Thinking about plans. Everyone in their business to think about this conversation.
“How much did you hear?” Ranma's uncertain voice entered her mind. This conversation had given her food for thought too. “Did you mean that seriously?” He straightened up and sat down next to her on the bench. She looked intently into his eyes and thought she recognized something. It was not unfamiliar to her, but unfamiliar. "... yes, I mean, I find you brutal sometimes, but you ... can be cute too ..."
+ surr + "Do you have it all? I hope you haven't forgotten to put in a tape!" Soun's voice, which had spoken to Genma, slowly penetrated the consciousness of the two.They turned bright red and began to yell at each other and then at their fathers. Secretly they were both disappointed ...

~ ~ ~ ~ Flashback - End ~ ~ ~ ~

“Akane!” Nabiki's voice right next to her made her startle. “What?” “If you're not downstairs in 5 minutes, we'll start eating without you.” Nabiki's little sister gave a sigh. "Come on ..."
"And it takes me a long time in the bathtub, yes? And you? You have been in the water for over half an hour! Maybe you could have let me bathe a few minutes longer ..."
Ranma's argumentative voice penetrated Nabiki's mind through various calculations. He was obviously still mad at his father, who had thrown him into the garden pond when he came freshly dressed from his room. Kasumi had given him a kettle of hot water, but had been asked not to disturb Akane.
"Ranma, you smell a little like fish ..." she couldn't help teasing him, especially because pictures of an angry Ranma-chan were well received by Kuno.She had to see to it that she got money back into the household budget anyway. The last time she checked the finances, she almost got hit, almost 70% went for food for Ranma and his father! She thought of the conversation the two had had a few weeks after his arrival ...
Even Ranma's thoughts wandered in this direction for some reason, he still remembered the conversation they had had then ...

~ ~ ~ ~ Flashback ~ ~ ~ ~

As suspected, Nabiki found her little sister's fiancé on the roof. "Nabiki?" He recognized her without having to turn around ?! "What is it about?"
She sat down next to him and looked at him seriously. "About our finances. You and your father, especially your father, eat a lot. Kasumi goes shopping almost every day. You know that we practically use the money that I ... let's say" get "..., I've found out the embarrassing secrets of a lot of people, including our mayor.That has kept us afloat so far. But you do a large part of our finances. "Up until now, Ranma had not looked at her, but instead looked steadily up at the stars, which were partly covered by clouds.
"Akane's pictures for Kuno bring in a lot, but yours bring in as much and together with Akane's that's a lot of money for a household like ours. I asked Akane if she would be okay with putting pictures of her on Kuno sell. She agreed that I do that and she is fine with her.
So far I have also sold pictures of you and I sometimes didn't feel well. That's why I want to ask you if it's okay with you. "She looked at him expectantly for a positive answer. Slowly he turned his head to her. His eyes dark and serious." I am sorry that we are causing you so much trouble. Partly it is probably because I can't help irritating Akane and demolishing your house.I agree if you take photos of my female half, but I ask you: not naked or something. "Nabiki looked at him in disbelief. He had almost said the same thing Akane had made her a condition at the time. No undressed photos. She looked him in the eye and began to smile.
She turned away, still smiling, but couldn't help teasing him one last time before going to bed. She looked at him one last time and then said: "Oh, by the way, Ranma, Akane said that she thinks you are really cute when you are nice to her. Maybe you should be nice to her more often ..." observed with a grin she, how the red veil took a position on Ranma's face and did not want to be chased away again anytime soon. She was aware that she had now left him something to think about. Ranma liked Akane and vice versa, everyone knew by now except Kuno and you really couldn't count him.~ ~ ~ ~ Flashback - end ~ ~ ~ ~

* She said she thought I was cute. Hmm, Nabiki probably just came up with it back then to annoy or embarrass me.

