Martial Arts Marriage Ceremony
Another Ranma 1/ 2 Story by Michelle Thatcher
Legal and intro stuff: This is a new project that I may or
may not take any further. These characters are not mine.
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Ranma was discouraged.
It wasn't that he didn't like the uncute tomboy. It
wasn't that at all. He really did like her. Of course, it
had taken her almost dying and their almost getting married
to make him realize it.
Funny how their almost wedding had galvanized his
resolve in a way that their ordeal at Jyusendo had not.
Deity, but she had looked good in that dress!
That moment more than any other had helped him to
banish the "Keep Akane at arms length" reflex back to the
frightening and dark reaches of his primal insecurity. He
knew now that more than anything else, he wanted her to be
happy. He wanted to be with her. He had realized it when
he'd seen the almost hidden disappointment in her eyes when
her father had announced his decision to postpone the
wedding. The funny thing was, that he, too, had been
disappointed. He wouldn't have admitted it at the time, but
he had been surprised at how strongly that disappointment
had gnawed at his heart.
He didn't want to wait any longer. He wanted to get
married. He wanted to marry Akane. He wanted to do it now.
That was the root of his discouragement.
He was pretty sure that Akane would go along with it.
He hadn't had the courage to talk to her about it yet, but
after all this time, he thought that he actually understood
what she'd been trying to show him all along. What her
anger and her jealousy and her desire to cook him a decent
meal and her little glimpses of shyness and embarrassment
really meant.
She kinda sorta maybe liked him too.
She had as much as admitted it when they'd talked
before they *didn't* get married. She'd said that she was
willing to go through with it because he'd said that he
loved her.
Of course, like an idiot, he'd denied saying anything
of the sort and pushed her away again, justly incurring her
sometimes-unjust wrath. But the point was still valid. She
(for reasons he couldn't fathom) *liked* him. Maybe...
maybe even... maybe even loved him.
The thought was electrifying. The thought was
thrilling and wonderful and terrifying all at once.
Akane would go along with the wedding. He was pretty
sure that that wouldn't be a problem once he got up the
courage and the brain function to speak sincerely and
intelligently with her about it. She wasn't the problem.
The problem was everyone else.
He wasn't *quite* naive enough to believe that all the
people who had descended like a plague of locusts to destroy
his first wedding attempt would be on their best behavior
for a second one. Chances were good that they'd still be
quite upset by the prospect of losing him or Akane (or both
in the bizarre case of a certain Kendoist) once and for all.
And chances were even better that they'd, once again, try to
do something about it.
Of course, he'd never been able to prove that Mousse,
or Ryoga, or Happosai had acted deliberately to sabotage the
event, but he wasn't throwing out all his suspicions just
yet either. The girls on the other hand... Well, it just
hadn't been pretty.
He had two choices:
One: he could give up on the idea of getting married
anytime soon and try to wait out his problems. This had the
advantage of not hurting anybody too badly, at least not as
badly as they would be hurt by being told "You're not the
one that I love." It also had the disadvantage of
uncertainty. Chances were good that he'd be waiting until
he and Akane were both old and grey.
Two: he could find a way to:
A. Tell Akane how he felt
B. Ask her to marry him
C. Actually pull off a wedding ceremony without
either one of them being kidnaped /killed /drugged
/hypnotized and without allowing "things" to get so out of
hand that the whole thing would once again be called off.
Neither prospect seemed very good to him.
Wallowing in his discouragement wasn't helping any
either. He needed to do something to keep his mind occupied
with something else for a while. All he could think of was
homework. _Might as well._ he thought. _It can only
*improve* my mood._
He was knee deep in the tangles of algebra when there
was a knock at on his door frame. He looked up to see
Nabiki leaning through it. "This came for you." she said,
holding a letter towards him.
"Come in." he said, holding out his hand to take it.
Curious, she stood next to him as he pulled it out of
the envelope. The yen signs in her eyes were *almost* but
not quite invisible as she saw the characters on the outside
fold. "Challenge" they said proudly. She made between
thirty and forty thousand yen on a typical fight involving
Ranma. More if she had advanced notice.
Ranma sighed loudly. Not just a little sigh, or a
"Here we go again" sigh, but a real, honest to goodness,
unhappy, almost depressed sigh. Nabiki frowned. That
wasn't normal. He usually just shrugged at challenges and
met them head on. What was getting him down? She didn't
want him off during a fight. It would make the outcome too
unpredictable. She bit her lip and calculated.
"Who's it from?" she finally asked.
"Mousse."
"What does he want?"
Ranma looked down at the letter unenthusiastically.
"He wants to kill me for dishonoring his lovely Shampoo."
The flatness of his tone scared her. This could be
*very* bad for business. "So what are you going to do?"
He looked up at her apathetically. "Beat him up I
guess."
"But you don't really want to?"
"'Course not. I got nothin' against Mousse. Not
really."
This was not the Ranma she knew. Where was his care-
free enthusiasm? Where was his arrogance and fire? She
studied him for a moment. Maybe it was just his situation.
Mousse was a nice enough sort. Just a little dense at
times. For that reason alone he and Ranma should be the
best of friends. They had a lot in common. "You know what
your problem is?"
Ranma's lips tightened. He knew exactly what his
problem... No, his *problems* were. He didn't need Nabiki
trying to capitalize off yet *another* fight that he wished
would never happen. "Yeah." He said. "I'm a cold,
thoughtless, money grubber who cares more about yen than I
do about my friends or my pride." he dead panned. "No wait.
That's *your* problem." He looked back down at the letter
testily.
"Why is that a problem?" Nabiki asked, her eyes wide
and innocent. Then she sobered, the money suddenly seeming
less important to seeing Ranma's confident grin again. "All
kidding aside, Ranma-kun, I don't like seeing you this
unhappy. Let me give you some friendly advice. Your
problem is that you just don't understand people." She put
a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Think of it kind of like-"
she paused, trying to think of a metaphor that would help
Ranma grasp this concept. There was only one thing that
would work for sure.
