If We Were 3

- Chapter 14

Why Serpents Are Pests

Ranma sat in his chair and and eagerly watched the classroom clock. He didn't think it had ever moved any slower than it was now. It kept ticking, each tick slower then the last. Ranma couldn't wait until class was over. It was spring break and he had plans. No more sitting in a dusty classroom with boring teachers and lectures he was just going to sleep through anyway.

Finally, only five seconds left, three, two, One... the glorious sound of the shchool bell sounded and Ranma rose to his feet and dashed out of there as fast as he could, leaving behind a trail of smoke. The teacher just sighed at his action, expecting nothing less from the trouble maker. He closed his book, faced the class, and cleared his throat.

"Class dismissed, and have a good break." He then packed up his own things and left.

"Can you believe him!" Akane began as she started putting her notebooks in her bag, already frustraed at the pig tailed boy. "Rushing out of here like that, He didn't even wait for us." Ukyo was sitting on top of her desk with her bag already packed and ready, while Ryoga was standing in between the two girls.

"Come on Akane, give him a break," Ukyo began with a coy smile, "He's probably just excited for the trip. I mean it is the first vacation we've ever had." However Akane just huffed and forcefully closed her bag. Ukyo chuckled a little then turned to Ryoga.

"So what's the coast like anyway?" She asked.

"I don't exactly have to many good memories of the beach," Ryoga started, remebering all the times he got lost and ended up passed out on the sandy shores. They all walked out of class and started to make there way home.

"I mean the only times I saw the beach was when I got lost and not to mention dehydrated. If you're asking my opinion, I think it's too hot."

"Well that's only because you never took the time to really enjoy it, sugar. Oh I can't wait to lie on the beach, soaking up the sun, and I can also bring my cart and try to sell some food while I'm there."

"Honestly, I'm just surprised that Genma is actually letting us go," Akane interupted. "I mean I thought for sure he was gonna drag us off somewhere to train some more."

"Maybe he's finally loosened up a bit, and you know giving you the break you deserve." Ryoga said. Akane and Ukyo looked at each other for a second before bursting into laughter.

"Oh Ryoga, sweetie. You don't know Genma the way we do." Ukyo grinned.

"Yeah no doubt he's got something planned. I just wish I just wish I knew what it was." Akane added.

"Guess we'll find out sooner or later." Ukyo said as they waved goodbye to Ryoga. Ever since they met they have been walking Ryoga to and from school so he wouldn't get lost. Ryoga had improved a little with his problem. He could now walk around his house without getting lost, however put him outside, and he's as directionally challanged as ever.

Ukyo stretched out her arms and back as the sun covered her in warm light. She took a deep in breathe of the salty sea air and sighed.

"Now this is more like it!" She smiled. We need to vacation more often, we deserve it." Ryoga and Akane were setting up there spot on the beach, while Ranma was already digging through the cooler for something to eat.

"Honestly Ranma, would it kill you to help out just a little?!" Ryoga complained as he opened up the large parasol.

"Yeah Ranma, we just got here and already your looking to stuff your face." Akane grummbled. Ranma turned back to glare at his friends.

"For your information I was just getting a drink," He sneered, " It's hot out here and I'm thristy."

"Still, can you at least wait until we've set everything up, and while you're at it, I don't know, Help us!" Ryoga exclaimed as he forced the parasol into the sand. hopwever Ranma Had already turnned his attention back to the cooler, completely ignoring him.

"Come on guys, were at the beach, cheer up." Ukyo began, putting her hands on her hips and grinning as big as she could. "I have a feeling this is going to be the best vacation ever."

Genma giggled like an idiot as he exited the old talisman shack. Holding something small and wooden close to his chest. He began skipping away when the shop keeper came outside.

"I warned you sir, don't blame me when you perish!" He then begrugidly went back to his shop.

"It's so hot!" Ryoga cried as he lay n the shadow of the parasol, "I thought you said this was going to be fun?" Ukyo rose from her spot and pulled Ryoga up with her. He began blushing like crazy at the hand holding and her bright smile.

"You just need to cool off some, sugar." And with that she pulled him along as she made her wy directly to the water, leaving Ranma and Akane behind.

Ranma started to get nervous. He wasn't alone with Akane much. It was always the four of them together. he chanced a look over to her and saw that she was putting on sunscreen on. He couldn't help but stare a little as she rubbed back and forth on her slender arms. She looked so cute in her bathing suite. It was a yellow bikini with no sleeves and the tiniest firl skirt for the bottom. His face quickly began to heat up and he averted his eyes to the water.

