COS16-20
"A Change of Scene" Chapters 16-20
1998, June Geraci
The characters from Ranma 1/2 in this fiction are the
creations of Rumiko Takahashi, and borrowed without
her permission.
This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.
Chapter 16
Akane was still sitting by the pond when Nabiki and Kasumi came downstairs. Akane noticed that
Nabiki was dressed up, and smiling. Akane hadn't seen her sister smile in days, not since the night
she'd argued with Kuno.
"Going out, Sis?"
"Yes, Kuno should be picking me up soon."
"I thought you weren't speaking to him."
Nabiki sat down next to Akane, still smiling.
"He called me to apologize last night, Akane, and I gave him a choice. It was either me or his
pigtailed girl. I won."
Akane laughed, and hugged her sister.
"Good thing. Ranma isn't interested."
"Speaking of Ranma, where is he?"
"Taking a bath. Didn't you hear the commotion before?"
"Yes, but we figured the two of you were fighting again. It wasn't you?"
"No. Mousse came here to beat Ranma up. He thinks Ranma is interfering with his courtship of
Shampoo, and Ranma can't make him see reason."
"That idiot. Shampoo wouldn't take Mousse even if Ranma didn't exist. So why did Ranma end up in
the tub? Did Mousse throw him in the pond?"
"No. I had to pour lemonade on Mousse before he killed Ranma, and some of it got Ranma, too."
Nabiki looked at her sister suspiciously.
"Why are the two of you getting along so well, Akane? This isn't normal. Next you'll tell me you
love Ranma. That would really amaze me."
Akane could feel herself beginning to blush, and quickly got up and walked into the house, throwing
only one line over her shoulder.
"Fine, then I won't tell you."
Nabiki sat there with her mouth open, and then came to the conclusion that Akane hoped she would
arrive at--that her sister was pulling her leg.
*****
Soun did a lot of weeping a few days later as he put two daughters on trains going in opposite
directions. Nabiki wished her sister well, then got on the Morioka-bound train with Kuno. Akane
kissed her father again, and joined Ranma on the next platform, where he was waiting for the Ube
train.
It took a while to get to Ube, and the train made several stops en route. At one station, several
young people boarded, and sat near Ranma and Akane. They struck up a conversation, and discovered
they too were on their way to Sanna College.
One of the young women, Mishi Akamoto, had caught Akane's attention the moment she boarded. She was
tall and lovely, with shiny black hair that reached to her knees. Akane looked at her hair while
they were all talking, and unconsciously put her hand to her short hair. Ranma saw where she was
looking, and leaned over to whisper in her ear.
"Akane, I meant it when I said short hair was sexy."
Mishi was entering her second year at Sanna, and was a student of fashion design. Akane could
understand that, looking at her dress. She wondered if Mishi had designed it herself--she'd never
seen anything quite like it before.
When they got to Ube, Mishi offered to show them the way to campus, and walked with them. When they
got to Ranma's dormitory, he hesitated before going in. Akane had a look in her eyes that he
couldn't quite understand, but which made him want to reassure her.
"I'll see you later, Akane. Do you want me to meet you for lunch?"
Akane looked relieved, and nodded.
"I'll see you at the cafeteria at one, then."
Ranma went inside, and Akane continued walking with Mishi. She silently scolded herself for being
silly. She'd been looking forward to being on her own, so why was it so difficult to leave Ranma at
his dormitory? Akane's thoughts were interrupted when Mishi spoke.
"We're here, Akane. I'll see you later."
Mishi started to walk away, and Akane stopped her.
"Which is your dorm, Mishi?"
"I'm not staying in one, Akane. I have my own apartment. I need space to work on my designs, and I
prefer the quiet. Sometimes dormitories can be pretty loud."
And you walked us to campus? That was nice of you. Thanks."
Mishi smiled.
"It was on my way, Akane. Would you like to have lunch with me tomorrow? We could meet in the
cafeteria at noon."
"Sure, Mishi. I'll see you then."
Akane walked in and got her room assignment. She looked on the list for her roommate's name, and
found that she had none. When she inquired, Akane discovered that her roommate had decided not to
attend.
