DISCLAIMER: All characters in this fanfiction belong to their rightful creators and are all used without permission.************************************************************ Together Forever
Chapter 2by: Kimagure Angel
Comments and criticisms always welcome. Flames will be returned in kind. ^_^x
The next morning things were more or less normal, in their own strange way. Ranma and his father were sparring as usual by the koi pond, and like always, they got their morning splash. Kasumi was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. Nabiki, of course, was in her room counting her money. Akane, late like always, was sitting on her bed staring at the ring Ranma had given her the day before. Akane had decided to wear the ring to school. She knew there'd be questions once she got to class, but she didn't care. She was still having a hard time believing all that had happened.
"Does Ranma really love me?" Akane wondered. She decided to put all doubt out of her mind for now and hurry up and get down to breakfast while there was still some left.
At breakfast, Akane sat next to Ranma like she had for the last two years. This time instead of resenting having to sit there, she was quite happy of the fact. When Akane sat down, Ranma gave her a quick smile, and she knew that everything that had happened yesterday was real and not just a dream. Hopefully, none of the family would catch on just yet, especially Nabiki. She'd blackmail them to death.
As soon as they finished breakfast, Akane and Ranma rushed out the door, telling everyone they were running late (nothing new with that). As soon as the Dojo was out of sight, they stopped running. They had a lot of things to talk about before they got to school, and they didn't really want to be disturbed by anyone. They even went as far as going a round-about way to get there. Lost in thought, Akane didn't notice that Ranma had stopped in front of her until she ran into him.
"Sorry about that, Ranma. I guess I was off in my own little world," Akane said trying to apologize.
"What were you thinking about?" Ranma asked a bit worried.
"I was just thinking about how happy I am," Akane replied and then gave Ranma a quick kiss.
"Hey, you're not getting off that easily," Ranma said as he took her in his arms and started kissing her deeply.
When the kiss ended, Akane brought up one of their least favorite subjects again.
"Have you thought of any way of breaking off the engagements with those other 'fiancées' yet?"
"Yeah. Kodachi should be the easiest to get rid of—I don't really mind hurting her feelings. If we're lucky, we can get Kuno to commit her. As for Shampoo, if I could only get Mousse to challenge her and win, we'd have her out of our hair," I hope. "Ukyo is a different story though. I'm not sure how to break off that engagement without hurting her too badly. Could you help me come up with something, Akane?" I hope she doesn't hit me for this.
"Sure, Ranma." I'm glad he trusts me enough to ask me to help him. "By the way, I think I've come up with a way to get rid of Kuno. It's a long shot, but I hope it'll work. The only problem is that it involves letting Nabiki know about us. I want to get Kuno and her together. They're perfect for each other. Now, I just wish I knew how to let Ryoga down easily. Besides, I don't want the two of you go at it when he finds out. You know he'll try to kill you with his Shi-Shi Houkandan."
"Let me deal with Pig Boy. I can handle him easily. Right now though, we might want to hurry up and get to class. You know how people will start talking," Ranma said as he gave Akane a little wink.
That day, all Akane could think about was Ranma. She knew that it was starting to show. Some of her friends had even asked her what was wrong. All that Akane wanted was to be alone with Ranma, even if just for a little while, before going home.
Ranma was just as bad. He couldn't get Akane off his mind. At least this was the last day of school for the week. Ranma started thinking of ways he and Akane could spend some time together without worrying about anything or anyone.
At lunch Ranma and Akane met each other behind the gym, where only yesterday everything started changing for them. They talked about how they were going to be able to keep their feelings towards each other hidden from everyone else. They agreed that they'd at least try and pretend to fight around their friends and family. Right before the bell rang ending lunch, Ranma told Akane he had something to talk to her about, but he'd tell her on their way home.
Akane was so relieved when school finally ended, she rushed to find Ranma, not really caring who noticed. When she finally met up with him, she asked what he wanted to talk to her about.
Before Ranma would answer, he led her to a secluded area behind the school where he knew no one would see them. Then he put his arms around her and gave her a long, deep kiss. When they parted, he started telling her about his idea for getting some time alone together.
"Akane, how'd you like to go on a training trip with me this weekend?," Ranma asked.
Without really thinking, Akane surprised herself by responding with a "yes, I'd love to, anata."
Surprised that Akane had said yes so quickly, Ranma couldn't think of anything to say. All he could do was stand there with his mouth gapping open and a look of complete astonishment on his face. He felt like he'd melt.
When Ranma was finally able to snap himself out of his shock, he asked, "Akane, do you really mean it?"
"I said 'yes' didn't I? Ranma no baka," Akane replied, softly stroking Ranma's cheek.
"Well, yeah," Ranma said, his mind still reeling from her touch. "I guess I'm still not really used to us getting along. I keep expecting you to pull that mallet of yours out and start pounding me into the ground with it," Ranma replied, wincing at the blow he knew he would get for saying that.
Looking hurt, Akane responded "do you really trust me that little?"
"I trust you, Akane, it's just that this is all new to me. Besides, if I had asked you the same question last week, that's probably what would have happened to me."
"I'm sorry, Ranma, you're right. That's probably what would have happened then, but what's important is how we feel about each other now. And right now, I love my hentai jerk. I just hope that he loves his kawaiikune iinazuke."
"You know I do," Ranma said taking Akane's hands in his. He started wondering why it took him so long to finally admit that he loved her.
After holding each other for a while, they headed home. The whole way there they held hands like it was nothing new to either of them. As they were walking, Akane started thinking that maybe there was one person they should tell—Kasumi.
"Ranma," Akane started quietly, "I was just thinking how we're going to explain going on a training trip together when we're not even supposed to be getting along. You know how our families are." She paused for a minute before continuing. "I was thinking that maybe we should tell them that we're going to spend the weekend at a friend's house. We could let Kasumi in on our secret and have her cover for us. You know she would never say anything to the others unless she knew it was okay with us."
"You're right, Akane," Ranma said with a slight blush. "I know they'd follow us if we went off together, and try to force us to get married right then and there." Suddenly Ranma looked down, saying, "you know I wouldn't mind for us to be married right now, but it's better if we wait until after we graduate from high school."
When Ranma was finally able to look up, he noticed that Akane was crying.
"I'm sorry, Akane. I didn't mean to upset you. You know me and my big mouth," Ranma started babbling, expecting a blow from Akane's ever-present mallet.
"Ranma no baka, I'm not crying because I'm upset, I'm crying because you've just made me so happy," Akane replied, squeezing Ranma's hand reassuring him.
They walked a while longer in peace, just enjoying each other's company, before deciding on how to approach Kasumi.
"I think we should be together when we talk to nee-chan. We'll have a much easier time convincing her to go along with our plan if she can see how we feel about each other, ne?" Akane asked.
"Yoroshii. Let's try not to get anyone else's attention, though. Especially Nabiki's," Ranma said with a shiver. "You know how she'd blackmail us once she found out. At least we can trust Kasumi to keep a secret, though I'm not too sure how long it'll be able to be kept."
"I know what you mean. I caught myself about ready to tell some of my friends how much I love you. I know they're already starting to get really suspicious," Akane said with a bit of a blush. "I know you've had to catch yourself a few times today also." Seeing that Ranma was getting a bit uncomfortable, she decided to drop the subject. "Kasumi will have dinner ready soon. If we don't hurry up, not only will they get suspicious, but there won't be anything left to eat. You know your father."
Before Akane could say anything else, Ranma picked her up and started running towards the Dojo.
