Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma1/2.
A/N: With this fic, I am participating in the #RankaneWeek2024; Arranged by #MundoFanficsInuyashayRanma. Today is the 25th of July so I will be participating on, Day-4; "Without Fears"..
I hope you enjoy reading it! Now with the story :)...
~~Cling*!!~~
Hot sweat speared over Akane's forehead. Her concentration hard on the sharp object in her hand. The pointed knife in her hand, the carrot on the cutting board, were putting extreme pressure on her shoulder like never before .. She gulped in nervousness as she blew a soft shaky breath from her mouth. She needs to cut these vegetables as thin as possible; and all the cuts have to be even if she really wants it to work this time! But can she do it? She took a deep breath and started her task with hard determination.
~~Tash*!!~~
A big satisfied smile spread over her lip when she saw she had managed to cut the first three slices very neatly. She licked her drying lips and kept her concentration on the task in her hand.
~~Tick*~~
Another smooth slice of carrot. She smiled with newfound confidence and kept cutting the veggies with hard concentration and with more concentration. After a few minutes, she managed to cut half of the veggies neatly;and just then…
"Oh my, Akane! You are getting better at cutting those veggies !"
Akane looked up at Kasumi with a big smile on her face and said excitedly ,
"Thank you, but I am still trying, Oneechan! The main thing my new sensei taught me is to cut all the veggies evenly and if I don't, my cooking won't improve at all! So now, all I have to do is try and cut every slice with much patience."
"Umhmm." Kasumi nodded her head with a warm smile; she then gently put her hand over Akane's shaky hand which was already holding the knife and said in a concern filled tone,
"But dear, you also have to be very careful about this! Your hands are practically shaking, Akane!. It's very risky to cut the vegetables when your hands are shaking like this, you could cut yourself badly!"
Akane looked at her hands and that was the first time she noticed that her hands were indeed shaking badly. She gulped hard and said with a soft sigh,
"Yeah, you are right, Oneechan! I need to be more careful about using the knife."
Nabiki entered the kitchen smugly and casually joined the conversation and said, "And don't put too much force on the knife ! Just try to be gentle for once in a while, sis.." She went behind her, carelessly took some pieces of carrots from the board as she started eating them and said with a surprised tone, "Not bad! Finally, it's edible! Well done sister!"
"Hey! I haven't even cooked them yet!" Akane said, pouting.
Nabiki smirked and sat on the chair and said,
"At Least I didn't have to bite on any board pieces!"
"Hey!!"
"Nabiki! Stop teasing Akane, at least she is trying!" Kasumi scolded Nabiki with a gentle tone and Akane poked her tongue out at Nabiki. Kasumi giggled seeing her imotous childish bickering, she sighed and said,
"Oh Akane, you don't have to try this so hard. I am here to cook for you."
Akane looked at her, puts down her knife on the board and crossed her arms over her chest and said,
"Oneechan, are you forgetting about something? You are getting married to Dr Tofu within one month!! You can't cook for us after that!! Sometimes maybe; but we can't burden you anymore!"
"Well that's the reason why I am leaving too, you know! Sorry, but I can't live eating only thin cut carrot slices!" Nabiki said smugly, shrugging her shoulders.
Akane groaned and said,
"Good for you! Eat those dorm foods then!!"
"Oh my, oh my, oh my! I think I should call off our marriage then.." Kasumi suggested with a worrisome look.
"What!" Akane asked, fearfully.
"You want to cancel your marriage so that you could keep cooking for the Tendo household? Oh c'mon sis, you gotta be kidding me!" Nabiki said with a bored tone.
"But.. if I leave then how will you guys manage? How foolish of me, I never thought about that !" Kasumi said with tears in her eyes.
"Aww Oneechan!" Akane rushed beside her and hugged her sideways and said, "You are worrying for nothing! We will be just fine. And anyways, it's not like you are changing the city, you will be just a few blocks away from us."
"But still.."
"No buts!" Akane said with a long sigh and said, "Look, Nabiki is already leaving to stay in her college hostel, she will hardly be back at home! Although Nodoka Obasama had said that she had to leave to see her sister for a while after your wedding; but she did promise me that she would return as quickly as possible. Father and Mr Saotome are already planning to go on a long training trip after your wedding; which by the way I know why exactly they are leaving. And about Ranma,... you know he has multiple options! I am sure he would run to the cat cafe to have Chinese foods or to have Okonomiyaki at Ukyo's! It means his appetite will be safe! It only leaves me, and that's why I am trying hard this time, just so I can at least make some edible food for myself. Don't worry, I am not going to offer my cooking to anyone , I am just learning for myself. However, if I fail to cook, I can always have instant noodles! So… don't worry.."
