A/N: I think is my third Akane/Ranma fan fiction . . . I spent a long time on this one. Revising and revising, so I hope it came out good. I'm surprised more fics aren't using the last volume as a springboard. Man, I love that last chapter. Squeeaal!
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Broken Chopsticks
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The empty robe was back in his hands. The warmth of it's former occupant began to fade as he clutched it tighter, the scent of her favorite shampoo still lingered.
Akane! . . . Don't leave me here alone!
Don't leave me.
She was deathly still in his arms. Lips that were once warm and rosy were now blue and cold.
"AKANEEE!" Ranma's eyes snapped open and he sat up in his desk. That was when he met the startled stare of his classmates. It was a dream . . . and he apparently screamed out loud his un-cute fiancée's . . . His gaze found Akane's. She wore a look of shock along with a bright blush.
"Ran . . .ma . . .?"
The classroom rumbled with the low whispers of the other students:
"Did you hear that . . . dreaming of Akane . . . tears . . . was he crying? . ."
"SAOTOME RANMA!" Came the booming voice of the teacher, well as booming as Miss Hinako could be. "Not only were you sleeping in class but you disrupted my class by screaming! You naughty boy!" Before the little teacher could pull out her deadly yen piece Ranma rocketed out of his chair and raced out of the classroom.
"NO WAY!"
Ranma's disappearing act did not lighten the speculation. Now all eyes were on Akane. The class' scrutiny was so intense she was forced to also hurriedly excuse herself despite Miss Hinako's commands of "get back here, you delinquents!"
0000
"Ranma!"
The martial artist peered over the edge of the roof. Akane was standing in the garden looking around with a worried expression. Her breath was heavy.
She ran all the way from school . . . But, that shouldn't have winded her, she runs to school all the time so running back wouldn't be any different . . . Stupid tomboy . . . what is she getting all worked up for?
"RANMA NO BAKA!" With that Akane collapsed onto the grass with an exhausted sigh. Running combined with anxiety was the thing that had taken the wind out of her sails.
"Ranma . . ."
Far as he was, his trained ears still picked up her tremulous whisper and it near tore his heart in two. As he looked at her there, lying so still. The image of her lifeless form came back to his mind. Another unbidden tear slipped out. He got rid of it with a vicious wipe.
I'm such a coward!
"Akane-chan?" Nodoka had stepped out into the garden and went to the girl's side. "Akane-chan, you are home so early. Is something the matter?"
"Mrs. Saotome . . . Have you seen Ranma?"
"You mean, he's not at school?"
"No. He fell asleep during class and had a bad dream, I think, then ran out of the building."
"A bad dream? Running away?" Nodoka straightened with alarm.
"That does not sound very manly!"
At the words "not" and "manly" Ranma flattened himself against the roof.
"I'm sure there was a good reason!" Akane cried, grabbing her future mother-in-law's sword arm.
But, Nodoka would not be deterred. "I've been worried about him lately. I wonder what he was dreaming about that scared him so much." Akane did not feel up to enlightening her just now so she just followed Nodoka on the hunt for her son around the garden.
"Ranma!"
If Ranma left the house now, they would see him. He had to hide somewhere. There was only one place he knew of that no one would think to look for him . . .
0000
Akane bit her chopsticks in worry. Where had he gone? It was really serious now. Ranma would not miss a meal if he could help it. Unless . . . he was eating at Uchan's or the Cat Café! . . . Where else would he be. . .?
Akane's grip on her chopsticks tightened.
. . . but with his CUTE fiancées?
CRAAAAACKKK!
SNAP!
"Akane!"
0000
Akane cradled her broken chopsticks in her hands, ignoring the pain of the splinters nestled in her right palm. Luckily, on the whole, it was a fairly clean break. She could glue it back together. She pulled back in a sob as she opened the door to her room. After putting the chopsticks down on her desk she pulled out a tube of super glue from the drawer. But, true to herself, she made a pitiful mess of gluing them.
In her frustration, Akane brought down her fist on the desk with a loud bang. A startled cry came from her left.
Alarmed, Akane slowly stood up and picking up her chair, smashed it through the closet.
She cautiously stepped over to see what pervert had found his way in.
"R-Ranma?"
"Heh . . . Hi, Akane . . ."
"What are you doing in my closet?" her question came in low tones, warning the boy that her mallet was not far behind.
"I was hiding . . ." He slowly admitted.
"From your Mom?"
"Yeah."
"So, you were there when I was in the garden this afternoon!"
