CAN'T LET GO
(A Ranma 1/2 fic by Cass and GSL)
The DARKEST fanfic of "Ranma 1/2" that I have ever read. It was not me who wrote it but I found it in the forgotten depths of the web. Too good to let it sink into oblivion. Be careful though, NO HAPPY END.
[] = dream sequence
= character's thoughts
Part 1 Dreams and Revelations
He awoke in the midst of darkness, darkness that shrouded his tiny room and made it just as black and void as his heart. He lay in his bed, unmoving, welcoming the darkness, embracing it.
But all too soon, a ray of light came through the slightly parted curtains, heralding in the start of a new day. He turned his head slightly and stared at the offending spot of light on the wall. He willed himself to get out of bed and draw the curtains shut or cover his face with a blanket. Nothing happened.
Half an hour later, Ukyou came in, carrying a tray. "Rise andshine! It's a beautiful morning. The streets are starting to bustlewith activity," she said cheerfully as she yanked the curtains open.
He blinked as light flooded the room.
"Come on, I've made you some meat porridge." She placed the tray on a table and pulled him up to a sitting position, supported by a pillow behind his back. She tied a bib to his neck and began spoon feeding him. HOT! His mind screamed as he opened his mouth to cool his tongue. Oops. The unswallowed porridge began a slow descent down to his chin, neck and bib. He waited for the inevitable exasperated scolding and cleaning up. Ukyou just scooped up some more porridge and stuffed it into his mouth. He's gonna make a mess later, even if I clean him up now, so I might as well wait until he's finished eating.
And so the race began. He would try to chew and swallow the porridge before Ukyou could stuff the next spoonful in. He usually managed but sometimes, he would end up choking or spitting out the excess. This was one of those moments. I hate my life! he thought as he gagged.
She quickly patted his back. "Don't want to eat anymore?"
He nodded his head slowly.
She placed the food away and began wiping his face and body and changing his clothes. She started chatting as she changed his diapers, for a menial task as such, required a diversion.
"Do you know it has been a year to the day that I arrived in Nerima, Ran-chan? Things have changed a lot since then. You know, looking back, it was pretty ridiculous the way we three fiancées chased after you..."
Begin flashback -
"Ring..." Hordes of students rushed out of the classrooms for lunch. Everyone was happy about the hour-long break, well, except for one. He was sneaking and looking furtively around the corridor, hoping he could find a haven. Just when he thought he was safe, a voice
shouted, "Ranma! There you are. I've made lunch especially for you."
He gulped nervously and faced his tormentor, Akane. She was beaming as she handed him the chemical waste that she called food. "What is it?" he asked as he prodded the bubbling mass with his chopsticks.
"Can't you tell? Its teriyaki chicken." She grinned proudly and asked him to try it. A minute passed and he was still fiddling with the "food". Akane glared at him, her gaze threatening pain onto him if he didn't eat it all up.
Ranma wondered which option would cause lesser pain. (A)Eat and then suffer hours of agony in the toilet or (B)Refuse to eat it and get malleted by Akane. Just as he was about to eat the lunch, from opposite directions, came Ukyou with a plate of okonomiyaki and Shampoo with ramen. Both girls tried to ram their food down his throat with one hand while the other hand fended off each other's attack.
"Ran-chan, try my new recipe. 'Squid paradise'." Ukyou popped in a piece while swinging at Shampoo with her giant spatula.
"No, airen. Eat mine!" Shampoo purred as she rubbed her body against Ranma, fed him a portion and blocked Ukyou's blow.
Akane fumed and swung a table at the trio, knocking the other fiancées away from Ranma. She screamed as she took out her mallet from who-knows-where and flattened Ranma. As Ranma lost consciousness, his last thought was OUCH! The most painful is definitely option (C): Eat other fiancées' food and get malleted.
A few days later, Ranma was malleted yet again. (The 396th time actually, but who's counting? For a great martial artist, he wasn't good at avoiding a certain mallet-armed girl, was he?)
"Akane, are you okay?" asked Ukyou as she walked into the dojo.
"Fine," she mumbled. "So what if I caught the baka kissing Shampoo the hussy. I'm not upset. They can go back to China and never come back for all I care," she continued while viciously punching a straw dummy wearing a red Chinese shirt.
"It really wasn't his fault this time. Shampoo suddenly showed up and kissed him."
"I didn't see him pull away!"
