Second Time Around
Part 2:  I Don't Remember It That Way
by David Eddy <dje@progress.com>


Last modified:  Tuesday, 3 August 1999

A  fan  fiction  based  on  Takahashi  Rumiko's  Manga
series,  Ranma 1/2.  The characters of Ranma  1/2  are
the property of Takahashi Rumiko and her licensees.





     Sitting in the classroom of Year 1, Class F, in
the last hour before lunch, Saotome Ranma tried to pay
attention to the teacher while ignoring the
surreptitious and not-so-surreptitious glances and
note-passing that were forming a furious silent
conversation that filled the classroom's attention
span.  After seeing Akane furiously screw up and
discard several notes, however, he eventually gave in
and wrote a note of his own.

     Quickly he jotted it down and, after three
attempts at getting it right, quietly tore it from his
notebook.  It said, 'Lunchtime'll be bad.  More
questions from busybodies.  Want to hide out
somewhere?'  He flipped it over to Akane's desk.

     Akane looked at him oddly when she saw who the
note was from.  He watched her surreptitiously as she
read it, then was disappointed as she seemed to ignore
it.  He was a little surprised when, ten minutes
later, she passed his note back to him.  Quickly he
read the addendum she'd written.

     'I guess,' the note said.  'But rumour can be
terrible. Better to do it today.'

     He thought about what she said, but there was
really no argument.  She was right.  With the
teacher's back turned he caught Akane's eye and
nodded.  In his mind, however, he made plans in case
she became overwhelmed by their questioners.  He
ignored the sudden increase in intensity of his
classmates' silent conversation that followed their
exchange, wishing only for the interminable droning
lecture to end.

     

     *    *    *

     

     Outside Fuurinkan senior high school, all was
quiet.  For the moment the sports fields were
deserted, the roof empty, the grounds quiet.  The sun
shone strongly out of a cloud-dotted sky, casting deep
shadows under the trees that dotted the grounds away
from the large open area of the sports field.

     Suddenly the air shimmered with the tolling of
bells from the school tower.  Moments later, the exits
of the main school building began spewing forth
uniformed students who gathered at various placed
around the school -- under trees, in the shade of the
building, on seats, on the roof of the school -- and
began their daily pastimes of playing, gossipping, or
even just lying in the open, soaking up the warmth of
the spring sun as they at their lunch.  Those who lay
in the sun thought pityingly of their brethren who had
for their own reasons elected to stay inside, whether
to study or to gossip.

     However, in the classroom of Year 1, Class F, not
one student had left the room.  Lunch was forgotten;
here, the normal realities of school life had been
suspended.  Released from the teachers' stern control
for the first time since classes began that morning,
the members of the Year 1 Class F were at last free to
satiate their curiosity which had been stewing all
morning since Kunou's incredible, unbelievable
pronouncement.

     Tendou Akane, and the new kid Saotome Ranma...
engaged?

     At the sounding of the lunchtime "chime", there
was a huge rush as the entire population of Class F
raced to be the first to ask for the Real Scoop.
Ranma sat stoically as he and Akane were surrounded by
their classmates... the girls around her; the guys
around him.  When it appeared that Akane would be
hidden from view, he quickly moved over to stand next
to her.

     And then the questioning began.  "Hey, Akane,
what's he like?"

     Akane flushed beet red, her o-bento in its cloth
wrapping hanging from her hands.

     "Yeah, what's he like?"  "Man, what a hunk,
you're so lucky."  "How far have you gone?"  "I bet
you've done 'C' with her, you lucky dog."  "When are
you going to get married?"  "Akane, I thought you
hated guys."

     "Hey, you've got it all wrong!" yelled an
embarrassed and frustrated Akane.

     "Yeah, our parents arranged it, not us!" put in
Ranma.  He was beginning to look a little panicked.

     "Yeah, I bet!"  "That's what they all say!"  "Are
you pregnant, Akane?"  "I bet she is!"  "How long do
you have to go?"  "Does he live up to his name?"

