JOURNEY: 2

Acknowledgment

---

Akane was flying.

She was petrified.

And at the back of her mind, the part not already numbed by terror, there came an incredulous thought, fortified by fury.

I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT STUPID IDIOT JUST THREW ME!

The raven-haired girl grappled at nothingness as she sailed through the cold air, the blinding bulbs from the watching crowd around the ice-skating arena going off in her face and preventing her from seeing anything. But, Akane figured, that was probably for the best.

She knew, instinctively, that he had some kind of a plan. Ranma always had some kind of plan up his sleeve. And, careless as he was, he probably wouldn't have rendered her airborne if he wasn't absolutely sure he'd secure her a safe landing.

It didn't make it any less terrifying, though. She screamed as she saw the hard ice approaching.

Then suddenly, as she'd half expected, she landed on something hard, muscular, and moving. She clasped on to Ranma for dear life as he sped across the ice.

Hmm. He was staying upright, that was interesting. And he was managing to do it quite well, he was no skater and they were even going pretty fa –the fence.

The fence. The fence. He wasn't stopping. Why wasn't he stopping?

"..THE FENCE!" she hollered, digging her nails into his back.

" I KNOW!!" he yelled back.

Oh, he knows.

"STOP!!!!" she screeched.

"I CAN'T!"

And the fence arrived. As they zoomed over it, Akane felt her insides squeeze, her pulse quicken, and her anger spike.

If I die here, I'm going to kill him.

---

They survived.

Akane slid off Ranma's back, landing somewhat unsteadily on the ice, and tried to get the air she'd gotten thrown out of her back in her lungs. When she could stand up straight without tipping over, she turn around and was about to attempt to sock him one, when she caught sight of Mikado. He was kneeling on the ice, hunched over, and shaking slightly; Azusa next to him, cooing incomprehensibly. Judging by the horrified gasps and stunned expressions from the Golden Pair's supporters around the rink, Akane knew that Mikado getting hurt was not something that happened. Ever.

She turned to look at Ranma.

"What did you do to him?"

He didn't answer. He didn't even appear to have heard her. His sapphire eyes were locked on the older boy's back, and his face.. there was an expression on his face that Akane hadn't seen before; a mixture of satisfaction, and cold, yet carefully controlled, rage.

Akane wondered at this. It could have been because of the pain Azusa'd caused him – but no, he was looking at Mikado, and he was more than just plain angry. She supposed it could have been because of that kiss – but Ranma was calm when they'd come this morning to the rink; he'd more or less settled that score with Mikado in their last battle.

So why was he so furious?

"Come on, Akane."

He beckoned her with a glance, and moved forward. Perceiving the firm tone in his voice, she decided that telling him off now was not the best of ideas, and remained quiet. She followed him as he made his way carefully to the center of the ice, slipping a little.

Mikado was in the midst of standing up. When he did, he brushed down his white suit, and turned fully to meet his opponent.

"You're brave," he said with a small smirk, "injuring me like this."

"Trust me," Ranma growled. "Bother Akane again, and this pain'll be nothing compared to what I'll do to you."

Akane stared at him in surprise. That she had not expected.

Unfazed, the skater's smirk grew bigger, and he slid his hands behind his back jauntily. "Oh really?"

Ranma's eyes flashed, and his hands tightened into fists. "Listen, and listen good, Sanzenin!

"AKANE IS MY FIANCEE!"

He struck a hand in front of her. "YOU TOUCH HER AND I'LL KILL YOU!"

The whole stadium went still for a moment. Then the whispers, cries and wolf-whistles came.

Akane heard nothing but the heartbeat drumming in her ears.

Ranma..

He said that –

in front of all these people?

She felt the strangest thing stir in her belly. It might have been a flutter. She wasn't sure.

By right, she knew she should still be infuriated at him for almost getting them both killed. But it was difficult to keep being angry, given the circumstances. Even for her.

She felt the maybe-flutter again, and realized something.

All her life, Akane'd had people fight her. The neighborhood boys, her father's students, the guys at school.. all of them for different reasons and motives. Some were jealous of her skill in the Art. Some were resentful that a girl could ever be better than them in anything. And some were just plain selfish.

Yes, she'd had people fight her before.

But, for the life of her, she couldn't recall the last time.. anyone had ever fought for her.

She looked at him, standing tall and strong despite his awkwardness on the ice. His blue eyes were unwavering, firm, and despite the audible opinions that were being voiced in the mass around them, his arm hadn't dropped an inch.

And for the first time, Akane thought that having Ranma as a fiancé - may not have been quite so bad.

---

---

At last, I show some semblance of consistency! (:

Didn't mean to make it quite as long as it was. The first part might seem a little irrelevant.. I like to think it isn't. If you prefer, though, you can read the second part as it is, for that is when the WAFF kicks in. (:

Okay, some stuff.

I sort of thought of this as the first time Akane inwardly acknowledges Ranma as her fiancé. As Ranma outwardly acknowledges that she's his.

As for some of the manga dialogue. I didn't get it strictly from the translated Viz manga, so it's not exactly the same (: I found that although the Viz version is more compatible with English readers, it sometimes doesn't follow the original lines or give the same feel as the original Japanese version, something I find a little more accurate in my Malay-translated manga. So, in some parts, I translated from Malay what the characters were saying, which is why readers of the Viz manga might find it different.

Still with me?

Yes. I know the hand thing's obviously not from the manga. It's from the anime. I always found that cute so I put it in here too. (: A little mix-and-match, if you will.

This can be considered a sort of prequel to 'Afterthoughts', another fanfic of mine.

Hope you enjoyed! As always, constructive criticism or ego-boosting – both welcome. Thanks for reading!

(I've really got to stop writing such long author's notes.)