Chapter 1 - Secret’s Revealed
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Akane allowed the remainder of her battle aura to bleed off as she made her way home. ‘That jerk,’ she thought to herself, ‘letting Shampoo and Ukyo hang all over him like that. He must think he’s some kind of stud. Well, he is kinda cute...’
The thought nearly made Akane slap herself, but she just shook her head instead. ‘Cute my butt. More like an obnoxious, pig-headed, self-absorbed...’ She allowed the thoughts to continue as she neared home, but they were cut short. ‘Uh oh, rain clouds. I better hurry.’ Rather than continue her little diatribe, she focused on running home before she got soaked.
Managing to get in the door just as the first raindrops fell, Akane breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m home,” she called out.
“Welcome home,” Kasumi answered from somewhere in the house. Akane made her way into the dining room and found her father and Mr. Saotome playing their usual game of Shogi.
“How was school?” her father asked, not taking his eyes off the board.
“Just fine,” Akane replied with a bit of an edge.
Both men turned to look at her before turning back to their game. “Where’s Ranma?” Mr. Saotome asked, after making a move on the board.
“Off somewhere with Shampoo and Ukyo!” Akane growled.
Both men gave each other a look. Then her father said, “Really Akane, you should keep a closer eye on your fiancé.”
Akane stared daggers at her father until he visibly cringed. “I don’t care what that jerk does, do you hear me?!”
“You really shouldn’t talk about Ranma like that,” Kasumi admonished. She had just come out of the kitchen carrying a tray with food. “Anyway, I made you a snack Akane, I thought you might be hungry.”
Akane looked back towards the Shogi board and noticed both men eyeing her food. “Don’t even think about it,” she warned. Both men silently went back to their game, a glum expression on each of their faces.
“Thanks Kasumi,” Akane said, taking the food and forgetting about her sister’s comment regarding Ranma. As she sat and ate, her mind drifted towards Ranma again. ‘Idiot,’ was about the only coherent thought that kept repeating itself.
After several minutes, Akane heard the voice of Ranma at the front door. “I’m home,” the redhead called.
‘Terrific,’ Akane thought angrily.
Ranma came into the dining room, completely soaked from the rain. Kasumi came out to greet her.
“Oh my! You’re soaking wet. You should change out of those wet clothes. Would you like me to fetch some water for you?” the eldest Tendo daughter asked.
“That would be great. Thanks Kasumi,” Ranma replied. Without even a glance at Akane, she went upstairs.
‘I can’t believe he’s still ignoring me. Well, we’re going to have words when he gets back down here!’ As she continued to glower, Akane suddenly heard grunting coming from behind her.
| Turning, she saw a small black pig coming in from the backyard. “P-Chan!” Akane cried. The little pig saw her and ran into her arms. “You poor thing, you’re all cold and wet!” She got up, grabbed a towel, then sat back down and began drying her pet off. “Is that better?” she asked gently. The pig grunted and seemed to nod to her. “It’s almost like you understand everything I say; you’re such a smart little pig.” “You forgot annoying,” Ranma voice said from off to the side. Akane whipped her head around and glared at the redhead, who had just reached the bottom of the stairs. |
 |
Ranma, who sat down on the other side of the table and proceeded to dry her hair, began laughing. Akane felt her blood begin to boil.
“It’s not like it’s my fault,” Ranma said defensively, catching the other’s mood.
“Not your fault?!? How can it not be your fault when you let them hang all over you?”
Ranma snorted. “I keep telling 'em to stop, but they won’t listen.”
“And a big, strong, martial artist like you can’t stop them?” Akane asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Before Ranma could answer, they heard Nabiki calling “I’m home” from the foyer. A moment later she walked into the dining room. As Nabiki sat at the table, Kasumi came out with a tray of food.
“Oh, hi Nabiki. You’re running late today. I made this for Ranma, but you guys can share it until I get some more.”
