Her legs hurt. She was running. Finally, she collapsed, her
stomach muscles tightening painfully. She slammed her fist against the
sidewalk once and felt the cracks spreading through the concrete. "I...
I'm not gonna cry... I won't!" She gasped, and wiped angrily at her
eyes.
"Ranma... why?"
She threw away the brown wig, curled up and wept.
---
The Nikholas F. Toledo Zu
presents
The play's the thing
it's a Ranma fanfic
by Nikholas "Rain Man" F. Toledo
This should be the last of the three stories occurring in this fanfic
continuity.
---
"Darling!" She bounced up to him, every step charged and quivering
with happiness.
"Ahh..." the boy answered uncomfortably as he scratched the back of
his head.
The other girl turned away before she could see them embracing.
"Hello, Hikaru-chan... You and Kasuga have fun at the concert, alright?"
"Madoka, why don't you come with us?" she bubbled expansively as
she tugged on Kasuga's arm.
"Ah... I have to work tonight."
"A... Ayukawa..." he murmured half-heartedly as she began to walk
away.
---
"Kasuga remind you of anyone, Ranma-kun?" Nabiki smirked at the
other's discomfiture. "It's obvious who Hiroshi and Daisuke patterned
that character after..."
"Akane's really getting into her role, isn't she, Ranma?" Kasumi
whispered.
Glad for the interruption, he nodded, quietly. "Her character's
just a touch ditzy though, ain't she?"
"Not unlike another fianc�e of yours, isn't she?" Nabiki pressed.
Hiroshi turned back to their row, "Would you guys please quiet
down? The others and I put a lot of work into this..."
Relieved when Nabiki stopped pushing, Ranma allowed himself to lean
back, and relax. The play WAS entertaining... and funny in certain
moments. Sometimes, he felt like slamming his fist into his head when
the Kasuga character was being particularly indecisive, wishy-washy or
idiotic... but it was sweet at times. And you could feel the affection
between Ayukawa and him... despite the way they had to watch themselves,
had to stay far enough apart when they were together so that they would
give nothing away... in the looks and half-smiles they would share... and
the obvious anger in her eyes when he would do something particularly
foolish.
---
"Here," the long-haired girl slid a cup over to him on the counter.
Kasuga lifted his head, the dejection clearing from his face as he
inhaled the fragrant steam. "For me?" he murmured, smiling wanly. "I
thought you were mad... for my eating all of that chocolate today."
"I'm still mad! Ah... that hot chocolate... ah... was left over
from earlier today. Don't look so happy, you still have to finish
cleaning this place up."
"A-Ayukawa..." he whispered as they looked into each other's eyes.
The door to the caf� slammed open, startling the two of them. "Oi!
Ayukawa... I just forgot my key... say, is that hot chocolate?" The big
man inhaled deeply. "Ah! The scent of fresh hot chocolate! I hope my
wife made me some..."
"Master!" Ayukawa blushed.
Kasuga muttered, "Huh?"
"We didn't serve any hot chocolate today, Kasuga-kun. Ja ne! I'll
be seeing the two of you tomorrow..." He grinned behind his beard once,
before closing the door behind him.
The young teenager looked intently at his cup. Then they looked at
each other again, and Ayukawa was still blushing when he raised the cup
to his lips, and drank.
---
Ranma didn't notice exactly when it happened, but he felt a hand
slipping into his, the contrasting areas of rough and smooth a familiar,
comforting surface. He didn't need to look to know that Kasumi was
smiling... and he soon found himself smiling as well.
---
Ukyo glanced at her clock. It was almost time. "Konatsu? Could
you finish closing up for me? I have to go somewhere."
---
"It was... ah, nice... Akane."
She frowned slightly. "So you liked it?"
"Well..." he shrugged. "It kinda touched on a sensitive topic...
But, yes, it was really fun to watch." He chuckled, "Sometimes, some of
the situations with Kasuga made me squirm though."
"... I'm glad."
Ranma kicked off, and the creaking sound from the chains of the
swing grew louder.
"Hmm... Akane?"
"What?"
"What did it feel like... getting into Hikaru's role?"
She started swinging as well, as she looked up at the moon. "It
was... well, it was pretty easy, actually. To be honest, Ranma, it
wasn't a very challenging character to play. Hikaru... she only
pretended ignorance through most of the play, see? She KNEW that Kasuga
loved Ayukawa... she was only pretending... fooling herself. So that she
could be happy, not knowing. All of the signs were there for her to
see... she just didn't want to see them."
They were swinging more or less synchronously, now. Ranma turned
to watch her. She had a nervous look in her eyes... and her knuckles
looked pale, closed around the chains of the swing. The breeze was
blowing through her short hair, and the moonlight made her skin seem
almost translucent, made her seem to glow. She was beautiful... and he
wondered how he could have ever considered her less than that. "That
part at the end... when Hikaru found out... You were pretty angry. That
wasn't just acting, was it?"
