Travels, Training & Trials, Chapter 7
Travels, Training and Trials
A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by June “KaraOhki” Geraci
March 11, 2001
Ranma 1/2 was created by Rumiko Takahashi and its characters belong to her. I'm merely borrowing them. The story below is for entertainment purposes only, and may not be used commercially.
Chapter 7
"Father, have you seen Akane?"
Soun looked up from his game. Kasumi was standing over him, looking rather annoyed.
"The last time I saw her she was wearing her gi. You might want to look in the dojo."
Kasumi was running down the hallway before Soun finished his statement. She went to the dojo and slid the door open a bit. Akane was inside, practicing a kata. Her sister watched as she moved across the floor, eyes half-closed in concentration. It seemed a shame to interrupt her, but she had to.
"Akane!"
Akane stopped short. At first she looked annoyed, but then Kasumi saw her regain her control. "Yes?"
"Did you forget the laundry?"
"Sorry!" Akane ran past Kasumi and out of the dojo. Kasumi followed at a slower pace and found Akane standing at the dryer, folding clothes.
"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I lost track of time."
"Was that a new kata you were practicing? I don't think I've ever seen that particular one before."
Akane nodded. "It's meant to help you find your inner calm. Ranma taught me."
"YOU, calm? That's an accomplishment?" Kasumi had the satisfaction of seeing her sister blush, and continued. "So what's bothering you so much that you need to calm down?"
Akane set the dry clothes aside, emptied the washer, and filled the dryer again. "That's not it, exactly. I'm okay now, but I have to find a way to maintain that. Maybe if I'd had better control of myself the other day Kuno wouldn't have a broken jaw now."
Her sister shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I'm surprised you didn't break something of his sooner. I think he deserved it. Besides, you've always had a short fuse."
"No." The force of Akane's statement made Kasumi stop and pay attention. "No matter how much he bothered me, I shouldn't have gone that far. I'm going to learn to control my temper, and Ranma's helping me."
Kasumi had difficulty suppressing the desire to grin. "Sounds to me like you two are getting pretty close."
Akane turned her back on Kasumi to pick up a basket of clothes, and she began loading them into the washer. When she turned around again, Kasumi saw a tinge of pink in her cheeks.
"Not really. He's my friend, that's all."
"That's right. He's your boyfriend."
"Sis! He's my friend, and he's a boy. Stop reading more into it!"
Akane grabbed the dry clothes and pushed past Kasumi and out of the room. Kasumi allowed herself the grin she'd been suppressing. "I think Nabiki and I need to talk when she gets back home," she murmured.
*****
Miles away, a young man finished practicing the same kata. When he was done he stood quietly for a moment, thinking of Akane.
As Ranma was growing up traveling with his father he had dreamed of the time when he could go from place to place by himself, alone and independent. That desire had grown in strength as the years went by. If he was out on his own, he would be in no danger of being tossed into pits of hungry cats or cursed springs. Now he was spending just a day and a half by himself, and found that he had no desire to be alone.
[I wonder how Akane's getting along. Hope nobody's giving her a hard time.]
*****
At a spa located somewhere between the dojo and Ranma's campsite, a young lady relaxed in a hot spring. She was glad of some time alone, because it gave her an opportunity to think.
Nabiki thought. And she laughed. Her little sister was as good as engaged.
*****
The next day conversation at the Tendo house centered on Tatewaki Kuno. A huge bouquet of flowers and an equally "flowery" note had been delivered that morning. This time Akane actually read the message, with Kasumi looking curiously over her shoulder.
The two girls read the note twice, looked at each other, and burst out laughing. Kuno had once again declared his undying love for Akane. He had also come to the conclusion that his broken jaw had not been Akane's doing, but was the result of Ranma's evil influence upon her. As far as he was concerned, when she hit him it was a sign of her love.
"I shall find a way to free you from his enslavement, my love," was the line that got both young women absolutely hysterical. They laughed until they cried. Then Akane stopped laughing, and looked at her sister with worry in her eyes.
"I don't like the way that sounds."
Kasumi merely shrugged. "From what I've observed of Ranma's skills, he's not in any danger. Why are you worried?"
"I can't put my finger on it, Sis, but the guy just gives me the creeps."
"If you feel that way about it, maybe you should tell Ranma."
"I think I will." Akane tucked the note in her desk while Kasumi watched. Then Kasumi smiled. Her sister trusted Ranma enough to tell him her worries? Very interesting.
"Oh, by the way, Tofu invited me to dinner. I know it's my turn to cook, so I told him I'd have to see if you could make dinner tonight instead."
Akane seemed deep in thought, and answered after a little bit of hesitation. "Sure, go ahead. Have fun."
*****
Akane spent the rest of the day finishing up her chores, and then she started preparations for dinner. She had just finished gathering all of the ingredients together when her father came into the kitchen.
"Are you making dinner, Akane?"
"Yes, Daddy. Why?"
"Saotome and I were thinking of going out for the evening, so don't bother cooking for us. We'll get something out."
[Something to drink, you mean,] thought Akane, but she knew better than to say so aloud. Instead, she just nodded, and her father withdrew from the kitchen.
*****
"C'mon, Nabiki, can't you walk any faster?"
"Give me a break, Saotome! I'm tired!"