"Ranma tried to get away but she wouldn't let go. And you know about Ranma's 'don't hurt girls' policy. He didn't want to injure Shampoo by using some of his special attacks. I was about to pry her off when you showed up."
Akane was speechless. Did it really happen the way Ukyou claimed? In her mind, she replayed the entire scene. And this time, she saw what truly happened.
Seeing Akane's guilty expression, Ukyou comforted her by saying, "Don't worry, Ranma doesn't hold a grudge. Just apologize to him and he'll forgive you."
"Thanks. Ukyou." She smiled at the chef.
"You're welcome. I better get back to Ucchan's. Konatsu can't handle the rush hour alone." Ukyou grinned and left.
Two minutes later, Ranma walked into the dojo, sporting a lump on his forehead the size of a lemon.
She winced as she saw the damage she had done in a fit of rage.
I swear I'll control my temper in the future. She moved closer to Ranma and apologized for her earlier behaviour.
Ranma blinked. Unused to hearing apologies from the violent tomboy, he said the first thing that occurred to him. "It's about time you realized that I'm innocent. You are always too hot-tempered to hear my explanations. If you keep acting like a raving mad lunatic, no one will want to marry- OW!"
Akane had punched him on his stomach and with a shout of "Ranma no baka!" sent him soaring into the sky. "Humph! The idiot deserved it. Innocent, my foot," she commented as she entered the house. Coming out from her hiding place, Ukyou shook her head and left.
[A 7-year-old Ukyou was sitting in a swing in a playground. Each forward swing brought her a little closer to the blue skies and the fluffy clouds above. If she kicked hard enough, maybe just maybe she could touch a cloud that reminded her of a spatula. Maybe she could even find her mommy up in the clouds. She swung higher and higher.
Her feet touched the sand and just when she was about to propel herself forward, she heard them. Voices whispering, just loud enough for her keen ears to hear, "That's her. She got dumped by her fiancée. Must be something wrong with her..."
Little Ukyou shut her eyes, knowing that they must be staring at her. She continued swinging, trying to ignore the voices. But they grew louder and louder. She cried. "Stop. Please," she begged. But the voices continued screaming, hurling insult after insult.
She opened her eyes, wanting to run away, only to find that she was in a classroom. She looked down at herself. She was still dressed in the lavender overalls. Shocked, she could only sit on the granite floor as the voices began to take shape. They took on the features of
her teachers and classmates in school. They surrounded her, taunting her, laughing at her. Little Ukyou cried harder, and hugged her knees, wanting them to leave her alone. "Please stop. It wasn't my fault that Ran-chan left." she stammered while sobbing.]
On her bed, Ukyou huddled into a ball and whimpered as tears streaked down her face.
(The next day)
As usual, Ryouga was lost again. The surroundings didn't seem familiar to him. But one signboard stood out, telling him that he was in Nerima and that help was on the way. 'Ucchan's' was the name of the shop. The owner was one of the few friends that Ryouga had. He quickly ran into the shop, praying that Ukyou would be around to lead him to the Tendo dojo.
The sole-proprietor was busy mopping the floor, getting ready for the lunch crowd. She was interrupted when her door swung open to reveal a rather excited Ryouga. He failed to register that the floor was wet and 'thud' he fell. But that was not before upsetting the pail of water
which Ukyou used to mop the floor.
She was astonished at first to see Ryouga disappear but it all began to make sense. "Now, I know why you are so afraid of water."
Smiling, she picked up the little black piglet off the ground together with his belongings, and headed towards the bathroom. "I presume that you want a bath and change back?"
The black piglet simply nodded. He was covered with foam and was not feeling that comfortable. His secret was revealed but that was okay. This wasn't Akane, it was Ukyou. His life was not in danger.
"I wonder why I didn't notice it, especially Ranma keeps calling you pig boy? Guess it never occurred to me that you would have fallen into a Jusenkyo pool." Ukyou slowly laid him on the floor and placed his backpack beside him. "When you are finished, call for me. I don't want you to go missing again."
"Bwee." He voiced in agreement. Soon after Ukyou closed the door behind her, he jumped into the bathtub to turn on the hot water. Instantly, his body began to change. From a cute piglet, he began to grow in size to a muscular young man. It was a long time since he had a
hot shower. So he slowly rinsed himself, enjoying as the water fell upon him. Reluctantly, he turned off the tap and retrieved his clothes from his backpack. In a few seconds, he was fully dressed and called out for Ukyou.
