First off, this is a Ranma 1/2 fic that takes place directly after
the manga. It is a sequel to both the manga and anime
(except for places where they disagree...but we don't need
to get into that).

I started it quite a while ago, when I finished the manga, and
was left wanting to continue on. Soun Tendo had given Akane
and Ranma a task, and I wanted them to do that task. It
developed into something much bigger then I ever thought
it would.

So, this is the first chapter. The whole thing is still in progress.
I have 5 parts, the first 4 parts all have 5 chapters (with the 
exception of one part that has 4 chapters) and right now I'm
working on Chapter 4 of part 5. So far, in my HD, the story is 
177 pages long, and will be nearing an end soon. 

I wanted to send out this chapter (short compared to later parts)
to get a general idea of opinions, so far. I'd appreciate
any comments and criticism. I love Ranma 1/2, and want to stay
as true to it as possible.

Oh, also, I had a bit of a problem making thoughts italicized, while
keeping the format in just plain text. I hope what I did to
fix it doesn't mess it up. If it is messed up, email me (not the
list) at elenaholman@opgaming.com please. If it seriously
just does not work, you can also go to
http://elena.ff6rpg.net/counp1ch1.html 

Enjoy ^-^

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Title: The Countdown to Matrimony (Chapter 1/5, Part 1/5)
Anime/Game: Ranma 1/2
Author: Denise Cameron aka Elena99
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Chapter 1: The Order of Things

"You never say what you feel.
Love can't go on with just one.
Sayanora my heart!
I want you back in my arms."

Akane Tendo felt heavy-hearted as she walked home from school. It was
a beautiful day, yet her eyes were focused on the ground. Her knuckles
turned white from gripping on her schoolbag, and she resisted the urge
to fix the hair that was being flipped around by the light breeze. Her
long, blue school dress and white shirt were being ruffled as well.

It had been a long week, and half of it she hadn't even been aware of.

Last week, she had almost been married to Ranma Saotome, her fiance of
two years. Or at least, her fiance in name. When had they started
feeling as though they really were engaged? Or had they? Over and over
in her mind she played back that moment when Ranma had said he loved
her. It was soon followed by the memory of his hesitation, even after
seeing her in the wedding dress. She knew she had been jumping the gun
when she had finally agreed to go along with her father's plans. She
knew it, in her gut, but still played her role. A girl could dream,
couldn't she? It wasn't like all was lost either, and yet, she
couldn't help feel as though they were back at square one.

"Idiot." She said under her breath, giving an innocent rock a fierce
kick. It skittered away, but to her surprise came right back and
bounced off of her toe lightly. Looking up, she couldn't decide
whether to smile or scowl at the figure that stood before her.

"Hey." Said a casual voice. It was always casual, which could be
either comforting or maddening. After deciding that she didn't want to
be teased just then, she continued walking towards him, face passive.
She planned to just casually greet him back, then continue on her way,
and hopefully he'd continue on his way as well. He would, wouldn't he?
He wouldn't linger? If he lingered, he'd tease her as he always did,
and though punching him would feel good she just wasn't in the mood.

The figure in front of her was a handsome boy with long black hair,
styled in a pigtail at the nape of his neck. His eyes were a dark
blue, and he wore a red Chinese style shirt with black pants. A
handsome boy certainly, in a mischievous, childish way. His posture
spoke of great confidence, and laid back expression of his current
ease in walking, without an obvious care in the world.

Akane was suddenly in the mood to hit him, but instead stayed her
hand.

"Hi." She replied. The boy, Ranma, turned about face and began walking
along with her, about half a pace in front and to the side. They
normally walked home from school, but for the past couple of days
Ranma had been taking off early. She often wondered where he went to,
but told herself it was none of her business. They may be engaged, but
she didn't own him. And she definitely didn't want to start acting
like she did.

