Chapter 2 — Rumors Spread
Ranma knew something was wrong the moment he stepped through the school gate.
Normally, the morning crowd barely noticed him. Students moved past in clusters, half-awake, talking about homework or complaining about teachers.
Today was different.
People were staring.
Not openly at first.
Just quick glances.
Whispers that stopped when he got close.
Ranma frowned.
"What?" he muttered under his breath.
Two first-year students standing near the shoe lockers quickly looked away when he glanced at them.
One of them whispered something.
The other snorted and covered their mouth.
Ranma felt a familiar irritation rise in his chest.
"Okay, what's going on?" he demanded.
Neither of them answered.
They just grabbed their bags and hurried off.
Ranma stared after them suspiciously.
"Great," he muttered. "One of those days."
He changed into his indoor shoes and headed down the hallway.
The whispers followed him.
Not loud.
But constant.
"…that's him."
"…yesterday…"
"…Akane…"
"…confession…"
Ranma stopped walking.
His shoulders stiffened.
"Oh no."
The memory from yesterday came rushing back immediately.
The courtyard.
The argument.
The words he hadn't meant to shout.
He rubbed his face roughly.
"They wouldn't—"
A group of students passed him.
One of them glanced over and grinned.
"Hey Ranma," the guy said casually.
Ranma narrowed his eyes.
"What."
The student leaned closer like he was sharing a secret.
"So… when's the wedding?"
The hallway erupted with laughter.
Ranma's face turned bright red.
"THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED!"
The student held up his hands innocently.
"Hey, relax. Just asking."
More laughter followed as they walked away.
Ranma stood frozen for a moment.
Then groaned.
"This is bad."
---
By the time he reached the classroom, the situation had gotten worse.
Much worse.
People stopped talking the moment he entered.
Then slowly resumed whispering.
Every time someone glanced his way, the whispers got louder.
Ranma dropped into his seat and buried his face in his arms.
"Kill me now," he muttered.
Behind him, two girls were whispering loudly enough that he could hear every word.
"I heard he shouted it in the middle of the courtyard."
"No way."
"Yeah! Like a full confession!"
"What exactly did he say?"
"He said he'd fight anyone for her!"
Ranma slammed his head lightly against the desk.
"That's not what I said…"
The girl behind him continued excitedly.
"And Akane ran away because she was so overwhelmed!"
Ranma lifted his head slowly.
"…Overwhelmed?"
That wasn't what happened either.
Another student leaned over the desk in front of him.
"So," the boy said with a grin, "how long have you been in love with her?"
Ranma snapped.
"I'M NOT!"
The entire classroom jumped.
Then immediately burst into laughter.
The boy shrugged.
"Relax. Everyone already knows."
Ranma dropped his head back onto the desk again.
"This is a nightmare."
---
Akane was having a worse morning.
Much worse.
She had hoped the rumors would die overnight.
Instead, they had multiplied.
The moment she stepped into school, three girls from her class surrounded her.
"Akane!"
Her friend grabbed her arm excitedly.
"Is it true?"
Akane stiffened.
"Is what true?"
"That Ranma confessed to you yesterday!"
Akane's face turned red instantly.
"He did not confess!"
Another girl leaned in.
"But he said he fights for you!"
"That's not—"
"And everyone heard it!"
Akane covered her face with both hands.
"Why is everyone talking about this?!"
The girls exchanged knowing looks.
"Well…"
"…because it was romantic."
Akane's head snapped up.
"ROMANTIC?!"
The hallway echoed with laughter.
One of the girls grinned.
"I mean, shouting your feelings in front of the whole school is pretty bold."
Akane groaned.
"He didn't mean it like that!"
"You're defending him now?"
"I'm not defending him!"
The teasing only got worse after that.
Every conversation circled back to the same topic.
Ranma.
The confession.
The courtyard.
Akane tried ignoring it.
But the more she denied it, the more interested everyone became.
Eventually she stopped arguing.
Not because she accepted it.
Because correcting everyone was exhausting.
---
Ranma spent the entire day avoiding Akane.
It wasn't difficult.
She was avoiding him too.
Every time he saw her across the hallway, he turned the other direction.
Every time she noticed him in the courtyard, she suddenly remembered something she needed to do elsewhere.
Neither of them wanted to repeat yesterday.
Unfortunately, everyone else did.
At lunch, a rival martial artist sat down across from Ranma with a smirk.
"So," the guy said, "didn't know you had a soft side."
Ranma glared at him.
"Don't start."
The rival leaned back in his chair.
"Pretty brave though."
"Brave?"
"Confessing in public like that."
Ranma slammed his hands on the table.
"I DIDN'T CONFESS!"
Several nearby students turned to look again.
The rival grinned wider.
"You keep yelling that. Makes it sound even more convincing."
Ranma clenched his fists.
"Say one more thing and I'll—"
"Fight me?" the rival finished.
Ranma stopped.
The guy chuckled.
"See? That's exactly what everyone says you did yesterday."
Ranma dropped back into his seat, defeated.
"I hate this school."
---
Akane sat on the far side of the courtyard during lunch.
Far away from the usual spots.
Far away from Ranma.
She poked at her food without much appetite.
Across the courtyard, she could hear students talking again.
About the same thing.
"…he said he'd fight anyone for her…"
"…sounds pretty serious…"
"…maybe they're already dating…"
Akane sighed.
"They're exaggerating everything."
Her friend leaned over.
"But he did say something like that, right?"
Akane hesitated.
Just for a second.
The memory replayed clearly in her mind.
Ranma shouting:
You think I'd keep throwing myself into fights if I didn't care about you?!
Her face warmed again.
"…He was just frustrated," she said quickly.
Her friend studied her expression.
"You didn't deny the part about caring."
Akane looked away.
"That's not what he meant."
But the words didn't sound as certain this time.
She glanced across the courtyard.
Ranma was sitting at a table with his head down.
Students kept approaching him.
Teasing him.
Laughing.
He looked miserable.
Akane frowned slightly.
Then she heard another group of students nearby.
One of them said loudly—
"I heard he said he'd fight anyone in the school for her."
Another answered:
"Honestly? That's kind of impressive."
Akane didn't correct them.
She didn't confirm it either.
She just sat there quietly.
Listening.
And thinking.
Across the courtyard, Ranma lifted his head slightly.
Their eyes met for half a second.
Then both of them immediately looked away.
Neither said anything.
But the tension between them had changed.
And neither of them knew what to do about it.