This is our first fanfic, so please be gentle. Comments, criticisms
and MSTs are welcome. You can reach us at chiaty@singnet.com.sg
You can view this at http://www.singnet.com.sg/~chiaty
This story is set one year after the start of the series and
it takes on from there.
< > represents a character's thoughts
DISCLAIMER : We have written this story out of fun. In no way
do we own the characters of this story, they belong to Takahashi
Rumiko,Shogakukan Inc, Shonen Sunday Comics, and Viz Video.
The Fabulous World of Anime
Proudly Presents
A Joint Production by Cass and GSL
The Pursuit Of Akane
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Part 5 : Last chance at love
Dear Diary,
Today, Ryouga and I had announced our plans of marriage.
Father had objected at first but relented after much persuading.
He had set the wedding date one month from now. Ryouga was very
happy. Somehow, I wasn't as happy as I should be.
Ranma had been very quiet during the evening, preferring
to eat than to engage in the wedding conversation. When Uncle
Saotome suggested engaging Ranma to Nabiki, I got very angry.
But, they are engaged now.
Why do I still feel for him? I'm engaged to Ryouga now.
He said he didn't love me but it still hurts to think about it.
A knock was heard. Akane stopped writing, closed her diary
and went to answer the door. Ranma was there. He motioned if he
could come in and she nodded. She closed the door and waited for
him to speak.
"Akane, why did you agree to Ryouga's proposal?"
He asked.
Akane was stunned by his question. More importantly, she
wasn't sure about the answer. She wasn't sure if she loved Ryouga
but she was sure that it is not a spur of the moment. She found
herself an excuse. "Ryouga will make a good husband."
"Do you love him?" This was his next question.
"Yes." She replied weakly.
"Then, what about me?" He pleaded.
"You? What has this got to do with you! You broke the
engagement, remember." Akane got defensive and replied scornfully.
Tears began to form in her eyes as she recalled the dreadful afternoon.
"I thought you loved him. I wasn't sure of your feelings
for me. But I wanted you to be happy. Now, I'm at a loss. I don't
want to lose you." Ranma explained weakly. His eyes had reddened
and his voice has turned husky.
"What am I to you, Saotome Ranma! One moment you discard
me away like rubbish, the next moment you want me back. I am not
a puppet! How could you be so cruel to me?!" Akane flared.
"No. Akane, listen to me. I was an idiot. I didn't know
what I was doing. I thought my decision would be in your best
interests. You are not a puppet, in fact, you are so precious
to me that I would regret for the rest of my life if I lose you."
Ranma frantically explained. He braced himself for one more time
and continued. "Akane, I love you. Would you give me a second
chance?"
She had waited all her life to hear these words. Her tears
flowed uncontrollably. She had a funny feeling now, a mixture
of happiness and anger but predominantly anger. "Why are
you playing with my feelings? Why did you wait until Ryouga and
I have decided to get married to declare your 'love' for me? I
really doubt your feelings for me. Or is it you couldn't stand
losing me to Ryouga, and this is one of your plans to get me back
so that you will always be the victor."
"NOOO! I really love you." Ranma had begun to
cry too. He tried to explain further of his feelings for her but
he was pushed out of the room. The door slammed. "Akane!
Please believe me." He tried for one last time.
Ryouga had heard Akane shouting and was worried about her.
He followed the shouting to her room and saw Ranma crying. Shocked
was not even the word that could describe his feelings. <Ranma
cry? Ranma would rather die than cry. What happened?> Then,
he heard Akane cry. That dispelled all pity he felt for Ranma.
"Ranma! What are you doing outside Akane's room? Did you
make her cry!"
By now, most of the family members had gathered outside
Akane's room. They all had questioning looks on their faces and
Ranma wasn't going to tell them that Akane rejected him.
"Hmm, I think Akane is crying. Ryouga, Kasumi, why don't
both of you go calm Akane while I take care of Ranma." Nabiki
said calmly. Without a word, she dragged the stoned Ranma into
her room.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Akane could hear the commotion outside her room but she couldn't
care less. Ranma's words had a devastating effect on her. She
wasn't sure of herself anymore. For the past few days, she had
managed to convince herself that she would love Ryouga. Their
marriage would be a blissful one. Now, her faith has wavered.
