Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine at all.

In my brilliance, I edited the whole story. And then, in a supremely blonde moment, I friggin deleted it. So, here it is, accidentally deleted, and posted again. I'm so sorry for all of you who are about to get nine e-mails.

This is set right after the manga, by the way,

Chapter one

"Akane. . " Ranma whispered, standing over her. He was suicidal. He was insane. When she saw him, she was going to smash his skull with that damn hammer of hers. At the moment, he didn't much care.

"Would you wake up already?" he whispered, bending closer. He really didn't want to shake her. If she woke up and he had her by the shoulders she might...death does not begin to describe it. Or she might start up with that crying thing again. Since the cancelled wedding it seemed every time he looked at her, her eyes were sparkling with tears. It was killing him.

Akane slept on, oblivious to his outcries. Her hair spilled out around her head like a dark halo. She curled into a ball and murmered, dreaming. He took a deep breath. He was starting to lose his nerve, and if she didn't wake up soon he was going to have to go back to his bed. In defeat.

"Defeat" does not appear in the Saotome dictionary.

"Tendo Akane wake up!" he snarled. He laid a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently. For a moment, nothing happened. He stepped back, surverying the situation. She was too far gone, too tired, too something. . . it would have to wait. He hung his head. His ponytail fell flat against his back and shadows gathered around him.

"What. . . Ranma? Is that you?" a sleepy voice asked. Ranma's head snapped up.

"I'm sorry, Akane, I have something to tell you," he said. She sat up and glared at him. She'd almost looked pretty when she was asleep, her face relaxing into smooth lines. Now, what he wanted most was to snarl at her and just walk away. She got angry so blasted easily...

"Do you have to tell me in the middle of the night?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. At least his skull was in one piece.

"Yeah, I do. Would you just be quiet and listen?" he asked, trying to keep the edge out of his voice and failing.

"What is it?" she snapped, her eyes flashing. He took a deep breath and reminded himself why he was in Akane's room in the middle of the night.

"Look, I've been thinking a lot these past few weeks. . ."

"Since the wedding," Akane said quietly. Ranma winced.

"Yeah. Since the wedding. I, ah, actually have done quite a bit of thinking about the wedding. I wouldn't mind it, you know, taking care of the dojo, but the way everyone reacted. . . I'm just so tired of living my life on a battlefield. Everytime I turn around I have to fight off some angry guy or some girl trying to haul me to an alter. Everybody is always trying to make all my decisions for me, I never get to make up my own mind on anything. Even when I was training, living on frogs and stolen food, life wasn't this hard. I think it's the . . . the normal parts that are the hardest. Like doing homework with you or like when we went to go see that movie or when we train in the dojo. . ."

"So I'm the hardest part of your life, huh?" she asked, her voice low and bitter.

"I didn't say that!" Ranma sputtered, then thought about it. Holy hells, he had. "I didn't mean it that way, I. . ." he started towards her, his hand outrstreatched. She wasn't even looking at him, in the shadows he couldn't even see her eyes. . .

"Ranma, what are you trying to tell me?" His arm fell to his side.

"I'm leaving on a training mission. Just to . . . get away from all of them. I wanted to know. . . I wanted to know if you . . ." she was going to kill him. Kasumi would be cleaning bits of his brains out of the curtains for weeks. "Would you like to come with me? I mean, not to cook or anything, just so I can have someone to train with. . . someone who isn't trying to kill me or..." he stopped, noticing the shaking of her shoulders.

"Idiot," she spat, her voice thick with emotion. A few tears dropped onto her childishly long nightgown, and Ranma moaned inwardly. Not tears again. He started towards her again, kneeling on the ground so he could see her face. She raised her chin defiantly, and glared at him with tears in her eyes. She was, he had to admit, pretty cute when she cried. Of course, that just made him feel worse. . .

"You don't want to come train with me?" he asked, realizing even as he said it that wasn't the reason for her tears. She hit him on the head.

