Chapter 13 - Smile Like You Mean It
Strawberry
Dessert Faerie
- Location
- Derbyshire, UK
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Chapter 13 - I had to split this one into two so Chapter 14 isn't that far off. It was getting to about 8K words though so I ended this one where I felt it natural and hopefully won't have long for the next chapter out.
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And someone is calling my name,
From the back of the restaurant.
And someone is playing a game,
In the house that I grew up in.
And someone will drive her around,
Down the same streets that I did.
On the same streets that I did.
Smile like you mean it.
-Smile Like you Mean It by The Killers
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Ranko stares at Ranma, who gives her a wave. "You gonna say anythin' there, kiddo?"
"I… Y-You…" She stammers. "You're r-r-really here…"
He nods. "Yep. Only a part of me, and only kinda a… thin veneer? But still, here for your questions."
Ranko's eyes fill with tears. "Why?!" She chokes out, sinking to the ground near where her frozen self hovers, still at the moment of impact. "Why did you do this to me? To us?"
Ranma leans down and pats her head. "It's been hard for ya, ain't it?"
"Three weeks, Ranma!" Ranko wails. "Three weeks of being alone and treated like I was just an impostor! Three weeks of feeling like I was just a corpse that forgot to die! It was hard enough when I thought it was an accident but now I know we did it on purpose?"
Ranma squeezes her shoulder and wraps his arms about her. "Yeah, well, you know how our plans always work out, kiddo." He says softly. "I didn't think they'd be like that."
Ranko sniffles. "S-sorry, I know I'm a-acting like a w-w…"
"A 'weak little girl'?" Ranma asks. "Fine. It's your self, and that's Pop talkin' there, not you. I happen to like us as a girl, Ranko."
She turns and looks into his blue eyes. "What?"
He shrugs and pulls her to her feet, drawing her over to the imaginary engawa and sitting down next to her. "Your version of us is just as valid as this version of us, Ranko." He says, looking up at the illusory moon as she'd been doing with her sisters only scant hours ago. "Just like any other version'a us woulda been, if you'd been girly, a tomboy, decided to be a boy, it doesn't matter. I am I, and you are you and we are us. Sure, we share a body, but the Regeneration spell doesn't just affect your mind, but our spirit too. Aaaand I also kinda messed it up a bit." He rubs the back of his head awkwardly, chuckling softly.
Ranko stares at Ranma. "You messed it up?"
"Uh… Yeah. Didn't entirely do it properly, so it wasn't… Like it's supposed to be tabula rasa but… The way we did it… ain't. Y'still remember exactly how I felt, how we felt. So we're… Kinda the same person, and we're kinda not."
"Why do we have everything so complicated?" Ranko asks in a despairing tone.
"Saotome luck, I guess. Always bad."
Ranko shivers. "I c-can't imagine wh-what leads you t-to do that."
Ranma puts his hands behind his head and lies back. Ranko notices they're now on the roof and she automatically checks to make sure she wasn't showing off her underwear. She finds she's in the 'China' overalls she'd pretty much been given by Akane. Dream logic, she supposes.
"Well, it's difficult ta talk about, Ranko. You, you're good at talkin'. I'm proud of ya for it, but me? Look at how I talk with 'Kane. Just insult an' injury." He shrugs. "Guy gets tired'a bein' a moron I guess. Also I didn't entirely think it through all the way – I didn't think it'd be such a complete transformation, especially with how I messed it up, yanno? I figured if I did it right, we're entirely new and whatever I'd leave behind'd fade, and if it didn't work I'd just carry on an' see."
Ranko stares at him. "Ranma, you were never a moron." She chides. "And I should know."
He smiles and rubs his nose. "Well, I was when it came to 'Kane and all the chaos. Just… couldn't spit it out, no matter how I tried. And even if we were on the verge some new insanity would come. I used ta think sometimes… that I was under another curse, one that drew chaos ta me. Another reason to change our spirit, huh?"
Ranko shakes her head. "Still doesn't explain it." She says, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her head on them. Ranma laughs a bitter laugh.
"Even now I'm shitty at talkin', and this is talkin' to myself." He says morosely, looking down. Ranko looks over at him, and her heart sinks. He looks sad. Unhappy, with that 'kicked puppy' look she knows she gets.
The world wheels about as she takes charge of the dreamspace, changing it to her room at her mother's house, her bed, the darkness where she'd sat and cuddled with Akane, where they were able to talk, to connect. This is her safe space, her sanctuary.
She sits up, cross-legged and pulls Ranma onto her lap, putting his arms about her neck, his head on her shoulder – like she had with Akane. Delicately, she puts her arms around him and holds him.
"Even if you're just a fragment, you're me. We're us. We can talk, Ranma." Ranko soothes. "So talk to me. You know I won't judge."
Ranma sighs. "Yanno, when we were doin' this with Akane, I really did like it. Felt right." He says. "Like me as a girl an' her like that just 'click', yanno?"
Ranko starts but doesn't say anything. Ranma carries on, wistfully. "Sometimes I used ta think it'd have been better if I'd just been a girl. You 'member our first meetin' with her?"
"I'm glad you're a girl."
"…Yes." Ranko says softly. "I suppose it was the start of it all."
"No kiddin'. But I mean, look at you. You've got so close to all of 'em. An' sure, it ain't the closeness with 'Kane that we wanted before but it's somethin'." He grins into her shoulder. "I dunno if it's 'cause you're a girl or what, but it's nice ta know it's possible. Even Ryouga." Ranko blushes and he leans back and grins at her. "Yeah y'can't hide shit from me, Ranko. No accountin' for taste, though I guess he's good lookin' enough. And he's been pretty sweet on ya, hasn't he?"
"Are we here to discuss my love life or why you made me in the first place?" Ranko hisses, face scarlet.
Ranma laughs. "Ha! She admits she loves him!"
"That's not…" She sighs as she sees his grin. "…Fine, Ranma, yes. I do love him. He's so lovely, so nice to me. Doesn't care who we were before, just sees me as me. As Ranko."
Ranma grins and boops her nose. "Good. Y'deserve happiness, and don't tell me you don't."
Ranko drags his head back to her shoulder, still embarrassed. "Fine, enough. So… did you want to become a girl?"
"Naw. Well…" Ranma ponders. "Kinda? S'complicated. You're hundred percent girl yeah? I know that from that horrible grey feelin' we get when you're in boy mode, that ants on ya skin feelin'."
"Yes." Ranko shudders.
"I'm… I guess, both?" Ranma wonders aloud. "Yeah. I was kinda both. Pop's bullshit really did a number on me. And Akane's constant yelling at me that I was a pervert really made me hate myself for it. But, I'm gone now, an' I can't deny it ta you."