Ranma's words have given her a glimmer of hope; a hope that Ranma
and her would be together. In a way, this had scared her to death.
When Ranma told her that he didn't love her and broke the engagement,
a part of her had died. She didn't want to face this pain again.
She couldn't. It would destroy her. Then, she told herself that
Ranma was lying to her. He didn't like to lose so he said those
words to wrestle her away from Ryouga. She hated him. She pushed
him away from her.
Kasumi was hugging Akane now while Ryouga looked helplessly
at his soon-to-be wife. Akane had calmed down but was still crying.
She had refused to divulge the reason of her crying. When Ryouga
tried to probe further, Kasumi silenced him.
"I'm alright. I'm very tired. Let me sleep." Akane
said softly.
Kasumi obliged. She tucked her younger sister into bed and
kissed her on her forehead, saying that everything will be alright.
"If you need me, I'll be right here for you." Ryouga
said, trying to comfort Akane. Akane muttered a word of thanks
and Ryouga left reluctantly. Kasumi followed right behind him.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Once in the privacy of Nabiki's room, Ranma had regained
his composure. He was upset over Akane's outburst. He had sacrificed
his pride, his honour to tell her his true feelings for her. But
she rejected him. He was hurt badly. But the main source of his
pain is that Akane had not requited his love. <Akane didn't
love me.> With one sniff, he hardened himself.
"What happened? I want to know the details right now!"
Nabiki ordered.
"I told her that I love her and she says that I was
playing with her feelings. She refused to believe me and chased
me out of her room." He said unemotionally.
"How could that be? She loves you. She should be shouting
for joy when you declare your love for her." A thousand questions
appeared on Nabiki's mind. <Did I misread Akane's love for
Ranma? Did Akane love Ryouga?>
"How would I know? Maybe she didn't love me after all."
He said bitterly.
"It can't be." Nabiki said softly to herself.
"Maybe, for one time, you are wrong." His heart
ached at the implication of his words. He couldn't stay here now.
He couldn't bear to be so near to Akane but not having her. He
wanted to be alone. With that decision made, he jumped out of
the window and disappeared into the darkness.
Nabiki sighed. She encouraged Ranma for the sake of her sister's
best interests. But now Akane is suffering greater sorrow. She
pondered over her actions and came to a decision. She would respect
her sister's decision. After turning off her lights, she went
to bed, not really being able to sleep with the knowledge that
someone out there is terribly hurt, emotionally.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
When Ukyou, Shampoo and Kodachi had returned from Hong Kong,
they were furious. They couldn't find Ranma or Akane and were
stuck there for a few days due to the heavy haze that prevented
planes from taking off. (Shampoo didn't really mind the trip
as she was tired of sounding like a bimbo. It was so long since
she engaged in intelligent conversation with people other than
Cologne and Mousse.)
Luckily, their anger was soon dissolved when they heard about
the upcoming wedding and that Nabiki wasn't interested in Ranma.
In fact they were so happy that they offered to help in the wedding.
Kodachi offered to pay for the entire wedding costs, Ukyou and
Shampoo were in charge of the food. (Ukyou does know how to cook
more than just okonomiyaki.) And Nabiki walked away from the encounter
a lot richer.
After hearing the news from Kodachi, Kuno immediately tried
to save his love from being forced to marry the scoundrel, Ryouga.
A duel then was arranged in which the loser would give up on
Akane forever. Needless to say, Ryouga won. Bound by his samurai
code of honour, Kuno could only let his graceful beauty go. He
was moody for a while but soon recovered when he realized he still
had his pig-tailed goddess.
With Akane out of the way, all other fiancees doubled their
efforts to get Ranma. In the house, he pretended that he didn't
mind the attention but was secretly annoyed by it all. They constantly
reminded him that he was free from the violent tomboy. On the
positive side, Akane no longer malleted him but Ranma found himself
wishing that Akane would hit him. At least that meant that she
cared.
