I'm just posting this stuff as I go along.  I assume later on
after I have more written, I'll probably either find
better chapter breaks, or just have one long ass story :)

Surprisingly, I found that as I wrote more and more, I started
getting more emotionally involved with the characters.  You can
hardly remain detached as you see Akane go through such an emotional
gauntlet, and its even harder when you're writing it.  

Anyways, this is what I have so far for part 2, and part 3 is
already well thought out up here <*taps his noggin*>.
In this part, you start to see major plot divergences from the
Manga in addition to the emotional differences.. My take is that
the characters are starting to show some kind of maturity, and it
shows here.  

As usual, C&C is welcome :)  All comments, flames, C&C, suggestions,
death threats, human spell checking, etcetera, to

davelee@mail.princeton.edu

------------------------------------------------------------

The Promise: Part 2


"Ranchan!  Ureshii!" said Ukyou, dressed in a wedding kimono.
She glomped tightly onto Ranma, her large eyes reflecting the
dim light.  

Ranma returned the hug with enthousiasm and looked down at her
cute face, merely inches away.  "Kimi, you look so beautiful
tonight.  I want to remember this for the rest of my life."

"Anata, so do I," she replied as she reached her arms behind 
his neck, and pulled his face to hers.  Their lips touched
in a wonderful kiss, and their hearts melted together into
one.  Slowly, Ukyou's hands left the back of Ranma's neck 
and drifted to the fastenings of her kimono.  Delicately,
she undid them, and stepped back, letting it slide off her
shoulders and to the floor.  "Ranchan..."

"Kawaii..." 

"Iya iya iya!! NOOOOOOOOOOoo!!!!" came a voice from outside 
the room.  Ranma and Ukyou turned to look at Akane who had
just barged in.  "Ranma... You can't!!! I... I love you!!"

"Sorry, Akane.  You're too late.  Now leave us alone," Ranma
replied coldly.  

"No!! It can't be!" she said in protest.  "You love me 
remember?  You even," <said it.  But ... you didn't did you.>

"Akane! Daijoubu? Are you all right?"  The soft yet insistent 
voice accompanied by some obnoxious knocking caused the scene 
in front of Akane to change into the image of her room, unoccupied, 
except by herself.  <Thank god, it was just a dream,> she thought as she
took short breaths, her heart beating loudly in panic.  

"Hai, oneechan. I'm just fine, just a bad dream," she said in
reply to Kasumi.  Just then she realized how much her body hurt.
Her legs were asleep, her back sore, and her face was slightly 
puffy.  Her mind drifted to what she had seen last night, Ranma
putting his arms around Ukyou, the two of them in bed together.
<He couldn't have,> she thought, <That wimp... he better not have.>
Akane got up and streched, then got dressed for her morning workout
and stress relief.

She stood in front of a large tree, its midsection bearing a rice
straw pad.  She took several deep breaths as she tried to focus her 
mind on her target unsuccessfully.  <Ranma, how could you do that? 
How could you tell her that you'd take care of her, HERE, in YOUR
ROOM, until she got better?>  Fueled by rage, Akane lashed out at
the tree trunk with a vicious side kick.  "RANMA NO BAKA!" she 
yelled at the top of her lungs, the three word mantra replacing
her ki yell.  The tree vibrated slightly from the kick.  A moment
later, a very annoyed Ranma fell out of the tree, landing painfully
on his side. 

"What the hell did you do that for?" he mumbled while thrumming his
fingers mindlessly on the ground.  

"Ranma," she said, startled, "you didn't sleep up there, did you?"

"Yup, the whole damn night," Ranma replied, rubbing his backside
in a vain attempt to shoo away the pain.  <Well not _quite_ the
whole night, but no need to tell her that.>

<So you didn't sleep with her,> she thought, a slight sigh of 
relief escaping from her mouth.  "Ranma, I have something to
tell you," she said.  <That was too close for me last night,
it's now or never.>

"Hai?" Tendrils of greenish smoke curled around the two before
Akane could continue, causing both of them to gag and hold their
noses.  "W-what IS that SMELL!" he exclaimed.