Ranko squeezes him. "You know she doesn't really mind." She says.
"Well, yeah, I know that now, but that's because you can actually talk to her." Ranma says. "All I ever got was hit or called a pervert. Guess like me, she hides her stuff behind her anger and defensiveness."
Ranko nods sadly. "So you're both, it makes sense. Great-grandmother said our chi was always in flux between masculine and feminine."
Ranma nods. "I think it depended on the day, on the form, on how I felt. Hell, even I dunno how it really worked. But I realised it and… I realised I'd never be able to be me." He squeezes closer to Ranko. "Ever. Akane'd call me pervert, Pop'd do his stupid thing. Hell, if I'd known about Mom's dumb contract without knowing the truth about it, I'd'a probably been terrified worse'n you were."
Ranko shivers. The terror of that single moment of realising that seppuku contract had been for her still echoed in her mind. Ranma nods into her shoulder. "…Yeah." He says. "I spent months thinkin' on that spell. An' then I just… decided to set it up and it took another month before I actually triggered it."
"Why?"
Ranma sighs and pulls back. Something shifts in the room and Ranko finds herself swapped with him, her arms about his neck, her head resting on his shoulders and his arms about hers.
"The usual. A fight with Akane, but one where I was tryin'a tell her about me. Tell her I loved her. Fuck, I dunno, just talk without it devolvin' into a screamin' match." He shivers and she squeezes him. "I go to her an' I'm like 'Hey we gotta talk. It's about my curse an' us' an' she just skydives to some weird conclusion. I got her to calm the hell down, but then what happens but the idiot brigade showin' up to the house. Fuckin' Shampoo knocks a wall down, Ukyou throws a spatula. The usual knock-down-drag-out fight an' then she just calls me a pervert, slaps me an' pisses off."
Ranko sighs. She remembers that fight, though not the aftermath. Like everything before, it's kind of fuzzy.
Ranma sighs. "So I'm there in the crater caused by people dogpilin' on me and I realised there wasn't any hope. Not for me as I was. Not for us as we were. It wouldn't end, wouldn't stop, it'd keep gettin' more and more ridiculous. An'… it hurt. Like a stone in my chest, it wouldn't go away, wouldn't leave us alone. I just kept thinkin' that maybe it wouldn't hurt so much if we was someone else. Someone who could talk to people, who could admit their faults without bein' defensive about 'em. Who didn't put their foot in their mouth, and who could end all the stupid fiancée drama." Ranko's eyes fill with tears again and he brushes them away. "Someone who could cry and let the emotions out without feelin' weak because'a Pop's trainin'."
Ranko sniffles. "I'm s-sorry." She says. "I r-remember. I r-remember how we f-felt. And I don't f-feel much better." She buries her face in his shoulder.
Ranma runs his hand through her loose curls. "Yeah, well." His form shifts into female and she smiles at Ranko. "You're good. Some things didn't change. But you did end it all. You don't put your foot in your mouth." Her smile widens. "Ya can cry, ya can talk to 'Kane. It's amazin', and I won't ever stop feelin' proud of ya for that. Sure, we got problems. Everyone does, but you're tacklin' them 'cause you ain't afraid ta reach out and ask for help."
Ranko nods into her other self's shoulder and then giggles. "It's so strange to hear such rough speech from our own voice." She comments and Ranma laughs.
"Yeah." She says, "S'weird ta hear someone so polite talkin' in mine." She teases. "Anyway, when Akane was swingin' with that fryin' pan I realised that my own shitty attitude and her rage would make nothin' work so well. So I set it to trigger on hittin' my head. I think at that point I'd just… had enough, yanno?"
Ranko nods. "I'm sorry."
"I ain't. I mean that first day where ya hit your head again I had the chance to change back ta me. But I didn't. Because you'd done somethin' that day an' night – you defused Akane. You talked to her, about bein' a girl, an' she didn't yell, she didn't call us a pervert, she just… Took it. Badly, yeah, but only 'cause of her feelin's and not 'cause she thought it was perverted." He chuckles. "So I stayed in the back."
Ranko sighs and nuzzles into her other self's neck. "You keep muddling personal pronouns up."
Ranma laughs. "Well, that's just how it is, kiddo. We're both the same an' different an' I don't think there's a way ta explain it properly. S'like that dumb game Usagi were playin' that time ya walked inta class an' she was actually awake. 'I am I' an' all that, except I am us, an' we are you an' it's just really fuckin' weird."
Ranko sighs again. "Does that mean you can take over again?"
"Naw. Not without the coins, an' they're strictly time limited. Each one's about an hour; ya use 'em all an' ya have about a day where I can come out ta play. Once they're gone though, Kiddo, they're gone, an' this koban won't last forever. Once the coin-me's done with, it won't work anymore."
Ranko tears up. "But… It's your body, it's your life! I just stole it!" She wails. "I know we are us and you are me, but I stole it!"
Ranma squeezes her tighter. "Naw, kiddo, I gave it ya. Us. Whatever. We ain't different people an' we are. It's like bein' someone in a different light or under a different perspective. In one sense we're different, individual, an' I'd suggest listenin' ta your shrink when she asks ya to think of us like that. But don't forget, that a little part'a me is always gonna be a part'a ya."
Ranko smiles and snuggles closer. "You're warmer than I am." She notes.
"Ah, that's ya soul of ice actin' up again. Once ya stand tall an' let the warmth'a your family get'cha back up, you'll be warmer again, though maybe not as warm as I was, hey?"
Ranko nods. "I suppose. What do you think of us asking Ryouga out?"
Ranma grins at her, staring with blue eyes into the same blue eyes. "Aw, go for it. Ya don't get many chances an' he's kinda cute now he ain't tryin'a kill us."
Ranko smiles. "I'll try and see."
Ranma holds her close a while. Then the two are standing next to the pond again. The one against the rock still hovers there. Ranma smiles gently at her, back in boy-form.
"Hey Ranko?"
"Yes?"
"Can you give me the full day?" He asks. "Next Sunday? I wanna take 'Kane out on a date in the mornin' before I talk to everyone. I figure I can give her some closure that way, then I can say my goodbyes. And… I wanna be the one ta explain. It ain't fair on ya to hafta to that."
Something clenches in Ranko's heart, the ice and he puts a hand on her shoulder. "I know. But you need closure too. I just figure it's best goin' out with a bang than a whimper. And…" Ranko looks down but he smiles at her. "Do me a favour? I know you an' Ma don't wanna see Pop. But he at least deserves the same closure, awright? Just for that day, bring him along?"
