Box of Manhood 2.

Author:

“Are you sure…?” Ranma asked nervously.

“What do you mean am I sure? Am I sure that you…” She turned bright red as she trailed off, and then turned away from him. “You did…”

“Well… how was it?” He asked scratching his nose shyly; she turned and narrowed her eyes at him, like she couldn’t believe he was asking that of all things. “I mean… did you like it… with me…” He asked turning a bright red himself.

“I…” she stared down at the bed hugging her blankets tighter around her body. Before she had a chance to answer P-Chan burst out from under the bed and slammed into Ranma’s ribs.

“Ow, watch it pig.” Ranma grumbled, swatting the piglet away. He just jumped up and bit his hand viciously, his eyes burned with fiery hatred.

“P-Chan, what’s the matter?” Akane asked reaching out to him. He turned and looked at her, and his eyes filled with tears. P-Chan let go of Ranma and ran away squealing as he jumped out the window. Ranma looked over at Akane wrapped up in her blankets, she was lightly flushed all over and she seemed to be glowing. Poor Ryoga, he thought shaking his head. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d ever found Akane in bed with somebody… he thought absently. A long silence stretched over the room and they both avoided looking at one another.

“I should probably go…” he said shyly, collecting his clothes and putting his pants on as fast as humanly possible. Akane looked over at him with wide big brown eyes, almost longingly. “I mean… you want me to go, right?”

“You really don’t remember?” She asked hopefully, he shook his head and her heart sank. He frowned at the drop in her expression.

“Akane, I—”

“You should go…” she said turning to look out the window. Before he left he could have sworn he heard her sniffling. Ranma held his shirt tightly as he opened the door and closed it soundlessly behind him. So they acted like nothing had happened and avoided each other over the course of the next week.

Furinken High

Week Akane had been extra snappy, all he had to do was open his mouth and Akane would send him flying across the room. She and Nabiki headed to school while he was still unconscious and by the time he got there the principle was pulling the gate closed.

“Ah, too late Bradda!” he said with an evil chuckle.

“I don’t think so!” Ranma said knocking him out of the way with a sliding kick and running through the gate just as the bells rang. He got into class just in time.

The lesson was so boring he had to force himself to stay awake. When he looked over at Akane she was just staring out the window sadly. He wrote down a note quickly and wrapped it around an eraser then tossed it onto her desk. She looked over at him and down at the eraser and unwrapped the message:

“What’s wrong?

-Ranma”

She gave him a funny look and wrote down a quick response:

“It’s none of your business

-Akane”

He frowned at her message and replied:

“Yes it is… you’re my fiancé

-Ranma”

He didn’t really know why that was his answer but somehow he knew that it was important. Akane’s response:

“Since when does that mean anything to you?

-Akane”

When he looked up she was glaring at him bitterly.

“Don’t be stupid, it always mattered. Now stop being so un-cute and tell me what’s wrong with you!

-Ranma”

Akane’s eyebrow twitched as she read his message and her response was taped on a text book that she hurled at his head.

“Leave me alone you stupid pervert.

-Akane”

By this time the entire class was following the volley of notes back and forth and the teacher was tapping his foot impatiently.

“That’s it, Saotome, Tendo outside.”

Hall

“This is all your fault,” she said staring down at her bucket of water.

“What do you mean my fault, if you hadn’t thrown that book…” He said rubbing the corner mark impressed on his forehead. “I was just worried about you…” he said sheepishly.

“Yeah well I’m fine so thanks for your concern,” She said coldly.

“Akane, why are you so mad at me?” He asked with a frown. “Is this about…”

“No…” she said staring down at her shoes.

“What do you want me to do? I can’t change what happened.”

“You don’t even remember,” she said bitterly.

“I wish I did… but I don’t,” He said making her blush.

“Just forget about it, okay?” she said, still staring at her shoes.

Lunch

Something fishy is going on, Ukyou thought as she looked over to Akane sitting quietly with her friends. She had been unusually quiet ever since they got sent out of the room.

Ranma sat on the roof, staring off into the distance and thinking about what he was supposed to do.

“Saotome, what are you doing up here?” one of the boys from his class asked.

“Thinking…”

“What about?” he asked sitting down next to Ranma.

“Miroku… have you ever had sex?” Ranma asked sheepishly, not looking over at the other boy.

“…why do you ask, are you and Akane getting serious?”

“No!” Ranma shouted, turning beet red. “why would I want to get serious with…” he trailed off when he thought about the night he snuck up on her in the training hall and she was lamenting the fact that he was never serious. “I don’t even know how to be serious,” he replied folding his arms with a frown.

“Do you want to be?”

“… I think she wants me to be and… I don’t want her to be sad anymore.” Ranma said looking over at his friend with sad eyes.

“Did something happen?” he asked and Ranma shook his head violently, trying to push out the memory of waking up with Akane’s warm body nestled next to his own. “If you want to be serious then you have to treat her like she’s your fiancée…”

“How do I do that?”

“Well maybe start with treating her like your girlfriend.” Ranma stared back at him blankly. “You mean to tell me that you have all these fiancé’s but you’ve never had a girlfriend?” Miroku asked raising an eyebrow.

“I went to an all guy’s school… and I was off training most of the time anyway… I’m not any good with girls,” He said softly.

“Maybe not, but they sure do like you.” Miroku said with a grin.

“So how do I treat her like a girlfriend?”

“Start with something simple… wait for her to go to school in the morning and walk next to her.”

“That’s it?”

“well, then you could try asking her to do things with you… like ask her to come with you when you go out with your friends or I don’t know, train with her.”

“And that’s supposed to be a date?”

“No you have to work up to a date.”

“Oh.”

“When you go out, if you see stuff that she might like then get it for her and give it to her as a small present. Maybe ask her to make you lunch.”

“I’m not doing that…” Ranma said with a frown. “Her cooking always makes me sick. You should try it its poison.”

“You could smile at her and let her know that you’re happy to see her.”

“That sounds weird…” Ranma said crinkling his nose up.

“Then just ask her out on a date.” Miroku suggested, his patients growing thin.

“But… what if she doesn’t want to?”

“You’re hopeless,” Miroku said shaking his head. Ranma frowned and started tracing designs on the roof with his fingers. “Just treat her like she’s special… let her know that you care.”

“I guess it’s worth a try.”