132Disclaimers: I do not own Ranma, so I would appreciate if you guys called off the lawyers. Don't hate me because I'm talented . . . though I'm not.
Chapter Six: Harsh Reality
"What?!" Akane screeched. "Ranma . . . you better damn well start explaining yourself NOW!" She bellowed.
"What is there to explain . . . you hate me, I hate you. No way would we ever do . . . that . . . together," Ranma said simply, shrugging his shoulders in a non-chalant way.
"We . . . hate . . . you . . . can't . . . GET OUT!" Akane finally found a complete sentence that could come out.
"Akane . . . "Ranma started, walking towards her tentatively, not liking the water welling up in her eyes.
"Ranma, I said get your ass out of my room!" Akane screeched, starting to pound on Ranma's well-toned chest when he came into reaching distance. Her small fists did nothing to faze the experienced martial artist.
"Akane . . ." He called her name out again, trying to reason with her; silently pleading that she would see things his way. The salty droplets of water trailing down her smooth rosy cheeks did nothing to better the situation or help Ranma's resolve.
Finally Akane gave into the urge and threw herself at Ranma. Her arms wrapping themselves tightly around his torso. She burrowed her face into his chest, her tears bleeding through the silky fabric of his shirt. Ranma stunned for some moments, barely making out her curses of stupid hormones and damn mood-swings.
'Since when did Akane start cussing?' Ranma mused, coming out of his daze. Cautiously he wrapped his own arms around his tomboy fiancée. "Boy . . . what happened while I was on that training trip?" Ranma asked softly under his breath, but it was loud enough for Akane to hear.
"Wait . . ." Akane began, pushing Ranma away from her. "You're telling me you remember going on the dumb training journey . . . but you don't remember the night before!?" Her face was contorted with disbelief, and red from anger.
"Of course I remember the night before!" Ranma's voice boomed, echoing off the walls.
"Then this is some sick joke after all?!" Akane yelled, cutting Ranma off before he could talk.
"I told you that this wasn't a damn joke! The night before I left we had a fight –not that it's anything new- and I stormed off to Daisuke's house. I don't know what you think happened, but I'm going to tell you that it's wrong and you better forget it!"
"For . . . get . . . it . . ." Akane stuttered, stunned. Her eyes were wide as her mouth became slack. As Ranma began to approach her, his face holding concern for her lack of response. He placed a callused hand on her shoulder as an act of comfort, but all it did was make Akane snap out of her reverie. "Don't touch me!" Akane screeched, slapping his hand away and backing away with wild eyes.
"Akane . . . " Ranma said smoothly.
"Don't . . . don't you dare try to tell me that night didn't happen!" She screamed, becoming alive and livid.
"But . . . Akane, it . . . it did-"
"If it didn't Ranma, then what the hell is this?!" Akane yelled, yanking his arm forward and pushing it against her stomach. His eyes widened as he felt that her once flat stomach was now bulging. "What is it Ranma?"
"Boy . . . you should've laid off the food this summer Akane . . . getting fat is what happens," Ranma spoke, regaining his composure.
"You JERK! I mean it this time, get out!"
Before Ranma could say anything to protest, Akane's bedroom door flung open, the duck sign swinging dangerously. There standing in the door was a concerned Kasumi and angry Nabiki. Ranma gulped as the two usually emotionless sisters crossed into the room; Ranma could've sworn that the cheerful Kasumi sent him a glare full of knives.
"Akane dear," Kasumi's motherly voice started, placing a gentle hand onto Akane's shoulder. "You really should calm down, I could hear you yelling from downstairs. All this can't be good for the baby."
'Baby . . . there's that word again.' Ranma thought, anger spiking somewhat.
"Baby? What baby?" Akane asked incredulously, receiving shocked and disbelieving looks from her two sisters. "Don't look at me like that! It must be true! I mean I can't exactly have a baby when the father of my baby says that we never did it! Can I?!" Akane screeched, by now, Nabiki and Kasumi exchanged a glance, both silently agreeing that their younger sister was delirious.
