Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Unworthy ❯ Two ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2, and I'm making no money off this. ::drops head and sighs, then suddenly perks up:: But this sure is fun to write!

Chapter 2

 

After seeing Akane safely back at the Tendo-ke, Ranma quietly slipped around back, vaulting into the yard and up to the window of the room he shared with his Pop. He'd grabbed his pack and slipped back out and into the dojo before Akane started sobbing in her room, so didn't hear it. As far as he knew, she'd just gotten home from a really nice evening with the guy she apparently l--l--

 

--loved...

 

Ranma had to sit and breathe for a few minutes to get the pain that thought brought him under control. His hands had started shaking so hard he couldn't even get the pen and paper out of his pack. He wrapped his arms about himself and rocked back and forth, eyes wide and unseeing as tears leaked free; while the nearly stabbing pain in his heart slowly eased.

 

When he finally thought he had himself under enough control, he dug through his pack to find his white gi. He laid it out by the Tendo alter, carefully smoothing out the few wrinkles. He then grabbed the pen and paper and quickly listed the names of the people who were going to receive letters from him.

 

It wouldn't do to forget anyone. Seppuku was final; he wouldn't be able to come back and fix such an omission.

 

It was obvious, looking at the unusually sloppy mess of his writing, that he needed to be calmer before writing any of those letters, or no one would be able to read them! Bowing his head, he sighed, before setting the pen and list back in his pack and propping it near the Tendo alter. He retreated to the center of the dojo and stood for a moment, just breathing. Then he began his kata.

 

He started with the simplest, moving through the patterns with the unconscious, thoughtless ease of true mastery. Every move flowed gracefully and powerfully into the next, the change from one form to another seamless. He meant to go through every single kata of the Saotome Ryuu, in order of difficulty, without breaking a sweat. Time lost meaning as he lost himself in the forms--the thrill of perfection of movement brought his mind into a calmed state of no-thought. His emotions were slowly pushed to the side, supplanted by the serenity of his Art.

 

“Ranma-kun!”

 

The normally soft voice raised to a relieved cry brought him up from the depths of his meditative state, his awareness returning abruptly enough to nearly make him stumble and lose his place. He brought the kata to a halt and turned to face Kasumi, who was nearly out of breath, leaning against the door frame as her knees seemed to wobble.

 

“Kasumi...?” He blinked, confused. He'd never seen Kasumi looking upset! What was wrong?!

 

“Ranma-kun--we have to talk.” She took a deep breath and started walking towards him, still breathing heavily, a determined look on her unsmiling face. One hand was fisted within the grip of the other, in front of her.

 

Ranma swallowed heavily, a sense of dread creeping through his gut. Had he done something to make Kasumi unhappy?! Kami-sama! He couldn't think of anything, but that didn't mean much. He never really knew how he made any girl unhappy, most of the time; he just knew it happened, and it was somehow always his fault. And no one would ever explain any of it to him! They'd either laugh, or decry his lack of people skills...

 

He stayed standing in the middle of the dojo until Kasumi came up and took his hand in a firm grip, turning and leading him back to the house and in to the dining table, without a word. She gently pushed him down to sit and brought over the tea she'd already prepared, her normally serene face troubled.

 

“Kasumi? What--what's wrong? D-did I do somethin'--”

 

He didn't get to finish before she was shaking her head. “No, Ranma-kun--no, you haven't done anything wrong! It's something I'm afraid you might do that's worrying me, something that can't be undone--and isn't necessary.” Suspiciously liquid brown eyes caught and held his. “Someone--has done something very cruel to you tonight, Ranma-kun, and I don't want you to make any decisions without knowing what really happened!”

 

Now completely confused, Ranma gulped. “Uhm...who's done what ta me? I don't understand...nobody's even attacked me, since noon...!” Somebody must have done something truly terrible, for Kasumi to call them cruel! What could it be?! How could he have missed noticing it happening to him!?!

 

Kasumi shook her head, blinking her eyes to clear them. She took one of Ranma's hands where it was resting on the table into both of hers, looking intently into his eyes. “Ranma-kun--I know what you think you saw tonight, between my Imoto-chan and Ryoga-kun. I want you to know--it wasn't what you thought it was.”

 

Ranma looked down at the table, tension once more quivering through him, all the calming of his kata undone. The image of Akane yanking Ryoga's head down into that second kiss replayed over and over in front of his eyes, open or closed, no matter how hard he tried to banish it. He had to concentrate to keep his breathing even, to not involuntarily crush Kasumi's hands as they held his.

