"Are you sure this is going to work, Ryoga?" Ranma asked suspiciously as he looked at Akane and Akio who were slowly walking on the roadside.

"Tsk! You are so chickenhearted, Ranma! My plan is foolproof! There is nothing to worry about! Now quite complaining and hide carefully, You don't want them to see you hiding behind a tree now, don't you.." Ryoga said arrogantly , a naughty sly smile plastered at the corner of his lips as he bitterly thought to himself,

'Akane... Akane... Akane! You think you are too smart huh! Damn babe! Seductive but arrogant! I wish ya are not as desirable as you seem, otherwise, I wouldn't even care how you are behaving with me. I can't believe how you are treating me and avoiding my superiority! I will make you pay for ignoring me! I will make you say you love me and I will even make you fall into your knees to beg for my affection! Just wait and watch,woman. I will make all your arrogance vanish in this instanceand make you mine..'

"Hey, Ryoga! I think this is a stupid idea! We have to stop them!" Saying that, he tried to stand up from his hiding spot, but Ryoga stopped him and pulled him back to his hiding spot.

"You can't back out now, Ranma! I have already paid them the full amount!"

"That's not my concern! Let go of my arm, man!" Ranma said, growling.

Ryoga took a deep breath to control his anger. He reminded him to be calm as this is not a good time to fight with him. He looked at him and tried to look more convincing as he said,

"Buddy, listen to me; we are not doing any harm to them! This is just a little push, that's it! You saw how prideful she is, right?"

Ranma nodded his head as a sweat ran through the side of his cheek. Ryoga smiled at him and said more confidently,

"We have to prove to her that I am.. uhh what I mean to say is, we are stronger than her imagination. And buddy, ya have to agree with me too that this Akio guy is showing off way too much! I want to show that scamp where his real place is! His arrogance is really pissing me off!"

Ranma sighed defeatedly as no words came out from his mouth. Ryoga took his silence as a positive sign as he said,

"It's a simple plan, Ranma! I hired those muscular guys just to carefully tease her and scare off Akio, that's it! Then when we hear her screaming in fear, I will run to her and rescue her!"

"What do you mean by that! You said to me that I am the one who is supposed to rescue her!" Ranma asked him, suspiciously raising an eyebrow at him.

Ryoga started sweating in nervousness as he said,

"Oh that's the same thing, Ranma, you save her or I save her! The main mission here is to prove to them that we are not as ordinary as they are assuming us to be and we have some moves to show them!" Ryoga said arrogantly as he flexed his muscles in front of him.

Ranma still looked doubtful as he said,

"Uhh.. Are ya sure you can fight, buddy!? I mean, at least I know some sorts of martial arts moves, but as far as I know you, you hardly can smack a mosquito!"

"Huh! Don't underestimate my power, Ranma Saotome! What do you think of me! I am not a dumb loser, ya know! I know I can't fight and that's why I have paid those fellows enough to prove my masculinity to them.."

"Your!?"

"I mean, ours.. now let's keep quiet and focus on ours mission in hand! You remember what I told you, right? Those guys will stop and they will start teasing Akane and then after they will scare Akio away from that spot, Akane will surely scream in fury and there.. we will enter as heroes..!"

Ranma still didn't look convinced as he started to feel nervous about this whole situation. He knew he shouldn't have agreed to his plan in the first place! But he didn't have any other choice left in his hand.. For the last month everything remained the same between them! He wanted to be close to Akane and know more about her. . He was looking forward to exploring this new relationship with her, but nothing that sort of thing happened at all! She remained a mysterious girl to him. She barely talks to anyone, and all he sees her doing is studying alongside Akio. But it's not like she is ignoring him; in fact he feels happy that she considers him as her friend and talks to him and even helps him if he asks her.

He knows he should give some time and patiently wait to make their relationship work. But that is his main problem too; he doesn't have much time left with her! How can he tell her that he has only two years to spend with her and then maybe, after she finds out about his reality, she might stop talking with him fully. That's why he is feeling desperate to speed things up for them. He wanted to see if there is any chance for their future or any sort of romance awaiting in their path or not. He has to push things for both of them and that's why when Ryoga came up with this idea which is "save Akane from bad people to prove our masculinity", he couldn't resist the idea and instantly said yes to him..

