Author's Note: For those of you who started here, let me explain what I did. I realized that this whole "posting 1,500 word chapters" thing was NOT going to work because everything was taking WAY too long. So, I reorganized the past chapters so that each "section" will be a chapter (or two if it is ridiculous).

So, apologies for the randomness of that decision, but it needed to be done! That being said…enjoy:-D

Worlds Fall Apart

Ryoga's World

"The blood of an enemy, and the blood of a friend…" Ryoga said out loud as he sat on a swing set. He had been TRYING to get to the school where he could sit on the roof and think this one over without anyone to disturb him, but he had ended up in the park, and, well, beggars can't be choosers. At least he was still in Nerima. "The feeling must be mutual…and the giver must be willing…and it must come from one person. Well…geez! Ranma has plenty of enemies. And he has some friends too…but both in one package?"

Ryoga kicked at the sand. "And what's with those consequences? Causes great pain? Well, if this person is really his enemy, why would he go through trouble and pain to help a jerk like Ranma?"

Ryoga sighed and thought some more, "It has to be someone Ranma knows, and I know pretty much everyone Ranma knows, so…lessie…Kuno! Kuno hates Ranma, but loves the pig tailed girl!" Ryoga jumped up and slammed his fist in his hand. "That was easy!" he said, and then sat back down, "Crap, the feelings gotta be mutual. Ranma hates Kuno all the way through…His Dad! He does care about his Dad, but they fight all the time! That's it!"

Ryoga jumped off the swing set again and got ready to run off in search of Ranma's Dad, but then stopped short, "Damnit! That can't be it! He and his Dad don't hate each other, not by a long shot, they just bicker a lot…"

Ryoga tried to sit back down on the swing set, but missed entirely, and landed flat on his ass in the sand. He scrambled up, face slightly red, and extremely glad that no one was around at this time of day to have seen that…

"Ryoga?" said a sweet, gentle, but tear choked voice, "Is that you?"

Ryoga froze. He knew that voice. It was Akane. Damnit! Why does she always have to be around when I make an idiot of myself? He cursed silently, and then squeaked out, "Yeah. Akane?" He looked around and saw her peeking at him from inside a plastic tunnel on the nearby playground. He walked over slowly, and stopped a little when he got closer and saw that her face was red and tear stained. Even when she's crying she's beautiful…he thought.

"A-are you okay? What's wrong?" He asked anxiously.

"I…oh, Ryoga! I'm just…I'm just…I-I'm so worried about Ranma!" Akane wailed, and put her face into her hands as her small shoulders shook from her sobs.

Ryoga looked around nervously, horribly unsure of what to do. He, like most males, was terribly useless with a crying girl. He sat down next to her, though several inches apart, and patted her nervously on the back and said, "There, there! It will all be okay!" in the most comforting voice he could manage. Unfortunately it still came out sounding nervous. Luckily for him, Akane was far too upset to notice, and instead she flung her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder.

Poor Ryoga, his heart just stopped. He froze, and for a moment he forgot that Akane was terribly upset and all he could think was, "Akane…Akane has her arms around ME! I'm the happiest man alive!" When Ryoga's heart finally did star beating, it was beating a mile a minute. His skin was tingling and he was certain his face was as red as the setting sun. Here I am…in a park…at sunset…with Akane…and she's holding me…He thought breathlessly.

"Oh Ryoga! What if we can't find all the ingredients and he dies? I don't know what I would do if he died!" Akane sobbed, and Ryoga felt his poor heart shatter in his chest. Here he was, sitting in a park at sunset with Akane who had her arms around him, and STILL all she could do was think about Ranma! Ranma Saotome! Augh! Even when he's unconscious and dying he manages to ruin my life! I HATE YOU RANMA! Ryoga thought furiously.

But his fury was hidden so expertly in his words, "Don't worry, Akane. I'm sure he'll be fine!"