"Akane, how about we all just sit down, and breath . . . then we can calmly discuss what is going on here. Also, please calm down . . . I'm almost positive it isn't healthy for the baby," Kasumi lectured as she maneuvered Akane onto her bed. Nabiki and Ranma situated themselves across from her on the floor, while Kasumi decided to sit next to her.
"Now, who wants to start and tell us why Akane has been up here screaming bloody murder?" Nabiki spoke in a monotone, but Ranma could hear the hint of annoyance underlying her tone.
"Before that, how about you tell me how Akane here thinks she's pregnant with my kid?" Ranma retorted, pointing an accusing finger at his fiancée. Akane crossed her eyes and stared down her nose at the offending finger before trying to reach out and take hold of it. Ranma retracted it quickly sensing her purposes.
"You know Kasumi . . . forget the nice talk, I think I figured out what went wrong," Nabiki's stoic voice rang out, cutting off any beginnings of a fight.
"You do?" Three voices called out in unison.
"Yeah, idiot Saotome over here decided it would be all cute to 'forget' what he did so that he doesn't have to take responsibility for the baby," Nabiki answered simply, shrugging her shoulders as if the information didn't faze her a bit.
"That's exactly it!"
"That is not it!"
Two voices yelled out together. Their words echoing off the walls.
"It is not!" Ranma shouted as he turned blazing blue eyes on Akane.
"Then what is it?!" Akane retorted, jumping off the bed.
"I still think the pudgy tummy is just fat you gained over the summer for being lazy!"
" I don't think that was very wise to say," Kasumi whispered to Nabiki.
"Then you would be right sister dear," Nabiki muttered back, watching as fire rose in Akane; a fire she hadn't seen since before school got out.
"Why can't you ever just believe me?!" Akane shouted. "First when I get a new bra, you don't believe my chest got bigger and now you don't believe getting fatter because I'm pregnant! Do you believe that I'm such a tomboy, that feminine things can't happen to me?!"
"If he's smart, then he won't answer," Nabiki whispered to Kasumi, who just nodded her head in agreement.
"What if I do tomboy?" Ranma sneered.
"He is . . . dead?" Kasumi whispered softly.
"Sis, just let me put it this way. Let's start making preparations for his funeral.
"Should I call the morgue now, or later?"
Nabiki just threw her a disbelieving look before snapping her attention back to the two feuding fiancées when Akane gave an angry cry.
"You JERK!" Akane screamed before taking out a trusty bokken from the umbrella stand behind her door. With one swift movement Ranma was hit and falling through the air and crashing into the door landing in the hall. He started to tumble backwards and roll down the stairs. "I hate you!" Akane shouted down at him before slamming the door.
x.x
"Oh my head," Ranma groaned as he took a seat at the breakfast table. He blinked his eyes in confusion as he noticed that the seating arrangement was different.
His dad was closer . . . a little too close for Ranma's comfort. He looked around to see that Akane was across from him next to Nabiki; rather than her normal seat next to him.
"Listen up lover boy, we discussed this, and Kasumi and I figure that when you bonked your head on that rock, you knocked some screws loose . . . not that there wasn't any loose to begin with," Nabiki announced, placing her rice bowl firmly onto the table.
"What are you talking about Nabiki?" Sound asked, looking up from his newspaper, mustache twitching in warning.
"Nothing, just that today is Akane's monthly check-up and we figured that while we were at it we would get Ranma checked. I meant, that was a nasty fall he took last night."
"I don't need to go any-" Ranma started, but held his breath as Sound Tendo sent him a warning look.
"I think it's a fine idea son," he said in a no argument tone. He knew more than he let on. His daughters might think him old, but he wasn't deaf. He heard everything this morning; the walls weren't as thick as everyone believed them to be.
"Excellent, we'll be leaving after breakfast," Nabiki informed before getting up and leaving everyone to themselves.
x.x
"Hey there Akane!" A tall, muscular man greeted as Akane and company stepped into the waiting room. The man's brown hair was held in a low ponytail and his glasses reflected his brown eyes more.