 

“It looked pretty damned clear ta me. I don't see how I could've misunderstood her kissin' him like that.”

 

Kasumi winced at the bitterness in his emotion-rough voice. “Ranma-kun--she knew you were watching, she knew you'd been following them all through that pretend date. She was trying to prove to herself that you do care about her; enough to get jealous, enough to wreck her date with another boy.”

 

Confused, and still hurt, blue eyes raised to meet brown. “Hunh? She--wanted me to wreck her date?! Are you tryin' ta tell me she actually wanted me ta pick a fight with Ryoga, for a change?!” He stared at Kasumi, incredulous, as she nodded. Then he sighed and looked down for a moment, more bewildered than ever; and still feeling that deep emotional pain.

 

“I know it sounds odd, Ranma-kun...but right now, Akane-chan is up in her room crying her eyes out, because she thinks you don't care about her.”

 

“That's crazy!!” Ranma drew back, mind a-whirl with confusion...and a small flicker of hope. Maybe...maybe Kasumi was right. Maybe Akane wasn't in love with Ryoga after all!

 

But still...

 

He sighed heavily, shoulders slumping. “That don't really change nothin', Kasumi. I know Akane don't wanna marry a freak like me; she's been clear enough `bout that right from day one. I ain't gonna force her into marryin' somebody she hates, no matter what our fathers say.” His head bowed down, he gently removed his hand from Kasumi's grip and leaned heavily on the table, hunched over now-crossed arms. His voice was soft, and suffused with emotion when he all but whispered, “I love her too much ta do that to her.” Kasumi knew his eyes would be suspiciously watery, were she to see them just then.

 

There was a soft gasp from behind Ranma at his barely audible words. His head came up as he stiffened, terrified panic crossing his features for a moment, followed by grim determination as he turned to face whoever it was.

 

Akane stood at the base of the stairs, one hand pressed against the wall, the other fisted against her chest. She was wide-eyed with shock, staring at Ranma, her lip trembling. Her eyes were red and puffy, her face still blotchy from recent heavy crying.

 

Ranma nearly went sprawling as he scrambled to his feet, backing a couple steps away from her, finding himself unable to look away from those tear-reddened brown eyes. His face was a mix of embarrassment, sorrow, anger; a deep hurt...and shame. All he could think was that he'd made her cry--again.

 

He tried to get his emotions under control, tried to put himself into the Soul of Ice, but couldn't manage it. The emotions were too strong, too confusing.

 

Akane took a hesitant step towards him, one hand reaching out uncertainly, eyes glued to his face. “D-did you mean it? Ranma?” Her voice was barely audible, breathy and hesitant. Deep brown eyes held a flicker of hope.

 

“I--I-I--I--” Ranma stuttered and took another step backwards, away from her. Both sisters saw the flicker of fear that passed across his expression, that was fast followed by hopelessness; both saw the tremble in his limbs.

 

Then Ranma stopped moving, took a deep breath, and slumped; arms loose at his sides, turning his face down and away. “...Yeah.” It was almost too soft to be heard. His face was a bright enough red to put the ripest tomato to shame.

 

He certainly wasn't expecting to suddenly find himself made breathless by a glomp of Amazonian proportions, even as Akane started crying again, with broken words mixed in. “Ranma no baka! ...You...you do care... I--I didn't--didn't think you did...! I-I thought...you--hated me...b-because of how I've t-treated you...s-so I c-couldn't...let our f-fathers--force you to--to marry s-somebody you h-h-hated--!”

 

Ranma stared down at the top of Akane's head as she tried to squeeze the breath out of him, too astonished to be nervous. Akane--thought he hated her?!

 

Unable to draw breath to get a word in edgewise, Ranma somewhat desperately squeezed his hands between the two of them at stomach level and carefully, very carefully, worked them up--palms to his own chest--until they were at her shoulders. He then gently pushed against her, just enough to get a much-needed breath, even as little sparkles started at the edges of his vision.

 

If he hadn't desperately needed to breathe, he'd never have risked it--the backs of his hands had to more than lightly brush Akane's bosom in the process, something he was certain would earn him an immediate mallet to the head!

 

He'd never, ever have tried that with Shampoo. Not in a million years!! If he got his hands anywhere near that Amazon's breasts, and Akane saw it somewhere other than in her imagination, he figured his life expectancy would have been about two seconds!

 

Not to mention that it would have encouraged Shampoo. That Amazon did not need any least hint of encouragement from him!!

