She was looking for Ranma everywhere on the campus, but it was as if he had vanished into thin air! She was about to give up on searching for him, then she thought of looking for him in their classroom. She quickly ran back to their class and there, she saw him. Sitting at their shared bench, with his head down, looking at his balled hand over the table. He looked so upset at that moment, his aura so depressed and broken..

She sighs and shakes her head. She slowly and carefully went to his side and sat beside him. The way his body got tensed after feeling her presence , she figured out that he knows she had come back. He started trying everything to ignore her and avoid looking at her. He even turned his face to the opposite side to ignore looking at her completely.

Though he was ignoring her, she didn't mind that act at all , infact she found it to be cute. She smiled at him and decided to play with him as he did with her not too long ago. She silently took out her own notebook and started writing a message to him. After she finished her writing, she carefully tore the paper and pushed it towards his hand.

He felt a soft feather-like touch on his hand , curiously, he shifted his gaze and looked down at his hand. He notices a small note there, realizing the fact that she is doing the same thing as he did to her. He became anxious and nervous thinking what she might have written on the note. His heart started to beat hard as he began to fear the outcome.

'Is she gonna mock me like others? Is she gonna call me a baka or something?'

Taking a deep calming breath, Ranma stopped all his negative thinking and swiftly turned the note to see what was written over there,

"Hey, I am sorry for what happened. Can we talk, please?"

He gave a big sigh of relief as if a big burden had just been pulled out from his heart. Then, he gulped in nervousness as he realized that she wanted to talk to him and she was waiting for his reply. He shook his head and silently nodded his head.

"Do yoy forgive me?"

He silently nodded his head , but didn't dare to say anything.

"Hmmm.. Are you scared of me?"

Ranma blinked in confusion and slowly turned to face her,

"Huh!"

Akane rested her arm over the table and laid her cheek over her open palm; then staring at him with her intense eyes, she asked him again,

"I asked, are you still scared of me?"

Ranma still look confused as he answered with honesty,

"Ya never made me scared.."

Akane smiled at him and said,

"Umhm! But the way you are behaving right now it feels like you do!"

Ranma shook his head and said in a soft tone,

"I was shocked, but never afraid.." Ranma sighs as he looked at Akane and saw her giving him a warm smile. Her beautiful smile made him lose his cool as he hastily turned away from her as he avoided looking at her and said in a small voice, "I know you don't believe what Ukyo said earlier . You must be thinking that I am a baka or worse a weirdo! But I know what I saw in my dreams and if you want to.." he took a deep breath and continued saying, "if you want to make fun of my dream then.."

"I trust you.." She said in a warm tone, cutting his sad speech in the middle.

Ranma paused and hesitantly turned to face her,

"Sorry, what did you just say?"

Akane sat up straight and looked at him with a warm smile on her face.

"I said I believe what Ukyo said to us."

Ranma still looked doubtful as he asked her,

"Uh.. So, ya.. ya didn't come here to make fun of me?"

Akane blinked her eyes in confusion and said,

"Why would I make fun of you?! Why would you even say that?"

"Because... I saw ya laughing too, that's why.." he replied with a low broken tone.

"Hey! That's not true! I didn't laugh!" She said quickly but then paused, sighing tiredly she said, "Oh honestly, I didn't laugh at you, I may have smiled a bit because I was happy that you didn't run away that night thinking that you had seen a ghost!"

"Really? So ya were not laughing about my dream?" Ranma asked with a hopeful expression on his eyes.

Akane shook her head and said while giggling,

"Not at all! In fact, I felt so flattered that anybody would dream about a girl like me.. You know I am not as glamorous as others!"

"Then maybe you should change your mirror, Akane. Because for me, you are an angel fallen from the sky!"

"Did you really say that!" Akane asked, completely taken aback by his straightforward words. Her cheek became bright red with embarrassment as she looked at him with her surprised eyes.