Other miscellaneous details about the wedding:
1. The bridesmaids were Kasumi and Nabiki.
2. The best men were Dr. Tofu and Mousse. (Mousse volunteered
to keep an eye on Shampoo.)
3. The wedding gown and bridesmaids' dresses were designed
by a person named Setsuna.
4. Nabiki was hired by Ryouga to find his parents and bring
them here for the wedding.
5. Everyone from school was invited.
6. The westernized wedding would be held in the Tendo's house.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(One hour before wedding, evening)
Ranma was sitting quietly in one of the booths in Ucchans.
He had long ago finished his meal but was reluctant to leave.
Where would he go? He couldn't go to the Nekohanten because
of Shampoo's aggressiveness, couldn't go back to the Tendo house
because all the joy about the upcoming wedding was getting on
his nerves. "Ranma, what's wrong?" said Ukyou in a
concerned voice. Ranma shook his head in denial. "Don't
lie to me. I know you better than anyone. You've been depressed
ever since Akane and Ryouga were an item. You may have been able
to fool everyone but not me."
A brief pause then Ranma asked softly, "Why? Why are
you still here? If you know me as well as you claim then you
must know that I don't..."
"Love me," Ukyou completed his sentence for him.
Ukyou sat down and closed her eyes for a moment. Ranma was ashamed
at himself, he had hurt his best friend, maybe his only friend.
Ukyou stared at him and answered, "Because I love you.
Always have, always will. I know that you don't feel the same
way _now_ but maybe, just maybe, you'll learn to love me in the
days to come. After all, since Akane is getting married, I have
one less rival." She smiled but it faded away when she noticed
Ranma wincing. <I was right. You still love Akane.> She
thought sadly. "Even though you may love another, may wish
to be with her right now than here with me, I won't give up.
Not while there's still a glimmer of a chance. I'll do anything
to be your wife, so will Shampoo or Kodachi. That's why they
use all sorts of magic potions or drugs on you. We won't give
up, we can't give up."
"But if you love me then you'll want me to be happy.
I'm not happy with all of you chasing after me like I'm a piece
of meat or a prize," countered Ranma.
"I believe that I'm your best choice. That's what keeps
me going sometimes. Love is a selfish thing. I want to be with
you no matter what. I'm not one of those people who say, 'I'll
be happy so long as you are' and walk away. I'm not that generous.
I'll rather go down fighting than give up in the middle. At
least, I could honestly said that I have tried my hardest. I
won't be wondering later on if I could have done something or
say something to make you mine."
Ranma pondered silently over this. Her words have given
him a lot to think about. He stood up and thanked Ukyou for the
free meal and left.
"I might have just lost him to Akane," whispered
Ukyou dismally.
"Yup."
Ukyou whirled around at the voice and saw Tsubasa standing
in the back of the restaurant. "When did you come back from
delivering the food to the Tendos?"
"Long enough."
"Oh." She paused then said, "Well, we've
better get dressed for the wedding. I hope you're not going as
the wedding cake." She moved past Tsubasa and started walking
up the stairs.
"Why did you encourage Ranma? With Akane out of the
way, you stand the highest chance for sure. He doesn't like Shampoo's
aggressiveness and Kodachi gives him the creeps. Why give up
when you're so close to finally having him?"
With her back facing him, Ukyou replied, "Because I
know him too well. If Ran-chan doesn't give it one last shot
before the wedding, he will forever be hung up on Akane. So what
if he eventually marries me. I'll only occupy a small space in
his heart. I don't want to be his second choice. I don't want
him to marry me just because he needs a friend or needs a warm
body at night." Her tears were flowing freely now.
"But what if he does manages to stop the wedding?"
"I'll still love him and I will keep doing so until
the day he marries another."
Watching Ukyou run up to her room, Tsubasa sighed. "Oh
Ukyou. What's so special about Ranma that causes girls to fall
head over heels in love with?"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(Akane's room)
"You're so beautiful, sis." Kasumi smiled as she
admired her little sister.
"Yeah, astonishing." Nabiki added.
"Thanks." Akane blushed. She has changed into her
wedding gown and was admiring herself in the mirror. "Where
is Ryouga?" She suddenly asked, afraid that he may get lost
on their wedding day.