 

Akane suddenly noticed that Ranma was apparently pushing her away. She'd been too upset to even notice his hands moving, until she felt the pressure on her shoulders. She looked up, confused, but unwilling to let him go. When she got a good look at the interesting shade of blue his face was turning, she gasped and immediately let go, apologizing, while he bent over double and gratefully sucked in several lungs-full of air.

 

As soon as he had his breath under control, Ranma straightened and stared incredulously at Akane. “How could you think I hated you?! After everythin' I've done for you? Kami-sama, Akane, I--I killed for you! There's nobody else I'd'a done that for!”

 

Akane stared into anguished blue eyes, sniffling back her still-flowing tears as he went on, “You were the first person ta even offer ta be my friend in--in years! I couldn't blame you fer changin' your mind, when you found out about my curse...'specially now that it's likely I'll never get a cure...” His eyes dropped in shame.

 

Akane couldn't let that go, especially not with so much unaccustomed and bitter self-hatred lacing his voice. She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him, briefly. Suspiciously liquid blue met astonished brown, as Akane suddenly realized just how close to actually crying Ranma was--in his male form!

 

“Baka!! Your curse doesn't matter to me, not anymore; it hasn't mattered for a long time! You're still you, whichever form you're in. That's all that matters to me! I--” She gulped a deep breath, remembering her recent lecture from Nabiki, mere minutes ago. Nabiki had pulled no verbal punches, and had forced Akane to see that she'd been behaving like a spoiled little princess for far too long--hurting those around her, without even noticing she was doing it...all the while complaining that people weren't being considerate of her feelings.

 

Nabiki hadn't given her a chance to respond before finishing what she had to say. Akane had been somewhat frightened by the unaccustomed intensity in her normally cool and collected sister...as well as the completely unexpected anger. The times she had seen Nabiki truly angry could be counted on the fingers of one hand--with three fingers left over. Even after today!

 

Nabiki's most vehement words came when she sarcastically commented that Akane had the nerve to call Ranma insensitive--while repeatedly ripping his heart right out of his chest and leaving him where he lay, still bleeding. Nabiki had then detailed Ranma's reactions to some of the things she'd done, mainly malleting him without even once considering that he might not be at fault for something.

 

“I-I was--jealous, of you.” Akane looked down, letting go of Ranma as he looked at her in shock. Arms straight and fists at her sides as shame burned on her face, she went on softly, “Until you came along, I was the best martial artist in Nerima--but suddenly, there was somebody who was as far above me, as I was above those bakas I had to fight every morning at school. Not only that, but I was supposed to marry this stranger who was better than me--who'd inherit my family's dojo, and would be the heir to my Ryuu of Anything Goes, too! And to add insult to injured pride, this rude, brash new fiancé that I'd never even heard of before had this weird magic curse, that not only made him into a girl--but one who was so much more beautiful than me--”

 

Ranma snorted, interrupting her. “You're jokin'! My girl form's just cute--you're beautiful.”

 

He said it in such a matter-of-fact way, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, that Akane's widened eyes jumped back up to his, shocked. “Y-you think I'm b-b-beautiful??”

 

Ranma looked at her like she'd gone crazier than Kodachi. “'Course! Why do ya think all those boys are always chasin' after ya?!”

 

Akane blinked, confused, as anger started to nibble at the corners of her mind. “Then why are you always calling me `un-cute'?!”

 

It was Ranma's turn to blink. No one had ever bothered to ask him that before; he'd thought they knew! “'Cause malletin' somebody for somethin' he didn't do ain't `cute,' an' yellin' at me for it ain't `cute,' either. And doin' somethin' for somebody without thinkin' about how they'll feel about it ain't cute.”

 

Akane looked off to the side, a flat-eyed stare that made Ranma sweat-drop and thank the kamis it wasn't aimed directly at him. She muttered, “I can't believe Nabiki was right. I should've known, when she offered to bet money on it--kami-sama, I can't believe I bet against Nabiki!!””

 

“Hunh...?”

 

She looked back at a completely befuddled Ranma, a smile slowly lighting up her face. “It's nothing, just something Nabiki just told me turned out to be true. Let me get this straight. When you've been insulting me--you've been insulting my behavior, not my looks?”

 

Ranma swallowed, trying very hard not to back away from her. “Y-y-yeah. Y-you--didn't know that?! Don't you ever look in a mirror??” It was obvious by his expression that Ranma was completely dumbfounded that she didn't realize how beautiful she was.