Ranma just laughed. "You've been spending the last day and a half getting pampered. I was the one working out." Then he relieved Nabiki of her backpack. "This should help."
For a moment, Nabiki felt a little bit guilty. She loved her sister, and Ranma seemed to be a pretty nice guy. The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that her father was right, and that he and Akane belonged together. What was beginning to disturb her was the underhanded way that her family was trying to force them together.
*****
"Hello! We're home!"
Akane wiped her hands on her apron and left the kitchen. Nabiki was standing in the entry removing her shoes. Behind her, Ranma was smiling at her in a way that made her extremely self-conscious.
"Welcome home."
"Where is everybody?" asked Nabiki.
"Daddy and Mr. Saotome are out for the night, and Kasumi went to dinner with Tofu. So it's just us."
As Akane finished speaking, the phone rang. Nabiki got to it first, and Akane and Ranma listened to the conversation.
"I just got in. Tired? No, I'm not too tired to see you! Just give me a half-hour to unpack and change my clothes. Okay. Bye!" Nabiki hung up the phone, grabbed her pack, and flew up the stairs while Akane stared. Then her attention was drawn to Ranma, who was standing there laughing.
"She has a lot of energy for someone who complained all the way home from the train station about how tired she was. I guess that was one of her boyfriends."
Akane couldn't help but laugh. "It had to be. Are you hungry? I was just starting dinner."
Ranma nodded. "Yeah, I'm starved. Do I have time to take a bath and unpack?"
"Sure, go ahead."
Ranma picked up his gear and walked past Akane. As he did so he paused momentarily to kiss her cheek before continuing up the stairs. Akane just stared after him, holding her palm to the place he had just kissed.
*****
Nabiki put the finishing touches to her hair, grabbed her purse, and flew down the stairs. She ran into the kitchen and up to Akane.
"How do I look?"
"Great! Akane glanced at the clock. "Nice timing. Your date should be here any second. By the way, WHO is it, Densuke or Mazushi?"
"Hello? Anyone home?"
The girls just smiled at each other. "Mazushi," stated Akane. "He never will learn to knock, will he?"
*****
Nabiki and Mazushi left, and Akane went back to cooking. She was about to bring everything to the table when Ranma came in.
"Need any help?"
"Want to carry these to the table?"
"Why don't we eat outside?"
Akane smiled her agreement, and the two carried their dinner outside and sat down on the porch. They ate quietly, watching the sunset and its reflection on the water. Akane kept catching Ranma looking at her as if he wanted to say something, but then he would look away again.
"Is something wrong, Ranma?"
"Maybe. I didn't like the way Nabiki was looking at me on the way home."
"Really? She seemed okay when she got here."
"Maybe because her boyfriend called." Ranma shrugged, and began again. "I guess we'll have to wait and see. How was your weekend?"
"Kuno sent me flowers." Akane got up and began to gather the dishes together. "He also sent me a letter, and I want you to read it."
"Sure. Let me help you with those first."
Washing the dishes took very little time, and would have taken even less if Ranma hadn't insisted on trying to hold Akane's hands under the soapsuds. Akane didn't complain, nor did she object when he took the dishtowel out of her hands and kissed her. She was too confused at Ranma's overwhelming show of affection.
"Don't bother drying those. Just leave them."
Ranma started to lead Akane back outside, but she held back.
"Is something wrong?"
"I thought we were going to read Kuno's letter together."
"Later." Ranma took Akane's hand, led her outside, and pulled her down beside him. "As long as no one's around to bother us, let's enjoy it." He put his arm around her, and pulled her close.
*****
The ringing of the telephone interrupted them. Akane jumped up to answer it and Ranma followed her, not noticing the relieved look on Akane's face.
"Hello, Tendo residence. Auntie Nodoka!"
Ranma's mouth dropped open. His mother was on the phone with Akane!
"Fine, we're all fine. Sorry, Auntie, Kasumi's not home this evening. Nobody's here but me."
There was silence as Akane listened and Ranma strained his ears, trying to catch his mother's voice.
"No, I'm not alone! What I meant was none of the family are here but me. I've got a friend visiting. How's your aunt?"
Once again, Akane listened as Nodoka talked.
"Okay, Auntie, I'll tell everyone. What? Oh, the boys? No, they stopped bothering me. At least most of them."
Ranma got the idea from Akane's expression that his mother was giving her some advice, because she looked quite serious.
"I miss you too." Akane started to say goodbye, but Ranma's waving stopped her. "Auntie? Are you still there? Hold on a second." Akane put her hand over the mouthpiece and looked at Ranma. "What?"
"I want to talk to her."
"You WHAT?" Ranma nodded frantically, and Akane took her hand off the phone. "Auntie? Hold on. Somebody wants to talk to you." She handed the phone to Ranma, who took a deep breath before he began.
"Hello?"
The voice on the other side nearly shattered him with its familiarity. "Hello? Who is this?"
"Mother, it's me. Ranma."
There was a gasp, and then a long period of silence. For a moment Ranma was afraid his mother had fainted, except that he hadn't heard a thud.
"Mom?"
"Ranma? It's really you?" Ranma heard his mother begin sobbing, and hastened to reassure her.
"It is! Don't cry, Mom!"
"Oh! My little boy! You sound so grown up!" There was more sobbing, and Ranma waited patiently for his mother to speak again. "Where is your father?"