"I-I-I know we…we fight all the time…hic," Akane sobbed, wiping at her wet eyes, and Ryoga nervously prayed that her tears weren't enough to turn him into P-Chan, "But I really do…hic care about him!"

Ryoga felt his already broken heart sink even more, and possibly break in a few more places. "So you…you really do love him?" Ryoga said.

Akane stopped crying and looked up into his face with her big, beautiful, moist eyes…so innocent, so lovely and sweet…

"I…I don't know…" Akane said, and while this wasn't a clear no, Ryoga couldn't help but feel himself jump for joy that it wasn't a clear yes, "We're friends…I've gotten used to that by now…but I don't know if we are something more or…just friends. I'm not sure how I feel…"

The words echoed in Ryoga's mind, and all the repetitive babblings and denials were deaf to him as he pieced together what he had just heard. They were friends…they fight all the time…she didn't know what she would do if he died. He was sure Akane, brilliant, strong Akane, would do anything to save him too…The blood of an enemy and the blood of a friend…Ryoga thought, That's it. It's Akane. And she certainly wouldn't mind being connected forever to her precious Ranma through blood. It would probably just clarify for her that she really does love him and I am nothing to her, just dirt, just her secret pet P-Chan. But I suppose I won't even be that anymore soon. She'll realize she loves him after all and they'll get married and he'll be…in her bed…God, I don't even want to think about it! Anyway, Ranma definitely won't welcome me into his bed, so I guess that's it. I am just stupid, angry, depressed, constantly lost, Ryoga, the clueless pig boy who no one loves…Great. Just great…

"Akane…" Ryoga said, taking a deep breath, "I really, really don't want to have to ask you this…" But will you please hurt yourself and mix your blood with Ranma's so that you two can live happily ever after being a part of one another and all and I can be thrown out into the dirt and forgotten…

"Oh, Ryoga! I'll do anything to save him! Anything!" Akane rambled on, unaware that Ryoga had spoken at all.

"Yeah, I know you will, so will I, but listen…" he tried again.

"Oh Ryoga," Akane said, eyes all wide and glowing in that amazing way she had that could make Ryoga's mind clear and his heart stop (when it was not busy being in his stomach because she had just broken it by talking about Ranma), "I know you would! Ranma is so lucky to have a friend like you!"

"…a…friend…like me?" Ryoga said, blinking in surprise.

"Of course! You are always there for him when he needs you the most, and I know he really does like you after all, he's just too hard headed to let you know he appreciates you! And even though you two fight all the time and say you hate each other when things get really rough you are always there, helping out as much as you can, like you are now. And I know he would do the same for you…"

And Ryoga went blank again. Of course! It can't be Akane! Ranma told me the other day that he doesn't hate her, they just bicker out of habit…but then that means…can it really be…me? Is it my blood he needs? Am I his enemy AND his…friend?

"Akane…" Ryoga said, doing something he never thought he'd do in his life, taking her arms off of him and standing up to leave, "I have to go. I need to think about some stuff…"

"Ryoga!" she said in confusion.

"Please…don't worry about Ranma," he said. He wanted to say things would be fine, but it sounded too much like a promise, and he wasn't sure yet what he would do, so he had no right to make that promise to this beautiful young woman.

He walked off, leaving a startled Akane to stare after him as he walked off into the sunset towards the market (we was aiming for the school). She shook her head and wiped her eyes, then sighed. She jumped off the playground and walked off. Having had a good cry, she was now ready to search for the ingredients and to bring Ranma back to her. And nothing, NOTHING would stop her now!

But Ryoga was a different story. He had silently sworn that he would not let Dr. Tofu down, that he would find his ingredient and get it to him as fast as possible, but now…now that he knew what he needed, it wasn't so easy. Ranma was his enemy, that was pretty clear to him, pretty easy to see. Ranma was a selfish, stubborn, petty, perverted jerk and Ryoga hated him and he infuriated him so much and what right did he have to tell him he couldn't share a bed with Akane to protect her from a jerk like him anyway, it's probably just because he wants her alone and unprotected so he can…AUGH!