Nabiki smirked and said,
"I think your explanation made her more miserable then assured, Akane."
Kasumi and Akane exchanged a doubtful look and brust out laughing softly. Akane gave a soft pack on her sister's cheek and said,
"What I mean to say is, we all will do just fine! You have already done so much for us, Oneechan. Now all we want to see is, you to have your own family and to enjoy your new life with Dr Tofu.."
Kasumi smiled and nodded her head. Akane gave her a quick tight hug and after some time she again, went back to her workstation and resumed cutting the carrots with little bit force this time,
"Don't worry! We still have one month left! I am sure I will learn something before that! I just have to pay more attention and concentrate hard on ~~* Takd* ~~ AHHHHH..!!!"
"OH MY!!"
"DAMN!!"
—————————-
Ranma returned to the Tendo house with Dr Tofu by his side , feeling exhausted by all the shopping he had to do with him for their upcoming wedding. After they have declared their marriage to the family, it has become his responsibility to accompany Tofu wherever he decides to do any shopping for the wedding. And every time he accompanies him, his confusing nature makes his days worse.
"Are you alright, Ranma?" Tofu asked him with concern.
"Huh?" He looked back and nodded, "Yeah why?"
"You look tired.."
Ranma snorted and stopped at the doorway and said,
"I am just hungry, that's all!"
"Then why didn't you tell me? We could have eaten somewhere before coming here!" Tofu suggested.
Hearing him say that, Ranma sweatdropped and thought to himself,
'To see you getting confused with the menu?! No chance, I would rather come home and annoy my tomboy!'
Ranma shook his head and said,
"Don't worry, I am sure Oneechan has prepared something for us!"
Ranma grumbled and opened the door for both of them and let Tofu enter the house first as he entered the house after him with a weary expression. He just got the chance to open his shoes and when he was about to declare their arrival, just then a loud painful scream greeted them. It didn't take him long to understand whose voice was this, his blood went cold when he heard her agonizing scream. His body moved on its own, he ran with the speed of lightning and reached the kitchen area at a record speed and the scene that welcomed him shocked him completely.
"DAMN!" Nabiki shouted fearfully as she quickly ran to Akane's side. "GOSH! HOW COULD YOU BE SO CLUMSY!!"
Kasumi hastily grabbed Akane's hand and started putting some white tissues over her injury, then she said with a trembling tone,
"Oh Kami, this cut is deep! I told you not to do it.."
Although her pain began to make her numb, she tried to smile at her and said with a weak tone,
"It's okay, Oneechan! I will be just fine. It's just a small cut.."
For a moment, Ranma stood there motionlessly; but when he noticed the tissues changing its colour over Akane's hand, he completely lost his temper as he shouted at her with raw rage,
"NO! ITS NOT A SMALL CUT, DARN IT!!"
They all turned towards him as Akane whispered in a surprised tone,
"Ranma?! When did you.."
Akane couldn't finish her speech as he rushed towards her and snatched her hand from Kasumi's hand, almost pushing her from the way. Seeing Akane's wet hand, his body became cold, his hearing became numb and his thoughts became wild. His breathing became uneven and he started breathing hard, his heart pounding wildly as he said with a harsh panicked tone,
"HOW'S THAT HAPPEN? WHO THE HELL DID THIS!?"
Akane was beyond shocked to see him reacting like that. For the first time, she became scared to see his wild anger towards her. She gulped hard and said with a shaky tone,
"No ... no one did that.."
"THAN HOW DID THIS HAPPENED?"
"Ranma, please first calm down!" She tried to calm him down with her soft tone.
But he was furiously shaking with rage; he grabbed her wrist tightly and asked her again;
"WHO THE HELL DID IT, DAMN IT!! ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW!!"
"I… I was trying to cut the carrots and.." Akane explained with a shaky tone.
Ranma furiously looked at the cutting board and then at her. His eyes red with bitterness, wide with disbelief,
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YA!! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" He discarded the previous tissues and started putting new tissues over the cut . He looked at her injury like an insane person as he started to babble to himself, nonstop, "Why its not stopping! Stop, Stop! Please stop, I know it's hurting.. DAMN IT!"
His insane behavior shocked everyone. Akane's fear turned into concern for him as she tried to get his attention back to her,
"Ranma! Hey, I am okay! It's not hurting at all!"
" ARE YA CRAZY!!! IT'S DEFINITELY HURTING!!"
