No Other Way
cheeseball productions presents . . .
A soft blanket of drizzle nestled comfortably over Nerima. A effervescent halo of light was circumscribed around the gently beaming moon, casting a lucid light to the damp, dripping street. As a streetlamp lazily flickered to life, the light illuminated the culminating drops which happened to pass through the flickering light, bringing each drop to life. Through the thickening drops, the stars sparkled mischievously . . .
Ranma lay sprawled in a sleepy stupor on the sticky floor of the Tendo living room, absorbing as much heat as he could through the floor heaters. The night had progressed slow, painfully slow. Akane had provided the “painful” part, she always did. He listened as each drop that fell from the eaves became more ponderous and the slow droning of the drop hitting the floor was methodically increasing to a rapid pulse. Soon the individual drops couldn’t be distinguished, they all ran into one sound; the storm had begun. It increased his sleepiness and he fought to stay awake. He lazily shifted positions to rest his cheek and belly flat on the floor, his tightly braided pigtail jutted from the back of his head crazily in an arrogant flop, the tip of his tail tickling his neck.
Akane sat in the bathroom, steam rising from the tub she had just stepped out of. The room was tepid with the steam and Akane hurried to leave the bathroom. She rubbed herself dry with a towel and dressed quickly in a grey pleated skirt and a yellow collared shirt. She jerked on her knee length socks which stuck to her wet toes, running her hand along her leg to smooth out the wrinkles. Her hair fell softly on either side of her face, her bangs gently poking into her eyes. It was still damp from her recent bath so she gave it a few quick strokes with her brush to smooth out the clumps and brushed her teeth, and finished quickly spreading lotion on her face and hands. She took a quick look in the mirror, liking how her blue hair framed her ruddy face. She knew she wasn’t any sleeping beauty, but she would do. She stepped out into the hall, carefully and quietly closing the door behind her and proceeded to cautiously pad down the hall in her slippers which made a soft shoosh noise as the cloth of her red checked slipper slid against the sticky wooden planks.
Ranma heard the clattering of teeth and the dull thump of heavy feet on the floor above him. His sight wandered around the room slowly, from the ceiling where he admired the moths on the lamp, to the patio where he observed the dark stained wood, to the fuzzy black and white pictures adorning the walls until his eyes finally rested on Akane in the doorway. She had at first looked cheerful, but that slowly faded as she looked on at him in annoyance. Ranma was quickly puzzled, but when he looked to the koi pond, the recent events at the dinner table came crowding his memories. . . .
>>A hot steaming meal lay spread upon the table. Through the curling wisps of steam, the members of the Tendo family stared at each other blankly, stomach gently rumbling and saliva slowly collecting in their agape mouths. Kasumi had really outdone herself for the meal, everyone was only too prepared to eat and were only hindered by the observation that Akane and Kasumi weren't the table yet. Suddenly, Akane waltzed into the room with a triumphant happy glaze in her eyes, a steaming platter sat precariously in her hand which she held above her head like a waitress. The Tendo family and Saotomes waited tentatively as Akane slowly brought the dish to eye level and snatched up the cover with a flourish. The sight wasn't too pretty, mangled pieces of vegetable and odd clumps that looked suspiciously unlike meat, but the food at least retained a color similar to that of edible food, although it had looked like Akane had gone through a WWF royal rumble with the dish.
"Wah lah," Akane exclaimed, a smile dimpling her cheeks. Her dress was covered with food stains and her hair was rumpled, but all Ranma could see was her smile. Nevertheless, Ranma involuntarily gagged, his eyes swelling with tears. He could feel his impending doom as all the eyes in the room slowly rested on him, expecting him to do his duty. To taste the food first. Well, he wasn't just about to eat that toxin, although it looked more edible than usual. He did not feel like sudden death by poison tonight. He wanted to watch a new Kung-Fu movie on TV.
"Gahhhh, you don't expect me to put that nuclear waste in my mouth, do you?" Ranma exclaimed, once again shoving his foot in his mouth. *I'm never going to learn, am I?* Ranma asked himself as he blurted out something without thinking for the 158th time this month, according to Nabiki's careful count. He could feel Akane's acrid glare boring into him.
"What did you say?" Akane uttered slightly above a whisper. The room fell silent, all eyes on Ranma, waiting for that stupid comment that was bound to escape his parted lips and inevitably earn him a pounding from Akane.
"I would like to salvage what's left of my tastebuds, if you don't mind."
As usual, Ranma blurted something out, heedless of the consequences, but Akane, on the other hand, held her deleterious temper for once and instead clenched her teeth.