Looking out of the corner of her grey eyes, she noticed a small tear
on Ranma's shirt. Tilting her head to one side, she raised her eyes to
Ranma's face questioningly. He didn't usually get tears in his
clothing from just walking around. Had he been fighting? The latter
noticed her curious gaze, and returned it with interest.

"Somethin' on your mind?" He asked, walking with his hands behind his
head, elbows stretched out. His walk sometimes reminded her of a
strutting rooster, but she never mentioned this. Not yet, at least.

"You have a rip in your shirt." She said calmly, averting her eyes to
be in front of her instead of looking at him. Ranma looked down,
squinted at his shirt, and immediately put his arms down to cover it.

"What about it?" He asked, defensively.

"I can't be concerned? Honestly, Ranma. You don't seem to be hurt,
anyway." She replied, walking faster. He wasn't hurt. Even if he had
been in a fight, he wasn't hurt, so the tear in his shirt wasn't a
problem. Satisfied, she dropped the issue, still feeling a small urge
to be alone. But Ranma kept the pace, and shook his head.

"I'm fine, it's no big deal."

Akane nodded, and they continued to walk along in silence. An awkward
silence, that wanted to say more, but didn't. Why was he still
following her? Couldn't he feel her aura pushing him away? Auras don't
quite work like that... She reminded herself, holding back a scowl.
Well, Ranma appeared there to stay for a while. She may as well get
used to it, and accept the company of her fiance.

There weren't many people walking around them at this point. Just a
large gate, on the other side of Ranma, with water below it. On the
other side of Akane was the street, lacking in cars as usual. People
used their own feet or bicycles more then anything else to get by in
their town, which made for rather quiet streets. Most of the time,
anyway. The sound of children playing became more apparent, as they
were approaching a nursery.

"So what about you then?" Asked Ranma, kicking a stone out of the way.
It landed several meters ahead of them.

"Huh?" Said Akane. Oh great, he noticed. Can't get much by him
anymore. In a way though, she was relieved that he was asking about
her. It was something that they did have to talk about. But why right
now? She knew she didn't have to precisely tell him, just because he
asked. His engagement to her wasn't a full access pass to her mind and
thoughts, after all. Looking up at his face, though, she thought she
did see a spark of interest. And was that concern? On Ranma's face? It
intrigued her just enough to drop her defenses, barely, and continue.

"I was just thinking. About what my Father said." Her face warmed
slightly, and she hoped she wasn't blushing. She never had liked the
idea of blushing, especially in front of guys. It was just so
childish, and girly.

"About...oh. Right, yeah. Have you, uhh...?" Asked Ranma.

"No! Not yet, anyway. I was, uhh...well, I didn't see Gosunguki today,
and I want to start small, before going to Kuno. Are you really sure
he's that serious about me? Seems fairly innocent." Said Akane. All
images of Gosunkugi, the shy, loner classmate, were only brief ones of
him in class. Passive memories, where nothing happened, and he didn't
even speak to her. But he had before, hadn't he? Maybe he had tried,
and she had unintentionally blown him off. She hoped that wasn't the
case; she didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, and certainly not
someone who seemed as innocent as Gosunkugi.

"Believe me Akane, he has it for you. Bad. And with that type of guy,
if he can get even something as small as a smile from you...he'll sink
his hooks in, and never let go. Best to tell him bluntly, and tell 'im
fast." Said Ranma, the tone of his voice sounding as though he were
talking about a game, and not breaking someone's heart.

"I will, I will. You don't have to tell me that."

"You asked."

"I know I asked!" Said Akane, perhaps louder then she intended. Ranma
looked at her out of the corner of his eye, then stopped. The object
of his attention kept walking on for a pace, then stopped as Ranma
firmly grabbed her wrist. She swallowed, feeling the knot of wanting
to be alone spasm. The feel of Ranma grabbing her arm wasn't an
intimate touch, though; it was a normal touch. A necessary one, in his
mind, no doubt. So she allowed it, though wondered at it still. Had
she been too harsh? Oh, but he had annoyed her. Her tone was
justified. Wasn't it?