Ranko sucks in a deep breath, then nods. He smiles. "I'll do what I can, Ranma." She says. "Will we be able to talk again soon?"
"Ah there ain't much in here left, but tell ya what, Saturday night ya grab me, awright?"
Ranko nods and Ranma hugs her one last time before the dream dissolves. "Be seein' ya, kiddo."
Ranko wakes, and instantly she's filled with sadness. It's very early on Sunday morning and she's awake before anyone else, so she stretches and pads down the stairs in her pyjamas after putting the koban back with the letter. Ranma's words fill her mind as she absently starts preparing breakfast until Kasumi wakes and turfs her away from the stove to set the table with a hug and a "Thank you, imouto-chan."
Ranko sits on the engawa while the others filter in, then she joins them. Nabiki's sleepy, Akane's obviously raring for her jog and Soun is his usual taciturn self.
Ranko clears her throat as Kasumi enters and sits. "I spoke to Ranma." She says quietly. "H-he told me… wh-why he did it. What he did. And that he messed it up, but he'll… explain it himself. He asked me to let him."
Kasumi sighs and Akane looks curious. "Oh?"
"He… he asked me to use the coins all at once. Next Sunday." Ranko looks at her breakfast and eats in silence while the others process it. "He um. He asked…" Ranko shakes her head. "Never mind."
The others look concerned, but don't say anything more on the matter since Ranko seems unable to really meet any of their eyes.
The week seems to fly by. She can't seem to make time slow down – at the same time as it feels like she's rushing towards a new chapter, she also feels like she's a condemned prisoner, marching to her own oblivion.
School moves on in its own stately way as she and Ryouga settle in. Hibari hits on them, she finds plenty of notes on her locker and even, blushing and stammering, has to reject several boys (and a couple of girls) who ask her out.
Cologne and Doctor Toufu both teach her several medical pressure points and are astounded at how fast she picks them up.
Her mother's reaction to the fact that she's going to find her father on Sunday morning, early as the sun rising in the summer, isn't that pleasant. It's the first argument they have, if both of them raising their voices and not backing down can be called it. Ranko, in the end, persuades her mother not to gut her father and tells her that the moment Ranma's gone, Genma will be too.
Nodoka smiles at her daughter's resolve after that and the two hug before she advises her mother to head to the Tendou house, along with Ukyou. Shampoo and Ryouga as well, if possible.
Ranko finds Genma in an empty lot she remembers Ryouga staying in with his tent. It's just as lonely as when Ryouga was there, but her distaste on finding him slumped out overrides her sympathy for her father. Poking him awake, she folds her arms and stares at him.
"Father." She mutters. "I can't say I'm surprised. Come with me." Genma stares stupidly at her before getting into a ready stance. Ranko sighs. "You are lucky Ranma wanted you there." She says. "Come with me to the Tendou house. We'll at least feed you and then you can see Ranma one more time."
Genma sputters but she shushes him. "Be quiet, father. One wrong word and I don't know if Mother will gut you or not." She motions for him to follow her. "Come on, we'd better head off."
Genma follows her, mind a-whirl with questions. Chief among them why is she taking him back there when she was so cold before?
"Ranma, I-" She turns her gaze on him. He shuts up.
"Ranko." She says.
"What?"
"That's my name now. Ranko. Ranma's gone. But he wanted to say goodbye, and that's why I'm here instead of ignoring your existence, Father."
In the guestroom of the Tendou household after delivering a shaking Genma to the breakfast table and likely spoiling a nice morning for everyone, Ranko stares at the clothes set in front of her. She sucks in a breath. She can do this. She braids her hair into the old pigtail and ties it with the dragon whisker. She doesn't need it, but it's better safe than sorry.
She sighs, picking up a flask and pours hot water on herself, changing into her cursed form. She lets herself shift and tries to ignore the wrongness that permeates her from it. This isn't for her, she can deal with it.
She picks the boxers up and goes bright red. These are boy's underwear and she's embarrassed to be simply holding them. As quickly as she can she slips into them, then the soft trousers, drawing the string. Next is her old black tank top. Finally one of her old favourite Chinese silk shirts and her old wrist guards and she stands, looking like her old self.
She takes in a breath and lets it out, trying to find her centre. Everything's subtly wrong about this body, but she needs to be calm and she needs to ignore it for everyone else's sake. The spell won't work if she can't balance herself.
She doesn't have to do this, but she wants to. For her own peace and for her family's peace. She picks the five coins and the koban up, slipping them into a pocket and then walks down the stairs, fighting the wrongness she's constantly feeling.
The family room is full of her friends and family, and she peeks through a crack in the shouji. Ranko sucks in a breath, remembering body language, remembering speech patterns. She subtly changes and shifts until she fully resembles her old self. And just like that, the persona settles over her, like a role in a play. It's not entirely her, and it's not entirely him until something clicks, the chi in the coins rushing through her body and it's like she's moved to the back, to sleep while something lingering in her mind takes over through the spell.
Ranma looks himself over, pats his chest a few times and grabs a handy pen, scribbling a note that he folds and puts into his pocket. He remembers the clothes that she'd taken off to put his old ones on and shakes his head. "Girly girl, really?" sighing, he then laughs. "Well, I guess it's better that way, feels more comfy. More right. Guess we always were inside…" He takes in a breath, clears his thoughts and prepares to say goodbye, even if it's not really goodbye, but he can't expect them to understand his head.
But first!
"Hey, Akane?" He calls through. "Could ya- you come here a sec?"
"Sure, Ranko!" Akane exits the family room and then stops as she closes the shouji behind her. She stares. "Ranko? Why are you…?"
Ranma stares at her hungrily, as if nothing else in the world was important. "Hey 'Kane." He says rubbing the back of his head.
Akane stands there, wide-eyed, staring at him. Understanding dawns in her eyes. Tears start pouring down her face. "Ranma?"
"Hey there 'Kane. Came back ta see ya one last time." Ranma says, holding a hand out. She takes it and he pulls her into his arms. "Got some things ta tell ya that I hadta before I went for good."
Akane grips the silk shirt and sobs into it, but he puts a finger under her chin and lifts her face to look into his. "Hey now, no cryin' awright? Ya had ta know I ain't back forever. This's just… Sayin' goodbye."
Akane stares as he wipes the tears from her face gently. "You know I love ya, ya uncute tomboy, right?"
Akane giggles despite herself. "Ranma no baka." She says softly, staring into those blue, blue eyes. She thwaps him gently on the forehead and he rubs it ruefully.
