Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma Universe: Alpha and Omega ❯ Chapter 7: The Day After ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: ST Pika

Chapter 7: The Day After

Thanks to Tex, Luke, Danny, and anyone else that gave me suggestions or helped me with this chapter.

Before going to bed, Ranma had decided to ask his mother a few questions about what he should do on his date with Akane tomorrow. However, all he got from his mother was a bright smile, a few pointers and a promise from her that she'd leave a note with some instructions for him in the morning.

Looking at the sleeping form of her son, Nodoka can't help but smile. `He looks so peaceful when he sleeps… I'll make sure to leave him something nice for his date with Akane. After that, I need to take care of some other important business involving my husband… and all of the trouble that he's caused in the last 10 years…'

Time passes and soon night becomes day. The early morning light shines into the Tendo house, awakening its youngest member from her slumber. She rubs her eyes and looks over at her clock… and can't believe what time it is…

“7:00 A.M.! It's a Sunday and I still manage to get up early…”

Akane stretches her arms towards the ceiling and then takes a look across the room. Her bloodstained gi hangs from the wall, reminding her that she really did win… it hadn't been a dream. After slowly getting out of bed, she does some basic stretching exercises… which help her wake up and focus her mind. `I'm going on a date with Ranma today… I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun…' She thinks as she changes out of her pajamas and into a jogging outfit. Before leaving her room, she stands next to the gi and closes her eyes. Her fingers move across the torn fabric as she thinks to herself… `I won… but I have a new challenge now… one that could be even harder…'

In another part of the house, Ranma is awake as well. He yawns, scratches his head, and stretches his arms out. A small white envelope sitting on top of his blanket catches his attention. `I wonder… is this from mom? I guess there's only one way to find out…'

With some gusto, Ranma tears open the envelope. Three bills tumble out along with a small piece of paper. Ranma's eyes grow ever wider as he gets a better look at the money his mom left him. `Three 10,000 yen bills? Damn! That's a lot of money! I could have some real fun with this if I wanted to…'

The sound of the floorboards cracking in the distance puts Ranma on alert. He quickly stuffs the money into his pocket before someone else catches sight of his new “fortune”. After doing that, he notices that the bedroom is empty… both of his parents' futons have been put away and no one else is in the room. `I wonder where they went? Maybe the note says something about that…'

Ranma picks up the note and is about to read it when Akane peeks her head into the room and flashes Ranma a smile.

“Good morning Ranma…”

“'Mornin'”

“Since I'm feeling better this morning, I was gonna do some jogging. Did you…” Akane turns her head away for a moment to regain her composure. `Damn… why does this have to be so hard? I'm just trying to ask him a simple question…'

Ranma notices that she seems lost in thought. “Akane… Akane…”

“Oh… sorry about that…” Akane says as she returns her gaze to Ranma. “Do you want to join me on my morning jog?”

“Sure…” Ranma says as he stands up. “I'll meet you downstairs in a sec'…”

Akane nods her head and heads downstairs to the front entrance. After slipping her shoes onto her feet, she thinks about what just happened. `This is a start… let's see what happens next…'

A few moments later, Ranma comes down the stairs. “Ready?”

“Let's go then… and Ranma…”

“Yeah?”

“Try and keep up…” Akane says with a chuckle.

`Who does she think she is? I swear, she can be so uncute sometimes…' Ranma almost speaks his thoughts aloud but notices that Akane has turned her head and is looking at him over her shoulder… `She's smiling… at me… well, maybe she can be cute at times…'

Akane heads outside and Ranma closes the door behind him just as a figure appears on the top of the stairs. `I'm glad they're already working on getting to know each other better…' Kasumi thinks as she begins her morning activities… `I think I'll have a nice breakfast waiting for them when they come back…'

After almost twenty minutes of jogging around the near silent streets of Nerima, Akane decides to take a break and leans against a nearby lamppost.

“Let's take a break for a minute…” Akane says as she catches her breath.

Ranma takes this opportunity to pull out and read the note that he received this morning. A curious Akane notices what he's doing and wonders aloud what on the note.

“Oh, my mom just left me some ideas, you know… for us so we can umm… work together or something…”

“Well, tell me about some of her ideas…”

Ranma scans the list and decides to read some of the items out loud.

“Girls love flowers… so make sure and get her some when you're on your date today…”

“That sounds nice…” Akane says as she mentally pictures Ranma giving her a bouquet of flowers.

“Let's see… hmm… take her out for lunch…”

“Sounds like your mom got some good ideas on there…”

Ranma nods his head. “Yeah… since I ain't ever done this kinda thing before… thanks to pops…”

“Anything else on there?” Akane says, wondering what else is on that note.

“Umm… it says here to make sure that Akane feels appreciated…”

“That's nice…” Akane says, interrupting.

“Hold on, I'm not finished… it says that girls like it when their man caresses their…” Ranma's voice suddenly drops and dies out completely. His face turns a crimson red and Akane gives him a funny look.

“Caresses what?”

“Ummm…” Ranma stammers. “Hands… we should umm… hold hands…”

“Holding hands? Really?” Akane exclaims out loud. `We haven't done that in a long time… it felt nice the last time…'

“Akane… just trust me… please…” Is about all Ranma can say in response.

“Ranma… I…” Akane mentally deliberates her answer before saying one word… “Okay…”

All is quiet for a moment… and then Ranma feels Akane gently slip her left hand into his right hand. She gently squeezes his hand and then begins to walk forward and gets lost in the moment, unaware that her companion is red as a beet and quite embarrassed at the moment. `I gotta get through this… I've done this before… so it shouldn't be too hard…'

As they near the Tendo house, Ranma is still deep on thought about the new sensations that he's feeling and notices something else about Akane. `Her fingers are soft… I never noticed that before. She breaks bricks and still her hands…'

<CLANG>

“Ranma, are you okay?” A worried Akane says as she notices that Ranma has run smack dab into a lamppost. His body twitches a little and then falls to the ground.

“I didn't know that holding hands would be that dangerous…” Akane chuckles. “Am I that much of a distraction?”

Ranma's turns his gaze to look at Akane and thinks about her last question. She's puzzled that he hasn't immediately responded and decides to tease him a little.

“You weren't like this when you held my hand after I saved you from the Orochi…”

That gets Ranma's attention immediately. He quickly gets to his feet and before he can lose his nerve, takes her hand.

“Let's get going… I'm sure breakfast is ready by now…” Ranma says as he starts walking back towards the house.

“Yeah… and I'm getting hungry…” Akane says as a familiar grumble gets her attention. “I'm sure Kasumi is wondering we are…”

Kasumi, however, knew the two went out together in the morning. By the time Ranma and Akane get back, a wonderful breakfast was already prepared. The two joggers take off their shoes and are immediately drawn to the dining room by the wonderful smells…

“Mmm… smells good in here…” Ranma comments to no one in particular as he walks into the room.