     Ranma could see Akane turning red at the
increasingly personal nature of the questions, so he
put one hand on her shoulder and jerked his head with
an inquiring lift of his eyebrows.  Akane nodded and
stood, her dangling o-bento in its huroshiki swinging
from her sudden movement.  She let out a little yelp
as Ranma effortlessly picked her up and jumped out the
window.  Yells of outrage and then panicked screams
followed them.  Ranma landed on the ground with a
grunt and sprinted for a quiet-looking copse of trees,
carrying Akane all the while.

     Akane finally came to her senses.  "Hey, put me
down!" she yelled.

     Immediately Ranma stopped and let her down.  "Aw
gee, Akane, I was only--"

     "I know, you were trying to get me away from
them.  But I can't run away from them forever."

     "Yeah, well, with any luck we've lost them.  We
don't seem to have anyone chasing us yet."

     Akane looked around.  She went white then red
when she realised where they were.  She slapped him.
"You pervert!  I was right all along!  You're just
like the other boys after all!"

     Ranma stared at Akane in utter incomprehension,
hurt by her accusation.  Reflexively he replied,
lashing out at her.  "What the hell are you talking
about, you tom...!"  He cut off the last word just in
time, and instead grasped her wrist, gritting his
teeth against the insults that came so easily,
although falsely, to mind.  He took a deep breath, but
Akane interrupted him before he could speak.

     "Let me go, pervert!"  Akane tugged futilely at
her captive wrist.

     "Not until you tell me what the hell you're
talking about!" he yelled back.

     "You know very well what I'm talking about!
Sukebe ecchi!"

     Ranma was genuinely puzzled.  He could think of
nothing that could explain Akane's attitude... almost
panic.  Reciting his mantra to himself, he let go his
annoyance and pain at the name-calling and said in as
reasonable tone as he could manage, "I haven't got a
clue, Akane-kun."  He dropped her wrist.  "Would you
please explain?"

     Akane looked at Ranma with fresh eyes, seeing him
in a new light.  He looked annoyed and puzzled and a
little sad... why, she wondered?  Then what he had
asked sunk in and she blushed red with embarrassment.

     "I'm sorry, Ranma, I didn't think.  This is
Lovers' Wood.  It's where people go when they want to
be alone to... you know..."

     Now it was Ranma's turn to blush.  He had heard
about this place before, but had never known where it
was... he hadn't wanted to ask in case he got
mercilessly ribbed about visiting it with Akane.
Automatically his hand went to the back of his head
and he sucked in his breath through his teeth in
embarrassment.  "Ah... um... yeah.  I see."  He looked
up and grinned lopsidedly.  "And I brought you over
here with the whole class watching."

     Akane smiled, her embarrassment fading a little.
"Carrying me in your arms, no less."  She giggled.
"How impulsive of you!"

     Ranma joined her in honest laughter.  "Sorry
'bout that."  Watching her laugh and smile, he was
struck by her... no, not beauty, but *presence*.  His
laughter faded and a lump formed in his chest as he
decided to go for broke.  He swallowed his nervousness
and said to her, "You're cute when you smile."

     Shocked, Akane stared at Ranma, then the smile
returned to her face as she dropped her eyes to the
ground.  "Thank you," she said.

     The mood was broken by Ranma's stomach rumbling
loudly.  Reminded of his hunger he glanced at Akane's
o-bento, still dangling from one of her hands, and
remembered that his own was still up in the classroom.
His face fell.  "I guess I'd better go get my lunch,"
he said reluctantly.

     Akane glanced up at the window they'd come from.
A number of faces still peered in their direction.
"That's okay, Ranma," she said.  "I've got plenty
here.  You want some of mine?"

     Ranma looked back at Akane and noticed she was
smiling to herself as she unwrapped her lunch.  "Sure.
Thanks," he said.  He gingerly sat opposite her and
she placed the box lunch on the ground between them.
They dug in.