“Thanks Kasumi. Actually, I’m running late because of these little lovebirds here,” she said, indicating Akane and Ranma. Before either could sputter out a response, Nabiki waved them off and asked Kasumi, “Remember that big fight they had several months ago?”
“It’s kind of hard to forget,” Kasumi replied.
“Well, yesterday was the three month anniversary of the blowup in the schoolyard. Since then I started taking bets that one or both would call off the engagement within a certain timeframe. Yesterday was the cutoff point, and I spent a lot of today collecting bets and balancing the books.”
“Nabiki,” Kasumi admonished, “that’s not a very polite thing to do.”
Akane glared at her sister. ‘I hate it when she does stuff like this. Always trying to make money off my misery. I should say something; of course it won’t do any good.’ Akane noticed Ranma was glaring at Nabiki too.
Nabiki held up her hands as if defending from an attack. “Hey, I was betting they’d stay together. I had complete confidence in them,” she said to Kasumi with a smile.
Kasumi didn’t look too convinced, but didn’t say anything else about it. “Oops,” she said sheepishly, “I forgot Ranma’s water. I’ll be right back.” With that she turned and went back to the kitchen.
Once Kasumi was out of earshot, Nabiki continued in a lower tone. “Besides, I made the conditions highly favorable for me. You know, things like the break-up would have to last for three days, you’d have to publicly acknowledge it, etc. I figured that even if you guys did break it off, I’d be able to convince you to get back together.” She added the last comment with one of her cheshire grins.
This was enough to push Akane to her breaking point. “I can’t believe you! I’m getting sick of you, and everyone else, thinking you can manipulate me!” Akane could practically feel the steam coming off herself.
“Jeez sis, give it a rest. It’s not like everyone doesn’t know how you really feel about Ranma. Come on now, it’s okay to tell your big sister how much you really like him. Well, her at the moment anyhow,” Nabiki said with a wink.
Without looking in a mirror, Akane knew that she was turning red. Before she could respond though, Ranma spoke up. “The only thing she cares about is that stupid pig,” she said.
Akane looked down at P-Chan and forced herself to relax somewhat. ‘I can’t believe Ranma is still jealous of him. Hmm, this aught to get him really riled up then.’
“Well, at least P-Chan is male 100 percent of the time,” she said. She smiled when she saw Ranma wince somewhat. “In fact, I think he’s more of a man than you’ll ever be.” With that, she took P-Chan’s face and snuggleg it into her bosom.
The way Ranma shook in apparent anger, and then suddenly turned away from her, made Akane stop and think. ‘Maybe I pushed him too far this time.’
Before anyone had a chance to respond, Kasumi came in from the kitchen carrying a cup of hot water. As she made her way to the table, she slipped, causing the cup to sail through the air. Akane was too preoccupied looking at Ranma’s back to notice it was heading straight for her.
‘What the hell is happening?’ she suddenly wondered to herself. ‘Why am I all wet, and what’s the terrible weight on my lap?’ Akane looked down to find a wet and naked Ryoga with his head pressed into her breasts. She shrieked and threw him off her.
Ryoga crashed into the dining room table, causing it to shatter. Akane stared at him, her brain just beginning to comprehend what she had seen. ‘Ryoga is... No! It’s impossible!’ Frantically she searched around for some sign of P-Chan, with no luck. As her eyes settled back on Ryoga, she noticed something that turned her blood ice-cold. ‘The bandanna! I can’t believe I never noticed it before. I’m so stupid!’
Akane was dimly aware that Kasumi was the only person who seemed to be in action. She grabbed the towel that Akane had been using to dry P-Chan off with earlier and handed it to Ryoga. The boy took it, all the while looking thoroughly dazed. Suddenly, his eyes became like saucers and he managed to cover himself.
“A...Ak...Akane,” he managed to stutter out.
By this point, Akane was finally starting to get her wits back. “You... you bastard!”
“I can explain,” Ryoga tried to say. He started to scoot away, looking thoroughly cowed. Akane fixed him with a baleful stare, and he stopped dead.
