Sand Between The Toes
by Gie ([email protected])

*************

OI!! Oi? Is it actually her? Is she really...alive?? Why yes, it is, and she is! I feel really really bad
that I've not written anything in a gosh darn long time...*winces*...since July....inspiration has struck at an all time low--I want to do a lot of things, but I don't know how to get it down on paper/screen. Also things in the family department have brought me way down, too...so that doesn't help. But I promise, I'm gonna get on track. I **want to** get back on track...just be patient with me, please!

But for now, as I restart the ball rolling, here's a new chapter of my pet project. ATTR is my baby, Songfic series is my lover, ((Oi, baka ecchi Gie-chan!!)) but Sand is my pet. *pets it and Sand starts to purr loudly* ((I'm so weird....)) Oh welll...let me know what you think!!

Gie-chan

Sand Between The Toes: Chapter Two

******
The pair stayed in the water until it became too dark to see much of
anything. For the rest of the night, though, they stayed down at the beach until
the wee hours of the morning, walking, talking, holding hands and exchanging kisses
that were slowly, but surely, becoming more and more natural to them.

The next morning came all to early, and with it came the scorching heat once
again.

Kasumi and Nabiki sat in the dining area, waving large bamboo fans, trying to
give their heated bodies and faces some relief to the sticky air. "It's going to be
another hot one. I'm glad we decided to stay overnight."

Kasumi nodded in agreement. "If it is this hot here, I can't imagine what it
would feel like at home. Maybe we should stay another?" She poured herself and
Nabiki another glass of ice water. "Are Father and Uncle Saotome awake yet?"

She glanced over her shoulder, and scrunched up her nose at the snores
that came from the direction of the guys' room. "Can't you hear them? They're
dead to the world."

"So was Akane, when I last checked in on her. Yesterday must have
exhausted her."

"Or Ranma did." Kasumi jerked her head up, her dark eyes focusing on
Nabiki's. "Did you hear them when they came in last night, or actually, this
morning?" She shook her head. "Neither did I, and Seijitsu dropped me off here
well after two, and they weren't back then."

"Sounds like you had fun yourself last night, then." The curl of Kasumi's lips
was hidden behind the glass of ice water.

"I had fun, I admit that." Kasumi eyed the true smile Nabiki wore, not the
smirk she usually had spread across her comely features. "Seijitsu knew all the hot
spots, that's for sure."

Soun and Genma stumbled into the room, looking like they just woken up,
which they did. Both fell into their usual positions around the low table. "Good
morning, Father, Uncle Saotome," Kasumi greeted them and poured each of them a
glass of the cool ice water. "Did you sleep well?"

Soun nodded, rubbing his eyes with one hand, while grabbing for the
refreshing glass of water with the other. "It took me awhile to fall asleep, but
after I did, I didn't hear anything. Nothing like the sea to sing a man to slumber,
ne, Saotome?"

The large man grunted, squeezing several sliced lemons into the tall glass.
"Did you hear what time the boy came in?"

"It was after two, more like after three, since I got back at two and it took
me a bit to fall asleep," Nabiki answered him. Genma and Soun shared a glance
between them, and both nodded their heads in silent acknowledgment.

Kasumi stood up. "I thought we would have a light breakfast here, and then
we can eat on the boardwalk again later on. Does that sound good to everyone?"
The other three murmured in agreement. At that moment, Ranma trudged out of
the room. Kasumi smiled at the very tired-looking young man. "Good morning,
Ranma. I thought you would sleep later."

A large, jaw-cracking yawn answered her. "I thought I would, too, until Pops
decided to use me as a doormat." He leveled a dark blue glare at the larger male.
He yawned again. "So, what's the plan for today?"

"Light breakfast here, and then we'll have a big lunch on the boardwalk."
Nabiki re-iterated the plan for the barely-awake Ranma. She set down her fan on
the table and Ranma immediately picked it up and waved it in front of his own face.
"So, did you and Akane have a good time last night?"

He lazily opened one eye and peered at the middle sister. "Hmm?"

She sighed and snatched the fan back from his hands, ignoring his protest.
"I got back really early this morning--and you two weren't even back yet. So, what
were you doing for half the night?"

"Uh..." His eyes opened wider at her implications and he shook his head
wildly at the grinning family members staring at him. "What are ya trying ta say?
We didn't do nothin'! Why would I wanna do anything with..." He caught the
disapproving frown spread across Kasumi's face and closed his mouth.
"Awww...forget it."