"Anytime now, buddy!" Ryoga declared, smirking as he looked at the scene from a far distance, "Soon.. Very soon... We are gonna hear a loud shriek of a frightened woman...! Are you ready..."

Ranma heart started to beat hard as he instantly started to feel guilty for agreeing to do this! He balled his hands tightly and prepared himself to jump to the scene as soon as he hear her scream and sees them..

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Flying over the sky…..!!!!!!!

Ranma and Ryoga stood there with their mouths opening and closing like a fish out of water. Their eyes were unblinking, for a moment they even forgot how to breathe, as they witnessed what was happening in front of them.

"Holy ...cow..!!?"

Ryoga's frightened whisper brought Ranma back to reality as he saw Akane fighting with those men, single-handedly. Those muscular guys, who were double in size of her, she was throwing them away like plastic bags! He was surprised and mesmerized by her power and the way she was fighting them. It only took a few minutes for her to beat all of them!! He was so amazed when he saw how those guys were desperately trying to run away from her, badly beaten by her. Akio was trying his best to hold Akane into place to let those guys leave in one piece. Ranma had a big proud smile on his face and without thinking about the consequences, he leaped from his hiding place and ran towards them.

"Ranma!! What are you doing, idiot!!"

Ryoga urgently whispers to him , but he was late as he saw him reaching them and approaching them.

"Let ...them ...go, Akane!"

"LET GO OF MY HAND, AKIO!!! I WILL SHOW THEM WHO THEY DARED TO MESS UP WITH!!"

"I am sure they have learned their lessions already!! Now calm down and look at me!"

Akio forces her to look at him; she fummed angrily and turned to face him with an angry face. But her anger instantly melted down to surprise as she saw Ranma was running towards them in a rush.

"Ranma?!"

"Huh, who?" Akio also turned and saw Ranma rinning towards them and stopping in front of them. "Wait; what are you doing here?"

Ranma bent down slightly to regain his breathing as he looked down,

Akane became concerned for him and went by his side. She held his shoulder and asked him,

"Hey, are you alright, Ranma? Did those guys tried to harm you?"

Hearing that, Ranma hastily looked up at her with a bright smile, he grabbed her shoulder tightly and said in a excited tone,

"You..!!! YOU BEAT THOSE GUYS SINGLE-HANDEDLY!!!"

Akane was completely taken aback by his sudden behaviour. She just gave him a small confused smile and said,

"Yeah.. so?"

Ranma couldn't suppress his excitement as he said in a thrilled tone,

"SO!!! Oh my God, I have never seen anyone fighting like this in my whole life!! What are you, A SUPER WOMAN!!"

Akane laughed at that and said,

"A superwoman? No Ranma, I am just a martial artist!"

"You are a.. martial artist?!" He asked, surprised.

Akane looked puzzled as she asked him,

"Why are you looking so surprised, Ranma? You saw me practising kendo on our first meeting, you remember?"

Ranma looked perplexed at first, but then he remembered that scene. He looked at her with utmost admiration as he whispered to her,

"You are…incredible.."

"Ok enough.." Akio came in between them and pulled Akane towards his side, "Anyway, beware of her, I don't call her a wildcat for nothing.."

"Hey!! That's rude!" Akane said, pouting.

" I am more amazed than afraid of her! Wow, Akane, where did you learn such amazing martial art techniques?"

Akane blushed hearing that as she said,

"Oh that's not a big deal! Luckily, I didn't have to go anywhere to learn this, my father was a martial artist and we have our own dojo.."

"Ahm ahm.." Akio interrupted her again and firmly looked at her and asked, "Are you planning to invite him to your house now, Miss Tendo?"

Akane sheepishly smiled at him and winked at him,

"Uhh Ranma.."

"Can I come to your house?" Ranma asked without thinking about it.

