[Ranma][Fanfic] Clarity part 3
Witch Baby
Ranma 1/2 characters and situations are the property of Rumiko
Takahashi and licensees. They are used in this story without permission.
This is Ranma's day to think. Lets just hope he doesn't burst *too* many brain
cells :)
Clarity Three
"Boundaries"
Allison Lynn Barrett
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/2571/ranma.htm
July 12th, 1998
___________________
"Ucchan's Okonomiyaki is temporarily closed. We are sorry for any
inconvenience we might have caused you, and ask you to please come visit us
again tomorrow, when we re-open." Ranma read, feeling concerned. It could have
been worse. At first when he came, he was afraid she had packed up and gone
away for good. Still, he felt very bad. He needed to talk to Ucchan; needed
more than anything to apologize to her. He had hurt her. He had never told her
that he couldn't love her that way, that he didn't understand what was
happening when he and Pops stole the okonomiyaki cart. He really hadn't
understood that it would hurt her.
He sighed. He really needed someone to talk to. Ranma and all the people
around him were so used to little lies and half-truths that when Ukyo had
bluntly and evenly told him everything last night, it had hurt him more than he
could ever remember hurting. He did love Akane. He had ruined Ucchan's life,
her life and the lives of others. He felt so heavy with guilt that he couldn't
practice the arts. He didn't understand what he could do. He didn't know what
to think. What he wanted was someone to talk to, someone who would understand
him.
He listed his companions in his mind. Telling Pops was the stupidest thing
he had ever considered. As soon as the thought popped into his head, he
discarded it, dropped it into the dirt and pounded it into oblivion. Telling
Mr. Tendo was almost as bad an idea. If he even mentioned that he had any
feelings for Akane he would be married before he could say his name three
times. Telling his mother would put him in the same place. His friends from
school were just buddies, he couldn't trust them to keep anything to
themselves. Nabiki would calmly listen, then charge a thousand yen for her
advice before going to school and selling every word she had caught on tape to
the highest bidder. So Nabiki was out, too. He couldn't tell Ryoga. First of
all, right before the failed wedding, Ryoga had run off to start a new life
with Akari, and second of all, he would go berserk as soon as Ranma admitted
his love for Akane. Kasumi was too busy. He couldn't take her away from her
household duties. That left Dr. Tofu and Akane.
Akane... He had fought with her for so long that he had almost forgotten
what it was like when she was happy, but she was so beautiful when she smiled.
She had been every teenage male in Nerima's fantasy since she had first walked
through the doors of Furinken High. Everything about her was such a
contradiction, she was a macho embodiment of femininity, a gently fierce woman.
He did love her. It was as simple as that. It had always been as simple as
that, from the moment she had offered him her friendship to the moment he had
seen her last, running to school.
But he knew he absolutely couldn't tell Akane. Right now, he was still too
upset about Ukyo. He knew from painful experience that no matter how innocent
the context, just the mention of another "fiancee" was enough to send Akane
into a fit of violence. If he even mentioned Ukyo, Akane would bring out her
trusty #10 fiance bonking mallet and that would be the end of civil
conversation with her for days. No, no matter how much he wanted to talk with
her, to share everything with her, he was just too worried about Ucchan right
now to have to go through one of Akane's fits of jealousy. He wanted it to be
perfect when he told Akane he loved her. He wanted to hold her hand in his and
kiss her as the cherry blossoms fell around them, while a flute played
something classic. He wanted it to be like something out of a movie, something
to blow her fantasies out of the water. Now was not the time for that.
He walked briskly to Dr. Tofu's office. He felt like he didn't have any
time to loose.
*****
"Why Ranma, what a surprise! You aren't here to get hot water, and you
certainly don't look injured. What then, brings you to my office?" Dr. Tofu
said in an immensely cheery voice. It was obvious from the lack of fog on his
glasses that he was in a functional mode, and his bright smile and warm
demeanor put Ranma at ease.
"Doc... I was wondering. Do you have time for me to, uh... To, um, give
me some advice?"
"Alright, Ranma," Dr. Tofu said, sounding a little more serious. "Would you
like to come into the back room?"
Dr. Tofu lead Ranma to a small room. In it was a massive clutter of
bookshelves, a desk, and two chairs. Dr. Tofu sat down in one chair and then
gestured for Ranma to sit down in the other. Ranma sat down uncomfortably and
looked at Dr. Tofu.