"He's out somewhere with Mr. Tendo. But Mom? Look, there are a couple of things I need to talk to you about." Ranma took the phone off the table as he spoke, and sat on the floor holding it in his lap. Akane sat beside him and he squeezed her hand, wondering which subject to bring up first.
"Mom, do you know about the agreement Pop and Mr. Tendo made?"
"Agreement?" Nodoka sounded puzzled. "What agreement?"
"Pop promised Mr. Tendo that I would marry one of his daughters, so ever since we got here he's been trying to get me to pick one."
"I would have preferred that he consult with me before making such a big commitment, my son, but you couldn't have a better choice than Soun's daughters. In fact, I think that Akane would make you a wonderful wife."
Ranma glanced at Akane, and blushed bright red. "Um, yeah, I guess." He gathered his courage, and broached the other subject. The one that scared him. "Mom. I also know about the promise Pop made you when we left, and - "
Nodoka cut him off. "I'm sure there's no problem with that, Ranma. You certainly sound very manly, and if you're about to choose a wife - you ARE about to choose one, aren't you?"
Ranma gulped. His mother's tone had changed, and he began to understand why his father feared her so much. "Well, I guess so."
"Then there's nothing to worry about, is there?"
"Um, maybe." Ranma paused, and scrambled for the right words. "Mom, something about me is different, and it might make you think I'm not manly, but I'd rather not tell you about it now. I want you to see me first, and then you'll know."
"I don't understand."
"It's hard to explain! Just wait until you see me, okay? When are you coming?"
Nodoka sounded very sad when she answered. "Not for a while, Ranma. Your Great-Aunt Mariko - you don't remember her, I think - is dying. I promised to stay with her until the end, and take care of all the arrangements afterwards. Do you think you could come see me?"
"I would like to, Mom. I'll come as soon as I can."
"Oh, Ranma!" Nodoka began crying again, and Ranma didn't know what to do. He handed the phone to Akane.
"Auntie? Don't cry. Yes, I know you're happy. Ranma and I will come to see you as soon as we can. Yes, we promise. Bye."
The phone fell out of Ranma's lap as he pulled Akane into his arms. He hugged her hard, and kissed her cheek.
"I talked to Mom! She wants to see me!" Ranma suppressed the prickle of fear he experienced when he thought of showing his curse to his mother, and hugged Akane again. "Whatever you do, don't tell Pop about this! He's so scared Mom will kill him that he'll drag me off somewhere and I'll never get to see her. I'm not going to hide my curse from Mom. I have to prove I'm still a man, even if I look like a girl sometimes."
When Akane didn't respond, but just sat there in his arms, Ranma began to wonder.
"Akane, don't you believe I'm a man?"
Akane smiled at him, and said what he wanted to hear. "Yes. You are."
That was all Ranma needed to hear. He held Akane close, took a deep breath, and said what he had been thinking the entire weekend.
"Akane Tendo, I think I love you."
*****
Akane felt her face getting extremely hot. "Ranma, I don't know what to -"
Her words were cut off when Ranma put a finger to her lips. "Just because I said it doesn't mean you have to. 'Specially if you're not ready."
A loud buzzing from the telephone interrupted them. Akane picked it up and replaced the receiver, and then got up to put the phone back where it belonged. Ranma also got off the floor, and Akane found that she couldn't look at him. Then she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder, and looked up. Ranma was smiling.
"I got you a present. Come see."
*****
Ranma grabbed Akane's hand again and dragged her upstairs and into his room. He opened his bureau drawer and pulled out a small box.
"I got this for you on my way to pick up Nabiki." Ranma hesitated, and held out the box. "I hope you like it."
Akane automatically put out her hand and took the package from Ranma. She looked quite calm outwardly, but inside her thoughts were chaotic. Would accepting a gift from Ranma make him think she belonged to him? Wasn't that the way most boys thought? And if she didn't accept it, would it hurt his feelings?
"C'mon, Akane, open it!" Ranma's words interrupted Akane's train of thought, and she unwrapped the box. Inside was a nest of tissue paper surrounding something shiny and silver. She lifted it out and gasped in delight. Ranma had given her a silver ponytail barrette. It opened on a hinge, revealing little teeth inside. Outside it was engraved in a swirling pattern.
"It's so pretty!"
"Try it on?"
Her doubts forgotten for the moment, Akane untied the ribbon at the end of her ponytail and dropped it on Ranma's bureau. She gathered her hair together as tightly as she could and fastened it about four inches from the end with the barrette.
"Do you like it?"
"It's beautiful!"
Ranma grinned and reached for Akane but before he could pull her into an embrace she put out a hand and stopped him.
"Don't."
"Why not?"
Akane cursed herself for blushing, but she couldn't help it. "You've been touching me and kissing me ever since you got home, and…" she trailed off, unable to continue.
"And what?" Ranma looked genuinely confused.
"It - you - it's making me uncomfortable." Ranma no longer looked confused. He looked hurt. Akane rushed to apologize. "I'm sorry! I'm not saying this right!"
"What ARE you trying to say?"
Akane turned away from Ranma and took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. Then she sat on the floor and patted the place beside her. Ranma took her up on the invitation.
"How did I feel about boys when you first got here?"
"You hated them, I guess."
"And how did I feel about you?"