"Wish I'd been able ta say it while I was still around." He mumbles. "But life's funny like that, ya know?"
Akane nods, biting her lip.
"But I do. I love ya, even if ya hit me, even if ya assumed the worst all the time. You always forget how beautiful you are when you smile and how much you care."
"Ranma… I…"
"Yeah?"
"I… I love you t-t-too." She manages to say. "I'm s-sorry I n-never said it either."
"Eh, communicatin' weren't exactly either of our strong suit." Ranma grins. "Hey 'Kane?" He asks.
She looks into his eyes. "Yes?" She asks softly. Ranma leans his face close to hers, breath tickling her lips as he captures her lips with his.
The kiss is soft and gentle, demanding and wonderful as she's always imagined from when she realised she'd loved him and fantasised about it. It's a searching kiss, a kiss that communicates his love far more coherently than any of his words.
The kiss stretches on and on, but eventually Ranma gently teases them apart and looks in Akane's eyes. She's flushed, breath coming in gasps. She manages to collect herself after a moment, giddy as a thought that sours in her stomach. "But. Wait. Ranko?"
Ranma smiles at Akane, a joy on his face and a warmth she'd never seen. "She's in back, sleepin' while I'm here. Ya got me for the rest of the day." He leans in close and speaks into her ear. "Thanks for lookin' out for us. Her. Me. It's complicated, an' I'll explain it all to you first before everyone tonight before I… go." Akane chokes back a sob and he shakes his head. "Ain't no use runnin' from it, 'Kane. Borrowed time. An' it is borrowed. She's here to stay, and she loves you as much as me."
Akane nods. "Y-yeah. Sorry, I just…"
"Naw, I get it." Ranma leans back and stares her in the eyes. "So do I." He sighs. Then he brightens. "But you got me for a day. Wanna go on a date, just this one time?"
Akane stares at him. Bites her lip. Considers. He keeps a gentle smile on his face. "Ya don't hafta." He says quietly. "If ya think it will hurt more than it'll help, ya can just go back in there an' we'll just hang out with the family until I go."
Akane straightens and shakes her head, voice firm. "No. Let's do it."
"Ah, good, 'cause I told Ranko last night ta make reservations and woulda looked like a real asshole if ya hadn't."
"Idiot." Akane swats him with a smile and he yelps.
"Hey!"
Akane shakes her head again. "Let me get dressed. You too, mister, I know you have a better dress shirt than that old thing."
"Aw but this looks good, 'Kane and you know she'll never wear it."
"Yeah well…" Akane shrugs. "Go get dressed or I'll not go on a date."
He sticks his tongue out at her. "S'a good thing you're actually a cute tomboy or I'd not do it on general principles." He says, leading her upstairs, then walking into the guestroom to change.
Akane closes the door to her own room and shudders as she sinks down against the door, hands going to her face. She hadn't been prepared at all for that. Kami, what an asshole as always. Her lips quirk as she stands, removes her pyjamas and changes into one of her nice dresses, then spends a minute or so putting on light makeup.
She exits to find that, shock of shocks, Ranma has a white dress shirt on and some actual, factual smart trousers on. He rubs the back of his head embarrassedly. "Don't look at me, they ain't ones I bought."
Akane laughs. "Ranko had you pegged alright." She says. Ranma grins at her, takes her hand and the two of them sneak downstairs. Akane goes to the family room to tell them she was just going somewhere with Ranko, while Ranma puts on a pair of black shoes he swears he didn't own before in the genkan.
On the way out, they almost get caught by Nabiki, but Ranma manages to get them out quickly and the middle sister shrugs and moves back to the family to join in the glaring at Genma.
They sit down at the fancy restaurant that Ranko had booked for them, dinner on a Sunday isn't exactly a normal evening date but they can't really make a choice as to when to have it.
Akane doesn't care. She can see in front of her the boy she loves. The boy she wishes was here as well as her sister. Part of her is boiling with guilt and with sadness and hurt as he explains what he did. What they did (and the personal pronouns that Ranma uses for he and Ranko are just as confusing to her as to them), and why, and the guilt boils in her.
When tears start falling from her eyes, he takes her hand. "Akane." He says seriously. "I chose to do this because I felt it was the only choice I had. And maybe I was wrong. But it's not only your fault. It's mine. It's everyone's. No one person really carries more blame for it than us." He squeezes her hand. "I drove myself here because I was weaker than I shoulda been. I shoulda been strong, instead I ran over and we had to have Ranko pick up the pieces. Which weren't really fair on her."
Akane nods, and he dabs gently at her eyes to help her, eyes alight. "S'a good thing we know how ta remove tears to stop makeup runnin'." He says, smiling. Then he leans forwards and kisses her again over the table and she melts a moment, before he leans back, grinning. "An' that these kisses are way better than that one you two had."
Akane laughs. It's almost hollow except that she sees the funny side. "You're a jerk, Ranma."
"An' you're a cute tomboy." He says with a grin.
The food is excellent, but the conversation is better for Akane. Just for now, even with a ticking clock on it, it's the happiest she's been for months. Years. She tries not to think how it'll end soon, and only in a few hours, or how she's going to deal with it afterwards.
Right now, she just wants to live in this moment.
She does make sure she borrowed Nabiki's digital camera though, taking photographs of the two of them as much as she can. Ranma teases her but she can tell he's touched.
Once they've had their meal, Ranma offers her his hand, checks the time and smiles.
He takes her down to the park, to the areas that couples frequent, and smiles as he draws a blanket from his chi space, putting it down under a tree and sitting.
They spend most of the rest of the afternoon that way, talking, his arms around her and her nestled up to him.
"I'm sorry it ain't fancier." He says to her, holding her close and kissing her neck. "I wish I could do more, have more time for ya."
Akane shakes her head, biting back her tears. There's no time for them here. Not right now. "No." She says, reaching her hands to clasp his and bringing them to her lips. "No, this is perfect."
She cuddles back up against him, and he holds her close. "Tendou Akane." He says softly into her ear, kissing her neck again.
"Mmm?"
"I love you." He says. It still sends a thrill through her and she reaches back to cup his cheek.
"I know." She says. "I love you too. I'll miss you."
"And there'll always be part of us missin' you too." Ranma says as they settle into a profound silence, with no need for words. Akane turns her head, grips his, and kisses him until they need to come up for air.
After a moment's respite, they kiss again.
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So this chapter was getting REAL long, so it's split into two. That also means the next chapter shouldn't be very long as I'm still writing right now.
I hope the self-stuff is followable and that you enjoyed it!
Next time, more closure for everyone. I just wanted a cute scene.