"Well, Ranma?" Dr. Tofu asked, looking serious.
"Well... you see... Dr. Tofu, you remember me and Akane's almost wedding,
don't you?"
"Yes. That was certainly a disaster."
"But that's not the point. Me and Akane, we were willing to marry each
other. D'ya see? It changed everything. At first, I didn't realize it. When
we went back to Furinken, everything was the same, Kunou was still trying to
kill my male half and marry my female half. I got a bouquet of black roses
filled with sleeping gas from Kodachi. Shampoo glomped me on the way
home, and tried to get me to go on a date with her. Ukyo wasn't at school, but
it really didn't seem to matter. Everything was the way it was before.
"Then, yesterday as I was wandering around, recovering from a mallet-
bashing, Ucchan called me into her restaurant. She fed me an okonomiyaki
and... then she told me she knew. She knew that I cared for Akane, that I...
that I loved Akane. I'd never heard it said, really. I knew, after that fight
with Saffron, that I did, but I'd never had the courage to admit it to her, or
even myself really. Then she told me that she had lost everything for me. You
see, Ucchan was my fiancee because Pops promised me to her in exchange for her
father's okonomiyaki cart. Then he asked me which I liked better, Ucchan of
okonomiyaki. I said I liked okonomiyaki better, and so Pops stole their cart
and left Ucchan behind. She trained as a boy to beat me, but I guess when she
came back, I was nice to her and... she was in love with me. She told me I
took away her father. I wonder if he died chasing me and Pops. She threw me
out. She told me to stop calling her 'Ucchan.' I... I never saw it coming.
I never realized that when all this was over I would be breaking someone's
heart.
"It wouldn't have hurt me the same way if Shampoo or Kodachi had said that.
Both of them have spent so much time trying to manipulate me that even though
it upsets me to hurt them, I could easily let them go. But Ucchan has always
been my friend. She really hasn't pressured me to date her, she's never tried
to seduce or trick me. I just thought she remembered me as an old
friend and wanted to remain friends. I feel like I've been manipulating her,
using her feelings to get things. It feels, I feel... dishonorable. I don't
love her, not like I love Akane, but... She was my friend. I don't wanna lose
her."
"Ranma, how do you want things to be?" Dr. Tofu said, softly.
"I... I wanna make things right between Ucchan and me again, I want to tell
Akane I love her I want to get rid of Shampoo and Kodachi, and I want to be a
whole man again." Ranma said, after a few minutes thought.
"First, Ranma, I have to tell you that I don't think what happened with
Ukyo's cart was your fault. You were six, and hardly knew what was going on.
Second, I think that the best thing you can do for Ukyo is try to give her time
to heal. Let her know that you'll always want to be her friend, but let her
have some time to think about what's happened. Its hard to get over your
first love, and she obviously had a lot more than affection invested in you.
You were a way for her to repair everything that happened with her cart and her
father. Perhaps getting your father to apologize and pay her back for the
stolen cart would help her restore her honor. Other than that, give her time.
She cares about you, and will probably be your friend again in time.
"With Shampoo and Kodachi, I think that the best thing to do would be to
firmly tell them you don't love them and never will. Don't give in and soften
the blow because they cry, that will just send a mixed message. Maybe you
should let Mousse beat you. Then your 'claim' on Shampoo would be transferred
to him. Kodachi... Kodachi is a very deranged girl. Give me a few days to
think about what you ought to do about her."
Dr. Tofu looked at Ranma to make sure he was still listening. Ranma had a
thoughtful expression on his face, and seemed to be considering his advice. Dr.
Tofu took a deep breath. Now it was time for the more controversial advice.
"Ranma, I hate to break it to you, but all the cures for your curse that I
know of are gone. I'll try reading some more books, after all, I can understand
Chinese and the most detailed books on Jusenkyo curses are in Mandarin. You
could try asking Cologne, but I doubt she'd tell you anything until you were
married to Shampoo and had started your new life in China. I have
to be honest with you, neither hold much hope."
Ranma, understandably looked very upset by this news, but just nodded. Dr.
Tofu took a deep breath. And now, the final topic...
"Ranma, if you love Akane, my advice is to just tell her. Don't put it off,
don't be afraid, just tell her."