"Nabiki, why don't you help me set the table and bring out the rest of the
food from the kitchen. Ranma, could you please go and wake up Akane. Can't let
her sleep the day away." Kasumi stood up and disappeared into the adjoining room.

"You're lucky this time, Saotome." Nabiki grinned evilly. "Next time,
though..." She let the threat hang in the air as she stood and followed her sister
into the kitchen.

Ranma grumbled to himself as he stood up as well, leaving the fathers to
mumble to themselves. He moved down the short hallway to the girls' room, talking
quietly to himself. "Why does Nabiki have to make accusations like that? Always
trying to make somethin' outta nothin'." He knocked on the door quietly. "Akane?
Are you awake?" He opened the door a crack and poked his head through the
opening. "Time to get up, Akane."

The sleeping girl murmured to herself and flopped over, her back facing the
pigtailed boy. He sighed and opened the door further, and entered the room. He
knelt next to the lightly breathing girl and took the opportunity to study the girl
that he was promised to. His eyes traveled over her small frame, barely covered
with a light sheet. His gaze started at the slender curve of her shoulder, rolled
down the gentle slope of her trim side and climbed back up the swell of her hips,
sliding down the straight, creamy line of her muscled legs, and then retraced its
steps back up to her mess of blue hair. He let a small smile escape at the beauty
of his betrothed. He didn't get many chances to study Akane in such a way, since
things were never this peaceful between them, even when they did get along.
There was always a father ranting something about joining the schools, or a
fiancee/rival knocking over the door. The chaos never went away--it just varied in
level.

He waited another minute, just watching her side move in rhythm with her
breathing before shaking her shoulder lightly. "Akane, wake up."

A small moan escaped her. "Leav...lon...mann...ng." She grabbed the sheet
and pulled it over her head.

He blinked a few times, trying to figure out what she said before shaking
his head. "C'mon, Akane, it's time to get up. I'm hungry."

"Don't wanna..." he watched as she clutched the sheet tighter.

An evil smirk made his lips curl as an idea came to him. He leaned close to
where her ear would be. "If you don't get up now, you'll be sorry."

The sheet stirred and a blurry brown eye peeked out from under the fabric.
"What are you going to do?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows?" He moved to the door and stuck
his head out before coming back in, shutting the door firmly behind him. He came
back to where Akane still lay, wrapped up in the sheet and knelt over her. "I just
might have to resort to this." He gently pulled the cloth out of her slack grip,
exposing her face. He leaned in, pressing his lips to hers. His eyes drifted closed
as he savored the softness of her lips as they meshed in perfect unison. When
they pulled away, he opened his eyes again to find two half-lidded pools of
chocolate staring back at him. "G' mornin', Akane."

A slow grin transformed her sleepy face into a ray of glorious sunshine. "G'
mornin', Ranma. That's the way you make a girl sorry?" A sound outside the door
made both snap their heads in its direction.

Ranma quickly stood up and backed away from the prone Akane. "I'll let you
get dressed." He slid open the door and peeked outside, but found no one listening
in the hall. "No one's out here."

Akane sat up. "For once."

"Yeah." He turned back to her and gave her a smile. "Hurry up, tomboy."
She stuck her tongue out as he slid the door closed behind him.

*****

After making a stop in the bathroom and then the bedroom, Ranma entered
the family room with everyone looking expectantly at him. "What?" he said as he
sat down in his usual spot.

"Took you long enough."

"What?" he said defensively, crossing his arms. "I also used the bathroom
and changed into different clothes." He took a sip of the water in front of him.
"It's not my fault that the tomboy can't wake up in the morning."

"Sure, Ranma," Nabiki drawled, rolling her eyes. "I think he doth protest
too much."

"Doth what?"

She waved her hand in dismissal. "Never mind, Shakespeare." She glanced
up as Akane entered the room. "It's about time, sleepy head. One would think that
you stayed out all hours of the night."

She frowned, leveling a glare at her sister as she sat down next to Ranma.
"Shut up, Nabiki. You're one to talk. You also came home fairly late, yourself."

"And how would you know that?"

She pointed up. "We were on the roof." She leaned in and gave her older
sister a rarely-seen evil smirk. "So, is Seijitsu a good kisser?" Ranma mirrored his
fiancé's expression. The pair of fathers gave each other identical looks of
surprise. Kasumi hid her giggle by starting to pass out bowls of rice.

This time, Nabiki was the one to blush. "Never you mind, Akane." She
grabbed her bowl from the quietly laughing Kasumi. "You keep to yourself, too."

