Her legs hurt.  She was running.  Finally, she collapsed, her 
stomach muscles tightening painfully.  She slammed her fist against the 
sidewalk once and felt the cracks spreading through the concrete.  "I... 
I'm not gonna cry... I won't!"  She gasped, and wiped angrily at her 
eyes.  

	"Ranma... why?"  

	She threw away the brown wig, curled up and wept.

---
The Nikholas F. Toledo Zu
presents

Ranma 1/2:  The Setting Moon

String-Bean Swing

it's a Ranma fanfic 
by Nikholas "Rain Man" F. Toledo

This should be the last of the three stories occurring in this fanfic 
continuity.

---

	"Darling!"  She bounced up to him, every step charged and quivering 
with happiness.

	"Ahh..." the boy answered uncomfortably as he scratched the back of 
his head.  

	The other girl turned away before she could see them embracing.  
"Hello, Hikaru-chan... You and Kasuga have fun at the concert, alright?"

	"Madoka, why don't you come with us?" she bubbled expansively as 
she tugged on Kasuga's arm.

	"Ah... I have to work tonight."

	"A... Ayukawa..." he murmured half-heartedly as she began to walk 
away.

---

	"Kasuga remind you of anyone, Ranma-kun?"  Nabiki smirked at the 
other's discomfiture.  "It's obvious who Hiroshi and Daisuke patterned 
that character after..."

	"Akane's really getting into her role, isn't she, Ranma?" Kasumi 
whispered.  

	Glad for the interruption, he nodded, quietly.  "Her character's 
just a touch ditzy though, ain't she?"

	"Not unlike another fiancée of yours, isn't she?"  Nabiki pressed.

	Hiroshi turned back to their row, "Would you guys please quiet 
down?  The others and I put a lot of work into this..."

	Relieved when Nabiki stopped pushing, Ranma allowed himself to lean 
back, and relax.  The play WAS entertaining... and funny in certain 
moments.  Sometimes, he felt like slamming his fist into his head when 
the Kasuga character was being particularly indecisive, wishy-washy or 
idiotic... but it was sweet at times.  And you could feel the affection 
between Ayukawa and him... despite the way they had to watch themselves, 
had to stay far enough apart when they were together so that they would 
give nothing away... in the looks and half-smiles they would share... and 
the obvious anger in her eyes when he would do something particularly 
foolish.   

---

	"Here," the long-haired girl slid a cup over to him on the counter.

	Kasuga lifted his head, the dejection clearing from his face as he 
inhaled the fragrant steam.  "For me?" he murmured, smiling wanly.  "I 
thought you were mad... for my eating all of that chocolate today."

	"I'm still mad!  Ah... that hot chocolate... ah... was left over 
from earlier today.  Don't look so happy, you still have to finish 
cleaning this place up."

	"A-Ayukawa..." he whispered as they looked into each other's eyes.

	The door to the café slammed open, startling the two of them.  "Oi!  
Ayukawa... I just forgot my key... say, is that hot chocolate?"  The big 
man inhaled deeply.  "Ah!  The scent of fresh hot chocolate!  I hope my 
wife made me some..."

	"Master!"  Ayukawa blushed.

	Kasuga muttered, "Huh?"

	"We didn't serve any hot chocolate today, Kasuga-kun.  Ja ne!  I'll 
be seeing the two of you tomorrow..."  He grinned behind his beard once, 
before closing the door behind him.

	The young teenager looked intently at his cup.  Then they looked at 
each other again, and Ayukawa was still blushing when he raised the cup 
to his lips, and drank.

---

	Ranma didn't notice exactly when it happened, but he felt a hand 
slipping into his, the contrasting areas of rough and smooth a familiar, 
comforting surface.  He didn't need to look to know that Kasumi was 
smiling... and he soon found himself smiling as well.

---

	Ukyo glanced at her clock.  It was almost time.  "Konatsu?  Could 
you finish closing up for me?  I have to go somewhere."