He was famished and Ukyou immediately prepared a deluxe okonomiyaki for him. He rapidly wolfed down the contents and asked for more. Ukyou obliged and started to prepare another serving for him.
"So, what other secrets have you been keeping from us?" Ukyou said, dispersing the silence between them.
"Huh? Nothing more." Ryouga wasn't really interested in the conversation. In fact, all his attention was focused on the grill where the aroma of the okonomiyaki had attacked his lungs.
"Well, what about the thing that you obviously have for Akane?"
"I..." That caught his attention. His face has turned crimson with the mention of Akane.
"Ha ha ha. Okay, I'm not going to make fun of you. But seriously, when are you going to tell her that you love her?" Ukyou spoke as she deftly placed the cooked okonomiyaki on the plate in front of Ryouga.
"Uh..." He had asked himself this question before but he just couldn't bring himself to say it to her. Everytime, they were together, his mind just went blank. But, it didn't help with the fact that he was mostly in pig-form when he was with Akane. So, there was a problem with
speech.
"Surely, you intend to tell her that, right?"
"It's just that I get flustered when I see her and I'm afraid that I may scare her away like Kuno does. What happens if she rejects me? I can't take the shock. I might as well be dead then." He whimpered.
"But, she has to know if you want her to reciprocate your feelings to you."
"But..."
"Don't you want to marry her someday?"
He nodded.
"Then, you have to tell her your feelings. If you don't do anything, she may not be there anymore. And you will regret." There was a moment of silence as Ryouga pondered over her words. She continued.
"I'll help you to pursue Akane."
Now, Ryouga looked up to her. She sounded and looked sincere to him. If he would just take this step, he would have Akane. Wasn't she worth all the sacrifices in the world?
"Don't tell me you want to be her pig forever? Or do you want to wait until Ranma and Akane are married"
That was the boost needed to propel him from his seat. He hated to be called a pig. But the idea of Ranma and Akane being married had angered him even more. "I'll never let that happen."
"And how do you intend to stop them. Ranma is an obviously better fighter than you are. And Akane is unlikely to reciprocate her feelings to you unless you do something. So, what could you do?"
"I..."
"The only way you could stop that from happening, is to make Akane fall in love with you. Don't you want to wake up everyday to Akane sleeping beside you?"
"I..." He wanted to say something but no words came out of his mouth. He lingered on to the image that Ukyou had painted; Akane sleeping beside him. He wanted desperately to marry Akane and Ukyou was right in a way. He was afraid of change. But he was even more afraid of the consequences of not taking the risk. He mustered his determination and said. "What must I do now?"
Yes! Ukyou grinned. Finally, she had knocked some sense into this pig. All she had to do was to get Ryouga to be with Akane, and Ranma will be hers. "First, you will have to tell Akane of your curse."
"NANI! She will kill me!"
"For both of you to have a meaningful relationship, both of you need to be truthful to each other. How do you expect to hide the truth from her when you marry her? She will find out sooner or later. It's better that you tell her now than she find out by herself or through others. Furthermore, if you truly love her, you should not take advantage of her."
Ryouga was speechless. Wasn't it ironic? He had vowed to protect Akane but it was also him that took advantage of her.
"You have to tell her. You must. For her sake." Ukyou pleaded. She knew that Akane would never forgive Ryouga if he continued to deceive her. If they were to start courting and Akane found out the reason for P-chan's disappearances, they would never be together. She couldn't let that happen. "I'll help you phrase your confession. Hopefully, Akane would find in her heart to forgive you and accept you."
"But..." He was still hesitant. Especially when his life was at stake.
"Ryouga. This is a chance that you have to take. It's better to try and regret than to regret for not trying. At least when this is over, you know that you have tried your best."
Confusion overwhelmed him. This was a big step that if taken, could lead to the ultimate rejection or the sweetest bliss. Or he could stay where he was, be Akane's pet and live in fear of his secret being discovered. But at least his limbs and his heart would not be broken anytime soon. Yes, there was something to be said about not changing the status quo. He felt Ukyou touched his hand and turned his head slightly to look at the chef-turned-Aunt Agony. Her pleading gaze gave him the determination to break through the barrier that he had built
within himself. He would die with no regrets. "I'll tell her the truth."
(Akane's room)
"Why are you staring at me?!"