"Akane." He said. His voice was rough, but commanding enough that
Akane let him keep her in place, narrowing her eyes. Yes, she had
probably been too harsh, just then. Not that his feelings seemed hurt.
Why was he stopping her? He never ended fights like this, by
physically blocking her way and without retort.

"What?" She replied. They stood for a moment, looking at each other,
then Ranma suddenly noticed he was still holding her wrist. He let it
go, then smirked. Any spell of confusion that had come over Akane was
broken; this was normal Ranma. Whatever he had been about to do, it
was gone now, and she felt her insides settle with that knowledge.
Once more she let herself sink into her worries, and concerns, and
once more she just wanted to be alone.

"Come on, you take everything so seriously. You've gotta lighten up."
He said.

"But this is serious! Don't you think, at all?" She asked. Ranma said
nothing, and soon she put her head down. He's got to take it
seriously...take me seriously...or else...or else...

"Have you talked to anyone yet?" She asked. Ranma's smirk turned into
a frown.

"Still workin' on it. I'm coming up with a plan to tell Shampoo; may
as well break it to the most violent one first. You have it easy,
Akane. At least the guys don't practically try to kill you." They
began walking again, towards the Tendo house. At least, that's where
Akane was going. Wasn't Ranma going somewhere else just now?

"Oh, I'm sure Kuno could get pretty close to that by accident. If I
let him." She commented, a flash of the sword totting Casanova coming
to her mind unbidden.

"Yeah, but what about-" Began Ranma, before he stopped himself, and
also stopped in his tracks. Akane turned to one side to face him.
There wasn't anyone else, was there? Of course there couldn't be
anyone else. He couldn't possibly mean the general student body of
males, either. They had long ago stopped pursuing her; they knew their
places. Unless there was another one, like Gosunkugi, who Ranma had
deemed a threat.

"What about who?" Immediately, she recognized his guilty faced, and
fixed him a stare. Her grey eyes could really penetrate sometimes, and
Ranma lowered his. For a moment. He was hiding something! She was sure
of it. Right there, in the corner of his eyes. Bouncing off of his
aura. She felt her anger well up as she scowled at him, wondering what
it was he was hiding.

"Nothing, I just forgot somethin'. I was actually on my way to meet
Ryoga." Digging around in his pants pockets, he soon found a paper,
straightened it, and presented it for Akane's scrutiny. This wasn't
what he had been hiding. It couldn't be...but when she shot him a
look, the guiltiness had faded. Slightly. Frowning and feeling as
though she had been played the fool, she checked over the paper,
reading it carefully.

"A challenge? For what?" She asked. She remembered Ryoga being upset
about something at the wedding, but Ranma wouldn't tell her what it
was about. It had been the last time she had seen him, and she had
assumed he had gone on a journey again. Or at least, tried to. Ryoga
often seemed to get lost, going on journeys.

"Dunno. But uhh...why don't you head home, Akane? It shouldn't take
long. Ryoga probably won't even be there, the challenge is only four
days old." He said, starting to back up in the direction Akane had
come from. The blue haired girl felt torn. Here he was, finally
letting her be alone again, but now he had filled her mind with pieces
of information. Another suitor? Maybe? Yes, no? A battle with Ryoga?
Why, what for? She stiffened her body, trying to decide which path to
take.

"Are you sure? I have time, I can watch." She took a step towards him,
and Ranma half turned.

"No, go home, okay? You'll just be in the way."

"Why you..! Jerk! Here I am concerned, and you say THAT to me?"

That settled it. If she had to be in the company of her fiance for one
more moment, he would be sitting in the ditch she knew was on the
other side of the gate, sputtering dirty water and sporting a red
hairdo.

"We've gotta study for exams right? Go home, and get started. I know
you want to, you keep talking about it. I'll join you later. Bye!"
With a quick, odd bow, Ranma was off again.

