool, she began to vigorously, almost viciously scrub herself down.
By the time she poured buckets of cold water over herself to rinse away the soap lather, her skin was pink and raw. Akane slid into the hot water of the furo, hissing at the heat on her tender skin, and studiously thought of nothing, employing some of the meditation techniques Ranma had taught her in order to clear her mind and control her temper. She needed distance to think this through and she was way too mad right now.
When Akane finally dragged herself from out of the bath, her muscles felt rubbery and her skin was pruney. She towelled off, pulled on her yukata, which had magically appeared – or maybe not so magically, Akane realized as she noticed that the clothes she had been wearing earlier were now in the washing machine. Kasumi worked in mysterious ways. She slid her feet into her slippers and shuffled up to her room, ignoring the voices coming from the family room. Once safely in her room with the door locked, she pulled on a pair of soft cotton short pants and a grey tank top, hung her yukata neatly on the back of the door, and brushed her hair. Realizing that she had run out of reasons to not think about the confrontation that had gone down in the dojo earlier, she collapsed onto her bed and scrubbed her hands over her face.
"All right," she muttered to herself, staring at the ceiling. "First things first...what are the cold hard facts?"
She closed her eyes and began ticking off points in her head. Fact one – Ryoga was P-Chan. Fact two – he had slept in her bed and cuddled her without her knowledge. Fact three – Ranma had known about this from the start. Fact four – both boys had hidden this huge secret from her.
Akane sighed, gritting her teeth and siphoning her anger off to more useful outlets the way Ranma and Uncle Saotome had taught her in the course of her early training. She pulled herself up into a lotus position and closed her eyes as she began sorting through memories. The images of P-Chan made her feel dirty and used, but she tried to move beyond that as she realized how many times Ryoga had helped them – particularly when they'd been in China. This whole mess actually explained the majority of the times the temperamental young man had accompanied Ranma on his many adventures and searches for a cure.
By the time she emerged from the internal reflection, the sun was low on the horizon and her stomach was rumbling. A knock sounded on the door, startling her; she leapt to her feet, a frown gathering on her brow. I told Ranma to wait until I was ready to talk to him. She yanked open the door, ready to yell at her pigtailed fiancé for rushing her processing, but her anger deflated so quickly it left her feeling drained as she saw who was at the door.
"Oh, Kasumi. Sorry...I thought...well, never mind."
"I brought you dinner," Kasumi stated redundantly, hefting the tray in her hands. She moved past Akane to set it down on the desk. Kasumi turned to face her sister and leaned against the desk. "Ranma told me what happened," she prompted gently. "He also made it quite clear that we were going to leave the decision of Ryoga's status in this household up to you." She cocked a quizzical eyebrow at the younger woman.
Akane sighed and dropped to sit on the edge of her bed. "Dammit. I want to be mad at him, but then he goes and does something like this." At Kasumi's confused expression, Akane rushed to clarify. "Ranma, I mean. The thing with Ryoga is..." She waved her hands around violently, trying to express herself. "Grrr. But Ranma knew about this and didn't tell me, and that makes me wonder how far I can trust him." Kasumi opened her mouth to answer, but Akane just kept talking over her. "But that's crazy right? I mean, after everything he's done to protect me, everything he's done for me, how can I not trust him? I love him, so that means I must trust him. Gah! This is so stupid," she growled, fisting her fingers in her damp hair.
"So, you aren't sitting up here trying to figure out how you feel about Ryoga's betrayal?" Kasumi asked tentatively.
"What? No. I'm past that already. What he did was wrong and I'm pissed, but what kind of example has he ever really had? He's spent too much time alone and all this is a direct result of that. It'll take a long while before I forgive him or feel comfortable around him, but I'll get over it eventually. The thing I'm struggling with is the fact that Ranma didn't tell me."
"He did mention something about a promise on his honour," Kasumi suggested deliberately.
Akane frowned, seeing where she was going with this. "But what about my honour?" she wailed, burying her face in her hands. "What else has he been hiding from me?"
"Akane..."
"You're right," Akane broke in, raising her head and smacking one fist into an open palm. "I know he loves me and was probably trapped by his own stupid sense of honour and responsibility. He was trying to get Ryoga to tell me after all."