"How can I help a jerk like him?" Ryoga wondered out loud as he walked along. Besides…He thought, I've been trying to kill him for everything he's put me through all this time, I can't just give that up now and help him!

Ryoga shook his head and banged it up against a nearby pole, "But I can't just leave him to die! I'm not that cowardly! Besides, Akane would hate me! And as much as I hate to admit it, Ranma wouldn't do that to me…"

Some people walked by and looked strangely at Ryoga as he stood there banging his head lightly against a pole, or maybe not so lightly since the pole was beginning to crack. He gave them a look and they scampered off.

"But that's just it, isn't it…Ranma wouldn't do that to me, as much as I'd like to think he would…is Akane right? Are we…friends?" Ryoga wondered, then pounded the pole, "No! IMPOSSIBLE! Never! I could never be friends with a jerk like that!"

Ryoga slumped down to the ground with his back against the slightly cracked pole he had been abusing and thought about things. He could recall several times when Ranma had stuck up for him. I could also think of several times Ranma has made my life a living hell he thought bitterly, But back to the point…He could, admittedly, remember many occasions where he and Ranma had gotten along…well, fought for the same cause at least. He also had to admit that he had really stuck his neck out there for Ranma a few times…always under the excuse that he was trying to impress Akane or that it's what any non-cowardly martial artist would do. But could it be there was more to it than that? Maybe, deep down, past all his consuming hatred he really did care about Ranma, at least a little bit, as a friend. Maybe he had really come to consider Ranma a friend…

"No…" Ryoga said quietly, shaking his head, then silently made a compromise to himself. A rather lame compromise that had several obvious loopholes and plot holes, but that he decided would have to do until he could fathom the idea that he felt anything for Ranma but hatred, and right then was NOT the moment to try and fathom it because Ranma was in trouble and he needed his help. "Fine then, Ranma Saotome…we are rivals…"

Ryoga stood up suddenly, determined expression and fist in the air as he made his decision. He would help. He would help Ranma, and he would do it willingly, and he was doing it for Ranma, and to help Ranma. He wasn't doing it to impress Akane. He wasn't doing it to feel good about himself. He was helping Ranma simply because Ranma needed help and that's what fr…rivals were for. He would do it, despite the fact that it would cause him great pain, apparently. He would do it even if it meant he had some sort of weird connection with Ranma after that that made him sick to even think about. Despite all that, he would save Ranma.

"After all…" he said out loud, quoting something Ranma had once said to him. The two situations were nothing alike, not by a long shot, but the words seemed appropriate, "Just because we're enemies, doesn't mean we can't be friends, right?"

"Just about everyone's back," Dr. Tofu said as he looked around the room. Silently he noted a certain absence, and quietly prayed it would soon be filled, "Good. Let's see what you've got…"

Shampoo stepped forward and counted out her ingredients, many of which were rare, expensive, valuable Chinese herbs. "Great Grandmother give me these," Shampoo said, "But when she hear what we doing to Ranma, she say she don't want to be anywhere near here,"

"That's 'cause the old ghoul is only being held together by very powerful magic, most likely," Genma said, laughing, then quieting awkwardly at Shampoo's resentful glance.

"And here last ingredient," Shampoo said, handing a small bag with a tiny bit of purple fur in it to Dr. Tofu, "Bring great cowardice and great bravery…fur from Shampoo cat form,"

"Very good," Dr. Tofu said, clearly impressed.

"Here's the mixture's" Ukyo said, handing several containers of either boiling or frozen liquids to Dr. Tofu, "It took me all afternoon, but I managed to combine all the ingredients without any problem whatsoever. And here is the item that brings Ranma memories both good and bad,"

Dr. Tofu took the tiny vial of red liquid, speckled with bits of green and black that looked suspiciously like herbs, and said curiously, "What is it?"