"Just taste it, I bet it's good. Eat it, eat it, please." Akane had started out in a fiery demand but ended in a desperate whisper with a quiet tear gathered in her eye unnoticed. She poked the plate under Ranma's nose, tears on the verge of spilling out onto her cheeks. No one knew how hard Akane tried, how hard she had tried to fix a decent meal for Ranma.
"Stupid girls, always crying... why does she have to bother me for?" Ranma imperceptibly muttered under his breath as he stretched out a shaking hand to dump a small portion of the food on his plate. He stabbed a piece of .. well, he couldn't quite tell what it was.. and hoped that maybe Akane had finally gotten acquired the skill of cooking. He could have just as well hoped that Shampoo would give up on him and go to China or Ukyo to don a pink frilled dress to cook in Australia.
He gulped, earning another nasty look from Akane, and leaned in his head for the kill... more like for the food to make its kill. He popped the morsel into his mouth with abandoned haste and chewed slowly . . . a slow smile spread on his face. "Wow, this is actually pretty ... AKKKKKKK!" Suddenly, the smile was wretched off his face and replaced by a miserable frown. His eyes started twitching violently as the taste of the food engulfed his taste buds. With no other last words, Ranma fell over with a thump, still twitching in galvanized pulses as the room began to pulse and his vision slowly dimmed to the friendly and familiar black of unconsciousness. >>
Akane had remembered what happened, too.
Tears finally broke from Akane's welling eyes and the hot streams trickled down her face. She clutched her apron to her face to hide her tears she promised that no one would ever see and ran upstairs in a wild torment of steps. Fourteen thuds with a creak accompanying the 13th thud and a slam that shook the house was all that they heard of her. For the rest of dinner.
Akane had failed again and she knew it. The realization that her cooking really was what Ranma had said, "toxic" was making her loose heart. She was one known to rarely to give up, but she was considering abandonment of trying to cultivate her cooking skills. What made it worse was that she was extra careful this time, conscientious of every ingredient she put in, of ever whisk of her unskilled hand. She would never be able to cook a decent meal for Ranma. Her body trembled in disappointment and the tears didn't slow until Akane had rocked herself into a light sleep, the trail of the dried tears encrusted on her blushing cheeks. . . .
She woke up, at first confused about where she was, but remembered the dinner incident. She had tried hard this time, really concentrated, but still, the dish had turned out a disaster. To make herself feel better, she had decided to take a bath, and contemplate Ranma's reaction. She knew that it wasn't his fault, but she also knew she would never apologize for making him taste her food. It was an endless cycle which would doom her and Ranma to their infinite amount of fights.
*Besides, it's kind of cute that he eats my food even though he knows and I know... everyone knows... that it won't be edible.* Akane idly thought. *What am I thinking!?! Ranma is a baka, right? Of course! Hehehe, it's always his fault.* Despite the protestations in her mind, Akane's resolve slowly started to melt as she couldn’t convince herself that all her problems were not, indeed, Ranma’s fault. *Face it Akane, you know you're the baka. You're just mad that you can never have Ranma. He could never like a violent tomboy like yourself, you never listen to him.* It was embarassing enough that she had been wrong and that another dish of hers was a fiasco, but she had to admit to herself that she loved Ranma and he would never love her back. *What am I thinking? HA! I don't love him, besides he would be better off with someone else. Someone who can cook, someone who is cute, like he says, someone who has a waist and a chest... anyone besides me.* A tear dropped and disappeared without a trace into the hot water of the furo. Akane mentally slapped herself out of her building depression *Stop being such a baby. Here you are, crying like a mushy girl feeling sorry for yourself.* The reality of the situation hit Akane as she stood up in the bath. She was determined to be nice to Ranma, he didn't deserve to be treated badly after his hard life. Even though she couldn't have him, she decided that she could at least help him build a better life. It was the right thing to do.
She clenched her chattering teeth when Ranma's lazy gaze looked up from where it had rested on the rippling koi pond. Her resolves made in the bath disappeared and she only felt annoyance again when she saw the bored look that hung in Ranma's eyes. She suppressed her extreme agitation and aggravation in complete resolve. Akane continued staring into the blue-grey sea that were Ranma's eyes and for once saw something in them that she had never seen before. Behind the bored and arrogant glaze there was a truly sad and resigned look which rested latently in the deep pools of his eyes. Again, Akane's resolution of trying to make Ranma's life better rose to her compassionate heart. The sadness and weariness sang to her heart, her heart ached for the pain that Ranma had to suffer through, her hard-heartedness had only added to the burden. She shook her head to clear the thoughts from her head and let a sweet smile like a ray of sunshine bloom across her face.