     Akane broke the silence of eating.  "So what do
you think?"

     Ranma swallowed the pickle he had been eating.
"Of what?"

     "The school.  How long has it been since you were
in school?  You've been in China, haven't you?"

     He nodded.  "It's been a little while.  I'm not
real sure how long we were in China.  The last time I
was in school was in Junior High, 3rd year."

     "About six months then?"

     "I guess."

     Akane picked out a piece of pickled vegetable and
nibbled at it.  "When you said last night..."  Her
voice trailed off and she looked into her lunch, too
embarrassed to continue.

     "Um?" he eventually asked.  "Said what?"

     "About training together..."

     "Um?  Oh, yeah.  How 'bout after school?  I'm
used to training all the time, Akane.  I don't want to
go soft."

     "Don't forget you're gonna have homework, Ranma."

     "Yeah, yeah."

     Akane bridled.  "You'd better take school
seriously, Ranma!  It's important!  And if we do get
married, I'm not gonna get married to a doofus!"

     Ranma stared at her in surprise.  A warm breeze
briefly rustled the leaves of the trees around them as
it occurred to him that just maybe Akane wasn't
totally against the marriage after all.  Then he
remembered something.

     "So, who do you think told Kunou about the
engagement?"

     Akane snorted.  "It must have been Nabiki.  She's
in Kunou's class."

     Ranma nodded, trying to keep his expression
neutral.  "I guess she's the only one who would know."
He munched on another pickle, trying to think of
another thing to say but his thoughts deserted him
every time he looked at Akane.

     

     Akane watched Ranma as he ate without further
comment.  He seemed to be pacing himself, not allowing
himself to gorge as he did last night, instead taking
a piece of food every time she did.

     She relished the chance to watch him in a quiet
moment.  He was actually pleasant to be with, she
realised, as she watched him pick a bite-size piece of
fish with casual precision from their lunch.  She
watched it as it quickly traversed the space to his
mouth, then he paused.  Wondering what was wrong, she
looked to his eyes and was surprised to see him
looking at her.  "Did you want this?" he offered,
casually swooping the tender morsel through the
distance that separated them, hanging it in the air in
front of her mouth.

     Nodding, Akane tried to take it from him but he
didn't allow her chopsticks to come near it.  With
sparkling eyes he held the fish in front of her mouth,
as though he wanted to.... feed it to her!

     Her eyes widened a little but a feeling of
recklessness rose in her and she allowed herself to
nod.  Opening her mouth, the flavoursome morsel
appeared inside as if by magic and as she chewed and
swallowed she smiled almost automatically but with
genuine happiness.

     She reached for another piece of fish and after a
moment's debate held it before Ranma.  "Would you like
some?" she asked.

     He nodded, eyes sparkling.  She held it to his
mouth; Ranma ducked his head and the fish disappeared.
"Delicious," he said after a moment.  "More?"

     A sun shower chose that moment to break, and in
the seconds of its brief intensity, Ranma changed.
Akane, sitting closer to the trunk of the tree, did
not even get spotted.

     Ranma sighed theatrically, wondering which kami
he had pissed off in a previous life.  "Ranma!  Are
you okay?" asked Akane, suddenly concerned.

     "Eh?  Nahh, I'm fine, the change doesn't hurt or
anythin'..."  Ranma brushed futilely at his now-
feminine arms and quickly pulled at his clinging top
to get it away from his skin and wrongly-shaped chest.
"Now then..."

     

     Kunou Tatewaki stalked the grounds of Fuurinkan
High School, ignoring the wet hair and clothes
resulting from the brief sun-shower as beneath his
concern.  Certainly it had been amusing to watch the
lesser classes scurry for the building like ants as
the shower struck... but he was on a mission, a
mission granted unto him from the kamis themselves,
and he could not allow such distractions to divert him
therefrom:  He had heard that Saotome Ranma had taken
his beloved Tendou Akane into Lovers' Wood, and he had
to rescue her from durance vile.