He said breathing heavily as he dragged her towards the sink and puts her hand under the cold running water.
"Ranma! Its okay! Please stop it,..." Akane said with pleading tone.
"It's not stopping..Why it's not stopping? What the hell, what is happening to her.."
"Ranma, please ... stop.." Akand begged, her voice trembling.
Akane had tears in her eyes as she witnessed the abnormal behavior of Ranma. It was as if he had become blind and couldn't hear a thing that she was telling him.
"Thats enough!"
Tofu forcefully entered the scene and grabbed Akane's hand. Ranma looked up at him with rage in his eyes as he yelled at his face,
"YOU ARE GOING TO HURT HER MORE!!"
"YOU NEED TO RELAX, RANMA!" Tofu shouted back at him to bring him back to his senses.
That worked for him as he became quite after that, still breathless he looked down at Akane's hand and then to her face and when he saw her tear-streaked eyes, it immediately made him feel guilty for his action.
He looked down feeling ashamed, and nodded his head as he whispered softly,
"I am sorry.."
Akane tried to approach him again, but Tofu stopped her and shook his head.
"Alright, everything is under control now. Now Akane, I want you to take a seat and relax . Let me check your cut.."
Tofu slowly made Akane sit on a chair and took another chair to seat in front of her, as he began to check her cut carefully. Kasumi quickly grabbed the first aid kit and gave it to Tofu. All the time, Akane kept looking at Ranma with worry in her eyes. He was also looking at her hand with high anticipation. A slight pressure on her cut made her hiss with pain, which made Ranma react again as he wildly looked up at her face for assurance. Although in pain, She gave a big smile to him and shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly,
"You are lucky, Akane. An inch more and you would have needed a stitch."
Akane could see Ranma was getting more and more agitated as he listened to Tofu. She tried to cool down the situation as she said in haste,
"But the good thing is I don't need any stitches now! I am absolutely fine, right Dr Tofu?"
Tofu looked at Akane and saw her trying her best to ensure Ranma with her fake smile. He smiled at that and shook his head and said,
"Yes, that's right. You are fine now, but you need to come to my clinic by tomorrow to give a tetanus injection..."
As soon as he finished his words, Ranma growled angrily, and punched the kitchen top frustratingly as he left the kitchen with heavy steps.
"Ranma wait!!"
Akane tried to stand up from her sitting position, but Tofu stopped her by gently grabbing her arm. She turned to look at Tofu as he said with a smile on his face,
"We should leave him alone, Akane.."
"But.."
"Come on, Akane. Please sit down, I need to talk to you.."
Akane again looked at the path where Ranma just walked away, she gave a long sigh, nodded and sat back down on her chair.
Tofu started putting bandages on her hand and asked her while focusing on his work.
"Now tell me, since when did Ranma start behaving like this?"
Kasumi put a cup of tea for Tofu on the table and said,
"Oh my, he has always been so protective of Akane; but what happened just now, it seemed a little bit extreme to me.."
Nabiki sat on another chair and said,
"No, this is not the first time! He has been acting this way since they returned from China." Nabiki looked at Tofu as if she had realized something just now, "Dr Tofu, is that mean? Does his change of behavior have anything to do with what happened to Akane at Jusenkyo?"
Tofu finished his work and nodded his head. He thanked Kasumi for the tea and again looked at Akane with a serious expression,
"Akane, you do understand what is happening with him, right?"
Akane looked down and whispered softly,
"I know, Dr Tofu.."
Dr Tofu kept holding her hand and said gently,
"You have to understand it more clearly, Akane. After what happened at Jusenkyo, that must have traumatized him way more than we can think. Now, either you can stay away from him, which will be a safe option for you; or you can stay by his side; which might be challenging for you. Because the scar is still there. I am not saying that it won't cure, but it might take time and very importantly patience and acceptance."
"Oh Akane, do you want us to talk to our father about this..? You can break the engagement if you want to.."Kasumi suggested with an unsure tone.
Akane hastily looked up at Kasumi and said,
"What are you saying, oneechan! I am not leaving him under any circumstances; unless he is the one who decides that he wants to leave with his other fiance.."
Nabili snorted, "Well, why I am not surprised! I knew she would say this. But don't take it lightly this time, sis. This is a serious matter!" Nabiki said, shrugging her shoulder..
Akane nodded her head and bravely looked at all of them and said,
"Look you guys, I might know what he is going through; because I have witnessed everything with my own eyes. And one more thing is, he is disturbed because of what happened to me. Because he saw me in danger and fighting for my life. He fought with his life for my sake, to bring me back to life and .."