“About time you two showed up… we've been waiting for you…” Nabiki says as she taps her finger on the table.

“Sorry about that…” Akane says as she sits down at the table.

“How was your morning jog with Ranma?” Soun asks his daughter, wondering if everything went all right.

Akane begins to respond. “Well…”

Nabiki interrupts. “It looks like they did more then jog…” She pauses to gently elbow Akane. “Look- they're both hot and sweaty…” Nabiki says that last line with a chuckle.

“Nabiki!” Kasumi exclaimed aloud. `She shouldn't be joking like that… those two need to be together and not feel embarrassed about it…'

Ranma and Akane both turn red in the face and Soun shakes his head. “Nabiki, stop teasing Akane and Ranma and eat your breakfast…”

“Fine, fine… I was trying to liven things up a bit here…” Nabiki says as she reaches for some rice.

Kasumi notices that Ranma and Akane still haven't moved. “Eat… I made a big breakfast just for you two…”

Akane and Ranma slowly nod their heads and begin to silently eat their breakfast, stopping only to occasionally glance at each other. Both teens wonder why this is so hard… and why being teased by Nabiki provokes such a strong response. Ranma is also concerned about the sudden disappearance of his mother. `I wonder what happened to mom? She and pops both disappeared…'

Akane finishes eating first and excuses herself from the table to take a shower. After she leaves, Ranma notices that all eyes are now focused on him.

“What?”

Nabiki chuckles. “Looks like you're off to a good start, for someone who's never done this kind of thing before…”

“Well…” Ranma says as he pulls out a piece of paper. “I was just following some of the tips my mom wrote down for me…”

“Let me see that…” Nabiki says as she grabs the note out of his hand. She quickly scans the document and stops when she gets to a certain line. “This one sounds interesting…”

“Wait a second, don't…” Ranma says, knowing what line she's about to read aloud.

“Girls like it when their man caresses their breasts, make sure Akane feels appreciated…” Nabiki glances at Ranma. “So that's why you two…”

Kasumi just shakes her head and Ranma stops Nabiki before she says another word.

“Look, we didn't do anything like that…”

“Yet" Nabiki said with a sharks grin. "But I bet she's waiting."

Soun decides to make a comment after hearing his daughter's words. “I hope that you aren't doing… those kind of things with Akane…”

“All we did was hold hands… geez…” An exasperated Ranma replies.

“That's a good start… I know Akane appreciates your efforts… after all, she fought to win the right to be your only fiancée…” Soun says as he stands up. “Make sure and show her a good time on your date today…”

With that, Soun leaves the room and heads back to his room where he digs out a photo album and is soon lost in the past memories… ones concerning his deceased wife…

Back in the dining room, Nabiki finishes her breakfast and returns to her room. Kasumi cleans up the dishes and begins to wash them in the kitchen while Ranma takes the opportunity to think in peace…

`That was embarrassing… damn that Nabiki…' Ranma says as he takes the note off of the table and places in into his pocket. His thoughts drift back to when he asked Akane to trust him… `She still hesitated… I gotta get her to trust me… but how? How am I gonna get her to prove that to me? Hmm…'

Akane comes into the room a moment later. “Your turn Ranma…”

“I'll go in a sec'…”

Akane looks around the room for a moment. “We haven't seen P-chan in a while… I wonder where he went?”

Ranma's eyebrows go up. “No idea…” He stands up and glances at Akane with a glint on his eye. “I'm gonna take a bath now…” As he walks up the stairs, he thinks about his idea... `Ryoga… I'm gonna make Akane see what you really are… you can't keep hurting her like this…'

While Ranma takes a bath and contemplates his new “idea”… Mousse sits in his room and continues to think about Cologne's statement yesterday. `There's no way that she could get him back… he wouldn't stay with her, not after what Akane did for him. What is that old woman gonna do?'

Mousse leans back on the bed and tries to figure out what kind of scheme Cologne could use to try and get Shampoo and Ranma together. With this in mind, he drifts off to an uneasy sleep…

… and wakes up sometime later. He looks over at the clock and in a panic runs downstairs to the kitchen.

“I'm sorry I'm late…” Mousse says as he bows.

When he hears no response, Mousse looks around the room. `Where is everybody?' He walks around the café and finds nothing. After heading upstairs and finding the apartment completely empty, he just sighs. `What's going on here?'

The sound of his grumbling stomach a moment later temporarily moves his attention to a more important matter- breakfast.

Ten minutes later a very hungry Mousse devours his breakfast while sitting at one of the tables in the café. As he eats, his eyes notice something that hadn't noticed before… a white envelope sitting on the table.

With a measure of curiosity and trepidation, Mousse takes the envelope and opens it. A small piece of paper is inside with Chinese lettering. `I wonder what this is?'

He takes the paper and begins reading the contents of it aloud.

Mousse,

You will look after the café for the next week while I take Shampoo on a special training trip. I am training her to fight for her new husband… whom you will have to challenge when we return. Be prepared to fight. Do not take this assignment lightly… your future depends on this.

Cologne

“What the hell is this?” An exasperated Mousse says to himself. “This woman never gives up… and now I'm dragged into fighting some suitor… it better not be Ranma…”

A gentle knocking on the front door of the café directs his attention elsewhere. He cries aloud “We're not open…”

A voice is heard a moment later. “I heard that you make some wonderful ramen…”

Mousse walks up to the door and recognizes the woman standing there. “Are you… Ranma's mother?”

“Yes, I am Nodoka Saotome…”

Seeing an opportunity to get some information and check out some of his theories about Cologne's letter, he lets Nodoka into the café and closes the door. “Sit anywhere you like…”

Nodoka politely bows and sits down at a nearby table.

“What can I get for you?”

“Let's see… hmmm. How about an order of pork ramen…”

“One pork ramen coming right up…” Mousse says as he walks over to the kitchen. As he prepares Nodoka's food, he decides to ask a few questions.

“Your son… did he receive a challenge letter today?”

“Not that I know of… I left early this morning. I'll bet he's getting ready for his date with Akane… I do hope he'll follow my suggestions…” Nodoka says that last part with a chuckle.

`From the sound of that… I don't think that Ranma is what Cologne meant by suitor. I'm sure Akane would've come over here with her mallet by now if he did get such a letter…'

“I thought that there were three people running this café…” Nodoka says as she looks around the empty café.