"Think of it kind of like martial arts. In a battle,
you have to know your enemy. You have to get inside his
skin; guess what he's thinking. Learning his strengths and
weaknesses isn't enough. You've got to understand his
motivation so that you can guess what he's going to do next,
and why, and how he'll respond to what you do."
She leaned a little closer for emphasis. "If you
understood what motivates Mousse, then you might find a way
to make friends with him. All you've got to do is help him
see that you two have common interests."
Suddenly Ranma was intrigued. "Common interests?" He
asked.
"Look it up in the dictionary." she said as she headed
for the door.
"Hey Nabiki," he called after her.
"Hmm?" she turned her head to look at him and he
smiled.
"Thanks. That's good advice."
Nabiki smiled back. "Always glad to serve." She held
out her hand. "That'll be five-hundred yen."
***
Ranma scowled at the dictionary.
He was pretty sure that he knew what "common" meant.
He didn't think Nabiki meant to say that his "interests"
were "coarse or crude" or that they were "of the usual kind;
ordinary." He was pretty sure that she meant the "belonging
equally to each or all" kind of common.
"Interests" was another matter. Did she mean "a
feeling of wanting to know or learn" or did she mean "what
is good for one"? He and Mousse weren't interested in many
of the same things. Martial arts and cures for Jusenkyo
curses were about it. That couldn't be what she'd meant.
That left the good for one answer, but it didn't make a
lot of sense to him. What could possibly be good for both
him *and* Mousse? Mostly Mousse wanted to marry Shampoo, so
he was mad at Ranma because... Because Shampoo was in love
with him. _That's it!_ Ranma realized. Mousse wanted
Shampoo to stay away from him. He wanted the same thing.
This was worthy of further thought.
Nabiki was right. This was just like a battle. He had
to figure out how he could make Mousse work *for* him
instead of *against* him.
But could Mousse be reasoned with?
There was only one way to find out. Ranma stood up and
walked towards the front door.
"Ranma?" Akane's cheerful voice froze him in place.
He turned to look at her where she stood at the base of
the stairs. He smiled a little, lost in her deep brown
eyes. Would he ever be able to show her how he felt?
"Are you going somewhere, Ranma?"
Ranma did a "deer caught in the headlights" kind of
blink. If he told her that he was going to the Nekohanten,
she'd assume the worst. _Quick, say something you idiot.
She's gonna get mad in a second_. "I'm going to the
Nekohanten."
"Oh really?" she asked coldly, as Ranma mentally
slapped himself in the forehead. "And what will you be
doing there"
_Nothing for it now._ "I need to talk to Mousse."
"*Mousse*?! You're going to talk to *Mousse*?!"
Ranma nodded. "Uh-hu." He said eloquently, leaving his
mouth hanging open for a few seconds afterward. _Why does
she have this effect on me?_
_Great._ he thought. _Akane and I are going to have
another fight._ Could all the thinking that he'd been doing
about how not to fight with Mousse help him now? He'd
decided to look at it like battle tactics. That was it. He
might be able to stop putting his foot in his mouth if he
tried to respond to her as if this were a battle. A battle
of words. _Think, man._
Akane's lips formed a tight, thin line. Her fists
clenched and Ranma could almost hear her teeth grinding.
Suddenly, he had an inspiration. "Do you wanna come too?"
he asked, as innocently as he could. His hand went to the
back of his neck and he smiled up at her nervously. _I sure
hope this works._
"You're *such* a stup... What did you say?"
Ranma smiled for real this time. "Come with me."
The effect this request had on her was somewhat similar
to what happens to a snowman when you point your industrial
hair dryer at it, and put it on high. The sharp lines in
her face softened, and eventually settled into a nice,
almost dreamy smile. "I... I mean, I'd like to, but...
Kasumi... and laundry... helping, and..."
_So I'm not the only one who gets a little tongue tied.
That's nice to know._ "Okay. I'll be back in time for
dinner." He wanted to touch her as he walked by. Maybe
take her hand, or brush her arm, but habit won out, and he
stepped clear of her carefully as he continued his journey
to the door.
***
_There she goes._ Ranma watched Shampoo pedal away as
he sat on the roof across the street. It was time to make
his move. He wanted to be on his way home before she got
back from her delivery. He jumped to the sidewalk and
crossed to the doorway quickly, ignoring the stares and the
pointing of the other pedestrians.
There weren't very many customers in the ramen shop.
That was probably good. He chose a table, and waited for
Mousse to get to him.
It didn't take long for the myopic waiter to come to
his table. He was halfway through the specials when Ranma
cut him off. "Mousse, we need to talk."
Adjusting his glasses, Mousse took another look at his
customer. "Oh, it's you Saotome. If you think that you can
change my mind, then you're wasting your time. I'm going to
kill you and free Shampoo once and for all."
"That's what I wanna talk to you about. Freein'
Shampoo. Is there any way that she can forget about me and
go home? Does she really hafta marry me before she can ever
return to your village?"
Mousses face clouded over with rage. "How *dare* you
taunt me?! I will make you suffer, Saotome! This I swear
on-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just answer the question. What
would it take to get Shampoo to forget about me?"
"If only she would forget you, you enemy of women!
When we fight next week, then she'll be able to go home.
She won't be expected to marry a dead man!"
"Sure. Whatever. Just one more question. Shampoo's
crazy about me. What makes you think that killin' me will
get you on'er good side? Aint it more likely that she'll
hate you for it, or even try'n kill you? Are you sure
you've thought this through enough?"
"What else am I supposed to do!?"
"I dunno. I'm sure not the expert on love, but if you
let me, I wanna help you get Shampoo to like you."
Mousse looked suspicious. "Why are you being nice to
me?"
"'Cause I think you and me both want the same thing:
for Shampoo to leave me alone. I'll level with you. I
kinda like... I mean, I really wanna... You know, I'm
really in l- l-" _Great. Akane ain't even here and I'm
chokin' on my tongue._ It was time to regroup. "I got
nothin' against Shampoo, but I don't wanna marry her. If
you wanna marry her, then I'll help, 'cause that way she
won't be feedin' me any more hypnosis mushrooms or nothin'.