"Good morning Doctor Tofu," Akane greeted happily, before taking a seat from across a little girl.
"Hi Tofu. Look who decided to come back," Nabiki said, giving a curt nod towards Ranma's sulking form.
"Oh Ranma, so you're home. Did you want to check how the baby is doing?" Ono Tofu spoke, bustling around the room.
"Wha-" Nabiki cut him off by slapping a hand over his mouth.
"Of course he is," she gave a fake smile, steering him towards the seats. Ono just gave them a quizzical look before shaking his head in an 'I don't want to know' manner.
"Listen Akane, I need to finish up with a patient, but I'll be with you soon," Tofu announced.
"I understand," Akane smiled. Tofu gave her an appreciative smile before entering back into his examination room.
"Hi!" Akane gave a warm smile as she spoke to the little girl. The girl was around four or five with brown hair pulled up into pigtails and her blue eyes sparkling. She smiled back to Akane, who found her smile adorable because her tow front teeth were gone. "Why are you here? Are you sick?"
"Nope!" The little girl shook her head vigorously. "My mommy is having a baby! She says that when parents really want one and are good, then a big white bird will bring you one!"
'If only that were true.' Akane thought, unconsciously rubbing her stomach where her little surprise laid.
"Really, my sister here is having a baby herself," Nabiki brought up, placing a hand on Akane's arm.
"Wow, you must've been a really good girl to get one now! So when did the birdy come?" The girl asked innocently, a bright smile gracing her face.
"Well, you see . . ." Akane started but stopped as Nabiki slapped a hand over her mouth.
"Did a birdy not bring you the baby?" The girl got a confused look. Staring between the two sisters curiously. "Cause a birdy brought mommy one. So how did you get the baby then?"
"Well, you see . . ."
"My sister and her fiancé had sex." Nabiki's monotone voice cut Akane off. The girl got an even more confused look, Ranma's eyes widened in shock, while Akane reddened from embarrassment and anger.
"Nabiki!" Akane shouted. Before she could tell Nabiki off, Dr. Tofu and his patient came out.
"You can come in Akane," Tofu said, gesturing back to the room he had come out of. Akane gave him a grateful smile before going in. But she gave Nabiki a 'we'll discuss this at home' look. "You can come in too Ranma."
Ranma looked between the room and the mother who just joined her daughter. He listened as the little girl asked her mommy what sex was. He decided that now was a good time to escape. Nabiki seemed to be thinking along the same lines, for she dashed out of that office as soon as the words left the girl's mouth.
"Now," Tofu announced with a curious look as he closed the examination door. "Do I want to know how that three year old learned such an interesting word?" Both Ranma and Akane turned an interesting shade of red before shaking their heads no. "I thought you might say that. Now, let's start with you Akane, shall we?" The brown haired doctor asked before gesturing to the white clinic bed.
"Sure," Akane nodded, before making herself comfortable on the stiff mattress.
"Okay, let's just check how the baby is doing," he started, moving to Akane. He placed his hand on Akane's stomach and began to do difficult movements with his hands. "Great, everything seems fine seems fine. You're coming along fine. But remember, if you start to feel thins are out of place or that something might be wrong, you need to come tell me," Tofu said seriously.
"I will thanks," Akane nodded before getting off the bed with the assistance of Dr. Tofu.
"Now, let's see going on in your head Ranma," Tofu spoke, turning his attention to the pig-tailed martial artist.
"What do you mean?" Ranma questioned, a worried expression crossing his features.
"Kasumi called before you guys arrived. Said you have a problem of being a 'nut-case'," Tofu explained, putting quotes around the nut-case part.
"I do not have a problem. It's you guys that have a problem. All playing this sick joke, saying Akane is pregnant!" Ranma protested with a disgusted tone.
Dr. Tofu just stared knowingly at Ranma while Akane gave him a disgusted look.