"Why would I even want to look at you?!"
"Hentai!"
"Kawaiikune!"
"Jerk!"
"Tomboy!"
"Ranma no baka!" With a battle cry, Akane punted Ranma into the general direction of the Tendo koi pond. A splash was heard and more obscenities followed. She was puzzled or rather unnerved by the fact that no matter how hard she tried, everything still remained the same. This morning, she tried to be civil towards him but he just couldn't hold his tongue for a second. And the usual insults followed. Sometimes, she wished that she could run away and leave all these insanity behind. Why did her father engage her to such an arrogant, insensitive, chauvinistic, womanizing jerk? She was tired of arguing with Ranma. She was tired of being the violent girl. She was tired of being engaged to him. Engulfed in her anger, she did not notice that Ryouga and Ukyou had entered her room.
"Akane?" Ryouga asked.
"Huh?" Akane quickly brushed her tears away as she registered the presence of the two guests in her room. Her anger flared again by being caught in this embarrassing situation. She didn't want them to know that she had cried for that baka.
"Gomen. We knocked but you didn't seem to hear it, so we came in." Ukyou spoke. She slowly approached Akane and sat next to her on her bed. She put her hand over Akane's and gave a light squeeze. This had the effect of comforting her.
"Maybe, we should leave you alone for a while." Ryouga spoke and opened the door of ...the cupboard. He turned embarrassely to face the two girls; his hand went to the back of his head and gave a sheepish grin. "Oops, guess that wasn't the door I was looking for?"
Akane burst out laughing. Her spirits liftened by Ryouga's unintentional blunder. "It's alright. Ryouga, please stay. You are making me feel better."
"Yah. Don't forget what we are supposed to do." Ukyou added in between laughs.
"Huh? What are both of you supposed to do?" Akane asked. She had stopped laughing as her curiousity got the better of her.
Ryouga suddenly went tensed. His hand by his side now and his heart threatened to jump out of his chest. He saw Akane switch glances between himself and Ukyou. A sweatdrop began to form on his forehead.
"Uh..."
"Ryouga had something to tell you." Ukyou replied, giving Ryouga a stern look which when translated meant 'I'm going to kill you if you chicken out'.
Ryouga began to fidget, fighting a battle in his mind. A part of him wanted to back out but another part demanded him to confess. He looked at the girls in front of him. Akane was waiting for him to talk while Ukyou had become more impatient. Ukyou cleared her throat
noisily, thrusting Ryouga into reality. NO! I won't be a coward. With a mental boost, he began. "Akane. I think by now you know that I have a curse. My bad sense of direction. I've never been from one place to another without getting lost halfway. Because of this, I have never been able to stay in a place constant enough to call home. Yes, I do actually have a home, but my parents are always not there. They would most probably be lost someplace in the world. I hardly get a chance to see my parents and it's been 2 years since I last saw them."
He paused to check his own emotions. His eyes were moistened with the wetness of his tears. And he became consumed in his own misery.
"For my whole life, I was always alone. I've hardly any friends. People I know would just laugh at my sense of direction. Do you know how that feels like? It's terrible. It's depressing. It would just like if I disappear from the face of this earth and nobody would notice a thing. I
grew up in such an environment, nobody there to care and love me. But that changed since the day I met you."
Akane froze. What is Ryouga trying to say?
He saw a flicker in her eyes and braced himself to continue.
"Akane, I never thought that I would have friends to care for me. But you...you always seemed to care so much about me. You fuzzed over me; you showered attention and affection on me. You...you hugged and kissed me. These few very precious moments had given me a glimpse of happiness."
Akane was bewildered. "What do you mean that I hugged and kissed you? I never did that."
Ryouga, you can do it! He shouted to himself mentally "I've another curse. A Jusenkyo one."
"NANI! You got a Jusenkyo curse? How can it be? What do you turn into?" Akane was thrown into a web of confusion. As she thought about what Ryouga had said to her, about the kissing and the Jusenkyo curse, realization finally struck. "NO! It can't be. Tell me you are not P-chan?"
"I'm sorry, Akane. I need to tell you the truth. I'm P-chan."