I wanna get her to like you."
"Oh? And just how are you going to do *that*?"
"I got a couple of ideas. What if you beat her up?"
"And what good would that do?"
"Well duh? She wants to marry me because I beat her.
If you beat her, won't she have to marry you? I've seen
that dumb law book of yours. She has to marry a male who
beats her."
Mousse snorted. "You obviously weren't paying
attention. The law doesn't say that she has to marry any
male who beats her, it says she has to marry any *outsider*
male who beats her. Within the tribe, any male who attacks
a female is punished."
There went plan A. "Well, what if I got married? If I
was married to Ak- If I was to marry Ak- If I married
somebody else, would Shampoo still be after me?"
Mousse smirked. Obviously Ranma didn't need to draw
him a diagram. He was thinking about it, though, and that
was all that mattered. "Hmm. *If* you could pull off a
wedding without Shampoo or anyone else interfering, she
might still come after you, but only if she decided that
you'd come back to her if she could prove that she was the
better wife for you. That would mean that she would
challenge Ak- I mean, the girl you married to a fight. I
don't think that's what you want."
"No, of course not."
"Still, marrying... someone else would go a long way
towards showing her that you're really not interested.
Sooner or later though, the two of them would have to
fight."
That didn't sound good. The thought of putting Akane
in danger made him feel sick inside. Of course, he'd try to
always be there to protect her, but he was only human.
Maybe he should offer to train with her regularly. Just in
case. Hopefully they'd be able to reason with Shampoo, and
it wouldn't come to a fight, but the extra training couldn't
hurt anything, and it would give him a chance to spend more
time with her.
"Listen, can we talk tonight? Sometime when you're
not working?"
Mousse looked intent for a moment. "You're really
serious about this, aren't you?"
"Dead serious."
"Alright. I'll come to the dojo when I get off. I'll
give you this one chance, but if this doesn't work, you will
fight me. Is that understood?"
Ranma grinned. He resisted the urge to comment on what
he thought Mousse's chances of winning such a fight were.
He wanted an ally in him, after all. "Perfectly. I'll see
you then."
***
"*What* did you say Ranma-kun?"
The red and embarrassed face that Nabiki was staring at
suddenly changed from flustered and mortified to flustered
and irritated. It seemed to be saying: "Don't make me say
it again. The first time nearly killed me."
Ranma had decided that Mousse's help would be great,
but doubted that it would really be enough. He needed
Nabiki's help as well, and he wouldn't turn up his nose at
any other allies who came along. Still, asking her for it
had been the hardest thing that he'd ever done.
Nabiki smirked. "Let me see if I've got this straight.
You want..."
Ranma nodded.
"my help..."
Another nod.
"to marry Akane."
The third nod had some spirit to it and was accompanied
by a sound that would have been a "Yes." if Ranma's mouth
had been open.
Fighting down another smirk, she raised an eyebrow.
"You," she said smugly "are obviously a man who recognizes
talent when he sees it. I think we can arrange something.
And if I help you with this, you'll do what for me?"
_Battle tactics._ Ranma reminded himself for what would
not be the last time. "Two things."
"Do tell."
"First, I make your sister as happy as I possibly can."
Nabiki's eyebrow arched just a bit higher. It was
mostly affected. The truth was that she was quite glad to
hear that he was taking this seriously, and suspected that
Akane would be as well. Still, she had a reputation to
maintain. "And?"
"And second, I don't beat the tar out of you for
inviting everyone to the last wedding and letting them break
it up."
_Touche'_ she thought, but didn't say it. The truth
was that her reasons for spoiling the last wedding had been
deep and complex, and only partly monetary. The gift checks
had been a nice bonus, but the idea of Ranma and Akane
married at sixteen without resolving their differences had
genuinely frightened her. She couldn't have stood by and
let that happen. Looking at Ranma now, however, and seeing
the determination and sincerity in his face, she wondered if
she had made a mistake. She smiled. "You drive a hard
bargain."
He smiled back, but his eyes were cautious. "Is it a
deal then?"
"Deal. What do you want me to do?"
***
"Where is Akane-san?" Mousse asked suspiciously as he
knelt between Ranma and Nabiki on the floor of the dojo.
"Akane is doing homework at a friend's house." Nabiki
said loftily. "She doesn't know about this, and it would
be... unwise for us to involve her at this time."
Mousse stared at her for a moment in disbelief, then
looked at his rival. Ranma frowned a little, but nodded,
trusting Nabiki's instincts. Mousse sat next to him.
"Let's begin, shall we?"
As the meeting progressed, Ranma was more and more glad
that he'd asked for Nabiki's help. Her pleasant and
business-like voice put things on an impersonal level that
kept both he and Mousse focussed. Without her, he suspected
that the discussion would have quickly degenerated into a
brawl. Ranma was still unable to tell Mousse what his real
motivation was, but Nabiki had no such reservations. Her
bluntness completely embarrassed Ranma all over again, his
face turning several colors not normally found in nature
during her little presentation. Still, it was for the best.
If he had tried to explain the plan to Mousse himself,
they'd have been there all night even if they didn't come to
blows.
"That's our goal." Nabiki concluded. "Mousse, once
Ranma and Akane are blissfully married, it should be easy
for the three of us to find a way to make the girl of your
dreams fall into your arms. Any questions?"
"Yes." Mousse said, his head still spinning from the
briefing. "How are we going to do it?"
Nabiki smiled. "I have a few ideas."
"Hmph. Where have I heard that before." Mousse said
under his breath, then out loud he said "Go on."
"First and foremost, we've got to get Romeo over here
to talk to Akane. This isn't going to work without her
help. Ranma believes that she wants to marry him, but he
can't stop saying stupid things and setting off that temper
of hers. He's kind of thick headed that way."
"Hey!"
"Are you denying it, Ranma-kun."