Nabiki interrupted with a hard tone, "But you can't deny that you HAD to face that life-threatening event only because he is your fiance, Akane..!!"
Akane looked at her pity fully and said,
"Don't you think he is thinking the same thing, Nabiki? He has been staying with us for years; I am sure you also understand how he might feel about all this.."
"Oh my.. I never thought about this! He must be feeling more miserable for this!" Kasumi whispered with a soft sad sigh.
Akane shook her head stood up and said,
"Don't worry, Oneechan. Me and Ranma, we have gone through lots of hard situations together and I know, we both can overcome this hard situation again. If we stay together and help each other; nothing can harm us."
She gave them a soft smile and nodded her head. Then without any word, she hastily walked away in search of her fiance.
——
She knew where to look for him because there was only one place where he usually took solace from. She was having difficulty walking up to the rooftop which was above her room. She tried to use her one hand as her other hand was wrapped tightly with a gauge. But she somehow managed to walk up to the leader and as she expected, saw him lying down on the roof, looking up at the evening sky with a distant expression on his face.
She sighed and carefully walked to his side. Only when she softly sat beside him, did he notice her presence. He was shocked to see her there, he hastily sat up and looked at her with an angry face.
"How did ya come up here?"
Akane rolled her eyes and said,
"Duh, obviously by using the ladder, baka; how else?"
Ranma glared at her angrily and grabbed her bandaged hand and said,
"You are injured, damn it! You can't just come up here and.."
Akane laid her finger over his lips to make him stop talking. Ranma gave a long breath and looked away from her with a frustrated growl and asked her not so calmly,
"You are such a clumsy tomboy! Anyways, what were ya doing in the kitchen? You told me you won't be cooking for me anymore.."
That statement brought a smile on her face as she said with a soft giggle,
"I wasn't cooking for you, Baka! I was actually learning how to cook for myself."
Ranma gave her a confused stare and asked,
"Why would ya wanna do that suddenly? Ya know how horrible you are at this.."
Akane growled at him angrily, she shrugged her shoulder and said nonchalantly,
"Well, thank you for reminding me of that! And to answer your question, now that Kasumi will get married soon, I have to learn to cook somehow! You don't expect me to eat cup noodles all the time!"
"Huh! But why you need ta learn cooking for that? What you are saying is not making any sense to me! The way you are talking right now it's like the whole house is getting married and moving out!"
She giggled hearing that and shook her head,
"Well, to be honest, I am actually feeling that way, Ranma."
Ranma shook his head, looked at her with warm eyes and said in a much more calmer tone,
"You are such a dummy! Ya don't need to learn how to cook, we will all be here!"
Akane moaned hearing that and said in a whiny voice,
"I wish what you are saying is true, but sadly, it isn't. Ranma you know very well that, after Kasumi's marriage, Nodoka Obasama have to go and visit her sister and she told us that she doesn't know when she would return home. It might take her one month or more! And when she declared that, our fathers immediately started planning for a long training trip and I am sure they would escape the moment Aunt Nodoka would leave the house . And Nabiki, she is set to go to the college dormitory, you know that too right?"
Looking in front of her, she released a long breath and stretched her arms in front of her and said while yawning, not looking at him,
"That leaves only you, Ranma! I know you are a great cook, but I can't rely on you all the time! You have other works to do and not to forget, your other finances as well. Look, you don't have to worry at all, I am not going to stop you from doing anything. If you want, you can also escape from here and plan a training trip, or you can also accompany your mother to visit your aunt. But if you decide to stay here with me; you can visit Shampoo and Ukyo anytime you want to; I promise I won't stop you. Anyway, I can't expect you to babysit me all the time, right?! And honestly, I don't want you to babysit me at all! I want to be capable enough to take care of myself! That's why it is vital for me that I learn how to cook for myself. However, if you still want to risk it and stay here with me, I promise I won't force you to eat my cooking at all! You can always have fresh Chinese cuisine and special Okonomiyakis whenever you wish to!! You don't have to worry about your food at all! Lucky you, you have lots of options, Ranma Saotome; but not me! So I have to.."
Akane stopped her nonchalant babbling when she suddenly turned to face him and her eyes fell on Ranma. He never looked so heartbroken before, his pain was so evident in his blue expressive eyes. She gulped hard as she started to feel guilty for her thoughtless babbling. Her words might have hurt him more than she could ever imagined. She shouldn't have said all those things to him at this time! She came up here to make him feel better but she made it more tough for him. The damage had been done already, she has successfully ruined his mood; with nothing else in her mind, she tried to give him an assuring soft smile, which came out as a shaky smile as she tried to say,
"Hey,... I am sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you by saying all that."
