A Kiss to the Victor, Chapter 3
A Kiss to the Victor
December 9, 1999
Revised December 15, 1999
A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by Hound & Cabbit Productions (David "Fido" Lindquist and June "KaraOhki"
Geraci)
Ranma 1/2 was created by Rumiko Takahashi. We're just borrowing
her characters for a little while.
Chapter Three
The kiss had a lot going against it. First, in was in front of an audience. Second, Ranma had NO
idea how to kiss a girl. Finally, Akane's breath still smelled like chloroform, but to Ranma, it
didn't matter. To him, it was...nice. Very nice and VERY memorable. A small part of him couldn't
believe that he didn't remember the kiss he'd given her while in Neko-ken.
----------------
As Ranma's lips touched hers, Akane almost pushed him away. Then she realized that she didn't want
to. How many times had she wondered what it would feel like to have Ranma kiss her? The Neko-ken
kiss didn't count--he didn't even remember it--but this one did. She was about to reach up to
embrace him when she realized that they were kissing in front of an audience.
Over the cheering crowd, Akane thought she could hear her father yelling "The houses will soon be
wed!"
*OH NO!* she thought. *What will we...* Then she remembered the tape. As he pulled away from
her, Akane quickly slapped it over Ranma's mouth.
He looked confused, and she could have sworn, hurt.
"Ranma, please," she whispered, pleading with her eyes. "Trust me."
As the curtain closed, they could still hear the crowd cheering wildly.
Ranma, the tape still over his mouth, extended his hand and helped Akane out of the coffin.
Then they were nearly knocked down when their fathers charged them.
"Wonderful! It's about..."
They both stopped when they noticed the tape over Ranma's mouth.
"Boy," Genma said. "Why do you have tape over your mouth?"
"Mmmph," said Ranma.
"Of course he has tape over his mouth!" Akane said matter-of-factly. "Whatever gave you the idea
that I'd let him kiss me?"
Soun's face fell, and he started to cry.
"WAAH! NOW THE FAMILIES WON'T BE JOINED!"
Ranma tore the tape off his mouth, winced, then yelled: "Would you two give it a REST, already!"
He then started to stomp off the stage.
"W...where are you going?" Genma asked.
"To change and get out of here!" he replied.
As he stormed off, the director walked up to him.
"We won!" he said happily.
"Whoopee," Ranma replied, his voice dripping with anger. Without another word, Ranma left the
stage, leaving behind a very confused Akane.
---------------
Akane gathered her things, and opened the door of her dressing room.
She jumped when she saw Ranma standing there.
"Ranma," she whispered.
"I've been waiting for you, Akane."
"Why?"
"Let's get going."
Ranma was quiet until they left the school grounds behind them, and had reached the path by the
canal. Then he stopped walking, and put down his bag. Akane put her bag beside his, and waited
for him to speak.
Ranma held out his hand, and Akane could see that he was holding the tape she'd put over his
mouth. All he said was: "Why?"
Akane's reply wasn't what he expected.
"Do you want to get married?"
"WHAT!?" he yelled out in surprise. "Of course not! It would be a disaster! Shampoo and Kodachi
would be trying to kill you. Cologne and Kuno would be coming after me! And I don't even want to
THINK what getting Tofu and Kasumi in the same room for a wedding ceremony would be like! Besides,
we're too young!"
"What do you think our fathers would have done if they knew we HAD kissed?"
Ranma thought for a second, then let out a sigh.
"They'd have had the wedding ready by the time we got out of the theater."
Ranma was quiet for a few seconds, and then he smiled at Akane.
"Good thinking. Thanks."
They said nothing for a few minutes as they walked along. Ranma had jumped on top of the fence and
kept pace with Akane. Then Akane broke the silence.
"Ranma?"
"Yeah?" he replied.
"What did you mean by 'No I can't...not any more.'"
He stopped for a moment to gather his thoughts, then turned to her.
"I can't pretend that I...I..."
"Like me?" Akane finished his sentence. She had completely misunderstood him.
"No! I can't pretend that I don't like you, because I do!"
Akane just stared. She couldn't speak for a full minute.
"You l-like me?"
"Yeah."
"Then why did make a big production about not wanting to kiss me?" she responded.
Ranma almost threw an insult at her but caught himself. He stopped and looked down at her.
"Because," the martial artist said. "I didn't want our first kiss to be like that! Just some way
to win a contest!" Akane started to say something but Ranma cut her off. "I wanted it to be
special. That's all."
Ranma shoved his hands in his pockets, slumped his shoulders and resumed walking.
Akane stood there, a look of shock on her face. Then it changed to a small smile. She turned and
caught up with him, making sure to keep pace.
"You know what," she said simply, "This kiss doesn't count either."
TRIP...SPLASH!
Akane turned just in time to see Ranma fall off the fence. She ran to it, concerned.
"Ranma?!?"
"That," a wet, female Ranma replied as she sat in the canal, "was sooo
uncute!"