Ranma looked sheepish. "No."
"I didn't think so. You obviously need help. Tomorrow
on the way to school might be a good place for you to start.
Try your hardest to avoid ticking her off, then talk to her
once you're away from the house. You said that you wanted
to ask her to start training with you. Ask her then."
Ranma smiled. This was a good idea. His smile faded.
"Just one problem. Whenever I try to talk to her, one of
the others always shows up. That's about the time that she
hits me, or pushes me into the canal or something."
"Ranma Ranma Ranma. You're over simplifying. It's the
timing that's important here. Ukyou usually makes goo-goo
eyes at you at school, then comes on to you when class gets
out. Kodachi usually waits until you're inside the gate at
Furinkan. The only girl who ever really attacks you on the
*way* to school is Shampoo. If we can keep *her* away from
you for one morning, then there would be only one thing that
could mess up this plan."
"And what's that?"
"Why, your big mouth, of course."
Ranma glared, but didn't say anything.
Nabiki smiled sweetly. "Try not to make her mad, okay
Ranma-kun."
"Okay. But what about Shampoo?"
"Leave her to me." said Mousse.
***
For once, they weren't late. Ranma had been up on
time, and he hadn't stalled or complained or fought with
her, which meant that they'd actually left the house at a
decent time. It was nice to be able to walk to school at a
leisurely pace for a change. Ranma's balance didn't seem to
be as good at this slower pace. A few of his steps seemed
to be unsure as he walked on the fence beside her. Akane
was in a good mood. She vowed to herself that she wasn't
going to let anything spoil it.
"Hey Akane?" Ranma said softly.
"Yes?"
"Um, do you think that... Would you like to start,
and, I mean, I think that we should, if you want to, and-"
"What is it, Ranma?" She smiled, but she was starting
to get suspicious. What did he want now? She reminded
herself that it hadn't even been a minute since she'd
resolved not to let anything spoil her mood. Anything
included Ranma. _Give him a chance to speak._ A part of
her mind said. _Last night he surprised you. He may
again._
Ranma stopped, did a basic layout, and landed next to
her. He put a hand on her shoulder so she had to stop
walking. She fought the annoyance again as she turned to
face him. _*Good* mood. *Good* mood. *Good* mood._ she
reminded herself.
"Akane," he looked into her eyes for a moment, losing
himself once again in their depths. That dreamy smile was
tugging at his lips again, but he forced it down, deciding
that, if he was going to speak intelligibly, he couldn't
look at her. With an effort, he pulled his eyes and
thoughts away from her face, focusing on the ground instead.
_Battle tactics. Battle tactics._ "I'd like to start
training with you. Everyday." There, he'd said it. Now
how was she going to react? She'd either like the idea, or
think that he was saying she was no good, and pound him.
Still not daring to look at her face, he watched her hands.
They were starting to clench, which probably meant that he
was going to be reintroduced to her fist soon. Maybe he
should cover his butt a little. "I think that we could help
each other improve a lot."
She was silent, but the fists that had been forming
slowly disappeared. When the quiet finally got to him, he
looked up again. She seemed quite shocked. Her eyes were
wide. He frowned a little. "If you don't want to, then-"
"No! I mean... Um," her hands started fidgeting. "I
mean I'd love to train with you."
He smiled. "Really?"
"Yes. I'd like to spend more time with... and, you
know, improve." It was her turn to look down, but she was
smiling.
"Let's start today after school. Okay?"
She nodded quickly and started to turn away. Ranma
tightened his grip on her shoulder. "Akane?"
"Y-yes."
He waited until she met his eyes. "Thanks." That
goofy grin was starting again. This time he didn't try to
hide it. Suddenly he felt shy and unsure again. "You won't
regret it." _Am I brave enough? I don't wanna lose this
chance to show her._ He reached down and touched the back
of her hand. She breathed in very sharply at the contact,
taken completely off guard. This just made Ranma more
nervous, but he really did want to move in the right
direction with her. It wouldn't be the first time they'd
held hands, just the first time they'd done so in public.
Akane froze as that darned wonderful feeling washed
over her. Why did it feel so good when he touched her of
his own free will. A tap on the back of the head when they
were sparring, the way he'd carried her sometimes, and best
of all, holding his hand in the forest that day. It was so
wonderful and so rare, and now, suddenly, on this beautiful
morning on the way to school, his fingertips were sliding
slowly, gently down the back of her hand. She held her
breath, hoping. _Just a little lower. A little more.
Please let it be true._
When he reached the ends of her fingers, he hesitated
for a moment, scared and excited and praying silently to any
gods that were listening, and then curled his fingers
lightly around hers and began moving up her palm. He wasn't
sure at exactly which moment they were officially holding
hands, but through the whole process, she didn't get angry
or pull away. And then it was done. He smiled down at her
for a moment, enjoying the feeling of her small hand in his,
then began to walk her to school.
***
Nabiki's room was her sanctuary. The war rooms and
council halls of the world's leading nations had not seen
the birth of as many plans as Nabiki's room had. Some of
the greatest schemes in history had been conceived within
its four walls.
Today, she lay stretched out on her bed, contemplating
her latest and greatest challenge. So many angles. So many
potentially lethal pitfalls.
She was having the time of her life.
It was a very interesting game of pick-up sticks. One
wrong move and the entire structure would come tumbling
down. Figuratively speaking, that is.
Downstairs a door slammed, and her younger sister's
angelic voice ripped through the house. "YOU ARE *SUCH* A
JERK!"
"Aw c'mon Akane, I didn't do nothin'." was the answer.
"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, RANMA!"
For a moment there was silence, and then Ranma's voice
also rose, more hurt than angry, but trying to hide it with
greater volume. "FINE!"
Nabiki could hear him stomping off towards the dojo to
work out his frustration. She wondered what had gone wrong.
Not that she couldn't have made a few good guesses.