     The glare of the bright sun off wet concrete made
him briefly wish for sunglasses.

     Then he saw them!  Akane was sitting under a
tree, smiling, and her pigtailed companion was picking
food from a bento that sat on the grass between them.

     It was Ranma!  Or was it?  When the supposed-
Ranma lifted her arms, it became abundantly clear that
this was *not* the enemy of all women, Saotome Ranma.
It was a girl, aye one pleasingly shaped, but he did
not know her.  Perhaps she was a friend of his
goddess, Tendou Akane.

     Tendou Akane!  Briefly he halted, straightening
his wet hair and pulled his hakama and gi into a
semblance of their proper shape.  He plucked a red
rose from nowhere, then suavely and with proper manly
control he proceeded towards the pair.

     

     "Tendou Akane!  I come to you so you may bask in
the glory of my love!"

     Ranma and Akane looked up from their little food
game and saw Kunou Tatewaki running towards them, arms
outstretched, a possessive expression on his face.

     "Oh man, not *him*," murmured Ranma.  A low
growling sound attracted his attention back to Akane,
and he noticed that she wore a closed expression of
dislike.  Automatically he jumped up and took stance.

     

     Kuno noted the strange girl's aggressive stance
and the fact that she was blocking his rightful access
to Tendou Akane, and slowed to a halt.  Puzzled, he
tilted his noble head a little to one side.  "Girl,
why do you keep me from my lover, Tendou Akane, who
breathlessly awaits my presence here in Lovers' Wood
even now?"

     "You ain't goin' nowhere near Akane!" replied the
strange, but wonderfully attractive, girl.  "Not while
I draw breath!"

     Kunou took a moment to look her up and down,
thinking about why this girl might be so misguided as
to keep him from.  Aha!  She must desire his
attentions, and wanted him to forsake the tender
Akane.

     "You hear me, Kunou?  Buzz off!  You're not
wanted here!"

     Her every line sizzled with vitality; her
slender, erect carriage and aggressive posturing for
his eyes spoke to something deep within him, awakening
a lust he normally kept in stern control.

     "Very well, I see that you desire my exalted
self," said Kunou smoothly.  Bringing his bokken
around, he pointed it at the girl and continued, "I
shall give you your chance.  I challenge you.  If you
win, you may date with me!"

     Her eyes sparked and before he could even move
she had danced on top of his wooden sword and kicked
him in the face.  His limbs would no longer support
him, and he felt himself fall to the ground like a
pupped with its strings cut.

     Lying there on the ground, Kunou saw far, far
away his pig-tailed goddess twirling the bokken and
staring down at him with love in her eyes.  *So
skilful.*

     

     Ranma grabbed the bokken and shivered.  "Yuk, I
feel unclean.  Didja see his eyes, Akane?"  He turned
around to see Akane glaring at him angrily.  "What's
wrong?"

     "That was *my* fight, Ranma!  I'm a martial
artist too, you know!"

     He took in her clenched fists and held up open
hands.  The bokken fell to the ground.

     "Whoa, Akane. Akane-kun.  I'm sorry if I made you
angry, it's just that he made *me* so angry that I
just had to. um. gee.  I'm sorry?"  Ranma ground to a
halt as he saw Akane's expression change from boiling
mad to understanding to a gentle smile.  "What?" he
asked.

     "Thanks for standing up for me, Ranma-kun," said
Akane.  "I know you meant well."

     With a relieved smile, Ranma nodded and picked up
the bokken again.  His stomach rumbled.  Akane
giggled.  "Shall we finish lunch?"

     "Yeah, but let's go somewhere else."  Another
glance at Kunou satisfied Ranma that the boy was
safely unconscious.  A thought occurred to him.  "Say,
I don't suppose you've got some tea in there, do ya?"