Akane grinned. "Of course it was, Ranma. The anger... well, it
was real. I mean, all I had to do was think about all the other fianc�es
you used to have... But it was still just acting."
She reached out with her left hand, and caught his right. She
squeezed gently. "It's a nice night, isn't it, Ranma?"
"It is, I guess." His eyes grew hazy, as he remembered. "It's a
clear night and all... windy, but not too much, warm, but not too much.
The moon is out and it's quite bright... There were times, ya know, when
I was wandering with Otou-san through China, and the nights would be like
this, crisp and clear... nothing blocking the moon or the stars."
"Maybe you could show me around there sometime..." she said
lightheartedly, eyes shining. "Just as a training trip, of course."
Ranma's expression grew cloudy... pensive. "A... Akane..."
She turned to him. "You aren't upset about Jinpachi kissing me,
are you?"
He sighed. "N-no... Actually... ah..."
"You know... Despite the lights on the stage, and stuff... I could
see the audience pretty well. It was nervous, seeing all of those people
looking so focussed... watching me. It was wonderful..." The smile left
her lips. She whispered, "I wish I couldn't see the audience quite so
well though... sometimes."
"Akane?"
"So Ranma, do YOU think Hikaru knew that Kasuga actually loved
Ayukawa? Was she only pretending, or did she just honestly... not know?"
She stopped swinging, and let go of his hand, which fell soundlessly to
his side.
He drew in a shaky breath... "I think you'd know that best,
Akane."
"What I'm asking, baka," she smiled slightly, "is what you think.
I already know what I think... what do you think?"
"Oh. Well, I think... I think," he stopped swinging, too. No dust
rose at his feet when he brought them to the ground. "I think that
Kasuga... he wanted to tell Hikaru, see? He really wanted to. But every
time he tried... she would be so close to him and so happy... And he
couldn't bear to hurt her, see? He didn't love her, but he did care...
and so did Ayukawa."
Akane shook her head slowly. "So... why did he do what he did at
the end?"
"Because... because they reached the point where Hikaru could take
him away from Ayukawa."
"... Oh." She rested her chin on her palms, elbows on her knees.
"It was Kasumi... who convinced you to tell Ukyo and Shampoo the truth...
right?"
Ranma nodded.
"It took me a while to notice... how much happier she'd been in the
past few weeks. You know, for a while, Nabiki and I... we were so
worried about Kasumi. She'd been playing mother to us for so long... it
hurt to see her getting tired... to see the dreams in her eyes dimming
while she watched us walk off to school everyday. But we still needed
her... we did. And the way the life was leaving her smile... We tried
to ignore it. I mean, what could we do? We were kids... We'd just lost
Mom... we didn't want to lose another. So I guess," Akane laughed
tunelessly, "we just started to ignore it. I mean, we couldn't do
anything about it... and Kasumi never complained. So finally, we got
used to her smile, the way it was... the way she always had it, and it
never changed... and it never sparkled. Her smile died... a few weeks
after she realized that Dr. Tofu would always lose it around her... and
that she would always be a housewife. Of course, I didn't understand
most of this back then... We were young. We needed something to believe
in. So we believed in Kasumi... in how she would always take care of us.
Always... You should have seen her before that, Ranma... She was such a
talented martial artist... and she was great in school. She wanted to do
so much, she was so full of fire... and it hurt to watch it dim in her...
so we stopped looking."
"Akane-"
"Shh..." she interrupted him, mussing his hair affectionately.
"Let me finish. That's why it took me so long to notice how much she's
changed again... because Nabiki and Papa and I, we all made it a point to
stop looking into her, 'coz it hurt to see her giving up so much... But
two weeks ago... when I FINALLY managed to make a decent batch of
brownies... She smiled at me. Oh, Ranma... it was like watching the sun
rise. And I cried... and she couldn't understand it, 'coz I'd finally
succeeded, and she thought that I was crying because I was so happy...
and I WAS, Ranma, I was happy... but not because of the stupid
brownies..." She sniffled, and shook off Ranma's hand when he put it on
her shoulder. "Please, Ranma... listen."
"I am listenin', Akane..." He scuffed his feet against the ground.
"It may be hard ta believe... but I've always listened to you."
She wiped her sleeve across her eyes, and ignored the dark spots on
the beige cloth. "I don't want to see her smile die again, Ranma... Got
it?" She got to her feet shakily. "And d-don't... don't you dare say
you're sorry. She's happy again... I haven't seen it in so long..."
He nodded, and hung his head.
---
"It hurts, don't it, sugar?"
Akane's eyes jerked open. She hissed, "Go away!"
The other sighed, and bent down, offering a handkerchief. "Ranma
told me it would be tonight. I figured you would need someone to talk to
about it... I guess I was right. Sometimes, the jerk seems pretty
thoughtless, isn't he?"
Akane sniffed noisily and took it, wiping her face roughly. "I
guess you would know... He told me that he'd talked to you and Shampoo a
few weeks ago... Only, only I thought it was because of ME!" She
started to sob again. "I thou... I thought he'd finally chosen ME!"