"But..." Akane took another step towards him, the internal fire fading
with his footsteps. She sighed, and shook her head. Why does he always
have to do that? Despite the insults, he was partially right. It was
just Ryoga, too, no sense in her being there if she had to study. Him
and Ryoga were friends. The super strong boy wouldn't really hurt
Ranma. At least, not anymore. The breeze followed her as she headed
back home.

Ranma had a good point about the exams, too. She was surprised he had
mentioned those; he wasn't very eager about the whole process, from
studying, to taking the exams themselves. They were in their final
year of high school, and this would be the hardest thing thrown at
them yet. Although part of her wanted to run after Ranma for various,
conflicting reasons, another made herself go back home. The stronger
part. The logical part, she liked to think. Without another glance
back, she straightened her posture, and headed home.

* * *

Ranma Saotome jumped on to the thin railing, running on it a few paces
before jumping up to the top of a cart, then moving back to a low
stone wall and running on that. He always liked being in higher up
places; he could see more, and train. Ranma's life so far had been one
long, never-ending training session, and he had never thought to do
otherwise.

With a leap and a small grunt, he cleared a space between gates, then
tumbled to the ground, continuing at a slower jog. Turning around, he
checked for his fiancee, and sighed with relief when he didn't see her
behind him.

Sorry Akane, but I need to do this alone. Turning around, he kept up
his pace to his destination. The challenge from Ryoga was technically
true, but Akane had obviously not noticed the lack of a date on the
challenge. It was really an old one that he had found laying around
his room, and he had brought it today to use in case Akane wondered
why he was running off to meet Ryoga. The latter was camped out in one
of the parks in the town, and Ranma had told him to stay there, so he
could find him. He needed to have a talk with the pig boy, despite his
better judgement.

It had been a close call, when he was talking with Akane. She didn't
know yet that she really had three suitors, not just two. It amazed
him how she could not see what was before her eyes, but that's how it
was. Ryoga was much too shy to confess his love, despite repeated
attempts. Instead, he'd cuddle with Akane as P-chan, a small black
piglet that Akane had "adopted". Little did she know that if she ever
added hot water to P-chan, she'd end up with Ryoga. A nude Ryoga, at
that. All the more reason to keep her from finding out that way, in
his mind at least.

When he arrived at the park, he saw a tree with a tire swing, an iron-
made playground with swings, a slide, and a see-saw all on sand. There
were a few kids scattered about, a small group playing tag to one
side. Over by the trees, not too far from the tireswing, was an orange
tent. Ryoga's tent, he reasoned. Jogging up to it, he stood in front
of the doorway, and tapped on it to make the fabric bulge inwardly.
Immediately, he heard shuffling from within.

"Hey, Ryoga." He said, standing up and waiting. Soon, the zipper
opened, and Ranma could see a head of black hair, half tamed by a
yellow and black bandanna. Letting himself in, Ranma slid into the
tent, then closed the entranceway behind him. This was a very familiar
process, to him. For almost two years now, since Ryoga had been back
in his life, they had a friendly rivalry going. Sometimes he hated
him, other times he just wanted a sparring partner. For the most part,
he did like Ryoga, despite certain emotional difficulties he had.
Especially when it came to Akane.

The tent was fairly small, and had a large blanket on the ground. To
one side was Ryoga's sleeping roll and a pillow, as well as a pack,
his umbrella, and other items. Ryoga wore a yellow shirt and black
pants, with laced up brown boots. He gave Ranma a nonchalant look, and
poured some hot tea from a kettle into two cups. After handing one to
Ranma, he sipped from his own. Steam from the cup moistened his face,
and he balanced it on his knee when he was done.

"Ranma." He said, nodding in acknowledgment. His face was
expressionless, maybe thoughtful if anything. Ranma had a few quick
sips of his tea, then looked at Ryoga. It was time to get down to
business. He wasn't sure how easy it would be; would he have to drag
Ryoga outside, and beat the sense into him? He hoped he didn't have
to. Just the thought of what he was doing alone felt foreign; the
quicker he could get in, say his piece, and get out, the better. His
only worry was that Ryoga would be his stubborn self, and not listen
to reason.