Ranma looked back at Akane, now aware why Akane was so annoyed. He knew he would be feeling the fury of her mallet by the end of the night. *Oh well* Ranma thought, resigned to his fate. The fate he had suffered almost every night, *what's a few more million times?* he thought wearily to himself. He patiently waited for the 159th time he would be at the mercy of Akane's anger and mallet. He knew he deserved it with all the awful things he was prone to say. He couldn't help it, she was the only person he could vent on. She was the only person who seemed to care enough to put up with his anger of the day, sure Ukyo was his best friend, but she expected him to be always be happy. With Akane, he could be himself more than he could be with anyone else. The problem was that all the anger of the day ended up being dumped onto Akane, and he was truly sad for that. Of course he never reacted well to his playful jabs, but it was routine that was well established in his life, and he could use more routines in his life, it was the only way to make sense of his life.
He kept waiting and waiting for Akane's mallet, but on next looking up, he simply saw Akane's face had changed completely. She looked intent on an objective, her eyes clear and focused. Ranma didn't mind in the last bit, he wasn't particularly excited about being punted, especially since it was raining. Besides, he had already had dozens of thorough tours of Nerima courtesy of air Akane. The next thing she said took him completely by surprise.
"You wanna come out to ice cream with me? I know it's raining and all, but I really feel like eating ice cream," Akane blurted out while waving yen in her hand in front of Ranma's face with a friendly smile on her tugging at her lips and her eyebrows raised in expectation. "My treat, " she added with a suppressed giggle.
*I hate the way he makes me act like a stupid girl in love, wait... I am a stupid girl in love. Ah, that's besides the point... what's taking him so long to respond? Grr, what am I to expect? I put myself out to ask him out, risk my pride, of course he's going to do something stupid to embarrass me or make me feel stupid,* Akane thought to herself.
Akane's smile slowly began to fade when she looked at the expression on Ranma's face. A look of pure bewildered and quizzical confusion rested on Ranma's face. His eyebrows were gathered together at his forehead as his mouth opened and closed like that of the mouth of a cod out of water. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why Akane was being so nice to him. He stood there for a full minute and a half, mouth agape and utterly silent.
Ranma could think only of one thing the whole time *What the heck?*
Akane, exasperated with his prolonged silence finally said, "Well?!" Her hand had balled into a small fist as her foot tapped nervously on the floor. Despite her resolution made in the bathroom and just 2 minutes before, her anger flooded her face, battling with her conscience. *He’s probably thinking of going out with Ukyo or Shampoo tonight, why would he want to take ME out? He can take out one of his CUTE fiances.* Her conscience was fighting a loosing battle as he face started to heat up and she could feel the wooden handle of the well used mallet beginning to flicker into existence in her hands.
Ranma woke up from his stupor and said the first thing that popped into his mind. "Uh, gee Akane, I don't really feel like going out. A hehe, especially since it is raining," Ranma drawled out with one hand rubbing the back of his head, his gaze returned to the koi pond. He hated water, ever since that pool of drowned girl at Jusenkyo. He dreaded the change every time it overtook his body. It made him feel so helpless, he couldn't control in those few moments, what was happening to his body. He hated not being able to do anything. "Besides, you'd enjoy probably enjoy eating ice-cream alone rather than with me," he added incoherently, speaking into his shirt.
Akane, in her anger, didn't even notice his mutterings. *Geez, try to be nice and he's still mean to me. It just proves how much he really despises being with me. I don't blame him, after all those times I called him a sex-changing freak, a pervert, bashed him into a fine powder . . . . but then again, all those times he called me a sexless tomboy, a kawaiikune ... grrrrrr ! Fine, I don't need him.* Akane bit her lip, blood seeping in her mouth from the force with which she bit down. She tried to control her anger for the second time that day, her eye still twitched violently.