"Idiot. Haven't you heard all those people gossiping about us at school? About the wedding? About why it was called off? What do you think they'll say if we dissapear for a few weeks together? Niether of us will have any reputation left," she said slowly, as if each word were difficult for her to pronounce. Ranma looked at her in astonishment. The thought had never entered his head. He let it roll around in there for a few moments, temporarily employing his cognitive faculties.

"They'll say we eloped," he admitted quietly, and wondered why he never thought of it. The idea had definate advantages, to be sure. Ucchan would stop making those moon eyes at him and act like a normal human being. Kodachi and Shampoo would probably just give up . . and he'd have a very good excuse to pound any guy who so much as looked at Akane. . . something his hands had always ached to do. . .

On the other hand, that would mean. . . being married to Akane. Married. His mind flinched away from the idea. It would mean giving in to his father's wishes without ever making his own descision. It would mean a lifetime of uncertainty as to the real motivations behind their marriage. . . Not to mention how mean and stubborn she could be. . .

"I give up," Ranma said out loud. Akane was staring at her folded hands, sitting rigidly on the bed.

"You should go to bed, Ranma. I don't know about you, but I'm tired," she told him. He started to get up, but then he looked at her face. Twin streams flowed on either cheek. He leaned in close to her, reaching up to touch them. That was all he wanted to do, really, was touch those strange tears, make sure they were real. They were. She looked down at him as he brushed them from her face. A part of him softened at the look she gave him. She wasn't going to beat him up for the moment. She wasn't going to scream at him yet.

"Please don't cry, Akane," he smiled, brushing tears from the other cheek.

"Ranma I. . . how can you. . . the wedding fiasco, it doesn't even seem to bother you. Don't you care one way or the other? I mean, you've said before that you need me and I. . ." she broke off, fresh streams of hot water flowing from her eyes. She didn't cover her face, though, and she didn't blink them back.

"Well, I. . ." he stopped for a moment, puzzeled. It didn't bother him? Did she really think he was. . . okay with all of this? Did she really think he didn't. . . . "Geez, Akane, how can you even ask that?" he blurted. Her eyes widened.

"How can I. . . what, I'm supposed to understand your nonchalant nature?" she began, her voice rising. He frantically motioned for her to keep it down, but her eyes were blazing now. "I suppose I'm expected to sit back and watch all your other fiance's drool over you? I should sit back like a good girl and wait for you to decide to grow up and be a man for once!" she snarled, almost shouting. Ranma put a hand over her mouth, and she bit him. He snatched it away, a trail of blood falling from his index finger.

"Don't you shush me, hentai! Let them come and see you here, it isn't as though you'd ever actually take advantage of some kawaiikunee...."she shouted, the mallet appearing out of nowhere.

Ranma rolled back into a somersault, the heavy mallet narrowly missing his legs. He jumped to his feet and glared at her. She glared right back. An inarticulate rage built up within him. Nothing ever changed, nothing ever got any better. . .

"Akane, you really are the stupidest girl alive," he grumbled. She raised the mallet and he prepared to dodge again. His mouth dropped open in shock as she lowered her weapon, staring at the floor.

"Ranma, if you really don't want to marry me. . . you should go on the training journey. Alone. I could stay here and keep most of your enemies and. . . fiances," she paused, as if trying to formulate words, "here. I could trick them, send them somewhere you wouldn't be. . ."

"Akane no baka," he snarled. "If I wanted to go alone, I would have just left. I ain't leaving you alone here. Or maybe you'd like that? Maybe you'd like me to be out of the way so you can go out with Ryouga? Or Kuno? Or..."

"Baka!" she snapped, the mallet swinging towards him again. He jumped over it, landing behind her. He grabbed her arms so she couldn't turn around or swing that bloody mallet. His hands started to burn as the blue battle aura around her built, but he ignored it. He hastily considered his options. He could get into a fight with her, wake the whole household up, and have everyone assume the worst since he was in Akane's room. Or, he could jump out her window, but then she'd just be mad at him for weeks. He was getting really tired of that. He had to calm her down.

"Akane, please, just hear me out. I have a good reason for everything," he pleaded. His hands grew cooler as, slowly, the blue light retreated back into her body. He released her, and she turned to face him.