"I wish I could," Ranma said, looking more than a little sad, "but Akane
would never listen to me. As soon as I'd said anything, she'd just whack me
skyward and watch me fly. And even if she didn't then I know Pops and Mr. Tendo
would be listening. If I told her, then I'd have to marry her, and while I
care, I don't think I'm ready for that."
"Ranma, I think you underestimate Akane's feelings for you, but if you
really feel so uncomfortable talking to her, try setting boundaries. And make
sure you set boundaries when talking to your father. That can really help"
"Boundaries?" Ranma asked.
"Setting boundaries for a situation is like laying ground rules. For
example, you might want to set a rule like, 'No reacting until I have finished
my sentence.' Things like that can make tense situations easier. I have a
friend who's a psychologist, and a few years ago I was having trouble with a
very difficult client. He told me that clearly stating the boundaries help keep
both parties in line. If you're worried, you should try it with your family."
"But..."
"No buts, Ranma. Talk to Akane. The rest will follow."
Ranma looked thoughtful as he got up and slowly started walking to the
door. At the last minute, Dr. Tofu realized he had forgotten something.
"Wait!" The doctor called, "I have one last thing to suggest."
*****
Ranma stood outside the door with a little, wooden nameplate, shaped like a
duck, for a very long time. He just paced and read the English letters which
spelled Akane's name. He didn't know what to do. He raised his fist to knock a
couple of times, but each time it fell back to his side before it made contact
with the door. He went over and over what he had planned to say, thought
through several different ways to say each sentence, each word. He took a deep
breath and raised his hand to the door. The knock sounded very loud compared to
the silence before it, he heard steps on the floor and looked at the door.
It opened, and Akane stood before him. He wanted so badly for everything to
go right that his words stuck in his throat, he tried a few times before he
said, "Akane, can I come in?"
Akane blinked at him with a strange look on her face.
"Alright, Ranma."
"A... Akane... I have something very important to discuss with you.
Please, I promise I won't insult you and so would you please not insult me? And
please, don't hit me until I have finished talking. Please?" Ranma said,
looking up at Akane with pleading eyes. She looked at him warily for a moment,
then nodded. She sat cross-legged on the floor and gestured for Ranma
to join her.
"I've felt this for a very long time. I haven't had the courage to tell
you, but... I always kind of hoped you knew, but... I just need to tell you
that, I... IloveyouAkane."
"Ranma?" Akane asked, her eyes wide open.
"I didn't agree to marry you just because of the nannichuan, I agreed
because I care about you. I need to know now, Akane. How do you feel about
me?" Ranma said, his eyes never leaving Akane's for a second.
"Ranma, I do care about you. I love you too." Akane said after a moment,
as her eyes grew wet.
Ranma looked at Akane for a moment, afraid that anything he would do would
destroy the precious bond that had just formed between them. She was so
beautiful, sitting there in a pair of shorts and a simple tee-shirt. Her short
hair framed her face perfectly. He was afraid that a wrong word, a wrong move,
could return him to the place where she no longer loved him.
He wanted his life to always be like this, the most beautiful, perfect woman in
Nerima, all of Tokyo, all of Japan, and possibly all of the world loved him.
But he couldn't stop himself. He reached out a hand to caress her face. When
he made contact with skin on her cheeks, he felt a start through himself, he
was so afraid she would slap him, but she simply moved her face so that his
hand cupped her cheek. He pulled her close to him, held her tightly, and felt
as she held him just as close. He could feel her breathe, could feel the way
she leaned her head against his shoulder. He pulled her into a position
from which he could look into her eyes, then kissed her gently on the lips.
"Akane, I really love you." Ranma said, looking up at her.
"Ranma, I really love you too." Akane replied, resting her head on his
chest. Akane then sat up and smiled at him, then the two sat for a while, just
talking and, knowing that it must be done immediately, plotting a strategy
against their parents. Neither had any illusions that their revelation of their
inner selves had been anything other than a public moment. Both knew that
Nabiki had probably noticed Ranma outside Akane's door and had set her
surveillance equipment to record every word, perhaps it had even been video
taped. Both accepted this as part of being around Soun and Genma. This didn't,
however, mean that they intended to have in insta-marriage. Neither felt ready
for that. Both felt that their marriage would come in time, but that now
was definitely not the time. As they readied themselves for the outbursts of
overjoyed family, and the inevitable marriage plans, they readied their counter
attack.
As they talked, they drew closer together. The plan was completed with
Akane in Ranma's arms.