"It's…my secret sauce," Ukyo said. Reddening a little, "This sauce caused a lot of trauma and bad feeling, and I am sure Ranma still feels guilty over what happened…but it would also remind him of when we were kids together…those were simpler times, nothing bad ever happened then. I didn't try to poison him or trick him like I…like I do now,"

Dr. Tofu nodded, and several more people stepped forward and gave their ingredients, many of them very personal and pertaining to a specific aspect of Ranma's character, most of which only made the provider feel intense feelings of guilt.

"And here," Akane said, handing a small package to Dr. Tofu after she had counted out her collection of ingredients, "Something that brings Ranma great pain and great pleasure…"

"What is it?" Dr. Tofu asked as he unwrapped the package.

"It's an octopus puff," Akane said, then, blushing, she added, "It's his favorite food,"

"I see…but how does this bring him pain?" Dr. Tofu asked, certain there was some sort of story or memory behind this one, what with him and Akane being so close and being engaged and all.

Akane turned even redder and lowered her voice as she said, "I cooked it…"

"Oh!" Dr. Tofu said, trying hard to sound nonchalant, but it was useless since everyone in he room took a step back from the potentially toxic octopus puff.

"Well," Dr. Tofu said, carefully placing the octopus puff on the counter as if it were an explosive, "That's just about everything we need…"

"So, we can do the spell now?" Akane asked anxiously.

"You do magic now and save Ranma?" Shampoo wondered.

"You will bring my Ranma darling back to me, won't you, sweet medicine man!" Kodachi cooed manically.

"No," Dr. Tofu admitted, looking at his watch, "We are still missing an ingredient…"

"What? But we got EVERYTHING you asked for!" Mousse said in aggravation.

"Ryoga…where are you?" Dr. Tofu wondered, shaking his head, and silently praying that the foolish boy hadn't been too proud to help. Or too stupid to figure it out, maybe he shouldn't have hinted and should have just given him the answer…Or maybe he was just lost and couldn't find a pay phone…

"Ryoga?" Akane said, "Ryoga has the last ingredient?"

"Yes…I hope…" Dr. Tofu said, still praying silently.

"I saw him…at the park," Akane said, "But that was HOURS ago, just at sunset…"

"Did he say anything? About where he'd be…or his ingredient?" Dr. Tofu asked.

"He seemed strange…then he suddenly stood up and said he had to go think about something, then he disappeared…I haven't seen him since," Akane said, wondering what Ryoga had to think about, how it related to Ranma's cure, and more importantly, where on Earth was he?

"Well, what was Ryoga's ingredient?" Ukyo wondered, "The idiot probably got himself lost, we won't see him again for weeks. Why don't one of us go get it?"

"You…can't…" Dr. Tofu said sadly, thinking more and more that Ukyo was right, "Ryoga is the only person who can get this…"

"What if he can't get it?" Akane had to ask, though she wasn't sure she wanted the answer.

"Then the potion is useless…and in time…Ranma will fade…and…"

"Die? Ha! Not on my watch!" Ryoga said from the doorway, "We still have a fight to finish. If Ranma is going to die, it is going to be in battle, like a man, and not lying in a bed like a coward or an infidel…"

"Ryoga!" Akane said, and she restrained from jumping up and throwing her arms around his neck she was so happy to see him.

"Ryoga! Do you have it? The final ingredient…" Dr. Tofu asked anxiously, his final hope now being that Ryoga had enough sense to help and wasn't being stubborn and pig headed, no pun intended, as he was known to be.

Ryoga handed Dr. Tofu a small bottle and said quietly, "You know…I wasn't sure if I could do it…"

"I'm glad you did," Dr. Tofu said, "And Ranma will be too,"

The rest of the group looked on in confusion, clearly something had happened that they had missed entirely. Only Akane noticed a long, thin, bright red gash on Ryoga's hand as he handed the vial over to Dr. Tofu. What? His…blood? Why would Ranma need Ryoga's blood? This doesn't make any sense! Akane wondered, then decided to drop it and find out from Dr. Tofu later.