“Shampoo is out training with Cologne… they left me a note saying that she was going to fight some new suitor… I thought at first that she was going to fight Ranma again…”

“Shampoo?” Nodoka pauses for a moment and then places the name with the face. “Oh yes, that young woman that fought Akane yesterday… and I remember Elder Cologne, of course…”

“I wonder who she got to fight Shampoo…” Mousse says as he pours the now finished soup into a bowl. Before bringing the bowl over to Nodoka, he knocks over a bowl and it falls to the ground and shatters. Nodoka notices this and wonders why this young man doesn't wear stronger glasses… so he can see better.

“Here's your ramen…” Mousse says as he sets the bowl down in front of the Saotome matriarch. She begins to eat and Mousse decides to engage in some small talk.

“Akane almost lost Ranma once before… when he was chasing after Shampoo…”

Nodoka looks up. “What do you mean?”

“Shampoo found this special jewel… and Cologne used that to trick Ranma into going after her… if it wasn't for me, Akane wouldn't have stopped him and he'd be married to Shampoo by now…” Mousse says as recalls the incident in question and how belligerent Akane had been about her feelings before he put the jewel on her.

“My son owes you a debt for doing that… as do I. You saved him from a marriage that he did not want and allowed him to be with Akane, who really does care for him…”

Mousse ponders her words as Nodoka finishes her soup. `Everything may have worked out for those two… but I'm still without my beloved Shampoo…' After a brief sigh, Mousse stretches his arms towards the ceiling and yawns.

Nodoka thought about Mousse for a moment and after he had told her that his need for glasses excluded him from being a true Amazon warrior, then she could understand his reluctance to use them. With his vision problems it made matters worse… an idea suddenly appears in her head. "You know Mousse, I think I know of a way to help you, as well as helping someone else at the same time."

Mousse blinked at her. "What?"

"You see, I know this nice young man that is in need of some help, and I think that you are just the one to help him."

Mouse was a little cautious of this. "How can I do that? And why should I?"

"Well you see," she sated with a smile. "He's rather new to this area and is looking for patients..."

"So he's a doctor?"

"Of sorts, this is what I need you to do." With that the Saotome matriarch explained her plan which caused Mousse's eyes to open wide and kick started the gears in his mind.

"Are you sure... is that really possible?"

"Yes it is, and he owes me a favor, so I think this will help out the two of you."

"Oh thank you... thank you!"

“I'll stop in again this weekend… you can let me know how everything went…” Nodoka says as she stands up.

“Of course… and thank you…” Mousse says, grateful for everything that has just happened. `At least I'll be able to see… these glasses don't help much at all… especially all those time I tried to kill... um... hehe… instead of trying to kill Ranma… I'm now indebted to his mother. This sure is a messed up place…'

Nodoka says goodbye and leaves the restaurant… and ponders her sons' situation. `I didn't know things were this complex around here…'

About an hour later, two teens leave the Tendo house and head towards a nearby park.

Even though Ranma is in his standard red shirt and black pants, he is pleasantly surprised to see Akane in, of all things, a red skirt and complementing top.

`I don't think his mom put down how to dress for a date… but I don't care… he looks… handsome in that…' Akane thinks as she glances at Ranma.

The early morning air rustles through the mostly empty streets, causing Akane to shiver slightly. A few minutes later the pair arrive at the park… and Akane realizes which park they're at…

“Hey Ranma… you remember what happened here a while back?” Akane says, trying to get Ranma to recall the events that transpired here.

“Umm… no…” Ranma says, trying to avoid the subject.

“You know, you're not a very good liar…” Akane said with a chuckle. “You thought I was Nabiki when you confessed…”

“I um… well…” Ranma recalls how embarrassed he felt at that moment. “Yeah…” Is his soft reply a moment later.

Akane motions to a nearby park bench and the two sit down next to each other. There is an awkward silence for about thirty seconds before Akane decides to mention something else from their last visit to this park…

“Ranma… I… really appreciated the roses… that you gave me here …”

“Oh yeah…” Ranma replies with a hint of nervousness in his voice, still not used to Akane being so close to him. `She's not going to mallet me… damn reflex action…'

Ranma decides to mention something that he had been thinking about ever since the end of the fight. “Akane… you're… different… I don't know how to say it… but you've, you know… changed since the fight… I umm… like it…”

“Oh…” Akane says while thinking about his words. `I am different… and it's all because I decided to accept Happosai's offer…'

”Well… let me tell you about what happened during my training…” Akane pauses for a moment to gather her thoughts. “I had to make a choice… he asked me what I was fighting for…”

“Oh…”

“I didn't want to lose… and he asked `Loose what?'”

Ranma's attention is focused on Akane… he can tell that she's giving this a lot of thought so he remains patient. This pays off when she continues a moment later.

“He made me tell him my reason for fighting… and I… I had to…”

“For me… you were fighting for me…” Ranma says softly daring to hope it was true. With a smile, Akane leans her body against his and continues her story.

Akane nodded and took a deep breath. “He still refused to train me… I had to… confess my feelings for you in front of him…” Akane sighs. “That was embarrassing…”

Ranma felt a little uneasy about this. He wasn't sure if he could really do the same. “Yeah, umm… I'm sure it was…”

“But there was a reason for that… I guess now I can see it…” Akane looks at Ranma. “He wanted me… to be able to show you… how far I'd go… just to keep you…”

“Oh…” Is about all Ranma can say. `I guess that old man has his moments… he's right… I know how far she went for me… and I appreciate that…'

Akane closes her eyes and rests her head on Ranma's shoulder. He looks down at Akane and notices a look of contentment on her face. `I've never… seen this side of her… damn it… I'm lucky I got this chance …`cause of that fight. I think she's changed for the better… heh… I haven't been malleted in a long time…'

Ranma decides to let Akane rest for a while. He relaxes and takes in the scenery around him. Blue skies… chirping birds… the shining sun… all the earmarks of a good day. He begins to think about a particular situation and what to do… and he needs Akane's help.

"Akane... I... I gotta tell you somethin' though I'm not sure how."

"What do you mean?"

"I... I made a promise to someone... on my honor as a martial artist not to tell their secret. But... I..."

"What is it?" Akane asked as she looks at him.

"I... I wanna tell you, but if I do then I break my word... an if I tell you then I'm s... I'm sc.... not sure how you'll take it."

Akane moved so she could look him in the eye. "Ranma... are you scared to tell me?"

Though is first instinct was to say he wasn't scared, the truth of it was, he was very scared. He liked the way Akane was now, and if he told her this then she'd hate him. So instead of saying the words he just nodded his head miserably.

While Akane likes the fact that he is trying to be honest, she is concerned about him. "Ranma, there's nothing that you could say that'd make me hate you."

"I don't know about that... but I wanna tell you... but if I do I break my promise... what do I do? What would you do?"

That caused her to sit back and blink. "What would I do?"

He nodded vigorously. "What would ya do if Nabiki or Kasumi had a friend that they liked... that... um... they didn't know something about them. But you knew it... and... "

"Is the secret hurting them?"