"Oh, that's fine Ranma, I'll go by myself then, " she said in a carefully controlled voice. The tension made her voice quaver in anger and uncontainable fury. She quickly turned around and slid open the door, but not quite enough. She ran smack into the door giving off a loud “Thwack” as the door shook in the grooves and to her embarrassment, her face turned a bright red. She quickly began to put on her shoes, careful to hide her bright red face from Ranma. *OHHHHHH, I can't believe I did that! What a dope I am. Good one Akane, walk smack into the door, that's the way to impress a guy.* She knew he was laughing at her, his stupid clumsy iinazuke. Without thinking she dashed to the gate of the Tendo residence. With her hand on the knob of the door, she realized she forgot her jacket and her umbrella and she was freezing. She ignored the cold wind that blew up her legs leaving behind goosebumps and the ice cold drops that already soaked her arms. She knew she couldn't bear the embarrassment of returning back to the house to grab her things, Ranma was there and would probably make a snide comment. Any more humiliation in one night would break her down into tears and she promised herself she wouldn't let anyone see her cry. There was no way she was going to subject herself to humiliation anymore tonight. With that fleeting thought, she yanked open the door and quickly shuffled through the rain with abandon. Thick, heavy drops pelted her from the back of her head, and no matter how she walked, the wind continued to whisk stray drops into her face. She increased her speed as the night grew colder.
*Girls, who knows? One minute they're trying to kill you with toxic food not fit to bury dead monkeys with and the next they're asking you to take them out to ice cream. I don't think I will ever understand them.* Ranma sat indian style on the wooden floor, still staring at the koi pond. A deep sigh escaped Ranma's lips as he continued to contemplate the nature of girls. His mind threatened to leave him there until he shook his head, shaking away all the lingering thoughts as well. The Tendo residence was relatively quiet, with Nabiki lording over some poor debt-incurred prey, the two fathers out at an all night shogi tournament (otherwise a drinking party) and Kasumi returning a book to Tofu-san's. Ranma wondered just how many books Tofu had, probably an unlimited amount for Kasumi's sake Ranma thought with a smile on his lips.
All Ranma could hear was the shushing of the rain as it swept through the trees and the crickets creaking deep in the grass. He could smell the rain, the lovely smell he was once enraptured with before his acute hydrophobia had set in. It felt like the rain was cleaning the streets of Nerima with its fresh drops, washing away the grime of the day. Ranma turned his gaze to the door through which Akane had just hastily departed. Then he noticed the yellow umbrella and coat which were resting idly again the rack. *That stupid tomboy forgot to take her umbrella. She's gonna catch a cold.*
Ranma rolled his eyes and slowly hefted himself off the floor. *Jeez, look how nice I am. I'm gonna go out in the rain, yuck, and take her stupid umbrella to her. Why do I even bother with her?* Ranma felt he knew the answer to that question, but left it unanswered as he slipped on his shoes, grabbed the umbrella and carefully buttoned the top button to his blue long sleeved Chinese shirt. He proceeded to run through the streets of Nerima toward the ice cream shop, careful to avoid all puddles and blasts of cold wind. He skillfully leaped to the top of one of the rooftops in one graceful leap, careful not to loose his balance on the slippery surface of the tiles. The last thing he needed was to be turned into a girl tonight.
Akane arrived at the ice cream parlor with her hair soaking wet and her blouse sticking to her skin. She tried to wipe off water from her face and ring out her clothes at the door, but a large amount of water was left in her hair and her clothes were still soaking. *Humph! Stupid me, just running out of the house like that, but oh well, it was a nice walk, even though I am soaked.* Akane thought as she stared up at the menu of the ice cream parlor. *Hmmm, let's indulge! A hehe, no one will mind if I grow fat anyway, no one looks at me.* As Akane threated to slip back into self-demoralization and deep depression, another thought took over: *Yummy, ice cream!*
Akane ordered a banana split sundae with three scoops of icecream, whip cream, hot caramel, nuts, sprinkles, and a cherry. She sat down as the waitress brought up the huge sundae. She positioned her spoon with wide eyes and dug in while swinging her legs. *This is fun, I should do this more often. Too bad Ranma isn't here with me, I know how much he likes to eat. Hey! Stop thinking about Ranma all the time, who's the pervert now?* She thoughtfully twisted the spoon in her mouth, letting the ice cream melt under the gooey surface of the caramel while she wiped her fingers on a napkin. She continued to slowly eat the huge banana split sundae which began to dwindle under the wrath of Akane's spoon and stomach.
Soon, she was scraping the last of the caramel with her spoon on the bottom of the glass bowl with the stem of the cherry protruding from her puckered lips. She carelessly threw her spoon into the empty bowl, paid for the icecream and sauntered to the door. Akane stepped outside into the chill wind which she had forgotten about while she was inside the warm and bright interior of the ice cream parlor. The cheery ring of the bell on the door clanged dully behind her as a wind whipped around her ankles, causing her to shiver. She hunched her shoulders, pausing a moment under the eave of the bright shop looking out into the deserted street which was dimly lighted here and there with flickering street lamps. It was going to be a bleak and long walk home.