"I'm heading home," she rushed out, pushing past him. Before Ranma could object she was already out the door.
"Here, have a seat," Dr. Tofu spoke; acting as if nothing had happened. As soon as Ranma sat, Tofu grabbed his head and found the bump that Kasumi had indicated would be there. "That's a pretty nasty bump there," he commented, noting Ranma flinching under his touch. "Well, I guess I have this figured out. You must have gotten temporary amnesia when you hit your head on that rock," Tofu proclaimed, making Ranma lose his composure and fall off the bed.
"I ain't got amnesia!" Ranma shouted, picking himself off the floor. "It's just a bump."
"But it's a rather large bump, and it's located on the head. Those aren't very good combinations. This could be like the time when you thought you were a girl and couldn't remember you were ever a boy. Except now you've forgotten everything there is to do about the baby," Tofu explained simply.
"There is no . . ." Ranma got cut off as Ono shoved a picture into his face.
"This is from Akane's last visit . . . we had done an ultrasound. Normally, you would wait until the fourth or fifth month . . . but Akane had . . . special . . . circumstances. Now this here . . ." His finger pointed to a small dot. "Is the baby. Now, you see. I proved to you there is a baby, though I can't prove that it's yours. Not yet anyway."
"Yeah . . ." Ranma spoke in a daze, staring at the picture. "Ow!" He suddenly shouted as he felt a pinch in his arm where a pinprick of blood was coming out. "What'd you do that for?!" Ranma exclaimed.
"Just a blood test. Your predicament is really puzzling, and I want to study it further," Tofu spoke as he put the blood sample into a cabinet. "You can go now." Before Ranma could get a word in edge-wise, Dr. Tofu was ushering him out the room and towards the exit. "Please stop telling Akane there is no baby. The stress isn't good for her or the baby. Besides, Akane is a young pregnant girl, and she's already at risk for having a child at a young age, and you telling her this is not good for her. You can keep the picture." Then the door closed and Ranma heard Tofu's voice greeting an old lady with a broken hip.
"So it's . . . true . . ." He muttered with a dazed look, looking at the small dot in the picture.
x.x
Ranma started on his way home . . . going very slowly. It took him a while to get the idea of a pregnant Akane through his head.
'Whose baby is it?' He thought, some anger flaming up in him at the thought of the baby being some other guy's. 'So if what everyone is saying is true, then that baby better be mine. That's the only option I'll put up with. But then again, if it's not mine . . . whose could it be. Can it be Ryou-' Hid thoughts were cut off by the sound of the oldest Tendo sister.
He thought, some anger flaming up in him at the thought of the baby being some other guy's. Hid thoughts were cut off by the sound of the oldest Tendo sister."Oh good, you're finally home," Kasumi spoke, Ranma sensed some relief in her actions and tone.
"Ye-" Again Kasumi cut him off.
"Where's Akane?" She asked, looking over his shoulder as if she would appear out of nowhere. "Did you come ahead of her?"
"No . . . she came ahead of me," Ranma replied, becoming confused as Kasumi paled and took on a worried expression.
"You didn't leave her alone . . . did you?"
"Yeah . . ." Ranma was getting more confused and impatient with Kasumi's non-sense sentences.
"We have to find her!" Kasumi screamed, losing her usual calm composure, pushing past Ranma and running down the street.
"Why?" Ranma questioned, taking off after her. 'Something must be wrong if Kasumi is acting like this!'
"Didn't you wonder why Akane was never left alone without Mousse or Ukyou?"
"It was to protect her from fiancée problems."
"That, but it was also to protect her from herself. She was worried that you wouldn't accept her after you found out about the baby. So she became . . . a little suicidal . . ." Kasumi stopped in her tracks when she saw Ranma jump a head of her, hopping over the rooftops of Nerima. " . . . Good luck."
A/N: YAY! Another twist in the story! Hoped you all enjoyed to story, and please review! Also thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. See you guys next time hopefully!