"NOOO! How can you do this? I've told you my innermost secrets, I've undressed before you, and I've trusted you. Why? Why did you deceive me?" Akane was angry. Her battle aura flared and became visible to the naked eye. She would have attacked him but she was constrained by Ukyou's hands. Ukyou had hugged her tightly from behind. She could hear Ukyou whispering to her to calm down and to listen to what Ryouga had to say. But she was beyond reasoning; she wanted badly to inflicthurt on him. She tried to force her way out of Ukyou's iron grip but she just seemed to hold her even tighter.
"Akane, hear me out. Let me finish what I want to say and you can do anything to me afterwards."
She stopped struggling against Ukyou and stared at him. "Speak."
The coldness in her voice chilled his heart and if stares could kill, he would be dead already. And actually, that was not too far from the truth if Akane doesn't forgive him. "Loneliness has always been my constant companion. But the first time you held me in your arms, I had this sudden rush of happiness, that I will never be alone again. In P-chan's form, I've got the care and concern that I've never had as a human. You would never shower this kind of affection on me if you knew the truth. You loved me as a pet but I've never felt love before. I was afraid. Afraid that if you knew, I would never be at the receiving end of your attention. I was afraid of losing you. I'm sorry."
Her anger simmered down. She was still angry with him for taking advantage of her. But she felt good to know that she was needed and treasured by Ryouga. She pitied his lifestyle and empathized the lonely days of his life. But was it enough to forgive him?
"When Ukyou knew that I was P-chan, she told me to tell the truth. I was hesitant; I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to change the way things are. I used to be contented to be your pet, to beloved by you. But not anymore." His face was contorted with anguish and despair. But his eyes were burning with love for her, never leaving hers as he continued. "I was attracted to your warm and kindness. It was so easy to fall in love with you. In fact, I had fallen madly in love with you as the days went by. Now, I don't want to be your pet anymore, I wanted to be something more. I want to have a future with you."
To say that Akane was shocked, was the understatement of the year. A minute ago, she just realized that P-chan was Ryouga and now he was telling her that he loved her. That was too much information in a day. Her brain was not functioning and she was in an emotional mess.
Until today, she had never thought of Ryouga as more than a friend. She hated him when he told her that he was P-chan but now, she didn't know how she felt for him.
He wanted to be near her, to hug her, to convince her his immense love for her but he couldn't. For nights, he has dreamt of confessing his love for Akane but in every dream, the conclusion was the same. Akane would hug him and say that she loved him too. But she just sat there. Does it mean that she doesn't love me? He recalled the many things that she had told him, mostly about Ranma. Subconsciously he knew that her heart belonged to another but he just wouldn't believe it. Now, looking at her, he knew he had lost and he cried. He had confessed and there was nothing to do now except to leave. "Akane, I know you may never love me more than a friend, but you will always be in my heart. I love you."
She saw him leave her room through the window. But she could still feel his presence. The tears that he shed, the painful expression on his face, the love in his eyes and the words that he said, continued to linger in her heart.
Ukyou slowly released her grip on Akane. She was still in shock, Ukyou observed. Then, she heard her mumble something about Ryouga. She was concerned. She carefully moved to face Akane, wanting to help her.
"Are you alright?"
"Ryouga said that he loves me." Akane mumbled.
Her voice was so soft that Ukyou had to strain her ears to hear her. "Yes. He loves you very deeply. I'm surprised you didn't see it coming."
"You knew?"
"Ever since I've seen him act around you."
"Oh." Akane replied with a blank expression on her face. Her eyes strayed to find a picture of the gang's picture. Everyone was there. She stared at Ranma then Ryouga. The two men in her life. One was her fiancée, and the other loved her.
"Ryouga is a good man. He didn't mean to hurt you."
"I know."
"Would you forgive him?"
"Maybe."
"I know you are not the hateful sort."
She gave a weak smile to Ukyou's comment. Right now, she wasn't that concerned over Ryouga's Jusenkyo curse but his love for her. It was after all the first time she heard a guy confessed his love for her. Kuno and the other boys in school don't count because they were
just infatuated with her, she reasoned. Ryouga was different. He was a friend and his love for her seemed so real, so deep.
"Akane, how do you feel about Ryouga?" Ukyou finally asked.
"I'm not sure." She found herself flooded with emotions about Ryouga. She loved him as a friend but her feelings don't seem to end there.
"Then, do you love ... Ranma?" She found it hard to speak to Akane about such matters, since they are both his fiancée. It was always a mystery to her about Akane's feelings for him. But behind the quarrellings and the malletings, she guessed that they loved each other.