"Is everyone ready?" Dr. Tofu said, standing up, suddenly stern, "Let's get this thing going,"

Everyone worked feverishly, reading off the ingredients, checking, double checking, and going over every possible alternative and examining the potion from every single angle. It had to be done right the first time or it would not work. Some of the ingredients were irreplaceable, and it was only luck alone that they were found so easily. Luck, or fate. Ironically, the very chaos that haunted Ranma's life had brought in the things that would cure him now.

"I'm ready for the dragon's whisker…" Dr. Tofu said, "And now the baby's hair,"

He stirred in the two ingredients, and everyone gasped as the potion became a brilliant shade of purple.

"The magic mirror!" Dr. Tofu said, stirring vigorously as Shampoo dropped in the pieces of the magical mirror that had whisked the group off to ancient China, "The dirt!"

The potion bubbled up and turned sky blue, then it simmered down once more. Several hours later, morning's first light was beginning to show, and they were still mixing the ingredients, and poor Dr. Tofu was beginning to show the strain. He was pouring with sweat and leaning against the large cauldron in exhaustion.

"We're almost done…" he said, "I need…everyone leave the room. It is important that everyone stay as far out of this room as possible, do not come back in until I come for you, no matter what happens…GO!"

Everyone obeyed, and scurried towards the door, piling out obediently to go into the waiting room. Ryoga was at the back of the group and turned around giving one last glance to the potion. It was now sizzling madly and changing colors faster than his eyes could follow. Dr. Tofu threw in several wads of leaves and flowers, and the potion seemed to be calling in the power of a storm from nowhere, lightening was striking it from the ceiling. Dr. Tofu then grabbed the vial of Ryoga's blood and threw it forcefully into the potion, and Ryoga knew, from the look on Dr. Tofu's face, that this was the last ingredient. Ryoga had been almost out of the room when he turned to watch this last few seconds worth of events, but when his blood hit the potion, he fell violently to the floor and into the hall, the door slamming shut behind him. He felt his heart speed up, and his whole body seemed to shoot with a sharp, terrible pain. He couldn't stop himself from crying out, and after several seconds, the pain became so unbearable he was throwing himself convulsively into the walls.

And so it was that not a soul, save Dr. Tofu witnessed what happened next. Dr. Tofu was the sole witness of the falling apart of Ranma Saotome's life as he knew it. He knew instantly that the potion had worked. He knew by the young Hibiki boy's screams of pain in the hallway that the potion was working because that could only be the great pain of which it had spoken. The boy had sacrificed himself for his friend, and for that, Dr. Tofu had elevated him greatly in his mind. To be honest, he had always thought of Ryoga as overdramatic and petty. But no, the boy had really come through.

Soon after Ryoga's cries and banging around ceased as he had fallen unconscious, Dr. Tofu saw a sight that very few in this world have ever seen. He saw the cleansing of a humans soul and body. Sure, people are always aiming for this effect, but it is a rather invisible process usually, and you only know it has been done by how you feel. This, on the other hand, was nowhere near invisible.

Brightly colored lights lifted Saotome's unconscious form off the bed, the blankets which had been covering him sliding off and to the ground. The boys entire body was illuminated with a pale blue light, and he seemed to simply be containing it until it suddenly burst from him with amazing force. The force was so strong that it sent Dr. Tofu flying clear across the room and right through a desk on the opposite wall. He gathered his glasses and sat up anxiously.

Light. Nothing but light. Bright blue light was encompassing Ranma's body, and an angelic humming sound rung through the air. The whole room seemed dull in comparison, and it was only then that Dr. Tofu realized the electricity had gone out. Strange shadows danced across the walls and evil laughter was heard. Soon the laughter turned into wails and cries, and eventually subsided into pathetic shrieks of defeat. Was that…the magic? Leaving his body? Slowly, the light began to fade, and Ranma's figure began to sink back to the bed. The lights began to flicker, and the humming died down. Soon, everything was still. Everything was quiet.