"I think you were scared of me."
Akane nodded emphatically. "Right. And you've been really kind, and patient, and understanding. Up until tonight. You're going too fast for me, Ranma. I'm scared again."
Ranma winced. "I'm sorry! It's just - I can't help - you're so -"
"What?"
"I'm not gonna say it right, and you're gonna get mad." Akane watched as Ranma took a deep breath, reached for her hand, and pulled back. "Maybe I need to start from the beginning."
"Okay."
"When I got here I expected your family to throw me out. Your sisters weren't all that friendly, but you were. You were even nice to me, and said you would be my friend. Do you have any idea how long it's been since I had a real friend?"
Akane just shook her head.
"I haven't stayed in any one place long enough to have a friend since I went to school with Ryoga."
"Oh. Oh, dear."
"Yeah. It wasn't any fun. And then I found you."
Akane blushed fiery red. Then she scolded herself. Only a few days before she had concluded that Ranma loved her. So why did his confirmation of that upset her so?
[It's because you're a coward,] she told herself. [You're afraid to let yourself love him. You practically asked him to kiss you the other night, but you're afraid to fall in love.]
"Akane, you okay?" Ranma's voice brought her out of her reverie.
"Yes," she responded as she got off the floor. "Let's go read Kuno's note."
*****
Ranma read the note twice before handing it back to Akane.
"How come this guy is still walking around? Shouldn't he be going through some kind of therapy?"
Akane laughed, rather bitterly. "If he wasn't a Kuno, maybe. When you're that rich, you can be as crazy as you want. Nobody will do anything about it."
"Yeah, until he hurts somebody." Akane didn't respond, and her expression changed to one that worried Ranma. He pushed her into her chair, and took a seat on the floor.
"There's something you're not telling me."
"You promise not to laugh?" Akane looked so pathetic that Ranma wanted to hug her. He restrained himself with difficulty.
"I promise. What's wrong?"
"I have this feeling, a really bad one. He's going to hurt somebody, and it scares me."
Ranma was no longer on the floor, but standing in front of Akane. She looked at him and bit her lip, then she stood up and hugged him. "I don't want him to hurt you."
[She's hugging ME? What am I supposed to do?] Ranma cautiously brought his arms around Akane and held her as gently as he could. "It's okay. I won't let him hurt either of us."
Akane snuggled closer, and began to sniffle. "Promise?"
"I promise."
"Hello? Anybody home?"
"Boy? Are you here?"
Ranma jumped. His father and Mr. Tendo were home, and they sounded drunk. If they caught him in Akane's room…seconds later he was out the window, up over the roof, and in his own room, safe from trouble. Then he spotted Akane's hair ribbon on his bureau just as he heard his father coming up the stairs. Ranma undid the top fastening on his shirt, wrapped the ribbon around his neck, and closed his collar again.
The bedroom door slid open, and Genma stumbled into the room.
"Well, Boy? Whas - what - how was your trip?"
Ranma just glared at his father. "Why should I bother telling you now? You're so drunk I'll just have to tell the whole story again in the morning."
Genma glared at his son and took a swing at him, but Ranma evaded it easily, and knocked his father over with a simple shove.
"Go to sleep!"
*****
Akane was dressing the next morning when she heard shouting from Ranma's room.
"What do you mean you're not getting up, Pop? You're the one who's always telling ME that the Art comes first. You're not going to let a little hangover stop you, are you?"
"OUT!" The sound following that outburst was a crash and a thump, and Akane peeked out of her room and saw Ranma picking himself up off the hallway floor. He spotted her looking and grinned.
"Guess somebody wants to sleep in."
"Don't expect to see my father at breakfast, either," responded Akane. "I'd be surprised if he got up at noon!"
"Okay. You coming down?"
Akane blushed. "In a minute. I'm, um, still dressing." Ranma immediately averted his gaze, mumbled something Akane couldn't understand, and took off. Akane giggled, finished dressing, and joined him in the dojo. They made their practice a short one in order to have time to bathe and dress for school, and were soon at the breakfast table with Kasumi and Nabiki.
Ranma sat down and dug in, but Akane kept getting distracted by her sisters. Nabiki kept looking at Kasumi, and Kasumi would look at Nabiki. Then both of them would look at her, and smile in a way that made her very uncomfortable. For the first time since she and Ranma had begun to make their plan to send Nabiki to the spa, she wondered whether or not it had been a good idea. Perhaps they would have been better off letting her sister go camping for a weekend. After all, she really hated it, and it wouldn't have done much for a relationship that didn't exist.
Had Nabiki told Kasumi about the spa, and if she had, would Kasumi tell their father? Or Ranma's father? Akane lost her appetite.
*****
Tatewaki Kuno stood at the gates of Furinkan High School, waiting for the object of his affection. He was certain that she would show her appreciation of his gift with some small show of gratitude. After all, her shyness would prevent anything more.
He saw her approaching, and waited for her to greet him. Instead, she ignored his presence and walked past.
He caught up with her, and waved a note.
Akane paused for a fraction of a second and walked on. The Saotome demon was by her side.
Suddenly, all was clear to Kuno. The demon Saotome was obviously controlling his beloved, thus preventing her from speaking to him. It would be necessary to separate them. He stepped between the pair and once again offered the note to Akane. She looked at the note, then at him, and walked away. Then Kuno felt a tug on his sleeve, and turned to face Ranma.
