fandomhighdorms | Outside Puffin, Friday Morning

All the positive effects of her Vigilence class, right down to the chocolate bar and the pomengranit, evaporated the moment Sakurazaki saw Ranma standing at the door of the cabin when she returned. Shoulders slumping, she grunts. What the hell did she want? Was she here to check up on her? Maybe she'd found out that Alphonse was in this cabin, too, but...

...she was in her boy form. Barring circumstances of extreme unlikelihood, the chances of Ranma-chan going out like that were slim-to-none. Sakurazaki's shoulders straighten again. Maybe...just maybe...

She approaches him cautiously. "....Ranma?"

//Setsuna..? What the heck is goin' on? 's it the fourth of July still?//

Sakurazaki's heart nearly flung itself into her throat, catching her breath as her eyes widen slightly. No -chan after her name. An expression of confussion. Pronounced confusion of timeline. Even the way he stood there, the way he carried himself, was noticably different that the was she had stood there, the way she had carried that body.

She stares at him for a second.

And then finds herself launching herself forward, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly as she lets out something that's half laugh, half sob. //"Oh, my God, Ranma! You...you're back! You're really, really, finally back!"//

He's knocked back a few steps and he blushes brightly and keeps his arms out to the sides in shock. //Ah! Setsuna... what's wrong? Back from where?//

Her excitement has definately gotten the best of Sakurazaki, because her embrace only gets tighter. //"Oh, God, Ranma, you were gone for more than a week! More than a week! I was so worried..so worried that I was going to be stuck with that dreadful girl forever and never see you again! Oh, my God! But you're back!"//

//I was gone a whole week..?// He's blushing so bad right now and he really wants to hug her back but he still feels totally frozen.

Sakurazaki releases Ranma as she settles back, but her hands still rest on his shoulders as she implores him with a dire and serious expression. Her excitement needed to be put aside for the moment, because, yes, he had been shoved into the subconscious for over a week, and it was probably a pretty rude awakening. She gives him a firm nod.

//"Over a week,"// she corrects him gravely. //"Today is the fourteenth, so it has been ten days since you last hit your head and reverted into Ranma-chan again. How are you feeling? Does your head hurt at all?"// Her hands move from his shoulders up to his forehead, partly patting at it, shifting through his hair in some sort of concerned gesture, partly pressing her palms against his forehead to see if it's overheated.

He's overheated all right, from all the blushing. //I f-feel fine... S-S-Setsuna...// What happened to her? She's... touching him? HUGGING HIM? He's surprised but he could certainly get used to hugs like that... ack! What was he thinking!? Al had told him and he'd secretly agreed with what he'd said. Setsuna liked Jude... if she's happy then he should be happy for her... but... what was all this? He still can't move.

//"You're burning up!"// Sakurazaki pronounces worriedly, and starts to move toward the door. //"I should go get you some cold water or..."// She halts, hand halfway to the doorknob. It drops to her side. Bad idea! //"Or not. No cold water. But come on."// She grabs his hand and starts pulling him toward the seats around the campfire. //"You have to at least sit down. Actually, you should probably be back in your cabin getting some rest, but...."//

She couldn't quite bring herself to finish that statement of the fact that she was reluctant to send him back off to his cabin after he'd been gone for so long, but her smile says it pretty clearly. //"You sure you're feeling fine? I guess a bit of a warm forehead isn't too bad, considering what you've been through."//

He doesn't know what to do. He's feeling really overwhelmed and taken by the moment. He stops himself from stummbling behind her and hugs her from behind. //I'm okay...//

Sakurazaki isn't quite sure what surprises her most: the sudden pain of having something up against her still extremely sensitive back or the fact that Ranma had caught her completely off guard and had done it by hugging her.

And then she realizes that the sudden surge through her body wasn't pain at all. In fact, she couldn't locate any pain from her back at all. It was all coming from her fluttering chest.

She draws in a quiet, staggering breath. A hand drifts up, hoovering over one of his arms around her. Oh, God, his arms. They weren't holding her tightly, but they were still so strong...

Sakurazaki winces slightly. What...what was she thinking? Her caught breath releases slowly, shoulders relaxing. The hand settles on his arm. Ultimately, over anything else, she's just glad he's back. //"Good."//

Ranma gently lets her go. What's happened...? She didn't pull away...? Something strange is going on... and he likes it. //So... what happened while I was gone...? Did class start? Is Mizu okay!?// He's really worried about his puppy.