"You're not married to him yet and now you can't let
him out of your sight." Nabiki teased while Akane blushed
a deeper red.
"Don't worry, Akane. He is with father." Kasumi
voiced.
"Yeah, father will keep him in the dojo and see that
he does not wander anywhere." Nabiki answered.
"Now that you're ready, I'm going to take care of the
food preparations." Kasumi said.
"I also need to get ready for the ceremony. So, we shall
leave you alone in here. But I believe Shampoo, Ukyou and Kodachi
will be here soon. They seem to be happier about your marriage
than you." Nabiki smiled taking her last sentence as a joke.
Kasumi frowned and pulled Nabiki out of the room before she could
protest.
With her two sisters gone, Akane thought to herself. She
stared at herself in the mirror. <Of course, I'm happy. Today
is the day that I'm getting married to Ryouga. How can them be
happier than me?> She smiled forcefully. "From today onwards,
I'm going to be known as Hibiki Akane." It sounded a bit
funny to her. <I just need to get used to it."> She
repeated as she stared at her image. "Hibiki Akane. Hibiki
Akane. Hibiki Akane. Hibiki Akane. Saotome Akane." <Huh!>
She had absently said the last phrase. It worried her intensely.
<How could I still think about Ranma when I'm getting married
to Ryouga.> She had hardly seen him during this month. He was
avoiding her and so was she. She wondered if he would turn up
in the wedding ceremony.
"Akane." A voice was heard coming from the windows.
She recognized it immediately. She turned to the source of the
voice. There he was. Ranma was standing on the windowsill. "May
I come in?" He asked.
She nodded. <I wonder how long has he been there?>
A sense of deja vu hit her. It was in this room that he declared
his love for her. They were almost in the same position as that
evening. He had the same look in his eyes, unsure but determined.
Her heart began to pump harder.
There was an awkward silence. Nobody spoke. The only sound
that was emitting in the room was their racing heartbeat.
He broke the silence. There was no time to admire her beauty.
He had to hurry or he would lose her forever. "Akane, please
give me another chance?"
Akane immediately felt pity for him. He looked so worn down.
He was so sincere. But, no. She would not let him ruin the wedding.
She missed him but she couldn't let the insanity in her life continue.
She was tired of fighting with his other fiancees for his love.
She was tired of being kidnapped or attacked by his enemies. She
was tired and Ryouga is her lifesaver. She found herself a million
reasons to marry him. He is sweet. He is cute. He treats her well.
Her honour is bound to Ryouga. "No."
He was devastated. The fire within him had died along with
her response. He thought he could still salvage the situation but
he failed. The woman whom he loves more than his own life was
lost to him forever. So many lost chances. So many regrets.
There was silence again. He held tightly the figurine in
his hands. He didn't want to cry in front of her. He slowly got
a grip of himself and looked at her in the eyes. His voice started
to quaver. "I won't be attending your ceremony. I'm not well.
Here's a present for you." He held the figurine to her.
It was a wood carving of Akane. The carving was a very precise
piece of work, which showed that the carver had put a lot of effort
in it. The carving also has Akane's distinct features. It was
very lifelike, almost a replica of her. The carver must have loved
her greatly to know the face so well. It was a gift of love.
She wept. Her commitment to Ryouga had wavered again. She
looked at the man in front of her. A man that she longed for.
She looked at the figurine again. An expression of his love. She
was terribly lost.
"Akane. Goodbye." He said lastly. He stole a last
glance at the weeping bride and made his way towards the window.
He was about to jump out of the window when a voice held him back.
"Ranma." It was a soft whisper but a voice full
of love. She stood there, in her tears. He hated himself for making
her cry. He wanted so much to hug her but refrained himself. She
was to be someone's wife. She has chosen to marry Ryouga. <NO!>
His willpower to leave has left him. Whatever honour he has left
has flown away. He could not contain himself. He rushed towards
the bride and cradled her into his arms.
The feeling was sensational with their warm bodies pressing
against each other. Akane had resisted at first but then fell
bonelessly onto him. She was crying harder now. He was doing his
best to hold back his tears. "Akane." He whispered into
her ears. She turned to look up at him. "I am not a liar,
Akane. I truly, madly, deeply love you. I love the way you smile.