 

Akane's smile--twitched. Just for a second. Ranma's eyes started to flicker to her hands every few seconds, watching for mallets.

 

She frowned when she saw that; and his slight, whole-body flinch when her hands fisted...the subtle body language of somebody expecting to be hit at any moment. The anger that had flared at his comment was doused by the cold chill of remorse, as she realized that Ranma really expected her to hit him for the least little thing.

 

It wasn't a pleasant realization. She thought about what she would have done, and felt, in Ranma's place; with a fiancée prone to hitting her for any little perceived fault--real or not. It made her sick to her stomach.

 

Why in kami-sama's name had he stayed faithful to her?! The way she'd treated him, he should've been more than happy to turn to one of his other fiancées! They were prettier, they were better at the Art--hell, they could cook without creating a new and dangerous life form, or a serious biohazard!!

 

Unknown to her family, Akane had actually tasted her last creation in the kitchen--or tried to, before it ran out the door and down the block, to eventually be confused with one of the Youma the Sailor Senshi were always fighting over in Juuban District. The little taste she'd gotten had been--more than eye-opening. And mouth-opening. And stomach-emptying...

 

And she'd been trying to force Ranma to eat that?! Kami-sama!! No wonder he thought she was trying to kill him whenever she cooked for him! A fresh wave of shame over her inability to cook even the simplest thing washed over her.

 

The tears started back up in earnest as she suddenly realized, really realized--Ranma thought she was beautiful. Ranma--thought she was beautiful; and the baka had always assumed she had the self-confidence to know it about herself. Akane dropped to her knees, hugging herself, face down so her bangs hid her overflowing eyes.

 

And he'd even tried to eat her cooking! Even if it was reluctantly... He'd tried! More than once!! That was more than her own family would do!

 

Ranma hovered in front of her as she cried, completely out of his depth. He never knew what to do with a weeping girl; much less this one, that he cared about more than any other! He wasn't even sure--as usual!--just why the heck she was crying! All he knew was that it must've been his fault; and he didn't know what to do about it!

 

Kasumi came to his rescue. She gently touched his shoulder to get his panicked attention, then nodded at her little sister, whispering, “Hold her, Ranma-kun. It's what she needs right now, from you.”

 

Ranma looked at Kasumi in disbelief for a minute, frozen, his hands shaking. She held his eyes, smiling her serene smile, and nodded encouragingly. Ranma looked down at the still-sobbing Akane, then back at Kasumi; then he took a deep, shaky breath, and knelt down right next to the weeping girl. He hesitantly stretched an arm behind her, to hover just above her shoulders; paused to send one more look of trepidation at Kasumi. Then he softly laid it over Akane's shoulders in a light hug.

 

Instead of a mallet, Ranma suddenly found himself with a lap-full of sobbing fiancée as Akane hopped over, grabbed his neck, and firmly buried her face in his shoulder. His shirt was rapidly soaked as he stared in panic at Kasumi, who was trying not to giggle too loudly, one hand over her mouth. Her trademark “Oh, my!” came with a very large smile. She nodded in satisfaction at Ranma and turned to head into the kitchen, leaving behind a highly distressed pig-tailed martial artist with absolutely no clue as to what he was doing--!

 

She very carefully did not notice the too-comical look of betrayal he sent her way.

 

A smirking Nabiki then stepped in front of Ranma, looking like the cat who'd just eaten the canary and raided the creamery. As Ranma froze up with an oh-so-eloquent “Gllk!!” she whispered, sotto-voice, “Way to go, Romeo! I'll go make sure our fathers stay distracted--it's on the house, this one time.” As Ranma's too-open face clearly showed his skepticism, she snickered. “I'd advise you to get Akane up into bed quick as you can. Get a good night's sleep, little brother...not!”

 

Ranma's eyes about fell out as he gaped at Nabiki, stunned. She'd just called him `little brother!' That almost overrode his shock at her telling him to “get Akane up into bed.” He resolutely decided she must have meant, `put Akane in her own bed, then leave her room.'

 

Though with Nabiki, you could never be sure...

 

He yanked his mind back as she finished speaking. He did not need those kinds of thoughts running through his head--definitely not with Akane sitting right there in his lap!! She already thought he was the world's biggest hentai after Happosai!

 

Ranma had hung around Hiroshi and Daisuke long enough to finally have figured out just what the hell a 'hentai' is. And that--film--the teacher showed his class, two weeks ago--had NOT been the kind of nature film he'd been expecting, with a title about birds and bees!!!