Then Akane jumped to her feet and clenched her hands into fists. “Explain?!? How in the hell are you going to explain this!?”
“This is all Ranma’s fault,” the boy said, directing some anger at Ranma.
“Hey, don’t look at me pig-boy,” Ranma replied, surprisingly calm. “I told you not to come around here. I told you to stop trying to be her-”
Whatever else she was going to say was cut off as Akane marched over and grabbed her by the shirt. She hauled Ranma up into the air and began yelling at her. “You knew about this?”
“Well,” Ranma said defensively, “I tried to warn you, but you were just too thick-headed-”
Again the redhead was cut short, but this time it was because Akane threw her into the far wall. Tears started to fall down Akane’s face and she saw Ranma immediately focus on them. The youngest Tendo noticed that Ranma wasn’t even trying to get up or respond. The girl just sat their watching Akane, who turned her attention back to Ryoga. She noticed that he was smiling a bit at what she’d done to Ranma.
 |
Akane’s battle aura, which had been barely visible up to now, suddenly seemed to light the room. This immediately caused his smile to falter. Akane began speaking to Ryoga again, this time in a low, threatening tone. “I’d like to know how it’s Ranma’s fault that you watched me get undressed. Or how he made you snuggle up again my breasts. Or how he made you listen to all my deepest secrets, which you then used against me!” By the time she was finished, her voice had risen so high, it nearly cracked. With each word, Ryoga cringed and turned a more brilliant shade of white. “But... I...” Ryoga began. She could see that he was steeling up all his nerve. “I... love you.” |
Everyone in the room took on an ashen hue at the last statement. Ryoga was completely speechless. Finally, Soun cleared his throat and spoke to his youngest daughter.
“I’m sure Ryoga never intended it that way,” he said. He shut up as Akane turned her attention towards him and studied him intently. ‘Why is he trying to protect Ryoga?’ she wondered. As she looked in her father’s eyes, something clicked.
“You knew all along, didn’t you!?” she screamed.
Any chance that her father had of convincing her otherwise disappeared when he began to stutter out a response. He was offering some excuse, and began to cry, but Akane wasn’t paying attention. ‘Why? Why my own father? What in the hell did he have to gain? Ranma! He was trying to make Ranma jealous! He... he let this happen to me...’ Rational thought began to leave her as a red haze settled itself in her mind. She turned her attention one last time to the lost boy.
“If I ever see you again, I swear you’ll end up less a man than Ranma.” Akane purposefully glanced down at his waist. “Do I make myself clear?” Ryoga gulped and nodded. With that, she grabbed him by the arm and marched him out towards the back yard. She forced him into the rain where he changed back into his pig form. Akane grabbed a hold of the pig, who had slipped out of her hand. Then she threw him as far as she could, watching as he disappeared into the horizon.
Finally, she turned her attention back to everyone else in the room. She raised her arm and pointed first to Ranma and then her father. “I... hate you! Both of you! As far as I’m concerned, there is no engagement. Hell, at this point I’m not even sure if I have a father!” She directed her attention towards the Tendo patriarch. “If you want to join our families so badly, I suggest you marry the jerk!” With that, she stormed out of the room and headed up the stairs.
Once Akane had left, everyone just sat there in stunned silence. Ranma didn’t move from where she sat crumpled on the ground. ‘I can’t believe I was so stupid,’ she thought to herself. ‘I knew what Ryoga was doing, but I never thought about it from Akane’s point of view. She thinks he might as well have raped her.’ Ranma shuddered at the realization.
‘I only ever cared how mad it was making me. You dolt,’ she admonished herself. ‘Here I was getting mad at her all along, even though I really did care. And now it’s too late. Damn, I should go apologize, but I better wait. She’ll just send me flying the way she did to Ryoga.’