The rest of the family dropped all relationship matters as they ate
ravenously. Soun sighed as he put his bowl down. "Something about the smell of
salt in the air gets a man's appetite working into high gear, ne, Saotome?"

"Indeed, Tendo, indeed," Genma agreed. "The fresh smell of the sea in the
morning does wonders for the soul." Soun made a noise of agreement.

Kasumi smiled at the fathers and turned her attention to her youngest
sister, who was looking at the local paper. "So, Akane, did you get your swimming
lesson last night?"

Akane jerked her head up, and focused on her sister. "What did you say,
Kasumi?"

"I asked you if Ranma gave you your swimming lesson last night."

A quick glance at the blush across the cheekbones of the male next to her
made the faint pink turn into a flaring red. "Yes, I did. He taught me how to float!"
Her excitement was obvious in her bright eyes. "It was fun, just rocking along on
the top of the water, letting the waves carry me back to shore."

Soun gave Akane a large smile, nodding. "Very good, Akane! Floating is one
of the first steps in learning how to swim. Especially since your main problem was
that your muscle was weighing you down. Good job, Ranma. You'll make a fine
sensei." The boy in question just mumbled and turned his head away in
embarrassment.

Akane blinked. "What do you mean, Dad?"

"About Ranma being a teacher? Well, when you and he finally take over the
dojo..."

She shook her head. "No, Dad, I mean about muscle weighing me down."

"I told ya you were built like a brick, Akane." Ranma ducked the punch
meant for his head.

"What he means, Akane, is that muscle is more dense than fat," Nabiki
interrupted the little spat, "so the more muscular you are, the better chance you
have at sinking." She winked at her. "Now all this time you thought Ranma was
insulting you with that comment. He was complimenting you!" She grinned at the
heavy blush that spread across the pair before her. "Or he could have meant that
you have a body shaped like a rectangle." Her smile got wider. "Either or."

"Nabiki, stop teasing them. Ignore her, Akane, she's just trying to goad you
into reacting." Kasumi shot the middle sister a glance and Nabiki shrugged genially,
and left the room to change. She shook her head and turned back to the table.
"Father, Mr. Saotome, why don't you gather all of the beach gear while Akane
helps me clean the breakfast table. Ranma, could you tidy up your bedroom, and
ask Nabiki to clean up in that one, too? Checkout time is in two hours, and we need
to make sure that everything is in the same state as how we arrived."

********

By the time they were done cleaning and putting everything back where it
belonged, it was well into mid-morning, and the early morning heat had turned into a
sauna. They quickly made their way back to the shoreline. And when they got
there, they discovered the were even more people there than they day before.

Akane gingerly stepped on the rare spots of sand inbetween the sea of
multicolored towels and bared bodies. She put a hand up to shade her eyes from
the burning sun. "Can you see anywhere to set our stuff down? I think every open
space is completely covered." She picked her way farther down the beach.

"Well, we would have been here a lot earlier if certain someone's didn't get
lost for two hours in the bar." She leveled her squinted glare at the two fathers.

"Have a heart, Nabiki," Soun turned a watery gaze to his middle daughter,
"it was hot in the rooms."

But before Nabiki could further berate her father, Akane shouted, "There's
an open spot over there! Ranma, go!"

"I'm on it!" The pigtailed boy leapt into the air, vaulting off various picnic
baskets, coolers, and the occasional beach ball. When he landed in the open area,
he quickly laid out the towels in his arms, marking their claim. The others slowly
picked their way through the masses.

Kasumi set down the picnic basket in her arms. "I will stay here for awhile,
and read, if everyone else wants to go enjoy the water. I'll watch our things."

"Are you sure, Kasumi?" Akane asked, shoving a beach umbrella into the
sand, and opening the brightly colored cloth with a push of a switch. "I can stay
here, if you want to go swim."

She shook her head, pulling out a large container of ice tea. "I'm fine,
Akane." She pointed in the opposite direction they came. "Besides, I think you and
Ranma are needed somewhere else."

When Akane turned around to see what her sister was talking about, she
smiled at the large group of small children from yesterday running in their
direction. "It looks like we might need to make repairs on the city, from last
night's tide." She turned to Ranma, a wide grin on her face. "Ready for more sand
between the toes?"

He grinned back. "And in the ears and up the nose." He held out his hand,
and she immediately took it. "C'mon, let's go meet 'em half-way."

The others watched the pair of martial artists stirred up a sand storm as
they met the happy children, who immediately surrounded them, dragging them off
to play once again. Nabiki shook her head. "Do you think they realize what they
just did?"

