Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½
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Misunderstandings
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Chapter One
As the two headed home from Furinkan, they were silent, and for a time the only noise that could be heard was the snow crunching beneath their boots. Ranma had been concealing something from her and she was aware, but she continued to give him opportunities to confide her in the little secret being passed around amongst her family and his suitors only for her to be left out in the cold.
His silence honestly irritated her to greatly, but she strategically delayed her outburst until he spoke to her, seeing that she couldn't attack him if he didn't speak to her. Even their classmates were knowledgeable of the tension hanging in the air whenever the two were around each other- which wasn't that often anymore.
He effortlessly leaped off the fence and soundlessly landed next to her, his body in close proximity with hers. "So, something happened..." He began, his sentence trailing off as he eyed her cautiously, awaiting a lash out from her for whatever reason.
She didn't respond.
"Last week when you were sleeping over at Sayuri's house, Shampoo came by and offered me five tickets to China," he jammed his hands into his pocket and shrugged, "so, of course, I took them. And, um, uh, it's only going to be me, pop, Shampoo, Ryoga, and Mousse. So I just thought I would let you know."
She didn't respond once more, her heart incredibly wounded by his confession. He found out last week and he didn't let her know until now? Why was it that she was always the last person to be told about anything? He always keeps her out of the loop, insulted her, ridiculed her, and seems to acknowledge her as his stepping stool that just hangs around whenever he needs her.
"Akane...?"
She refused to reply, and continued trotting through the snow a few strides ahead of him. She admired the snow; so quiet as it blanketed the world with its beautiful crystal layers of cold, yet unimaginably deadly when made contact for too long.
"Answer me, damn it!"
"And say what, Ranma?" She spat, managing to bury her tears under her anger for a shocking first time.
He fixed his gaze on his feet, exhaling deeply as his breath crystallized the air before him. "Anything."
She rummaged for the perfect word that could summarize her feelings almost immaculately. "Good-bye, Ranma." She replied icily, brushing pass him as tears burned at the brim of her eyes, threatening to slip out.
He unconsciously reached for her wrist and she, most likely very surprised, struggled against his grip. "Akane, listen I-" But his sentence was interrupted by the ring of an all too familiar bell of an all too familiar bike.
She yanked her arm out of his grip and planted a firm slap across his cheek, causing his head to whip in the other direction, as she obviously caught him off guard. When his face turned, she noticed the outline of her fingers on his face, a dark red sign of her anger. "Your bride is here." She informed him bitterly, exiting the premises as Shampoo rode in gleefully, ignorant to what just took place.
"Aiya! Airen, what happen to face?" Shampoo asked sincerely, slinging her arms around Ranma's neck as she attempted to glomp him.
Ranma gently forced her off of him, gazing blankly into her eyes. "What do you want, Shampoo?"
Shampoo brightened, clapping her hands together enthusiastically. "Want remind Airen that tomorrow we going to China. We meet early at boat place and I bring food for Airen! Is okay?"
He itched the back of his head and laughed sheepishly. "Uh, yeah, sounds good, Shampoo. And you know what the best thing is?"
She shook her head.
"No uncute girls are gonna be there!" He shouted, hoping that Akane was nearby so she could hear his last sentence. "Well, I gotta go make last preparations so I'll see you at maybe seven tomorrow?"
"Okay, Airen!" Shampoo smiled once more before hopping on her bike and riding away.
He didn't understand how she could ride in such harsh temperatures, seeing that she was a girl and all... but then again, she never ceased to surprise him. He shrugged and began jogging home, preparing to scream at Akane whenever he caught up to his angry fiancée.
It wasn't his fault at all. At the very least she should be thanking him from sparing her the heartache of having to deal with his departure. After all, isn't she always droning on and on about how he always leaves her behind? But when he decides to leave her behind and not inform her until the last minute to save her the lecture- she slaps him!