> But what if ...? <

A little voice in his head didn't leave him alone. "Are you all right, Ranma?" it was as if she were standing right next to him, he already knew her so well. She had already asked him this sentence worriedly a few times when Ryoga had pulled him over the head, or Mousse, or Sham ... *
"HELLO !!! I don't mean to be rude, but you have to have something when you're sitting on the roof with a bright red head and don't notice when I'm coming or someone is talking to you ..."
"Oh, nothing, I was just thinking ..."
Akane sat next to him on the roof and watched a cloud slowly make its way to obscure another star.
Its optically massive size pushed itself lazily over the dark night sky, it spent its whole life moving across the sky and taking light from the world below.* What kind of nonsense am I thinking of? A cloud disappears after a while and besides, I don't care ... *
A gust of wind made her shiver. "I think I'll go back in, I can't .." She abruptly broke off the sentence. Ranma had put her arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to warm her.
*What is he doing there? * Her mind raced, but she didn't fight back. * Oh what, it doesn't matter, it is pleasant anyway, and I am no longer cold either. She snuggled up to him a little more.
“Don't go yet, Akane.” Ranma's warm breath close to her ear made her shiver, though not because she was cold. “Are you still cold?” She wanted to shake her head when she noticed the goosebumps that had spread across her arms. “A little.” Her voice was almost a whisper and she snuggled a little closer to him.
* Even if he means it in a friendly way, I want to enjoy this moment ... *In one swift movement, he pulled Akane onto his lap, with her back to him, and wrapped his arms around her from behind.
* Even if she only sees me as a friend, I want to enjoy this moment ... *
They sat there for a while, enjoying the quiet of the evening and being close to each other. The world seemed to stand still, only for her. The stars sparkled as ever. For everyone else it was an ordinary night, with ordinary stars and ordinary clouds in the sky.
But neither Akane nor Ranma were "all other people" ...
How long they sat like that, none of them knew, until suddenly the voice of Genma Saotome cried out for his son. "Ranma, where the heck are you? There are no breaks for a material artist, the whole life is a training so please come here on the spot!"
A sigh was heard from Ranma. His breath brushed her neck, caressing her skin until it evaporated in the cool evening air.Akane sighed inwardly - if Ranma didn't go to his father soon, he would be looking for him and soon find him. When the wedding would take place would then only be a matter of time and she didn't want to get married, not yet, not at the age of 19. In addition, she wanted to determine the point in time when she should enter into the "eternal covenant for life".
"I think I'd better go then, otherwise we'll be married in a few days ..." again Akane felt his breath on the neck and it gave her a feeling of security and ... longing. "Yes ..." She didn't want him to go now, even if ...
His clasped hands loosened and she felt the body move away from her behind her. The warmth disappeared. She heard his steps barely noticeably moving over the roof to the edge and with an ease that was his own, he jumped off the roof with one jump. A little later, cries of battle could be heard from him and his father.A splash told her that one of the two had landed in the pond. Since there was no screaming immediately after the splash, she assumed that the giant panda was complaining to his son about a wooden sign.
Akane slowly straightened up. She was cold and the roof wasn't the softest surface to sit on.
Staring on tiptoe, she made her way into the house. + Step + * Should I take another bath ... * + Step + * ... or rather right away ... * + Step + * ... go to bed ... * Lost in thought she went to the edge of the roof and jumped down in one sentence. With one last look at her fiancé and his father, she opened the door. Given her goosebumps, she decided to take a warm bath. The water was still warm so she didn't need to warm it up again.

(The bathrooms of the Japanese; in the city mostly communal bathrooms due to lack of space; are divided into two parts. One undresses in an "anteroom" and there also leaves the dirty laundry in a laundry basket.Either in the anteroom or in the real bathroom you wash yourself clean and then get washed in the bathtub. Showers are rarely used or not used at all. Often there aren't any.
The tub is usually about twice as big as a standard bathtub with us, the water is heated directly in the tub - I think.
The Japanese often bathe several times a day, at least once.
Another very important comment from me! ^ _ ^; )

* grrr, why did he have to think of training with me now! For the past few months he hasn't really cared about whether I train in the evening. Otherwise it was enough for him if he woke me up in the morning (we know how ^ _ ^;). *
With one furious blow, Ranma threw his father into the pond.
* Have you already gone in? Hopefully, otherwise she'll catch a cold! *
The angry looks and signs of his father, ° son, what do you think of! ° + twipp + ° How can you do that to your father !?° + twipp + ° You don't have enough respect for age! °, he ignored and went thoughtfully up to the bathroom.
The tapping of light footsteps in the bathroom made him pause "Akane, are you in there !?" "Yes, please wait, I'm