     Akane nodded and dug out a small container.
"Yeah, it looks like Kasumi tossed in some nice cold
barley tea."  She held the thin plastic container out
to Ranma.  "Would you like some?"

     Ranma stared at the tea while mentally kicking
himself.  Idiot!  Of course Kasumi would not bother to
pack hot tea, particularly since they were now well
into the humid heat of the rainy season, when cold
barley tea became the staple around many homes.
Eventually he noticed Akane quirking an eyebrow at
him, and he shook his head.  "Thanks Akane, but I
guess I thought it'd be hot.  Sorry."

     He was amazed to hear Akane giggle.

     

     *    *    *

     

     Leaving Lovers' Wood with the still-female Ranma
in tow, Akane was stopped by two girls who ran up to
her.

     "Wow, Akane, that was *so* romantic," gushed one.

     "Yeah, I wish I could get engaged to a hunk like
that," added the other, who then turned to Ranma.
"Hi, my name's Asano Sayuri.  Nice to meet you.  Are
you new to Fuurinkan?  How long have you known Akane?"

     Ranma hesitated, holding himself back from the
automatic reply that formula said he should give,
caught in indecision.  To reveal the curse, or not?
He glanced at Akane, since strictly speaking she
should have performed the introductions anyway rather
than Sayuri brashly introducing herself, but it was
also true that social conventions of that sort got
pretty relaxed in the schoolyard.

     Impulsively he made a decision.  Trying to
remember to use the female forms of speech, he said,
"I'm Saotome Ran*ko*," stressing the last syllable of
the name for Akane's benefit.  "Pleased to meet you."
She bowed automatically, completing the formula.
(Saotome Ranko desu.  Douzo yoroshiku.)

     "I'm Masami Yuka, pleased to meet you," said the
other girl.  (Masami Yuka desu, douzo yoroshiku.)

     Akane was looking at Ranma oddly, but Sayuri was
speaking again, and Ranma turned his attention to her.

     "Saotome, you said?  Do you know Saotome Ranma?
Are you related?  You two look kinda similar, now that
I think about it."

     "He... he's my brother," stammered Ranma
awkwardly.  "My twin brother."

     "Oh, so you started today as well?"

     Ranma nodded mutely, already starting to regret
lying.

     "Ranma and Ranko, as well as their father, are
staying with us," said Akane at last.  "Ranm...ko,
Yuka and Sayuri are my friends."

     "You want to be friends too, Ranko?" asked the
irrepressible Sayuri.

     "Ahh... yeah, that'd be nice."  He smiled weakly

     "So, how does a sleep-over this weekend sound to
celebrate the new girl, Akane?" continued Sayuri,
blithely sweeping everyone along in the wake of her
enthusiasm.  "We could watch some videos, and you can
tell us *all* about that hunk of yours."  She grinned
devilishly.  Akane blushed as crimson as her name,
while Ranma started looking for a place to run to.

     The sound of bells shimmered across the campus
once more, saving Ranma from what he was beginning to
see as an incredibly embarrassing situation.  He
nodded his head at the girls, tossed out a "Gotta go,
see ya!" and leapt away.  (Aa, ikanakya, ja na!)

     

     In the classroom of Year 1 Class F, a wet-haired
- and male - Ranma slipped through the doorway and
into his seat just before the bell signalling the
start of classes for the afternoon.  Akane gave him an
odd look before turning attentively to the teacher as
he began the class.

     However, about halfway through the class, while
the teacher was writing on the board, he felt a sharp
poke in his side.  Surprised, he turned to see it was
Akane passing him a note.  He took it, and a sharp
look from his fiancee, before turning back to face the
front.

     Quickly he unfolded the note; it was a full from
her notebook.  It simply said, "Ranko??", written with
the same first kanji as his male name, so the name
meant "wild child" rather than the more 'normal'
"little orchid".  The kanji for -ko was thrice
underlined.