"This had better be very good," she told him through clenched teeth. He took a deep breath.

"I was thinking about. . . well, you and I, and I realized we haven't ever had a serious conversation that wasn't interupted. I mean, every time I've tried to tell you something really important, every time we've been about to. . . to ah. . ." he couldn't even bring himself to mention it! An image filled his mind of Ryouga, stumbling over the same kinds of words, and he steeled himself against being like that jerk. "to kiss, we've been interupted. Don't look at me like that, there have been a few times. And I was talking to Nabiki and she told me. . . well, she was yelling at me for making you cry, and she told me girls have to hear certain things sometimes and I, well, I. . ." he fumbled with the words. He looked down, a blush filling his cheeks.

"What are you trying to say, Ranma?" she asked quietly. He looked at her in surprise. Calm? Akane was. . . calm? It unnerved him. She was looking up at him expectantly, a picture of innocence in that long white nightgown.

"Akane, when you get all jealous of Shampoo and Ucchan, you don't really think I'd, you know, date them, do you? You know that's all their dumb idea?" he asked, searching her face. She gave him a bitter little smile.

"You sure don't seem to mind, hentai," she said softly.

"What I want to know is," she continued, putting her hands on her hips. "Are you in love with any of your fiance's? Or are you just stringing all of us along until you meet some simpering little . . ." she turned away from him and fell silent. He stared at her. She didn't know. She really didn't know. And he was supposed to be the stupid one?

"I don't know if you'd call it love, but. . ." he stopped. Her shoulders were shaking. "I don't really know what this love stuff is. I mean, I don't have a clear definition of it. But there is one of them I've risked my life for, and she's risked hers for me. I want her to be happy, and safe, and I don't want any other guys following her around, but they all do. I don't know why, because she isn't cute or nice or feminine at all, really. I mean, I know all that, but every time I look at her smiling my chest gets all tight and my tongue stops working properly. What would you call that, Akane?" he asked her. She was silent, and uteterly still. For an eternity he stood there, staring at her rigid little back.

"You're in love with . . ." she whispered, breaking the interminable, crushing silence. He took a deep breath and let it out. He almost stuck his tongue out at the back of her head and asked her if she thought he was being serious. Something in the set of her shoulders stopped him. He realized with a sinking feeling that they were past that sort of teasing.

"I really, really thought you knew," he said quietly. "I didn't think it needed to be said out loud, but. . ."

"Ranma," she whispered. She still hadn't turned around. He relaxed, folding his hands behind his head and staring at the ceiling.

"I thought we could sort things out between us if we got away from all these creeps for a while. You know, come to our own decision instead of just doing what everyone else wants us to do," he said quickly. He looked back at her.

She was looking up at him again, and her eyes were wet with tears. His heart sank.

"What's wrong now? Jeez, Akane, is there a leak in there somewhere? Why don't you ever cut that out?" he asked in exasperation. She wiped her eyes and sniffed.

"You are such a jerk, Ranma, you can't even be nice to me ten seconds after you tell me you love me," she said, without vehemence. In fact, she was smiling at him. He leaned towards her, his eyes on those full, pink lips. She wasn't going to thwack him, no one was going to interupt, and he could finally do what he'd wanted to do since he saw her in that wedding dress. . .

She closed her eyes, a small sweet smile playing on her lips. He put his hands on her shoulders, drawing her closer. She smelled like lavender. . .

"Akane, I heard voices, is everything. . . oh," a voice said from the doorway. Ranma froze and Akane's eyes flew open, just inches away from his own. They shared a petrified sort of frustration before turning to look at the interloper.

Kasumi was standing in the doorway, her eyes wide with shock. Ranma and Akane leapt apart, blushing furiously as a happy smile stretched across Kasumi's face.

"So you two are. . . well, I was getting worried," she said quietly. She beamed at both of them, making their collective blush deepen. "Father will be so happy to know you're getting along so well!"

"Kasumi, don't tell him!" Akane pleaded, her voice sticken with panic. Kasumi regarded her with mild surprise.

