Well, here's chapter two! Up the next day! Woo! But don't expect me to put a chap up every day, it's just because of the weekend. xD
Daresar: Thank you so much! That tip with the cooking came in handy this chapter. Thanks a bunch -
buttercupcandy: Glad you like it.
Rabid Badger: Is that good or bad?
jdcocoagirl: Here's the update. :D
I'm so glad everyone likes it! Please keep reading!
(I'm allowed to do this right? Please somebody tell me? xD))
Akane ran through the grassy fields, the sun shining warmly down on her face. It was a great day, with no rain, no angry fiancés attacking.
She quickened the pace as a gentle breeze blew her blue dress around her and a couple came into view. They were sitting on a picnic blanket in the shade of a cherry blossom tree.
She grinned, knowing who the two were. One was shorter, with slightly curly hair and a gentle smile. She seemed to gleam in the sunlight and waved a hand, beckoning Akane.
The other was a boy. A boy with braided black hair and sparkling bright eyes. A boy whom Akane felt she had mistreated earlier.
Ranma.
He was waving, a smile showing on his shining face. Seeing that face, Akane brightened once more, happy to be running towards her fiancé.
She finally made it to the blanket, embracing Ranma and her mother at the same time. She was happy. Happier than she had been in ages. She pulled away from them after a moment, and gazed at her mother's smiling face.
Suddenly, the ground shook. Akane looked up, panicked. The ground was moving violently, shaking in all directions.
"What's going on?!" she cried, whirling about. "Mom? Ranma! Ranma what's happening!? Mom! Mom, don't leave!"
She let out a last squeal of fright as the scene disappeared, throwing her into darkness once more.
Ranma gave a frustrated grunt, shaking the girl even harder. "Akane!" he hissed, growing more annoyed by the second. "Sheesh. This girl can sleep through anything." He muttered, scratching his head.
In the moment of silence, the boy heard a small voice. It was Akane's. Thinking she had been ignoring him, he leaned down and prepared to yell at her for it.
When he did, he heard something he didn't expect.
"Ranma..Ranma what's going on? Mom! Don't leave me!" came the cries.
Surprised at this quiet outburst, he shook her gently by the shoulder. "Akane.." he whispered. This time, the girl's eyes blinked open. Ranma had leaned down to hear her, and hadn't noticed how close they were. Somehow in the dark, Akane had noticed, and the first thing she did was to make sure that Ranma received a slap.
"Ow!" he cried, backing up. "And what did I do this time?" he demanded, staring straight at her.
She stared right back.
"It's obvious and you know it." The girl retorted, sitting up. "What do you want now? Food I suppose?"
Ranma contemplated that question. He did want food, but that's not what he was there for. He actually thought about asking her, but other matters were at hand.
"No, I do not want food actually. If I were that desperate, I would've built a fire and roasted some meat on a stick or something. Sheesh."
"Yes that's it Ranma. Build a fire in the middle of the living room. Blow a hole in the roof and flood us out. Great." She paused, letting the effect of the insult sink in.
"So? What is it? What did you have to come wake me up in the middle of the night for?"
Ranma glanced at the battery-operated clock sitting on the nightstand to his right. It read "11:37 P.M."
"Well excuse me." He snorted, standing once more. "I thought you'd want to be awake if someone had broken into the house. I guess I was wrong!" Shoving his hands in his pockets, he stared at the rain sliding down the windowpane.
"WHAT!?"
Akane leapt out of bed, running over to Ranma. "Why didn't you tell me sooner!?" she cried, a flash of panic settling on her face. "What are we gonna do?"
With a shrug, Ranma turned and opened the door. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to go find out who it is."
Leaving her to figure it all out, the boy slipped into the hallway. It was just as dark as Akane's room had been. Looking left, then right, he tiptoed towards the kitchen.
Besides the sound of the rain, it was silent. Deadly silent.
Entering the kitchen, Ranma looked wildly for any sign of another person. The wind howling outside didn't help much, as the person could have been moving around.