As she continued to listen from the safety of her bed,
she heard Akane moving as well. Her footsteps were quiet as
she went into the kitchen. Without opening the squeaky
refrigerator or any of the cupboards, she turned back around
and walked through all of the bottom floor. _Sorry little
sis. Kasumi's not home._ Nabiki thought as she continued to
listen. When Akane didn't find what, or rather who, she was
looking for, she walked slowly up the stairs, opened the
door to Kasumi's room, closed it again, and then looked in
every other room upstairs before finally coming to knock on
Nabiki's door.
"Come in."
Akane had calmed down considerably since coming in the
house. She looked almost meek as she came in and sat down
on the bed next to her older sister. "Nabiki, can I talk to
you?"
Nabiki smiled. "What is it?"
"It's Ranma." she said with a grimace.
The smile broadened. "What about him?"
Swinging her feet as much as the bed allowed her to,
and paying very close attention to her fingernails, Akane
tried to explain herself. "He's just been acting so...
weird."
"Weird how?"
The foot swinging sped up a little. It was accompanied
by a slight blush. "Sometimes it's just... I mean he's
just so... " she sighed. "He's been acting so weird."
"You said that."
Akane growled a little, more frustrated than angry.
How to say it? Her feet sped up again until Nabiki could
hear them tapping against the frame through the bedding.
Any harder and she might damage something. "I don't know.
It's just that sometimes he's so... so... *nice* lately."
"And that's a problem?"
Still blushing, Akane thought about that. "No!" She
gestured violently with her hands as if that would enlighten
her sister to what she meant. "It's just so... weird."
Grinning on only one side of her face, Nabiki regarded
her. She couldn't have asked for a better opportunity to
move things along. She wondered whether it would be better
to encourage her to really think about her own feelings, or
just subtly guide her toward an outburst. She had an evil
thought. Putting on her best serious face, she made her
move. "So when you say 'nice' what do you mean exactly. Is
he buying you flowers or jewelry?"
"No."
"Has he offered to carry your books or confessed his
undying love?"
"No."
"Has he recited poetry, sent you love letters, or held
your hand?"
Akane went into hyperblush mode, gritted her teeth, and
stopped swinging her feet in favor of studying her slippers
as if expecting to find some new kind of life form growing
on them.
To say that Nabiki was startled would have been an
understatement. She stared at Akane in unbelief. "He *did*
didn't he?!"
It took Akane a few moments, but she managed to nod
once.
_Way to go Ranma! I didn't think he had it in him._
"What happened? I want details."
After a few minutes of deep breathing, Akane was able
to explain the events of that morning on the way to school.
She was a little irritated by the smug look on Nabiki's
face, but didn't show it. She had a lot on her mind.
"That sounds nice." Supplied Nabiki helpfully. "So
what happened when you got to school?"
Akane fidgeted. "I'm not sure. Someone called to me,
and I'm not sure if I dropped his hand or if he dropped
mine, but all of a sudden I was really embarrassed. I don't
think anyone from school saw, though." She sighed again.
"I was pretty... okay with it, but then he was flirting with
Ukyou in class, and I got mad. You know how he's *such* a
pervert. Then after school, she came up to him and he was
being way too nice to her again. *Honestly*! It makes me
so mad the way he keeps all those girls around all the
time."
_Oh yes. I'm sure he was all over her._ "So you got
mad at him?"
"Yes!" Akane shouted as if outraged that Nabiki could
doubt that fact for a second. "The stupid pervert! And
after what he did this morning... I ought to..."
She made a wringing motion with her hands and scrunched
up her face.
"So are you mad because he held your hand this morning,
or are you mad because he's still on speaking terms with
Ukyou?"
"Neither. I just..."
Nabiki waited.
"I just don't see why he can't make up his mind."
"Have you made up your mind?"
"Because if he'd just make up his mind, then I could...
What did you say?"
Nabiki smiled, then sat up next to her sister on the
bed. "Have you..." She pointed to Akane. "made up..."
She was making an important point and exaggerated the fact
by speaking very slowly. "your mind?"
"About Ranma?"
"Yes."
Trembling, Akane closed her eyes. *Had* she made up her
mind?
Not really expecting an answer, Nabiki gave her sister
a few moments, then said "You know, you've got to give Ranma
a little credit. He's got no shortage of possible female
companions, but have you ever seen him *really* come on to
any other girl? Has he ever held anyone *else's* hand? He
could have taken advantage of his situation with Shampoo, or
with Ukyou. He probably could have done a lot worse."
She paused for effect. She knew that her next
observation would make Akane angry, but it was a truth that
needed to be spoken. "You", she said solemnly "are too hard
on him."
Akane fumed. How dare Nabiki suggest such a thing.
"How can you side with that pervert?"
"I'm not siding with anyone. I'm just stating the
facts as I see them. Even though you've publicly denounced
Ranma as your fiance time and time again, he's still loyal
to you. Even though you call each other names, and you get
violent with him at the slightest provocation, he hasn't
tried to get out of his engagement to you for several months
now. And now, you say he held your hand on the way to
school." She slid a little closer to the still seething
Akane and put an arm around her shoulder. "Honestly, sis,
can't you see that he's trying to find out how you feel
about him? You complain that he's insensitive and then you
turn around and miss every signal that he sends your way.
You shouldn't ignore too many more of them, because he's
just not capable of sending out any bigger ones, and it may
be a long time before he gets the courage to hold your hand
again."
She turned Akane towards her and looked into her eyes.
"He may wait forever, but then again, he may not."
Her anger effectively melted, Akane stared back at her
older sister. "What should I do?" she asked, wide eyed and
a little frightened.
A lightbulb went on in Nabiki's head. A big one. She
almost didn't manage to suppress the evil grin that was
tugging at her lips.
She shrugged innocently. "I don't know."
Akane looked disappointed. "You don't have any ideas
at all?"
"None. If it was anyone else, I'd just tell them to go
and talk to him, try to let him know how they really felt,
but I don't think that's a good idea for you."
Stunned almost failed to describe the look on Akane's
face. "Why not?"