Ranma looked down, feeling more miserable than before. His depressed aura surrounded him instantly and made his thoughts more pitiful. Now he finally understands that Akane didn't want to rely on him anymore and maybe she wants him to leave her alone. If that is the real case then, where would he go? How would he survive without her? How is he gonna manage to live without her ? He slowly shook his head and said with a cracked tone,
"Ya don't need to be sorry, Kane.. I know why you can't rely on me anymore. You are trying to push me away, aren't ya?"
Akane hastily grabbed his arm and said quickly,
"What! I didn't say anything like that! Why would I push you away, Ranma! You are misunderstanding things.. Hey… please look at me.."
She pulled his shoulder and tried to make him look at her. But his body was so stiff, he stubbornly looked ahead of him and didn't move an inch. She shook her head and sighed tiredly as she gave up on making him look at her. Instead, she sat more closer to him; their shoulders bumping together as she tried to calm her senses down first.
They silently kept sitting next to each other for a long time, gazing at the stars above them. Ranma was looking at a distance, as for Akane, a soft smile played on her lips when she realized that although he refused to look at her, he softly kept on holding her injured hand as he was unconsciously tracing circles over her revealing skin with his thumb. A warm feeling spread over her chest as she kept looking at her injured hand with utter adoration.
"I am sorry, Kane.." Suddenly, Ranma started talking, with a shaky sigh.
"Huh!?" She looked at him, shocked.
He looked down and shook his head and repeated himself,
"I am sorry for the way I reacted down there. I know the way I behaved is not normal at all! I also know that my behavior is getting out of hand! But I swear, I can't seem to control this anxiety I feel whenever I see that you are in danger! It's like, I lost control over myself!! It's like.. I.. I ... I don't know.." Ranma started struggling to express himself to her. His heart again felt heavy as it started beating wildly in his chest. Then suddenly, he felt relaxed when he felt her resting her head over his tensed shoulder. He sighed and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath to calm down his racing heart and without thinking about his action, he followed her action and carefully rested his head over her head. Then after some time of silence , Ranma tried again with a defeated tone,
"All I know is, …… Jusenkyo… It has managed to curse me all over again, Akane.."
Akane bites her lower lips as she slightly nodded her head and whispered softly,
"I understand what you are going through, Ranma. You don't have to say sorry to me."
Ranma looked at her and grabbed her shoulders and said in a panicked tone,
"No, Kane! You don't understand! This is very serious! It's like I don't have any control over my actions when I see you in danger! No matter how silly the matter might be, I always get agitated whenever I see you in pain and I act ruthlessly! This is not normal! I am not normal around you at all!"
He paused for a moment and gulped nervously and said with a nervous tone,
"I think… I think I should leave. I can't keep making things difficult for you anymore."
Akane calmly looked at him and said in a whispered tone,
"Ranma, I won't stop you if that's what makes you happy. But, leaving me here, would it keep me away from danger? You left me here to keep me safe when you went to Jusenkyo; did that help back then? I did get kidnapped when you were not with me. I was not safe without you, in fact, I felt more terrified that time because you were not there for me. That time.. I felt more helpless because I knew you were not there to save me."
Her eyes filled with unshed tears, she bites her lower lips hard to control the trembling as she looks down, unable to keep looking at his expressive eyes.
"I do understand you, Ranma. I don't show it often but, after what happened at Jusenkyo, I am not okay as well. Maybe I am not reacting like you are doing; but that doesn't mean I am fine with it!"
After hearing her confession, he felt like a fool for not thinking about her situation before. His heart kept beating hard on his chest as he realized that he was not the only one who was suffering here. In his misery, he forgot that she had suffered more than him; but the difference was, that she was trying to suppress her feelings and he couldn't control his emotions. It's really hard for him whenever he sees her cry like the way she was doing now. She was trying her best to hide it from him, but she couldn't hide it from him for long. He sighed tiredly; he softly grabbed her cheeks and made her look up at him. She desperately held his one hand and looked deeply into his dark blue eyes and said with a trembling tone,
"Stay, Ranma.. I don't want to feel helpless anymore. If you stay, I know no harm can ever touch me. Please…I… I need you…"
Ranma wiped her tears clean with his thumbs. He tried to give her a small assuring smile, slowly shook his head and said in a whispered tone,
"Not only you; maybe we both need each other. I am sorry that I told ya I will leave. I won't leave your side ever again.. I promise…"
A soft smile spread throughout her face. She nodded happily and without any hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. That made his body more stiff, but eventually, he calmed down and with his shaky arms, he hugged her back. She closed her eyes then , his wildly beating heart beat working like music in her ear. She started to feel relaxed like never before, she moaned in pleasure and said with a soft whispered tone,
"We will be just fine, Ranma! I know we will overcome this intense emotion together.."