Moving forward cautiously, there was the sound of glass being crushed. He jumped before realizing he was stepping on the glass that had been pushed in.
The sound of a door slamming caused him to turn and come face to face with a man about his size. That was all he could tell in the dark. That, and the person had a pack on his back, and a weapon in his hand.
Raising his fists, Ranma jumped neatly on the intruder's back. Quick as a flash he whacked the back of the neck, causing the man to pass out. His weapon clattered to the floor, rolling under a cabinet.
Stepping off, the boy stood over the unconscious body, peering at it intently. Its form seemed strangely familiar.
A flash of lightening revealed the body's identity, and Ranma let out a gasp of surprise. "And what happens next!?" he cried, raising a hand to his forehead. "Better go get Akane…"
&&&
Half an hour later, Akane was seated at the table, multiple candles illuminating the room. "Would you please just tell me what you want? I've been sitting here forever! My legs are starting to fall asleep."
Ranma had been in the kitchen for that whole time, trying to wake the unconscious form. "Uh..Just a second!" he called out, slapping the man's face once more.
There was a groan, and a voice came through. "Where am I?" it asked, seemingly out of nowhere.
Ranma shushed it. "Idiot." he whispered, pulling the man to his feet.
Akane was growing impatient in the other room. "Ranma!" she whined, shifting her position. "He sure is taking his time.."
Finally, Ranma appeared in the living room, guiding another form. He was staggering and soaked to the skin. Shirt in tatters, he was guided to the table and seated. "Ranma?" he asked, as if confused.
Turning towards the light, Akane saw his face. It was wet, with water still dripping down it. Two small fangs poked out of the boy's mouth, and a yellow bandana was wrapped around his head.
"Ryoga!"
&&&
"A-A-Akane!" came the reply.
"What happened to you? Why are you here!? You weren't out in the storm!" Akane shot question after question at the sopping boy, rising to her feet.
"Um..Well.." he started. "I was training in the mountains for the past week, and I ran out of food. So I went down to the little village at the foot of the mountain to get some. After a few days, I arrived. While I was picking out some carrots, I overheard a group of people talking about a spring nearby that had magical properties…"
He trailed off, eyes closing slowly. After a moment, his head slammed down on the table. He immediately shot upright, rubbing his temples. "S-Sorry." He muttered. "Haven't gotten much sleep, y'know?"
Ranma nodded, rolling his eyes as he did so. He wanted to hear the rest of the story, and prompted Ryoga to continue, but Akane cut him off.
"Maybe you should rest awhile." She offered, walking over to him. "You look pretty beat, and you can always tell us the rest later."
But to this offer Ryoga shook his head. "Aw, I couldn't. I don't want to be a burden to you. Plus, you've got at least four other people in this house. There's not going to be a single empty bed. I'll just head home. I know I'll get there eventually." He added, referring to his awful sense of direction.
Ranma nodded again. "Alright then." He said, agreeing with the boy. "See you some other time."
Akane shot an icy glare at Ranma, eyes turned to slits. To this the boy shrunk back, a bit frightened.
"Ryoga, Ranma and I are the only ones home. I certainly don't mind, and I know Ranma doesn't." she added, giving him an evil look out of the corner of her eye. "You really can't go out in that storm. Please stay with us."
Ryoga brightened. Getting to stay in the same house as Akane for the night? What bliss! With a gleeful nod, Ryoga stood. "Thank you very much." He gushed, face turning pink.
Ranma practically choked on his spit. "Sure he can stay. But he's got to help me fix that window first." He demanded, jabbing a thumb towards the kitchen.
"No problem. I didn't mean to break it in the first place. I thought I was at my house, and the doors were all locked. I thought something was wrong, so I went to go in the side window. But it wasn't my house, so the window didn't have the lock contraption, and broke."
"No crap genius."
Ranma snorted and disappeared into the kitchen, Ryoga following.
Akane let out a long loud sigh of frustration. Those two never got along well.