Soun still sat in his accustomed place after Akane had left. ‘What a fool I’ve been,’ he told himself. ‘I can’t believe I allowed this to go for so long. Rape? Maybe that’s going a bit far. But, oh, poor little girl! Dear wife in heaven, what have I done?’ It was then that his waterworks of tears began in earnest.
Genma also sat in the same place he’d been. ‘Well, at least she didn’t direct any of that anger at me. Hmm, she was really serious too.’ Suddenly his stomach began to growl. ‘I hope that doesn’t mean we’ll have to leave.’ He turned his gaze towards Nabiki and Kasumi. ‘Well, at least Tendo has two more daughters for Ranma to consider.’
Nabiki didn’t know what to make of everything that just happened, but one thought dominated all the rest. ‘Thank the kami this didn’t happen yesterday, or I’d be out a lot of yen.’ She then proceeded to mentally scold herself. ‘Idiot, think about your family for once!’ She looked at everyone around her and realized that nobody had a clue what to do next. Wordlessly, she stood up and made her way over to Ranma. She knelt down next to the girl and spoke.
“Ranma,” she said, waiting to get the other’s attention. However, Ranma was just staring at the wall and didn’t even seem to be aware of her presence. Nabiki then took both hands and began shaking Ranma until the girl finally acknowledged her.
“What do you want?” Ranma asked.
Nabiki sighed. “I’m going to go check on my sister. I figured that if you had a good explanation for this disaster, you better tell me now. Otherwise, I just might agree with her that she should hate you.”
Ranma cringed at this. ‘He really doesn’t want Akane to hate him,’ Nabiki thought to herself. ‘Well, that’s a good thing at least.’
Finally, Ranma explained how Ryoga had gotten cursed. “It was an accident,” she said. “I didn’t even see him when I knocked him off that cliff. Anyway, after I found out, I swore on my honor not to reveal his secret. It was fine, until he went and made himself Akane’s pet. Then I was stuck between losing my honor and watching that pig take advantage of Akane.”
Nabiki allowed herself a small smile. “So all along, you were only trying to protect my sister without actually trying to destroy your own honor in the process?” At this, Ranma nodded vigorously. “So you really did care about her all along.” The last wasn’t a question; it was a statement of fact.
At first, it looked like Ranma was going to deny it. “Remember where I’m about to go. I want the truth,” Nabiki demanded. With that she folded her arms and waited. Finally, Ranma just nodded slightly.
“You poor fool,” Nabiki said. “I’ll see what I can do, but I recommend you stay clear of her for a while.” Then the middle Tendo daughter stood up and made her way up the stairs.
Kasumi sat on her knees on the floor, still in a state of shock. She was vaguely aware of those around her, but her thoughts were mostly turned inward. She replayed the scene where she tripped, over and over again. ‘How could I have been so careless? Look at the disaster I caused! Kasumi, you foolish girl.’
While she berated herself, she saw Nabiki get up and talk to Ranma. She listened to the conversation and after Nabiki went upstairs she found herself feeling worse. ‘Poor Ranma, what a terrible position to be put in. Now all those times he said things to Ryoga, or tried to get rid of P-Chan, actually make sense.’ She gazed at Ranma, who still sat there with both a stunned and hurt expression. ‘If I hadn’t spilled that water, this wouldn’t be happening.’
Without knowing what else to do, she stood and went to Ranma. She knelt down and bowed to the ground. “I’m so sorry Ranma,” she said.
When she looked back up, she saw that Ranma was staring at her in shock. Finally the redhead responded, “You don’t have nothin’ to be sorry for Kasumi.”
“If I hadn’t spilled that water...”
“It ain't yer fault,” Ranma said, a note of conviction in her voice. “Akane woulda found out eventually. Actually, I shoulda been the one to tell her.” With that the girl got up and headed out to the dojo.
‘Poor Ranma,’ she repeated to herself. ‘Having to choose between whichever would stain his honor the least. I still can’t help but feel this is my fault. Maybe I should go help Nabiki try to calm Akane down.’ With that, she stood up and headed up the stairs.