Ranma and Akane turned around to see the rest of the family 
gathered around Ukyou and her portable grill.  "Ugh! That 
stench could keep Kunou from his pig-tailed goddess!" 
Nabiki commented wryly with her thumb and index fingers 
clamped tightly on her nose. 

"Don't mind me," Ukyou said as she worked at the grill 
one-handed, her other disabling her olfactory center.
"This is my breakfast."  She coughed weakly as she 
inhaled some of the noxious fumes.  "This horrible sauce
represents my childhood failure as a Okonomiyaki cook. I 
can't forgive myself for this -- I must eat the product
of my hands in atonement!"

"No!! Utchan! Don't do it!" Ranma yelled as he ran over to
his friend.  With enough speed to make the movement of his
hand a blur, he snatched the fouled okonomiyaki from Ukyou's
hands and stuffed it into his mouth.  

"Ranma," Akane said in concern as she bit at her thumbnail.

"Ranchan," Ukyou said after Akane, dumbfounded at his action.
"Why..."

Ranma's facial features distorted into unnatural shapes as the
revolting taste of the okonomiyaki sauce registered on his taste
buds.  A torrent of sweat burst from his body, covering his 
face with a wet reflective layer.  As he sank to his knees in
pain, he remembered how he had filled that sauce pot on his own
after spilling the original sauce.  <I can't ever let her find
out about that, never.>  Struggling, he crawled to the house to 
get ready for school.

			*	*	*

Ukyou watched Ranma twitch every now and then in agony throughout
the morning, suffering from the aftereffects of his unplanned meal.
He was uncharacteristically subdued -- so much so that Ninomiya-sensei
didn't even try to drain him.  The net energy gain would have been
negative.  Thankfully, the lunch bell finally rang, allowing her 
to walk over to Ranma to see if she could help. 

Before she could reach his side, Akane darted over to intercept
her.  Clamping down on her wrist, Akane dragged her up the stairs
to the roof of the school.

"Chotto, nani ya de?  What did you bring me up here for? Are you
itching for a fight?"  said an indignant Ukyou, her left hand 
resting on the hilt her spatula.  Her fighting spirit vanished
quickly however as she examined the look of concern on Akane's
face. 

"I'm not here to fight, Ukyou," Akane said with a slight tinge
of nervousness. "I just wanted to talk with you.  Have you noticed
anything _strange_ about Ranma lately?"  Slowly she brought her
gaze up towards Ukyou's face, searching for any hints as she 
awaited an answer.

Ukyou posed thoughtfully for a moment, then said, "Now that you 
mention it, I have no idea why he ate my Okonomiyaki this morning.
You know how he is about inedible food - " Noticing that Akane's
expression had started to turn sour, she stopped herself before
the situation escalated.  "Never mind about that.  Anyways... 
Hmm.. I do remember something from that time when I made that 
disgusting sauce that the two of you tasted:" 

	"Ranchan, you can't taste this sauce right now.  It has 
	to ripen for ten years," said the six year old Ukyou.
	"But when it's done, I'll let you be the first to try it!"

	"Awwww... are you suuure I can't have just a little taste?"
	Ranma replied, his voracious appetite already well developed
	at that tender young age.

	"No.  But, ten years from now,  if this sauce tastes really, 
	really good, will you look after me for the rest of my life?"  
	she asked earnestly, looking right into Ranma's little eyes.

	"Sure!" Ranma replied automatically, having inherited the
	Saotome ability to shut off the rational parts of the brain
	when confronted by food.  "Now can I have a little taste?"

"My god!! So that's why he ate that revolting okonomiyaki of mine!
He remembered that promise, after all these years," she said in 
surprise, her left hand pushing up the front of her bangs.  She
sunk to her knees, dumbfounded by the prospect that Ranma had both
remembered, and kept his word as well.  "Ranchan..."