"But you know Father wouldn't disaprove," she said. She looked from Ranma's paniced face to Akane's paniced face. "He'd probably just arrange a wedding. . ."

"Yeah, we know how well that would turn out," Ranma muttered. Kasumi's eyes widened in understanding.

"A wedding, you say? Kasumi, what are you doing?" Soun asked from the hallway. "Is Akane not in her room?"

Kasumi shot the twitching teenagers a sympathetic glance and shut the door. They could still hear her talking.

"Oh, Father! I was just checking in on her, she was talking in her sleep," Kasumi said sweetly. Ranma and Alane looked at each other for a moment.

"You see what I mean about interuptions?" he whispered, and jumped to the window. He slid it open, giving Akane one last, frustrated look. He jumped out the window as she climbed back into her bed.

"Akane? Are you having bad dreams about weddings?" Soun asked, opening the door slowly. She was lying on her bed, her eyes closed. He sighed, looking at his youngest daughter. If only she and Ranma. . .

Then he noticed the mallet in the middle of the floor.

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

"Akane! Wake up!" Sayuri said, poking the back of her head with a pencil. Akane started, her eyes flying open. She had almost fallen face- first into the lunch Kasumi had packed for her. She looked around at the cirlce of girls surrounding her, flushed at being caught dozing.

"What is the matter with you?" her friend Yuki asked, sipping her soda. Akane looked down at her lunch and realized she wasn't at all hungry.

"I, um, woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep," she explained. Her friends exchanged kowing glances.

"Was it a dream that woke you up? Maybe a dream about Ranma-kun?" Sayuri teased. Akane turned bright red.

"Or maybe the would-be groom himself? I'm sure he's getting really frustrated, sleeping on his cold pallet instead of in his marriage bed," Yuki smiled mailiciously. They shreiked with laughter, watching Akane's face get redder and redder.

"Don't you guys have anything else to talk about!" she cried.

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Ranma watched Akane and her friends in aprehension. They were all laughing and glancing over at him. He was sure she'd told them. What was the gossip going to be now? Akane looked like she wanted to die, and Ranma empathized. If he had to hear one more crack about his unfortunate lack of a wedding night, he might kill someone.

"Could you tear your eyes off her for one minute and talk to me?" Daisuke asked, his voice full of laughter. Ranma closed his eyes. The whole world was laughing at him.

"You haven't touched your food," Daisuke pointed out. Ranma shoved some yakisoba in his mouth and glowered at his friend.

"I was getting worried about you," he nodded, watching Ranma eat. "So, you finally worked up the nerve to sneak into her room?" he watched, apathetic, as Ranma began to choke. "Thought so. About time."

"And what do you know about it?" Ranma asked, looking around suspiciously. Daisuke sipped at his soda, am evil grin spreading across his face.

"Let's see... First off, I know something happened because she hasn't so much as yelled at you once today. In fact, every time she looks at you she blushes. Not to mention both of you have circles under your eyes. . . perhaps tired after some nocturnal activity?" Ranma glared at Daisuke. His friend raised his hands in the usual Takahashi manner and smiled nervously.

"Hey, Ranma, I'm just telling you what everyone else is saying! The whole school is speculating about what happened," he said quickly.

"Don't you people have ANYTHING else to talk about?" he yelled, disgusted. At almost precisely that moment, Ukyo stormed into the classroom. Ranma contemplated jumping out the window. He hadn't seen her this mad since. . . well, since he'd known she was a girl. She stormed right past him, throwing a little black lump at Akane. Akane was staring at Ukyou in dismay.

"Ukyou. . .Hey, this is P-chan!" she exclaimed, holding up the little black lump. He'd lost his bandanna somewhere along the way, which was very, very strange. He was dripping wet. "Where was he?"

"I saw him fall in the pool, you freak. I can't believe you. You've been letting him follow you into the girl's locker room, letting him sleep in your bed, doing god only knows what," Ukyou snarled, her hands clenching and unclenching. Ranma stared at her in abject horror. Did she know?