"I... I'm not sure." He says in all sincerity, as he does not know if her not knowing is better than her knowing.

"Since I know the secret is it hurting me?" Akane asked trying to understand.

"Every night..." Ranma said softly and clenched his fists. And while he had thought that she didn't notice, Akane would have had to of not only been blind but in another country to not have seen his reaction.

"Ranma... is this secret hurting you?" She asked softly.

Unable to answer Ranma only nods his head. How does he tell the girl he loves, that because of his stupid promise, someone else is sleeping in her bed at nights!

"This secret- it's about me?"

Again Ranma nods his head.

"If its hurting you this much Ranma... no secret is worth keeping."

Ranma suddenly looks up causing Akane to gasp from the lost and near hopeless look in his eyes. "Akane..." he says in a barely audible whisper.

"Yes?" She asks just as softly.

"I don't want to loose you... but if I tell you this... then you might not want to see me again…"

Akane is beginning to get scared, especially hearing Ranma talk this way. However before either of them can say a word they hear a scream not far from them.

"WHERE ON EARTH AM I NOW!"

This was quickly followed by another yell of "RANMA THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Ranma just rolls his eyes.

“Oh, it's Ryoga…” Akane says as she looks at the martial artist. “What did Ranma do this time?”

In response, Ranma decides to tell Akane to ask Ryoga about his curse.

“Trust me on this… ask him… about the curse…” Ranma says, imploring her to action. “Please…”

She looks at him skeptically, wondering what this was all about. `I guess it can't hurt to ask… I know Ranma wouldn't lie about something this…' She approaches Ryoga, and after taking a deep breath, asks him about his curse.

“Ryoga tell me about your curse… please…”

Ryoga gets nervous and then sees Ranma... and he gets pissed... really pissed and begins to scream...

“I thought you promised me that you wouldn't tell Akane… you're a honorless liar for breaking your word…”

Akane realizes that it's Ranma's promise to Ryoga that is causing Ranma so much pain... and the secret... involves her somehow.

“Look Ryoga, hold on a second…” Ranma says, trying to calm Ryoga down.

“I don't want to hear anything from you… it's your fault to begin with that I fell into that cursed pool…”

Akane's eyes open wide in astonishment. `Ryoga has a Jusenkyo curse?!'

Akane looks over at Ranma and notices that Ranma is not saying a word. Instead he is standing there, his head bowed... just letting Ryoga yell. She can see that Ranma is trying to restrain himself… but why?

When Ryoga sees that Ranma is not paying attention to him he acts... and using his umbrella, he knocks Ranma around a bit. Ranma does not put up a fight as Ryoga continues to try and attack him with his umbrella.

Akane can plainly see the sheer brutality of Ryoga's anger... Ryoga... is trying to kill Ranma... someone she has trained hard to keep...

“Ryoga, stop it!” Akane cries out as Ryoga knocks Ranma to the ground. Ranma touches his forehead and then looks at his hands… which are stained with blood.

“RYOGA! STOP HURTING RANMA!” Akane jumps in between the two and her battle aura begins to glow brightly. Ryoga tries to make another attack when Akane grabs his umbrella in mid-swing. “Ranma is my fiancée… so leave him alone. Ranma told me about a secret… and he said it was hurting me… tell me Ryoga, what is Ranma talking about?”

“It's all his fault…” Ryoga says as he tries to shake his umbrella free from Akane's hands.

“I don't know what happened… but what kind of curse do you have? Tell me!” Akane says, getting more angry with each passing moment. `Why is he so dead set on attacking Ranma? It took a lot for Ranma to tell me about this… and Ryoga isn't cooperating…'

"Ryoga...” Ranma says tiredly. "I'm tired of it, the secrets the lies... I... I want Akane to trust me, but I can't so that as long as you won't tell her the truth."

Akane takes her eyes off Ryoga a moment and looks back at Ranma who still has blood trickling from the cut. "Ranma..."

Ranma looks up at Akane and then past her to Ryoga. "I... I don't want there to be any secrets between us. For once... I want to..."

"To what?" Ryoga asks with a sneer. "To be happy? You destroyed MY happiness and I will make sure you NEVER have any!" At this point Ryoga was beyond mad, as Ranma had somehow turned Akane against him! 'But not any longer.' the thought and then acted.

With a hard push, Akane fell backwards with Ryoga's heavy umbrella falling across her legs pinning her to the ground.

"Akane!" Ranma shouted when he was tackled by the lost boy.

"I'LL KILL YOU RANMA!" Ryoga shouted in rage.

"Ranma!" Akane yelled in concern.

Then in what seemed like slow motion for her, Ryoga grabbed Ranma, but Ranma slipped on some mud causing him to fall. But not only did Ranma fall backwards… he pulled the lost boy with him.

Before Akane's astonished eyes, Both Ranma and Ryoga hit the water of the fountain and one second she was Looking at Ranma and Ryoga, the next she was looking at Ranma-chan... and... P-chan...

"P-CHAN!" Akane shouted to which the little pig just continued to try and bite off Ranma's arm. "RYOGA!" Akane said in a low growl. Both her hands grabbed the umbrella and not only did she pick the heavy thing up, but she snapped it in half. "RYOGA HIBIKI!"

This caused the little pig to stop and look at Akane. "Bwee..." Then its eyes got real big. 'Oh no... she... she saw...'

Akane paused for a moment and then pulled out the “Mallet of Doom” from hyperspace. Before striking the pig, she decides to let him know what her plans are…

"First... I am going to take you to a vet and have you castrated... with old rusty equipment." Akane began to list what she was going to do.

"BWEE!" P-chan slowly backs away as Akane continues staring at him, her battle aura growing stronger with every passing moment.

"Then I'm going to take what remains of those parts... and shove them down your throat while I have Kasumi cook up a nice pork dinner..."

"...WEE..."

"After that, what ever is left I am going to take somewhere, have you restored to life, and then I'll start the process all over again..." After saying that line, Akane prepares to strike…

`Oh crap…' Is the thought passing through Ryoga's mind just before a mighty mallet swing hits the fountain, just barely missing her target.

The little pig takes off, running out of the park at speeds never thought possible for his cursed form. Akane is following in hot pursuit, swinging her mallet in an attempt to knock the cursed martial artist out. After several minutes, P-chan manages to elude Akane and runs into an alley… and passes out near some garbage cans.