But he was truly caught off guard by the boldness of her slap. Her usual behavior is to scream at him then strike him multiple times with a mallet or with any other weapon of her choice. But today, she didn't swear at him or even start up with the abuse, she just stayed silent. And to him, that was a lot worse then her swearing profanely at him.
It was his Christmas vacation and he was going to Jusenkyo with Akane furious with him. He frowned. Why did his life have to be so complicated? Why did Akane always have to get angry over the dumbest things? Why couldn't she be as sweet as Kasumi? Or maybe as forgiving as Ukyo? Why did she have to be as uncute as ever?
He sighed once more and shook his head. What was happening to them? The more he spent time with her, the less she smiled. He couldn't help but notice that the more she spent time with him, the less he laughed. He crossed his arms over his chest and thought that maybe it was better for both of them if he just left in secrecy. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea, seeing that if Akane didn't know, that would save them the argument.
He quickened his pace as the flurries of the snow seemed to be shifting to a deadly blizzard. He saw the Tendo Dojo emerge from the distance. Eager for the warmth, he sprinted the rest of the way and burst through the door, slipping it shut behind him.
"I'm home!" He called as usual before he slipped his shoes off and tossed them to the side.
"Hello, Ranma," Kasumi greeted him, wiping her hands on the dish towel. "How was your day?"
"Good, Kasumi," He replied, forcing a smile as he turned to the stairwell, his gaze falling on the blue-haired girl sipping hot chocolate in the living room. When her gaze met his he couldn't help but shoot her a glare as he jogged up the rest of the stairs and down the hallway.
"Akane," her eldest sister began, a look of concern and bafflement evident on her face. "Did something happen between you and Ranma?"
She smiled, waving her hands innocently in front of her face. "Oh, Kasumi, you worry too much. I'm just fine."
"Well if you say so," she responded doubtfully. "Oh my, the dinner!"
Akane wrapped the blanket tighter around her body as she sipped her hot chocolate in silence. What was the point in arguing over someone that was never hers? Ranma could never care about her seeing that all he did was emphasize that idea. He would rather reside with an airhead and psychopath before he eventhought about hugging her.
She clutched her hand over her chest as she grimaced, a sharp pain enveloping her body. What's wrong with me? She thought, the pain disappearing at once. Could it have been a heartburn at the lunch she had? Or maybe she was coming down with the flu? Whatever it was, she would have to see Tofu about it. She drunk the remains of her hot chocolate before deciding to take a long nap prior to visiting Tofu.
Once she was outside of her door, she heard muffled voices coming from the inside of her room. She pressed her ear to the door and easily figured out that it was Ranma and Ryoga. What were they doing inside of her room? She almost punched the door down before hearing Ranma's voice as he spoke as clear as day.
"You can't let her know, Ryoga!"
"Shut up, Saotome!" Came Ryoga's harsh reply. "You can't order me around like I'm your rag doll. Besides, why can't I?"
"Because she'll only get in the way!" He shot back. "She'll interfere and ruin all of our plans. Don't you want to be a full man, bacon butt?"
Get in the way...? Is that what Ranma thought of her? A nuisance? A pest? A child he had to babysit? The throbbing in her chest returned as her vision obscured with each hot tear slithering down her cheeks. She couldn't control her actions anymore, she realized, as the room seemed to spin in all directions. As her world became pitch black, her body fell with a sickening thud onto the cool wooden floor.
"Did you hear that?" Ranma asked, his gaze fixing on the door. He swung the door open to see Akane's body lying on the floor. Did she hear everything he said? What happened to her? Millions of questions floated in the martial artists brain as the color drained from his face.
"Akane!"
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A/N: So there's the first chapter of the revision of my old story, 'Misunderstandings'! I know it's really short but bear with me, people! I just wrote this rewrite so it could get the story flowing so I promise that the next chapter will be suuuppperrr duper long! I'm sure you can wait until then!
Anyways, I'm sorry if Akane seems a little OCC to you, seeing that I tried to make her a tad more sensitive or maybe a tad more icy.
I hope you all like it and make sure to review and tell me what you think! R/R