&&&
In the kitchen, the two boys had just finished duct taping the holes in the window. Standing, Ranma stretched. "It's about time I hit the hay." He exclaimed, looking to Ryoga. "What about you?"
But the boy was already asleep, head bowing slowly.
"Ryoga!! Ryoga wake up before you hit the-"
CRASH!!
Ryoga's head went straight through what was left of the glass, pulling the duct tape with it. The boy jerked awake and pulled himself to his feet. "Ack!" he cried, noticing the damage. "Sorry!"
With an annoyed grunt, Ranma reached down and pulled the door off of one of the cabinets. Holding it up, he pulled the nails out of the hinges and nailed the board to the window, blocking nay further rain from coming through. "That'll have to do." He mused, looking at his work. "C'mon Ryoga. Akane's probably set your bed up by now."
Turning, he left the kitchen, walked through the living room and blew out the candles, and headed to the room across from Akane's.
The girl was in there, just laying the last blanket on the futon. "All set." She announced, stepping back to admire her handiwork. She had taken Kasumi's sewing room and turned it into a bedroom. In one corner was a rather large bookshelf, filled to the brim with books of all kind. It leaned against the wall, creating a shadow over the room.
That shadow was fought by a big and bulky flashlight, which sat on a small night table. It illuminated the whole room, creating a homey feeling.
"Here you go Ryoga. It's all yours." Akane chimed, a smile on her face. "Good night." With a wave, she turned and left the room. "Oh!" came her voice from the hallway. Ryoga turned in time to see her head pop back in. "If you need anything, I'm right across the hall." Her head disappeared once more, and silence settled over the room.
Ranma gave a grunt. "Well. G'night buddy." He murmured, and disappeared to his own room.
Ryoga settled down in the futon, staring at the ceiling. He had gotten a Good night from Akane! She had touched the bedding he was using! What a night!
Scooting lower under the blankets, he closed his eyes and was asleep in minutes.
&&&
Ranma, on the other hand, was not having such a great time. He had come into his room to find the floor completely engulfed in water. After traipsing about for an hour or so, he had finally found the source. A hole about the size of a child's palm was riddled into the ceiling. Cursing under his breath, the martial artist had grabbed the biggest bucket he could find, and had shoved it under the hole.
"That'll hold 'til morning I guess."
Making his way to the bed, he was glad the pillow and blanket were not wet. Unfortunately, the mattress was. He couldn't sleep on the bed, and the floor was soaked. He certainly wasn't going to sleep in the living room either. "Ryoga will let me in." he decided. Grabbing his bedding, he exited the room, arriving at Ryoga's door a moment later. Turning the knob, he found it locked.
"I have a problem with locked doors." He muttered, frustration approaching its peak. "Ryoga!" He called through the wood.
There was silence.
"Ryoga!" he hissed, this time a bit louder. He slammed a fist on the door and tried turning the knob again. When the lost boy didn't answer, Ranma put his ear to the door. The sound of snoring could be heard over the banging of thunder.
"Well this is wonderful." He announced, sarcasm dripping in his voice. Pulling away from the door, his eyes caught sight of the small wooden duck that hung on the door across the hallway.
Akane
Figuring this was his only choice; the young martial artist approached the door hesitantly.
"Please be locked. Please be locked. Please be locked." He chanted in his head. Turning the knob, the door swung open, revealing the dark room.
"Akane?" he whispered into the nothingness. Perhaps she was awake, and wouldn't mind if he slept in the corner? "Akane!" he repeated, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him.
With much curding and tripping over things, he finally arrived at her bedside. "Akane?" he whispered, peering at the figure.
There was a slight noise, as the girl rolled over to face him. She was, to Ranma's dismay, sound asleep. Grumbling about the beatings he would receive in the morning, he carefully picked his way to a corner of the room. Laying down his blanket and pillow, the boy slowly crawled under them. The last thing he did before falling asleep was look at the clock, which read "2:49 A.M."