Ranma smiled down at her, suddenly his heart feeling lighter like a floating cloud. He pulled her closer to him and let the moment take control of his frantic mind and forget everything else..
—--/—--
Three months later
Nodoka slowly walked towards the Tendo residence, her steps uneasy, mind loaded with negative thoughts. As she was nearing the Tendo house, she felt more and more anxious to face her kids after two months of disappearance. She told them that she would go and visit her sister because she needed her; but in reality, she lied to them. Because, she really wanted her kids to get together and for that, she wanted to leave them alone to see how things went between them.
After coming back from China, she noticed a big change in behavior in both her kids. It was like, both of them were already standing on the edge of their emotions, but their stubbornness was stopping them from reaching each other. Her husband and Soun also made things difficult for them. After the failed marriage attempt, they constantly tried to force them to declare their love for each other. But they failed to notice that their lame tricks only helped them to push them apart.
After discussing this serious matter with Kasumi and Nabiki; the three of them made a plan and there they decided that she and Nabiki would immediately leave after Kasumi's marriage. Knowing very well that the old guys would find a way to flee from the sight when they would realize that Akane would be the one in charge of cooking.
And as they thought, they didn't see them anywhere after the wedding day. Their plan worked wonderfully. Although she was feeling guilty for leaving Akane alone like this, but still she had to do it for her own good! She really wanted to find out what her son actually wanted from his relationship with Akane. She wanted to see if he would also flee like his father did; or he would go to his other fiances to fill his belly . And if does any of that, it would be easy for her to make Akane see the reality this time and she would ask her to leave her son and start a new life of her own.
Its breaks her heart whenever she thinks that she might have to let Akane go if her son doesn't take charge this time. She always sees Akane as her own daughter and she has a very soft corner for her. She also knows that Akane also adores her like her own mother. And as a mother she can't continue to see her suffer alone. If her son failed to act like a man towards Akane this time, she would force Akane to move on to her life without him. Because, after all these years if her son still couldn't see how much this girl loves him, then he surely is blind like his father.
Soon she reached the house and stood outside the door, too scared to find out the truth about her kids. She was so anxious and unsure about her son that she skipped knocking on the door and absentmindedly walked inside the house without calling them . Her steps were slower than normal, not wanting to find out about her son's stupidity sooner. Her worrisome mind made her fully absentminded. She anxiously walked towards the patio and paused, when she heard some voices coming from the kitchen area. Out of curiosity, she slowly walked towards the kitchen and silently peeked inside from the kitchen entrance...
TASH*
"Oh no!"
"Kane!! I told ya not to put too much pressure on it!!"
Ranma stood behind her, casually hugging her from behind as he rested his chin on her shoulder. He was casually holding her hand and guiding her to cut the veggies, as he hugged her belly with his other arm. Akane moaned hearing him, as she said while pouting,
"Aww! I am sorry. I will be careful next time.."
"You say this every time!" He gave a big tired sigh and said playfully, "You are such a tomboy!"
"Keep quiet, baka! Don't forget who is holding the knife now.."
He smirked and said jokingly while softly biting her earlobe,
"Oops! I should be careful then."
Akane giggled and pushed him playfully with her shoulder as she said,
"You are supposed to teach me how to cook; and you already started eating!"
He smirked again and murmured on her ear,
"Mmm, you are smelling so nice; I can't help it!"
"Honestly, You and your crazy appetite!"
They both laughed sillyly. Her laugh made him sigh happily as he gave a soft kiss on her neck and whispered hoarsely,
"How many times are you going to kill me, huh? Have some mercy on me.."
Akane giggled and puts down the knife on the board. She rested her head back over his shoulder. Her look was luscious, her voice laced with lust, she looked up at him with a seductive smile on her lips as she asked him sensuously,
"Do you really want me to have mercy on you, Ranma?"
"Are ya kidding me!"
Ranma smirked into her ear and growled as he pulled her closer to his body, making her smile at his expected reaction. She slowly turns on his arm and hooked her arms around his neck and said with a soft whisper,
"You are such a pervert, you know that Saotome?"