---

	"It was... ah, nice... Akane."

	She frowned slightly.  "So you liked it?"

	"Well..." he shrugged.  "It kinda touched on a sensitive topic...  
But, yes, it was really fun to watch."  He chuckled, "Sometimes, some of 
the situations with Kasuga made me squirm though."

	"... I'm glad."  

	Ranma kicked off, and the creaking sound from the chains of the 
swing grew louder.  

	"Hmm... Akane?"

	"What?"

	"What did it feel like... getting into Hikaru's role?"

	She started swinging as well, as she looked up at the moon.  "It 
was... well, it was pretty easy, actually.  To be honest, Ranma, it 
wasn't a very challenging character to play.  Hikaru... she only 
pretended ignorance through most of the play, see?  She KNEW that Kasuga 
loved Ayukawa... she was only pretending... fooling herself.  So that she 
could be happy, not knowing.  All of the signs were there for her to 
see... she just didn't want to see them."

	They were swinging more or less synchronously, now.  Ranma turned 
to watch her.  She had a nervous look in her eyes... and her knuckles 
looked pale, closed around the chains of the swing.  The breeze was 
blowing through her short hair, and the moonlight made her skin seem 
almost translucent, made her seem to glow.  She was beautiful... and he 
wondered how he could have ever considered her less than that.  "That 
part at the end... when Hikaru found out...  You were pretty angry.  That 
wasn't just acting, was it?"

	Akane grinned.  "Of course it was, Ranma.  The anger... well, it 
was real.  I mean, all I had to do was think about all the other fiancées 
you used to have...  But it was still just acting."

	She reached out with her left hand, and caught his right.  She 
squeezed gently.  "It's a nice night, isn't it, Ranma?"

	"It is, I guess."  His eyes grew hazy, as he remembered.  "It's a 
clear night and all... windy, but not too much, warm, but not too much.  
The moon is out and it's quite bright...  There were times, ya know, when 
I was wandering with Otou-san through China, and the nights would be like 
this, crisp and clear... nothing blocking the moon or the stars."  

	"Maybe you could show me around there sometime..." she said 
lightheartedly, eyes shining.  "Just as a training trip, of course."

	Ranma's expression grew cloudy... pensive.  "A... Akane..."

	She turned to him.  "You aren't upset about Jinpachi kissing me, 
are you?"

	He sighed.  "N-no... Actually...  ah..."

	"You know... Despite the lights on the stage, and stuff... I could 
see the audience pretty well.  It was nervous, seeing all of those people 
looking so focussed... watching me.  It was wonderful..."  The smile left 
her lips.  She whispered, "I wish I couldn't see the audience quite so 
well though... sometimes."

	"Akane?"

	"So Ranma, do YOU think Hikaru knew that Kasuga actually loved 
Ayukawa?  Was she only pretending, or did she just honestly... not know?"  
She stopped swinging, and let go of his hand, which fell soundlessly to 
his side.

	He drew in a shaky breath...  "I think you'd know that best, 
Akane."

	"What I'm asking, baka," she smiled slightly, "is what you think.  
I already know what I think... what do you think?"

	"Oh.  Well, I think... I think," he stopped swinging, too.  No dust 
rose at his feet when he brought them to the ground.  "I think that 
Kasuga... he wanted to tell Hikaru, see?  He really wanted to.  But every 
time he tried... she would be so close to him and so happy...  And he 
couldn't bear to hurt her, see?  He didn't love her, but he did care... 
and so did Ayukawa."

	Akane shook her head slowly.  "So... why did he do what he did at 
the end?"

	"Because... because they reached the point where Hikaru could take 
him away from Ayukawa."  

	"... Oh."  She rested her chin on her palms, elbows on her knees.  
"It was Kasumi... who convinced you to tell Ukyo and Shampoo the truth... 
right?"

	Ranma nodded.