     Ranma paused, frowning.  He knew why he had done
it, of course; the reason blazed in his mind, and he
bit down on the acid impulse to yell out his
justification.  Summoning the control that had allowed
him to master the Hiryuu Shouten Ha, he schooled
himself to calmness.  Impulsively allowing his mouth
to run off was no part of his still squeaky-new plan.
A plan which...

     His contemplations were interrupted by a
precisely-aimed high-velocity eraser which he
instinctively caught.  A cloud of chalk dust erupted
as the eraser thudded into his hand, settling like
snow over him and the student in front of him.  He
coughed, once, waiting for the cloud to clear.

     The teacher stood at the front of the room,
smirking.  Ranma grimaced, chagrined, and swore to
himself.  "Saotome!" barked the teacher, a grizzled
veteran of the school system so cadaverously thin that
it seemed as though his face consisted of skin
stretched tightly over bone, and whose eyes were at
the moment glittering with what Ranma thought was a
rather unwholesome light.

     'Like an extra from Night of the Evil Dead,'
thought Ranma.

     The teacher tapped his foot impatiently.  "Well?"

     "Well what, Koroshita-sensei?" asked Ranma,
honestly confused.

     Koroshita-sensei glowered, his gaze turning
malevolent.  "You *may* have just returned from China,
Saotome, where no doubt they have any number of
barbarian ways, but that doesn't excuse you from the
rules of *this* school."  He paused, glowering
meaningfully.  "Bring me that note."

     Under the teacher's powerful gaze, Ranma brought
Akane's note up to him.  Koroshita took the note and
read it aloud.

     "Ranko?  *Ran* *ko*?"  Ranma could have sworn
that the tall man almost smiled at him.  "Do you
perchance wish you were a girl, Saotome?"

     "NO!"

     "As may be.  You and Tendou Akane..."

     Ranma waited for the fateful 'buckets' but it
never came.  Eventually, he looked up, fearing
something truly horrid, truly fiendish.

     "Buckets.  Hall.  Now," Koroshita said.  And
smirked.

     

     *    *    *

     

     "This is all *your* fault," hissed Akane sotto
voce, staring as she spoke at the windows lining the
opposite side of the hallway.  (Anta no sei da yo,
kore wa, anta no!)

     "*My* fault?  How is this *my* fault?"  (Ore no
sei?!  Doushite ore no sei n'da?!)

     Echoing silence broken only by droning from the
surrounding classrooms and a brief metallic squeak of
a bucket handle caused Ranma to peek towards Akane.
She was looking at him, her expression unreadable, and
Ranma looked away again.  He didn't know what to say.

     It was difficult to believe that he had only
'met' Akane a little less than twenty-four hours ago.
He had had his Great Inspiration perhaps twelve hours,
maybe fifteen hours before that.

     Such a short time, and yet it seemed like
eternity.  His plan had been difficult to follow, the
most difficult thing he had ever done so far, he
thought.  But it was a plan which maybe, just maybe,
was working.  He thought back to lunch... he hadn't
enjoyed himself so much since... well, had he ever?
He smiled a little as he contemplated the shifting
surface of the water in the bucket, seeing therein
Akane's smiling face as they shared lunch together in
the shade of the trees, hearing her laughter.

     "So cute," he breathed.  (Kawaii.)

     

     Akane watched Ranma as he turned away from her.
He seemed abstracted, looking into the bucket that he
held at his side as though he could see something in
it.  Then he smiled, and he murmured a word which
greatly confused her.

     "So scary," he breathed.  (Kowai.)

     He looked once again at her, his expression calm
and measuring, before lowering his gaze once again.

     Scary?

     Akane frowned to herself as she wondered what he
could possibly have meant by that.  What - or who -
was scary?  Her?  The situation they were in?  Her
question about why he had called herself 'Ranko,'
introducing himself as if he were a girl, not himself?
Koroshita-sensei?  The thoughts tumbled in Akane's
head, questions without answers stirred by confusion,
as she watched Ranma thoughtfully.

