Part D: Ranma’s Decision(s)


With that, Dr. Tofu leaves the room and closes the door. The silence overcomes Ranma and he stands up and starts pacing around the room nervously…

‘Why me? My life never has a boring moment it seems…’ Ranma looked down at the girls and then had to make a tough call. ‘Who do I kiss first? Whoever I kiss second, third, and fourth may be jealous of the first one… this sucks…’

After a few minutes of deliberation, Ranma comes to a few conclusions. He decides to kiss Akane last… not because he hates her or anything… but so he can treat her wound and not have to worry about anyone capitalizing on her wound. But who would be first? ‘Maybe Uc-chan should be first…’

Ranma nervously sits down next to Ukyo and looks at her for a few moments before speaking softly to himself. "I'm sorry that all of this happened... all of the fights and everything else that is going on... I'm sorry- especially about what happened in the past. I have always thought of you as a friend, my best friend..." With that now off of his chest, he takes a deep breath. ‘Here goes nothing…’ he thinks before kissing Ukyo. Their lips meet and then Ranma pulls away, blushing intensely.

Ukyo's eyes flutter and then open completely and she is surprised to see the ceiling of the Tendo dojo above her.  A warm feeling seems to linger on her lips as well as an unfamiliar smell. She strains her mind, thinking about her last memories… all she can remember is getting hit by some dust and then falling asleep. She flutters her eyes and then turns her head to talk to Ranma...

"Ranma-honey... what happened?"

"Well, umm... all of the girls got hit by something and you all fell asleep. Dr. Tofu and Cologne figured out how to wake all of you up again..." Ranma suddenly blushed and become nervous. Ukyo notices his reaction and becomes really curious about how she was able to woken up.

"Ranma, please tell me how you were able to wake me up..." Ukyo said softly in an effort to get Ranma to speak. A very red Ranma begins to mumble a response. "Well, we had to put some herbal paste on your neck, face, and a little on your lips."

"That would explain this weird taste on my lips, but I wonder why my lips feel so warm..."

"That's because of the other part of the cure... I had to..." Ranma pauses and wipes his brow, which now has some sweat on it. Ukyo is very curious by this point in his explanation… she knows that his behavior indicates that he is hiding something from her. She puts on her cutest face and asks him to go on. “Please, Ran-chan… tell me what you did…”

‘Why it’d have to be the pout? She knows me too well… and I can’t keep this from her. She’ll find out if I don’t tell her… probably from Nabiki knowing my luck…’ Ranma takes a deep breath and then tells Ukyo what she needs to know.  "I... I... k... kissed you…"

Ukyo looks at Ranma and realizes why he had been blushing so much. She sits up and then smiles at Ranma. She starts to think to herself... 'He does care for me, he kissed me... I wish I could have felt it...'

"Ranma... thank you. Who knows how long I could have been sleeping unless you woke me up." A feeling of happiness overwhelms Ukyo and she expresses her feelings by pulling Ranma into a close hug. Ranma has a sweat drop… he is very glad that no one else is awake to see this- some of his other fiancées would have a fit for sure if they saw this...

"It was nothing, Uc-chan..." Ranma said as he looked into her eyes. Ukyo looks at him silently for a moment. Ranma is worried about what she will say next... and is relieved when he hears what she says next...

"Thank you, Ranma-honey. I owe you one."

Ukyo stands up and looks down at the other three sleeping girls. She starts to walk towards the door and then turns around to speak to Ranma...

"Ranma, tell everyone that I'm okay and that I went home, okay? It's been one hell of a day..."

"Sure, no problem. See yah later."

After Ukyo leaves, Ranma breathes a sigh of relief. ‘One done, three to go… who’s next?’

A few moments later, he comes to the decision that kissing Kodachi next would be okay- ‘I might as well get it over and done with. The sooner the better with her…’ He takes a few deep breaths and then places a kiss on her lips. She awakens rather slowly and then turns her head to look around. Upon spotting Ranma, she smiles and pulls him into a hug and rubs her body against him. Ranma quickly pushes her away and then tries to explain what happened...

"What's the last thing you remember, Kodachi?

"I was going to launch an attack with my ribbon when I suddenly fell asleep and then I woke up here..."