Akane went upstairs, and found that she had an advantage in not having a roommate. The rooms were
on the small side, and she had a hard time finding a place for everything. On the chance that she'd
get a roommate later, Akane refrained from using the space that would belong to her. After
unpacking, Akane was about to leave her room to go exploring, when she heard a sound that made her
sick to her stomach. It was an extremely annoying high-pitched laugh. Akane looked out the window,
and saw the last person she'd expected or wanted to see in Ube.
Kodachi Kuno was walking toward the dormitory, carrying her bags. Akane saw Kodachi walking up the
stairs to the dormitory, closed her window and sat down an her bed. How on earth had Kodachi ended
up at Sanna College?
Chapter 17
Ranma opened the door to his room, and it hit something. There was a suitcase on the floor, and the
occupant of the room quickly moved it aside, and held out his hand.
"Hello. I'm Shiro Hayasuka."
Ranma dropped his bags, and shook his roommate's hand.
"Ranma Saotome."
Shiro and Ranma talked as they unpacked. Shiro was from Tsuyama, and was going to study botany.
"Tsuyama? My train stopped there on the way. I didn't see you get on."
"Oh, I drove myself here."
That was Ranma's first clue that his roommate was well off. He gathered the rest of the information
from the quality of the things Shiro was unpacking. By the time they were done, it was early
afternoon.
"I don't know about you, Ranma, but I'm starved. Want to find the cafeteria?"
Ranma quickly looked at his watch.
"I'm meeting someone for lunch, Shiro. Why don't you come along so I can introduce you?"
*****
After Akane got over the initial shock of discovering that Kodachi was in Ube, she made a decision.
She was not going to allow Kodachi to intimidate her. She looked at her watch, and realized it was
nearly time to meet Ranma. She'd reached the cafeteria, and was about to enter it when she heard
Ranma calling her.
"Akane. Wait up!"
Akane turned, to see Ranma running up with another young man.
"Akane, meet my roommate, Shiro Hayasuka. Shiro, this is Akane Tendo, my fia... friend."
Shiro hadn't caught Ranma's near-slip, and smiled at Akane.
"Nice to meet you."
The three picked up their lunches, and found a table. They were talking away, and didn't notice
when Kodachi entered the cafeteria. Akane was telling Ranma about her lack of a roommate, when she
realized he should be forewarned about Kodachi's presence.
"Ranma, someone else from Nerima... "
"Ranma darling, I'm so glad to see you!"
Ranma turned quickly, and found himself being embraced by Kodachi. Ranma removed Kodachi's hands
from his neck, and frowned at her.
"I didn't know you were attending Sanna College, Kodachi."
"Surprised to see me? When my dear brother told me where you'd be attending college, I knew I had
to come, too. I'd been accepted at several colleges, dear, but you helped me make my final
decision."
"Kodachi, if you're attending Sanna because of me, you're wasting your time. You should know by now
that I'm not interested."
"Ranma dear, sometimes you're just too shy!"
After Kodachi danced off, laughing, Ranma turned back to Akane.
"Is that the 'someone else' you were trying to tell me about?"
Akane nodded.
Shiro watched Kodachi walking away. He was impressed with her beauty, and wondered about his
roommate. Ranma seemed to be on very comfortable terms with Akane, who was a lovely girl, and was
also being pursued by Kodachi. Shiro liked pretty girls, and if they were going to be following his
roommate around, that would give him a chance to meet them, too.
They turned the conversation away from Kodachi. All three had campus guides, and they sat looking
them over, trying to figure out where everything was. After eating, Ranma and Shiro set off
together to explore, while Akane went her separate way.
Ranma and Shiro found the administration building, which Ranma was particularly interested in
seeing. He'd been told that local businesses posted help wanted ads there, and wanted to find a job
as quickly as possible. Shiro wasn't looking for a job, but kept Ranma company while he wrote down
some possibilities. He and Shiro were reading the listings for clubs and other activities when
Akane walked in and started to search the help wanted ads.
There was a martial arts group that met in the early morning, and Ranma made a note of it. He
wanted to practice at least two or three times a week, and it might be fun to do it with a group.
He pointed it out to Shiro, who shook his head.
"Martial arts have never really interested me, Ranma. I took the classes that were required at
school, but that's as far as it went."