Akane couldn't help but giggle. By the time she recovered, Ranma had already jumped back over the
fence. Akane was still smiling, whereas Ranma looked like a drowned cat. A few seconds later,
Ranma broke the silence.
"That wasn't funny, you know."
"I'm sorry, Ranma," Akane replied. "I couldn't help it."
"Okay, now what did you mean that this kiss didn't count either?"
"Well, it was part of the play, right?"
Ranma nodded her head in agreement.
"If an actor and actress kiss on stage it's part of their performance," Akane continued, as she
watched the comprehension dawn on her fiance's face.
"So that kiss didn't count!" Ranma said, finishing Akane's sentence.
Akane watched as Ranma's face transformed from irritation to relief, then to joy.
"All right!" Ranma said.
Akane couldn't help but start to giggle again, but then stopped suddenly.
"Ranma?"
Ranma was still smiling when she replied. "Yeah?"
"Does that mean you WANT to kiss me for real?"
Ranma's smile vanished instantly. It was immediately replaced with a sick and confused look.
"Not right now! Jeeze, we're both girls!" she blurted out. Then Ranma mumbled, "and you call ME
a pervert!"
Akane almost swung at the martial artist but stopped.
"I don't mean that!" she said, a note of anger in her voice. "I mean when you're a guy again."
Ranma looked into Akane's eyes, even though she had to look up to do it. She bit her lip as if
trying to decide something. A few seconds later, a look washed over her face. The same look she
had at the play, just before he'd kissed her.
Ranma opened her mouth to speak, and was interrupted by a voice from
behind.
"Juliet-baby! I'm ready for my kiss!"
They both turned to see Happosai bounding towards them, his lips in a pucker.
"THE PLAY IS OVER, YOU PERVERT!!" Akane yelled out.
"I know!" he replied. "I just want to practice for next year!"
He never saw the fists that launched him towards the sky.
Ranma and Akane both rubbed their knuckles.
"Man," Ranma said. "His head must be getting harder."
"Yeah," Akane replied.
They looked at each other again, but it was too late. Whatever Ranma would have said was gone now.
The moment had passed.
"Let's go home," Akane said.
Ranma just nodded, then the two headed down the street.
---------------
They could hear the noise coming from the house before it was in sight.
"Are they having a party or something?" Akane asked.
"Sounds like it," replied Ranma.
Hands grabbed them as they opened the door.
Ranma was pulled aside by his father, who dumped a kettle of hot water over him.
"I expected you'd come home in this condition. We have to get you upstairs and changed."
At the same time, Soun and Kasumi were pulling Akane toward the stairs.
"You have to get changed, Akane!"
Ranma and Akane planted their feet and yelled at their families in unison: "What the heck is
going on here?"
Their question was answered by the appearance of a priest in the room.
"Is this the young couple who are going to be married?"
"M-MARRIED??!!"
As Ranma shouted, he pulled himself free from his father's grasp. Akane had escaped from Kasumi
and Soun's hold. They stood close together, staring at the family group in front of them. It was
at that point that they realized that all of the members of the Drama Club were there, standing
with the little round man Ranma had seen backstage.
"You kissed girl, you won prize! Now you see China!"
For a moment, the threat of a wedding was forgotten. All Ranma could concentrate on was that
trip.
"Yes, when do we leave?"
The man looked confused. "Leave? You seeing China now!"
"Whaaat?" Ranma leaped forward, fists clenched. "You wanna explain that?"
Soun jumped between them. "It seems we were mistaken, Son. The prize wasn't a trip to China like
we thought, but a chance to meet Mr. Li here."
"Please, call me China," the actor said.
Ranma sagged. He and Akane had gone through hell for nothing. Then his father walked up and
slapped him on the back.
"Too bad about the trip, boy. When we found out about the mix-up, we decided to reward the both
of you with this wedding!"
"Then why did you have me booked a week in advance?" the priest asked.
"Um..." the elder Saotome replied, as a large sweatdrop formed at the back of his head.
"That's not important right now," Soun added, grabbing his daughter's arm. Genma took advantage of
the confusion in the room to grab Ranma's arm again.
"Right," Genma added. "Let's go!"
The both of them walked forward but were suddenly stopped when their children didn't move. The
two also felt something else.
"Is your hand getting warm, Saotome?" Soun asked his future in law.
"Yes," he replied. "As a matter of fact, it is."
They simultaneously decided it might be wise to find out what the source of the heat was.
Turning around, they both were stunned to see their children glowing. On top of that, their heads
began to grow at the same time.
"ARE YOU NUTS? the enlarged head of Ranma yelled.
"WE ARE NOT GETTING MARRIED!!" shouted Akane.
None of them noticed that the priest had fainted, clutching his prayer book against him. The four
of them had other concerns at the moment. Ranma and Akane with convincing their fathers to call
off the wedding; Soun and Genma merely trying to survive their effort with at least some dignity
intact.