Ranma spotted Akane under the eaves of the icecream parlor staring out into the street with a lost look in her eyes. The look in her eyes frightened him, it was bewildered and looked like she was a caged animal. His heart reached out for hers, to comfort her in her time of need and pain, to wrap his arms around her and warm her chilled heart.
Ranma leaped to the roof of the ice cream parlor and leaped off in one graceful motion, making no sound except the imperceptible scuffle of his shoes against the wet sidewalk as he dropped down to the slick pavement. His nose was three inches away from Akane's hair, and the sweet smell of her shampoo mixed together with the clean smell of the rain filled his nostrils. For a moment, he was in heaven, basking in Akane’s gentle arms with her hair tickling his cheek as she was bent over him fixing his collar. He was awaken out of his reverie when he noticed her bare arms with goosebumps all over them and the muffled chattering of her teeth. He slapped himself back into reality and backed up a step and drawled out in a mocking tone, "Hey Akane, you forget something? Jeez, you're even stupider than I thought, you kawaiikune tomboy." All this was delivered with one hand pulling his eyelid down and the other casually hand dangling the yellow umbrella.
"Humph!" was all Akane could think of to say as she shot Ranma a cursory glance. She was silently grateful. She didn’t want to walk the whole way home in the cold wet and she was thankful for company, even if it was only Ranma’s. For some reason, she loathed to be alone tonight, but she would never admit it. Her pride got a hold of her and she flipped her hair arrogantly. She snatched up the umbrella and began to stalk off into the cold night rain without Ranma.
"Jeez Akane! Try and do something nice for a girl, what a macho tomboy," Ranma complained. As Akane shot him a glance harsh enough to make flowers wilt, Ranma's voice softened down. "Please Akane? I don't wanna be turned into a girl tonight. Could you please come back here with the umbrella?" Ranma softly pleaded, tugging on his pigtail. He looked sincere and truly offended that Akane would leave him in the rain.
*Humph! Look at that jerk! Well, he did come all this way just to bring me the umbrella. Fine, I'm going back, but he better not make fun of me anymore, or he’s going to regret ever opening his fool mouth.* Akane's eyebrows slowly unknit as her lips uncurled. The tension in her voice left and her shouldered were able to relax a bit. Akane tried her best to smirk, even though it inadvertently came out as a kawaii smile. She demanded in a light voice, "All right Ranma, but YOU are going to carry the umbrella." Her mock demand just made Akane cuter in her skirt and long socks, dangling the yellow umbrella handle in front of Ranma. She thrust the umbrella at Ranma and turned around waiting for him to start walking. As she was waiting, an uncontrolled shiver racked her body.
Akane and Ranma began to walk forward, Akane one step in front of Ranma, but still close enough to hear his heavy breathing and the slight warmth that his body gave off. In a sudden fit, the rain thickened and started to pelt the umbrella with increasing strength. Ranma let out a yelp of fear and crept closer to the middle, afraid that the water would trigger his unwanted change. Akane, who was already soaking wet, crept closer to the center to avoid getting splashed. She unwittingly brushed up against Ranma’s warm arm. A deep crimson settled over Akane's cheeks as she felt her head warm up, most acutely aware that Ranma was less than 4 inches away from her. Another drop landed on her elbow and sent another shiver down her spine. She rubbed her arms to try and get some warmth back into them, but to no avail. Her hands were like blocks of ice as she numbly rubbed them together. Suddenly, in one gallant movement, Ranma draped his blue Chinese shirt over her shoulders. It was still warm from Ranma's body heat.
"Thank you, Ran... ma...." Akane quietly said with her head down, startled at his predictable courteous gesture. He was always doing nice things for her, especially when it counted. Her face slowly turned a bright pink and she could feel her ears burning. She huddled inside his warm shirt, thankful for and embarrassed by the gesture. She fell into a silence as she broke off from her arrogant stride and began to walk side by side with Ranma.
"A heh heh, no problem Akane." Ranma said with his free hand scratching his head as a great big sweat drop formed on the back of his head. "Besides, your pop would kill me if you came home with a cold and all. I don't think I can stand facing his demon head again, and...."
"Yeah, I'd hate to see you get in trouble because of a stupid .. tomboy.... like..... me......, right?" Akane trailed off. She let out a laugh without any humour in it, only a deep oppressing sadness which even Ranma noticed. He looked at the hair curled behind her ear with a sadness as he wanted to snatch her up in an embrace, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Akane and he had just started off wrong from day one, and it would take a lot to smooth things along.