"Not on the outside, I don't think," Kasumi mused. "But inside, I think they
are fully aware. It's good to see."

Genma and Soun exchanged a knowing glance. "It's about time they finally
admitted their feelings out loud. Took them long enough." Genma pulled out a large
binder overflowing with paper. "So, Tendo, what do you think of a fall wedding?"

The dark-haired male nodded gravely. "The leaves turning would make an
excellent backdrop."

"Father, Uncle Saotome," Kasumi admonished them, "are you forgetting your
promises? You agreed that if they admitted their feelings before they graduated,
you would let them go at their own pace, and set the date."

"But Kasumi, they don't know that." Soun whined.

"Daddy, think about it," Nabiki crossed her arms. "Would you rather have
Ranma and Akane be happy on the most important day of their lives? Or would you
want them upset, being forced into something they aren't ready for? You do
remember what happened at the last attempt forced upon them."

"But, the schools..."

"The schools will be united, Father," the eldest daughter patted her father
on the shoulders, comforting him. "They're still too young to be worried about such
responsibilities. Give them a few years to mature a bit more."

Soun glanced between the two opposing sides: his daughters and his partner
in plotting. Then he thought about each case scenario.

He sighed, his eyes become wet with moisture. "I think it would be best to
let them decide."

"Good decision, Daddy," Nabiki drawled. She looked around and her eyes
brightened when she caught sight of a familiar face. "Well, I'm off to see if
Seijitsu actually knows CPR." She waved as she strolled down the beach, in search
of her intended prey.

Genma put an arm around his sobbing friend. "Cheer up, Tendo. Looks like
we have some spying to do." The crying male perked up at the suggestion, and soon
they disappeared in the same direction as the middle daughter.

Kasumi sighed and picked up the large binder shaking her head as she hid it
back in the picnic basket. "Well, that was a close call." She picked up her book and
enjoyed the faint breeze.

********

Further down the beach, Ranma and Akane were just finishing up with the
repairs to their sand-made town and were in the midst of a sandball throwing
contest with the kids. Which actually meant that everyone was ganging up on the
hapless Ranma.

Akane giggled as the pigtailed boy fell under the pressure of four kids
clinging to his legs. She moved close to his head and pinned his shoulders down.
"I'll hold him down so you bury him, okay?"

"Akane! Aww, no fair!"

She stuck out her tongue, looking at him upside down. "Is too fair, for the
drowning earlier."

"Well, I'm not goin' down by myself!" Before she could catch on, he pushed
his body up with one leg, and grabbed the shocked girl with his arms, flipped her
around midair before catching her against his chest as they landed in the shallow
pit made earlier from their digging. The children, now realizing they had two big
kids to bury, instead of one, quickly doubled their pace, squealing in laughter at the
feeble protests that spurted in-between heaping pailfulls of wet sand.

Then they ran away, leaving the pair of buried teenagers to their own means.

Akane spat out a mouthful of wet sand, grimacing at the taste. "Where'd
they go?" She tried to look around, but she couldn't bend her head back far
enough to see around her. It also didn't help that she was buried face down, so all
she saw was Ranma's grinning face. 'Well, maybe not that bad of a view,' she
thought to herself, a cheesy smile forming over her features.

Ranma was thinking along the same lines. They were buried fairly deep, but
not too far down, so they couldn't get out by shifting around a few times. He was
enjoying the close and intimate position they were in, but the wet sand was doing
nothing to cool his inner core as it heated hot with her proximity. He took
advantage of how close their mouths were, pressing his lips to hers. He savored
the taste of her, the salt from the seawater mixed in with the slightly sour taste
of the lemon from the ice tea. He let a groan escape as her tongue brushed against
his, the pliable muscle dancing across sensitive taste buds. He tightened his grip
around her, crushing her muscled body to his as lusts quickly overrid the thought
of being in a public place.

Akane was also lost in the heady sensation of his warm chest pressed
against her own. Her fingers curled around the end of his pigtail, tugging slightly
when she broke their liplock. "Ranma..."

"What?" He breathed heavily, catching up on lost air. His blue eyes were
almost purple with barely restrained emotion. They roved her face greedily,
devouring the heated blush that turned her lightly burned cheeks a darker red.
"Why'd you stop?"

She let her head drop slightly, and nipped his chin, following the strong line
of his profile with light kisses. He closed his eyes, groaning at the assault.
"Ranma...we're in the middle of a beach, remember?. A public beach."