Ranma and Shiro left the administration building, and Ranma looked behind him as he was leaving.
Akane was still at the help wanted board. They would need jobs if they were going to get married,
and he wondered if that was the reason she was job hunting.
Akane watched Ranma leaving, and walked over to the board he'd been standing at to see what might
have interested him. When she found the martial arts group, she knew what it was. It might be
worth looking into.
When Akane got back to her dormitory, she spent some time getting to know some of the other girls.
She had dinner with them, and then excused herself. It had been a long day, and she was getting
tired.
Akane went up to her room, and was going to get ready for bed, but instead went to her window and
leaned an the sill, looking out. There was a disadvantage to living in a dormitory that she hadn't
anticipated. Ranma wouldn't be waiting on the roof for her. She sighed, and began to move away
from the window, when she saw Ranma approach, looking up. When he saw Akane looking down he waved,
making it plain that he wanted her to join him. Akane ran downstairs and met Ranma outside.
"Sorry I couldn't meet you on the roof, Akane. I don't think I could get away with it."
"I'm just glad you're here."
They walked around the side of the building, holding hands, unaware that Kodachi was watching them
through her window.
*****
Ranma and Akane spent much of the next morning signing up for classes, and getting their books. The
only time they bumped into one another, they were both carrying piles of books that reached to their
chins. They smiled at each other in passing, and kept moving.
Akane waited outside the cafeteria for Mishi, who waved gaily as she ran up.
"All set with your classes, Akane?"
"I think so, but I can't believe the pile of books I have, Mishi. How do you get everything done?"
"You give up a lot of sleep, Akane."
"Mishi?"
Mishi grinned.
"Don't worry, Akane. You can handle it."
The girls went inside, and were soon sitting in a corner with their meals.
"Akane, have you considered joining the drama club?"
"Drama Club? I don't think so, Mishi. I've had some pretty bad experiences with school plays."
"You don't have to act to be in the club, Akane. I design the costumes. Maybe you could work behind
the scenes, too. We have a great time together."
Akane thought for a moment, and then smiled.
"Why not? What are you putting on?"
"I'm not sure, yet. We were kicking around a few ideas last term, and of course the new members
will have some ideas. Do you think your friend Ranma will want to join us?"
"I'll ask him tomorrow at lunch."
Chapter 18
Akane was hoping that Ranma would come to her dormitory again that evening to say good night, but
when it began pouring, she realized that she wouldn't see him, and went to bed.
Akane spent the next morning writing letters to her father and sisters, and then walked to the
cafeteria to meet Ranma. He had said something about bringing some friends for her to meet, and she
brought along some of her own.
The group waiting for Akane turned out to be rather large, as was the one she brought with her.
Ranma and his friends had taken a large table in a corner, and soon everyone had been introduced,
and were talking away. Akane found a seat next to Ranma, and extended Mishi's invitation to join
the Drama Club.
"No way, Akane! Romeo and Juliet was enough for me. Are you going to act again?"
"No, Ranma. Mishi does costume design, so I'm going to volunteer for behind the scenes work too. I
thought I'd help put the script revisions into the computer, once we decide on one. Are you sure
you don't want to try something like that?"
"I'm going to be pretty busy, Akane. Some of us just joined the Sci-Fi club, and I got a job."
"You did? Where?"
"At the university hospital, assisting in the pharmacy."
"What are you going to do there?"
"They're going to have me delivering the medication carts around the hospital, and whatever else
they can teach me."
As he spoke, Ranma noticed that Akane looked a little jealous.
"What's wrong, Akane? No luck yet?"
"I applied for a few jobs, Ranma, but nothing yet. I'm hoping that the day care center will want
me. They said they wanted to get in touch with the people I worked for at home, but I don't know
how long that will take."
"Maybe you should go see them again."
"If I don't hear from them by tomorrow, I think I will."
*****
After lunch, Akane left Ranma for an appointment with one of her professors. She was a little
apprehensive when she walked into Professor Mori's office and sat down.
"Why did you wish to see me, Miss Tendo?"
"I wanted to tell you in advance that I expect to need a lot of help with this course."
"Why?"