The two continued down the sidewalk in silence. Ranma shuffled along with his head down, watching intently for puddles and grannies cleaning the sidewalk while Akane sneaked looks beside her. Although she knew Ranma would never admit it, she knew he was cold and was surprised that Ranma had given up his shirt just for her, although she was not minding the view. She was reluctant of the sacrifice, not wanting to put him into any trouble he only took because he felt obligated to, but at the same time appreciated the warmth he gave up. She snatched glances to her side, hoping Ranma wouldn’t notice her staring at his body or the blush that crept up her nose. He was left in his form-hugging black tank top which showed off his perfectly toned muscles and lean arms. She couldn't stop looking at his flat stomach and powerful arms, veins wrapping in a serpentine trail along his wrists. As she felt the blush deepening, she tore her eyes away before he would notice her staring at him. *Ah heck, one more peek. He would never know* Akane desperately thought as she took another look at the sloping of his slim shoulders and how his long legs extended from his trim waist. She let out a sigh, hoping Ranma wouldn’t hear.
*Why does she keep staring at me?* thought Ranma, *just probably thinking something is wrong with how I dress, oh well.*
They finally reached the Tendo gates and Akane handed Ranma back his shirt as she ran into the house to take a hot bath and change out of her wet clothes. They didn’t exchange a word, only quiet incoherent murmurs that neither of them paid any attention to, busy in other thoughts. After Akane finished her hot bath and had changed into her favorite yellow pajamas, she hugged a warm blanket to her stomach. Her head was beginning to feel dizzy and her nose turned red as she sniffled. She padded softly around the house to find Ranma, and not finding him anywhere, went outside to the dojo. She was lonely and was desperate on finding any company that might come in handy.
There she spotted him doing complicated katas with intense concentration. She quietly slipped through the door and curled herself up into a corner of the dojo so as not disturb Ranma. She was sure Ranma didn't notice her sitting in the corner as she sat up to watch him. His eyes were intently focused and Akane could see his eyes were clear and for the second time today, she saw something that she had never noticed before. Behind the soft blue-grey glaze, she saw a gently shining light. *I'm glad Ranma can be happy at least sometimes during his hectic lifestyle. I'll have to make sure he more pleasant times . . .here* Akane's thought dwindled as she yawned and her head began to be filled with a unpenetratable fog. She found that she felt better when she lay down on the wooden floor of the dojo. She admired Ranma who had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the sleeves billowing out and ending in the white puff of his folded sleeve exposing his powerful forearm and well muscled hands. She observed the intent concentration set deeply in his eyes as she listened to the thud thud of Ranma's barefeet hitting the floor boards. Every movement was executed with a precision beautiful to behold, his movements flowed from one to another, indistinguishable where Ranma changed directions.
Sleepiness hit her like waves lapping upon a shore. She rested her ear against the floor boards, the sound of the gentle thuds of Ranma's feet as he unerringly glided through the kata droning pleasantly in her ear. Wave after wave of sleep washed over her weary mind, each time Akane desperately fighting to stay awake, but with a surrendering cough she was silently sleeping on the floor.
Ranma noticed Akane sneak into the dojo, who wouldn't notice such a clumsy girl as her pad into the dojo? He let her comfortable presence be pushed to the back of his mind as he completed his kata in a trance. When he had finished the last position, he let his body slowly relax and stood up straight. He whipped his head around to let his eyes rest on the sleeping form of Akane in the corner of the dojo. She had bunched the blanket up under her head and her knees were brought up towards her stomach. *Aww, she is kind of cute... well sometimes. When she isn't bashing me with her mallet that is, or trying to make me eat her horrible food, . . . or. . . okay, lets face it, these little moments make up for it. Well, I better wake her up to go to sleep.* Ranma sighed, * I don't really want to wake her up, she looks so peaceful. Besides, she did catch a cold from being out in the rain all night.* Ranma’s will surrendered to his heart as he tentatively tiptoed over to her side and without giving it a second thought, and scooped her up into his arms in one swift motion. Her warm body curled up in his arms as she grabbed his shirt in fistfuls. Her soft body melted into his, she felt so natural in his arms. He also noticed she wasn’t as waistless and chestless as he had always accused her. Hehe, but she was still definitely a tomboy. Her breath heaved with a rasp as she continued to slumber in ignorance.