However, this was the first time they had ever been exposed to their children's version of the
'Demon Head Attack.' Add that to the fact that neither one of them was very brave to begin with.
The result was predictable.
"Waaah!" yelled Soun. "I'm sorrrry!"
Genma folded once his friend's support had been removed. "I guess...I guess we could put this off
for a little while."
"A LITTLE????" their children both roared, their battle auras flaring at the same time.
At those words, Soun and Genma reverted to their basic line of defense. Soun fainted, while
Genma went into 'cute panda' mode.
Kasumi stepped forward and spoke to the guests.
"I'm sorry. The party appears to be over."
The guests looked at her, at each other, and shrugged their shoulders.
"I should have known this wouldn't work," said Hiroshi.
"That's not what you said when we were on our way here," replied Daisuke.
One by one, the guests left. The priest recovered consciousness and followed them out. As he
passed Kasumi, she heard him mumbling a prayer.
The silence in the house after all the guests were gone was rather unnerving. Kasumi got some
trash bags, and began to clean up the mess. Ranma gave his father one more dirty look and joined
her, followed by Akane. Soun and Genma, after they recovered, retreated to their shogi board.
Nabiki went upstairs, covered her bedroom window, and took out what she needed to begin developing
the pictures she took at the play. She hadn't quite finished when Kasumi called her down to
dinner, where everyone stared at each other while they ate.
Akane finished her meal rather quickly, then stood and looked at her father.
"I'm tired. I'm going to bed."
Soun looked as though he wanted to say something to Akane, but her expression prevented him from
opening his mouth.
Shortly after Akane departed, Ranma excused himself and went upstairs. Kasumi looked at him with
concern: Ranma appeared tired and somewhat depressed.
As soon as Ranma closed his door, he made a beeline for the window. Even though he was exhausted,
there was too much he had to work out in his mind. Way too much.
Hopping out, he quickly climbed to the roof.
*This,* he thought, as he sat down, *has to be the worst night of my life.*
*No trip to China. No cure. I've been ambushed, buried, tied up, insulted, drowned, almost blown
up and came very close to getting married.*
He instinctively made a fist in response to the next part.
*And every bit of it was for nothing.*
Ranma then smiled. *Well, almost nothing,* he thought, while images of his kiss with Akane ran
through his head. It was still good, even if it didn't count.
Sitting quietly for a few minutes, Ranma then turned his thoughts to their walk home and how it
ended.
"Does that mean you want to kiss me for real?" he remembered Akane asking.
If they hadn't been interrupted, he would have given her his answer.
"Yes," he found himself replying then, sighed.
*and I just missed my chance to tell her...again. This ALWAYS happens to us. Every time we start
to get close, I chicken out, or somebody gets in the way.*
A phrase came to Ranma's mind--"He who hesitates is lost."
Ranma couldn't believe it when that saying popped into his head. It was a piece of advice his
father had given him and to his surprise, it actually made sense. Perfect sense.
Ranma cast a glance at Akane's window.
*Her light's still on,* he thought. *No time like right now, I guess.*
He then got up and made his way to her window.
---------------
Akane sat at her desk, trying to read. She'd gone to bed, but had been unable to even close her
eyes, and had given it up as a waste of effort.
She hadn't read more than a page or two when she was startled by the sound of rapping on her
window. When she looked up, Ranma was hanging upside down from the gutter. Akane put down her
book and slid the window open.
"What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you, Akane. May I come in?"
"Okay."
She moved away from the desk, and allowed Ranma to climb in.
Once Ranma got inside, he was assailed by a wave of nervousness. Unable to even look at Akane, he
hung his head and twiddled his fingers.
Akane looked thoroughly confused. Then Ranma raised his eyes to hers with a look of determination
that almost frightened her.
"I never got to answer that question you asked me."
Akane couldn't say a word. She wasn't sure if she WANTED Ranma to answer her.
Before she could say anything, Ranma continued. "I do want to kiss you. You're the only girl I've
ever wanted to kiss."
Ranma placed his hand under Akane's chin and tilted her head upwards so quickly that Akane didn't
have time react. He moved in close to her mouth, then stopped. For a second, it looked like he was
going to back away. Then Ranma slowly brushed his lips against Akane's.
Any doubts Ranma may have had crumbled. He had no idea when his arms went around Akane, or hers
around him. All he did know was that it felt wonderful.
---------------
*What is he doing?* Akane thought as Ranma's lips met hers. *He's--* Then she realized what was
happening. *Our first kiss. Our first REAL kiss! And I like it* Instinctively, Akane wrapped
her arms around Ranma and returned the kiss. She felt a tear run down her cheek.
The faint sound of footsteps in the hallway made them pull apart. Akane saw the look of
contentment on Ranma's face, and couldn't ignore the warm feeling inside of her. She started to
smile, but stopped when she saw his face change.