	"It took me a while to notice... how much happier she'd been in the 
past few weeks.  You know, for a while, Nabiki and I... we were so 
worried about Kasumi.  She'd been playing mother to us for so long... it 
hurt to see her getting tired... to see the dreams in her eyes dimming 
while she watched us walk off to school everyday.  But we still needed 
her... we did.  And the way the life was leaving her smile...  We tried 
to ignore it.  I mean, what could we do?  We were kids...  We'd just lost 
Mom... we didn't want to lose another.  So I guess," Akane laughed 
tunelessly, "we just started to ignore it.  I mean, we couldn't do 
anything about it... and Kasumi never complained.  So finally, we got 
used to her smile, the way it was... the way she always had it, and it 
never changed... and it never sparkled.  Her smile died... a few weeks 
after she realized that Dr. Tofu would always lose it around her... and 
that she would always be a housewife.  Of course, I didn't understand 
most of this back then...  We were young.  We needed something to believe 
in.  So we believed in Kasumi... in how she would always take care of us.  
Always...  You should have seen her before that, Ranma...  She was such a 
talented martial artist... and she was great in school.  She wanted to do 
so much, she was so full of fire... and it hurt to watch it dim in her... 
so we stopped looking."

	"Akane-"

	"Shh..." she interrupted him, mussing his hair affectionately.  
"Let me finish.  That's why it took me so long to notice how much she's 
changed again... because Nabiki and Papa and I, we all made it a point to 
stop looking into her, 'coz it hurt to see her giving up so much...  But 
two weeks ago... when I FINALLY managed to make a decent batch of 
brownies...  She smiled at me.  Oh, Ranma... it was like watching the sun 
rise.  And I cried... and she couldn't understand it, 'coz I'd finally 
succeeded, and she thought that I was crying because I was so happy... 
and I WAS, Ranma, I was happy... but not because of the stupid 
brownies..."  She sniffled, and shook off Ranma's hand when he put it on 
her shoulder.  "Please, Ranma... listen."

	"I am listenin', Akane..."  He scuffed his feet against the ground.  
"It may be hard ta believe... but I've always listened to you."

	She wiped her sleeve across her eyes, and ignored the dark spots on 
the beige cloth.  "I don't want to see her smile die again, Ranma...  Got 
it?"  She got to her feet shakily.  "And d-don't... don't you dare say 
you're sorry.  She's happy again... I haven't seen it in so long..."

	He nodded, and hung his head.

---

	"It hurts, don't it, sugar?" 

	Akane's eyes jerked open.  She hissed, "Go away!"

	The other sighed, and bent down, offering a handkerchief.  "Ranma 
told me it would be tonight.  I figured you would need someone to talk to 
about it... I guess I was right.  Sometimes, the jerk seems pretty 
thoughtless, isn't he?"  

	Akane sniffed noisily and took it, wiping her face roughly.  "I 
guess you would know...  He told me that he'd talked to you and Shampoo a 
few weeks ago...  Only, only I thought it was because of ME!"  She 
started to sob again.  "I thou... I thought he'd finally chosen ME!"

	Ukyo sighed, and slowly took Akane in her arms.  "Yeah... I was so 
sure he'd choose me, too.  But he didn't, did he?  And for the longest 
time, y'know... I thought it was my fault.  I thought, maybe I hadn't 
told him enough times, maybe I wasn't cute enough, maybe I didn't cook 
well enough or fight well enough... so many maybes, Akane."  She felt the 
other girl's arms tighten around her, clutching as she shook and sobbed 
into Ukyo's shoulder.  Ukyo rocked her back and forth, softly.  "Akane?  
Akane, it isn't your fault.  It isn't Ranma's fault, either...  He spent 
a long time, ya know... thinking about some way to break it to you 
gently... much longer than the time he spent worrying about me and 
Shampoo.  He... he does care about you, Akane... he does.  But he loves 
someone else."  

	She was starting to get misty-eyed herself... and they held each 
other for a while... quietly drawing what strength they could from each 
other.