"She's not interested, Kuno. Don't you get it?"
Kuno pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, scribbled a note, and handed it to Ranma. The note read "If that is so, let her speak for herself!"
"Hey, Akane! Dumbhead here doesn't want to take my word for it."
Akane turned around and walked back. She stopped next to Ranma, and Kuno caught a look that passed between the two of them. It made him extremely uncomfortable. How could Akane possibly look at Ranma as if she liked - nay - LOVED him? Yet the look was unmistakable. Then Kuno realized Akane was speaking, and tried to concentrate on her words.
"…sorry about what I did the other day. I should have had better control of myself. I do now, and I want to make something clear. I don't like you. I never liked you. Your attentions are unwelcome. I do not wish to do you physical harm again, so I would suggest that you stop harassing me, because if I do lose my temper again, you will not be able to walk." Then Akane turned on her heel, walked away a few steps with Ranma, and turned back to look at him again. "Please do take me seriously, Kuno-sempai." Then she was gone.
[Oh Akane,] he thought. [You are in greater danger than even I suspected. I must think of a way to rescue you.]
*****
"Well, I guess that settles that."
Akane stared at Ranma as if he was crazy. "Are you kidding? You really think he'll get the point?"
"I should hope so!"
"I've tried reasoning with him before. It didn't work. That's why I started pounding him. If you think he's going to stop, you're as crazy as he is!"
"Hey!" Akane knew she'd gone too far before the words left her mouth, and Ranma's expression confirmed it.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
"And I shouldn't have assumed that Kuno would listen. We're losing our calm, Akane. We've got to find it and bring it back."
Akane nodded, and the pair walked into the school. They stood in the hallway just outside their classroom door, closed their eyes, and took several deep breaths. Then they concentrated on finding their inner calm before entering the classroom to face whatever the day had in store for them.
*****
All in all, it wasn't bad. For once, their morning classes were uneventful and uninterrupted. Akane's friends dragged her off at lunch to go through the latest fashion magazines, and Ryoga wandered onto Furinkan's grounds trying to find his own school. He sat down to talk to Ranma but Sayuri looked up from the magazines and spotted him.
"Ryoga!"
Ranma grinned as Ryoga turned red. Sayuri didn't pay any heed to that and dragged her boyfriend off to a quiet spot under a tree, where they sat down and began talking.
That left Ranma alone again. He unpacked his bento and began to eat while watching the various groups of students. After so many years of traveling Ranma was accustomed to being the "new guy" the few times he actually managed to attend school. Nobody was making an attempt to be friendly so him, so perhaps it was time he made the effort.
It turned out to be unnecessary. One of the boys sitting nearby waved at Ranma, and he gathered his things together and joined the small group.
"So, Saotome, who do we have to thank for being spared from Kuno's speeches? Should you or Akane get the credit?"
Ranma's eyebrows rose. "Akane's the one who hit him!"
"Yeah," spoke up another. "But he seems to think you influenced her to do it."
A third boy elbowed his friend in the ribs. "Don't tell me you're actually going to believe him? He's the one who started all that garbage with 'defeat Akane and get to date her,' and he's the one who tried to make a fool of Ranma with the water guns." The boy paused, looked at Ranma, and bowed slightly. "My apologies, Saotome. I never should have let that idiot talk me into that."
Ranma didn't know what to say. "I, um!"
"Well he said you were a demon, and he said you were a monster. I don't see either. But there's one thing about you that makes me kinda curious. What's it LIKE when you're a girl?"
"What do you mean?"
"Come on! It's GOT to feel different!"
Then the questions began to come fast and furious.
"Does it hurt when you change?"
"Do you like guys when you're a girl?"
"What if you get stuck that way?"
"HEY! Cut it out!"
Ranma's shout made everyone stop short. He looked from face to face until he was sure he had everyone's attention before he began speaking.
"First of all, I'm me no matter how I look. It feels weird when I change, but it doesn't hurt, and once I have changed, the only thing that's different is the outside. I'm still ME, Ranma Saotome, a GUY, looking out of a girl's eyes. It doesn't make me feel like a girl, it doesn't make me like guys, and it never will!" Ranma paused, wondering about the last question. "Changing back's never been a problem. The guide in China never said anything about people getting stuck, and I don't want to think about it!" Ranma made a fist, and pointed his thumb at his chest. "This is the way I was born, and this is the way I want to be! If there's a cure out there I'm gonna find it!"
The questions subsided, and it seemed to Ranma as if he had passed some sort of test. No one referred to his curse again, and instead the talk centered around things most boys his age were interested in: sports, games and girls. Ranma was asked which of the Tendo girls he preferred, but he just shrugged. Then Hiroshi caught sight of Sayuri and Ryoga sitting together.
"I don't get it. How come she's going out with a guy from another school?"
Ranma snickered. "You ever ask her out?"
"No."
He looked around at the other boys. "Have ANY of you ever asked her out?" The embarrassed looks and red faces were enough of an answer. "Too busy chasing Akane around, right? Can't blame Sayuri for looking elsewhere, then." He gestured around the schoolyard. "There are a lot of really cute girls here. How come you concentrated on just one?"
"Well, Kuno - " began Hiroshi.