Ranma put his hand to Akane's cheek, and wiped away the tear.
"A-Akane? Oh man! I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!"
*Hurt me?* she thought. Then she remembered the tears on her face.
"I-I'll leave you alone," he said as he started to go to the window.
"No! Don't go!" she almost shouted, then grabbed his arm. "You didn't hurt me, Ranma."
"Then why-?"
"I-I don't know," she replied, looking terribly unsure. "I'm just so confused."
Ranma reached out and caressed Akane's cheek. He left his hand there, and for a moment she
thought he would kiss her again. Then he withdrew it, leaving Akane feeling slightly
disappointed.
"So was I," he said. "Good night, Akane."
After that he turned around and opened the window, but before he climbed out he looked back at
her, smiled then spoke.
"Oh, by the way...that one counted."
As her fiance left, Akane sank down onto her bed, her hand to her lips.
*Yes,* she thought. *I guess it did.*
---------------
"These are nice," Nabiki said as she removed the last picture from the developing fluid. "And
this one looks..."
The middle Tendo daughter stopped when she examined it more closely.
*No way!* she thought, still staring at it. Then an evil smile spread across her lips.
"This," she said, "was worth the cost of the telephoto lens."
Taking great care, Nabiki clipped it up to the line with the other pictures then cleaned her
hands. Once she was finished, Nabiki started to walk to the door.
As she left her room, Nabiki looked at the photo and smirked. *Nice kiss,* she thought, *and no
tape on Ranma's mouth.* Then she smiled. *I'm gonna make some real money off of this! I can feel
it! Maybe I should make some phone calls and get the bidding started*
---------------
Ranma quietly crept into his bedroom window. The one thing he didn't want to do is disturb his
father, who was asleep on the futon and snoring loudly. It wasn't respect for his father that made
Ranma cautious, but fear that he would let slip what had happened between him and Akane.
The martial artist couldn't help but smile as he replayed the kiss in his mind. It had been almost
perfect. Except for what happened afterwards. Ranma nearly broke down when he saw Akane crying.
He was so sure that he'd hurt her, but Akane's reactions said otherwise.
The thing that had convinced him that Akane was sincere was the way she stood. No quivering rage.
No tensing to attack. Not even a hint of danger coming from her. Just confusion and...desire?
Ranma had never attempted to use his skills to figure out something like that. Then again, he had
never wanted or needed to use them like that either.
Ranma walked over to his futon, undressed rapidly, and lay down.
*Maybe if I had used them that way,* he thought as he stared at the ceiling, *I wouldn't have
Kodachi and Shampoo chasing me.*
Ranma frowned slightly at the thought of the other two women who wanted him. If things went the
way he wanted them to, neither one of them were going to be happy. He also knew that if the past
was any indication, neither of them would hesitate to attempt to "remove" their competition--
Akane. A hint of fear crept into him at the thought of Akane being hurt. The fear turned to
anger. Nobody hurt HIS girl.
He was so surprised at the thought that he sat up. *My girl? MY girl? Damn straight she's mine!*
Ranma lay down again and settled himself beneath the quilt. For the first time in months he felt
no confusion or doubt. He knew what he wanted. Now he had to figure out what to do about it.
---------------
*Our first kiss,* Akane thought as she lay in bed. She still felt the warmth from it, despite the
fact that it had happened a few hours ago. However, the kiss had brought up a problem her mind was
having a very hard time sorting out.
*But how do I feel about him?*
Letting out a sigh, she got out of bed and began to pace around the room. Casting a glance at her
desk, she thought about writing down what happened in her diary. She immediately dismissed it as
being too dangerous. While Akane had gone to great lengths to keep her diary a secret, she
suspected that Nabiki knew about it.
*And if my sister were to ever find out about this...* She shivered, and hugged herself.
*Why can't I figure this out?! * Akane thought as she resumed pacing the floor .* He's always
insulting me, makes fun of my cooking, constantly flirting with other girls...but that kiss.*
Akane stopped in front of her bed and sat down.
*No, it's more than that. It's the way he acted tonight. Also, what he said to me--that I'm the
only girl he ever wanted to kiss...*
Akane wiped a tear from her eye.
*Did he really mean it?*
Then she remembered what Ranma had done at the first rehearsal.
*He told Kuno not to touch me...but he refused to let Kuno tell him that he couldn't. Was he
thinking about kissing me back then? Or was this all part of a big plan so that he could steal a
kiss from me?*
*That's it! All of this was just some perverted plan of his to kiss me!* Akane's anger began to
build but it just as quickly left at her next thought. *Then why did he say he liked me after the
play?*
She stifled a yawn then shook her head.
*And if he is telling the truth...* she asked herself, just before she lay down and closed her
eyes, *how do I feel about him?*
---------------
Akane slept poorly that night. It also didn't straighten out any of the confusion she felt over
Ranma. The only thing she was able to figure out however, was how to treat him.