Ranma-chan patiently waits for Akane's return, all the while thinking about what could've happened to Ryoga. `I don't have to worry about him messing with Akane ever again… even if he did survive her and her mallet…'

On the walk back to the park, Akane realizes something. `What I was doing to P-chan… was the same thing I was doing to Ranma. Damn… I hope he forgives me for all those times I hit him…'

When Akane returns, Ranma hears her mumble something about that “Damn perverted pig…”

“Akane… I'm sorry… I should've told you sooner but…”

Akane looks down at the ground and then takes one look at Ranma. Unable to restrain herself, she bursts into tears. `I… I… damn it… I… messed up. Ranma was trying to protect me and I…'

Akane's thoughts are interrupted when Ranma-chan places a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. Ranma-chan tries to apologize again. “Akane… I'm… I'm sorry…”

Akane sniffles. “No… it's my fault. I thought you were jealous of P-chan… but you were trying to protect me from that pervert. I'm the one who hurt you…” Akane leans on her mallet and sighs.

“Akane… look… what…” Ranma-chan takes a deep breath before continuing. “What happened before… is in the past…”

"You you still want to... to... I mean after all those time I... I hit you... and... and called you names... I..." As Akane tried to pull her thoughts together, the memories, the beatings... everything kept coming back to her. She understood more and more of what Happosai had said to her.

"Ranma is a trusting and forgiving soul, but a person can only be pushed so far before there is no turning back. How close to the edge do you think you are?" If there was nothing else she learned in her training, it was that.

Ranma-chan says nothing in response. Akane is surprised to find herself in a hug a moment later.

“Umm… Akane… don't cry…” Ranma-chan says softly.

“But I can't help it… I hurt you…” Akane says as she tries to contain her tears.

Ranma-chan holds Akane until the girl stops crying… which takes a few minutes. `I didn't think she'd get this emotional about this… but she doesn't have to worry… ain't nobody else I'd wanna be with…'

“Thank you…” Akane says softly.

“Umm… did you want to get something to eat…” Ranma-chan says in attempt to get Akane's mind on another subject.

“Sure…” Akane says, following Ranma-chan's lead. Ranma-chan stands up and motions Akane to follow her… several minutes later the pair arrive at a small café… one which Akane had noticed before but had never gone into…

“I eat here sometimes… so I don't cause any problems like I would if I stopped over at Uc-chan's or Cologne's café…” Ranma-chan explains as she heads inside. Akane steps inside and looks around. `It's small… but it has a certain homey feeling to it…'

Numerous small tables line one side of the café… a large sit down counter fills up most of the other side. Two doorways flank the sit down counter, which has a few customers quietly eating their lunch. As Ranma-chan decides where to sit, an old man emerges from the kitchen.

“Ranma!” An older man with a white beard exclaims as Ranma-chan sits down at a table near the entrance. “I see you brought a friend with this time…

Ranma-chan smiles. “She's umm… more then my friend…” Ranma-chan pauses for a moment. “Could I get some hot water please?”

“Of course, of course…” The old man says with a chuckle and heads into the kitchen to get the water.

“So… who's that?” Akane says, motioning towards the kitchen.

“Oh, he's the owner of this café… and he can make some great teriyaki…” Ranma-chan replies as the old man returns and hands Ranma the water. Ranma-chan quickly splashes the water on her hair… triggering the transformation back to Ranma-kun.

Akane hands Ranma a towel, which he uses to wipe off his face. The café owner studies Akane's face for a moment and then comes to a conclusion…

“Are you the young lady that Ranma here keeps talking about?”

`He's been talking… about me? I wonder what he's said about me…' Akane thinks as she debates on how to respond. “I guess I am… I'm Akane Tendo…”

“Yep… I was right…” The old man chuckles. “You were right, she is cute…”

`He said I was cute… in front of other people? Really?' Akane smiles slightly and stays silent… Ranma blushes… causing the café owner to laugh at their situation.

“I think I've embarrassed you enough, Ranma. I know how you get weak in the knees when she smiles… if I was 30 years younger, I might ask her out…” The old man extends a hand out to Akane for her to shake, which she does. “My name is… well, just call me `Pops'…”

“Hey Pops… how about some of that world famous beef teriyaki of yours?” Ranma says, trying to get the subject of the conversation back to something more neutral. Akane notices that the way Ranma said “Pops” a moment ago is quite different from the way he normally says that same word when referring to his father.

“And what can I get for you, Akane?”

Akane thinks about her answer for a moment and then speaks. “I'll have the same thing… and do you have any soup? I'm hungry…” Akane rubs her stomach and can feel it grumble slightly.

“I've got some fresh miso soup that I just made less then ten minutes ago… if that'll do…”

“Sure!” Was the hearty reply a moment later.

“Make that two…” Ranma added in.

“It'll be right up…” Pops says as he steps away from the table and heads over to the kitchen. `Since it's Ranma's special friend, I'll make sure and make an extra special batch just for them…' Pops thinks as he gets to work on preparing the meal.

Akane looks around the small café and notices a few couples sitting at other tables near the back of the café… some are eating lunch, others are preoccupied with other things… like kissing.

`This looks like a hangout for couples… wait a second… no, it couldn't be… could it?' Akane scratches her head. `I thought he just wanted to eat lunch and talk with me…'

“You're so quiet… are you okay Akane?” Ranma asks, wondering what's on her mind. `She's never this quiet… unless something's wrong…'

“Oh… it's nothing…” Akane says as she turns her face to look at Ranma. “I was just thinking… about us…”

“Oh…”

“I bet you've wanted to ask me out a date sometime… and come here…” Akane smiles. “It seems like you like to talk about me a lot to your friend Pops…”

“Umm… well…” Ranma fidgets a little. “I was… h-hoping that I could take you here… without the other girls killin' me…”

“I don't think anyone is going to bother us today… it's just you and me…” Akane says with a smile.

Before Ranma can respond to that, Pops comes out with two large bowls of soup, which he places on the table next to each other, not across from each other. The two teens look at the soup and wonder what's going on.

“Sorry to ask this… but I need the seat cushion that Akane is sitting on… it has to be repaired and the repairman will be here soon…”

“Oh… it's no problem…” Akane stands up and Ranma nervously scoots over to allow her to sit down next to him. Pops takes the seat cushion and turns to look at the couple.

“The teriyaki will be out in a minute… enjoy your miso soup…” Pops says as he heads back to the kitchen.

Akane and Ranma exchange silent glances… before Ranma's stomach breaks the silence.

“I guess we should eat…” Akane says as she stares at the bowl of soup.

“Yeah… let's dig in…” Ranma heartily replies.

Ranma and Akane begin to eat… not truly aware of how close they are sitting next to each other. After finishing his soup, Ranma pushes the bowl forward and turns to look at Akane.

“That's some good soup, right Akane?”

Akane stops eating for a moment to answer Ranma. “It's pretty good… I like it…”

Ranma cannot help but feel good inside at that admission. `She likes this place… everythin' is going good so far…'

Ranma silently watches Akane as she finishes eating her soup. She pushes her bowl forward on the table and sits back against the back cushion of the booth to relax for a moment.