"Isn't it obvious, Akane?" Nabiki shook her head a
little, almost like she was disappointed that her sister
could be so dense. "When was the last time you talked
honestly about your feelings with *anybody*? You just don't
have the patience. Or the depth. I mean, have you even
admitted to *yourself* how you really feel about Ranma?
There's no *way* you'll be able to tell him the truth."
Glaring, Akane protested. "Yes I can! I can tell him
if I want to!"
"Nope. I'm sorry, sis, but I just don't think it's in
you."
"It is *too*! I'll tell him! Just you watch!"
"Oh really?"
"Yeah."
Folding her arms across her chest, Nabiki looked
skeptically at her visitor. "I don't believe it." she said.
"I'll bet you can't even tell me. I'll bet you five hundred
yen that you can't tell me the truth right now."
Akane blinked. Then she blinked again.
"Okay." she whispered weakly.
Nabiki waited.
Swallowing, Akane crossed and uncrossed her legs. She
looked at her palms, then wiped them on her uniform skirt.
She cleaned some dirt from under her fingernail.
"Well?" Nabiki prompted.
"Well, the truth is that..."
"Yes?"
"I really... I really... don't... hate Ranma as much
as I say I do."
An arched eyebrow later, Nabiki said "And?"
"And... the truth is that I really kind of like him."
"And?"
"And... I hope that he'll hold my hand again sometime."
"Because?"
"Because it feels really good."
"Because?"
"Because... I... really..."
Akane's voice trailed off. When it didn't trail back
on again, Nabiki decided to send out a Boy Scout to find it
and get it *back* to the trail.
"I knew it." she smirked. "Hand over the money."
Anger and frustration crinkled Akane's face. Her fists
clenched and she turned bright red.
"I LOVE HIM!!! ALRIGHT?!?!? I'M CRAZY ABOUT HIM!!!
IT MAKES ME *INSANE* WHEN ANOTHER GIRL GETS CLOSE TO HIM!!!
I *HATE* IT WHEN HE'S AROUND UKYOU OR SHAMPOO BECAUSE *THEY*
CAN TELL HIM THE TRUTH AND I *CAN'T!!! IT MAKES ME WANT TO
SCREAM!!!"
Nabiki leaned back. The strength of Akane's pent up
emotions surprising her. She smiled, flabbergasted.
_I'll put this on your tab, Ranma._ she thought. Then
she pulled some money out of her pocket and handed it to
Akane who stared at it as if she didn't know what it was.
"Okay sis, you win." She stood and pointed towards the
door. "Now go tell *him* that."
It took Akane a few moments to recover. She stared at
Nabiki, then shook her head, confused. She stood up slowly
and made her way to the door.
"Oh, and Akane?"
"Hmm?"
"Try not to get angry at him. Okay?"
Nodding, Akane walked out into the hall, still a little
dazed, and went to her room to think and to change her
clothes.
***
Ch. 5
Saying the words
"I'm here, Nabiki-san." Mousse panted, recovering from
the dead run that had brought him here.
"You got the time off work?"
"I'm only part time. Remember?"
Nabiki nodded. She looked around to make sure that
they were alone. "Okay. Ranma is in the dojo. Akane will
be joining him there in moments. If all goes well, they're
going to have a nice little heart to heart. We have to make
sure that they're not interrupted." She pointed to the back
yard. "I'm going to make sure that no one goes in through
the door. It's your job to make sure that no one goes in
through the walls. You go around to the back."
Nodding, Mousse turned to go.
"And make sure Akane doesn't see you."
***
The remains of the heavy duty punching bag that her
father had hung only a week ago were the first things that
Akane noticed as she walked into the dojo. Sand and ragged
pieces of thick black vinyl lay on the floor below the
lonely looking chain. Someone had really done a number on
it. Someone with a lot of adrenaline.
His eyes closed tightly and his muscles tense, Ranma
sat in a corner in a meditation position. The expression on
his sweat-covered face made Akane doubt that he had been
able to clear his mind. She sighed and walked over to him.
"Ranma."
There was no answer.
"Ranma?"
He still didn't answer. In fact, there was no change
at all. He didn't even breathe differently. Something was
definitely on his mind.
Guilt washed over Akane. She closed her eyes and tried
to calm her pounding heart. He'd deserved it, hadn't he.
Ukyou had *hugged* him. She'd been right to be angry at him
for that. Hadn't she?
Hadn't she?
She knelt next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Ranma?" she said quietly.
Ranma's eyes opened as his mind pulled reluctantly away
from the thoughts he'd been thinking. He turned slowly to
look at her. He blinked, his eyes taking longer to focus
than usual. It was Akane. Was it his imagination or did
she look worried. And why was she wearing her gi at this
time of day?
She smiled nervously.
_I'm imagining things._ Ranma thought. _My mind is
going._
"Hey." Akane said. "Aren't we going to train?"
Ranma blinkblinked. "What?" he said intelligently.
"Training." she said. "We were going to spar.
Remember?"
"Umm... Right." His eyes closed again as he tried to
gather his wits and stuff them back into his head. He
wanted to talk to her, so he was going to need them.
"We need to talk." said Akane, and she sat down next to
him.
His wits jumped back out of his head and scattered on
the floor. He looked at her and blinked again. "Okay."
There was silence for a few moments. Ranma stared at
Akane and Akane stared at the floor.
_She's the one who said she wanted to talk._ he thought
in irritation. Then he realized that wasn't really fair.
_I wanted to talk to her too._ He reminded himself.
"Akane... I'm..." he put a hand on her shoulder.
"sorry."
Looking up at him in wonder, Akane turned. "Sorry for
what?" she asked quietly.
"Sorry..." Ranma closed his eyes. "for..." every muscle
in his body tensed as if he expected to be hit
"whateverIdidthatmadeyoumad!"
The silence returned and brought friends.
When no blows or angry words came his way, Ranma slowly
relaxed and opened his eyes. Akane was looking at him
strangely. "Oh." she said.