Kodachi looks around and doesn't immediately recognize her surroundings. Ranma notices her confusion and explains to her what happened on the field a short while ago…

"You fell asleep with the other girls out there on the field, Dr. Tofu and Cologne figured out what was wrong with you guys and found a way to wake you up."

"That explains the smell- I can smell the herbs..." she muttered as she rubbed her neck. "I can even taste the stuff on my lips..."

With that, Ranma's face turned a bright red. Kodachi knew something was up and decided to press the issue with Ranma...

"Why are you blushing like that? It's not like you..."

Kodachi stopped as she suddenly realized where the warm feeling on her lips had come from. "You did kiss me, didn't you?" Ranma slowly nods his head, confirming her statement- even though he does not want to. Ranma watches as Kodachi jumps out of the futon and right into his arms. She immediately pins him to ground and lowers herself down on top of him. “Ranma-sama… that was so nice of you… I  really appreciate the fact that you cared enough to wake me up…”

Ranma, on the other hand, is not enjoying this sudden show of affection on her part. He is grateful that she is awake and that this will get Kuno off his back, but this reminds him too much of what Shampoo does to him. After Ranma pushes her away, she notices that something is missing...

"You said that all of us were knocked out... where's Ukyo?"

Ranma can only mumble a response, he doesn't want to provoke Kodachi any further. "She... umm... you see... I woke her up first..."

"You kissed her FIRST!? Were my lips not good enough to be the first to be kissed?"

"Well, no... that's not it..." Ranma said as he backed away from Kodachi.

Kodachi looks around and stares at the sleeping Shampoo and Akane. She has a wicked idea and starts to move towards them. Ranma immediately notices and asks what she is doing. Ranma knows that glint in her eye is not a good sign...

"Hey! Step back from Akane and Shampoo!"

"I am going eliminate two of my rivals right now, before you can wake them up. It's bad enough that you already kissed Ukyo, but I won't let you kiss these two peons!"

"Kodachi, I won't let you harm either of them. If you hurt them, I'll never forgive you!"

Ranma takes up a fighting posture and awaits Kodachi's reply. He hopes that she realizes that he is VERY serious about what he just said and that she will back off. Kodachi tries to reason with him as a countermove...

"Ranma-sama, you don't need to protect those of lesser status... you know that you are just perfect for me..."

With that comment, Kodachi starts to engage in her trademark laugh... and Ranma gets even angrier with her. He replies coldly...

"Kodachi Kuno, you are not going to harm either one of them... do you hear me?"

"Why not?"

"Because... because I... I care about them." Ranma blushed slightly after saying that.

"Hmmph. Fine, be that way. I'll just have to beat all three of them in combat then. That'll show you that I am serious about you, Ranma-sama…"

Kodachi heads for the door and then leaves, closing it behind her. Ranma breathes a sigh of relief, grateful that she woke up and is now out of his hair... for now. He looks down at the two sleeping women and thinks to himself... 'Two down, two to go. I guess Shampoo’s next…’

His mind now set, he sits down next to Shampoo and prepares to kiss her. He realizes the irony of the situation... she was the one who was always trying to kiss him- and he has to kiss her to awaken her from her sleep.

After taking a deep breath, he places a kiss on Shampoo's lips and returns to his sitting position next to her. Shampoo slowly awakens and then turns her head to the side. The moment she sees Ranma, a smile forms on her face and she jumps on top of him and pins him to the ground. Ranma has a feeling of déjà vu…

"Shampoo happy to see Ranma"

"I uh... can see that. Would you calm down and listen to me for a moment?" Ranma said as he tried not to stare at the Amazon’s ample bosom that was being pressed again him repeatedly…

Shampoo stops and looks at Ranma, the urgency in his voice brings her back to reality. She flashes him another smile...

"Go on, Ranma... tell Shampoo what you need to say..."

"You and the other girls were knocked out by some kind of sleeping powder, that's why you're here..."

"Okay... Shampoo was wondering why she was in your house." She looks at Ranma, can tell that he needs to say more, and is holding back something. She puts on a cute/sexy face and then speaks softly to Ranma.

"Tell me more, Ranma..."

Ranma, with some slight hesitation, tells her about what he did to wake her up. "You see Shampoo, I had to k... kiss you to wake you. That's why Ukyo and Kodachi aren't here..."