“Lunch is served…” A familiar voice exclaims from the kitchen. Akane and Ranma turn and look in that direction as Pops comes out with two large plates, each one filled with quite a bit of beef teriyaki…

“I hope you two are hungry…” Pops says as he puts down the two plates in front of the couple.

“I know I am…” Ranma says as he eyes the food in front of him. Akane sniffs the air and then looks at Pops.

“This smells great! It's been a while since I've had teriyaki…”

“Don't let me stop you… go ahead and dig in…” Pops turns his head and notices that some of his other customers are waving at him. “I've got some other customers to tend to… just let me know if you need anything else…”

With that, Pops makes a quick exit, leaving the couple alone once again. Akane looks over and notices that he hasn't started eating yet… and appears to be lost in thought.

“Let's eat before it gets cold…”

Ranma returns to normal a moment later. He quickly reaches for some nearby chopsticks and twirls them around for a moment before going for the food.

“Time to eat!” Ranma begins to rapidly devour his lunch… Akane sighs aloud.

`Some things never change… I just hope he actually gets some food in his mouth…' Akane thinks as she begins to eat her teriyaki. `This teriyaki is some of the best food that I've ever had in my life…'

The couple eats in silence, both focus on eating the meal and not on the nearness to the other person. Ranma finishes first and stretches his arms towards the ceiling. He slowly brings down his right arm… and then his left… which ends up behind Akane. Ranma nervously looks over at Akane… to see if the moment was right. `Here goes nothin'…'

Akane is surprised to feel Ranma's arm on her back a moment later. His left hand rests on her left shoulder… Akane can feel him shaking a little. `He's… being bold… maybe he did want to do something besides eat…'

After taking a deep breath, Akane leans against Ranma, causing the martial artist to blush. She notices his reaction out of the corner of her eye and continues to eat, happy with the effort that Ranma is putting into this date.

`I guess she likes what I'm doing… maybe this dating thing ain't too bad… I can't believe that she's so close to me… and I'm not getting hit or anythin'…' Ranma thinks as Akane finishes her lunch.

Across the room, Pops notices that his plan is working and decides to wait a few minutes before gathering the finished dishes. Ranma looks over at Akane, who has her eyes closed and a small smile on her face. `This isn't so bad… why was I so afraid of doing this before? He's really trying today… trying for me…'

After a few minutes of silence, Pops comes over to the table and nudges Ranma.

“Looks like you're doing pretty good… she seems to be very comfortable being with you…”

Ranma looks at Pops, dumbfounded. `What does he mean? She's always tryin' to hit me and slap me anytime we were close… wait a second…'

Ranma looks down at Akane and notices that she's fallen asleep. `That was before… she's definitely changed…'

Not wanting to disturb Akane, Ranma speaks his next words in a whisper. “How much do I owe you for lunch?”

Pops smiles. “Free of charge my boy… you finally got your wish and got her in here. You two have fun on your date…” Pops takes the plates and bowls off of the table and returns to the kitchen, satisfied inside about helping out young love.

“Akane… Akane…” Ranma whispers as he gently nudges his fiancée.

“Huh?” Akane rubs her eyes and then looks at Ranma. “How long was I sleeping?”

“Umm… maybe twenty minutes or so…”

“Sorry to make you wait… I'm sure you were umm… bored waiting for me…”

Ranma shakes his head. “Naw, it was no big deal…”

“Good… did you want to… take a walk with me before we head home?” Akane says, hoping to spent a little more quality time with Ranma.

“S-sure…”

Akane gently slides out of the booth and then waits for Ranma to get on his feet… before she slips her hand into his.

“Ranma… make sure you don't walk into any light posts on our way home…” Akane says with a giggle.

Ranma can only roll his eyes as Akane gently pulls him out of the café and onto the open street. The two spend over an hour just walking around… engaging in small talk and trying to overcome some of their past difficulties with each other. Several times during the walk Ranma stops and looks around. `I feel like someone's watchin' us… but I don't see anyone…'

The couple arrive back at the Tendo house some time later. No one seems to be around as they walk upstairs and stop in front of Akane's door…

“Ranma… thank you for everything… including the roses…” Akane says with a slight fluster on her cheeks.

Ranma smiles. `I'm glad I remembered to do that before we got back here…' He looks at Akane and notices the happy expression on her face.

“Umm… it's no problem… I uh… had fun…”

“Good… so did I…” Akane closes her eyes and slowly moves her lips towards Ranma. He begins to sweat and he looks around before putting his hands on her shoulders. “Is this…”

Akane finishes Ranma's statement. “Yes… normally you kiss at the end of the date… it's called a `goodnight kiss'… you still want to kiss me, right?”

“Yes…” Ranma pauses before speaking again. “I l-liked it a lot… when we umm… did that before…”

Akane is silent for a moment… and happy inside at his admission a moment ago. She moves towards him again… and soon feels the warm feeling on his lips pressed against hers. The kiss seems to last for an eternity… when Akane gently pulls away, Ranma notices that her face is red… just like his.

“That was… good…” Ranma says softly.

“Glad you liked it…” Akane says with a smile. “I'm going to relax for a while… and then it looks like we're on our own for dinner…”

“We'll umm… make something together later, okay? I'm going down to the dojo to workout…”

“I'll see you in a little while then…” Akane says as she heads into her room and closes her door. Ranma takes several deep breaths and looks around… `I could've sworn I heard something… it's probably nothing…'

Ranma walks down to the dojo and begins to workout and practice his moves in an effort to clear his mind and relax a little… the date was quite stressful for the young martial artist. Back up in Akane's room, Akane sighed as she put her new roses in a vase. There were so many times today she wanted to say something, but was not sure of what to say. When he had handed her the roses she had turned a bright red, but still she was not sure what to say, or do. She had won... yet now what? As she stepped over to her bed she blinked as she saw something on her pillow. It took her a moment of just staring at it before she actually realized it was a note. Picking it up she gasped as she saw another rose had been covered by it.

Turning the paper over she let out a soft sigh. "Akane..." she read and knew it was from Ranma. "I'm sorry, you know I ain't no good with words and ain't much better writin'." Akane couldn't help but grin at that.

"Mom says that girls like flowers, an' from how you smiled today I'm glad to see she was right." A tear made its way down her eye as she read it. It wasn't romantic, or a confession of love, but Ranma had wrote it, and that was enough. "I hope I can make ya smile more, I'll try not ta be a jerk. I don't like makin' ya cry." The note was signed with his name, but even if he hadn't of signed it, she would've known it was from him.

“Ranma…” Akane sighed. “You're doing fine… better then I expected…”

Akane walks over to her window and opens it up, allowing a cool breeze to enter her room. She pulls up a chair to her desk and sits down, letting her mind wander as she stares out at the blue sky.