A slight contented smile hovered on Ranma's lips as he bent his head over her so as to shield her from the rain outside. He dashed through the walkway to the house, dodging the stray drops which the poorly constructed eaves failed to protect him from. He was careful to keep himself from changing and made sure Akane would not awake from her gentle slumber as he danced nimbly through the night, pouncing from one floor board to another. He sneaked into the house while opening the door with his foot and quietly crept up the stairs, hopping over the 13th step to avoid the creak. Several steps later, Ranma was face to face with the duck nameplate which read "AKANE." He shifted Akane's weight to one arm, eliciting a slight mumble from her, to open her door and quietly made his way to her bed, leaving the lights off lest he should wake Akane up.
Ranma awkwardly tilted each one of Akane's legs to slide off the slipper on each one and placed her gently between the soft covers. He let her head rest gently on the soft down pillow and covered her up with the quilt. He tried to move himself up away from her but her delicate hand was still clinging to his shirt. He moved his fingers to unclasp them gently from his shirt, noticing now small and white her hand was compared to his rough and callused one.
He resisted the urge to move his hand to brush some of her hair out of her eyes and left his hand hanging in the air tentatively, waiting for something to occur, like it always did in his life. He could never enjoy a moment’s peace, there was always something to come and interrupt his rare moments of serenity. Her eyelashes fluttered on her cheek as she fitfully moved in her sleep. Ranma sighed in defeat. *She doesn’t want some sex changing pervert like me touching her. I don’t blame her for hating me and wishing that the engagement was never made in the first place. I know it was made by our fathers, but I can’t help thinking that there is a chance that we can make it work . . . but I can never face Akane until I am a man, a whole man.* Ranma silently cursed himself and dismissed his wistful thoughts as he continued to look at Akane. Her ragged breaths had calmed down into short puffs of air which was released over her slightly parted lips, shining in the dim moonlight. With a groan, she shifted positions on the bed, bringing her leg up close to her stomach and out of the covers, mangling the blanket with her hands as she let her head rest in the crook of her arm.
Ranma’s manhood was always a subject of great sensitivity for him. His inner emotions battled it out inside his head, he was struggling not to break down in sobs. Not in Akane’s room, never would he cry. He head vowed to himself to never let Akane see him cry, no matter what the circumstances. He was a man, a man ... a ... man. Ranma wasn’t too sure what he was anymore, he was seriously in self doubt. After all those times being called a sexless pervert, a freak, .... a girl, he had to wonder if all those things people said weren’t true. He thought about his life, what it was worth, how much he had accomplished, it didn’t add up to much in his mind. Still, his thoughts rampaged through Ranma’s mind, tearing him apart. Ranma clutched at his hair, grabbing it up in handfuls and tugging fretfully at it. Finally, he stopped, resigned in his fate and his curse. No, not quite resigned with it, to accept his curse was the same as accepting his womanhood, as accepting his defeat. He would never let anyone violate him of his manhood. It was the only thing he had left. . . . *Not the only thing . . . * Ranma’s mind wretched as he took another look at the slumbering Akane. Beads of sweat formed along his forehead, making his hands clammy. The sleeping form of Akane seemed to emit an irresistible wave of uncontrol from Ranma, drawing him closer and closer, bit by bit.
He neared closer to the bed, hovering over her face. He could now observe the rise and fall of her chest as the once again ragged breaths left her lungs. In a moment, thousands of thoughts rushed Ranma’s mind. How many times he had needlessly made fun of Akane, how many times he had ignored her pain, he had caused her pain, and it caused a sharp regret and recrimination that stabbed past the armour to Ranma’s well protected heart. A quiet tear coursed down Ranma’s face clinging tentatively for a second to his chin and with a tremble from Ranma’s body, it dropped through the air to land on Akane’s cheek. What Ranma noticed was that the tear was not alone. On Akane’s cheek, little rivulets had been made from the many tears which emerged from Akane’s squeezed closed eyes. Her once dry eyelashes were wet with tears, magnifying their soft lushness. Ranma’s tear of bitter recrimination mingled with Akane’s gentle tears of pity and remorse, mixing to become one flowing stream cascading down Akane’s wet cheeks.
The drop from Ranma’s eyes had traced a burning path across Akane’s cheek as she awoke from her disconcerted slumber. A sob wracked her body as she let her fingers wander to her face, tracing the path she had felt the trail of fire on her cheek. She felt the deep sadness which had painfully squeezed out the pain from Ranma and her heart crumbled in pity. The gentle beams of the moon shined silently on the young couple as Akane’s eyes fluttered open and she craned her neck up to see the silent form of Ranma, standing as if he were waiting for his sentence at the guillotine.