 

“...You and me, we've gotta talk in the morning.” Nabiki's face went dead serious and she held his eyes with her fierce gaze, her normal ice gone to flames. “You are not going to commit seppuku, Saotome Ranma!! Between all of us, we will find another way!” She then turned and sauntered almost calmly out, headed off to make sure Soun and Genma would stay out drinking all night long. All she had to do was make sure the bartender kept their drinks full; she'd arrange a one-night tab, and just hope they didn't drain the bar's whole stocks of beer and sake.

 

Akane's sobs had stopped dead at the word `seppuku.' Her face came up, her beautiful brown eyes going straight for Ranma's, a look of shock on her face. “What--!! Seppuku?!! Ranma--what did Nabiki mean by that?! I thought your mother had declared you a 'man among men,' that you were safe from that stupid agreement!”

 

Ranma flinched, looking down at the floor, away from her. He didn't really want to tell Akane about the only solution he'd found to the fiancée mess--especially now that he'd found out she apparently did care for him, after all.

 

He thought.

 

Maybe...?

 

She hadn't actually said anything about liking him, after all...just not wanting to force him into marrying somebody she thought he didn't love. Then again, he hadn't exactly come right out and told her his own feelings, either! It sure looked to him like they'd both been pretending they didn't care; just because of their baka fathers, and all those other complications chasing after each of them with death-threats and marriage agreements.

 

He was pretty sure she wouldn't have latched on to him like she just had, if she didn't care at least a little bit...would she? Though...Akane had proved just that very evening that she could kiss a boy, namely Ryoga, without liking him in that way...hadn't she. Unless she really did like Ryoga, and Kasumi was totally wrong...which would be stranger than Nabiki deciding to spend her life doing charity work, of her own free will. Ranma knew very well that Kasumi wasn't nearly as unobservant as others took her to be; he'd actually listened to her when they talked late at night, after all.

 

Akane was determined to see his eyes. She reached up and gently grabbed his chin, pulling his face back around to her. She stared into his exceptionally blue eyes, the fear in hers easy for him to see for a change.

 

He didn't ever want to see Akane afraid. She didn't deserve that!

 

He sighed, slumping a bit as he still held on to her. He tore his eyes away from her beautiful brown ones to stare again at the ground beside him, as Akane's hands settled on his shoulders. Taking a deep breath, he said heavily, “It's--the only way to honorably solve the whole engagement mess.”

 

Akane shook her head sharply, blue-black hair flying; denying that solution with everything in her. “No!! How will your dying solve anything?!” Her hands tightened almost painfully.

 

Ranma briefly closed his eyes, grimacing. When he opened them, he looked straight into her eyes. “Do you know what the consequences are, to Uc-chan an' Shampoo, if they don't marry me?” His gaze was intent, and more serious than she could ever remember seeing him. “Uc-chan--she'll be disowned by her family; made ronin!! She don't deserve that! And Shampoo--if she fails a second time, the Amazon Council will likely have her killed! That's why Cologne's used some of those dirty tactics of hers--she don't want her great-granddaughter to die!

 

“I can't--I can't just tell either one of `em `no,' not while those are the consequences! So long as they're still chasing after me, there's still hope of findin' another solution, with enough time.” His amazingly blue eyes were dark with anguish, and a plea for her to understand, for once!

 

Akane's eyes had gone wide. She hadn't ever really thought about the true consequences to Ranma's other fiancées if they lost, other than the obvious--that they wouldn't have Ranma as a husband. She'd never thought about just what would happen to them. She should have; especially with the Amazons and their barbaric laws. After all, the first time Shampoo went back to her village in failure, they'd cursed her at Jusenkyo! If death wasn't the punishment for a second failure, it was likely something worse!

 

All the color drained from her face and her hands started to shake slightly as she considered things, for the first time, from Ranma's perspective. He might toss insults around like they meant nothing, but he really was a caring person in all the ways that really counted. He'd do anything, including risking death without a second thought, to help someone he thought of as a friend--even if that person didn't think of him as a friend. Even if they'd gone out of their way to make his life miserable.

 

What were they going to do?! Ukyo--the okonomiyaki chef could have been one of Akane's best friends, if the engagements to Ranma didn't stand between them. Akane didn't want to see her hurt any more than Ranma did. There had to be a way to satisfy her honor, that Ukyo would accept in lieu of marriage! There just had to be!

