SPRING SHOWERS
a fanfic by Cbear

This is my first fanfic… all characters are property of Rumiko Takashi, Viz,
etc… I just do this for fun and because I love Ranma ½ so much. I hope you
enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it! C&C are welcome -- but send them
directly to me, please. (Flames are okay – but no infernos please!)

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SPRING SHOWERS

It was one of those gray days, heavy with the smell of rain hanging in the
air. The world seemed all gray and green and brown, with the first leaves
pushing just outside their winter shelters, giving the whole garden an
eerie, fairy-like look.

Akane looked out of her window and smelled the rain. She had always liked
days like these. Spring always brought out the urge to just drink in nature
and let herself be embraced by the mist enveloping the yard. Smiling, she
quickly dressed, knowing that nobody inside the house would be awake at this
hour – not even Kasumi.

If she got lucky, it might even rain. Akane loved the rain.

Not those violent autumn storms, of course, just those gentle spring showers
that the clouds of today were promising to bring. She loved the sensation of
the rain running down her cheeks and placing icy kisses on her skin – it was
freezing while it lasted, but she always made sure to soak in a warm bath
afterwards so she wouldn’t get sick. She always felt like some sort of
woodland fairy when she was out there in the misty gray morning, dancing
silently in the rain, raising her arms with the trees and the flowers,
welcoming the spring.

She giggled quietly at her thoughts. Everyone else would probably think that
she was a lunatic, thinking this way.

Silently, Akane padded down the stairs, shivering in excitement and the
slight chill. She could feel the rain – it was close, it was coming… and she
just had to be there.  Right at the edge of the pond, sitting on the rock,
face upturned to welcome the first drops of the shower…

But there was already someone there.

Even if she couldn’t make out the perky pig-tail sprouting from his nape,
the red silk shirt and the black pants quickly tipped her off. But – this
early? Ranma was never up this early on a weekend. And it was a Saturday
today. What was he doing here?

She felt a sudden pang of disappointment at not being able to do her ritual.
Of course she couldn’t do that with Ranma watching! He would think it was
just too weird… Turning  as quietly as she could, using a technique
Tofu-sensei taught her, she walked back towards the house…

And stopped as she heard him call her name. "Akane?"

She turned again and walked toward the rock where he sat. "Ranma." She
smiled at him, the joy of the morning not quite dampened by the postponement
of her spring rain dance.

He blinked twice at her, staring. Her smile dimmed after a few moments of
his staring and melted into an expression of bewilderment. "What is it,
Ranma? Something wrong with my face?" she asked, putting a hand to her cheek
and feeling for any weird bumps or spots. There were none. "Ranma?"

"Uh…" he began, seeming to shake himself mentally. "Hi, Akane, what are you
doing down so early?" he asked, returning her smile. 

It felt like sunshine, even if a rumble of thunder sounded in the distance.

"Maybe I should be asking you that," she said, sitting on the cemented edge
of the pond in front of him, looking up at his face curiously. "After all,
it is a Saturday morning… you always sleep in on Saturdays." Their eyes
locked for a moment or two, and in spite of the cool morning, she could feel
her cheeks suddenly heat up.

They broke the stare, Ranma looking up towards the sky; Akane focusing her
eyes on an umbrella leaning against the rock beside him. She started in
surprise. Evidently, he had been planning to be here for quite some time.

"I… uh… I…" He  cleared his throat and she looked up at him. Was it her
imagination, or was he blushing? In the dim light, she really couldn’t tell.
She saw him hesitate, fight an internal battle with himself, and lose. 

She waited. She didn’t mind the silence. It was beautiful out here anyway,
Ranma or no Ranma. But right now, it was more so.

"It’s going to rain," he suddenly said, breaking the silence.

"I know that," Akane said, her voice reflecting a combination of puzzlement
and amusement. "But you aren’t out here to discuss the weather, are you?"

"Actually, I am," he replied, with face to the sky. "I… I love spring
showers. When I saw the sky this morning when I woke up, I thought I’d come
down here and… uh… I used to love sitting in the rain, especially in the
spring. When we went on training trips, Pop would always be huddled in the
tent  while I would spend much time sitting in the rain and feeling the
water run down my face and… uh…"  He paused, rubbing the back of his neck
awkwardly. "This is just too weird."