After a moment, she turned putting her back against the
wall and stared towards the center of the dojo. Where were
all the words that she'd planned to say? What had happened
to all those important things that she needed to tell him?
She was very confused.
_What's the matter Akane?_ a nasty voice somewhere in
her mind taunted. It sounded suspiciously like Nabiki. _I
knew you didn't have the patience or the depth. I knew
you'd never be able to tell him the truth._
Anger began to build in Akane. She wasn't sure exactly
what she was mad about or why, but she was mad. She just
knew that something was going wrong, and she didn't seem to
have the power to stop it. She was about to explode, to
pick a convenient target and start attacking, when something
stopped her.
_"Oh, and Akane? Try not to get angry at him. Okay?"_
It was still Nabiki's voice, but it was different this time.
It wasn't nasty or condescending, but soft, and sincere.
That's what she'd said after their discussion. How had she
known to say that?
Was this how she always behaved?
With a sinking certainty, she realized that it was.
Nabiki had been right about a lot of things. Most
importantly, now that the pattern of love to nervousness to
fear to anger had become clear in her own mind, she knew
that she really had been too hard on Ranma. Nabiki was
certainly right about that. Too hard in so many ways.
_She's sure been quiet for a long time._ thought Ranma.
He looked at her and noticed how tight her face was. _Uh-oh.
I hope she's not still mad at me._
He wondered what else he could say to appease her anger
if it surfaced again. When he couldn't think of anything,
panic began to rise.
And then, something changed. Her expression softened
to sadness, and then to something that on anyone else might
have been regret. Even guilt.
This was quickly replaced by a more familiar
expression; determination. After a second or two of
deliberating, she made her decision. _If he can do it, so
can I._ In a rapid gesture, she grabbed Ranma's hand,
pulled it into her lap and held it tightly.
Ranma's wits (which he had just succeeded in collecting
again) decided that they'd had enough and left for a nice
relaxing vacation.
She grit her teeth for a moment, willing the words to
come back to her. Perhaps a few warm-up confessions would
help. She'd waited too long already. There had been so
many times when one or the other of them had almost given up
for good. By simple laws of averages, things couldn't stay
the way they'd been forever.
She had to tell him now. If she didn't, who knew what
would happen? Today in her sister's room, she'd said the
word out loud to herself for the first time. She'd finally
called it what it was. She'd called it love.
And if she didn't say it to Ranma now, she might never
get another chance.
"I'm... I'm sorry too Ranma." she said.
Ranma sighed. There they were again. Those feelings.
"Oh. Well... it's okay Akane." He smiled a little,
wondering what he could say next. "I know that I... that
I'm a jerk sometimes."
Akane's eyes closed. "Yes." she said. "And
sometimes..." she put her other hand on his cheek.
"Sometimes you're very sweet."
_Wow._ Though Ranma. Then he realized (to his horror)
that he was grinning like a maniac. At the same time, he
found himself completely incapable of any speech. Akane
seemed to sense this, and took it as a sign that it was her
turn to do the talking.
"It's really hard for me. I mean, boys. No boys have
ever treated me like a real person before." She looked down
again, and traced a line on his hand with one finger. "I
don't know why they all liked me, but they never just talked
to me or asked me out. They were always too scared, so they
just followed me around or tried to fight me." She looked
up into his eyes. "I always dreamed about being in love. I
thought it would have to be someone very mature. All the
guys my own age just acted so strangely."
Her eyes began to water a little. "I was lonely. All
I ever wanted was somebody who'd enjoy being with me without
being weird about it. Somebody who'd look at me and smile
once in a while like there was nothing in the world that
he'd rather see. Somebody that would watch out for me and
help me when I needed it. Someone that I could do the same
for. That's always been my idea of perfect love, but I've
been so scared. So scared that it wouldn't ever be like
that, I almost didn't see it. I almost didn't realize that
it was you. That everything I ever wanted, you've already
given me."
"Akane, I-"
"No. Let me finish." Akane's eyes closed, and she
gripped his hand a little tighter. "It was so much easier
to fight. To be angry and offended so that I wouldn't have
to admit that I'd treated you badly. I couldn't see beyond
my own fear that it'd be like all the other times and all
the other boys if you ever decided you liked me. It was so
much easier just to be that uncute tomboy. To push you away
so that it'd never turn into another Kuno or Gosenkugi
thing."
"You've tried so hard these last few months. At the
Weaver Festival, and this morning, and..." _Come on, Akane.
You've come this far._ "I've been really unfair to you.
That's how new all of this is to me. I was scared and
unsure. But I realize now that I'm not as afraid of being
honest with you as I am of losing you."
As she paused to gather her thoughts, Ranma slowly
pulled his hand out of hers, and put his arm around her
shoulder. She was openly weeping now, quietly and
copiously, the tracks of tears shining on her face. _She's
never been so beautiful._ he thought, wishing that he could
speak, to comfort or encourage her. His chest tightened
from seeing her like this and from thinking of the words
that now hung between them in the air. He pulled her to him
as he wondered which of them would be the first to say them
and if they'd be interrupted like they always seemed to be.
Her arm went around his waist and she clung to him
desperately, thinking similar thoughts.
For all her brave self talk and determination, Akane
now found herself tongue-tied. She reached for his free
hand again, and he gave it to her silently. They sat that
way for long moments.
Finally, Ranma spoke. "I aint so good at this stuff
either." he said. "Whaddo I know about girls? Nothin'.
But I know that I... I know that I care very deeply for
you. I know that I want you to be happy. I don't know if
*I* can make you happy, but I'd like to try... if you'll let
me. But you have to trust me, Akane. Can you do that? Can
you trust me?"
Akane looked up at him and smiled. She didn't know how
many times she'd dreamed of a moment like this. All she
could do was nod and hold him closer. She saw the tender
look on his face and tried to memorize it, thinking briefly
that the memory could easily keep her warm for a thousand
winter's nights. For now, though, it gave her the final
push she needed. The words came to her, not like a clap of
thunder, but like a soft breeze.
"I love you Ranma."