Shampoo is happy about the fact that Ranma kissed her, showing that he cared about her. The fact that two of the other girls were kissed before her, however, irks her to no end. She decides to try and find out why she wasn't first, or at least the second one to be kissed...

"Ranma, why did you kiss Shampoo third?" Shampoo said with a slight bit of anger in her voice.

Ranma doesn’t really have a good answer and curses himself for not thinking of one before kissing her... he should have expected this from her.  "Umm... it was nothing personal... I don’t hate you or anything…”

"So you don't think Shampoo is that important?" Shampoo continued to press the issue.

"No, that's not it... you're getting this all wrong..." Ranma waved his hands in front of his body defensively.

"Is okay, Shampoo will prove that she is better then the other girls and show you once and for all how much I care for you..." With that, Shampoo pins Ranma down to the ground and gives him a parting hug.

"You make sure that the others are ready to fight again, tell them Shampoo want to finish our match!"

Ranma nods and then Shampoo stands up. She winks at Ranma and then leaves the room. Ranma is now faced with the toughest assignment yet, waking Akane. ‘Well, only one left to go… and this maybe the hardest kiss to do. We pretend kissed before in that play… but I have to kiss for real here. I was always wondering how her lips would feel after that play… I guess I get to find out now…’ Ranma blushes and looks down at Akane. She has a smile on her face…

“You know, you’re cute when you smile… maybe if I’m lucky I can see you smile more often after this is all over…” Having gotten that off of his chest, he takes some deep breaths and prepares himself for the reaction that he knows will come from her when she awakens. Slowly, he lowers his lips and then they gently meet hers. Ranma takes his lips off of hers and waits for her to wake up... but nothing happens. Getting worried, Ranma gently shakes Akane...

"Come on Akane, wake up... please... Akane…”

After a few moments, she still doesn't wake up. Ranma is getting even more worried with every passing moment, the herbs don't seem to be working...

"You're stubborn even when you're asleep... I better try again..."

Ranma goes in for another kiss, this time giving her a stronger and more passionate kiss. He blushes as he kisses Akane; this kiss was deeper then the ones he gave the others. He is pulling back from Akane when her eyes open and lock on to him...

"Ranma, what are you doing?" Ranma fails to answer before she asks another question. "It looked you just k... kissed me... did you?"

"Um... yeah, I had to..." Ranma said with a mixture of fear and embarrassment… he thought he was ready for her reaction… but was wrong. Akane tries to hit Ranma with a quick punch, but he catches her fist and holds it. "You didn't let me explain..."

"What's to explain? You took advantage of me while I was sleeping!" Akane said in a very angry tone of voice. “Ranma no baka!”

"Akane... what's the last thing you remember? You said that you were going to try and listen to me before jumping to conclusions…" Ranma said quickly, the longer Akane stayed angry, the worse it would be for him. Much to his surprise, he didn’t find himself getting angry with her.

Taking a deep breath, Akane calms down for the time being. She is still angry about the kiss, though part of her wishes she could have felt it and enjoyed it. Pushing that feeling aside for the moment, she thinks about the days' events and tells Ranma about her memories... and curses herself for forgetting that promise to listen to him from earlier that week.

Akane looked around and noticed the three empty futons. "Well, it looked like all of us were going to make a big attack against each and then... nothing. Ranma, what happened to me... and where are the other girls?"

Ranma flinches at that question… Akane would keep pressing the issue until she got an answer. Ranma has no choice but to tell her what she wants to know… he feels guilty, given the feelings he has for her… and he kissed her last. ‘Oh no… I’m doomed…’

Ranma clears his throat and then starts talking. "All four of you got knocked out by some kind of dust. Cologne and Dr. Tofu figured out what was wrong with you guys, it was something called "Sleeping Beauty Sickness" The only way to wake you guys up was to put this special herbal paste on your neck, face, and lips and then..." Ranma stops speaking… what he is about to say could be very painful… for both of them…

"And then... what? Come on, Ranma… tell me…” Akane did not resort to using a special expression like two of her opponents just had, her stare was more then enough to unsettle Ranma and get him to keep speaking.