A while later, in the dojo, Ranma decides to take a break. `I feel a lot better now… this dating thing is harder then I thought…' He notices that there's a tape player plugged into the far wall. `Someone must've been listenin' to some music or somethin'… let's see what's in there…'

Ranma is surprised to hear Akane's voice come from the tape player. “This song is for Ranma…” Ranma's curiosity is peaked as some background music begins to play before a very familiar line is heard. “Ranma no baka!”

(Author's note: I'm not going to post the lyrics for the “Baka Song” but if you want to see what it's really about and see the music video for yourself, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS4mRlNCV8g Needless to say, it involves Akane saying “BAKA” more times then I can count… and saying various things about Ranma, mostly negative)

Needless to say, Ranma is taken aback as the song plays. `She must of made this on one of her bad days with me I guess…'

From her window, Akane hears the music as it begins to play and panics. `Oh no! He found that tape of the song I made… damn it, I left it in the tape player. I'd better get down there and stop the song before it's too late…'

With that, Akane rushes down to the dojo and flings open the doors. Ranma looks over at the entrance and notices the worried expression on Akane's face.

“Stop that song, Ranma…”

Ranma shakes his head. “It's okay… I wanna umm… hear the rest of it…”

“But… but…” Akane nervously stutters.

“Akane…” Ranma motions her to come over to him, which she does slowly, her head now lowered as she wonders what he's going to say. `I hope he's not pissed off at me…' She sits down next to Ranma and waits for the song to end.

When it does, Ranma looks over at the very worried Akane. “Akane… look…”

“Ranma please don't hate me… I didn't mean for you to hear that…” Akane says, interrupting Ranma.

“How'd you come up wit' the song… I mean I know about the baka thing but you were very umm… creative…” A curious Ranma asks.

“I guess I just got pissed off at you one day and decided to put it into writing instead of hitting you or breaking bricks…” Akane says softly, her head still facing down and not meeting Ranma's gaze.

“Look…” Ranma pauses for a moment and takes a deep breath. “It's all in the past… I don't hate yah… I actually thought the song was funny… only you'd write a song like that…”

Akane slowly looks up at Ranma. “You're not joking with me are you?”

Ranma shakes his head. “The past is da past… I'm more worried about now then what happened before…”

Akane breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you Ranma… for not getting angry with me…”

“Sure… no problem. Maybe I should keep the tape… you know… for old times sake… yah did write it about me after all…”

Akane responds a moment later. ”Hey, it's my tape and I'm going to keep it!”

“Why can't I have it?” Ranma asks as one of his hands moves towards the tape player.

“Because I said so…”

In the blink of an eye, Ranma's hand darts out to grab the tape from the player. Akane grabs a hold of Ranma's arm and pulls him towards her. “Ranma… give me the tape…”

`I don't wanna get in a fight with her… I don't wanna ruin today's mood… and it's really not important… I'll let her have the tape…' Ranma looks at the struggling Akane and sighs aloud.

“Fine, it's yours…”

Ranma drops the tape to the ground and Akane quickly picks it up. She turns and looks at Ranma… he's surprised to see a smile on her face.

`Why is she smiling?' Ranma wonders as she takes a deep breath… and then crushes the tape in her hand.

“Ranma… you're right… let the past be the past…”

Inside, Ranma is happy that she's taken that stance. However, he's still a little nervous… her being this close to him most of the day has “overloaded” his systems, so to speak. Akane notices his nervousness and decides to ask a question.

“Ranma, are you okay?”

“Akane, I'm sorry, it's just I'm used to yah hittin' me and yellin' at me when you're this close… or when I was this close to other girls…”

“Oh…” Is about all that Akane can say… his words are almost like another slap in the face for her. She turns her head away and thinks… `My past comes back to haunt me again… just like Happosai said it would… but… Ranma is willing to forgive me… and I need to do that for him, too…'

Akane turns around and slowly moves her right hand towards Ranma's cheek…

As she does so, the martial artist can feel his heart start to race, despite mentally trying to convince himself that it's `okay now… she's not gonna hurt me…'

When her hand gently touches his cheek, she looks into his eyes. `He's got a questioning look on his face… he's probably thinking “why didn't she hit me?” Damn it…'

“Ranma…” Akane says softly. “Am I hitting you now? Or hurting you?”

“Nn-no…”

“I'm sorry for treating you the way I did...”Akane says in an attempt to reach Ranma… to make him see that it's “all right”. A smile flickers on his face for a moment and then his expression returns to that of seriousness.

“Akane… I umm…”

Seeing that Ranma is trying to express himself, Akane smiles.

“Yes?”

“I'm umm… sorry too… I called yah a bunch of names…”

“Oh, Ranma…” Akane says happily. She moves her body towards Ranma…

"You guys are gonna make me rich... and make front page news tomorrow..." A voice softly says as the flash of a camera fills the dojo, stopping Akane short of her goal.

Ranma and Akane look at Nabiki, who just shrugs her shoulders.

”What? I couldn't help it… you two were getting so close…”

Akane sticks out her tongue. “Too bad… cause we're gonna get closer…”

Before Nabiki can react, Akane kisses Ranma… who for the second time that day feels her warm lips on his. After a few moments, she pulls away from the now wide-eyed Ranma and looks over at Nabiki- who's totally flabbergasted.

“Looks like you missed that picture, Sis…” Akane says with a chuckle. She reaches her hand out to Ranma and helps him to his feet. “See yah…”

Nabiki watches as the two walk out of the dojo and back into the main house. She grins and begins thinking… `I didn't need that picture… I've got plenty of you two already… I'm gonna make a killing in the morning…'

After thinking about her plan for tomorrow morning, Nabiki heads into the house and straight for the dining room, where she finds her father, Kasumi, Akane, and Ranma eating dinner.

“Your dinner is getting cold…” Kasumi says as Nabiki enters the room.

“I'm sorry… I had to figure a few things out…” Nabiki says as she sits down at the table and begins to load her plate with food. As she eats, she thinks about the perfect comment to make to get Akane back for her comment earlier…

“How did your date go, Akane?” Soun asks, wondering how it turned out.

Akane smiles. “I had a lot of fun… Ranma and I had a good time…”

“I'm glad to hear that…” Soun replies, happy for his daughter.

“What did you two do on your date?” Kasumi asks just before Nabiki was going to speak.

“Well, we went to the park and talked for a while… there was a little interruption but I took care of that really quick. After that, Ranma took me to this little café for lunch… and then we walked around for a while and came back here…” Akane snaps her fingers. “And he bought me roses…”

All eyes turn and look at Ranma, whose face is now a bright red.

Nabiki's interest is perked as well. `I didn't start following them until after they left the café… I wonder what she meant…'

“I umm… yeah… we had a good t-time… Akane was very… nice…” Ranma says nervous a moment later.