Ranma smirked looking at her and said in a hushed tone,

"I always have this sort of dreams whenever I feel lost or depressed in my life! But after seeing those dreams, it always spreads a warm feeling in my heart and I feel as if everything would go right again. At first , I never saw your face clearly; just recently I saw your clear face, under the shining moon night. To be honest, I am still feeling like I am dreaming right now! I don't know what is happening now! I am still confused about everything! I met ya just a few days before, but it is feeling like I have known ya for a very long time! This is really strange..! Hey, I am sorry if I am making you uncomfortable with what I am saying.."

Still with her red cheek and astonished expression, Akane shook her head and said,

"Wow! You seem so sensitive about this thing.."

"I am!" Ranma said while smiling at her.

Akane took a deep breath and looked at him,

"I don't know what to say to you. This is all so strange for me as well! But for some reason this is not making me uncomfortable anymore and... I really want to trust you.."

Ranma nodded at her and asked in a nervous tone,

"So.. What's next for us then?"

Akane smiled at him and said,

"We can see what's next later, for now , we can start from the very beginning! Like, becoming a classmate first, and then maybe... good friends?"

Ranma liked that idea and smiled at her,

"You will allow me ta be yar friend! After what I did?"

Akane giggled at him and said,

"Why not, baka! Oh sorry, I shouldn't have called you that.."

"Nah! It's okay! I like it when you call me a baka!

That made Akane giggle even more as she said,

"Seriously! Then I will call you baka, don't say later that I didn't warn you, Mr!"

Ranma sighs and said,

"As long as ya don't mind me staring at ya, ya can call me whatever comes into yar mind."

Akane laughed at that as she said in between her laughs,

"Honestly, you are such a baka! No problem,you can stare at me as long as you can, I know you'll soon get bored staring at me like that.."

"Never ever.."

The way he whispered that word to her made her pause, she looked down feeling shy suddenly. Then taking a deep calming breath she said while looking up at him,

"Stop joking now and let's introduce each other properly.."

"Huh! Oh yes, I am.. I am sorry.."

Akane nodded her head and extended her hand towards him and said,

"Hello, I am Tendo Akane. Nice to meet you.."

Ranma looked at her extended hand and hesitantly, with his shaky hand he clasped her hand with his. A sharp tingling sensation spread throughout his body as he squeezed her soft hand with him, then taking a shallow breath , he said,

"My name is.. I am….. Ranma.."

"Ranma…. Only Ranma?" Akane asked, smiling.

Ranma plainly nodded his head and said,

"I am sorry, I usually don't like ta use any surname.."

"That's not a big deal!" Akane said while shrugging her shoulders, "I have a friend who doesn't like to use his surname as well! It's ok.."

"What are you two doing?"

Hearing Akio's deep voice, Akane quickly pulled her hand from Ranma and looked at him. She smiled at him and said,

"Nothing, we just formally introduced ourselves. Come here, meet my new friend." Akane said with a cheerful tone.

"You already became friends! That's quick!!" Suddenly, Ukyo and Ryoga also joined them as Ukyo asked them in a surprised tone as she sat on her bench, which is near to them:

"Not really, but soon maybe!" Akane giggled as she saw Akio and Ryoga also taking their respective seats which are behind her seat. She then again turned to look at Ranma and smiled at him, "Ranma, meet my friend, his name is Akio. He is the one I was talking about. He also doesn't like to use his surname.."

"Do you need to tell him that as well!" Akio said as he shook his head. Then he extended his hand towards him and said, "Anyway, Hi there, nice to meet you. And sorry about that, I didn't want to laugh at you like that. It's just , I was not expecting to hear someone say that about Akane!"

Ranma shared a quick handshake with him and said,

"Hi, I am Ranma. Nice to meet you too.."

"And I am Ryoga; and unlike you two , I don't have any problem revealing my father's name! I belong to the GREAT Saotome family! You know, THE SAOTOMEEE.." Ryoga declared arrogantly as he gave Akane a handsome look.

Ranma and Ukyo face-palmed in frustration as Akane and Akio exchanged a confused look. Akane then looked at Ryoga and said,

"Hello, nice to meet you, Ryoga Saotome."