Ranma cannot help but fidget because of her glance. He knows that he must keep speaking… despite the consequences to himself. "And then...." Ranma blushes and then continues… "You had to... to... be woken up... with a... a… "

Akane’s mind is racing at over a hundred Km an hour as she suddenly realizes why her lips were warm...  the “Sleeping Beauty” part tipped her off. “You kissed me!” Akane said with mixed emotions.

Ranma goes on the defensive. “I had to... twice... otherwise...”

Akane responded with a hint of indignance in her voice. “Had to? Was it that bad of a thing... oh I bet you...” Akane stopped and looked around the room again… and remember there were three other beds… but no one in them.

“You pervert!  You kissed them too didn't you! Tell me, Ranma!” Akane battle aura flared up, being very visible and almost as strong as it was earlier when she was fighting the other fiancées… Ranma knew he had to calm her down and fast. He remembers too that she was injured… and she could aggravate that very easily if she tries to mallet him or assault him again.

“It's not like I had any choice!  Mousse couldn’t wake up Shampoo... and the others couldn’t wake y...” Ranma stopped as he almost said "you up." Akane, however, was able to figure out what he was going to say next and finished his thought.

“Woke me up? Who did... did you let someone else kiss me!” Akane couldn’t believe what had just happened to her. “How dare you! I'm your fiancée… and you let someone else take advantage of me!”

Ranma tries to save face by explaining what happened after the herb was applied. “I tried to stop them! While I was bashing in Kuno's face that jerk Ryoga kissed you first and then when I was beating the hell outta him...”

Akane couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Ryoga kissed me!  And so did Kuno!  I should KILL YOU RANMA!  HOW DARE YOU LET KUNO KISS ME!”

Ranma winces at her words… he knew that she would react… but not this badly.

“I can’t believe it!  That moronic idiot actually kissed me!  I'm going to have to cut my lips off after that disgusting thing touched me!  Ewww!!!  I... where's Kuno?  I'll rip his lips off... I'LL RIP HIS HEAD OFF!!!!  NO I’M GOIN TO RIP HIM INTO TINY SHREDDS OF FLESH AND THEN I AM GOING TO BREAK EVERY BONE IN HIS BODY!!!

Kuno is in the other room and can very easily hear the very vocal Akane Tendo ranting… about him…

“I think my fierce tigress is a bit mad...”

Ryoga cannot help but comment back. “Kuno... she really can’t stand you... if I were you I’d get out of here before she sees you... I mean she only said she couldn't stand me... kissing.... her...” As Ryoga said the last three words he realized that she did not like the thought of being kissed by him either.

Akane continues to yell… even Nodoka’s eyebrows go up at some of the comments she hears over in another part of the house. She cannot help but stop her conversation with her husband to ask- “Is this the girl that you claim he’s in love with?” Genma can only nod his head.

Over in the kitchen, Kasumi cannot help but say “Oh my…” Her sister hasn’t been this vocal about anything in a long time…

Back in the dining room, Nabiki looks over at Doctor Tofu and notices that he is looking rather pale at the things Akane was describing... if she even carried out half those threats then there would be no hope of him getting Kuno back together again. Kuno for his part was looking pale… to the point of being green...  and it wasn’t from envy.

Soun coughed from beside Kuno. “I think it would be best if she did not see you when she comes though that door… which could be at any moment…”

“Huh...? I oh...”

Kuno suddenly heard a rather loud sound that he knew was Akane stomping... even from here he could hear the floor cracking under the force of her stomps. Letting out a very little eep... Kuno made a rush for the exit.  As he ran off into the distance he yelled... “I shall return for you my fierce tigress... right after you calm down and no longer wish to rip my personage apart with thine bare hands!”

“I think you should leave now as well… or my sister might take out her anger on you instead…” Nabiki said as she looked at Ryoga. He nodded and couldn’t help but feel sad about the fact that he had to leave. ‘At least she’s awake and okay… just like the other three… I’ll try and talk to her later, after she calms down…’
Ryoga grabs his umbrella and heads out… but doesn’t get far before he gets wet. He crawls under his umbrella and has one thought right away… ‘Today just isn’t my day…’

Back in the guest room, Ranma has finally managed to get Akane to calm down a little. His pleads are beginning to get through to her… he had already dodged two mallet strikes and didn’t want to chance a third attack.