I love the way you smell. I love the way you frown, the way you
get angry. Heck, I even love the way you pulled your mallet out
on me. I just love the way you are."
The bride hasn't stopped crying. Her make-up has smudged.
But she still looked beautiful to him. He slowly took his handkerchief
and wiped away her tears. It was a small act but it comforted
her. All her determination, her resolution and even her brains had
fled. She was in a total mess. His words add to confuse her mind.
But love has never been associated with mind. Love comes from
the heart. She learned to trust her heart instead. She had a million
reasons to wed Ryouga but she only needed one reason to be with
Ranma. Love. Unconditional love.
"Ranma." At her calling, he stopped wiping her
tears and looked at her affectionately. She tiptoed, giving a
light peck on his lips. "I love you too, Ranma." He
cried, there was no stopping now. He was exhilarated. She sank
further in his loving arms. There was silence again. They continued
to sob as they savoured the presence of their loved ones in each
other's arms.
It was like eternity before they stop crying. The din in
the dojo was getting louder but they were blissfully oblivious.
Their joy was written all over their face. If one had not known
what had happened, one would think that they are crazy, crying
at one moment and smiling the next.
It seems like the right thing to do. He cupped her face and
slowly brought her up to kiss her fully on her lips. They
closed their eyes and began to enjoy their intimacy. He pulled
her tighter against him and his hand strayed to stroke her back
and hair. She deepened the kiss and slinged her hands around his
neck, holding him tightly, wishing that it will never end. However,
their passionate kiss was short-lived.
"Akane, are you ready? The ceremony is about to start."
Kasumi said as she knocked at the door.
Taken aback, Akane broke the kiss and frantically found herself
a lame excuse. "Uh, I'm not ready yet. I'll be out in a minute."
"Do you need any help?" Kasumi asked sweetly.
"Uh, no. Thanks." Akane answered clumsily.
Ranma and Akane both sighed in relief when they heard Kasumi
leave. Akane turned worriedly to Ranma and asked. "What are
we going to do? The ceremony is going to start."
"Well, we need to talk to Ryouga." Ranma said in
a matter-of-fact.
"How will he take it?" She asked although she already
knew the answer.
"Bad? But whatever we do, it must be fast. Time is ticking
away." He replied.
"Ranma, why don't you bring Ryouga here." It was
not a question but a statement.
"Okay. At least we don't have to tell him in front of
the guests." He reasoned to himself.
"Not we, only me." Akane corrected.
"Huh? How can I let you handle it alone? What happens
if he becomes nasty?" He objected.
"It will be better if I handled it alone. He would not
hurt me. And how would you feel if you were in his position?"
She explained.
"Okay." He said reluctantly.
"So go now, I need to change out of this wedding gown."
Akane shooed Ranma to the window, after giving him a peck on the
cheek.
With a leap, Ranma jumped down to the ground below him. There
were already lots of guests in the dojo. He meandered his way
to find Ryouga. It was not hard to find him. He was surrounded
by his friends and well wishers. In a white tuxedo, he stood out.
Ranma felt guilty as he approached him. Ryouga was surprised to
see him but he was in too good of a mood to notice anything missing.
"Akane wishes to speak to you in her room." Ranma whispered.
Without a word, Ryouga excused himself from his guests. He
only stopped occasionally to receive blessings from his friends.
But he rushed to Akane's room as soon as he could.
Ryouga nervously entered Akane's bedroom, our bedroom, he
corrected himself. Already, his few belongings have been moved
into the room. In an hour's time, he thought to himself, I will
be complete. That thought only made him more nervous, was his
tie straight, was his hair combed back...
He blinked, then blinked again. "Why aren't you in
your wedding gown? The wedding is about to start! Or we'll miss
the auspicious time." He smiled and continued, "No
matter, I'll just tell the rest that you'll be delayed a bit."
He turned to leave.
"No. Ryouga, don't go," panicked Akane.
Ryouga beamed at Akane. In his joy, he failed to notice
Akane's teary face.