"Huh?" Ranma, the other man in her life. It was even harder to explain her feelings for him. At times, she really hated him. But sometimes when they touched, there was electricity in the air. A smile from him could set her heart soaring but she would always brush away her feelings for him as soon as they surfaced. It had become a habit to deny her feelings for him and it was an easier way to handle their relationship. "No."
Ukyou expected Akane to be honest this time but it didn't disappoint her. "If this is the case, why don't you give Ryouga a chance? He is sweet and kind but most importantly, he is totally
devoted to you."
"Ukyou, I really don't know. I'm very confused now." Akane was tired. Her mind was going to explode if she continued to think about Ryouga or Ranma. Her only wish now is to shut her mind and sleep.
Ukyou had registered her reluctance to discuss the subject further. Akane also looked worn out. Any discussion in this state would prove futile. "You looked tired. Why don't you take a rest?" After seeing Akane gave a nod, she moved out of the room, closing the door behind her.
(One week has passed.)
Akane is really quiet. I wonder what's wrong with her? Ranma thought as he gazed at the figure walking in front of him. They were sent by Kasumi to buy some foodstuff but it was actually a ploy to make Akane get out of the house. She hardly left the house now. He was
puzzled by Akane's sudden change of behaviour. She hadn't cooked for him during the past week. Heck, she hardly talked to him now. She was always preoccupied with thoughts. It was frightening to him. So occasionally, he would just pass a rude comment so that Akane would
make some kind of response to him.
He remembered the day when Akane changed or the day when he was malleted to join the ranks of pancake. The events still remained fresh in his memory. That Sunday morning, he was in Akane's room forced to do his homework. Every so often, he would look up to steal a glance at her. She was totally captivating when she was concentrating on something, he realized. Then, she caught him in the act and accused him of looking at her. He denied of course and the insults followed. He was then sent flying to meet his good buddy, the Koi.
After getting cleaned up, he heard some shouting from Akane's room. He wanted to check things out but when he saw Ryouga running out of the dojo, he followed him. Ryouga seemed to be crying. He wanted to approach him but Ryouga pushed him away, saying that he wanted to be alone. Ranma obliged him and went back to the dojo. He saw Ukyou leaving, so he ran towards her striking a conversation. They went back to Ucchan's where he diminished her food supply.
He went back to the dojo when night began to fall. Akane looked depressed. His heart ached. But when she saw him, she brought out her mallet on him. It turned out that she had found out about Ryouga's curse. However when she confided with Nabiki, she realized that he had withheld the information from her. So, he was malleted.
Ever since, she had become withdrawn. During the first two days, he acted as if he didn't care but now he was truly worried.
She was hardly aware of Ranma's presence behind her. For the whole week, she had gone through emotional hell. She desperately tried to sort out her feelings for Ranma and Ryouga but all she ended up with was a headache. Ranma was a jerk. Everyone could see that she was downcast and they all tried to be nicer to her. He however continued with his insults. She can't understand him. How could he be such an insensitive baka? Ryouga would never be like him. In fact, he would be the opposite. He would try to make her sorrows go away. Ryouga. She
had thought of this name more often now. There was a certain longing for this man.
Out of a corner, Ryouga appeared. Ranma shouted for him and this caught Akane's attention. She turned to look at him and was surprised by his dishevelled appearance. But she was happy to see him and ran towards him. She didn't realize how much she had missed him.
Ryouga was surprised to see them. After his confession, he wanted to leave Nerima and never step onto this place again. But as fate would have it, your wishes would never be answered. "Ryouga, we need to talk." Akane spoke as she had dragged him away before he could say
anything, leaving a confused Ranma behind.
They went to a small park nearby and sat in one of the benches. There was an awkward silence between them. Neither knew what to say. He thought he had lost her and her pride was getting in the way of her words.
Finally, he started the ball rolling. "Akane, I'm sorry for lying to you."
"It's alright. Ryouga, I forgive you."
"Can we still be friends?" Ryouga was relieved to have her forgiveness but he wasn't sure if she still held him as a friend.
"Of course."
He smiled. The past week was a horrid one. Now, the girl of his dreams was sitting beside him. She had forgiven him and was even willing to be his friend. For moments, he toyed with the idea of asking her out. But he didn't need to ask.
"Ryouga, I have a sudden urge for ice-cream. Want to get some?" Akane flashed her trademark smile as she asked. Joyfulness was written all over her face now.