"I think you know why I'm here."

Ryoga put his head down, looking at his cup. Definitely a stubborn
look. But Ranma held firm to his plan of action.

"Yeah, I think I do." Replied Ryoga. He blinked once, his brown eyes
looking downtrodden. Ranma leaned forward, focusing on his friend's
sad eyes. Damn right you think you do...maybe this'll be easy,
still...

"You have to tell her. Enough beating around the bush."

"I don't really have to tell her...and why should I, really? It would
only be so she could reject me. For you." Said Ryoga angrily. It
appeared as though Ryoga may crush his cup, but it managed to stay
intact. For now. Smirking, Ranma raised a hand as though to brush away
his comment. He was taking the stubborn route, was he? Not with Ranma
Saotome there. Sure, he had done it before, and been near successful,
but this time would be different. Even if he did have to drag Ryoga
out of the tent, and beat him into submission.

First though, Ranma had his trump card. Akari. One thing he hadn't had
before, all those times Ranma had tried to get him to stay away from
Akane. Akari, the pig loving girl. Akari, Ryoga's girlfriend. At
least, he was fairly certain she was Ryoga's girlfriend. Ryoga didn't
always tell him everything, but last he checked, they had been an
item.

"So? You have Akari now! Come on, isn't she good enough for ya? Face
it, Akane is just..." Ranma's tongue wouldn't let him get out the last
words, and became a fat, foreign organism in his mouth.

Why do I always have trouble saying it? Ranma shook his head, as
though to make the words obey him and come out as they should. It
didn't matter. The point was to push Ryoga over to Akari, not bring in
his feelings about Akane. A sinking sensation in his stomach told him
he had messed up, and the anger suddenly present in Ryoga's posture
only confirmed that. Moron, he still loves Akane more then
Akari...that idiot...

"Yours? I know. And yet, you can't say it anymore. When you thought
Akane was going to die, you yelled it. You practically roared, "I love
you, Akane!" It echoed off the walls of the cave, you know." Said
Ryoga, looking at his companion smugly as Ranma's battle aura
prickled. This was not the time for that. They were supposed to be
discussing Ryoga's feelings for Akane, not Ranma's. Especially since
Ranma wasn't even completely sure himself how he felt about his own
fiancee.

"So you've said." He said, looking away. That memory was still fuzzy,
but Ryoga wasn't the only one to insist it had been said. He did love
Akane. Didn't he? But he had been so scared that day, so incredibly
panicked, he wasn't even sure still if the word love had come from his
mouth in relief at seeing Akane alive, or not. If he actually had the
feelings to back it up.

"You don't really love her?" Asked Ryoga, his eyes practically
twinkling. Ranma looked as though he were going to be angry, but then
a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. So Ryoga wanted a
confession, did he? Wanted to play with Ranma? Well he had picked the
wrong person to challenge. Accepting, Ranma forced his own sea of
feelings aside, concentrating on Ryoga. He was going to frustrate that
boy into submission if he had to, and then Ranma would get the topic
back to where it was supposed to be, and make Ryoga give up on Akane.
Piece of cake.

"Feh. Does it matter?" He asked. Ryoga rolled his eyes.

"Still...you know this isn't going to be easy." Ranma breathed a sigh
of relief, though the part of him that childishly wanted to play with
Ryoga's feelings was disappointed. He had stopped fighting, for some
reason. Maybe he had sensed what was coming, and backed down before it
was too late. Rare for Ryoga, but if depressed enough, it did happen.

"Hey, I know. But you have to do it. Simple as that. You could do it
tonight, Akane should be home by now, and we're gonna be studying.
Perfect chance. Just show up, and I'll make sure you can get some time
with her." And I can get a break from studying! Excellent plan. Ryoga
shifted his position uncomfortably, as though he had just noticed that
he was sitting on pointy rocks.