     

     Eventually Koroshita summoned them back into
class and the afternoon wore on.  At long last the
class ended and Koroshita left, no doubt planning the
terrorisation of yet another class of victims with
that death's-head face of his, Ranma mused.
Conversation blossomed in his wake as the students
waited for the next teacher to arrive.

     Ranma pulled out his huroshiki-wrapped obento and
regarded it, mild hunger pangs knawing at his belly.
After the tumult of yesterday it was almost
disappointing to be all but ignored as the other
students either put away their books in preparation
for the next class or gathered in groups to talk.  The
part of his brain that automatically monitored
everyone and everything around him brought his
attention to two girls were approaching Akane.  Yuka
and Sayuri, he noted belatedly.  Akane's friends.  He
reminded himself that he had never been introduced to
them as Ranma.

     Akane was looking towards him, a determined
expression on her face, when she noticed the direction
of his gaze.  She turned to face her friends.

     "Akane, aren't you going to introduce us to your
hunky fiancee?" asked Sayuri as soon as she was within
range.  She leered comically at Ranma, sizing him up
as though he were a side of beef.  "Wow, what a bod.
Man, you're *so* lucky!"

     Ranma wasn't entirely sure she was joking in her
frank appraisal.  He felt her eyes raking him up and
down, so he looked away and slipped the still-wrapped
obento back into his bag.  A smiling Yuka caught his
eye and rolled her eyes at Sayuri, and Ranma had to
suppress a laugh.

     Obliged by social convention, Akane began the
formula.  "Allow me to introduce you," she said.
Ranma looked to her and noted her face was a little
red.  "These are my childhood friends, Asano Sayuri
and Masami Yuka."  Spearing Ranma with a *look*, she
added, "This is Saotome Ranma.  He and his father are
staying at my house."

     The two girls gigglingly bowed mouthed the
conventional introductory words, and smiled as Ranma
automatically bowed back and returned the formula.

     Introductions over with, Sayuri sat and opened
her lunch.  "So why didn't you introduce Ranma as your
fiancee, Akane?"

     "He's not my fiancee!" yelled Akane
automatically.  She flushed as conversation in the
classroom stopped suddenly and all heads turned to
face her.  "Well he isn't," she continued to her two
girlfriends in a lower voice.  "We only had the omiai
last night!  Nothing is decided yet!  We haven't
agreed to the marriage, and Father might yet decide
that Nabiki was a better wife than me!"

     Ranma's face froze and he fought for control of
his emotions as Akane's words tumbled across him.  She
was right, of course, whatever his feelings told him.
He had to remember that officially, he had only known
Akane for, what, a day and a half?  To cover his
lapse, he schooled his expression into neutral
friendliness, retreating behind his public mask, as he
latched closed the cover of his bag.

     Unfortunately for him, Yuka noticed.  "I'd say
Ranma-kun doesn't agree with you, Akane.  He looked
pretty disappointed for a moment there."

     Embarrassed at being caught out, Ranma flushed
and looked at the floor.

     Sayuri's eyes widened.  "Oooh, a shy boy!"  She
chuckled.  "Well, we'll soon cure him of *that*!  Hey,
Ranma--"

     "Sayuri, leave him alone," said Yuka, cutting off
her friend.  "Poor Ranma.  The way you go on, *anyone*
would be embarrassed.  You've got such a loud voice."

     The classroom door slid open to admit the next
period's teacher, and students scrambled to take their
seats.  Ranma got out his notebook with the others and
thanked all the kami that they - both those two and
Akane - hadn't got around to asking about Ranko.

     Jeez, he was starting to regret the whole thing.
At least they hadn't shared intimacies with him or any
girl stuff like that.  Then it'd be *real*
complicated.  Brrr.