"Yeah . . ."
Akane grabbed his shirt collar.
"Then why didn't you answer me? You jerk! If I knew you were here the whole time I wouldn't have thought you were with your 'cute fiancées,' then I wouldn't have broken my chopsticks from Mom!" Akane's last few sentences wavered as she began to tear up. Her grip on Ranma's collar had inadvertently brought his face closer to hers. He couldn't ignore her tears this close up. He could never ignore her tears, period.
"From your. . ."
"Mom picked them out especially for me for when I would be ready to use 'big girl' chopsticks . . ." Akane's head tilted down as tears began to overcome her.
Ranma's hands seemed to move by their own volition, slowly rising, preparing to wrap around . . .
"Ow!" Akane quickly let go of his shirt and began to dig at her right palm. Ranma's hands snapped back to their sides.
"What's the matter?" Ranma quickly stepped closer, however, in concern.
"Splinters." Akane left the room. Ranma followed her.
Akane went into the bathroom and took out a pair of tweezers.
"Why are you following me?" She demanded on her trek back to her room.
Ranma just shrugged his shoulders.
Akane smiled inwardly. He's worried about me . . . no . . . he just feels guilty. The smile faded.
Once in her room Akane sat down on her bed and proceeded to try and coax the splinters out. Ranma sat next to her. She tried to ignore him. Not that she ever really could . . .
"If you're still here just because you feel guilty, then don't bother and just go."
"Why should I feel guilty? You're the one who jumped to the wrong conclusions and broke your own chopsticks. You're the one who should be feeling guilt! Since you're so anxious for me to leave, I'll go . . . after you say you're sorry."
"What was I supposed to think? I looked everywhere for you! My closet didn't even cross my mind! Why would it?"
"True." Ranma conceded. "There's no way I would normally be caught dead hiding such an un-sexy girl's closet."
Akane knew he was right about the guilty part but, dang it, if he would just quit while he was ahead and not run his stupid mouth . . .!
Her right hand flew towards his face. But was caught easily before connection.
"Slapping me is only going to drive the splinters in more. Stupid."
Ranma snatched the tweezers from Akane's left hand and maintained his grip on the right.
"W-what are you doing?"
"Gettin' the stupid splinters out of the stupid hand of my stupid fiancée. What does it look like I'm doin'?"
"Thanks, but no thanks!" Akane tried to jerk her hand away. The use of the words "my fiancée" made her blush even if the word stupid was between them.
"Stop being so stubborn!" Ranma exclaimed. "I won't be able to get them out if you don't hold still."
"Stubborn? Stubborn! HA! Look who's talking!"
Ranma's head shot up from his work. "What'dya mean? I'm not stubborn!"
Akane let out a sharp burst of mirthless laughter. "Yeah, okay, Ranma and you don't turn into a girl when hit with cold water."
Ranma grumbled something incoherent, which was as close as he would get to admitting defeat and went back to picking out the splinters. Okay, so he was stubborn, but Akane was more so.
"Ow-ow-ow—OW!"
"Brace up! Are you a macho chick or not?"
Ranma moved his head out of the way of the punch.
"Why are you insisting on doing this anyway?" Akane demanded.
"'Cause you're too clumsy to do it yourself! You'll probably end up takin' off all your skin with the tweezers and leaving the splinters."
"Why you—!"
Ranma evaded another onslaught of swings from Akane without even looking up from his task.
"Here I am helping you out and this is all the thanks I get? Che, so un-cute! If it were Shampoo, she'd be grateful. Why can't you act more like her once in a while?"
Akane's blood was about to hit boiling point.
"And what? Smother you? Further inflate your already gigantic ego? Though, I wouldn't mind running you over with a bike! Ai ren, Ai ren, you date Akane, yes? I'm a brainless, purple-haired bimbo who can't speak Japanese!"
"At least she cooks better than you and she's sexy!" Ranma felt Akane stiffen. He knew he hit a nerve and instantly regretted it. He prepared to block an attack. But, when none came he began to panic. "Look, Akane, I was joking! Can't you take a joke? It was a joke, a joke!"
"Like our relationship." Akane whispered, more to herself than to him.
R-relationship?
"Huh?"
Akane's head was drooped down so she was staring in her lap, not daring to look up lest he saw the embarrassing tears forming.
"Do we even have one? Aren't we only still 'together' because our fathers engaged us to each other?"
"Well . . ." Ranma began, not really know what to say.
"Then, what's stopping us from breaking it off?"
"What?"