He groaned again, shifting slightly, creating cracks in their hard sand shell.
"Why are you remindin' me? You're the one kissin' me, now." She lifted her head
and he opened his eyes. "Why'd you stop? I didn't say I minded."

"Ranma!" She rolled her eyes and let her head flop back down next to his,
gaining a mouthful of sand in the process. She turned and spat it out again.
"Stupid sand." She focused her eyes on his profile, his cheek within inches of his
own. "What if someone saw us?"

"Like who?" He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I don't care if
some stranger sees."

"I do! Or what if it's our fathers? We'll be married by the end of the day."

He sighed and looked back up into the sky. The few puffy clouds that
floated in the blue expanse slowly turned into the faces of their fathers leering
down at them. A hard shiver quivered throughout his body and he quickly sat up,
breaking their cocoon of sand. "Ugh, I just got an awful image."

"Of what? Me in a wedding dress?" Akane growled, pushing her way out of
his grasp. She stood up and rubbed herself down, trying to get all the sand off.
She growled again and stomped down the beach to the water, intent on getting
clean from the sand.

"Akane, stop!" He stood up quickly, ignoring the sand pouring from him and
bolted after her. "You're jumpin' to conclusions! That's not what I meant!"

"Then what did you mean? That I'd make a horrible wife? That your life is
over?" She stomped into the water, causing bigger waves than what was crashing
upon the shore. She waded out to about chest deep and plugging her nose and
closing her eyes, dunked her head under the water. After a moment, she came
back up and shook her short hair free of excess water. "That you'd be better off
with another of the girls?"

He moved in front of her, grabbing her shoulders so she couldn't turn away.
"Where in the hell did that all come from? Damn it, Akane, are you going to let me
explain, now?" She glared at him, tears clouding up the corners of her eyes, but
she said nothing. He sighed and lowered his hands to her elbows, bringing her
closer to him. "You're blowin' everything outta proportion, like normal." He let go
of one arm and poked her in the nose. "Just listen. What I meant is that I
pictured out fathers leerin' down at us while we were lying there. Nothin' about my
'life being ruined' or anything stupid like that. I haven't even given any of the other
girls a thought for a long time." He smiled down at her. "My mind has been
completely focused on you, for some silly reason."

She sniffled. "Ranma..."

"I'm yours, Akane, and you're mine. No one else can fit into this, okay?" He
wiped away the mixture of tears and seawater from her cheek. "Okay?" His grin
got bigger when she nodded. "Alright. Now, I think it's my turn to be comforted,
since you accused me of thinkin' weird stuff." He closed his eyes and faked a
sniffle.

She rolled her eyes. "I'll give you a comfort, all right." She pushed him
backwards and laughed as he floundered around, trying to regain his balance and
finally fell over backwards, disappearing under the surface. She stopped laughing
when after a few moments, he didn't come back up. "Ranma?" She looked around,
trying to spot him amid the murky water. The ground had been stirred up by their
movements and made the once clear water cloudy with sandy bottom. "Where'd you
go?"

A slight tickle on her ankle made her start. "Wha..." was all she got out
before she was pulled under the water. A second later she re-emerged, spluttering
out a mouthful of water. "Ranma! Get up here, now!"

Laughing blue eyes surfaced on her command. "That wasn't funny!" she
accused him, wiping the stinging saltwater from her eyes. "I could've drowned!"

"Then I could give you CPR," he slowly rose from the waves, mere inches in
front of her. "You know, that mouth to mouth lifesaving thing." He moved closer to
her, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her unresisting frame into his embrace.

She snorted, her dark eyes rolling around at his phrase. "That's a real
technical term. 'Lifesaving thing.' You should be a doctor." She leaned forward,
kissing him soundly. "Maybe I better show you how in case you would have to use it
one day." She wrapped her legs around his waist, returning the embrace.

"Maybe you better." Ranma chuckled deep in his throat as he enjoyed her
lips on his. He lowered them into the water so everything but their heads were
submerged, becoming two dark dots bobbing in the gentle waves.

*****

The rest of the morning passed uneventfully. Then came the afternoon...

*****

Everyone regathered early in the afternoon at their spot of sand, ready and
eager for lunch. Especially Ranma, who was pacing back and forth in anxiety.
"Where is she? I'm starving!"

"Calm down, baka," Akane snorted, brushing out the tangles in her wet hair.
"She's only a little bit late."

"Well, it's a little bit too long." He stopped pacing for a moment to stare at
the back of his fiancé, watching as she carefully picked at a snarl, pulling out a bit
of green seaweed. He grinned as she made a disgusted sound, then resumed his
pacing. "Come on, Nabiki! Where are you?"