“Look Akane, for the last time, I didn’t mean to offend you by kissing you last…” He digs up an old saying he heard before and tries to use it to calm Akane down some more. “Isn’t there a saying that says you save the best for last?”

Akane reacted very carefully to his statement. “So… you’re saying… that I’m the best of the four girls? Tell me, Ranma…” She looks at Ranma with a new expression, one of curiosity and hope that he’ll say something good in response.

“Eep… what I meant is…” Ranma looked at Akane, who was hanging off of his every word. ‘Damn me and my big mouth… but I think I can try and answer her without being too embarrassed… I think…’

“Is what?” Akane moved a little closer to Ranma, the closeness of her person to his was beginning to unnerve him a little.

“I umm…” Giving up on what he was going to say, Ranma instead tries to change the subject. “I think I’d better clean up that shoulder wound before you hurt yourself…”

Akane instinctively touched her should and winced as the pain flowed through her body. He knew that he changed the subject on purpose… but he had a point.

“Okay…” Akane looks next to the futon and notices that there is water and bandages already there. ‘Kasumi must have set this up…’ She looks at her gi and notices several minor tears scatter throughout it… but it’s the tear on her shoulder that worries her the most. ‘That hoop must have hit me pretty good…’

Ranma realizes that she needs to take off her gi to treat the wound properly… but doesn’t want to suggest it because she may call him a pervert and get riled up again. He decides to make her think about doing it. Dabbling a little water onto a wash cloth, he gently starts to wash away some of the dried blood on her shoulder…

Akane watches what he’s doing and feels happy that he’s helping her. After about a minute, however, the main wound is cleaned up and Ranma is trying to get some of the outer part cleaned, despite the fabric of her gi being in the way. “Oww! Watch it! That hurt!”

“Look, it’s the best I can do…” Ranma said as he tried to indirectly lead her to make the decision to take off her gi.

“Well, I don’t need to get an infection… hold on a second…” Akane said as she turned her body to the side. Pulling the blanket over her body, she starts to undo her gi. “You better not peek, Ranma…”

“Look, who…” Ranma quickly stop himself from making a comment about her looks. ‘Why does she always make it so hard? I’m not a pervert like she makes me out to be…’

Ranma hears Akane gasp as the blood stained gi is thrown off to the side. “What’s wrong?”

Akane looks down again just to make sure she isn’t delusional. When she had gotten dressed this morning, she had put on white panties and a matching bra… after checking again; she realizes that both are missing…

“Akane, what’s…”

“I’m missing something… something important…”

“Umm…” Ranma thought about it and realized a moment later what the could mean… she only would have her bottom pants and her underwear on… and the pants she still had on…

“How in the hell could my underwear be missing? No one…” Akane said, furious about losing yet another pair of underwear.

“No, no one did anything like that… I’ve been watching you and the other girls the whole time you were here…” Ranma said quickly to try and keep Akane from going ballistic.

“Then it must have happened when we got knocked out… did you see Happosai around at all today?” Akane said as she drew a conclusion… and for once Ranma was glad that it was the right one. He was afraid that she would accuse him of stealing her underwear, improbable as that may be.

“No, haven’t seen him at all. He’s been gone since Nabiki and I kicked him out of the house…” Ranma said while thinking about the fight itself. ‘It still could have been him, though, this looks something he would do…’

“I guess we’ll have to investigate further…” Akane said as she lied down on her front side under the blanket. Her bare back felt tight… ‘Probably from all the muscle movement I had to do today…’ She clears her throat and looks at Ranma. “Ranma… you can take off that blanket…”

Ranma hesitates for a moment but then pulls off the blanket. Akane’s naked back is right in front of him… he cannot help but stare for a moment. Akane brings him back to his senses.

“Come on, Ranma… I don’t have all day here…”

“Oh… sorry…” Ranma said as he started to clean the rest of her shoulder wound. He prepares the bandage and gently puts in over the cut, to avoiding hurting Akane anymore. She turns her head after he finishes and smiles at him, appreciating the way he was dealing with her.

“Thank you, Ranma…”

“Umm… no problem…” Ranma said as he fought off the urge to blush.