"I.. There is something I must tell you." Akane
lowered her gaze to the floor and continued, "You're a good
man, Ryouga. Any girl would be lucky to have you." Ryouga
blushed. "Ryouga, you've been so sweet towards me and you've
comforted me in my darkest hours. For that I am grateful. But
you deserve better. You deserve a girl who loves you with all
her heart and soul. But I am not her. I hoped that in time to
come, I could become her. But I was only lying to myself. Because
I love Ranma, always have, always will. And that's why I can't
marry you."
Ryouga frowned and said in a strained voice, "I must
have heard you wrongly. For a moment there I thought you said
that you love Ranma and didn't want to marry me." He laughed,
a forced laugh.
Akane's heart went out to him. She hated herself for hurting
Ryouga, for not being able to return his love. "Ryouga,
you didn't hear wrongly. The wedding is cancelled. I'm sorry."
"NOOO! You're just having wedding jitters. Everyone
has them! Everyone has doubts before their wedding." He
cried, grabbing Akane and hugging her. "You said you'll
marry me. You promised! Please... don't leave me. I love you."
His tears soaked the back of Akane's shirt.
"I'm sorry Ryouga. I don't love you."
After a while, Ryouga left the room, dejected. He wiped
his tears. When Ranma delivered the message that Akane had wanted
to see him, minutes before the big event, he had been surprised.
Preoccupied, he hadn't noticed Ranma's expression, a mixture
of guilt, unease, happiness and pity. It should have cued him
in onto the situation, that his nightmare, not his dream was slowly
being fulfilled. What was that saying again? Hindsight only
works backwards or something like that. He snorted. He was such
an idiot, blinded by happiness that he didn't realize that Akane
was going to break up with him, not until the horrible words "the
wedding is cancelled" were uttered.
Maybe he had known but stubbornly refused to acknowledge it. Just like
he had known subconsciously that Akane's heart had belonged to Ranma long ago.
All the little things that signaled Akane's love for Ranma, he
firmly ignored. He couldn't see them then, hadn't wanted to see
them. And so he foolishly embarked on his quest and failed.
He had lost, not in the beginning, on their first date, or after
the proposal but at the end. It wouldn't have hurt so much if
Akane had chosen Ranma earlier. He was on cloud nine for a whole
month, then harshly, cruelly, dragged down into hell. It wasn't
fair! How can he live through all this misery after he had experienced
such sweet joy. IT WASN'T FAIR!
His vision went blurry again. <Damn this tears!>
He would let himself cry but not in front of his relatives and
friends. He didn't want to create a scene. He would just walk
out of this place where he had lost his heart and had it returned
shattered into a thousand pieces.
But then he saw Ranma. Their eyes met. Ryouga roared and launched
himself at Ranma. Punches and kicks flew at a rapid rate and met the still
body of Ranma. Ryouga kept on punching. He couldn't stand the pitied look
Ranma was giving him and tried to beat it out of him. But Ranma just
let Ryouga hit him and looked at Ryouga with those eyes that oozed
pity and guilt.
Suddenly, he was pulled away from Ranma by several pairs
of arms. Only then had Ryouga realized that he had been shouting
"IT ISN'T FAIR!" over and over.
"LET ME GO!" He struggled free and ran away, not bothering to
cast a last glance at the place his love lived.
Everyone gathered around the still body of Ranma, alternating
glances at him and Ryouga. The fiancees didn't know whether to
stay and look after Ranma or seek revenge on Ryouga. No one knew
what happened. Why had the bridegroom left? For once, Nabiki
had no answers, none that she was certain of anyway.
"It is all my fault. The wedding is cancelled,"
sobbed Akane.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Most of the guests have left. The others have concentrated
outside Ranma's room. Actually, a minute ago, they were in the
room hovering over Ranma's unconscious body that it disrupted
Dr Tofu from giving him medical attention. So in a flare of anger,
he ordered everyone out. Now, they are pacing around, each with
their own thoughts.
Shampoo was worried and angry at the same time. <What
happened? Why violent girl cancel wedding? Ryouga looked want
kill Ranma. What happened?> She gazed hatefully at Akane for
she knew that she was the cause of all the troubles. Mousse was
following her every step which angered her more.