"I'm right here," the one in question replied, arms crossed as she smirked.
"The question is, where are you? I thought we were going to meet on the
boardwalk. Seijitsu is waiting there for us."

"Finally! I'm starving!" He grabbed Akane's hand and started to run to the
strip of restaurants, dragging her behind.

"What's his hurry?" she asked as the fathers walked in front of her and
Kasumi.

Kasumi smiled and shook her head. "I think he worked up an appetite playing
in the sand with Akane earlier." She giggled. "Did you see them get buried by
their little friends?"

Nabiki shook her head. "I haven't seen them since we got here. I was with
Seijitsu the entire time."

"Will he be joining us for lunch? I thought he was working today?" Kasumi
gave her sister a knowing smile. "Did he teach you CPR?"

She nodded, ignoring the look and the last question. "He is working, but it's
his break right now."

They reached the spot where Seijitsu, Ranma, and Akane waited for them.
"Where are we gonna eat?"

Akane pointed down the strip. "What about the seafood place around the
corner? I'm in the mood for crab legs." Everyone agreed and as a group, they
made their way to the restaurant.

But when they rounded the corner, a swimsuit-clad figure waited for them.

Everyone stopped suddenly, surprised by the arrival of the familiar face.
"Hello, Ukyou," Kasumi smiled at the dark-haired girl, "are you here to enjoy the
cool breeze as well?"

"Something like that," the girl ground out between clenched teeth. "Ranma,
I'd like to talk to you, please."

He glanced at Akane, who shrugged, and they watched everyone else go in.
Ranma growled when Nabiki called over her shoulder that they weren't going to
wait for them to order. When it was only the three of them, he asked impatiently,
"What is it, Ucchan? I'm kinda hungry."

She crossed her arms. "I thought you were going to Point Beach?"

"Uh," he glanced at Akane again, but she just rolled her eyes. He wasn't
going to get any help from her. "I don't remember telling you where we were
going."

"You didn't. Nabiki said you were..." Ukyou sighed, rubbing her eyes in
realization. "Well, I just answered my own question, didn't I?" She looked around.
"When I realized you weren't at Point, since it was closed for a party, I went to
some other beaches, thinking that maybe you changed the location. I even came
here yesterday, but I couldn't find you. So I went back to Nerima, thinking that
maybe you went home, but you weren't there either."

Ranma chuckled weakly, "I guess not." His stomach growled loudly, bringing
his attention back to the main task at hand. Food. "Is there something you
wanted, Ukyou? 'Cuz I think my stomach is gonna start eating my guts if I don't
get some food in me soon." Akane rolled her eyes again.

"Wanted? I, uh..." she blinked a few times, her frustration slowly clearing
her sight. She looked, really looked at the position of Ranma and Akane, how close
they were standing next to each other, and then her attention was drawn to their
clasped hands. "What...what's going on, Ranma?"

"Going on?" He followed her path of sight to his hand holding Akane's, and
he swallowed hard. "Um...what do you mean?" He started to let go of her hand, but
Akane refused to let him, tightening her grip on his fingers.

"Mean? What do I mean? Stop acting like a girl!" Ukyou's anger returned
full kilter. "Don't tell me you've finally grown some balls and decided!"

Ranma's face reddened at the insult. "Who are you to say anything about
what I decide? It's just that--my decision!"

"And does your decision end with wanting to be 'just friends'?" she sneered
at the lame line. "I don't want to hear any crappy excuses, Ranma! You owe me
everything, are going to marry me, and only me!"

"Want? You want? I owe...?" His anger started to get the better of him.
"Do you want the truth? You know what? I do owe you something, and it's the
truth. I have decided! And it's Akane--it always has been. Not you, not Shampoo
or any other girl that thinks they can decide my fate for me. And do you know
why?" Ukyou started to answer, but he cut her off with a sharp arm movement.
"It's because Akane never demanded or forced anything from me. She never
demanded I become her husband. She never forced me to come back to her village.
Never tricked me with stupid plots and magic tricks. The only thing she asked of
me was to be her friend. Something I thought I already had with you."

Ukyou's face had gotten paler and paler with his tirade. "But we've been
friends..."

"You mean when we were six years old? When I thought you were a boy?"
He snorted. "Things change and people change, Ukyou. I have never thought of you
as anything other than a friend, Ukyou. Have I ever said that I want to date you,
or get closer in any other way than bein' friendly?"