Also jeebus, this fic including the bits not yet published is over 70K words.
I'm now working on chapter 14 of this two-shot!
Chapter 13 – Smile Like You Mean It
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And someone is calling my name,
From the back of the restaurant.
And someone is playing a game,
In the house that I grew up in.
And someone will drive her around,
Down the same streets that I did.
On the same streets that I did.
Smile like you mean it.
-Smile Like you Mean It by The Killers
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Ranko stares at Ranma, who gives her a wave. "You gonna say anythin' there, kiddo?"
"I… Y-You…" She stammers. "You're r-r-really here…"
He nods. "Yep. Only a part of me, and only kinda a… thin veneer? But still, here for your questions."
Ranko's eyes fill with tears. "Why?!" She chokes out, sinking to the ground near where her frozen self hovers, still at the moment of impact. "Why did you do this to me? To us?"
Ranma leans down and pats her head. "It's been hard for ya, ain't it?"
"Three weeks, Ranma!" Ranko wails. "Three weeks of being alone and treated like I was just an impostor! Three weeks of feeling like I was just a corpse that forgot to die! It was hard enough when I thought it was an accident but now I know we did it on purpose?"
Ranma squeezes her shoulder and wraps his arms about her. "Yeah, well, you know how our plans always work out, kiddo." He says softly. "I didn't think they'd be like that."
Ranko sniffles. "S-sorry, I know I'm a-acting like a w-w…"
"A 'weak little girl'?" Ranma asks. "Fine. It's your self, and that's Pop talkin' there, not you. I happen to like us as a girl, Ranko."
She turns and looks into his blue eyes. "What?"
He shrugs and pulls her to her feet, drawing her over to the imaginary engawa and sitting down next to her. "Your version of us is just as valid as this version of us, Ranko." He says, looking up at the illusory moon as she'd been doing with her sisters only scant hours ago. "Just like any other version'a us woulda been, if you'd been girly, a tomboy, decided to be a boy, it doesn't matter. I am I, and you are you and we are us. Sure, we share a body, but the Regeneration spell doesn't just affect your mind, but our spirit too. Aaaand I also kinda messed it up a bit." He rubs the back of his head awkwardly, chuckling softly.
Ranko stares at Ranma. "You messed it up?"
"Uh… Yeah. Didn't entirely do it properly, so it wasn't… Like it's supposed to be tabula rasa but… The way we did it… ain't. Y'still remember exactly how I felt, how we felt. So we're… Kinda the same person, and we're kinda not."
"Why do we have everything so complicated?" Ranko asks in a despairing tone.
"Saotome luck, I guess. Always bad."
Ranko shivers. "I c-can't imagine wh-what leads you t-to do that."
Ranma puts his hands behind his head and lies back. Ranko notices they're now on the roof and she automatically checks to make sure she wasn't showing off her underwear. She finds she's in the 'China' overalls she'd pretty much been given by Akane. Dream logic, she supposes.
"Well, it's difficult ta talk about, Ranko. You, you're good at talkin'. I'm proud of ya for it, but me? Look at how I talk with 'Kane. Just insult an' injury." He shrugs. "Guy gets tired'a bein' a moron I guess. Also I didn't entirely think it through all the way – I didn't think it'd be such a complete transformation, especially with how I messed it up, yanno? I figured if I did it right, we're entirely new and whatever I'd leave behind'd fade, and if it didn't work I'd just carry on an' see."
Ranko stares at him. "Ranma, you were never a moron." She chides. "And I should know."
He smiles and rubs his nose. "Well, I was when it came to 'Kane and all the chaos. Just… couldn't spit it out, no matter how I tried. And even if we were on the verge some new insanity would come. I used ta think sometimes… that I was under another curse, one that drew chaos ta me. Another reason to change our spirit, huh?"
Ranko shakes her head. "Still doesn't explain it." She says, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her head on them. Ranma laughs a bitter laugh.
"Even now I'm shitty at talkin', and this is talkin' to myself." He says morosely, looking down. Ranko looks over at him, and her heart sinks. He looks sad. Unhappy, with that 'kicked puppy' look she knows she gets.
The world wheels about as she takes charge of the dreamspace, changing it to her room at her mother's house, her bed, the darkness where she'd sat and cuddled with Akane, where they were able to talk, to connect. This is her safe space, her sanctuary.
She sits up, cross-legged and pulls Ranma onto her lap, putting his arms about her neck, his head on her shoulder – like she had with Akane. Delicately, she puts her arms around him and holds him.
"Even if you're just a fragment, you're me. We're us. We can talk, Ranma." Ranko soothes. "So talk to me. You know I won't judge."
Ranma sighs. "Yanno, when we were doin' this with Akane, I really did like it. Felt right." He says. "Like me as a girl an' her like that just 'click', yanno?"
Ranko starts but doesn't say anything. Ranma carries on, wistfully. "Sometimes I used ta think it'd have been better if I'd just been a girl. You 'member our first meetin' with her?"
"I'm glad you're a girl."
"…Yes." Ranko says softly. "I suppose it was the start of it all."
"No kiddin'. But I mean, look at you. You've got so close to all of 'em. An' sure, it ain't the closeness with 'Kane that we wanted before but it's somethin'." He grins into her shoulder. "I dunno if it's 'cause you're a girl or what, but it's nice ta know it's possible. Even Ryouga." Ranko blushes and he leans back and grins at her. "Yeah y'can't hide shit from me, Ranko. No accountin' for taste, though I guess he's good lookin' enough. And he's been pretty sweet on ya, hasn't he?"
"Are we here to discuss my love life or why you made me in the first place?" Ranko hisses, face scarlet.
Ranma laughs. "Ha! She admits she loves him!"
"That's not…" She sighs as she sees his grin. "…Fine, Ranma, yes. I do love him. He's so lovely, so nice to me. Doesn't care who we were before, just sees me as me. As Ranko."
Ranma grins and boops her nose. "Good. Y'deserve happiness, and don't tell me you don't."
Ranko drags his head back to her shoulder, still embarrassed. "Fine, enough. So… did you want to become a girl?"
"Naw. Well…" Ranma ponders. "Kinda? S'complicated. You're hundred percent girl yeah? I know that from that horrible grey feelin' we get when you're in boy mode, that ants on ya skin feelin'."
"Yes." Ranko shudders.
"I'm… I guess, both?" Ranma wonders aloud. "Yeah. I was kinda both. Pop's bullshit really did a number on me. And Akane's constant yelling at me that I was a pervert really made me hate myself for it. But, I'm gone now, an' I can't deny it ta you."