*I'm going to treat Ranma the same as I ever have,* she thought. *Except that I'll try not to hit
him if he does something stupid.*
With that settled in her mind, she went downstairs to breakfast. Ranma was already eating, and she
sat down beside him.
All of Akane's good intentions were swept away when Ranma grabbed her hand under the table and
squeezed it. She almost shouted in surprise but was able to hold it in--barely.
*Has he gone nuts?* she thought, casting a quick glance at everyone else at the table. *What if
one of them saw?*
Then she felt him let go of her hand. Akane took a quick glance at her fiance. He wasn't even
looking at her.
"Akane?"
Kasumi's voice was like a bolt of lightning to Akane. She immediately jumped up, causing the table
to shift around and most of the food to spill.
"Hey! My clothes!" Nabiki shouted. "They're ruined!"
Akane looked over at her sister. "I-I'm sorry, Nabiki!" she stammered. "Kasumi startled me."
Everyone at the table stared at her in disbelief, causing Akane to blush at the unwanted
attention.
"Well, she did!"
"Akane," Soun said, "are you all right?"
"Of course I'm all right! There's nothing wrong with me! Nothing at all! Nope, I'm fine!"
"Then why are you rambling on?" Nabiki asked as she tried to wipe some of the mess off her school
uniform.
"I AM NOT RAMBLING!" she shouted.
"Sure you're not."
Akane glared at her sister, then started to eat her breakfast.
*This is all Ranma's fault.*
However, even though it was, a small part of her didn't mind.
Ranma kept his hands to himself as Akane quickly finished her breakfast. However, she felt him
staring at her. She steadfastly refused to meet his eyes, afraid of what her reaction would be.
Nabiki hadn't even come back downstairs when she left for school. She was almost out the door when
she heard Ranma shout "Hey! wait up!"
Akane couldn't keep from blushing slightly at the sound of his voice. A part of her wanted to run
away as fast as she could. She also wanted to wait. The part of her that wanted to
wait won.
"You weren't thinking of leaving without me, were you?" asked Ranma.
Akane couldn't think of an answer.
"We almost always walk to school together! What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?! You scared me half to death with that stunt in there! What if our fathers had
seen it?"
"Stunt?" Ranma replied, his face a mask of confusion.
"You squeezed my hand!"
"So? You looked like you could use it," he said.
Akane was able to fight off the urge to throw her arms around him for being concerned about her.
"W-well give me some warning next time!"
"How am I supposed to do that? I can't tell you in front of everybody that I'm gonna squeeze your
hand!"
"Umm...but...ahhh. OHHH! YOU IDIOT!"
Akane then turned and stalked off toward school.
*Man, Pop was right,* Ranma thought as he watched her go. *There's no way to figure out women!*
---------------
*I can't believe I'm going to be late because of those two,* thought Nabiki as she checked herself
in the mirror. *What could have gotten into them? My sister klutzes out and Ranma doesn't even
breathe hard!*
Nabiki put the thought aside as she grabbed her books and took off for school as fast as she could
run. This problem needed some investigation--later. Later came more quickly than she expected
when Nabiki rounded a corner and nearly knocked Hikaru Gosunkugi
off his feet.
"Sorry! I didn't see you."
Gosunkuji just shrugged his shoulders. He looked a little more depressed than usual. Nabiki
started to walk away, but something made her turn around.
"Are you all right?"
"No."
He looked at the ground for a moment, and then directly at Nabiki.
"You really want to know?"
"Not real--" Nabiki started to reply, but he cut her off.
"M-my Akane is gone!"
*He's delusional,* Nabiki thought. *HIS Akane?*
"Damn that Saotome! He has won her heart!"
*Whoa,* she thought. *What in the world would make him think that?*
"Do you have any proof of this?"
"I...I was THERE! At the rehearsals! Ranma hit Kuno for hugging Akane, then said what he and his
fiancee do is their business!"
"He WHAT?"
Gos jumped like a scared rabbit, then began to cower.
"H-honest! He did s-say it!" Gosunkuji then gulped. "Please don't hurt me!" However, by the
time he looked back up at Nabiki she was already walking down the sidewalk.
Nabiki was analyzing this new piece of information. Ranma was actually calling Akane his fiancee
--something quite rare for him. He normally referred to her as "the tomboy", or something equally
insulting. Nabiki sighed in frustration.
*The photo isn't enough. I need more evidence if I'm going to make a profit out of this.*
As Nabiki continued to walk, her thoughts kept going to the photograph in her purse. A part of
her was glad she held off telling anyone about it. But that meant she would have to keep the
picture under wraps for now.
*Why would he say that?* she thought, *Was he just jerking Kuno-baby's chain or was it the truth?*
She pondered that question for a while, then smiled.
"I may not know what's going on yet, but I will!"
---------------
Akane wanted some peace and quiet so badly that she considered leaving school. She needed to
think, and thinking was impossible with all of her friends bothering her. It was even worse than
it had been before the play.