"U-ukyou? Are you sure about this?" Akane asked, her voice breaking
as she remember what Ranma had said to her earlier:  that there was
something to his relationship with Ukyou that went back for ten years,
in which the sauce played a part.  <Masaka, he didn't remember that
promise did he?>  

"Hai, I'm quite sure," came the curt response.

Images of Ranma and Ukyou in bed together flowed through the back of
Akane's mind, unbidden.  <No! I can't keep thinking about that... They
didn't DO anything!  That BAKA slept in the tree that night!>  
"Thanks, for telling the truth Ukyou."  She let her head sink until
her chin nearly rested on her chest as she slowly entered the top
of the stairwell.  Her body walked down the stairs to her next class
by itself her mind tortured itself for the rest of the day.  She 
watched Ukyou's wedding kimono drop to the floor over and over again
until she left school in the afternoon.

			*	*	*

Ukyou was out in the yard, cooking another okonomiyaki with her foul 
sauce on the portable grill which she had set up right next to the 
pond.  Ranma watched on with gruesome fascination, having noticed
that the punguent odor cleared his sinuses quite effectively.  <Why
does she have to eat that disgusting sauce?  She's punishing herself
for no reason... I made that damn sauce myself, and now its hurting 
her...>  His thoughts were interrupted as Ukyou raised the finished
product up to her mouth.  As she was about to take a bite, Ranma's
hands blurred with the speed of the amaguriken, and he devoured it
in under a second. 

Ukyou watched in fascination as Ranma all but inhaled the okonomiyaki,
covered with the sauce painted in a biohazard signal.  She grinned
slightly to herself, knowing that Ranma never bothered to look at his
food before he ate it, nor read any of the numerous messages that she
wrote to him.  Her expression turned serious though as she prepared to
ask him the question.  The future of her life was hanging on whether he
remembered his promise or not, and if he wanted to uphold his end. 
Carefully, she asked, "Ranma, please tell me that tasted horrible...
You know its the truth."

Ranma had nearly gone into shock.  Several new facial ticks popped up
in the aftermath of his latest impromptu snack.  <I can't let her know
I made that sauce...>  Summoning up his remaining strength, he squeaked
out a reply, "I-it's d-delicious!"  He managed to prop himself up against
a rock before he collapsed completely thereafter.  

"Ranma??" said a rather startled voice.  Akane walked out from behind 
the sliding door from where she was evesdropping on their conversation.
"I can't believe it!! Ranma no BAKA!  And to think I almost l-liked you,
only to be betrayed like, this!"

"Ehhhh?" Ranma managed to intone in his weakened state.  

Akane parroted Ukyou's recollection of Ranma's promise, causing Ranma's
eyes to bulge slightly in astonishment. 

Ukyou ignored Akane completely, filled with joy at hearing Ranma say
the magic words, "Oishii yo!"  She nearly threw herself at his feet
as she quickly kneeled in front of him, and then bowed with hands 
outstreched in front of her, forming a "V".  As she touched her head
to the ground, she said, "Ranchan, I know I'm not that good at this
kind of thing, but please take me as your wife." 

Akane's aura flared up violently as she surveyed the scene in search
of a suitable device to clobber Ranma with.  "NANI!?"

Nabiki walked out onto the porch casually, having listened to the whole
conversation in her never ending quest for blackmail material.  She
motioned at Ukyou right before she said, "Ukyou-kun, I'm sorry, but 
you're a bit too late."  Nabiki gestured for Ukyou to come closer.
After Ukyou was standing right next to her, she continued, lowering
her voice to a conspiratory whisper that was still loud enough for
Ranma and Akane to overhear.  "You see, Ranma-kun and Akane are 
already married, they're just pretending not to be for the benefit 
of everyone else." 