Akane looked at him, surprised as she couldn't say anything to him. Akio intervains again and said,

"Akane, we have to hurry, Kasumi is waiting for us."

Akane gave a small smile to Ranma and said to Akio,

"Yeah.. Let's go home.. Bye Ranma! See you tomorrow then.." she nodded at him and started walking again.

Ranma stood there confused and speechless, not knowing what he did wrong this time. Akio came beside him and said in a hard whisper tone,

"I haven't said anything to you before but now, I have to tell you this, Ranma. I don't have any problem with you two being friends, but don't try to cross your limits! She is my fiancé and don't you dare to think of getting into our personal space.."

Akio finished his speech and started following Akane. Ranma still couldn't believe what he heard Akio saying to him! He stood there with a heavy heart as he kept looking at their retreating form in a state of disbelief.

"HOW COULD YA LEAVE ME THERE ALONE, RANMA!!"

Suddenly Ryoga came beside him and asked him in a furious tone! But he stopped his babbling when he noticed his miserable state,

"Hey Ranma! What's the matter with you, buddy ? Did that Akio said anything to ya!? Hey talk to.."

"Enough of this stupidity, Ryoga, let's go back home.."


The next day

"HAHAHAHA!! Oh my God!! I just can't believe you guys did that! Hahaha!!"

Ryoga growled at Ukyo who was hysterically laughing at that moment. He and Ranma just reached their campus when Ukyo approached them. Then he and Ranma took her to the garden area and told her about what they had done last night. Ryoga was already irate by the silence of Ranma and the way he is behaving since he last met Akio, and now Ukyo is laughing at his face! He got too much annoyed as he asked her angrily,

"Ya don't have to laugh like that, ya know!! I am already in so much tension! Those guys showed up last night at our doorstep and demanded that I pay them more because they were actually hurt! And if I don't, they warned me that they would tell Akane everything! Anyway, why didn't ya tell us that Akane is a martial artist? It doesn't look like it, but oh boy, she definitely has strength like a gorilla!"

Ukyo stopped laughing and shook her head in amazement,

"Akane is the strongest in our community! She has been practicing a martial art since her childhood! And you guys dared to mess with her! Oh Ranchan, I understand why Ryoga did this, but you? I am amazed that he had managed to fool you into accepting his proposal!"

"Hey! What did you mean by that huh!" Ryoga asked, fuming angrily.

"Hey guys! How are you doing?"

Suddenly they all stopped their discussion as they heard

Akane's cheerful tone and saw her and Akio joining them.

"Oh hi Akane and Akio! We were just discussing what happened last night... uhhhh.. about what happened... you know.." Ukyo blurted out without even thinking..

"Oh right! About the sudden attack on us!" Akane said smiling.

Ryoga sweatdropped as he sighed in relief.

Akane shook her head and said,

"I don't know where those morons came from! We never saw them in the locals before!"

Ukyo smirked and said,

"Obviously they won't be from our area, otherwise they would have known better not to mess with you!"

Akane giggled hearing that as she turned to look at Ranma who was trying his best to ignore looking at her,

"Hey Ranma, how are you today?"

Ranma looked up at her for a second, then his eyes met Akio's stern eyes. He sighs sadly and said,

"I think we should get going…"

Saying that, he left silently, leaving others to look at him dumbfoundedly.


Ukyo sighed as she tried to focus on the other things in life. But however she tried, she couldn't concentrate on anything else because all her attention was on her Ranchan. She is feeling so worried about his sudden change of behavior. For the last four days he is giving his cold shoulder to everyone. He is not talking with anyone, acting always moody and angry. And surprisingly, he is continuously ignoring Akane all the time as well!

The weird part is that she noticed Akane was trying so hard to communicate with him, but it's like he was ignoring her purposely and not even meeting her eyes! He is literally running away from her every time Akane tries to talk to him! Like yesterday, she clearly saw that Akane treaded some notes to him during the class, but he just gave her one note in reply and after that, they became silent.