"Oh Akane! He kissed you! Tell me what it was like!"
"I told you it would be romantic if Ranma got the role. Why wouldn't you believe me?"
Those remarks and other similar ones had Akane close to the screaming point.
The only good thing about it was that Ranma seemed to be getting the same treatment from his
friends.
Finally, Akane decided she'd had enough.
"What goes on between Ranma and me is none of your business! Don't you have anything better to
do?"
The whole room fell silent as Akane's friends backed away. They didn't expect this kind of
reaction from her.
Unfortunately, she'd said it a little too loudly.
*Oh no!* Akane was about to explain what she meant when she saw Ranma staring at her from the
other end of the room. It was impossible for her to miss the look in his eyes. The same look of
affection he gave her at the play.
*Don't look at me like that!* she thought, trying desperately to gain control of her emotions.
*Darn it! I can't think clearly when you look at me like that!*
"AKANE TENDO!"
Silently thankful for the distraction, Akane, along with everyone else, turned to the source of
the shout. Standing on the windowsill was a woman. Her face and body was shrouded in a black
cloak.
"How dare you kiss my beloved Ranma's lips!"
"YOUR RANMA?!?!" Akane yelled back. The confusion she felt was instantly replaced by a growing
anger. *How dare she say that! He likes me!!*
The woman ignored her then threw off the cloak. It fell to the ground along with a bunch of black
rose petals. Kodachi Kuno, now in her usual leotard, glared at Akane.
"My poor Ranma. It must have been horrible having to kiss a lowly peasant such as you!"
Anger erupted within Akane. *How dare she call me that!* She was about to attack Kodachi when an
idea popped into her head. A very nasty idea.
*************
The other students could see her visibly shaking with rage. Most of them were already edging their
was out of the battle zone when they saw Akane stop and seem to relax. Strangely enough, she was
smiling. Even more strange was what she said.
"He didn't seem to think so."
Almost all the students looked at the now uncomfortable Ranma. He was about to say something when
they all heard Kodachi scream.
"DIE, HARLOT!" She leapt into the air and drew out her ribbon. The gymnast snapped the end out
and aimed it directly for Akane's face. Akane easily dodged the attack and began to move towards
her opponent.
Akane dodged Kodachi's ribbon and moved forward while continuing to avoid her opponent's attacks.
The other students had already moved out of the battlefield at the first sign of trouble,
something Akane was very grateful for.
The teacher was already long gone. He'd learned the hard way not to get himself involved in the
fights that broke out in the classroom. Besides, he'd just gotten the cast off his leg.
As the fight waged on, Akane noticed something. *Her attacks are sloppier than usual.* Kodachi's
expression told her why. *I've never seen anyone look so mad!*
Then Akane spotted the opening she wanted. *Time to end this.*
Kodachi screamed as Akane dodged another ribbon strike. *How DARE the little tramp say that!*
Leaping into the air, the head of the St. Hebereke gymnastics team lashed out aiming for her
opponent's head. *Well, let's see how smart mouthed she is when I cut that face of hers!* she
thought.
The ribbon's aim was perfect. It hit exactly at the spot it was supposed to. The problem was that
the target wasn't there. Kodachi realized she had another problem when she saw that Akane was
holding the end of the ribbon. Akane smiled evilly as she yanked
downward.
"Whaa..OOF?!?" was all Kodachi could say as she was pulled from her planned trajectory and sailed
right into a fist in the stomach. She doubled over onto the floor, trying desperately to get her
breath back. By the time she did, however, Kodachi had been tied up by her own ribbon.
The gymnast looked up to glare at Akane only to see Akane glaring at her.
"Now, I want to make something clear!" Akane said. "I didn't kiss Ranma! I put some tape on his
mouth and kissed that! And as for you..."
Kodachi saw her rival move towards her.
"What are you doing?"
"Taking out the trash!" Akane replied.
Before the gymnast could say anything more, Akane continued. "Oh, and one more thing... RANMA
ISN'T YOURS!"
In one motion, Akane picked up her opponent and punted her out the window. As Akane watched
Kodachi sail over the horizon, she couldn't help but feel good.
Then she realized what she'd just said.
*Oh no! What did I just SAY? What is everybody going to think?*
Akane had just begun to think of possible answers to that question when the bell rang for lunch.
She grabbed her bento and ran.
---------------
Ranma was amazed at what Akane said. *That's the first time she ever made a remark like that!* he
thought. *Did she really mean it?*
It was then that he realized something else. The way that she fought Kodachi wasn't normal for
her. It was very familiar, though.
*She fought her the way she fights with me!*
He'd never seen her do that before and it was rather strange.
"Ranma?"
"Huh?" he replied.
Hiroshi looked at him curiously.
"The lunch bell just rang. Didn't you hear it?"
"Hear what?"
"The lunch bell!" Hiroshi deadpanned. "Jeeze, you act like you'd never seen two women fighting
over you before!"