Ranko squeezes him. "You know she doesn't really mind." She says.
"Well, yeah, I know that now, but that's because you can actually talk to her." Ranma says. "All I ever got was hit or called a pervert. Guess like me, she hides her stuff behind her anger and defensiveness."
Ranko nods sadly. "So you're both, it makes sense. Great-grandmother said our chi was always in flux between masculine and feminine."
Ranma nods. "I think it depended on the day, on the form, on how I felt. Hell, even I dunno how it really worked. But I realised it and… I realised I'd never be able to be me." He squeezes closer to Ranko. "Ever. Akane'd call me pervert, Pop'd do his stupid thing. Hell, if I'd known about Mom's dumb contract without knowing the truth about it, I'd'a probably been terrified worse'n you were."
Ranko shivers. The terror of that single moment of realising that seppuku contract had been for her still echoed in her mind. Ranma nods into her shoulder. "…Yeah." He says. "I spent months thinkin' on that spell. An' then I just… decided to set it up and it took another month before I actually triggered it."
"Why?"
Ranma sighs and pulls back. Something shifts in the room and Ranko finds herself swapped with him, her arms about his neck, her head resting on his shoulders and his arms about hers.
"The usual. A fight with Akane, but one where I was tryin'a tell her about me. Tell her I loved her. Fuck, I dunno, just talk without it devolvin' into a screamin' match." He shivers and she squeezes him. "I go to her an' I'm like 'Hey we gotta talk. It's about my curse an' us' an' she just skydives to some weird conclusion. I got her to calm the hell down, but then what happens but the idiot brigade showin' up to the house. Fuckin' Shampoo knocks a wall down, Ukyou throws a spatula. The usual knock-down-drag-out fight an' then she just calls me a pervert, slaps me an' pisses off."
Ranko sighs. She remembers that fight, though not the aftermath. Like everything before, it's kind of fuzzy.
Ranma sighs. "So I'm there in the crater caused by people dogpilin' on me and I realised there wasn't any hope. Not for me as I was. Not for us as we were. It wouldn't end, wouldn't stop, it'd keep gettin' more and more ridiculous. An'… it hurt. Like a stone in my chest, it wouldn't go away, wouldn't leave us alone. I just kept thinkin' that maybe it wouldn't hurt so much if we was someone else. Someone who could talk to people, who could admit their faults without bein' defensive about 'em. Who didn't put their foot in their mouth, and who could end all the stupid fiancée drama." Ranko's eyes fill with tears again and he brushes them away. "Someone who could cry and let the emotions out without feelin' weak because'a Pop's trainin'."
Ranko sniffles. "I'm s-sorry." She says. "I r-remember. I r-remember how we f-felt. And I don't f-feel much better." She buries her face in his shoulder.
Ranma runs his hand through her loose curls. "Yeah, well." His form shifts into female and she smiles at Ranko. "You're good. Some things didn't change. But you did end it all. You don't put your foot in your mouth." Her smile widens. "Ya can cry, ya can talk to 'Kane. It's amazin', and I won't ever stop feelin' proud of ya for that. Sure, we got problems. Everyone does, but you're tacklin' them 'cause you ain't afraid ta reach out and ask for help."
Ranko nods into her other self's shoulder and then giggles. "It's so strange to hear such rough speech from our own voice." She comments and Ranma laughs.
"Yeah." She says, "S'weird ta hear someone so polite talkin' in mine." She teases. "Anyway, when Akane was swingin' with that fryin' pan I realised that my own shitty attitude and her rage would make nothin' work so well. So I set it to trigger on hittin' my head. I think at that point I'd just… had enough, yanno?"
Ranko nods. "I'm sorry."
"I ain't. I mean that first day where ya hit your head again I had the chance to change back ta me. But I didn't. Because you'd done somethin' that day an' night – you defused Akane. You talked to her, about bein' a girl, an' she didn't yell, she didn't call us a pervert, she just… Took it. Badly, yeah, but only 'cause of her feelin's and not 'cause she thought it was perverted." He chuckles. "So I stayed in the back."
Ranko sighs and nuzzles into her other self's neck. "You keep muddling personal pronouns up."
Ranma laughs. "Well, that's just how it is, kiddo. We're both the same an' different an' I don't think there's a way ta explain it properly. S'like that dumb game Usagi were playin' that time ya walked inta class an' she was actually awake. 'I am I' an' all that, except I am us, an' we are you an' it's just really fuckin' weird."
Ranko sighs again. "Does that mean you can take over again?"
"Naw. Not without the coins, an' they're strictly time limited. Each one's about an hour; ya use 'em all an' ya have about a day where I can come out ta play. Once they're gone though, Kiddo, they're gone, an' this koban won't last forever. Once the coin-me's done with, it won't work anymore."
Ranko tears up. "But… It's your body, it's your life! I just stole it!" She wails. "I know we are us and you are me, but I stole it!"
Ranma squeezes her tighter. "Naw, kiddo, I gave it ya. Us. Whatever. We ain't different people an' we are. It's like bein' someone in a different light or under a different perspective. In one sense we're different, individual, an' I'd suggest listenin' ta your shrink when she asks ya to think of us like that. But don't forget, that a little part'a me is always gonna be a part'a ya."
Ranko smiles and snuggles closer. "You're warmer than I am." She notes.
"Ah, that's ya soul of ice actin' up again. Once ya stand tall an' let the warmth'a your family get'cha back up, you'll be warmer again, though maybe not as warm as I was, hey?"
Ranko nods. "I suppose. What do you think of us asking Ryouga out?"
Ranma grins at her, staring with blue eyes into the same blue eyes. "Aw, go for it. Ya don't get many chances an' he's kinda cute now he ain't tryin'a kill us."
Ranko smiles. "I'll try and see."
Ranma holds her close a while. Then the two are standing next to the pond again. The one against the rock still hovers there. Ranma smiles gently at her, back in boy-form.
"Hey Ranko?"
"Yes?"
"Can you give me the full day?" He asks. "Next Sunday? I wanna take 'Kane out on a date in the mornin' before I talk to everyone. I figure I can give her some closure that way, then I can say my goodbyes. And… I wanna be the one ta explain. It ain't fair on ya to hafta to that."
Something clenches in Ranko's heart, the ice and he puts a hand on her shoulder. "I know. But you need closure too. I just figure it's best goin' out with a bang than a whimper. And…" Ranko looks down but he smiles at her. "Do me a favour? I know you an' Ma don't wanna see Pop. But he at least deserves the same closure, awright? Just for that day, bring him along?"