He smirked looking at her and said,
"You are one to talk,tomboy.."
Akane giggled softly as he closed the distance between them and captured her giggle with a passionate kiss. Akane moaned and instantly melted in his arms. She was about to close her eyes to fully give into his touch, but a sudden movement on the door caught her attention. She widely snapped her eyes open when she saw who was standing at the doorway, she took a sharp breath of surprise and pushed Ranma away quickly. Ranma was not prepared for that; he huffed painfully and looked at her, dejectedly pouting at her. But when he saw her red embarrassed face and nervous look, he got confused and reached her carefully.
"Hey,.. You 'Kay?"
Akane bites her lower lip and looked at him with urgency and whispered,
"Obasama.."
Ranma growled at her and said while rolling his eyes,
"Mom? Yeah, right! That trick won't work on me again, tomboy!"
He tried to pull her towards him by grabbing her hand,but she didn't move and stayed at her place with the same blushing expression on her face. Her reaction worried him, annoyed, he also looked in the direction where Akane was looking. And when he saw his mother actually standing in the doorway, he took a sharp breath of surprise as well, his face instantly becoming red like a tomato!
"Mo- Mo- Mother?!"
Things became uncomfortable for all of them. They all stood there silently for a long time. After a while, Ranma felt a poke on his back. He turned and saw Akane telling him to talk to his mother. He hastily nodded his head and quickly walked toward his mother, who motionlessly stood by the doorway, looking at them as if she had just seen a ghost.
Ranma reached her side and puts his hands on her shoulder and said,
"Mother! When did you come here? We didn't even notice!"
Nodoka still stood motionlessly, looking at Akane with wide eyes. Ranma sighed and looked at Akane and politely asked her ,
"Kane, would ya please bring a cup of tea for mom? I will take her to the living room and talk to her."
Akane smiled and nodded at him. Ranma smiled back at her and held his mother by her shoulder and escorted her to the living room. After settling her down on the floor, Ranma sat beside her as he held her hand to start his explanation. But before he could do that, his mother cried out with a big smile on her face,
"Ranma! My son! I am so happy for you! You finally manned up and figured out your feelings for my dear Akane!"
Ranma turned red by her comment, but his chest immediately puffed proudly on its own. He cleared his voice and was about to thank his mother, but she again cut his speech and started talking nonstop,
"Thanks to Kami, you finally came to your senses! If you haven't done that this time , I was planning to hook up my Akane with another guy, who would value her love. But I guess I don't have to do it anymore!"
Ranma gave an annoyed growl upon hearing that. Her mother noticed his discomfort, she smiled at him and said with a bright smile,
"Don't worry son, I won't look for any other guy for Akane anymore! You guys are finally dating after all!"
Ranma tried to gulp down his discomfort; just hearing his mother talking about hooking up Akane with another guy, was making his blood boil with anger. He took a hold of his emotions and took a long breath and said,
"We are not dating, Mother."
Nodoka's face faulted immediately. She became confused as she asked him,
"But.. I think I just saw.." Nodoka got fearful as she realized something and said with a hard tone, "Ranma, I know I want to see you manly, but I do not consider playing with a woman's heart as a manly act! If you ever dare to use my daughter and hurt her feelings, then I will forget that you are my son! I will punish you without any mercy.."
Ranma smiled upon hearing that and said,
"I am glad that you care for Akane so much, Mother! But how can I hurt Akane? She is my wife after all.."
"But if you are not dating then how.." Nodoka stopped talking as she realized the last point later. She looked at him with wide disbelief eyes, she became surprised beyond words; and asked him breathlessly, "Wife?! Akane?!"
Ranma nodded and smirked proudly,
"Yeah; we secretly married each other, Mother."
"What! When did this happen?!" Nodoka whispered in utter disbelief. She covered her mouth with her hands as tears of happiness blinded her vision. Ranma gave her a warm smile and took her hand in his and said,
"A month ago.."
Nodoka tightly squeezed his hands and asked him with tears in her eyes,
"Oh, Ranma! Please tell me everything in detail! I want to know everything.."
He smiled and nodded his head and started explaining to her.
Akane eavesdropped from the kitchen area and listened to her husband, as he hesitantly explained their sudden marriage to his mother. She giggled to herself when she saw him struggling to explain some events to her. She blushed madly, and a soft smile came to her lips as she also lost herself remembering those beautiful days.