Dr. Tofu picked himself up shakily from the ground. Had it worked? He seriously hoped it had. He felt the air with his senses. There wasn't a trace of magic in the room. He closed his eyes, unable to bring himself over to Ranma just yet. He knew, as a martial artist, that feeling your environment first was more important than seeing it. A smile crept on to his face. It had worked! He had checked and double-checked and the room was completely free of magic. He walked over to Ranma's bedside where he expected to find the young boy lying down, unconscious, but no longer in imminent danger. He would likely wake up soon.

But that is not what he found there at all. Dr. Tofu gasped. Then he swallowed. Then he shook his head, rubbed his eyes, and silently fell apart inside. Had it not worked? Had something gone wrong? He came closer, and touched the form in front of him. It was real. He poked and prodded very carefully and thoroughly at both Ranma's body and aura. It had worked. The spell had worked, there was not a doubt in his mind about that. But why, then, was he looking down at the body of a beautiful young red haired girl?

"Oh, I hope everything is alright!" Ryoga heard Kasumi say as his eyes flickered open. He was lying on the floor, flat on his stomach, his right side pressed up against the wall. His head ached slightly, but it faded as he shifted back into consciousness. What on Earth was that? He wondered, and then sat up. The movement was too quick, and he got a massive head rush.

"I can't stand this! I'm going in there!" Akane said from the other room.

"Akane! You mustn't!" Kasumi begged.

"Yeah, you heard what Dr. Tofu said! Don't come in under any circumstances!" Ukyo reminded her.

"But what if something's gone wrong?" Akane said nervously.

"We just wait. Tofu is strong doctor and good magician, I can tell. He no let Ranma die," Shampoo said, as if to Akane, but almost as if she were reassuring herself.

"But I wish we knew what was taking so long," Nabiki said, and Ryoga was sure she was checking her watch during the pause, "He's been in there a while…and why's the power out?"

Suddenly, the door to Dr. Tofu's examination room, where the magic had been taking place, opened, and a very somber looking Dr. Tofu came out. His face was not the smiles everyone was hoping for, and Ryoga felt his heart stop. Oh Gods…is he…did he…fail? Is Ranma…dead? He thought, unsure what to say or do or think. He had always imagined this day, when Ranma was gone forever (though he had rarely gone as far as death), and he had always imagined it with himself being complacent, almost happy in secret while he outwardly comforted poor Akane and took Ranma's place as her fiancé and got a share of all of Ranma's amazing luck. But now…he felt none of those things at all. He only felt as if his heart hadn't beaten for a very long time and he thought that he must be dying too. Ranma…just when I start to like you, you go and die on me? He thought.

"Ryoga, are you okay?" Dr. Tofu asked when he saw Ryoga leaning against the wall. Ryoga realized that his face had gone pale, and he looked as though he had seen a ghost. He tried to answer and failed, and instead just nodded dumbly.

"Good…" Dr. Tofu said, and then hovered in the hallway, as if he were unprepared to go into the sitting room. And for Ryoga, that confirmed things…Ranma had died…he was sure of it…

"Is he…" Ryoga began, still feeling oddly numb, but was unable to bring himself to finish the thought; it was just too much to hear out loud.

"There is no more magic left in Ranma," Dr. Tofu said, clearly choosing his words very carefully, then when he realized how panicked Ryoga was, he added hastily, "Ranma is alive, and will probably wake up soon. Don't worry…but there is a slight problem…"

He's alive…Ryoga thought, feeling his heart begin to beat again, so quickly he was sure it was making up for lost time. It's okay, he's alive. Don't know why I cared anyway...oh, come off it! It would have been the loss of a great…rival.

"Problem?" Ryoga heard himself say. His mind was still processing the fact that Ranma was still alive, that it had worked, and his mouth seemed to be working of it's own accord.

"Yes…for some reason…Ranma is…" Dr. Tofu shook his head, "I need to speak with Genma first…"

And he left the hallway and entered the sitting room where everyone immediately leapt to their feet. Ryoga was following close behind him, rubbing the back of his head where he had slammed rather hard against the wall.