Ranko sucks in a deep breath, then nods. He smiles. "I'll do what I can, Ranma." She says. "Will we be able to talk again soon?"
"Ah there ain't much in here left, but tell ya what, Saturday night ya grab me, awright?"
Ranko nods and Ranma hugs her one last time before the dream dissolves. "Be seein' ya, kiddo."
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Ranko wakes, and instantly she's filled with sadness. It's very early on Sunday morning and she's awake before anyone else, so she stretches and pads down the stairs in her pyjamas after putting the koban back with the letter. Ranma's words fill her mind as she absently starts preparing breakfast until Kasumi wakes and turfs her away from the stove to set the table with a hug and a "Thank you, imouto-chan."
Ranko sits on the engawa while the others filter in, then she joins them. Nabiki's sleepy, Akane's obviously raring for her jog and Soun is his usual taciturn self.
Ranko clears her throat as Kasumi enters and sits. "I spoke to Ranma." She says quietly. "H-he told me… wh-why he did it. What he did. And that he messed it up, but he'll… explain it himself. He asked me to let him."
Kasumi sighs and Akane looks curious. "Oh?"
"He… he asked me to use the coins all at once. Next Sunday." Ranko looks at her breakfast and eats in silence while the others process it. "He um. He asked…" Ranko shakes her head. "Never mind."
The others look concerned, but don't say anything more on the matter since Ranko seems unable to really meet any of their eyes.
The week seems to fly by. She can't seem to make time slow down – at the same time as it feels like she's rushing towards a new chapter, she also feels like she's a condemned prisoner, marching to her own oblivion.
School moves on in its own stately way as she and Ryouga settle in. Hibari hits on them, she finds plenty of notes on her locker and even, blushing and stammering, has to reject several boys (and a couple of girls) who ask her out.
Cologne and Doctor Toufu both teach her several medical pressure points and are astounded at how fast she picks them up.
Her mother's reaction to the fact that she's going to find her father on Sunday morning, early as the sun rising in the summer, isn't that pleasant. It's the first argument they have, if both of them raising their voices and not backing down can be called it. Ranko, in the end, persuades her mother not to gut her father and tells her that the moment Ranma's gone, Genma will be too.
Nodoka smiles at her daughter's resolve after that and the two hug before she advises her mother to head to the Tendou house, along with Ukyou. Shampoo and Ryouga as well, if possible.
Ranko finds Genma in an empty lot she remembers Ryouga staying in with his tent. It's just as lonely as when Ryouga was there, but her distaste on finding him slumped out overrides her sympathy for her father. Poking him awake, she folds her arms and stares at him.
"Father." She mutters. "I can't say I'm surprised. Come with me." Genma stares stupidly at her before getting into a ready stance. Ranko sighs. "You are lucky Ranma wanted you there." She says. "Come with me to the Tendou house. We'll at least feed you and then you can see Ranma one more time."
Genma sputters but she shushes him. "Be quiet, father. One wrong word and I don't know if Mother will gut you or not." She motions for him to follow her. "Come on, we'd better head off."
Genma follows her, mind a-whirl with questions. Chief among them why is she taking him back there when she was so cold before?
"Ranma, I-" She turns her gaze on him. He shuts up.
"Ranko." She says.
"What?"
"That's my name now. Ranko. Ranma's gone. But he wanted to say goodbye, and that's why I'm here instead of ignoring your existence, Father."
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In the guestroom of the Tendou household after delivering a shaking Genma to the breakfast table and likely spoiling a nice morning for everyone, Ranko stares at the clothes set in front of her. She sucks in a breath. She can do this. She braids her hair into the old pigtail and ties it with the dragon whisker. She doesn't need it, but it's better safe than sorry.
She sighs, picking up a flask and pours hot water on herself, changing into her cursed form. She lets herself shift and tries to ignore the wrongness that permeates her from it. This isn't for her, she can deal with it.
She picks the boxers up and goes bright red. These are boy's underwear and she's embarrassed to be simply holding them. As quickly as she can she slips into them, then the soft trousers, drawing the string. Next is her old black tank top. Finally one of her old favourite Chinese silk shirts and her old wrist guards and she stands, looking like her old self.
She takes in a breath and lets it out, trying to find her centre. Everything's subtly wrong about this body, but she needs to be calm and she needs to ignore it for everyone else's sake. The spell won't work if she can't balance herself.
She doesn't have to do this, but she wants to. For her own peace and for her family's peace. She picks the five coins and the koban up, slipping them into a pocket and then walks down the stairs, fighting the wrongness she's constantly feeling.
The family room is full of her friends and family, and she peeks through a crack in the shouji. Ranko sucks in a breath, remembering body language, remembering speech patterns. She subtly changes and shifts until she fully resembles her old self. And just like that, the persona settles over her, like a role in a play. It's not entirely her, and it's not entirely him until something clicks, the chi in the coins rushing through her body and it's like she's moved to the back, to sleep while something lingering in her mind takes over through the spell.
Ranma looks himself over, pats his chest a few times and grabs a handy pen, scribbling a note that he folds and puts into his pocket. He remembers the clothes that she'd taken off to put his old ones on and shakes his head. "Girly girl, really?" sighing, he then laughs. "Well, I guess it's better that way, feels more comfy. More right. Guess we always were inside…" He takes in a breath, clears his thoughts and prepares to say goodbye, even if it's not really goodbye, but he can't expect them to understand his head.
But first!
"Hey, Akane?" He calls through. "Could ya- you come here a sec?"
"Sure, Ranko!" Akane exits the family room and then stops as she closes the shouji behind her. She stares. "Ranko? Why are you…?"
Ranma stares at her hungrily, as if nothing else in the world was important. "Hey 'Kane." He says rubbing the back of his head.
Akane stands there, wide-eyed, staring at him. Understanding dawns in her eyes. Tears start pouring down her face. "Ranma?"
"Hey there 'Kane. Came back ta see ya one last time." Ranma says, holding a hand out. She takes it and he pulls her into his arms. "Got some things ta tell ya that I hadta before I went for good."
Akane grips the silk shirt and sobs into it, but he puts a finger under her chin and lifts her face to look into his. "Hey now, no cryin' awright? Ya had ta know I ain't back forever. This's just… Sayin' goodbye."
Akane stares as he wipes the tears from her face gently. "You know I love ya, ya uncute tomboy, right?"
Akane giggles despite herself. "Ranma no baka." She says softly, staring into those blue, blue eyes. She thwaps him gently on the forehead and he rubs it ruefully.
"Wish I'd been able ta say it while I was still around." He mumbles. "But life's funny like that, ya know?"
Akane nods, biting her lip.