"Then you get her for the rest of the night. Heh. Sounds fair."
Replied Ryoga sarcastically.

"We're just gonna be studying, anyway." Said Ranma, standing up,
feeling accomplished. The first part was done. Although he noted that
Ryoga hadn't exactly said yes. He would do it though. A no hadn't been
heard either. He had to do it. As he was about to leave, Ryoga cleared
his throat.

"Hey, you guys haven't..." He began. Ranma turned around, and crouched
to be eye level with Ryoga.

"Haven't what?" He asked.

"You know...kissed? I mean.." Ranma tilted his head, fighting off a
prickly, warm feeling at the thought. He's such a masochist
sometimes...he's not going to like any answer I give him. One way, and
he'll think I'm wasting her. Another way, and he'll be depressed
again.

"What, that uncute tomboy? You've gotta be kidding me." Ranma said
finally. Then he unzipped the tent, jumped out, and zipped it back up
again. He was sure he heard the sound of a cup crumbling as he left.

* * *

As soon as the tent was vacated, a short figure standing by the swing
tree raised her head. She wore a plain orange dress, and her hair was
short and cropped, her bangs partially over her eyes.

"Ranma, you idiot." Said Nabiki Tendo under her breath. Once Akane's
older sister saw that Ranma was gone, and had not paid an ounce of
attention to her, she started making her way out of the park.

She had suspected for the longest time that Ryoga had liked Akane. To
the point of wanting to tell Akane almost...almost. For a price, she
would have. But she did care for Akane still, and she didn't see the
need to have Ryoga forced to confess his love, then be tossed aside.
It would be hard on both of them, for him to confess. Despite how
obvious he had been about it in the past. Painfully obvious. Nabiki
shook her head. She doesn't see half what I do. With a slight swaying
motion to her hips, she calmly made her way out of the park. Although
she hadn't decided yet to tell Akane what was going on, she thought
she should talk to Ranma. Looking up, she tried to see if he was still
visible from where she was. A hint of a red shirt could be seen, but
she wasn't positive it was him. Too far away for her to catch up to
him, anyway.

No need to rush, now. She reprimanded herself, I need a plan, first.
Ryoga will probably come tonight, but I doubt he will actually
confess. Not that easily, and not after those lovely closing words of
Ranma's. He needs to have something good come of this. Hmm.

Turning on her heal, Nabiki headed back to Ryoga's tent, mentally
making up the script to be used with Ryoga.

* * *

Reaching out, Akane tilted the clock on the dresser, then put it back
into place as she took in what time it was. Five o'clock already.
Supper would be coming soon, and she had already been at the books for
a good hour. Although she didn't want to admit it, she was getting
bored with the material she was studying already. Math wasn't bad, and
neither was chemistry, but she hated languages. I'd probably like them
more if Chinese wasn't so complicated.

Picking up the cup of tea from her desk, she sipped it to soothe her
growling stomach. She hadn't eaten supper with her family, like the
rest of the week. Instead, Kasumi would bring up a tray of food so she
could study and not have to waste time being distracted downstairs.
Ironically, this just turned into her being hungry upstairs, begging
for a distraction.

She needed Ranma there, to teach him. Somehow, she managed to learn
more when she was trying to show someone else how to do something.
Even Ryoga would do; she had tutored him before.

Ranma's notes were piled neatly on one corner of the desk, waiting for
him to get back and use them. Usually, they just used Akane's notes,
since she was more likely to stay awake in class and take them. But
she still wanted Ranma to take his own notes; she couldn't do
everything, anyway, and she didn't want Ranma to think she was
tutoring him solely for his benefit.

Hearing the sound of shuffling in the hallway, she leaned back in her
chair to glance at her door. It was closed, and she fixed her gaze on
the knob, waiting for it to turn, and for someone to come into the
room. Ranma would knock, wouldn't he? She wondered. She found herself
not being able to remember, but hoped he would have the sense to
knock.