Having heard what her older sister had said, Akane surpressed her
usual angry response, and played along, realizing that it was her
last chance.  She ran over to Ranma, hugged him tightly, and planted
kiss firmly on his cheek.  "Anata!  Isn't that right, darling?"
she said, the strain evident in her voice as she tried to play cute.
A discreet yet firm elbow to the ribs convinced Ranma to go along 
with her.

"Heheh.  Uh, I guess so, honey," he added, affecting a rather sickly
grin.  

[Congratulations!!!] read the sign that Genma-Panda held up, as he
appeared seemingly out of thin air.  

"Our families will finally be united!" said a tearful Souun in between
sobs, as he appeared from inside the house, and stood next to Genma.

"Maa!" said a startled Kasumi with a silly grin on her face, her left
palm held up to her cheek as she poked her head out of the kitchen.

Akane and Ukyou glowered at each other for the rest of that evening,
neither willing to give any ground.  After dinner, and several hours
of staring contests featuring an utter lack of conversation, all 
parties involved adjourned for bed.  Ranma and Akane reached the
top of the stairs together, with Ukyou only a few paces behind, only
to be intercepted by Nabiki.  "Married couples sleep together right?"
she said with a smirk.  "Well in you go."  Nabiki quickly ushered 
the two into Akane's room despite her sister's protests.  Ukyou
broke into a run as she saw them enter together, and didn't stop
until she was buried in blankets.  Nabiki watched Ukyou for a moment,
then followed Ranma and Akane and closed the door behind her.   

"Akane, don't you want Ranma?" she asked, causing Akane to protest 
again.  Nabiki merely waved her off and continued.  "Of course you 
do.  All you have to do is play along, got it?"  Akane nodded weakly, 
finally accepting that it was the only way.  

Ranma observed the two sisters from across the room.  He followed
the features of Akane's face, seeing the sadness etched in her
expression.  <Kawaiikunee,> he thought as his automatic defense
system kicked in.  <She must care for me a lot though, I guess...
Or she wouldn't get this upset...>  He watched her a bit longer,
then examined the yellow dress that she was wearing, and how it
followed her curves.  <And she can be so cute sometimes.>  He
sighed as he thought back to when Akane had walked back from
Dr. Tofu's office after crying on his shoulder, and how cute
she looked with short hair.  

Akane turned away from Nabiki as her older sister left the room, 
leaving her alone with Ranma.  "Ranma?" she said tentatively as
she grabbed his hand.  "I want you to tell me the truth.  D-do
you l-like me?"  <There, I asked it.  But what if he gives the
wrong answer?>

Ranma remained silent as he placed his free arm around Akane
in a half-hug.  He slowly guided her over to the bed, and gently
pushed her down onto her back.  Her hands began to tremble as
her heart began to beat rapidly.  She fought her initial impulse 
to throw him off and beat him over the skull with something.
Ranma pulled his hand free from hers and slid his arms under her
arms, cradling her head with hands.  "Close your eyes," he said
softly.  She merely nodded and complied.  He lowered his head
until their lips touched.  Undescribably intense emotions raged
in her heart as she felt her lips mingle with his.  Then, suddenly,
a great emptiness filled her as he pulled away.  "S-sorry Akane...
Maybe in time, but not right now..."

All sensation left her when she heard those words.  The moment of
bliss that she felt was stripped from her violently, leaving only
the emptiness.  She let her body go limp, unwilling to open her
eyes, unable to bear looking at him to be reminded of the rejection.

"But we're still engaged, and I have to honor my promises.  I'll 
sleep on the roof tonight," Ranma said with little emotion. <Now
I know,> he thought to himself. <I just had to be sure about it.>
He opened the window, and swung himself up to the roof, making as
little noise as possible.  

Akane opened her eyes to watch him leave, wanting him to come back, 
just to be near here during the night,  but knowing that it was 
impossible.  She slipped under the covers and fell asleep, still
wearing her dress, with the first two fingers of her hand pressed
against her lips, as she remembered those brief seconds that were
now gone.  <Hopefully someday, Ranma, you can love me back.>