As Kasumi approached Akane’s room, she could here the voices of her two sisters. ‘I think I’ll just listen until I can find the right time to enter.’ Nabiki’s voice was the first one she heard.
“I talked with Ranma for a minute before I came up here.”
Kasumi heard Akane growl at that. “Oh, and what excuses was that jerk trying to make?”
Nabiki then went on to repeat what she and Ranma had talked about. Akane was silent for a while, but finally responded. “So that jerk thought that some promise was more important than protecting me?”
“Well, if I remember correctly he did lay several hints and try to separate you from P-Chan. In fact, I’m quite amazed that I never picked up on it. I guess none of us wanted to believe it.”
‘I agree with that,’ Kasumi thought to herself. ‘All three of us were blind, though with all the curses around here we really shouldn’t have been.’
“I don’t care,” Akane said. “He should’ve told me! He let Ryoga violate me!”
Nabiki sighed from inside the room. “Sis, I don’t profess to agree with the code that martial artists go by, but put yourself in Ranma’s position for a moment. He made this promise, before Ryoga became your pet. How exactly was he supposed to resolve this in an honorable manner?”
Kasumi wanted to run in and hug Nabiki. ‘Surely that’s an argument that Akane can understand.’
“So he allowed my honor to be stained instead?” Akane responded, with a good amount of venom in her tone.
“Listen Akane,” Nabiki said. “He really does care about you and is really upset how this turned out. He did try his best to warn you, given the situation. And if you two ever did get married, isn’t his honor as the head of the home just as important to you?”
“I don’t believe he cares, or ever did. I think he just cares about himself!”
Kasumi wasn’t able to listen anymore. ‘She’s not going to see reason, at least until she calms down. Maybe it would be a good idea for Ranma to apologize now. That might help her calm down faster, before this gets further out of hand.’ With that, Kasumi left to find Ranma.
| Ranma went through a kata in the dojo. She was having a hard time concentrating though, and had to adjust or restart several times. ‘Dammit, I wish this hadn’t happened. I wish Akane, or even that idiot Ryoga, had just listened to me, but they just wouldn’t trust me.’ Ranma sighed as she performed a snap-kick. ‘What the hell did I ever do to deserve this?’ She tried to focus on her kata, but it just wasn’t working. As she continued her attempts, her thoughts kept drifting back to Akane. ‘I can’t remember ever seeing her this angry before, or this hurt. The last time I saw her cry like that was when Ryoga cut her hair. That jerk seems to be the one always causing trouble. I should’ve tried harder to stop this. This is my fault.’ Before she could allow that thought to take hold, Ranma heard someone enter the dojo. She turned to see Kasumi carrying another cup. |
 |
“That’s okay,” Ranma replied with a sigh, “I can’t seem ta focus at the moment anyhow.”
“I’m sorry,” Kasumi replied, looking ready to burst into tears.
‘Dammit, it’s bad enough that Akane’s feeling terrible,’ Ranma thought. ‘There’s no reason Kasumi should too.’
“Kasumi, there’s nothin' for you to feel bad about. This ain’t yer fault.”
The eldest Tendo daughter sunk to her knees. “I can’t help it. I can’t help feeling that this wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for me.”
Ranma knelt near her before speaking. “Listen, Akane woulda found out at some point. Just 'cause you spilled the water doesn’t make it yer fault.”
“I wish I could believe that. To be honest, I don’t blame myself for what Akane is going through. But I do feel responsible for what’s happening to you.”
“I... I don’t understand.”
Kasumi looked into the redhead’s eyes. “Listen Ranma. I agree that Akane would feel this way no matter when she found out. But because it happened right in the middle of you two fighting, it just made things worse for you. If I hadn’t spilled that water when I did, maybe things would’ve been better between you, and when she did find out she wouldn’t have been so angry.”
“I really doubt that,” Ranma said with a snort.