"Dr. Tofu! Did it work! Is he okay? Oh, please tell me he's okay!" Akane said instantly when he walked in.

Dr. Tofu nodded, and then said carefully, "Ranma is alive. There is no more magic left in…Ranma's body…but I need to speak with Genma…alone,"

Genma had been so busy embracing his friend Tendo in joy at his son's recovery, that he could do nothing but stare blankly at the Doctor. Dr. Tofu turned and walked out of the room, and Genma shrugged at the others and followed him, leaving a rather bewildered group behind.

"But…he's okay…At least he's okay, right?" Mousse said cautiously, hoping to break the silence in the now palpably tense room.

Ryoga sat down on the couch, too distracted to realize he was sitting next to Akane, and it was a rather small couch. At any other time he would have been busy panicking, but his mind was so jumbled and confused and worried at the moment, that, he grudgingly admitted to himself, Akane was the last thing on his mind. But that didn't last long…

"Oh Ryoga…I was so worried…" Akane said, looking down at the floor. He looked over at her. Her eyes were moist and she was clearly shaking. Ryoga couldn't help but think bitterly that she would never be this worried for his sake.

"Well…you heard Dr. Tofu…he's okay…" he said, not mentioning the rather strange bit about there being a slight problem.

"Ryoga," Akane said intensely, looking nervously up at Ryoga and into his eyes. Her bottom lip was quivering slightly, and her eyes were sparkling with tears. Ryoga thought to himself that he had never seen her look more beautiful. The morning sunlight light was hitting her just right and she had such a serious expression on her face, she looked more intense than he could ever remember her looking, and it sent his heart fluttering more than any look she had ever given him.

"I was thinking about what you said, Ryoga," Akane said, and he swallowed and looked at her in confusion.

"What…I said?" Ryoga said nervously.

"Earlier…in the park…" She clarified, taking a deep breath as if preparing to say something really important and…Oh God, what is she going to say? Why is she looking at me like that…why is she telling me this…is she…is it possible that she…could she be trying to tell me that…that she…loves…

"And…I think…I love Ranma," Akane said, breathing out, and looking back down at the floor, shaking considerably, "There. I said it. I've never said it before, never to anyone…but there it is. I love Ranma…"

Ryoga took a sharp breath inwards as he felt her words jab into him like a steel sword. He felt his foundation collapse beneath him. He felt his whole world fall apart. Akane was the one good thing he had…just the idea, the thought, the slimmest possibility that Akane could love him, that he even had a chance with her, was the only thing in this cruel, unfair world that kept him going. And now that was gone. It was finally gone. He had been clinging to the tiny fact that she had never clearly said she loved Ranma, even if she did go on about him constantly and try constantly to please him and, but Oh! It didn't matter anymore because now she had said it, and now she knew it, and know Ryoga knew it, and soon Ranma would know it, and everything would work out grand for everyone except for Ryoga!

"…and I guess I've always known it, but I could never bring myself to tell him," Akane was saying, and it was only then that Ryoga realized she had been talking all along, but the shattering of his heart was too loud for him to hear, "…and then I thought I would lose him and I guess it made me see how much I care about him and, Oh, Ryoga, thanks so much for listening to me and letting me get this off my chest. You are such a great friend!"

"I…have to go…" Ryoga said quietly. He was looking at the ground and could feel his hands shaking and his lip quivering, and damnit! He was NOT about to let Akane see him cry! He leapt off the chair and broke for the door, flinging it open and running as fast as he could away from that place. He ran for a good three blocks before he finally stopped.

Panting, he leaned against a pole, and gently let his head smack into the side, and then not so gently. He bit his lip, but it was no use, the tears came anyway. He knew it was weak and unmanly to cry, but he had never cared so much about that as Ranma had anyway, so he gave up trying and just let himself have a good cry. Damnit, he deserved it! The one thing he had…the only thing…Akane…Why? He thought, but he could put no words to his pain…his tears said everything.