He tried really hard to think of anything but Akane in her swimsuite, but that got increasingly harder when she shoved the bottle of sunscreen in his face. He looked over to her a little confused. She was looking in the opposite direction, so he couldn't see her face.

"I-I can't reach m-my back." She stuttered, he could tell she was nervous when she didn't want to face him. He then realized what she had said and looked at the bottle she was holding, still in his face. He started to blush like crazy as he looked back at her.

"I-It's not like I want you to, I-It's just I can't reach it by myself!" She sound both nervous and irratated, and she still wouldn't look at him.

"I-It's fine." Ranma mumbbled as he took the bottle from her. Akane then lay down on her stomach, still looking away.

"A-And don't get any f-funny ideas, or I-I'll pound you into the s-sand!" Akane added, sounding even more nervous and irrateted. Ranma couldn't see her face so he couldn't see that she was just about as red as he was, if not more so. Ranma just rolled his eyes at her abrasivness and let a small smile creep onto his face.

"They look just about as awkward as ever." Ukyo commented as she was waist deep in the water with Ryoga. They had both watched the two from a far. They couldn't hear anything but they could tell just by watching that they were both in a fairly awkward situation, but knowing them, they probably enjoyed it a lot more than they care to admitt.

"It's so obvious just looking at them." Ryoga smirked, "And that's coming from me." Ryoga found out fairly quick that Ranma and Akane had a mutual but unspoken attraction for eachother. They always seemed nervous when they were alone together and they always bickered like and old married couple. Anyone could see that the two were head over heels for the other, well, everyone except for the two themselves.

"Ahh they're still young." ukyo said, "But I'll bet they spend the rest of their lives together."

"You sure? I mean it's glaringly obvious that they like eachother, but unless they act on it they're just gonna awkwardly walk through life as nothing more than good friends."

"What I find hard to belive is how you can be so smart at times, then comletely oblivious the next." Ukyo teased. Ryoga just blushed at her acusation.

"W-What do you mean?" He asked, nervously.

"Oh sugar, you're just as nervous as they are when you talk to me. You don't think I see it?" She said with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Oh really I hadn't noticed!?" He exclaimed nervously. Ukyo just laughed and tackled him into the water, smiling the entire time.

Genma was kneeling on a flat rock by the water, the small wooden box held tightly in his hands. It had a tailisman seal on it and a red warning sign carved into the wood. 'Extremely Dangerous Do Not Open At Any Coast' Genma just laughed at the writing and quickly pulled the seal off the box. The box began to shake vilolently and a black smog burst from the box and dove into the water. Two red ovals glowed in the water as it slithered closer to the beach.

"Enjoy your fun while it lasts kids." Genma said as he began lauging like a crazy person.

"Mommy look at the funny man." A child said from a far.

"Yes honey, now keep walking, don't make eye contact." the mother quickly rushed her child away from crazy Genma.

Ranma and Ukyo were sitting on a cement wall. Ukyo was enjoying a delicious ice cream, while Ranma just stared at Akane, who was reading a book on the blanket under the parasol. Ryoga was sitting next to her, eating a sandwich he found in the cooler.

"You know, sitting here and staring at her is just plain creepy." Ukyo began. Ranma blushed and turned back to his friend.

"I wasn't staring!" He defended himself. Ukyo just rolled her eyes and sighed.

"You do remember that the whole reason we broke off the engagment was because you and Akane obviously have sparks, right?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Maybe I'd be inclined to believe you if you weren't always drooling over her like a puppy."

"WHAT!"

"Why don't you just swallow your pride for once and admitt that you have feelings for her?" Ranma just turned his head from her and looked down at the sand.

"Okay, maybe there is a little, tiny, itty bitty part of me that might in some way or another you know in certain situations and in different lighting find her the smallest bit...apealing."

"Are you serious rght now?" Ukyo looked at him with hoplesness in her eyes. "You like her. just say it. It's not that hard." Ranma glared at her insistance.

"Why can't you just butt out."

"I love to meddle, it's an ocupational hazard. Now say it with me. I like her." She said the last part to him slowly so he could fully grasp it.

"I-I...I lllii...I likkkk."

"O for heavens sakes, just say you like her!"

"I like her, okay! You happy now?" Ranma growled.

"Very." Ukyo smiled as she finished her ice cream.

"So you and Ranma, huh?" Ryoga asked as he finished his food. Akane looked up from her book and back at Ryoga.

"I'm sorry what?"

"What's the story there?" Ryoga asked, wanting to know more about his friends past.

"The story?"