"Akane was fighting for me, wasn't she?"
"Sure looked like it," Ranma's friend replied. "Well, I'm going to lunch. You comin'?
*She fought for me,* Ranma thought. He was nearly in a state of shock.
*Does that mean she cares?* He didn't hear Hiroshi sigh then leave. At that instant, he wouldn't
have heard a 21 gun salute. Ranma just sat down at his desk, took out his bento and sat there
munching, his face thoughtful.
*She fought for me. She didn't fight WITH me--she fought FOR me! And she didn't blame me for it
afterwards.*
---------------
Kodachi finally reached the apex of her flight, and began to descend.
"I can't believe that Akane Tendo defeated me! I am a Kuno! This is not to be borne!"
Then she realized where she was about to land.
SPLASH!!!
Kodachi pulled herself out of the St. Hebereke swimming pool. Several of her classmates were
standing there.
Kodachi was so furious that she didn't even notice their presence. Instead, she continued
ranting. "Akane Tendo will pay dearly for this!" Her classmates merely shrugged their shoulders
and walked away. To them, this was business as usual at St. Hebereke's.
---------------
It took Akane a few minutes to calm down. She had run all the way from the classroom to a tree
that sat near the school boundary. When she got there, it took every once of willpower she had
not to keep running.
*How can I face them all after what I said?* she thought, *and why did I say it?*
She began to pace in front of the tree.
*I can't like that idiot! I mean, how could I ever trust him when he has all those women groping
at him?*
The thought hit her hard. *They were groping him. That's not right, is it?*
Her mind began to run through all the times she had caught Ranma with other women. In every case,
Ranma had never been the one doing the grabbing--whether the girl in question was Shampoo,
Kodachi, or someone else. They had all grabbed HIM.
Then, Akane heard Ranma's voice in her head, speaking words she'd heard hundreds of times before
and ignored.
"Would you get offa me? Let go!"
*Why was I blaming him?* she wondered.
Akane caught a small movement out of the corner of her eye. Spinning around, she immediately
assumed a combat stance.
"EEK! Don't hit me!" Yuka cried out.
"Yuka?!" Akane shouted. "What are you doing sneaking up on me like that?"
"I wasn't sneaking!" her classmate replied. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Kodachi
really got you upset, and I was worried."
The youngest Tendo daughter's emotions seem to drain out of her at Yuka's words. She slumped
against the tree as her friend looked on; however, she waved Yuka off when she tried to help her.
I'm all right," she lied. "Just a little tired."
Yuka nodded. "You look tired. Are you having trouble sleeping or something?"
"Um, yeah," replied Akane.
"Why? Did Ranma dump you?"
"NO!" Akane blurted out instantly.
Yuka stepped back at the force of her voice.
"Well if he didn't, then..." Yuka's eyes widened and she drew in a sharp breath. "Akane, just
how far did you let him go?"
"No! It's not like that! He just kissed me in my bedroom!"
Akane slapped her hand over her mouth but there was no way to take the words back. She stifled a
sob and slid down the trunk of the tree until she was sitting with her back against it, then hid
her face with her hands. Yuka sat down beside her and took her hand.
"What was Ranma doing in your bedroom? Did he hurt you?"
Akane pulled herself together. She shook her head violently and took in a couple of deep breaths.
"Let me start from the beginning."
Akane began to talk about everything that had happened since the first day Ranma had arrived in
Nerima. All of it. His curse. How they met. She left nothing out. It flowed out of her like a
torrent. As Akane continued to talk, it felt as though a weight was being lifted off her heart.
Yuka was overwhelmed. Akane was throwing so much information at her. Then Akane stopped to
catch her breath, and Yuka couldn't help but stare at her. *She's been through more than any of
us knew. Poor Akane!*
Yuka was trying to think of something to say when Akane suddenly started talking again.
"On the way home from the play we agreed that the kiss on stage wasn't real because it was part of
the play. I figured that was the end of it, but then Ranma came to my window and asked to talk to
me."
Akane paused, and started picking pieces of grass out of the ground.
"Then what?" prompted Yuka.
"He--he kissed me. But that's not all--it's what he SAID to me!"
"Oh WOW! That's great!" her friend responded.
"NO!"
The shout from Akane caught Yuka totally off guard. "Y-you mean you don't like him?" she asked.
"Yes! No! I...I...I don't know!" Akane cried, then put her head in her hands again. "Damn it!
Why can't I figure this out!"
Yuka put her arm around her friend in an effort to console her.
"It's okay, Akane. Don't cry. I don't blame you for being confused. If Ranma was MY fiance, I'd
be confused too."
"I can't figure him out! One minute he's nice to me, and the next he calls me names! He has all
these GIRLS hanging all over him, and he doesn't do anything about it! Yet he said that to me--"
Akane cut herself off short, and turned bright red.
"What DID he say?" prompted Yuka.
Akane's reply was a whisper.