"Does Ranchan know? Know about you and this idiot?" Ukyou asked, her hand going for the spatula strapped to her back. Akane blinked at her, obviously confused.

"Yeah, I guess... he's just a pig, Ukyou," she said, getting to her feet slowly. She clutched P-chan to her chest, backing away from the glowing Ukyou.

"Don't play stupid with me, I know exactly what he is! And all this time Ranchan has been ignoring me for you, you've just been leading him on!" Ukyou snarled. She knew! Ukyou lashed out at Akane, her spatula missing the smaller girl by centimeters as Akane leapt backwards.

"Ucchan! Cut that out!" Ranma cried, stepping in front of his childhood friend. He held his hands out to his sides. She glared up at him.

"Ranchan, that woman has been cheating on you with Ryouga! Why are you protecting her?!" Ukyou said. Ranma winced.

"No, she hasn't. Ukyou. Akane doesn't know about . . . about that," he said. Ukyou stared at him in astonishment.

"What, she's never seen Ryouga get wet?" Ukyou asked, lowering her spatula. Ranma lowered his arms.

"What the hell is going on?" Akane demanded behind him. Both Ranma and Ukyou ignored her.

"Ranchan, you knew? You knew, and you let that little freak follow her into the girl's locker room? Let him sleep in her bed? Let her hold him like that?" Ukyou gestured towards Akane, who was clutching the unconscious pig between her breasts. Ranma closed his eyes, swallowing hard. "You really don't care much for her, do you?"

"I do too!" he snapped, then instantly regretted saying it. He opened his eyes to see a very surprised Ukyou, still holding her spatula. "I tried to get her to stop all that, but she's so blasted stubborn and. . ."

"Why couldn't you just tell her, you jackass? Why didn't you tell me, for that matter? And here I thought you were an honest man!" Ukyou shouted, taking a firm grip in her spatula. He swallowed hard again, this time out of nervousness. Ukyou may be his oldest friend, but he knew she would probably kill him for this.

"It's my fault he's cursed, I knocked him into the spring. And I promised him . . ."

"You guys have got to be kidding," Akane said softly behind him. Ranma froze. Suddenly, he could hear the whispers of their classmates. He even heard a few ribald comments, which he refused to acknoweldge. He turned, very slowly, to look at Akane. She was staring, eyes wide and vacant, at her pet pig.

"Akane?" he asked. She didn't look up at him.

"It makes sense, I guess, doesn't it? That's why you were always so jealous of the stupid pig. That's why . . ." she looked up at him, her eyes seeking something past him. "But that can't be true! I've seen him get wet! When you and Shampoo set us up on that date. . . he chased me through a pool of cold water. He didn't change then."

"Akane, you remember the soap Shampoo and I were trying to get that day? It was waterproof soap. Ryouga stole it from Shampoo, and that's why he didn't change," Ranma explained quietly. Akane's eyes widened. She dropped P-chan, and he hit the ground with a wet thwump. She stared down at him, at the dark spot in her uniform where she'd cuddled him.

"Oh," she said, her voice very small and distant. A light hand touched his shoulder, and he turned to see Ukyou holding a steaming teakettle.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Good to see I was missed. I went to get some from the nurse," she explained, pouring some hot water on P-chan. His form blurred, and suddenly Ryouga was lying naked on the floor. He blinked and sat up, holding his head which bore a nasty bump.

"Where am I?" he asked, not opening his eyes. Every girl in the classroom, except two, screamed. A few guys even started shouting. There was a massive rush to the door as everyone tried to go get a teacher. Ranma's eyes flicked to Akane, expecting to see the mallet appear, or the air around her turn blue. Nothing happened. She just stared down at the naked Ryouga. Then she did the last thing he expected her to do.

She fainted.

"Akane!" he gasped, jumping over Ryouga to catch her before she hit the ground. He picked her up.

"Akane?" Ryouga asked, opening his eyes at last. He looked down at himself, then at the staring teenagers around him, and turned seven shades of red. He looked up at Ranma, at Ranma's arms full of an unconscious Akane. Realization dawned on him. He stared up at Akane in Ranma's arms and he wanted to die.