 

And Shampoo... Annoying as the overly buxom and bubbly Amazon was, Akane had to respect her martial arts skills, and all the things that Cologne could still teach them. Again, if it wasn't for that deplorable Outsider Law of theirs, Akane was sure the Amazons could have been friends. When it counted, for Ranma's sake, they had been helpful in the past when they didn't need to be; when it would have been in Shampoo's best interests to stand aside.

 

Didn't they have some kind of loophole in that stupid law that could apply? What if the outsider who'd beaten Shampoo was some kind of repulsive sicko? Surely the tribe wouldn't want that kind of tainted blood added to their lines! There must be something--!

 

Akane gasped softly. Ranma, who'd been watching the tumultuous play of emotions across her face with a fair amount of worry, caught the gleam of sudden hope in her eyes. He looked a question at her, and she grinned at him when she said, simply, “Nabiki!”

 

Ranma blinked, his expression going sour. “Ri-i-ight. And just how much is she gonna charge me...? My soul?! Ain't no way I've got enough money, to pay her to fix this mess!”

 

Akane shook her head, sharply. “No, baka--I'm going to ask her to straighten things out. For me.” Her wonderful brown eyes went sharp as her expression firmed with determination. “She'll do it, too; if she knows what's good for her! I've put up with a lot that she's done, over the years, since Mom died; and after what she did to our wedding--she owes us.”

 

Ranma swallowed, hard, looking at his fiancée's determined face. He really felt sorry for Nabiki, if she didn't want to help...Akane looked ready to pound her sister like she usually pounded him!

 

Though...come to think of it, Nabiki had kind of already promised her help, when she said she wanted to see him in the morning. So she was probably already working on it.

 

An unexpected rush of powerful emotions caused Ranma to wrap his arms about Akane and pull his fiancée close, burying his face in her shoulder as he held tightly to her, trembling. Akane let out a small squeak of surprise, nearly malleting him out of pure reflex before catching herself.

 

A sudden dampness on her shoulder widened her eyes in surprise. She trembled slightly herself at the enormity of Saotome Ranma, in his male form--crying. She brought her arms up to hug him back, leaning her head on top of his, as his torso shook and he let out what sounded suspiciously like a choked-off sob.

 

Akane's expression softened, and her eyes went watery. She started whispering reassurances to her fiancé; that things would work out all right--everything would be okay...Nabiki would fix everything; that was her sister's specialty, manipulating people! Before long, all of the pent-up emotions that Ranma had been suppressing for most of his life had bubbled up beyond his control, and he was clinging to her as a drowning man to a life raft while horrible, choked-off sobs were all but wrenched from deep within him.

 

She stayed in his lap and held him tightly for a long while, rocking slightly, rubbing his back; running her hand through his soft, fine black hair; whispering until she was hoarse. She didn't know how long they stayed like that before he finally went limp against her; the awful, trembling tension relaxing out of his muscles with the onset of sleep, his arms still holding her.

 

She carefully worked herself off his lap, keeping one arm firmly about his shoulders so he wouldn't topple to the floor. With a bit of effort, she managed to pick him up, bridal-style, and carefully carried him up the stairs and into the guest room he shared with his baka panda of a father. Being 'strong as a gorilla' did have its uses.

 

One foot flipped the covers back so she could gently lay him down on his futon. She bit her lip as she stared at his unusually tear-stained face, that still showed his pain even in sleep, while pulling the covers over him.

 

When she stood to leave, a quiet whimper drew her eyes back to him. Even asleep, he was turning towards her, one hand reaching out from under the covers towards her. Wiping at her own tearing eyes, Akane settled down to sit at his shoulder, taking his hand in both of hers.

 

Ranma's head ended up in her lap minutes later, after she'd watched him twist and turn until his forehead rested against her knee, his other hand coming out to grip hers. She'd sighed, rolling her eyes to the ceiling at what she was about to do; then scooted around so she was kneeling where his pillow had been a moment before. She then carefully pulled Ranma's limp weight back over so his head rested in her lap.

 

His face had finally smoothed into calmness at that, his breathing loosing a strain that she hadn't realized was there. He slept peacefully through until morning, his chosen fiancée watching over him, unwilling to leave.

 

::getting ready to duck all that thrown fruit:: I do believe I'm done with this one. Now Ranma and Akane will be jumping over into my Fruits Basket fanfic, “Neko's Healing,” at Chapter 9. I should start posting that one shortly...I want to polish a couple things first.

If anybody feels ambitious enough to want to take this one forward from this point, staying strictly in the Ranmaverse, go ahead--just let me know so I can take a peek, too! <g!>