     

     *    *    *

     

     School was out, and Akane and Ranma walked
quietly towards home.  Several other students were
nearby, walking home in the same direction, but none
were really within earshot... not that it mattered.
Ranma walked along the fence, automatically, taking in
the surroundings, while Akane walked along the pathway
by the fence, also automatically, a little annoyed at
Ranma.

     "Why are you walking up there?!" asked Akane
aggressively, breaking a silence of several minutes.
"Don't you want to be seen with me?!"

     Ranma jerked, broken out of his reverie, and
stared down at Akane.  "Eh?"  Then his brain kicked
into gear, and he jumped down next to her.  "Nah, of
course not.  I guess it's just a habit."  He paused,
looking at her face, trying to work out her
expression.  He decided to try being Nice.  "I'm sorry
if I've pissed you off, Akane.  I wasn't really
thinking."

     Akane glanced at him, looking a little mollified.
"Why do you do that?"

     "What, walkin' on the fence?"  At Akane's not, he
continued, "The ol' man insists I make everythin' into
practice... balance practice, in this case.  I've been
doin' it so long it's a habit, I guess."  He smiled a
little, reflecting.  "Besides, I like the view you get
up there.  You can see around a little more, y'know?"

     An understanding smile briefly warmed Akane's
face.  "I guess I understand."

     "I won't do it if y'don't like it," he offered.
Inspiration made him pause, then add, "Heh, you know
how we're gonna do some trainin' once we get home?
You could give it a try if you like... trainin'."

     "Eh?"  Akane looked around, seeing the people
about and the height of the fence.  "I couldn't do
that!" she said at length.  "People'd see up my
skirt!"

     Ranma briefly repeated Akane's survey and sighed.
"Yeah, I guess you're right."  'Be nice. Be nice.  Be
nice to the stupid tomboy.  Be nice.'  He started
walking again, heading for the Tendou Dojo.

     

     *    *    *

     

     The afternoon echoed with the thuds and slaps of
feet working against the polished floor of the dojo,
the thwaps of cloth flung against arms and legs by
rapid movement, the grunts and occasional kiai
produced by the pair within.  Sitting on the engawa
overlooking the pond, and incidentally the dojo, Soun
and Genma smiled beatifically as they watched the
blank walls of the training hall, imagining the action
therein.  Imagining their children building a
relationship based on mutual trust and understanding,
forged through training and combat.

     Of course, the reality was somewhat different.

     

     Inside the dojo, Ranma and Akane practiced katas
in rough concert:  Ranma flowing grace and casual
precision; Akane directness and strength... and the
occasional break in form as she tried to copy Ranma
and lost concentration.

     Akane finished her kata, and stopped.  After
waiting for Ranma to finish, she said, "Shall we spar
now?"

     Ranma nodded, closing his eyes briefly.
"Whatever you want."

     Akane smiled and took position, facing Ranma six
feet away.  They bowed to the dojo's shrine and to
each other, then Akane said, "Begin!"

     

     *    *    *

     

     Dirty grey clouds blew in on a cool breeze, the
air suddenly hazy and pregnant with moisture.
Lightning flashed between clouds far overhead, and
briefly before the ruddy summer sun was eclipsed there
shone beams of golden orange light, slanting down to
caress the ground, glowing with vitality and making a
scene so stunningly transcendental that it renewed
one's belief in the kami and the transience of beauty.

     Or so Ranma thought, anyway.

     Such a shame Akane wasn't here to agree with
him... or not, as the case may be, he admitted to
himself.  But he thought she would like it.

     Still, it wasn't *his* fault she'd torn off in a
snit fit, screaming at him to stop dodging and...
hit... her....

     Shit.

     Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.  He slammed his
clenched fist into his thigh, screaming in
frustration.  "Bakayarouuuuu!!!"  (Stupid peasant!)

     By all the kami, what an idiot he'd been.

     

     *    *    *

     

     Akane sat at her desk, looking out her window at
the buildings nearby.

     

     

     

     

     nabiki returns home, teases akane

     she gets a little angry and ranma chides her
about her lack of control