“But I don’t,” Kasumi said firmly. “And because of that I feel like I owe you a debt that I couldn’t possibly begin to repay.”
Ranma’s eyes went wide. “Kasumi, you don’t owe me nothin’! In fact, I think it’s the other way around. You’ve always done so much for me and pop. And you’ve always been so nice. Really, you don’t owe me at all.”
“I,” Kasumi began, then paused for a few moments. “I don’t know.” With that, she looked back at the floor again.
“Believe it, please!” Ranma said, trying to put as much strength into her words as possible.
“I’ll try,” was all Kasumi would say.
‘Damn, I wish I could convince her. I’ll have to bring it up again tomorrow too. Hell, I’ll bring it up everyday until she listens.’ Then Ranma noticed the cup that Kasumi brought with her.
“What’s that for?” she asked.
Kasumi looked down at the cup and then back to Ranma. “Oh, I thought it might be a good idea for you to apologize to Akane. To be honest, from what you told Nabiki, I don’t think you should have to. But I’ve never seen her this upset before and knowing her, she’ll never approach you.”
“Actually, I was already planning on it, but I figured I should wait until she’s calmed down.”
Kasumi smiled at Ranma, which made the younger girl feel good inside, as it usually did. “Normally I would agree with you, but I think it might be wisest to do this sooner rather than later. If she lets this fester, it’s just going to get worse. While I can guarantee that she won’t forgive you right away, at least she’ll know that you care.”
Ranma didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know.”
“Please, Ranma. It might not help, but you never know. I really don’t think it would hurt at all.”
Ranma sighed and nodded. With that, she took the cup of hot water and dumped it over her head.
“Thanks Kasumi,” Ranma said. “I’ll go try ta talk ta her now.” With that, Ranma got up and headed into the house.
As Ranma approached Akane’s room, he saw Nabiki leaving it. The girl saw him and when he started walking in her direction she rushed to him.
“You’re not planning on talking to her are you?” she asked.
“Kasumi thought it might be a good idea for me to apologize.”
Nabiki quirked her eyebrow at him. “Oh really. And what about you? Do you think you should apologize?”
“I don’t think I should have to apologize at all,” he grumbled. “But, I was planning on doin' it anyway and was going to wait until she calmed down. But Kasumi thinks I should do it sooner rather than later.”
“Hmm, I don’t know if she’s right about that. In fact, I can pretty much bet Akane won’t even talk to you.”
“Well, I don’t think it’ll hurt to try.” With that, Ranma moved around Nabiki and made his way to Akane’s room.
Nabiki turned and stood there, as if she planned to watch. Ranma just glared at her and folded his arms until she got the hint. After she finally went into her own room, Ranma took a deep breath and knocked on Akane’s door.
Akane was laying face down on her bed, crying into her pillow. Nabiki had just left and she thought she heard voices out in the hall. ‘I don’t care who it is, they just better not bother me!’ A few minutes later, she heard a tentative knock on the door. ‘Doesn’t anyone understand that I just want to be left alone. I’ll just ignore it and maybe they’ll go away.’
After another minute, there was another knock, this one a firmer than the last. ‘Whoever it is won’t take a hint.’
“Go away!” she yelled.
“Akane, can I please come in?” she heard Ranma say.
“I said go away!”
“Please, I just want to apologize.”
“Yeah right! Apologize, huh. Oh, I’m sorry I let someone violate you Akane, please forgive me. Get lost you bastard! I don’t want to speak to you ever again.”
A few moments later she heard his footsteps leading away from her door. ‘He’s got some nerve. Jerk!’ Then a quieter, gentler voice fought its way to the surface of her mind. ‘At least he tried to apologize.’
This last thought confused Akane because she didn’t know where it had come from. ‘No! I’m not going to let him off that easily. Not after what he did. How can I believe him? How can I believe anyone anymore?’ Once again she found herself crying into her pillow.