Akane crawls back under the blanket and sighs aloud. Ranma gets up and heads for the door…

“I’ll be right back…”

Akane patiently waits for Ranma to return. When he does, he is holding a white shirt in his hands.

“I’d figured umm… since your gi here got torn and bloody that you’d need something to wear right now…”

“Thank you Ranma…” Akane said as she took the shirt and put it on while she was under the blanket. She tries to stand up but feels a bit woozy for some reason. Her blood pressure had yet to return to normal.

“Umm… about that kiss…” Ranma wanted to talk to her about that- it was the last thing he really needed to discuss with her in private.

“Look, we’ll talk about that later, I’m hungry and I wanna see my father and sisters…” Akane said as she tried to maintain her balance. Ranma extends his hand out and she moves to grab it… but doesn’t make it and instead falls on top of Ranma. Akane feels something warm and soft pressing against her lips… and realizes that her lips are against his. ‘So this is what kissing him is like… it feels… good…’

Akane has a reflex action a moment later and gets off of Ranma. She looks down at him and finds him stunned and sporting a dazed expression… as though he has just tasted heaven. With a very light bounce to her step, she starts walking towards the door. ‘Ranma kissed me... three times… and the 3rd time I got to enjoy it... Akane’s face turns very red as she thinks about how much she enjoyed it. With a sudden surge of energy, she opens the door and hears a collection of gasps.

Nabiki and Soun immediately notice Akane’s red face and immediately think that she is still angry. Both duck for cover and then notice something else…  Ranma is on the floor in the other room... with a dazed look on his face. Nabiki and Soun assume that she laid him out good... with a punch or something... little do they know... she laid him out all right… but by her lips.

A well hidden Nabiki speaks up from across the room... "Sis, the other girls want a rematch..."

“A rematch? They'll get one all right! I have my honor and the family name to defend!" Akane said confidently, full of an energy she had never expected to have in her. ‘If I win… I’ll get to kiss him again… and show those girls that Akane Tendo never backs down from a fight. Problem is… I need something very unorthodox to win… like some secret techniques that those three won’t expect…’

Kasumi comes into the room and gives her little sister a hug; feeling very glad about her recovery. She looks over in the other room and notices Ranma sprawled out on the floor…

“Oh my… what happened to Ranma?”

“He ummm… fell and must have hit his head…” Akane prayed that her story would be believable… she didn’t want to talk about the kiss… especially with Nabiki around.

“I’ll see if Ranma is okay… why don’t you take a nice hot bath and relax? I’ll make some lunch for you, so come to the kitchen when you’re done with your bath… ” Kasumi said as she walked over to Ranma. Akane nods her head and heads upstairs.

‘It’s been a long day… and I need to relax… and think…’ Akane thought to herself as she grabbed some new clothes and headed into the bathroom to enjoy a nice, long bath. Kasumi brings Ranma back to reality with a couple of shakes…

“Ranma, wake up…”

“Oh, huh? Kasumi…” Ranma said as he gently touched his lips. ‘Akane fell on me… and kissed me… again?’

“Is something wrong, Ranma?” Kasumi said, wondering about what he just did.

“Oh, it’s nothing…” Ranma notices Akane’s bloodstained gi in the corner of his eye and sighs aloud. Kasumi notices what he’s looking at and picks it up off of the ground.

“Ranma… I told you my sister cared for you… she went through all of that training… and even got herself injured for you. Look at this gi…” Kasumi looked at Ranma and notices the sad expression on his face.

“I guess… I guess you were right…” Ranma said softly. “She gave it all for me…”

Kasumi sits down next to Ranma and then speaks again. “I’ve never seen her excited about something… and so willing to fight. She spent that whole week training with our fathers… she wouldn’t have done that if she didn’t want be with you…”

“Yeah… she was being serious about her martial arts…” Ranma conceded.

Kasumi hears her father call her a moment later. She stands up and starts to head out of the room. “Ranma… if you want to talk about this later, just ask…”

Ranma watches as Kasumi walks out of the room and softly says to himself- “Maybe I will…”

To be continued in Part 4: Return of the Happosai/One Week

I hope you enjoyed this chapter- this is the longest fanfiction chapter I’ve ever written. 13,000 words is quite a bit… even for me. Next chapter will deal with what the girls decide to do and with Happy’s return. Please R & R!