Soon she did hear a knock, but it wasn't the sort of knock Ranma would
do. It was slow and soft, accompanied by a matching voice.

"Akane, can I come in?" Called her eldest sister. Kasumi. Getting up,
Akane walked over to the door, and opened it. Kasumi stood there,
tall, wearing a white apron over her yellow dress. Her long brown hair
was tied in a ponytail, and she wore a pleasant smile. In her hands
she held a tray with dishes of food on it.

"Thanks, Kasumi." She said, trying to hide how hungry she was.
Quickly, she took the tray, and walked into the room to set it on the
desk.

"How's the studying going?" Kasumi asked, conversationally.

"Oh, umm, not bad. It's really easy, don't worry." Replied Akane. She
lifted the cover on a dish of curried pork, and took her chopsticks in
hand to sample a bite. "This is really good Kasumi, I appreciate it."
Said Akane turning back to her older sister. Kasumi just smiled, and
nodded.

"No problem. I kept Ranma's to one side downstairs. Make sure you tell
him to get it in the kitchen when he comes back, please? I have an
errand to run." Said Kasumi, turning to the door.

"Sure. He shouldn't be long...I think." Said Akane, looking back to
the food. I hope he isn't long...that idiot, where is he anyway? Still
fighting? She didn't hear Kasumi begin to close the door, then open it
again enough to allow her to look at her younger sister.

"He'll come Akane. He always comes back to you; he's your fiance." She
said, in her ever hopeful voice. Akane put on an agreeable expression,
and looked towards her. It wasn't exactly a comforting phrase. What
did him being her fiance matter? He had been her fiance for two years,
and many times in that period he had been a jerk, or late, or missing,
or plain blowing her off. But that was not what Kasumi wanted to hear.
And if she did not say what Kasumi wanted to hear, her eldest sister
would pursue, encourage, try and lift her spirits. She didn't want her
spirits lifted. She wanted Ranma where he was supposed to be, and
wanted to stop worrying over the idiot in the meantime.

"I know." She said. Kasumi's head bobbed, satisfied, and then she
exited the room. Slowly, Akane eased herself back into her chair, and
began eating. Having something in her stomach managed to help her
concentration, at least, and she found herself wading through her
notes easily. Humming to herself, she highlighted the important
points, underlined topic headings, and wrote corrections for herself
in the margins. Her food managed to disappear rather fast, and she was
disappointed when she saw that the last of the curry was gone.

Getting up, she picked up the tray and walked over to her door.
Opening it slowly, she peeked outside, but saw no one at either end of
the hallway. As was routine, she put the tray down to one side against
the wall, to be taken downstairs when she thought of it next. Taking
one last look out into the hall, she frowned at it's feeling of
emptiness. Where is everyone? Kasumi was out on that errand, and
Nabiki hadn't been home yet when she had entered. The sound of water
running could be heard from the bathroom, maybe that was Nabiki. Had
her father and Mr. Saotome been home? She thought she had heard them
playing Go, but they were out on the porch for that usually. She had
no clue about Happosai, but it wasn't odd for him to not be around
when it wasn't specifically mealtime. It left the house awfully quiet,
and she soon shut herself back into the room, leaving the quiet out.

At least, that was the plan. When she sat back down, it seemed that
the silence was still with her. Deafening silence. Her muscles
complained about sitting down as well; when was the last time she had
exercised, anyway? Surely, she had done enough studying. A part of her
felt bad for wanting to leave the studying before Ranma got home. He
HAD said he'd join her...but he wasn't home yet. He was out, and
besides, he had been a jerk to her before leaving her to walk home
alone. She'd go to the dojo, just for a while. One quick run through,
then come back.

It wasn't until she was out the door and halfway to the dojo before
she realized she had started changing into her gi before even deciding
it was okay for her to abandon her work.


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