After Kasumi's marriage; all the family members left as they had planned; leaving her and Ramma to stay at the house alone. As she feared, she managed the house properly, but really struggled while cooking. Ranma took care of the cooking and together, they started enjoying the quiet time together. With no one to intervene and to tell them what to do or not to do, they unknowingly got closer to each other more comfortably. Their days became brighter and nights became longer and Ranma gave her all the time he had. Although the idea bothered her, but still occasionally she did try to convince him to go and see his other finances, to enjoy their foods and spend some time with them; but every time she bought the topic they would end up arguing with each other.
One night their argument heated up too much; and before they could contemplate what was happening, they ended up confessing their love for each other and their frustration and anger made them prove to themselves how much they really meant every word they said. Whenever she thinks of that night, it still makes her shiver. That night, they not only confessed their feelings for the first time, they shared their very first kiss with each other and they didn't even think once when they spent their first night together as well.
After that night, Ranma became desperate to marry her. She tried to convince him to wait until all the fiance's problems settled down first. But he became deaf to any words she said to him. She asked him to at least wait for his mother to return home, but he became more and more edgy as she kept denying it! Before, if she thought she had seen his depressed self enough after returning from Jusenkyo; when she constantly tried to convince him not to marry her secretly, it took him to a different level of depressed state. That's why she gave in to his request and made a decision without her father and agreed to marry him secretly.
After marrying him, she realized that she had made a great decision for herself and for Ranma. Because, after becoming his wife, and being with each other every second of the day and night, it not only helped her to overcome her fear of Jusenkyo; it also helped Ranma to control his intense emotions about losing her as well. After their marriage, their days became normal again and nights, calmer. Their maturing closeness not only healed their mind; it cured their souls as well; and she couldn't be more thankful for that.
She smiled to herself as she finished making the tea for Nodoka. She took the small tray to the living room and set the tray on the table. She took a seat beside her husband and in front of Nodoka as she faced her with a warm smile on her face. Nodoka smiled up at her and quickly grabbed her hand and asked her,
"Oh Akane, please tell me my son is not joking with me.."
Akane and Ranma smiled at each other as Akane gently showed her the hand she was wearing her wedding ring. Seeing that, Nodoka yelped happily and hugged both her kids at the same time. After breaking their hug, she said with tears in her eyes,
"You have no idea how much happy you have made me today! I want to celebrate this and declared this to the whole world!!"
Ranma looked at her nervously and said,
"Uhh, Mother, 'bout that.. I also want to declare it to the world too, but we still have to keep it a secret from everyone!"
Nodoka became confused hearing that and asked them,
"But why?"
Ranma cleared his voice and said,
"I still haven't figured out how to handle those other girls. I don't want to put Akane into any danger, so please.."
"Oh dear.." Nodoka sighs and shook her head.
Akane tried to cheer her up and said,
"I am sorry, Obasama. We really wanted to tell you before getting married, but we couldn't contact you anyhow. You also stopped calling us, thats why we couldn't tell you. We only told Kasumi oneechan and Dr Tofu…"
"And they are the one who helped us to do everything smoothly.." Ranma finished for her, gently smiling at Akane. He again turned towards his mother and said with a serious tone,
"Please mother, until I feel that it's safe for Kane, would ya help us keep it a secret from everyone?"
Both of them anticipated for her answer, they did not have to wait for long, as soon enough; Nodoka gave them her biggest smile and said cheerfully,
"My lips are sealed! I promise I won't say anything to anyone and I will help you guys to figure out a proper way to handle those other girls!!"
Akane and Ranma both sighed with relief and nodded at her with a big smile, as Akane said politely,
"I know you would understand!! Thank you, Obasama!"
"Akane dear.."
"Yes.."
"Start calling me mother from now on; my ears are yearning to hear you to call me your mother.."
That made Akane happy and emotional altogether. She sighed happily and hugged her with all her might. Nodoka also hugged her back and saw her son adoringly looking at them as he kept blinking his eyes to remove the moisture from his eyes. Nodoka smiled through her tears and pulled her son towards her and they all shared a tight hug together.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed reading this one-shot, guys!! Please don't forget to send me a review, so that I know how much you liked it :). I am so glad that with this fic I am being a part of Rankane week! Anyway, thank you for always sending your love to me as your review, I really really appreciate that :).
And for my readers who might be wondering about "A Lost Prince" chapter update. Don't worry, I am working on it. I hope I will be able to post it very soon. Keep faith on me guys :D!
Lastly, I have a page named, "Mrs Impatience" ; I post news about my updates and sometimes sneak peeks of my upcoming updates.
Hope you liked it! See you soon.. RanmaxAkane ALWAYS!!!