--- the end

So what do you people out there think?  This and the two fanfics 
preceding it were written on the spur of the moment.  Actually, they were 
written when I should have been studying for my molecular immunology 
final instead...  They were mainly written because I felt like it.  This 
was a fairly spontaneous effort to get my mind off of a couple of 
depressing things.  So I hoped you liked it.


---

The Epilogue:

	"Who is it at the door, Nabiki?"

	Her elder sister smirked.  "It's Jinpachi.  He's got a huge bunch 
of flowers floating behind him... and I think they're for you."

	Akane arched an eyebrow.  "Really?"

	At that moment, they heard a loud cry from outside...  "JINPACHI 
OGURAAAAA!  PREPARE TO DIE!"

	The two sisters looked at each other... and started giggling.  

	"I guess some things won't change around here, will they?" Akane 
smiled.  

	"Nope.  And the fights are just as interesting now...  Espers can 
apparently do some really impressive attacks when they fight.  Speaking 
of which, sister dear - I've gotta go and set up a betting pool for the 
Jinpachi vs. Ryoga match.  Now, you get yourself dressed up... and I'm 
sure one of them's going to work up the guts to ask you out after they 
finish beating each other up.  So stop moping, okay, Akane?"

	"Who's moping?  Aren't you the upset one since Hiroshi didn't ask 
you out?"

	Scandalized, Nabiki blurted out, "I'll have you know that the poor 
boy was about to... except that Daisuke knocked him out first!"

---

	Ranma peeled an eye open, wincing only slightly at the sunlight.  
He smiled when he heard the laughter, a great weight seeming to lift from 
his shoulders.  "I guess Akane's feeling better..."

	"I hope you're feeling better too, Ranma..."

	His smile grew even wider when he heard her.  He turned on his 
side, and wormed his way closer to her under the sheets.  "Thanks for 
trying ta cheer me up last night."  He leaned over and slid his lips 
across her nose.

	"Hmmmm..."  She wriggled a little as his fingers slid through her 
hair, and down the curve of her back.  "I think I should be thanking you 
for last night, you know... Oh dear..."

	His hands worked their way lower.  "'Oh dear?'  I hope you're not 
going to regret..."

	She bit her lip.  "AH.  That's just the spot, Ranma.  Unnnh... a 
little harder.  Oh.  No, I just realized that I haven't started breakfast 
yet...  And I really ache from the workout last night!"

	Ranma continued the massage, "Well, you were the one who wanted me 
to start you on martial arts again...  I toldja you weren't ready to spar 
with me..."

	Kasumi sniffed, "Well, I was good enough so that you got tired 
enough to pass out beside me last night, remember?"  She poked him softly 
in the shoulder, and Ranma grinned.  

	"Well, you looked so cute curled up on the floor...  I didn't want 
to wake you up, so I just brought a couple'a blankets.  Hope ya don't 
mind."

	"Oh, so sleeping with me was an unpleasant experience?" she winked.

	He turned an incredibly deep shade of red, and protested, "Ah... I 
really don't think you should put it that way!"

	"Oh, so you don't like the idea of sleeping with me?"
	
	"NO!  I mean, YES!  I mean...  Argh."

	She laughed, and it was like listening to music.

	"That wasn't very lady-like - what would your father say?"  He 
found himself grinning.

	"Probably something like 'RANMA, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING WITH MY 
DAUGHTER?'  Then he'd want us to get married... today."  She giggled a 
little.  "So how about it, Ranma?"

	"Umm... how did we get started with this, anyway?  Come on," he 
stood, and pulled her up with him.  "I'll help you with breakfast... and 
Kasumi?"  He started picking up the blankets and folding them.

	"Yes?"  She grasped the other corners and helped him with it.  It 
was a beautiful day.

	"Umm...  How about after college?  And of course, you'd have to go 
to college with me..."  He twiddled his fingers.

	"Of course I'd have to go to college with you.  What if some lonely 
manager at your boarding house fell for you or something?"  

	He smiled when she put her hands over his, and stopped his nervous 
twiddling.  


---