"You said...you said I was cute..." her voice started to tremble.

"So what?" His arms flailed around, and Akane had to duck to avoid getting
whapped in the head. "Does that mean I'm madly in love with you? If I think a dog
is cute, does that mean I want to marry it? Of course not." He sagged, seeing his
friend near tears, anger rapidly deflating. "Relationships aren't based on such
shallow things, Ukyou. They're made from things that are...that are indescribable.
Things that make your stomach twist, and your heart race. People who force you to
actually remember to breathe. Your insides ache when they are in sight, and
they're all you think about when they are gone."

He sighed and shook his head. "Go home, Ukyou. Go home and find the one
that makes you feel that way, and do those things. Find someone who will care for
you in a way that I will never be able to."

"But, I love you, Ranma." Tears fell down her cheeks.

"No, you don't, Ukyou. You love...you love the idea of me. How can you go
from hating me for ten years, to love in a heartbeat? Because I said you were
cute? It's not possible." His voice was an earnest whisper now. "Go home, Ukyou.
Please."

The darkhaired chef stared at the pigtailed boy and the shorthaired girl for
several heartbeats, then burst into a torrent of tears. She turned and bolted away
from the pair, a sand storm swirling in her path. When the dust settled, and the
air was clear, Ukyou was gone.

*****

They were silent for several moments, staring off into the mass of brightly
colored sea of cloth, loking for any sign of the ponytailed girl. Finally, Ranma broke
the silence with a loud sigh. "I hate myself."

"Don't say that, Ranma," Akane leaned against his arm, clutching it tight to
herself. "She needed to hear it that way, or she would have never listened. She'll
be better off in the long run."

"I should've done it a long time ago," he sagged against her, curling his arm
around her body, taking comfort from her presence. "But I sounded so mean.
She's my friend; I never wanted to hurt her."

Akane didn't know what else to say, so she just held him as he mulled over
his outburst. But their attention was brought out of their musings when Ranma's
stomach reared its ugly head again. He groaned and rubbed the offending spot. "I
think I'm gonna die if I don't get some food in me soon!"

Akane chuckled softly, and pulled out of his embrace. "Come on, then. Let's
go feed the monster." She gave his hand a squeeze and led him inside.

But as they passed the threshhold, he paused in the doorway, giving the
beach one last search before following his fiancé inside.

*******

Lunch passed fairly quiet, since just about everyone in the restaurant and
the surrounding area heard the fight. No one commented on it at the table, which
was a relief to both Ranma and Akane. They really didn't want to explain the
details of the confrontation, and get the fathers in the mood to discuss wedding
plans. The fathers, for once, ignored the relationship of Ranma and Akane.
Instead, they grilled the newest person at the table, Seijitsu.

The poor boy wasn't prepared for the interrogation, and instead of dying a
quick death by questioning, he excused himself early, explaining he had to return to
his job of lifeguarding. He did, though, get a public promise from Nabiki to stop by
his station to say goodbye before they left.

Akane and Kasumi immediately teased their sister, taking advantage of the
blush that highlighted Nabiki's high cheekbones.

After lunch, they decided to take advantage of the time they had left
before they needed to meet the train for the ride home. Kasumi and Nabiki
wandered over to the shops, and the fathers headed straight for the large
umbrellas set up near a portable bar.

Akane mentioned that she really didn't know how to swim yet, so grudgingly,
Ranma agreed to give her the next lesson.

"But first, I gotta change," he said, pointing to his clothes.

She was confused. "Change into what?"

"I think the soap is about to wear off," he explained, heading towards the
bathrooms and changing area. They stopped by the female side. "Can you check
and see if anyone is in there?"

Akane went inside to check, and discovering no one in there, she motioned
for him to enter. When he went into a shower stall, she left the building to guard
the door.

A few minutes later Ranma emerged, wet and female; the same green and
black-striped swimsuit covering his generous frame. A quick look around noted no
voyeurs, so he leaned over to peck Akane on the cheek. "Thanks. C'mon, let's go
teach you how to swim."

As they made their way into the water, Ranma explained what he was going
to do. "Okay, we're gonna do this in baby steps, alright? First, show me how you
can float on your back, without my help." She nodded and did so on the first
attempt, her legs and arms barely sinking under the surface.

"Good!" he beamed at her, proud of his student. "Okay, now stay floating,
and I'm gonna pull you out into a little deeper water. Just under the chin, so don't
panic, okay?" Akane nodded slightly, not wanting to lose her concentration. She
could feel the water separating around her head as Ranma towed her out into
deeper waters by her shoulders.