Her eyes widened like saucers. "You too?" she asked eagerly, happy that he
was sharing such an unusual quirk with her. "I came out here to welcome the
spring the way I always do. I’ve been doing this since I was a little girl."

They sat in a companionable silence, waiting for the rain. The air seemed
heavier now with moisture, and she could almost see tiny dewdrops forming in
his hair. Then she started.

"But, Ranma, I thought you hated the rain. What about…"

He winced. "My curse?" he finished, sighing. "This is one of the things I
miss the most about being normal," he explained. "Just as much as I miss
swimming and wading in the water and… all those kinds of stuff. It really
irritates the hell out of me that I can’t even take off my shirt when I’m
caught in a spring shower or I’m at the beach."

Thunder rumbled once more. 

Akane, seeing Ranma’s wistful expression – an expression he rarely allowed
to show on his face -- impulsively lay her head on his lap in a comforting
gesture. She knew something in her would probably die if she could not do
her spring shower ritual at least once every year. She felt Ranma tense for
a moment, but as she attempted to raise her head, she suddenly felt his hand
rest gently on top of her hair, fingers brushing her forehead.

"It’s not so bad, really," Ranma said, strangely enough trying to comfort
her instead of the other way around. "Until I can find a cure, I guess I
just have to put off walking in the rain for a while." 

As if on cue, the first few drops of rain stung the back of Akane’s neck.

"It’s the rain!" she cried gleefully, bolting up and raising her hands to
the sky. It was always a thrill to feel the first few drops of rain kissing
her skin, tickling her face, and… 

Suddenly remembering, she turned to Ranma and saw move to open his umbrella.
Biting her lip thoughtfully, she hesitated then put her hand on his just as
he was pushing the umbrella open.

"Wha -- " Ranma turned to her in surprise. It still wasn’t raining hard
enough to activate his curse, but he knew that he would be turning into a
girl within the next minute.

Akane smiled her sunshiny smile that never failed to send Ranma into a spell
of bemusement. "I don’t mind if you don’t," she told him, pulling him off
from the rock.

Rain began to pour in harder now, and Ranma felt a familiar tingle as he
began to change into a girl. But... it did feel good to feel the rain
running down her skin and tickle her face... and to feel Akane’s hand in
hers as she stood there raising her face to the heavens, eyes closed in bliss...

Then suddenly Akane opened her eyes and turned to her. "I never thought I’d
ever find anyone who would enjoy walking under a spring shower as much as I
do..."  She smiled down into Ranma-chan’s eyes then suddenly blushed when
she saw an expression in them that she couldn’t quite understand...

Ranma sighed a sigh that sounded like a cross between happiness and
frustration. She suddenly squeezed Akane’s hand and tugged. "Let’s walk…"

Akane nodded then paused. "Ranma – you never did tell me what woke you up… I
never thought you’d be able to wake up on your own short of an earthquake."

Ranma-chan scratched her head in bewilderment. "Actually, I woke up when I
fell off the bed thinking that Pop pushed me off; but he was on the other
side when I looked." She shrugged carelessly. "Come on, Akane, let's go
before the shower lets up!"

And the two of them hand in hand disappeared under the blanket of the spring
shower as they walked in the rain, away from the house.

Looking at them from her window, Kasumi smiled wisely and stood up to run a
hot bath water for both of them.

-fin -

Notes from the author:

I was intorduced to Ranma ½ just a few months back, but it feels like I’ve
known all these crazy lunatics all my life. I’ve been spending the past few
weeks getting my hands on fanfics from all over the net, and I thought it
was about time to write a short one of my own. Still, since I’m not as
familiar with the way things are in Japan or in Ranma, I thought I’d stick
to a safe, universal one that doesn’t really try to cause any major
upheavals in Ranmaverse.

This is the first version, and I’m going to be courageous and post it
without having anyone pre-read it or anything. I think I’ve kept it pretty
clean of spelling or grammar errors – it’s the authenticity I’m kinda scared
about. Oh well! I just hope you  guys are gentle!

By the way – about walking in a rain shower?  It’s one of the things I love
most in the world. Just as much as I like lying outside on a clear night and
looking at the stars… I guess that explains why I feel like Ranma is an old
friend. I just wanted him and Akane to share just one more "weird" thing in
common with me. If you haven’t tried it, do so;  trust me, it’s really great.

Smile and have a nice day!