"Who made HIM your boss? Far as I can see, the guy's an idiot!"
Nobody answered, and the subject got changed rather quickly. By the time the lunch period ended and everyone went back inside, Ranma felt as if he had been accepted by most of the boys in the group. There were a couple of them who had asked him some very annoying questions, but to his relief the rest of the group had shouted them down.
*****
Akane looked at the magazines without really seeing them. Most of her attention was centered on what was going on several yards away. Ranma was actually sitting and talking with some of the boys from their class.
She had slept little the previous night, trying to come to terms with the knowledge of Ranma's love for her, and how to define her own feelings. It wasn't fair to him to leave him hanging, despite his stated willingness to give her time.
"Akane?"
"What?"
Yuka pointed at a picture in the magazine. "Don't you love that sweater? It's sooo cute!"
Akane looked down at the picture. Evidently all the girls liked it. "Yes. It's nice."
Yuka grinned at her. "Bright red. If you wore that with a black skirt, you and Ranma would look really good together!"
[I'm doomed,] thought Akane. [My family thinks I belong to Ranma, and all of my friends do too. But what about ME? How do I feel?]
"Actually, I think I'd prefer it in yellow."
Her friend nodded. "I should have known better. You always pick yellow! But you and Ranma look good together, no matter what color you're wearing."
Akane was more than relieved when it was time to go back to class.
*****
Unknown to Akane, someone had been observing her closely at lunch. Kuno was sitting on the roof of the school, watching her through a spyglass.
He had come to the conclusion that there must be a specific way that Ranma was controlling the girl, and that it was his responsibility to discover it and release her.
So far he hadn't figured it out, but he was a Kuno, and there were two things about the Kuno family that guaranteed his success.
One: they had great intelligence.
Two: they never lost sight of their goals.
*****
Akane was gathering her things together at the end of the day when Sayuri approached her.
"Want to go for a snack?"
"I can't. I'm working this afternoon."
"Really? You still have that job at the warehouse?"
Just then Ranma called from the doorway. "Akane! We don't want to be late!"
Sayuri's jaw nearly hit the floor. "Ranma's working there too? Are you together ALL the time?"
Akane felt the blush start, and tried to stop it from happening, but that just made it worse. "He needed money too, so I introduced him to my boss."
"If you can't go with me, then I'll just walk you to work. I really need somebody to talk to," responded Sayuri. She picked up her bag and accompanied Akane out of the classroom.
"What about?"
"Ryoga."
Akane stopped short, and turned to Ranma who had been waiting at the door. "Can you go on ahead? I need to talk to Sayuri."
"Okay. See you there." Ranma took off at a run, and the girls followed at a slower place.
Sayuri didn't bring up the subject again until they had left the school grounds. "I think something's wrong, and I can't put my finger on it. I thought maybe because Ranma was Ryoga's friend you might know."
Akane looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"I'm sure he's hiding something from me. Do you know what it could be?"
Although Akane tried hard to control her expression, Sayuri knew her well enough to notice. "You do! What is it?"
"I can't tell you."
"Why? Is it that horrible?"
That made Akane giggle. "No. It's not horrible at all, but I'm sure Ryoga would find it very embarrassing if I told you."
Sayuri walked on in silence for a minute. Then she looked at Akane. "Do you think he'd tell me if I asked?"
"You could answer that better than me. How close are you?" Akane couldn't help smiling at her friend's deep blush.
"We're getting really close. I think - I think I'll try asking."
"Would you mind walking a little faster? I don't want to be late."
The girls hurried on, and soon could see Ranma waiting in front of the warehouse. Akane started going a little faster, but Sayuri grabbed her arm and brought her to an abrupt stop.
"Look, if you're working every school night, could we get together on Saturday afternoon instead? I thought maybe we could go shopping or something."
"I can't. Not this weekend anyway."
Comprehension came to Sayuri as she saw the blush spreading across her friend's face. "You're going away with Ranma this weekend! You lucky girl!"
"Sayuri!"
"Well you are, aren't you? Just make sure I get all the juicy details on Monday." Sayuri turned as she spoke, and headed in the other direction. "See you tomorrow!"
*****
"What was that about?" asked Ranma as Akane caught up with him.
"Nothing."
"Don't expect me to believe that! You should see how red your face is!"
"We were talking about Ryoga."
Ranma gave Akane a disgusted look. "Yeah, and what else? You're a really lousy liar, you know."
"Oh, and you're a good one?" Akane had the satisfaction of seeing Ranma look uncomfortable, but she knew he wouldn't stop asking until she told him what he wanted to know. She gazed down at her hands, which were twisted together in nervousness.
"She…Sayuri was teasing me because we're going away together next weekend."
"What did you tell her?"
"Nothing. I didn't know what to say."
"I know what you mean. A couple of the guys wanted to know what it was like spending a weekend with Nabiki."
"Wow, what did you tell them?"
"That I spent the whole weekend training, and let Nabiki do as she pleased. Some of the guys believed me, but there were a couple who didn't. They should get their minds out of the gutter!"
Akane's temper nearly got the better of her, but she managed to keep an even tone of voice when she responded to Ranma.
"If you're saying what I think you're saying, Nabiki is going to be very unhappy, and her boyfriends aren't going to like it if rumors start going around about the two of you."