Without a word, Ranma strode around Ryouga and took Akane down the hall to the nurse's office.

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

"Ranma?" Ryouga asked from the doorway. He was wearing gym shorts someone had lent him. He looked strangely naked without the bandanna. "Is she. . . going to be all right?"

"Yeah," Ranma sighed. He thought so, anyway. He'd never seen her so. . . blank. "She's in shock or something. I didn't tell her, by the way. Ukyou found out, she said she saw you fall into the pool. . ." Ranma trailed off. Ryouga looked so depressed, like the girl he loved had just fainted at the sight of him. . .

"Yeah, I was looking for Happosai, I followed him here from the dojo. He knocked me in, and I hit my head," Ryouga explained, staring at the white curtain behind Ranma. She was back there, he just knew it.

"You should get out of here for a while, Ryouga," Ranma suggested. "You should go find Akari. Give Akane some time to get used to the idea of you as P-chan," he said. He wanted to tell the loser to go away and never come back to Akane again. He couldn't. Maybe it was the look on Ryouga's face.

"Yeah, I. . . I might just do that," Ryouga said sadly. He turned, slowly, and shuffled down the hallway. Ranma watched him go, hoping his friend wouldn't do anything too terribly stupid. Ranma told himself firmly Ryouga had only himself to blame, since he hadn't told Akane. He looked back at the white curtain and was shocked to see it was pulled apart. Akane stood there, staring at him. He walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You should have told me," she whispered. He took a deep breath.

"I gave him my word as a martial artist. I tried to get you to guess it on your own, but. . ." he stopped. If he said any more, she was going to kill him for pointing out her own stupidity.

"And you told Ukyou you care about me. But she's right, you did let Ryouga sleep in my bed and. . . and watch me undress," she looked down. He took another deep breath.

"I'm sorry, Akane," he said. She looked up at him, her lips trembling and her eyes shining. He drew her closer, wishing there was something he could fight. He felt so much better when there was some physical problem, a problem he could punch in the nose. He could protect her from those, but this... He looked down at her face, just a few inches from his own. They were always interupted, someone was going to come in. . . he kissed her nose.

"Hey, is Aka. . ." Ukyou asked from the doorway, stopping mid-word. Ranma jumped away from her, and Akane looked down, blushing. Ukyou stood in the doorway of the nurse's office, her mouth open in surprise.

"So, I take it you guys are getting along better now?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. Ranma looked from her to Akane, who as yet had no expression on her face. He took a deep breath.

"You might say that," he answered carefully. Ukyou looked at him for a moment, then leaned against the doorjamb.

"You choose her," she said softly. Ranma blushed.

"Well, I. . ." he stuttered. Ukyou looked at the unusally sedate Akane.

"You never even considered me, did you?" Ukyou asked softly. Ranma blinked at her, confused.

"Considered you as what, Ukyou?" he asked, racking his brain. She sighed, rearding Akane carefully.

"Thought not. Hey, sugar, take care of Ranchan for me, okay?" she asked, abruptly walking away. Ranma watched her go, entirely confused.

"What's with Ucchan?" he asked Akane. She looked at him with those blank eyes of hers and shook her head.

"You are blind to the world around you," she told him, her voice even, her eyes dead. He watched her walk slowly back to class, her gait halting, as if she couldn't see the ground in front of her. That wasn't right, Akane should have gotten mad. . . she should have sent them all flying to Jupiter, especially Ryouga. But she just stood there.

This was bad, Ranma decided. Something was seriously wrong with Akane. She was too subdued, too calm. . . was she drugged or something?

Or, maybe, was it just too much? Was she in shock? He followed his fiance with narrowed eyes, half-expecting her to fall any second, to scream, to . . . do anything! This wasn't Akane!

And Ukyou . . . considered her for what? A fiance? She knew better than that, didn't she? Hell, she was practically his sister! That was how she acted, most of the time, always taking care of him, looking out for him. . . but not really getting jealous most of the time, just sometimes. . .

Ah, hell. Women are nothing but trouble.