Kasumi stared at her sister in bewilderment at the speed of Akane's shifting logic. "Okay, so clearly I have to give him a chance to explain himself." She sighed heavily. "The only problem is that I'm not quite ready to see him yet. I guess I'll eat first. Could you maybe tell Ranma that I'll call him when I'm ready to talk?"
Kasumi blinked away her dazed expression and shook her head in amusement. "Of course Akane; let me know if you need anything." At Akane's reluctant nod, she left the room, and the door closed behind her with a quiet click.
Akane lay on her bed for a while, staring contemplatively at the ceiling for a while before seating herself at her desk to eat and start her homework in an effort to keep her mind occupied. Eventually, it grew dark and Akane pushed her work aside and stuck her head out the window.
"Ranma? You up there?" she called.
The pigtailed youth appeared upside down, hanging from the eaves, with a sorrowful look on his expressive face.
Akane snorted. "Will you just get in here Baka?" Ranma swung in through the window and she shook her head. "You're so ridiculous, you know that, right?
Ranma leaned back against the wall as Akane sat on the bed and narrowed her eyes at him. "Well, do you have any excuses you'd like to get out of the way before we really get into this?"
Ranma hung his head. "I ain't got any excuses for any of this 'Kane. I messed up big time when I swore to keep Pork Butt's secret. I get it if you don't feel like you can trust me right now, but you gotta tell me what I can do to make it up to you." His sincerity was clearly written all over his face and his fists were clenched tightly at his sides.
"How can you make it so hard to stay angry at you?" Akane demanded, rubbing her temples tiredly.
Ranma shifted across the room and dropped to his knees in front of her. He brushed hair away from her face before cradling her cheek and softly running his thumb across it. "Sorry?" he murmured, looking outrageously apologetic.
"I need you to tell me the whole story," Akane suddenly demanded, pulling back to sit with her back against the wall.
Ranma pursed his lips and frowned for a moment before reluctantly agreeing. He settled cross-legged on the floor in front of her and haltingly began to recount the mess his innocent promise had turned into. Akane listened expressionlessly, chewing at her lower lip and watching his expressive face. She felt the tightness in her chest ease slightly at the obvious contrition that coloured his words and voice. The fact that keeping this secret had clearly been tearing him apart to keep this secret from her went a long way to easing her trepidation as well.
Ranma brought his story to a close by telling her how Ryoga had supposedly given up on her and decided to pursue his relationship with Akari, but how he'd keep appearing back at the dojo. This had frustrated Ranma enough to the point where he'd had enough of the lies and the fights he'd had with Akane over P-Chan, and he'd demanded that Ryoga tell Akane about his curse or, at the very least, release him from his vow. "Which is right about where you came in," he finished, looking up at her abashedly through his bangs.
Akane sighed and leaned back against the wall. She gestured for her fiancé to join her on the bed. "I do appreciate that you didn't try to lie...about this part, at any rate."
"Are you kidding?" Ranma snorted, tentatively settling his shoulder against hers. "I can't lie to you. You've always been able to see right through me. And every stupid stunt I've ever tried to pull," he added after a moment of reflection. "I know this is bad, maybe worse than anything I've ever pulled, and I'll get where you're coming from if you never wanna see me again, but there's one last thing you gotta know before you make that decision."
Akane frowned up at him, but gestured for him to finish before she said her piece.
"You are the w-whole world to me Akane Tendo, and I ain't ever gonna stop fighting for you," Ranma declared passionately, if a bit hesitantly.
Akane closed her eyes tightly for a moment before shifting in a flurry of motion so she knelt with a knee on either side of Ranma's thighs and her hands framed his startled face, forcing him to look her in the eye. "You listen to me Ranma Saotome, you are mine and I love you. I'm not going to let a pervert like Ryoga Hibiki change that." As the expression on his face began to lighten, she continued, "but you have got to stop keeping secrets from me."
His hands found their way to her hips as he smiled ruefully. "A guy's gotta have some secrets." Akane rolled her eyes and he squeezed her hips to keep her from interrupting. "I will swear to you – on my honour as a martial artist – that I will never keep a big secret like this from you ever again."
"I suppose that'll have to do," she sighed, resting her forehead against his. "Does anyone else know you're up here?"
"Just Kasumi. Everyone else thinks I went to Ukyo's to a snack," he answered, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her tight against him.
"Haven't they noticed that she hasn't talked to you in months?" Akane's fingers slid into his hair as Ranma began nuzzling her neck.