"But I do. I love ya, even if ya hit me, even if ya assumed the worst all the time. You always forget how beautiful you are when you smile and how much you care."
"Ranma… I…"
"Yeah?"
"I… I love you t-t-too." She manages to say. "I'm s-sorry I n-never said it either."
"Eh, communicatin' weren't exactly either of our strong suit." Ranma grins. "Hey 'Kane?" He asks.
She looks into his eyes. "Yes?" She asks softly. Ranma leans his face close to hers, breath tickling her lips as he captures her lips with his.
The kiss is soft and gentle, demanding and wonderful as she's always imagined from when she realised she'd loved him and fantasised about it. It's a searching kiss, a kiss that communicates his love far more coherently than any of his words.
The kiss stretches on and on, but eventually Ranma gently teases them apart and looks in Akane's eyes. She's flushed, breath coming in gasps. She manages to collect herself after a moment, giddy as a thought that sours in her stomach. "But. Wait. Ranko?"
Ranma smiles at Akane, a joy on his face and a warmth she'd never seen. "She's in back, sleepin' while I'm here. Ya got me for the rest of the day." He leans in close and speaks into her ear. "Thanks for lookin' out for us. Her. Me. It's complicated, an' I'll explain it all to you first before everyone tonight before I… go." Akane chokes back a sob and he shakes his head. "Ain't no use runnin' from it, 'Kane. Borrowed time. An' it is borrowed. She's here to stay, and she loves you as much as me."
Akane nods. "Y-yeah. Sorry, I just…"
"Naw, I get it." Ranma leans back and stares her in the eyes. "So do I." He sighs. Then he brightens. "But you got me for a day. Wanna go on a date, just this one time?"
Akane stares at him. Bites her lip. Considers. He keeps a gentle smile on his face. "Ya don't hafta." He says quietly. "If ya think it will hurt more than it'll help, ya can just go back in there an' we'll just hang out with the family until I go."
Akane straightens and shakes her head, voice firm. "No. Let's do it."
"Ah, good, 'cause I told Ranko last night ta make reservations and woulda looked like a real asshole if ya hadn't."
"Idiot." Akane swats him with a smile and he yelps.
"Hey!"
Akane shakes her head again. "Let me get dressed. You too, mister, I know you have a better dress shirt than that old thing."
"Aw but this looks good, 'Kane and you know she'll never wear it."
"Yeah well…" Akane shrugs. "Go get dressed or I'll not go on a date."
He sticks his tongue out at her. "S'a good thing you're actually a cute tomboy or I'd not do it on general principles." He says, leading her upstairs, then walking into the guestroom to change.
Akane closes the door to her own room and shudders as she sinks down against the door, hands going to her face. She hadn't been prepared at all for that. Kami, what an asshole as always. Her lips quirk as she stands, removes her pyjamas and changes into one of her nice dresses, then spends a minute or so putting on light makeup.
She exits to find that, shock of shocks, Ranma has a white dress shirt on and some actual, factual smart trousers on. He rubs the back of his head embarrassedly. "Don't look at me, they ain't ones I bought."
Akane laughs. "Ranko had you pegged alright." She says. Ranma grins at her, takes her hand and the two of them sneak downstairs. Akane goes to the family room to tell them she was just going somewhere with Ranko, while Ranma puts on a pair of black shoes he swears he didn't own before in the genkan.
On the way out, they almost get caught by Nabiki, but Ranma manages to get them out quickly and the middle sister shrugs and moves back to the family to join in the glaring at Genma.
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They sit down at the fancy restaurant that Ranko had booked for them, dinner on a Sunday isn't exactly a normal evening date but they can't really make a choice as to when to have it.
Akane doesn't care. She can see in front of her the boy she loves. The boy she wishes was here as well as her sister. Part of her is boiling with guilt and with sadness and hurt as he explains what he did. What they did (and the personal pronouns that Ranma uses for he and Ranko are just as confusing to her as to them), and why, and the guilt boils in her.
When tears start falling from her eyes, he takes her hand. "Akane." He says seriously. "I chose to do this because I felt it was the only choice I had. And maybe I was wrong. But it's not only your fault. It's mine. It's everyone's. No one person really carries more blame for it than us." He squeezes her hand. "I drove myself here because I was weaker than I shoulda been. I shoulda been strong, instead I ran over and we had to have Ranko pick up the pieces. Which weren't really fair on her."
Akane nods, and he dabs gently at her eyes to help her, eyes alight. "S'a good thing we know how ta remove tears to stop makeup runnin'." He says, smiling. Then he leans forwards and kisses her again over the table and she melts a moment, before he leans back, grinning. "An' that these kisses are way better than that one you two had."
Akane laughs. It's almost hollow except that she sees the funny side. "You're a jerk, Ranma."
"An' you're a cute tomboy." He says with a grin.
The food is excellent, but the conversation is better for Akane. Just for now, even with a ticking clock on it, it's the happiest she's been for months. Years. She tries not to think how it'll end soon, and only in a few hours, or how she's going to deal with it afterwards.
Right now, she just wants to live in this moment.
She does make sure she borrowed Nabiki's digital camera though, taking photographs of the two of them as much as she can. Ranma teases her but she can tell he's touched.
Once they've had their meal, Ranma offers her his hand, checks the time and smiles.
He takes her down to the park, to the areas that couples frequent, and smiles as he draws a blanket from his chi space, putting it down under a tree and sitting.
They spend most of the rest of the afternoon that way, talking, his arms around her and her nestled up to him.
"I'm sorry it ain't fancier." He says to her, holding her close and kissing her neck. "I wish I could do more, have more time for ya."
Akane shakes her head, biting back her tears. There's no time for them here. Not right now. "No." She says, reaching her hands to clasp his and bringing them to her lips. "No, this is perfect."
She cuddles back up against him, and he holds her close. "Tendou Akane." He says softly into her ear, kissing her neck again.
"Mmm?"
"I love you." He says. It still sends a thrill through her and she reaches back to cup his cheek.
"I know." She says. "I love you too. I'll miss you."
"And there'll always be part of us missin' you too." Ranma says as they settle into a profound silence, with no need for words. Akane turns her head, grips his, and kisses him until they need to come up for air.
After a moment's respite, they kiss again.
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So this chapter was getting REAL long, so it's split into two. That also means the next chapter shouldn't be very long as I'm still writing right now.
I hope the self-stuff is followable and that you enjoyed it!
Next time, more closure for everyone. I just wanted a cute scene.
Also jeebus, this fic including the bits not yet published is over 70K words.
I'm now working on chapter 14 of this two-shot!
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