"I already told you. He said I was the only girl he ever wanted to kiss."
Yuka looked at Akane for a moment as if she wanted to say something but wasn't sure if she should.
"W-what is it?" Akane asked.
"Is that when he kissed you?"
"Yes."
"How did it feel?"
Akane's expression went from confused to dreamy.
"Wonderful."
Yuka began to giggle. Akane just stared at her friend for a moment, and then discovered that it
was catching. Soon the both of them were lost in giggles.
After a minute or two Yuka calmed down, and hugged Akane.
"Feeling better now?"
"A little," Akane replied.
"I'm gonna tell you something," Yuka said. "It might help."
"I could use it," Akane said as the mirth on her face disappeared.
"I don't think you should be upset. I think you should be happy! You're always jealous of other
girls, and Ranma told you straight out that he wants YOU."
"I am NOT jealous!"
Yuka exploded into giggles again.
"Yeah, sure...and you don't like Ranma, right?"
"What do you mean I don't like Ranma? Of course I like him...eep!"
"Akane?"
Akane looked rather sheepish. "I do like him, don't I?"
"Well!" laughed Yuka. "It's about time you figured that one out!"
Akane ignored her friend as she ran the words through her mind. *I-like-Ranma!* Then she noticed
something. She didn't feel confused anymore. As a matter of fact, Akane hadn't felt this sure of
anything since Ranma had arrived in Nerima.
Then another thought came to her, one that brought a huge smile to her face. *And Ranma likes
me!*
"Hey, Akane?" Yuka asked. You okay?"
"Okay?" she replied, her face totally enveloped in a smile. "I've never been MORE okay in my
life!"
"Good! Now lets finish eating so we can get to gym!"
The girls rushed through their meals and got up. As Yuka took a step, she found herself
restrained by Akane.
"Do me a favor, Yuka?"
"What's that?"
"Can you keep this between us for now? I'm not sure if I'm ready for the whole world to find
out."
Yuka hugged Akane. "I won't say a word. You should know me better than that!"
---------------
At that moment in another part of the schoolyard, another
conversation was taking place.
"Are you sure?" Nabiki asked as she raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"I-it's just as I said, honest!" stuttered Keiko. "Your sister tied Kodachi Kuno up and told her
that she couldn't have Ranma!"
Keiko paused as if thinking, and continued.
"I think she also said something about Ranma's kissing her being no one's business but her
own...but that was before Kodachi showed up."
"S-she said that?"
Nabiki's head reeled from that information. *What has gotten into my little sister?*
"Thank you Keiko. Keep your eyes and ears open, and report to me if anything new develops."
As Keiko walked away, a thought occurred to Nabiki. She'd dismissed the same thought earlier but
now it didn't seem so ridiculous.
*Could my little sister actually be falling for that moron?*
She shook her head but couldn't get the feeling to go away
*No. It's too soon to believe that yet. I'm gonna have to keep digging until I'm sure. I don't
know...but if it is true, what do I do about it?*
Nabiki finished off her lunch with the idea still running through her head. Then she finally came
to a decision, and muttered "I may not know what's going on yet, but if my little sister and
Ranma think they can hide it from me they both are sadly mistaken."
Back in the empty classroom, Ranma sneezed.
---------------
Akane and Yuka had taken so much time talking and eating that they were among the last girls to
arrive in the locker room. Yuka turned the handle of her locker, pulled it open, and screamed.
She immediately became the center of attention, because a wrinkled old pervert had come flying out
of the locker and had attached himself to her chest.
"Happosai?" Akane yelled.
"Oh! So many young beauties, and so little time!" He then turned to Akane. "I'm sorry Akane,
but you will have to wait your turn. I'm rather busy now."
The girls grabbed anything that could be used as weapons--hockey sticks, baseball bats, tennis
rackets...one of the girls even had a javelin.
"Let's get him!" one of the other girls shouted.
"Oh my!" Happosai said at the sight of all the armed girls. "I just remembered another
appointment. Bye!"
The lecher then jumped out the door with the whole girls' gym class in hot pursuit. Akane was
leading the way.
---------------
Somewhere in Nerima, a lone traveler walked along the road, his head buried in a map.
"Now, let's see...which way is north?"
He shifted his backpack and sighed.
"Okay! I got it figured out! All I have to do is follow the map, then--no more curse!"
Images flooded the boy's mind. Images of him--a full man--with the love of his life, Akane Tendo,
in his arms. At their feet, his accursed foe Ranma Saotome begged for mercy.
His insane laughter made everyone near him flee in terror.
"Soon, Saotome," Ryoga Hibiki shouted, "I will finish you once and for all!"
Ryoga took another look at the map.
"North. It's north."
He looked at the sun, squinted, and headed south.
----------------------------------
To be continued
Special thanks to Gary Kleppe and Brad Crawford for prereading, and to Ronny Hedin and Don
Granberry for their assistance in editing!