"I'm an awful cook. My family won't touch a thing I make, and my fiance got terribly sick when he
ate my cookies."
Professor Mori was a kind person, and refrained from laughing at Akane.
"You're not the first student I've ever had with this problem, Miss Tendo. Don't worry, you will
learn to cook in my class. I'm not promising that you'll be a great chef, but you will be able to
cook well enough to please your family, and your fiance. Does cooking make you nervous?"
"Yes, and I tend to rush. Then I make mistakes."
Professor Mori went to his bookshelf, and took down some pads. He handed them to Akane.
"Try using these in my classes."
"What are they?"
"My special checklists. Let me explain how they work."
Akane felt much better after leaving Professor Mori's office. His suggestions and comments were
very encouraging.
*****
The next morning, Ranma looked in on the martial arts group practicing in the gym. There were quite
a few people there, and he could see that they were all at different levels of skill. Akane was
already there, and they practiced together. As they were walking out of the gym, a couple of
students stopped them.
"You two are good. Can we join you tomorrow? We'd like to learn some of those moves."
Ranma and Akane quickly looked at each other, and smiled. They turned back to the students.
"Meet us here tomorrow, but I think you should know that Akane and I won't make it easy on you."
One of the young men laughed.
"I can accept that from you, but what can a girl do to me?"
Ranma grinned, and stepped back as Akane stepped forward. The student who had made the unfortunate
statement was still picking himself off the floor when they left the gym.
*****
Ranma and Akane separated after breakfast, and she walked to the day care center to check on her job
application. Akane was shown in to the director's office, and couldn't understand the look of
annoyance on the woman's face.
"We expected you yesterday, Miss Tendo."
"Excuse me, ma'am?"
"I left a message at your dormitory--we wanted you to start work yesterday afternoon. Didn't you
receive it?"
"No, or I would have been here. I'm sorry."
The woman's look changed to a smile.
"I should have known better. Your employers in Nerima gave you a glowing reference. I guess Miss
Kuno forgot to tell you that I called. Can you start this afternoon?
"What time do you want me here?"
Akane was extremely annoyed with Kodachi, whom she suspected of withholding her message
deliberately, but she decided to let the matter rest. If Kodachi wanted to be childish, it wasn't
her affair.
*****
Ranma was having his own share of difficulties with Kodachi. She'd been following him around campus
since he arrived, trying to attract his attention. Ranma ignored Kodachi, which didn't discourage
her, but aroused his roommate's curiosity.
"Ranma, why are you ignoring that pretty girl? I'd be flattered if she was following me around."
"Shiro, if you knew Kodachi better, you'd understand. She is not the type of girl you'd want to get
involved with, trust me."
Shiro looked behind them at Kodachi, who was hovering several yards away.
"If you say so, Ranma. I suppose you prefer Akane? Is she your girlfriend?"
Ranma hesitated. Akane had moved her engagement ring to her right hand when she arrived in town,
and was having a wonderful time letting people get to know her as "Akane", rather than "Ranma's
fiancee". Ranma hadn't anticipated it, but he was also enjoying having people think of him as
"Ranma", rather than "Akane's fiance". Ranma wasn't expecting anyone to ask him outright about his
relationship with Akane, and found that he didn't want to lie about it.
"Akane is my fiancee, Shiro. "
Shiro sat there silently, looking quizzically at his friend.
"Why didn't you say so when you first introduced her?"
"Because that's the way Akane wants it for now. It's kind of complicated, Shiro. Don't ask me to
explain."
When Ranma met Akane outside her dormitory that night, he didn't tell her of his conversation with
Shiro. He was rather annoyed, though, when she told him what Kodachi had done, and how it had
nearly cost her the job at the day care center.
Chapter 19
Akane hurried across campus. Ranma had asked her to meet him early at the gym, and she wondered
why. When she walked in, Ranma was the only other person there. He saw her enter, and smiled.
"Good morning, Akane."
"Good morning, Ranma. Why are we so early? No one else is here yet."
Ranma put his arms around his fiancee.
"First reason."
He kissed her, and tousled her hair.
"Any excuse to get you alone. Second reason: I wanted to talk to you about what we're going to
teach those guys if they show up. Some of what we know is for our family only."