Ryoga waited for a few seconds for her to say more, but when he saw her turning to her seat, he asked her in an astonished tone,

"That's it?"

"What else do you want!" Akio asked in a bored tone.

Ryoga looked at Akio and said,

"I said I belong to the Saotome family.."

"So?"

"So!? How can you even say that? Do you have any idea about SaotomeEnterprises?"

Akane again turned to look at him and said,

"No, we don't know. I am sorry."

Ryoga Smirked arrogantly and said,

"That's why ya acted like that! Anyway, my family is very rich and we own multiple businesses.."

"Uhh.. That's good for you then.." Akane said with a smile and turned to Ranma, "So, how you two are related, Ranma?"

"Unfortunately, Ryoga is related to me, Akane!" Ukyo said with a foul mood, "He is my cousin and please.. ignore what he is saying.."

Akane giggled and said,

"Yeah sure! And what about Ranma? Is he your cousin too.."

"Nah.. He works for me.. I need a bodyguard, ya know.."

Ranma balled his hand tightly and gave Ryoga an annoyed look.

Akio cleared his voice and said,

"But Mr Kuonji said that he is your friend.."

"He is his friend!" Ukyo stood up and came beside Ranma with a fuming face.

Ryoga started to stutter as he said,

"Yeah.. Yeah he is my friend.. but .. but he is not as rich as me so he has to work for me..! Otherwise, he has to sleep on the road, because he is completely broke!"

"Ryoga, I think you should.." Ranma started to say in a heated tone, but stopped when he felt a soft touch over his tensed hand. He looked at Akane and saw her giving him a warm smile as she said,

"That's great, Ranma! You are studying and working at the same time! That means you are a very responsible man! I really like it.."

Ukyo smiled upon hearing that, she patted Ranma's back and glared at Ryoga as she returned back to her seat.

Students began to reenter the classroom as the lunch break neared its end. Soon, the professor entered the classroom and started his class. Akane slowly patted Ranma's hand twice and nodded at him.

Ranma's heart started to beat rapidly. Her soft touch and gentle smile was spreading a warm sensation throughout his body. He noticed that she started paying attention to the class again. He tried to avert his eyes from her, but an unknown force was stopping him from doing so.. The way she defended him from Ryoga, it was so fascinating for him! Then suddenly, Ukyo's words came into his mind,

'Be ready Ranchan, you are in for a big surprise!"

He smiled fondly. He never thought he would meet someone as good as her. All his life , he encountered girls who either wanted him for his money and judged him because of his family status. He thought after he will change his identity, no one would want to be friends with him. He was happy with this, because he was tired of fake friends! He wanted to be alone from all those two faces people. But here he is now, sitting with his dream girl, offering her support and even her friendship to him... This is so new to him and so utterly... pleasant. He never thought he would ever feel this way. Ukyo was right, she is full of surprises and he can't wait any more to reveal this new side of her every single day ... He again gave a dreamy sigh as he thought to himself,

'My ... dream girl..'

Akane's body got stiff for some reason. She slowly turned her head and saw him staring at her again. He thought she would get angry at him for doing that. But she didn't react as he thought she would. She simply stared ahead at the classroom as if she didn't even see him looking at her. But the corner of her lips slides up with a shy smile as she tried her best to ignore him. That smile of hers melted Ranma's heart fully, as he again forgot that he was sitting in a classroom and again started staring at her like a love strucked fool. Akane couldn't control but giggle at him as she looked at him from the corner of her eyes. The time flew away very quickly after that and before they knew it, the class ended without anyone noticing what happened between them.


Akane and Akio were walking back towards their house. All the way , Akio silently observed Akane's change of behavior as she hummed to a beautiful tone. Her face was glowing for some reason as a beautiful smile spared through her whole face. He wanted to discuss this matter with her as soon as they reach their house; but he couldn't take the suspense anymore. He growled in annoyance and called out to her in a hard tone,

"What is wrong with you, huh?"

Akane looked at him surprised, but didn't stop walking as she asked him in a confused tone,

"Why would you say that? I am just fine , there is nothing wrong with me..!"