She could see the trail of wetness the tear had left behind on Ranma’s face but on looking up, Ranma hastily wiped it away with his sleeve quick to build up his wall of stone once again, but Akane could sense a chink.
Perhaps it was the moon, perhaps it was the time of day, perhaps it was just the culminating moment that the two had waited and anticipated so long for, but each saw a pathway into each other’s soul and for a breif moment shared one soul. With a sudden movement, Ranma was sunken into the deep folds of the soft bed underneath Akane while she sat in his lap, burying her head into the soft silk of his shirt which covered the hard muscle of his chest. Her hands snaked around his back, clasping together so as if she were afraid to let him slip away. With her face nestled into his shirt, she could hear the racing beating which was his heart and felt the sadness which caused Ranma to slump in defeat. Ranma was surprised at his own audacity, and a momentary panic filled him as he realized just what his situation was, but relaxed when Akane made no movement to retrieve her mallet from hammer space but lay comfortably snuggled up in his chest. With a sigh, Ranma moved his hands to Akane’s head, ruffling her hair and finally tilting her head up to look into her eyes. As he gazed into the two abysses of chocolate that were Akane’s eyes, his heart quickened in rapture.
Akane knew Ranma was too gentlemanly, or rather too much of a chicken to initiate anything. She was surprised that he had even had the temerity to hold her in his lap. She was enjoying every moment of it, afraid to let go, afraid to let Ranma slip on his mask again. She couldn’t let this ethereal moment pass without making it something for her and Ranma to remember. Subconsciously, she let her eyelids flutter close teasingly and puckered her lips ever so slightly. She was hoping that perhaps Ranma would take the hint.
Ranma was just getting comfortable holding Akane’s soft face in his rough hands, careful not to mar her delicate skin. Her shiny blue-black hair cascaded over her brow and hung right above her eyes. Her eyelids slowly closed and Ranma noticed her slightly pucker her lips, only slightly. A panic filled Ranma’s whole being like an electric bolt, his arms tensed up, but he was careful not to clench Akane’s face too tightly. He asked himself a question *Dare I do it?* He was asking himself this question, admiring Akane’s soft pink lips which seemed to invite him, and he slowly relaxed. He was about to lower his head and meet Akane half way when Akane’s small hands grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and she tackled him in a kiss. His lips were like liquid fire and melded like one with hers.
Both had awaited for this moment for such a long time, none of the others counted. The kiss when Ranma was in neko-style or when they had been doing Romeo and Juliet. Ranma discovered a new pasttime that perhaps rivaled his love of martial arts. The kiss didn’t last for very long, but both cherished the breif moments of contact. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
Akane ducked her head in embarassment, finding refuge in the blue folds of Ranma’s shirt once again. She lifted her fingertips to her lips, unconsciously, she could still feel the fire Ranma’s had left there, imprinted on her lips and soul alike. She could feel a deep scarlet rushing up her face and making her ears burn. *Jeez, looks like I’m doing all the work. I would think a pervert womanizer like him could take all the hints and do it right. Looks like I over estimated Ranma, that’s a first.* She chuckled to herself lightly, her laughs muffled by Ranma’s shirt.
There was only one thing going around in Ranma’s mind for the first few minutes after the kiss had broken apart. *WOW* He smirked, maybe his fiance wasn’t such a gorilla tomboy as he had thought. In fact, she was looking remarkably, irresistably cute at this moment, her small head bowed over into his chest, her small hands twisting the back of his shirt into knots. He could see the blush creeping over her face despite the dark, but it was unrivaled by the burning fire which had swept over his face. He looked like a lobster with a pigtail.
They sat together in comfortable silence, neither wanting to end the moment and slowly the stars appeared outside Akane’s window, one by one. The rain had slowed to a drizzle again and Ranma didn’t want to keep Akane up. He softly whispered “Hey” into Akane’s ear but she didnt’ stir. As he gently lifted her head from his lap where it had been resting for the last fifteen minutes or so, he felt her soft breath leaving her mouth in a gentle snore. “Kawaiikune tomboy,” Ranma whispered with a smirk on his face.
“Ranma . . . no... Baka....,” Akane mumbled in her sleep. Ranma fell off the bed with a loud thump and wrinkled his nose up as he peered up at the still sleeping Akane from the floor. He leapt to the window sill, leaving without a trace except a slight russle from the curtains. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Ranma whispered to the dimly sparkling stars as he vaulted onto the roof and ran swiftly through the night to his room.
fin
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