Akane looked thoughtful, and then nodded.
"I agree, Ranma. Some of the techniques you've developed are too dangerous for just anyone to
learn. But does that include me?"
"Excuse me?"
"When are you going to get around to teaching me, Ranma?"
"How about now?"
Some time later, the gym doors opened, and several people entered, including the students they were
expecting. Ranma stepped in front of Akane, and she quickly dropped her hands.
"We'll have to work on this again another morning, Akane, but remember, this is more mental than
physical. You have to focus."
Before Akane could reply, they were joined by their students.
*****
Classes began that day, and Ranma was totally unprepared and a little overwhelmed when he saw how
much reading he'd have to do that night. Akane's assigned reading was just as heavy, and she found
herself at work with a baby on her shoulder, and a book in her hand. Fortunately, her employers
were used to seeing such sights.
When Akane reached her first culinary arts class the following day, she was extremely nervous, and
finding her fiance in the classroom didn't reduce the stress. She took the desk next to his, looking
at him suspiciously.
"Ranma, why are you here?"
"For the fun of it, Akane."
"Fun?"
"Yeah, I want to watch you try to cook."
Akane turned red, and glared at Ranma.
"Are you making fun of me? I suppose you think I'm a hopeless case."
Then Akane stepped short, realizing that Ranma was baiting her again. He saw that she'd caught on to
him, and winked.
"Gotcha, Akane!"
"Not again!"
Ranma leaned across the aisle, and whispered to her.
"Want to fight?"
"Maybe later, Ranma. Professor Mori is here."
Professor Mori started by giving the class a brief summary of what he expected to teach during the
course. He then passed out a simple recipe, and sent them all to separate cooking areas. The
purpose, he said, was to see what his students already knew.
Ranma kept glancing over at Akane while she worked. He couldn't figure out what she was doing with
the pad she'd taken from her bag, or all the little bowls she had on the counter. Finally, he
realized that he'd better watch what he was doing, and stopped looking.
Professor Mori had given Akane what he called a cooking checklist. Akane wrote the ingredients on
the list in the order they went into the dish, measured the individual ingredients into the bowls,
and checked them off as she used them. At first, she was worried about all the extra time it took,
and the fact that she'd have more dishes to wash than anyone else, but she decided not to let it
bother her. Having something to follow gave her confidence, and that was a feeling she never had in
a kitchen.
By the time they were cleaning up, Professor Mori was walking around the room, tasting and taking
notes. Ranma watched as he tasted Akane's dish, prepared to catch him if he should pass out, and
was amazed when he didn't.
"Not bad, Miss Tendo. Did you taste this?"
"No, I didn't."
"You have to learn to taste as you go along. Then you can make adjustments as you need to."
Akane sighed with relief when Professor Mori moved on to the next student. She'd survived the first
day, and so had he.
Chapter 20
By the time the week was over, everyone was (more or less) resigned to the fact that they would be
working harder than they ever had before. When the group met for lunch on Friday, Shiro had someone
new with him, a very pretty girl named Kaori whom they hadn't met previously, Ranma watched Shiro
with Kaori, and wondered about him. First Shiro had been attracted to Kodachi, and then it seemed
that he was interested in Akane, something that died quickly when Ranma revealed their engagement.
Now Shiro was with Kaori. Who would be next?
Shiro was enthusiastically telling the group about a restaurant one of his friends had discovered.
"Anyway, I wondered if we could get a group together and go tonight. Who's not working?"
It didn't take long to get a group together. They all felt that they deserved a night out after
surviving the first week of classes.
That evening, Ranma picked Akane up at her dorm, and walked with Shiro and Kaori to Mishi's
apartment. The rest of the group was already waiting outside the restaurant when they got there,
and Ranma stopped short at the door, turning to Akane, who had also stopped. Shiro noticed their
hesitation immediately.
"What's wrong, you two?"
"Shiro, I'm not sure whether or not Akane and I will be joining you tonight."
"Why not?"
"We know the owner of the restaurant."
As Ranma was speaking, the owner looked through the window, saw him, and flew through the door.
Ranma was holding Akane's hand, and they were forcibly pulled apart when Ukyo embraced him warmly.
"Ran-chan!"