"All right. Now, stand up, Akane, I want you to watch me do this first. This
is called the dead man's float. It's basically the same thing, but the other way
around, with your face in the water. All ya do is lean forward a bit, with your arms
loose in front of you and push off gently from the bottom, so your legs dangle in
the water. Like this." He demonstrated the float for her, letting his legs dangle
underneath him and his arms float in front of his head.

Akane watched him rock upon the waves for a monent, then tapped him on
the shoulder to come back up. "I think I got it," she said. "Like this?" Slowly, she
stretched herelf out on the water, and with a big gasp of air and a little push of
her feet, she sank her head and hoisted her legs off the sandy bottom. She did it
for a few seconds before she started to turn to the side. Immediately she flipped
herself into an upright position, sputtering a mouthful of water as she resurfaced.
"Was that right?"

Ranma laughed, bouncing on his toes in excitement. "Yes, yes! That was
great, Akane! I can't believe you got it on the first try! Awesome!"

She beamed at him, excited to get something right. "It was easy! I just
kept thinking I was in the bath, and not in the sea. It made it a whole lot easier to
concentrate. Can we do something else?"

"Sure! I think we can move on." He looked around and spotted something on
shore. "I'll be right back, I'm gonna go get a prop. You practice floating, okay?"

She watched with envy as he dove under the water and swam rapidly to the
shore. "Someday, I'll be that fast," she vowed to herself. "But first things first:
floating." Again, she cleared her mind and thought herself in the bath as she
dunked her face into the water.

She got so relaxed she barely felt Ranma tap her on the shoulder. "And I
was just having fun!" She stared at the large piece of white...foam? "What's
that?"

"This is your learning prop," Ranma explained. "It's actually the top to a
styrofoam cooler, but it will work just as well as anything." He let it go and they
watched as it bobbed along with the waves. "See, it floats." He grabbed it before
it got away. "Now, I'm gonna show you how to kick."

"I already know how to kick."

He rolled his eyes. "But this is different. This is kicking so you can propel
yourself in the water, which is completely different than anything else. And now
your floating lessons are going to come in handy. That's why I taught that to you
first."

For the better part of the day, Ranma progressively taught Akane the
different parts of swimming, not moving on to the next step until she completely
understood and performed the task. After awhile, the crowd got thinner and
thinner, and soon they were the just about the only ones left in the water. But
they did have an audience of four on the shore.

Soun was creating his own lake to swim in as he watched Ranma patiently
showing Akane how to coordinate her breathing with her arm strokes. "My little
girl has finally learned how to swim. What a proud day this is!"

Nabiki glanced at her wrist, checking the time. "If we don't hurry, we're
going to be late for the train. We already missed the first two back to Nerima.
The next one leaves in less than an hour."

"I suppose it is time to go." Kasumi walked up to the edge of the water and
cupped her hands to her mouth. "Ranma, Akane, it's time to go home, now."

Both looked up at the voice and waved their hands. "Hang on a sec," Ranma
called back. He turned to Akane, and she nodded her head. Ranma yelled out,
"Okay, everyone, watch this!"

Five pairs of eyes watched with growing excitement and pride as Akane
slowly, but surely, did a very splashy front crawl to the shore; Ranma side-crawling
next to her. And as they reached the end of swimmable water, everyone splashed
into the shallows, encircling them both with hugs and congratulations for a task
once thought impossible to complete, but now concquered with impossible spirit and
determination.

*******

As they settled into their seats on the train ride home, Akane snuggled into
Ranma's shoulder, wrapping her arms around his once again male form. "I can't
believe I was swimming! You don't know how much I was both dreading and
anticipating this."

He nodded his head, smiling down at her. "But you did it. I'm real proud of
ya, Akane. You did good."

She grinned back at him. "I had a good teacher, too."

"Well, I told ya Saotome Ranma never loses, ne?" They both laughed at his
ego.

Akane rubbed her face against the warmth seeping from his white tank top,
yawning tiredly. "Maybe someday I'll be able to go out for the swim team. This
time, on my own merit."

"Someday, maybe," he agreed with his own jaw-cracking yawn. "You'll have
to practice a little bit more, though."

He ran his fingers through her still damp hair, a silly grin on his face as he
remembered just all that went on in the past two days. "And you didn't want to
come to the beach."

********************

There's chapter Two! I don't know if I want to do another--it seemed like a good ending, ne? Maybe if inspiration hits me at some point. **thwack**

^_~ ......ouch..........

Gie-chan