Feeling rather flushed and confused upon release, Sakurazaki slowly has a seat. But she chuckles a little at the emphasis and worry put on that last question. She decides she'd better start with that one.

//"Mizu's just fine...if a bit...over-accessorized. Workshops have started, and you've missed the first week, then, but it's just the first week. Nothing much ever gets covered in the first week. Nothing else, really, of notable importance, except that I did locate a bit of a lead in my investigating on your curse."// She beams at him, rather proudly. //"A temple that specializes in strange curses, only a few hours trip by bus from the mainland. So last weekend, we...you and I, that is...we visited the temple. Unfortunately, they weren't able to help, but they did give me more leads and it's been helping my research astoundingly. But other than that, it's been realtively dormant."//

//You're... tryin' to break my curse still? You really don't gotta work real hard at it or nothin'... 's nice of you though...//

Sakurazaki arches an eyebrow, head shifting slightly to the side, a wary expression. Not quite the reaction she thought she'd get, but she reminds herself that he'd been dwelling in some recesses of his subconscious for over a week. That might be effecting things.

//"....Would you rather that I didn't, Ranma?"// It would be a shame if all her hard work had been for nothing...not to mention having to even go through that trip....

//No... I'm just... I feel like I'm troublin' you.// Woah why's he feeling so... strange right now. He doesn't feel like arguing. It's so strange..

"Ranma." Both her tone and expression get very stern. //"I assure you, it's no trouble. I know how much it would mean to you to find a cure, and so I'm going to keep trying. I want to help."//

//Thanks...// He sits down next to her and inches his hand towards hers, trying to at least make their fingers touch.

Completely oblivious to any such attempts at brushing fingers, the targeted hand drifts away as Sakurazaki goes to brush the stray strand of hair by her ear behind it. She smiles at him, head tilting slightly and hands settling in her lap. //"You can thank me when I find the solution, 'kay?"//

Ranma pulls his hand back to himself, that was a stupid idea anyway. What was he thinking?! He sighs lightly and wrings his hands in his fidgety and nervous way. //Hey if it doesn't work... then you can come with me to China and we can look for it. Maybe after we graduate or somethin'..//

//"Actually,"// the very proud straightening of her shoulders is back, //"that's currently what I've been researching. I have a lot of good leads, too, on where exactly in China those springs may be. Granted, it's a very large country, and the information I have so far is very, very vague, I think I might actually be getting somewhere."//

//Well uh... ya ain't gotta worry 'bout it too much...// He sorta remembers last time he'd changed she said it was hard to protect him. He holds his head in his hands, wondering what he was like... he wished he knew... this was just like when he turned into a cat... Thank god that hasn't happened... //Sorry if I caused ya a lotta trouble..//

//"Actually, you were far less trouble this time around than the last time,"// Sakurazaki says, wincing. //"You just kind of...went off and...did your own thing. I'm really, really sorry about that, Ranma; I know I probably should have kept a more vigilent watch, but with everything that was going on, it was near impossible, especially with the cabins and...But there really wasn't much trouble. You must have managed to keep a low profile..."//

//Well... that good.// He leans back and does a bridge with no hands. Wow does he feel stiff! Like he hasn't stretched in a whole week. He makes a bit of a face at this tingling feeling of being slightly out-of-practice. //Urg... I guess I ain't feelin' the greatest...//

Sakurazaki cringes. She could hear the muscle tension, could almost feel the strain of disuse. //"Well, it can be clear, I think, that training certainly wasn't something Ranma-chan occupied herself with over this past week..."//

//Ugh.. Ranma-chan...// he looks clearly grossed out and he puts his hands out beside his head and does a hand stand, switching to a one handed hand stand which he switches the one hand with little hops.

Sakurazaki finds herself actually laughing. Not just the usual chuckle or snort, but an honest-to-goodness laugh.

//"Hey. We finally agree on something."//

Ranma smiles teasingly. //Hey well now ya know how good it feels to side with me and be right.//

Chuckling, she shakes her head. //"God, but at what cost? I know you're stubborn and pig-headed, but that's an awful lot to go through just to prove a point."//

//There's nothin' I wouldn't do to prove a point.// And he knows it's true.