Ukyou was far quieter. She was worried for the well-being
of her fiancee. But deep in her heart, she knew that she had lost him.
He had taken her advice and succeeded.
Kodachi was pacing furiously, making disgruntled noises.
She thought she would have one less rival to deal with but now
it seems that they are back to square one. In her crazed mind,
she vowed for revenge on those that hurt her Ranma-sama, namely
Ryouga and Akane. "It's you. It is because of you that Ryouga
fought Ranma. Why are you still here? Haven't you hurt Ranma enough?"
She voiced her anger at Akane, and started to make a move on her.
"Ya. It's violent girl fault. You no right here. You
no Ranma's fiancee anymore." Shampoo added.
Kuno blocked the attack for Akane. He was happy that the
wedding was called off and the only reason he has left behind
was to see if the evil sorcerer would die from his injuries. He
couldn't wait for the day to see Ranma's corpse. But now, his
crazy sister is attacking his beloved Akane. "My dear sister,
have you gone mad?"
"Hohohohohohohohoho." The scream filled the Dojo
much to everyone's disgust.
"Alas, my sister has truly gone mad."
"Hey, back off. All of you are in our house. My sister
can be wherever she wants." Nabiki declared. Her face was
calm and commanding authority. Shampoo seemed to have cooled down
but not Kodachi.
"Akane will pay for her deeds." With that, Kodachi
flung her ribbon towards Akane.
Akane had not made any move and again Kuno blocked it. Taking
no account of their blood relation, Kuno moved in to attack Kodachi.
"Kuno-baby, please take this fight elsewhere. So that
your little sister won't be able to hurt Akane." Nabiki spoke
as she mentally calculated the property damage that they have
accumulated.
The motivation seemed to work as in a moment the Kunos were
gone. Nabiki was disturbed. Akane did not try to protect herself
when Kodachi attacked. In fact, Akane has been rather passive
during the whole ordeal.
The door to Ranma's room had opened. Everybody crowded round
Dr Tofu as he appeared. "He's fine. Just a couple of broken
ribs. With his rate of recovery, he will be running around in
two days." Simultaneously, everybody sighed in relief. Then,
they tried to enter the room but were blocked by Dr Tofu. "He
needs rest and he only wishes to see Akane." The rest protested
but the doctor was firm. He let Akane squeezed in and guarded
the door after her.
"Ranma. Are you alright?" Akane cradled his face
as she spoke. She winced as she saw his bandaged body. "It's
all my fault."
"I'm fine, Akane and no, I'm to be blamed. If I had
told you earlier of my feelings, all of this would not have happened."
He was lying in his futon, staring longingly at her. He felt weak
and it is taking all his strength to remain in a conversation
with her.
"No. I'm the source of the trouble. If I had not broken
Ryouga's heart, he would not have injured you. Now, Ryouga is
somewhere alone by himself, feeling all the emotional trauma
that I have inflicted on him. And you… almost lost your life.
What were you thinking? You should be able to block the blows."
She had redirected her attention to his face. Her hands not touching
his body for fear that it may hurt him. She had a guilty expression
on her face and she was very, very sad.
"I owed it to him. He could beat me anyway he wants
if that would bring his pain away. I've caused him misery."
Ranma coughed as he spoke. His voice became weaker as he went
on. Akane was about to protest but he stopped her by taking her
left hand to his mouth, kissing it lightly. "Let's not argue."
She nodded. He is so weak and she remembered Dr Tofu words.
He needed rest. "Ranma, you need to rest. I'll watch over
you if you don't mind." She had moved closer to him. Their
heads inches apart. Then, their soft lips met, sending sweet sensations
throughout their bodies. The intoxicating taste of the kiss had
also momentarily set them free of their problems. Then, Akane
broke the kiss. Ranma groaned, he wanted to kiss her more, to
assure himself that this was not a dream. Akane smiled as she
sat beside him. "Now, go to sleep." She watched him
as he closed his eyes and she sighed contentedly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(6 months later)
Ranma and Akane were holding hands as they watched a tv programme.