Ukyo sighed, and slowly took Akane in her arms. "Yeah... I was so
sure he'd choose me, too. But he didn't, did he? And for the longest
time, y'know... I thought it was my fault. I thought, maybe I hadn't
told him enough times, maybe I wasn't cute enough, maybe I didn't cook
well enough or fight well enough... so many maybes, Akane." She felt the
other girl's arms tighten around her, clutching as she shook and sobbed
into Ukyo's shoulder. Ukyo rocked her back and forth, softly. "Akane?
Akane, it isn't your fault. It isn't Ranma's fault, either... He spent
a long time, ya know... thinking about some way to break it to you
gently... much longer than the time he spent worrying about me and
Shampoo. He... he does care about you, Akane... he does. But he loves
someone else."
She was starting to get misty-eyed herself... and they held each
other for a while... quietly drawing what strength they could from each
other.
--- the end
So what do you people out there think? This and the two fanfics
preceding it were written on the spur of the moment. Actually, they were
written when I should have been studying for my molecular immunology
final instead... They were mainly written because I felt like it. This
was a fairly spontaneous effort to get my mind off of a couple of
depressing things. So I hoped you liked it.
---
The Epilogue:
"Who is it at the door, Nabiki?"
Her elder sister smirked. "It's Jinpachi. He's got a huge bunch
of flowers floating behind him... and I think they're for you."
Akane arched an eyebrow. "Really?"
At that moment, they heard a loud cry from outside... "JINPACHI
OGURAAAAA! PREPARE TO DIE!"
The two sisters looked at each other... and started giggling.
"I guess some things won't change around here, will they?" Akane
smiled.
"Nope. And the fights are just as interesting now... Espers can
apparently do some really impressive attacks when they fight. Speaking
of which, sister dear - I've gotta go and set up a betting pool for the
Jinpachi vs. Ryoga match. Now, you get yourself dressed up... and I'm
sure one of them's going to work up the guts to ask you out after they
finish beating each other up. So stop moping, okay, Akane?"
"Who's moping? Aren't you the upset one since Hiroshi didn't ask
you out?"
Scandalized, Nabiki blurted out, "I'll have you know that the poor
boy was about to... except that Daisuke knocked him out first!"
---
Ranma peeled an eye open, wincing only slightly at the sunlight.
He smiled when he heard the laughter, a great weight seeming to lift from
his shoulders. "I guess Akane's feeling better..."
"I hope you're feeling better too, Ranma..."
His smile grew even wider when he heard her. He turned on his
side, and wormed his way closer to her under the sheets. "Thanks for
trying ta cheer me up last night." He leaned over and slid his lips
across her nose.
"Hmmmm..." She wriggled a little as his fingers slid through her
hair, and down the curve of her back. "I think I should be thanking you
for last night, you know... Oh dear..."
His hands worked their way lower. "'Oh dear?' I hope you're not
going to regret..."
She bit her lip. "AH. That's just the spot, Ranma. Unnnh... a
little harder. Oh. No, I just realized that I haven't started breakfast
yet... And I really ache from the workout last night!"
Ranma continued the massage, "Well, you were the one who wanted me
to start you on martial arts again... I toldja you weren't ready to spar
with me..."
Kasumi sniffed, "Well, I was good enough so that you got tired
enough to pass out beside me last night, remember?" She poked him softly
in the shoulder, and Ranma grinned.
"Well, you looked so cute curled up on the floor... I didn't want
to wake you up, so I just brought a couple'a blankets. Hope ya don't
mind."
"Oh, so sleeping with me was an unpleasant experience?" she winked.
He turned an incredibly deep shade of red, and protested, "Ah... I
really don't think you should put it that way!"
"Oh, so you don't like the idea of sleeping with me?"
"NO! I mean, YES! I mean... Argh."
She laughed, and it was like listening to music.
"That wasn't very lady-like - what would your father say?" He
found himself grinning.
"Probably something like 'RANMA, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING WITH MY
DAUGHTER?' Then he'd want us to get married... today." She giggled a
little. "So how about it, Ranma?"
"Umm... how did we get started with this, anyway? Come on," he
stood, and pulled her up with him. "I'll help you with breakfast... and
Kasumi?" He started picking up the blankets and folding them.
"Yes?" She grasped the other corners and helped him with it. It
was a beautiful day.
"Umm... How about after college? And of course, you'd have to go
to college with me..." He twiddled his fingers.
"Of course I'd have to go to college with you. What if some lonely
manager at your boarding house fell for you or something?"
He smiled when she put her hands over his, and stopped his nervous
twiddling.
---
The Nikholas F. Toledo Zu @ WWW: The Entertainment Capital of UP Village
Vector, Switch, Yebah, Rain Man, goo, Pervert, Scruples, Hollie, NomaD,
Blitz, Gee, Datzo, Jewel, elf, Radler, Pinball, Mayhem, Chaos, Father,
Attar and Llewe @ http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/3145/mezza9.html
Fanfiction Page @ http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/3145/fanfics.html
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