"Sure." He was gleeful.
Their exchange was not lost on Ranma. He had followed them. He was shocked to find Akane being so sweet to Ryouga after his secret was revealed. He was fuming inside as he thought of how she treated him when he had done nothing wrong. He saw them stood up and began to walk away. They were walking rather closely to each other and that was when he decided that he had enough of watching. He might cough out blood if he found them closer. He decided to pay a visit to Ucchan's to iron out his feelings.
(In Ucchan's)
"Hey, Ucchan! Hello! UCCHAN!" shouted Ranma as he waved his hands furiously in front of Ukyou.
She blinked. "Oh hi Ran-chan. Didn't see you come in."
"Can I have two no. 3 set meals?"
She nodded and began frying several chicken okonomiyaki. Ranma sat down and pondering over Akane's behaviour. A few minutes later, he looked at the grill and found his food getting burnt. "Ucchan!" He shouted.
"Oh!" exclaimed the young chef as she tried to salvage the food.
"Here. It's a little burned but its still edible," she said embarrassed. An accomplished chef like herself shouldn't have made such a mistake.
"What's wrong? You burned the food and got my order wrong. I wanted shrimp, not chicken," asked Ranma as he placed his hand over Ukyou's.
"Nothing! I... I had a nightmare last night. That's all." Ukyou shivered a little as she remembered the nightmare:
[A girl about 12 years old was ransacking the cupboards for food. She had a tiny frame, probably because she didn't have enough to eat. Her arms and face showed signs of bruises and her every motion seemed to hurt. Her face paled as sounds of feet shuffling were heard. She was horrified. A man walked unsteadily into the house. Too late. Her room was too far away. She couldn't risk him seeing her. So, she quickly ran to a corner and prayed that he would return to his room. He had withhim some beer bottles and was also smoking a cigarette. His hands were waving in the air and he was babbling.
He sat down on a chair and continued to drink from a bottle. He was cursing again. She pressed her hands to her ears until it began to hurt. She didn't want to hear whatever he was saying. She shut her eyes tightly, refusing to see the sight before her. No matter how hard she
tried, bits and pieces of his speech seeped into her ears.
No! I'm not a bitch. Daddy, please stop! She screamed in her mind. But he hadn't finished. 'Go to hell' she heard him say. She pushed her fingers further into her ears as streams of tears flowed. He wouldn't stop. He cursed again and again. Her heart shattered everytime he sweared.
He downed the last drop of beer into his throat. Madness overtook him when he couldn't find any beer left. "Ukyou!" He shouted. Her heart almost stopped. She involuntarily opened her eyes and she regretted it immediately. She found him staring at her hatefully, rage building
inside him. She shivered in the warm summer evening.
He took a step towards her and was cursing again. This time, her hands were not in her ears but in front of her, to ward off the beast that was nearing her...]
"Are you alright? You zoned out for awhile." Ranma looked at his best friend with a worried expression.
"I'm fine. It is just a silly dream." Ukyou smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "Shrimp okonomiyaki, coming right up." As she stirred the batter, she recalled the rest of the nightmare:
[...She inched back to her corner, trying to distance herself from him but to no avail. In a second, he grabbed her tiny body to a stand. She looked fearfully to the man and was given a tight slap. She fell to the ground as the pain engulfed her. Her face was burning but shortly after she felt a kick on her stomach. Then, he stood her up again to give her another slap. She was about to fall but he was holding onto her.
He scolded her for being a curse and that she had shamed him and stained the family honour. He raved on and on about how she had destroyed his whole life while hitting her repeatedly on her face and stomach. Then, he shoved her hard to the floor and continued his abuse by kicking her tiny frame.
All along, she pleaded with her father to stop. Her tears flowed like a river as she was battered. She apologized repeatedly but her words fell on deaf ears. She could feel her bones aching and was overwhelmed by the pain.
It was not the first time that he had laid his hands on her. Almost every night, he would return drunk and started cursing and swearing at her. Then, he would hit her until he was tired. But, it was different tonight. He didn't seem tired. Not satisfied with just kicking her, he grabbed hold of a beer bottle by the table and flung it at her.
She shrieked when it connected with her head. She could see blood seeping from her forehead as redness clouded her vision. She was getting dizzy as the image of her father blurred. She crawled towards him, begging him to bring her to a doctor. However, he stood motionless. Then, darkness overtook her.]
End of part 1