Ranma looked apologetically at Akane, and gently withdrew from Ukyo's embrace.
"Ukyo. We wondered where you'd disappeared to."
"Wherever you go I follow, Ranma. You should have that figured out by now."
Ukyo opened the door to the restaurant, and waved at everyone to enter.
Mishi noticed that Ukyo had totally ignored Akane's existence, and wondered at it. She'd already
dragged Ranma inside, and Mishi remained outside on the sidewalk with Akane.
"Akane, who is that girl?"
"Ukyo Kuonji. Ranma's known her since they were about six years old, and she considers herself his
fiancee."
"Is she?"
Akane decided to tell Mishi the truth.
"No Mishi. I am."
Mishi was totally taken aback.
"Akane, why didn't you say so before?"
"Mishi, I wanted people to get to know me as me first. I guess it was a silly idea."
"No, not really, Akane. I understand what you're trying to say even better than you think. We'd
better get inside, though. Ranma looks as though he needs you."
Inside, Ranma stood red-faced as Ukyo held his arm and gazed at him lovingly. Akane was going to
kill him. He looked through the window, saw Akane and Mishi talking, and wondered why she hadn't
come in. Ranma removed his arm from Ukyo's grasp, and she looked disappointed. Then the door
opened, and Akane entered with Mishi. Ranma was expecting anger or jealousy from Akane, as he'd
experienced in the past, but Akane did the unexpected. She walked up to him, took his hand, and
kissed his cheek. She'd never kissed him in such a public place before. Ukyo gasped, and Akane
smiled at her. When she spoke, it was in a firm tone, but not an angry one.
"Ukyo dear, I think you've borrowed my fiance long enough."
Akane turned away from Ukyo, and looked at Ranma, a twinkle in her eyes.
"Where shall we sit, love?"
Ranma led Akane to a table, and seated her. As he sat down beside her, he kissed her cheek.
"I think you shocked her, sweetheart."
"She's going to have to get used to it, Ranma."
Their friends joined them, looking a little confused, and they placed their orders. Ukyo watched
Ranma and Akane closely for a while, which made them uncomfortable, but soon the restaurant was too
full for her to do so.
The conversation soon turned to the drama club meeting which Akane had missed the previous night, as
Mishi filled her in.
"We're down to two choices for the play, Akane. My friend Yoshimi spent all summer revising his
Sailor Moon script, and it looks pretty good. Some of the members still want to go with Romeo and
Juliet, but I don't think we want to be that serious. Sailor Moon sounds like more fun."
"Mishi, I'd prefer Sailor Moon, too. My last experience with Romeo and Juliet was a major
disaster."
Ranma's shoulders were shaking, and he laughed aloud. Putting his arm around Akane, he turned to
Mishi, trying to control his laughter.
"Major disaster doesn't begin to describe it, Mishi. It turned into a fight, with four Romeos and
two Juliets."
Mishi looked at Ranma, who had begun laughing again, and back to Akane, who was laughing so hard
there were tears streaming down her face. Akane shook her finger at Ranma, and wiped her eyes.
"Don't forget the chloroform, Ranma."
Akane would have continued, but Ukyo walked up and started to serve them, looking extremely annoyed.
She wasn't accustomed to seeing Ranma and Akane getting along.
*****
It was getting late when the group left the restaurant and started walking back toward campus.
Shiro left the group to walk with Kaori, and Ranma led Akane away from everyone else to walk her
home alone.
"You surprised me tonight, Akane."
"I did, Ranma? How?"
"First when you kissed me, and then when you called me your fiance. I thought you didn't want to
tell everyone we were engaged."
"I changed my mind, I guess. I'd already told Mishi."
"Did you? I told Shiro a few days ago."
"Why, Ranma?"
Ranma had been holding Akane's hand, and dropped it to put his arm around her.
"Because he wanted to know if you were my girlfriend. I think he wanted to ask you out."
Akane stopped walking, and turned within Ranma's embrace.
"I wouldn't have said yes, Ranma. Didn't you know that?"
"I did, sweetheart, but I wanted him to know the truth."
Akane looked down at her hand, removed her ring, and handed it to Ranma.
"Would you put this back where it belongs, please?"