"You know, how did you guys meet?" Akane smiled slightly as she closed her book.

"Oh well, Ranma and I met when we were three. You see my mother had just passed away and my father thought it would be a good idea to have me come with Genma and Ranma on their training trip."

"Wait, you've been with Ranma for 10 years."

"Yeah, he can be a real pain and an arrogant jerk, and don't even get me started on that ego of his," Akane stopped when she realized she was about to go off ranting.

"But I mean he was always there for me when I felt like giving up. He helped lift me up. he's my best friend." She smiled softly, recalling all the wonderful times shes had with him.

"So you guys a pretty close?"

"You could say that."

"Like family?"

"Well, I don't know about family."

"Because you like him?"

"What?!" Akane blushed deep red at his acusation.

"You don't wanna see him as family because you like him, and liking your brother would be weird, right?"

"T-Tha's ridiculous, I could never like someone as arrogant as him!" Ryoga was about to push further, but he was interupted when he heard screams from the beach. The two quickly looked over and was amazed to find a giant serpant like creature in the water.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Ryoga asked as he jumped off the ground. Everyone from the beach began evacuating imediatly. Ranma and Ukyo ran back to Ryoga and Akane.

"What's going on?!" Ukyo asked.

"Were just as lost as you are." Akane replyed. The sepent creature began flinging it's tail around, breaking some of the shacks near by.

"Oh no! What has he done!?" The gang turned around to find and older man on his knees.

"I warned him! I warned him! Why, why would he do this!?" Ranma scowled and ran over to the man. He bent down and pulled him up by his collar.

"You know something old man! What's going on?!"

"Ranma!" Akane called out as the rest of the gang went to join him.

"It wasn't me. I warned him, I warned him!"

"Who?" Ryoga asked.

"The bald man with the glasses. I warned him! And now look what's happened.

"Bald man with the glasses?" Ukyo wondered, then almost instantly it clicked, "You have got to be kidding me!"

"I knew he wasn't just gonna let us have break!" Akane fummed. Ranma dropped the man and turned towards the sea monster. He slowly began making his way over.

"You know all I wanted to do was enjoy a nice day at the beach with my friends, that's it. But you just had to go and ruin the whole danm thing didn't ya?" He cracked his knuckles and stared daggers into the serpent, who seem to notice the raging auora around the 14 year old martial artist, and got increasingly nervous.

"I think it's about time that you GET LOST!" He then grabbed the serpent by the tail, and with all his strenght he drew back and flung the serpent as far as he could across the ocean into the sunset. He then turned back around.

"Where are you old man!? I swear when I find you you're a dead man!?

"Well, looks like our day at beach is over." Ukyo sighed. She then turned to her friends. "Wanna go get something to eat?"

"Sure." They said as they walked off. The older man was left on the sand just staring in amazment at the younfg teen, who was still furiously searching the beach for his dad. Further down the beach Genma was hiding under some cliffs to avoid his son's wrath.

"Ranma, come on!" Ukyo called out, "You can pummle your dad later, I'm starved." Ranma turned back to his friends and relented, mostly because he was getting hungry himself.

"This is normal traing for you guys?" Ryoga asked, still a little lost.

"On a good day." Akane replied.

"You should try living with him." Ranma grumbled. Ukyo clapped her hands together as a brilliant idea popped into her mind.

"Why don't you?" She asked.

"What?"

"Live with us I mean." Ukyo clarified.

"Wait you want me to come live with you guys, in the same house?"

"Why not? it's not like you leave our side anyway." Ranma commented. Ryoga looked at the three, and he didn't know if it was just the setting sun in the background, but his best friends seemed raidient and almost magical. He liked that word, best friends, This was it he thought, He was home.

'Things are becoming more and more intersting these days. Our new friend Ryoga Hibiki is now living with us. We were able to make room with Ukyo and I in one room and Ranma and Ryoga in the other. Genma is now sleeping on the couch in the living room. Serves him right I think. He terrorized the coast with a Giant Serpent creature. Nothing new, but still nothing he should be proud of. He claims it was all part of our traing, but I think he secretly likes messing with us. We fixed the problem easily, well Ranma did. Speaking of, He looked so handsome today in his swiming trunks. I could see his musscels clearly, and I swear I could have stared at him all day. I didn't of course. Theres no need for his ego to grow larger than it already is. Ryoga seems to think I like him. I don't understand why he can't just mind his own business. I mean he's the one who was getting frisky with Ukyo in the water. There is definatley something there, and they don't seem too concerned about hiding it. I guess Ranma and I aren't the only ones who are getting closer.'