Commercial break. Ranma turned to Akane and commented, "This
is great. No unwanted fiancees barging in, nobody charges in
wanting a duel. Just the two of us."
Akane nodded. "We haven't been alone for so long in
weeks. But the price is so expensive. Wonder what Nabiki is to
doing with 2 months of our allowance?"
"Who cares! There's other things I'd rather concentrate
on," he replied huskily.
Akane blushed and tilted her head forward, waiting for the
kiss. Moments passed. Puzzled, Akane opened her eyes and saw
Ranma engrossed in the show. She was about to scold the jerk
when he shouted excitedly, "Hey, that's Ryouga!"
Akane peered at the figure in the tv, who was wearing a tuxedo
and started shooting at the hero. "Nah. I think it's his
elder brother, Tsuyoshi."
"Wow. For a moment there, I thought Ryouga had became
an actor and that you could have married an actor..." his
voice trailed off.
"I'm worried about him. We haven't heard any news from
him since, well since you know what."
"Don't worry. There are lots of women better than you.
I'm sure he has probably forgotten about you."
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ryouga was in an empty classroom)
He sat down and took out his leather wallet. In it was a
crumpled and torn photo of Akane. It had been shredded and scotched
taped together several times. He fingered the photo and remembered...
Them walking along the beach, talking. Running away from
the football stadium. Being dragged by Akane as she went into
one shop after another. Her in a beautiful wedding gown. Her
telling him that the wedding is off.
For several months, he was devastated. Not a day would go
by without him thinking about Akane. Some days he would dream
about Akane, being in her arms, kissing her. And he would cry,
knowing that is not going to happen. Other days, he would think
about how humiliated and how foolish he was. He hated Akane and
Ranma. Hated them for ruining his life, for making him hurt so
much. He would take out her photo and tear it into pieces. But
after awhile, he would painstakingly scotch taped the pieces together.
Because he could never really hate her. He loved her, even then
he still loved her. So he never sought revenge, knowing that
he would hurt her by killing Ranma.
Now, he thought of her less often. He could go on for days
without recalling the failed wedding or dreaming about the perfect
life they could have led together.
His thoughts were interrupted by people shuffling in. They
greeted him and sat down. He smiled and said, "Ok, class.
I want you to gather in pairs and start conversing in Japanese.
Start with the line 'There was an interesting tv show last night'."
"Hai sensei," they replied in unison.
As he listened to a group's conversation, he thought about
Nerima and its inhabitants. Perhaps when he no longer loves Akane
and could stand seeing Akane and Ranma together, he would go back
for a visit. He had gotten used to living in this European country
but a visit would be nice. (Sushi was really expensive here.)
He hadn't really gotten over her yet but soon, someday, he knew
he would step foot into Nerima again.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Akane glared at Ranma who was backing away, slowly. She
pulled her mallet out of hammerspace. "Insult me again and
I won't be so forgiving," growled Akane as she hid the mallet.
Ranma sighed in relief as he sat down. That's one thing that
has changed as a result of the Ryouga and Akane wedding mess.
Akane and Ranma had realized just how precious their relationship
was and started to treasure it. He tried to express his emotions
more often and not to insult Akane all the time. Akane had learned
to be more understanding. But although their relationship has
improved, Ukyou, Shampoo, Kuno, Kodachi and others were still
causing trouble. But he was confident that they would get through
it all, together.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Authors' note:
Tsuyoshi (brother of Ryouga) is created by us.
At the end of this story, Ryouga was working as a Japanese
tuition teacher.
Any similarities to the fanfics out there are merely coincidences.
For all those Ryouga fans out there, we're sorry. Because
GSL is a supporter of Akane gets Ranma, tough luck on Ryouga gets
Akane groupies. (GSL: Pls don't hate me. We promise to treat Ryouga
better in our next fanfic.)
Over a lunch in a fast food restaurant, we discussed that
there is a lack of Chinese female fanfic writers for Ranma, so
we decided to sacrifice ourselves for the good of the fanfic community.
*_* And so this fanfic is born.
If you like us to write a sequel to this, you will have to
e-mail us.
Cass's e-mail address is : chiaty@singnet.com.sg
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