//"Apparantly."// Grinning, Sakurazaki isn't quite sure if she admires him for that or not. She knows that, weaved into that sort of blind determination is a great deal of stupidity, but she feels something akin to pride for him over the whole idea.

She smiles at Ranma, letting out a small sigh. //"It really is good to have you back; I missed you, you know. So you had better start watching your head, Ranma, before I start making you wear a helmet wherever you go."//

She certainly was really happy. In that moment, when they were actually getting along, it seemed like most of the difficult things that had passed between them had never really occured. It took her back to the simplicity of that first race at the very beginning of the summer...It makes Sakurazaki want to hug him again.

So good to have him back again.

Blush. ACK! She made him lose his balence in mid-swich and he lands awkwardly on his stomach, unharmed and he cracks up about it for a second but doesn't get up yet. //'ll be more careful. 'm just glad ya ain't killing me for following ya...// It might not be fresh in her mind but it's fresh in his. He lays on the ground, sorta not able to say this to her face. //Before ya hit me... maybe ya could think what you'd do in my place. I think.. you'd probably be the same way..// He'd mention how she acts when Konoka is going on dates with people she doesn't know and how much it upsets her but he's just not that observant unfortunately.

Sakurazaki had done a pretty good job of ignoring that aspect of the situation until just then.

Pretty startling how quickly her moods could shift.

//"You really shouldn't have done that, Ranma..."// It was one of the nicer responses out of the many that filtered through her head.

//Ya know I wasn't tryin' to interfere.. but I understand ya gettin' mad but I still think you'd act the same way.//

//"D..Didn't...Didn't mean to interfere!"// Sakurazaki's jaw hangs incredulously. //"What exactly did you mean, then?"//

[[gratutious icon use? whaaa? never!]]

//I-I just... would rather...// he can't say this stuff. He can't say it at all... Why can't he just SAY how he feels. He wants to say it hurts him to know she's with Jude but it hurts more to imagine she's with him than to know. And why can't she just understand! He doesn't like to addmit it but he has feelings too damnit. And as hard as he tries to just let her be happy... it's not easy.

He's still laying on the ground, face near the dirt. He mummbles. //Nevermind.//

Sakurazaki's arms cross over her chest with an indignant sigh. //"It's always just 'nevermind' with you, isn't it?"//

//Cause... Words don't work for me, okay? I can't say things!//

//"Well, maybe you should remember that before you open your mouth and start bringing up topics that some of us were graciously trying to avoid!"//

//I was just tryin' to apologize!// He finally jumps up. //I'm tryin'! IT's never good enough for you anyways!// He turns and heads back for his cabin in a huff.

//"Hey!"// Sakurazaki is also quick to her feet. //"Don't storm off on me like that!"//

Of course, she goes after him.

//Why not?! I always lose.. First I try an' tell ya how I have trouble sayin' stuff then you say "well then don't say them." but you're the only who asked! Then when I try to not talk you want me ta keep talkin'!//

//"Look, okay, I'm sorry! I just...got upset and I shouldn't have gotten mad at you. What's done is done and yelling about it doesn't change anything. I'm sorry, okay?"//

//"But, please..."// Sakurazaki had an inclination to reach for his hand, but she doesn't. But she does place a soft hand on his shoulder to help ensure that he stops. //"Just stop running off like that the second things start to go bad..."//

Sakurazaki had realized where she'd seen that type of behaviour and response before; she'd realized that Ranma was doing the same thing to her that she'd done to Konoka-Ojou-sama for so long...and she realized how much it hurt.

He stops and turns to her. //Well... It just seems better than havin' things go worse.//

Yar. Sakurazaki found Ranma's logic frustrating, but not nearly as much as how much realizing that her own logic for fleeing a scene wouldn't be too different...even if the technicalities of the situation were.

She takes in a deep breath. //"Well...it isn't."//

//It's not..? Ya mean... you'd rather we fight?//

//"No, it's not....I mean..."// Arg, talking to him could be so impossible sometimes. //"I'd rather have us fight about it and eventually get to some sort of understanding like we usually do than have you storm off and just be left with being mad at you."//

//Oh... well I guess I could try an' be more patient.// He fidgets. Leaving to cool off helped him a lot... becasue then he said less things that he regreted.

Outside Puffin, Friday Morning

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