"Oh Akane." he whispered, and pulled her head down into
his chest so that she wouldn't see if he started to cry. "I
love you too.
***
Floating a foot or two above the ground, Ranma made his
way to his room. He wanted a few minutes alone think about
what had happened.
Fate had other ideas, and so did Nabiki.
"So, how'd it go?" she asked casually from where she
sat on his floor. Mousse, who lay next to her merely
groaned and twitched a little.
"What happened to him?" Ranma asked, concerned.
"Oh, he'll be fine in a little while." she said,
dismissing Ranma's worries with the wave of a hand. "He
just got caught in the crossfire." She pointed to a couple
of boxes sitting beside her. "These came for you."
Ranma stared mutely at the ramen and okinomiyaki
containers and wondered what Nabiki wasn't telling him.
***
Ch. 6
The Opposition
Something was up. Ukyou was certain of it. Ranma and
Akane had been much too friendly on the way to school. They
had actually held hands! They probably thought that no one
had noticed, but Ukyou had noticed. She noticed everything.
She'd tried all day to get close to him, to see if she
could find out what was going on, or at least take the
opportunity to show him how cute she was. As usual, though,
he'd responded to her friendliness, but not to her romantic
advances.
He could be so dense sometimes.
Her attempts at school hadn't gone completely
unrewarded. The look of rage on Akane's face when she'd
given him that hug had been priceless. Of course, Akane had
started in on him as they'd begun to walk home. That had
been good enough for the moment. Surely Ranchan would
eventually see what a shrew that uncute fiance of his was.
Ukyou had gone straight home and made him something
special. It was really an excuse to go by and lend him a
sympathetic ear. She'd planned to ask a few leading
questions, get him to go off on his favorite topic (how
unfeminine Akane was) again, and then butter him up a
little. Depending on his state of mind, she had anticipated
being able to talk him into a walk or a date even.
Of course, when she'd gotten there, Nabiki had told her
that Ranma wasn't home. She'd been about to do a little
snooping when that Chinese hussy had shown up. The one
person Ukyou just couldn't tolerate was Shampoo. It was
quite apparent that the feeling was mutual.
She felt a touch of regret for letting Shampoo taunt
her into fighting. It wouldn't have happened if she hadn't
already been itching for a fight. It had been a very long
day, and beating on Shampoo a little had been good for her
soul.
Too bad about Mousse, though. She'd always felt rather
sorry for that boy. Still, if he was blind enough to have
feelings for that slippery, deceptive little cat girl, then
he deserved what he got.
It wasn't that Ukyou was above a little deception every
now and then, but at least her motives were pure.
More or less.
She sighed heavily. Something had to be up. As much
as she hated to admit it, she might need Shampoo's help.
Ranma was keeping something from her. She just knew it.
She was going to have to do something about it.
***
"So far, so good." said Nabiki, trying harder than
usual to keep up her all business demeanor. She was
thrilled from head to toe that things had gone well in the
dojo. She hoped to get another chance to talk to Akane
soon. If she didn't miss her guess, her little sister would
be glowing like a Christmas tree about now.
"It's your decision, of course, Ranma-kun but I think
that you should keep your plans a secret from Akane and the
others for now. I sounded Daddy out a little this
afternoon. When I mentioned 'Ranma', 'Akane', and 'wedding'
all in the same sentance, he got this hunted look in his
eyes and started whimpering. I couldn't get another word
out of him for an hour. He hasn't quite gotten over the
last one."
"We can't do this alone." said Ranma, slightly
distressed. "No priest or official is gonna marry a couple
of teen-agers without an adult's say so."
"Yes, but it doesn't have to be daddy. There's your
parents too. I don't know how helpful uncle would be, but
what about your mother?"
Ranma frowned in concentration. All this rational
thinking stuff was new to him. "I'll talk to her about it,
but as much's I hate to admit it, I'm not sure what she'll
think about it. I mean, she might not think that it's
strictly honorable sneakin' around like this. I'm never
sure how Mom's gonna feel about somethin'. You're right
about dad, though. We shouldn't tell him a thing. His
intentions are good... usually, but he can't keep a secret."
Nabiki's eyes glinted evily. "Oh, I think that you
should tell him everything. Starting with..."
***
"What you want, spatula girl?"
"The same thing you want. To make sure that Ranma and
Akane get along just well enough to keep her from killing
him and no better. Something is going on between those two,
and I need your help to stop it."
"You too suspicious."
"Am I now? Did you see Ranma this morning?"
"No... Shampoo busy with..."
"Shampoo busy with what?"
"Big order come in. Shampoo work all morning. When go
to deliver, is wrong address. Spend much time looking for
customer. Shampoo very angry. No can meet Ranma before he
go to school. Very strange."
"Yeah, well *I* saw him. He and Akane were *HOLDING
HANDS*! Whatever's going on we have to stop *now*!"
"Why Shampoo help? Why Shampoo believe stupid spatula
girl?"
"Are you *listening* to me, cat girl? Ranma and Akane
are *up* to something! If we don't do something *now*,
we're both going to loose him. Is that what you want?"
"Last time Shampoo and spatula girl try break up
husband and violent girl, husband very angry."
"You'd rather have had him happily married to Akane
than a little annoyed with you?"
"No... but not like make husband angry."
"Fine. I'll do it myself."
"No. You wait!"
"I haven't got all day, sugar."
"Shampoo help."
"Well it's about time."
"Something else strange happening."
"What's that?"
"Mousse acting very strange too. This morning when
Shampoo come home from delivery, Mousse not all mushy mushy
about Shampoo. Mousse very quiet. Mousse know something
maybe."
"Could be."
"Then Mousse at dojo when Shampoo go to visit husband.
Shampoo ask why, but spatula girl interfere."
"Hey!"
"Is true."
"So, you think that Mousse is involved too?"
"Is not first time Mousse help break up Shampoo's
plan."
"Maybe. So once Ran-chan and Akane are broken up once
and for all, it's every woman for herself. Got it?"
"Shampoo understand."