"Hey, it's already a problem! They're saying the same thing about me and Kasumi! Now they think I'm going to sleep with you!"
Akane felt ill. "How many of them are saying this?"
"Just two, and the other guys told them to shut up. Problem is, their ideas are pretty close to what Pop had in mind when he sent me off with your sisters."
"WHAT?"
"Look, you gotta understand Pop has different ideas about girls than I do. He says the only thing females are good for is to cook and clean for you, and give you children. So that's why he wanted me to be alone with all of you."
Akane struggled to maintain control. Every nerve in her body was screaming at her to go home and kill Ranma's father. Then Ranma's words hit home. "Pop has different ideas about girls than I do." She looked down at the ground and shuffled her feet.
"Ranma, what DO you think about girls?"
"Answering that question would take more time than we have right now. Can we talk about it tonight?"
The warehouse door opened, and their employer looked out. "Good, you're here! I need to get a complete inventory of our frozen foods. I'd like the two of you to do it together."
Ranma nodded. "Yes sir, we'll be right in." Then he turned around and whispered to Akane. "Tonight?"
"Tonight."
*****
Nabiki was turning the corner leading home when a hand shot out from behind a bush and grabbed her arm.
"EEK!" Nabiki raised her book bag and was about to clobber whoever had grabbed her when she realized it was her sister Kasumi. "Don't scare me like that!"
"Quiet!" Kasumi hissed. "Father and Mr. Saotome are watching for you. She dragged Nabiki back the way she had come.
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere we can talk before they get their claws on you."
Kasumi and Nabiki walked to Dr. Tofu's office, where he allowed them to use his private office. Evidently Kasumi had arranged this in advance, because there was a pot of tea, two cups, and a plate of pastries waiting for them.
"What's going on, Sis?" asked a very confused Nabiki.
"I want to know about your weekend, and I want you to tell me the truth," responded Kasumi. "I didn't tell you the truth when I got home last week, and it's time that I did."
"I don't understand."
"I'm not surprised," responded Kasumi. "But let me ask you a question first: did Father tell you to pretend to like Ranma?"
Nabiki's eyes widened. "He did. You too?"
"Yes. He said Akane was best for him, but if she thought she was being pushed she'd run the other way. So I agreed to go away with Ranma for the weekend, but he had other ideas."
Kasumi saw Nabiki preparing to ask another question and waved her off. "He asked Tofu to come with us. When the two of them weren't sparring, he was studying."
Nabiki couldn't help grinning. "Oh, and what were you and Tofu doing when Ranma was studying?"
"We went for walks, collected wildflowers, and we watched birds." Kasumi blushed. "It was just wonderful."
"No wonder you were so happy when you got back!"
"Yes. Now what about you?"
"I was meaning to tell you this, Sis. When we got to the station Ranma handed me a ticket to Kuroiso. He sent me to Momiji Spa for the weekend."
"Momiji Spa? You've wanted to go there forever! How on earth did he know - " Kasumi cut herself short and both girls answered the question together.
"Akane."
*****
Another pot of tea disappeared while the sisters compared notes.
"…and when I asked her where she learned the kata, she said Ranma taught her. When I said he was her boyfriend, she got pretty flustered."
Kasumi stopped talking and looked down at her hands, wrapped around the teacup. "They're close, closer than we thought. That will make Father and Mr. Saotome very happy, but I don't think it's right."
"What do you mean?" asked Nabiki.
Kasumi had been dreading this part of the conversation, because she was sure that Nabiki would disagree with her.
"They should be allowed to do this at their own pace. I don't like teaming up against our sister, and I don't like seeing her rushed. Ranma's a very nice boy, and they make a good match, but they're only sixteen."
Nabiki reached across the table and patted her sister's hand. "I know exactly what you're talking about." She paused, and turned a little red. "You see, at first all I could think about was that I didn't want to marry Ranma, and that it had to be anybody but me. That's why I agreed to help Daddy. But after a while I started to feel guilty. I don't want to be any part of pushing Akane or Ranma into anything they're not ready for. What should we do?"
The flood of relief rushing through Kasumi made her unable to talk for a moment. She picked up her napkin and wiped her eyes.
"We can't tell her outright. She's probably suspicious enough, and if we confirm it she'll be really hurt. What we can do is try to control Daddy and Mr. Saotome. We have to convince them that they're rushing things."
"What about when Auntie gets here? Mr. Saotome is terrified of her."
Kasumi's heart sank. "I don't know. We have to think of something."
*****
Nabiki tried to keep her temper while she answered her father's questions.
"I told you, Daddy. Ranma practiced, and I watched, or studied."
"But that's exactly what Kasumi said!"
"Well what more do you want to know? We talked a little, but nothing really important happened."
Genma spoke for the first time. "The reason we arranged these weekend trips was to make it easier for Ranma to choose a wife. How can he do that if you girls won't cooperate?"
"We went, didn't we?" responded Nabiki. "You can't blame either of us or Ranma if we don't have much in common."
"In that case, Ranma will simply have to marry Akane," said Genma, with a smile on his face that Nabiki considered nasty.
"I don't think so," said Kasumi. Nabiki looked at her sister, unable to guess what she would say next.
"You said Ranma would get a weekend with each of us. Akane hasn't had her turn yet. Once they come back, then we can discuss this again."