Ranma made his way to his accustomed place on the roof to think. ‘Dammit, I know she’s mad, but at least she coulda let me apologize. And why should I have ta say I’m sorry anyway? She’s acting like none of this is her own damn fault!’ Ranma sighed. ‘Still, I hate ta see her crying. But what the hell, it’s not like I haven’t tried ta stop this.’
As he lay his back on the roof, his mind continued to ponder his current predicament. ‘It’s not like I didn’t try ta tell her a thousand times. What was I supposed ta do? I even tried to get that jerk Ryoga to stop, but the bastard just wouldn’t listen.’ Ranma thought back to the last time he’d fought Ryoga, before the big fight that he and Akane had the day she caught him chasing P-Chan through the house. He also thought about how once again Akane interrupted and misconstrued the facts without even listening.
 |
Ranma was walking home from school alone. ‘At least Akane coulda invited me to go out for ice cream with her friends. Ah well, that’s okay. I just hope she has a good time. I can’t believe how well we’re getting along. I’m sure as hell not ready ta marry that tomboy, but at least things between us are good.’ As he walked, Ranma’s thoughts were interrupted when he saw Ryoga, looking as lost as ever. Ranma’s muscles tensed reflexively. ‘He’s ain’t gonna be happy when I talk ta him,’ he thought with a sigh. ‘Oh well, who knows when he’ll show up next. Better just get this over with.’ |
“Listen Ranma, I don’t have time to fight. I have several gifts for Akane, so just take me to the dojo so I can give them to her.”
“Well,” Ranma replied, “she’s actually out with her friends right now. She won’t be home for a bit.”
Ryoga looked disappointed but didn’t say as much to Ranma. Instead, he looked around as if trying to get his bearings. “Well, just show me the way to the dojo and I’ll wait for her there.”
Ranma eyed Ryoga before speaking. “Actually, I wanna talk ta you first.”
“Oh,” Ryoga said, narrowing his eyes. “About what?”
Never being one for tact, Ranma just jumped in headlong. “I want you ta stop becoming P-Chan around Akane.”
“What? Do you think I do it on purpose? It’s not my fault water finds me at the wrong time.”
“That’s not what I meant. I mean I want you ta stop being her pet.”
“Why?” Ryoga asked suspiciously.
“Because I’m sick of seeing you take advantage of her,” Ranma spit out.
“Akane likes having P-Chan around. It makes her happy. Besides, it’s none of your damn business!”
Ranma dropped into a fighting stance. “I’m makin' it my business, bacon boy. Whether you like it or not, Akane is my fiancée and I’m sick of watching you dishonor her! Now I want yer word that you’ll stop, or I’m sure as hell gonna make you.” Ranma spoke the last sentence as calmly as he could manage.
Ryoga didn’t bother to answer. Instead, he just slid his pack off his and set it on the ground. He then assumed his own stance and let out a growl. “Let’s see you try.”
‘Gods, that was one monster of a fight,’ Ranma thought to himself. ‘I don’t know how long it lasted, but since Akane was the one who eventually broke it up, it musta taken awhile. And then she accused me of picking on Ryoga again. And that jerk just smirked at me!’ Ranma rubbed his head where Akane had hit him that time, after he tried to start up with Ryoga again. ‘He just had ta rub it in.’
‘And then, on the day everything blew up, that little pig had ta stick his tongue out at me while Akane was yelling at me. And then when I tried ta grab him, Akane slapped me! I still can’t believe she couldn’t see how he was manipulating her. Why wouldn’t she trust me? What did I ever do ta deserve her mistrust?’
Ranma sighed as his brain continued to work overtime. ‘This ain’t getting me nowhere.’ With that, he stood up and made his way back into the house. ‘Maybe things will look better tomorrow.’
Thank you for taking the time to read Aijou & Aitou. I hope you have enjoyed yourself. I would love to hear all feedback, positive or negative (as long as it’s constructive). Please take the time to leave a review on fanfiction.net or send me an email letting me know your opinion. Thanks.