Akane pinned him with an intense stare.
"What's stopping us from ending it? It is our engagement, we should be able to call the shots. Since you don't want it, why don't we call it off?"
"Hey, don't put words in my mouth! Who said I . . ." Ranma stopped himself just in time before he dug himself in the hole of a confession.
"You want to stay engaged?" Akane asked.
Beads of sweat were beginning to appear on Ranma's forehead.
"I didn't say that . . ."
"Then why? Why are we still doing this? It's because you have a roof over your head and free meals when engaged to me, right? Isn't that it?" Akane's voice was so harsh and bitter that it made Ranma wince. Tears were now forming in her eyes.
Please, don't . . .
"Why did you even save me, Ranma?" Akane said, her voice shaking.
"Huh?"
"If this was going to be our future . . . why did you even bother to save me?"
Ranma sat there, stunned. He wanted to shake her. How could she say such a thing? How dare she!
"What?" Ranma ground out.
"I'm tired of living this way, Ranma. I thought things would be different after. . . how stupid of me!" Akane wrapped her arms around herself, as if to be her own comfort. "You should've just let me die."
Ranma grabbed Akane by the shoulders and gave her a slight shake.
"That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard you say! Get this straight, Akane: If anyone had been in that situation, I would've done the same thing!"
Akane's cheeks flushed crimson. She knew that. Then why did you say that?
"But, back on the topic—" an evil glint came into Ranma's eyes. "—Let's turn this on it's head, shall we? Why haven't you broken off our engagement?"
Suddenly all thoughts were stripped clean away at the sensation of Akane's soft lips on his. But they were gone before Ranma's mind even registered what had happened.
Akane gave him a sad smile then slid off her bed.
"W-where are you going?" Asked Ranma still reeling from the kiss.
"I'm going to tell our Dads that it's off, once and for all."
Akane turned back to the door. In a flash, Ranma came up behind her and embraced her from the back.
"Ranma, what—?"
"I want to stay engaged to you."
Akane's heart felt like it was going to escape. "Why?"
"Because, I . . . I love you."
Akane's face spread into a smile even though there lingered a touch of wariness. "If you're just joking with me, Ranma, I swear I'll . . . I'll . . ." Ranma placed a shy kiss on her cheek.
"You'll what?" He asked, trying to sound intimidating, which is hard to do with a hoarse voice.
"I don't remember." Akane turned herself around in his arms, so she faced him.
"Kawaiikune . . ." Ranma whispered before capturing her lips with his.
Akane sighed his name with a smile before contentedly wrapping her arms about his shoulders.
"I love you, Ranma."
In the back of their minds they both marveled at how they had been wholly uninterrupted.
Unknown to the two who finally found each other, a little lost pig had squeezed his way into cracked-open doorway. As he watched the couple, large piggy tears dropped from his eyes to splash onto the carpet. The poor thing cried so hard that his little "bwee-bwees" were noticeable.
Ranma whipped his head around to see the black piglet. The bottom dropped out of his stomach.
"Ryoga . . ."
"Ryoga?"
Crap!
"I mean—"
But, it was too late, Akane saw her "P-chan."
"That's not Ryoga, stupid, that's—" Suddenly, and with knee-buckling force, it came together. "Ranma . . .?"
P-chan let out a loud, despairing "bwee" and ran down the hall.
"Ryoga! Come back!" Ranma tore down the hall after him.
Akane dropped to her knees.
Ryoga is P-chan?
Her mind flashbacked to all the times she cuddled him to her chest, told him her secrets . . . shared her bed with him . . . her anger began to build. Ranma could feel it at the other end of the house. He hoped he found Ryoga before Akane did.
In the foyer Ranma finally caught up with the black pig.
Genma-panda scrambled to get out of the way of the two. Ranma made a dive for P-chan but, the pig ran up Genma's stomach and leapt over Ranma. Ranma ended up skidding into his father. Ryoga, with a miniture "Bakusai Tenketsu" to the front door, was free and booking it to heaven only knows where.
Ranma stood panting at the destroyed door. But, he did not have much time to rest for he sensed a very large battle aura building behind him.
"Raaaannnmmaaaa!"
The young man slowly turned around to face his enraged fiancée.
"You knew . . . and you never TOLD ME!"
"A-Akane, listen, it-it's—it's complicated—"
"I'll show you complicated!" Out came the mallet and Ranma went into orbit.
"STUPID AKANEEEEEEEEeeeeeee!"
To be continued . . .
A/N: I hope you liked the first chapter!