"But Kasumi, isn't it obvious that Ranma and Akane make the perfect couple?" Soun sounded nervous, and Nabiki wondered what Genma could have said or done to shake up her father so much. "Why waste time?"
"What exactly do you mean by that, Daddy?" Nabiki saw her father glance at Mr. Saotome, and could tell that some sort of message had passed between the two men.
"If we start planning now, we could hold the wedding by Saturday."
"DADDY!!" The cry came from two pairs of lips.
"You are NOT going to rush my baby sister into a marriage she might not be ready for!" cried Kasumi. "She's only sixteen!"
"That's right! I don't think an engagement is a bad idea, but they're much too young to get married!" was Nabiki's comment.
Soun folded. "Perhaps you're right."
"But Tendo!"
"No, Saotome. Give them time. After all, they're quite young. I'm sure we'll have a better idea of how well they're getting along Sunday evening."
Genma said nothing more, but Nabiki saw the unhappy look he cast at her and her sister.
*****
Ranma was subjected to the same treatment when he arrived home just in time for dinner. Akane had gone ahead of him, and her sisters had been able to take her aside and warn her of what to expect.
"What do you mean, Pop? I took Nabiki with me, and I trained! Isn't that what I'm supposed to do on a training trip?"
"Boy, you were supposed to get to know the girl better!"
"Well I know her a little better! I can tell you that she can't keep up with me when we walk, she hates camping, and she would rather have been somewhere else!"
"Then why don't you just mar-OOF!" Nabiki's elbow prevented Genma from finishing his sentence, but Ranma was pretty sure he could guess what his father meant to say.
"I still got one more weekend! Don't expect me to say anything until then."
Ranma ignored his father and ate his dinner, muttering under this breath about pushy people who wanted to marry him off.
*****
After dinner Ranma excused himself to get his homework done, and Akane soon went upstairs to do hers. Akane rushed through the assignments, even though she knew that she wasn't doing a good job. She was too concerned about her upcoming conversation with Ranma to bother worrying about how well her homework turned out. A soft tap on her window made her push the books aside to allow Ranma room to climb in over her desk.
"Sorry about what Pop said, Akane. I guess I should have expected him to get pushy."
"It's all right, Ranma. My sisters warned me about it." Akane paused, and paced around the room, coming back to face Ranma again. "I get the weirdest feeling that they're trying to protect me."
"From ME?"
"No, that's not quite it. They like you. But we're two years younger than my parents were when they got married, and they both agree that sixteen is too young."
"They've got that part right. But I don't think they know how I feel about you."
"I didn't tell them." Akane paused, and studied Ranma intently. He had taken a seat on her bed, looking very comfortable at first glance. But she had come to know him better. There was tenseness about him that he was trying to hide. Akane sat beside him and squeezed his hand. "There was something we were supposed to talk about."
"Yeah. I'm was trying to figure out where to start. I think I've got it now."
"Yes? Go ahead, then."
"I don't remember what it was like having two parents. It's been just me and Pop for too long, and a lot of that time I didn't get to spend too much time with girls." Ranma shrugged his shoulders. "To be honest, I didn't think about it a lot. Now and then we'd stay at a dojo where the master had daughters, and if they did martial arts we'd spar together. When I started getting older some of them would flirt with me, but it didn't make too much sense to get involved with a girl if I was going to be gone in a few days or weeks."
"What about Midori?"
"She was different. There was something about her that called to me, and I'd never felt that before. It's like that with you, only a lot stronger."
Akane saw Ranma take a deep breath before continuing. "I don't think I could leave you if I tried."
Akane was overwhelmed. She had dreamed of something like this when she was a little younger, before her boy problems at school had started. The dream of having a real boyfriend died very quickly when the harassment had begun. Now somebody loved her - for real - and wanted to stay with her. It was almost too wonderful to be true.
Then Akane realized something. Ranma hadn't yet told her the "difference" between his feelings about women and his father's.
"Ranma," she said shyly. "Thank you." But you were going to tell me why you think differently about girls than your Dad does."
"That's what I learned from the masters. Most of them were married, and I would watch the way they treated their wives. They were friends, and they were partners. A lot of the masters I spent time with told me their wives were their best friends. I've seen times when a master would say or do something, and his wife would take him aside and they would talk, and he would change his mind. That meant he was willing to take a woman's advice. Pop wouldn't agree with that. He thinks women make you weak."
Ranma paused again and played with his fingers, refusing to meet Akane's eyes. Then he looked up and his smile took her breath away.
"Pop's wrong. You make me feel strong. I think we were meant to be a team."
[Now or never,] thought Akane. [Stop being a coward, and tell him how you feel!]
Her hand crept across the coverlet and touched his.
"Ranma," she said quietly. "I've been thinking a lot about what you told me yesterday. In fact, I don't think I slept much last night at all."
"Akane, I'm sor-" Ranma's apology was cut short when Akane's hand left his and her fingertips touched his cheek.
"No. I needed the time to think, and to stop being such a coward."
"I don't understand."
Akane's hand left Ranma's cheek, and joined the other in her lap. Both were shaking. "I was scared to let myself get close to anybody. I was scared to let myself love you. But I can't help it. I do."
"You do? Honest?"
A nod was all Akane could manage because her words just wouldn't come out, but Ranma got the message. He reached for her and they held each other in complete silence, content.