And maybe that's the reason why today Ranma had chosen to sit at her bench instead of sitting beside Akane.! She could definitely tell that Akane was not happy to see her trading seat with Ranchan, but she remained quiet about it and acted casually.

After the end of the day, she realized, today not only Ranma, Akane also ignored Ranma all day! They even avoided eye contact with each other and didn't talk either. This has become so frustrating for her. She asked him so many times about what is bothering him, but Ranma didn't want to talk to her about it and ran away from her too! But she could definitely tell that he is very close to becoming a vicious heartbroken freak! And that's not how she wished for him to become! And she can't do anything to help him now because it's Friday! For two days she have to wait for them to come back to class so that she can talk to them and fix everything between them. But now the point is, can she wait until Monday!?

The answer is "No"; and that's why she had decided to pay a surprise visit to Ranma at this evening time and declare that this weekend she is going to stay over at his house or until he becomes clear to her what his problem is!

She rang the doorbell and soon enough Mr Hiro opened the door for her and greeted her with a bright smile. He escorted her into the apartment and asked her to sit while he called Ranma for her. It only took a few seconds for Ranma to come and meet her. She was happy that he was happy to see her and not as irate as she thought he would be. Ukyo gave him a short hug as he asked him,

"I was not expecting to see you, Ucchan! What's up?"

Ukyo looked at him and said with a bright smile,

"Well, I have decided to stay over at your house this weekend.. Do you mind, Ranchan?"

Ranma face instantly lits up as he said,

"Ofcourse you can stay, Ucchan! That's a great idea!"

"NOT AT ALL!! This is not a good idea! We are behalor guys and we NEED our privacy!!" Ryoga came out from his room and joined them, fuming annoyingly.

Ranma shook his head and said,

"Just ignore him, Ucchan! I am glad that you came here.."

Ukyo glared at Ryoga and ignored him as Ranma said.

"I don't care what he says; all I care about is you, sugar.." She took a seat on the sofa and pulled Ranma to sit beside her as she asked him, "Ranchan, is there anything you want to tell me?"

Ranma scrunched his eyebrows in confusion as he asked,

"Uhh ... no! Why'd I wanna tell ya anything, Ucchan."

"No! I am sure you are hiding something from me! You are not your usual self anymore! What's the matter with you?" Ukyo asked in concern filled tone.

"Wow Ukyo, you noticed it too?" Ryoga took a seat on a single sofa and joined their conversation, "Then I am also glad that ya came here! This guy has been creeping me out for days now! I think he has lost it fully.."

"Shut up, Ryoga!" Ranma sent him a warning stare.

"Don't make him stop, Ranchan! I know something is bothering you and I think you should share this with me.."

Ranma looked down and sighed miserably,

"Maybe I am tired, Ucchan.. And I think.. I think I can't do this anymore."

Ukyo blinked her eyes in confusion and asked him,

"I don't understand; what do you mean by that?"

"I think… I think I should quit it all and return home! I shouldn't be here anymore!"

"WHAT!! YOU CAN'T BACK OUT NOW!!" Ryoga cried out in disbelief.

"YES, I WILL BACK OUT, BUDDY!! AND I WILL LEAVE THIS PLACE!" Ranma cried out in frustration as he angrily glared at Ryoga.

"Ranchan, are you trying to run away from something; or should I say someone?" Ukyo asked in a calming tone , intensely staring at him.

Ranma looked down frustrated as he said,

"It doesn't matter anymore, Ucchan!"

"So you are saying, you will go back to you place and accept your fate and marry Shampoo? Is that what you really want?" Ukyo asked as she laid her hand over his tightly balled fists.

Ranma growled hearing that as he said in a harsh tone,

"So what ya want ne ta do, Ucchan!! Do ya want me to ideally sit back and relax, knowing the fact that she has already been taken!"

"Who has been taken?" Ryoga asked , confused..

Ranma gave a big sigh of anger and looked down, frustrated. Ukyo observed him closely and asked him,

"Are you talking about Akane?"

Ranma remained silent as he looked at the opposite side,

"Did she tell you anything, Ranchan?"

He still didn't answer..