“That's wonderful… you two are off to a good start already…” Kasumi says with a smile.

“But, you know… you two could make it even better…” Nabiki says in a teasing tone of voice.

Ranma rolls his eyes and Akane sighs aloud.

“Why so glum little sis? Ranma here could show you how much he appreciates you…” Nabiki says with a wink.

“Now now Nabiki… I don't think Ranma and Akane are ready for that level of intimacy… this was their first date. I hope it's the first of many…” Soun says as he looks over at his daughter and her fiancée.

“Thanks dad… I hope so too…” Akane says nodding her head.

Ranma has an idea a moment later. `Why should Akane and I get teased all the time? What about Nabiki and her love life?'

“Say, Nabiki… what about you?”

“Huh?” Nabiki says, having no idea what Ranma is talking about.

“Oh, come on now, surely you can get a date…”

Akane looks over at Ranma and then at Nabiki.

“Tell us about your love life… since you seem so interested in ours…” Akane says with a grin.

“Me?!” Nabiki says, shocked by what those two were asking. “I umm… well… it's none of your business…” With that, Nabiki stands up and leaves the table and the room.

Kasumi sighs. “You shouldn't tease her like that… Nabiki has it rougher then you think she does…”

Ranma and Akane look at Kasumi and wonder what she means by that. Soun excuses himself from the table and goes off and makes a phone call.

“Ranma, you did a good job… just keep being open with my sister…” Kasumi says with a smile.

“Y-yeah…” Ranma replies back, sneaking a quick glance over at Akane- who notices out of the corner of her eye.

“Today was easy… just wait until we go to class tomorrow…” Akane says as she elbows Ranma.

“Oh yeah… I forgot about that…”

In another part of Nerima, Ukyo is taking out the trash when she spots something unusual next to the garbage cans.

“It's… a little black pig…” Ukyo picks up the pig and notices a bandana around its neck. `Is this Akane's pig… P-chan?'

The piglet sneezes and Ukyo cannot help but feel sorry for it. She gently takes P-chan into her arms and carries him inside. `Poor little pig… its got a cold…'

Ryoga feels warm and comfortable… `Is this a dream? I feel so… pampered…' He opens his eyes and notices that he's wrapped in a towel which is sitting next to a bath. Hot steam fills the room as Ukyo draws some bath water for P-chan.

`I hope this will help warm him up…'

Ukyo hums a tune as the water pours into the bathtub. A few minutes later, she turns off the water and picks up P-chan, who had fallen asleep again.

“Time to warm up… hopefully this will make you feel better…”

Ryoga can feel the steam hitting his body… his eyes open just before he's immersed into the hot water.

“It's okay…” Ukyo says as notices the pigs' reaction. A moment later a figure emerges from the water… causing Ukyo to stop dead in her tracks.

“R-R-Ryoga?” Ukyo stammers, not believing what she just saw.

Ryoga sneezes and rubs his nose. “I don't… feel so good…” Ukyo looks up at Ryoga and notices that he has a flushed face, sweaty features, and puffy eyes.

The lost boy passes out and sinks back into the tub… and fails to come back up. Ukyo quickly snaps out of her statue-like position and pulls him out of the water.

“Ryoga! Are you okay?”

Ukyo gets no response… but can see that he's breathing quite heavily. `He needs some rest… and maybe some light soup later… he's exhausted. I've never seen him like this before…'

Ukyo gently pulls Ryoga out of the bathtub… however, when his body touches the cold floor, he begins to shiver uncontrollably…

In a flash Ukyo rushes over to a nearby cabinet and pulls out several towels and covers Ryoga up. His shivering slowly subsides… Ukyo touches his face and notices that his skin feels clammy and cold. `He's really sick… he needs to be warmed up right away…'

Ryoga's eyes flutter open and he groggily looks at Ukyo, his eyes squinting as they try and make out the figure that's standing above him.

“Where am I?” A very weak voice almost squeaks a moment later.

“You stay here… I'll get a futon ready for you, okay?” Ukyo says in a comforting tone.

Ryoga weakly nods and waits… still unsure about where he's at and who's helping him out. Ukyo rushes out of the room and takes out her spare futon and sets it up. `I hope this will do… I really don't have many guests… I hope it's warm enough…'

When Ukyo returns to the bathroom, she finds Ryoga has fallen asleep again. `I guess there's only one way to do this… the hard way…'

Ukyo takes a deep breath and then stoops down and picks up Ryoga. She carries the lost boy into the other room and covers his body with the futon's blanket, hoping that between the towels and the blanket that he'll be warm enough. She spends several minutes staring at Ryoga and thinking about what has just happened.

`He's… P-chan? I don't believe it… all those times Akane was talking about that pig… it was him. I wonder why he was lying over by the garbage cans?'

A sneeze interrupts Ukyo's line of thought and brings her attention back to her “patient”…

“Where am I?”

“You're at my place…”

“Ukyo?” Ryoga says aloud, finally recognizing her voice.

“I think you need to rest… you're looking really pale Ryoga…” A concerned Ukyo says as she looks at Ryoga's face.

“Thank the gods… I made it out alive… and I'll be safe…” Ryoga says in a rambling tone of voice before falling asleep once again.

Ryoga's last statement makes Ukyo wonder aloud. “What did he mean by that? It sounds like he was in some kind of battle or something…”

Ukyo silently watches Ryoga and recalling some of her “adventures” that she had with Ryoga… ones that were directed towards getting Akane paired up with him and not Ranma. `Those were the days…'

After stretching, Ukyo stands up and walks over to the other side of the room, where a familiar picture once again beckons her attention…

`I helped him… to find Akane… but he did save me…' Ukyo looks over her shoulder at her closet and blushes. `I still have that pink dress… like I'd ever wear that in public…'

While Ukyo makes some soup and takes care of the ailing Ryoga, she cannot help wonder what school will be like tomorrow… and the next day. `I'm going to have to face Akane tomorrow… and Ranma… I hope everything will be all right…'

To be continued in Chapter 8: Return to Class

Sorry about the delay in writing this chapter, I've been real busy with work and school. I have lots of notes for my next chapter of Ranma and NGE, so keep your eyes on whatever website you're reading it on. Please read and review!

Omake for above part:

Ryoga blinked and looked at Akane and Ranma. "You mean... you're not mad at me?"

Akane just smiled back sweetly- "Of course not Ryoga, why would I be mad at you, you only abused my trust, tarnished my honor, slept in my bed, saw me naked, tried to destroy what happiness I did have, and caused me to constantly abuse my fiancée when he tried to protect me from one of the worlds biggest perverts... why would I be mad?"

Ryoga just blinked at them. Ranma then chuckled and added, "Ryoga... here's your sign...."