"OF COURSE THERE IS!!"

This time when Akio raised his tone, she stopped walking and looked at him angrily.

"What is with you? Why are you raising your voice at me, dummy?"

"Because you are acting like a dummy, that's why!"

"Awww, you are impossible! Just tell me what you want.."

Akio took a big breath and said,

"I just can't believe you are falling for that guy! And why? Because he made up a story about seeing you in his dreams! And you believed him too!"

"Huh! What? I am falling for whom?"

Akio angrily glared at her as she burst out laughing at his face.

"Seriously Akio, you think I am going to fall for Ranma?"

"I don't see why not though! You are looking way too impressed by him!"

Akane stopped laughing and looked at him with a big smile on her face,

"Well, I am impressed by him! He is a sweet guy."

"Sweet guy! Oh Jeez Akane,is this why we decided to continue our study here? We can't just lose our track because of some random sweet guy saying that he saw you in his dreams! What if his intentions are bad?"

"Ranma's intention!" Akane sighed and said, "He is just a poor confused guy, his intentions are not bad."

"How could you say that so confidently?" Akio asked irritatedly.

Akane smiled at him and said,

"I can say that confidently for him because I am the same person who caught the bad intentions of Daisuke, Gosunkugi and others who wanted to date me! Why are you forgetting the fact that I am not into this, Akio! If I wanted a love life, I would have chosen it a long time ago; but I didn't choose it. Because my goal is not to settle down into a love life, of all people you should know what I want!"

"I know and that's why I am anxious that you will fall for this guy if you don't stop now!"

"Akio please.." Akane whined tiredly and said, "I won't allow any love in my life, that doesn't mean I won't allow any new friendships in my life! It's fine to make new friends, you know!"

"Yeah, right! Friends! I will see about that! Just don't come to me crying when you will lose everything!" Akio said angrily as he began to walk past her.

Akane also started walking by his side as she held his arm,

"Why would I lose anything, Akio, I have you with me.. And please stop worrying about me."

"I hope so, Akane. Just don't go off track please. We are very close to reaching our goals. If we miss now, we miss everything. We have lots of responsibilities and most importantly, we have to do everything in our hands to fulfill Natsumi Obasama's dream."

Akane sighs and nodded,

"I won't go off track , Akio, don't worry."

They silently kept walking towards their home. Akane was still holding onto his arm as she asked him in a soft hesitated tone,

"Say Akio.."

"Hmm?"

"Do you believe in dreams?"

"Where is this coming from? Are you talking about Ranma again?"

"Just answer me, do you believe what he said?"

"I don't know.. Well honestly, if Ukyo hadn't said that I wouldn't believe half of it.."

Akane looked down and nodded her head.

Akio looked at her and said,

"Don't think about it too much now! And I think we should stop talking about this too! Or else the next thing I would hear from you is that you also had dreams about this random guy!" He said half-jokingly, smirking to himself.

Akane gulped and looked down, biting her lower lips hard as she stopped any kind of response.

Her change of attitude sent a chill down to Akio's spine, he stopped walking and grabbed her arms tightly as he asked her in a panicked tone,

"Don't tell me you also had dreams of him!"

After a brief pause, Akane hastily pushed his hands from her and said,

"Kasumi Oneechan is waiting for us, Akio! Let's run home."

She started to run as fast as she could, her only strategy is to avoid Akio as much as possible. Akio stood there for some moment, completely take aback by her action. But he knows her way too well to tell what is she up to now. He growled angrily and started running after her to catch up with her as he called out in frustration,

"HEY! STOP RUNNING AWAY FROM ME!!! YOU DID SAW HIM IN YOUR DREAM, DIDN'T YOU!! HEY COME BACK HERE AND TALK TO ME!!"


A/N: Well,Well, well, did Akane really saw Ranma on her dream too! Who knows ;p!!

Anyway, thank you for all your love and comments!! I was so overwhelmed with your support in my last chapter that It made me publish in a very fast pace! Please don't forget to review this chapter too! Your opinion always encourages me to write faster!! Thank you so much:)!!!!