"If you don't answer me then how can I solve this matter , Ranchan? This whole week you kept ignoring her, I saw it with my own eyes! She tried to approach you multiple times, but you didn't even talk to her! And why did you ask me to trade sit with you today? What is wrong with you, honey?"

"Why did you hide this big secret from me, Ucchan?" He whispered harshly as he turned to look at her.

As Ranma suddenly turned the table around her, she became shocked as she asked him,

"Huh? What secret are you talking about?"

"Ya told me you guys are best friends and now you want to tell me that you don't know about their engagement? That Akio is Akane's fiancée?"

Ryoga was having some soda which he spilled out from his mouth out of this shocking revelation. As he asked Ranma in disbelief,

"Akio.. AKANE'S FIANCÉE??!!"

Ryoga's sudden outburst fuels Ranma's anger even more. He stood up angrily and declared,

"I AM NOT GOING TO STAY HERE ANY LONGER!!"

Ukyo was brought back to reality by his sudden outburst, she quickly pulled his arm and made him sit back beside her as he asked her in an angry tone,

"WHAT IS IT, UCCHAN!"

"I AGREE WITH RANMA THIS TIME, UKYO!! HOW COULD YOU HIDE SUCH A HUGE THING FROM US! That Akio is HER FUTURE HUSBAND!! AND HERE I LOST SO MUCH MONEY TOO!! IF YA HAD TOLD US I WOULDN'T HAVE HIRED THOSE GUYS IN THE FIRST PLACE!!"

Ukyo couldn't control herself anymore and she started laughing hard . Ranma and Ryoga both got shocked and disturbed by seeing her like that as Ryoga asked her,

"How could you laugh at a situation like this, Ukyo? Have you lost your mind?"

Ukyo controlled her laughter as she said to both of them,

"I am sorry.. really really sorry.. You are right, I should have told you about them very early; about their little dirty secret.."

Ranma couldn't continue looking at her anymore; he looked down, looking completely worn out. His heart kept squeezing in so much pain; pain for losing her before even getting to know her, pain for seeing his dream girl leaving him for another guy, pain for avoiding her, pain because now he knows that she will never be his, ever…

"Ranchan…"

Ranma shook his head and said,

"It's alright, Ucchan. I will be alright. I can live the rest of my life with this little memory we made together. It's ok.."

"Hmm, is that so? Okay then, but tell me one thing Ranchan, did Akane tell you about this secret or Akio.."

Still looking down he whispered,

"That night Akio said it to me, after the incident with those guys!"

"Hmm .. that means Akane doesn't want you to know."

"What do you mean?" Ranma asked, uncertainty.

"You will understand pretty clearly after I tell you their little secret, Ranchan. Now listen carefully, what Akio told you is not true at all!"

Ranma ears perked up as he looked up at Ukyo with hope in his eyes. Ukyo smiled at him and said,

"They are not engaged, Ranma! They are not fiancée's."

Ranma body started shaking with excitement as he grabbed her shoulders and asked her,

"Please don't tell me that you are lying.."

"I am not lying, Ranchan! Akio is not her fiancée! In fect, they are not related romantically at all! They are just cousins, Ranchan! Just like me and you. Blood connections!"

"Then why would he lie to me, then?" Ranma asked still feeling uncertain.

Ukyo smiled at him and said,

"All I know is, they don't want to start any kind of relationship at the moment and that's why, whenever they feel threatened they might lose their track of their real aim; they made up this lie to let the other person know that they are not available! It's been happening for so long and that's why they don't say it to the others that they are cousins in reality. It's their little secret and now I broke my promise to them and had to tell you everything. So, now you understand why Akio did that.. he might have felt what you are upto, Ranchan, which is honestly so obvious to everyone! And if Akane didn't tell you about this then do you understand what it means, honey?" Ukyo said giggling as she noticed his dumbfounded expression.

Her laughter lifted his mood instantly as a heavy load had been lifted off from his heart. A bord smile came over his tense face as he released a big sigh of relief..


A/N: Don't forget to send me reviews guys!! See you soon! :D :D