"Apparently not," came his muffled reply. "I don't really care, so long as it gives me an excuse to be here with you without them suspecting anything." Akane hummed appreciatively as his kisses became more extensive. "D'you know how hot it is when you claim me? You're mine – and really, the amount of times people challenge that is stupid – but God, I love it when you return the sentiment."
Akane giggled and ducked to capture his lips. Their kisses became more and more prolonged as the heat built between them and their hands wandered freely. Ranma eased Akane onto her back, settling her into the pillows and moving over her. Their make-out session got steadily hotter until they finally broke apart, gasping, and Ranma rolled over to lie on his back beside his fiancée and threw his arm over his eyes.
"This waiting thing is gonna be the death of me one day 'Kane," he muttered, his free hand seeking hers.
She rolled onto her side, propping herself on her elbow and snorted. "Meh, it's good for you. Your dad trained you a little too much around instant gratification."
"Ouch. Now that's just mean Tomboy."
"Oh Ranma, Ranma, Ranma. You're lucky that I love you. I could make your life miserable after what you did if I didn't." Akane smirked at the apprehensive look on his face as he peeked out from under his arm. "Relax, I forgive you. God help me, but I love you and I trust you, so what else am I supposed to do? You've really gotta start thinking before you do things dummy."
"I really am sorry," he sighed, cupping his hand around the back of her neck and pulling her forehead down to rest against his. "I just...I ain't so good at thinking things through all the way. Put me in the middle of a fight and I'll come up with the best strategy to win, but real life...not my best arena." He smirked ruefully at her snicker.
"You just haven't had enough practice." She paused, frowning. "Or a good role model for any of that stuff for that matter. We're gonna work on this though, I can't do all the long-term thinking in this relationship."
"Does this mean you're gonna help me by coming up with a solution to the whole extra fiancées issue?" Ranma cheeked, grinning hopefully at her.
Akane punched him in the shoulder hard. "Jerk. I am not doing your dirty work for you. We'll figure it out, whatever we need to do, we do it together. Didn't you mention something about eloping a while ago." When Ranma snorted, she flopped over to lie on her back again. "Well, we've still got a while to go before we get there. We'll figure it out."
"You scared me, you know," Ranma muttered suddenly into the silence that had settled comfortably around them.
"What?"
"The look you gave me earlier...I thought I'd lost you again. After Ch-China and then a few months ago when you had that accident at gymnastics practice...I just...I'm so worried that something's gonna happen and I ain't gonna be able to stop it and I'll lose you. I can't live with that 'Kane, I just can't. It almost destroyed me at Jusendo and that was before I knew that you loved me." He threw his arm up over his face again.
Akane rolled over, slipping her arm around his waist and resting her head on his broad chest. "I'm not going anywhere Ranma. My spot is here, by your side and not one is going to take me away, not if I have anything to say about it."
Ranma pulled her close, nuzzling into her hair. "Thank you for not letting that stupid Bacon Breath get between us. Despite my stupidity."
"I have to forgive you. If I let every stupid thing you did make me hate you, I'd have been gone a long time ago." She pressed a kiss to the notch at the base of his throat. "You may be a stupid jerk of a boy, but you're my jerk."
"Thanks Akane...I..." he trailed off helplessly, words failing him as he clenched his fists in frustration.
"I know Ranma," Akane soothed, her hand stroking his abs gently. His arms tightened around her and moved to entwine his legs with hers.
The teenaged martial artists lay tangled together in Akane's bed, listening to the sound of their fathers bickering out in the yard. Ranma began muttering under his breath.
"What did you say?"
Ranma chuckled softly. "Who wants the quiet life anyway..."
Akane rolled her eyes and pinched his side, making him squeak and shy away from her. "Dummy," she sighed, closing the slight distance between them and snuggling up to his warmth. "We've been over this already. You'd be bored in like, an hour."
He laughed and rolled over her, trapping her between his braced arms and began kissing her neck again, using plenty of tongue and aiming for her ticklish spots. Akane shrieked and squirmed, and the two tousled on the bed, fighting for dominance in their playful match.
AN: Wow friends, I am so sorry that this took so long! As usual, real life got in the way of my writing, but I persevered! Thanks to all of you who encouraged me to keep writing - your reviews helped!
I also wanted to say a big thank you to tuatara, who helped me think through this chapter a while back!
Tomboy