"Goodbye… Akane."

Chapter 6: Dawn of the 2nd Day

195 Hours remain.

Yeah, see, the reason that this is taking so long is part inconvenience, and part laziness. Hey, listen, I'm really sorry. D-Jumper out… side.


Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma½, no matter how many people trying to sell me Brussel Sprout Ice cream say I will if I buy some poison. ( BS Ice cream) I do, however, own muffins.

P.S.-I'M NOT SMOKING WEED! Smoked oysters taste much better.

Summary: Ranma's never really been unfazed by Akane's insults, but this is past fazed. Suddenly Akane finds herself chasing after an extremely depressed Ranma, and trying to fix some messes while doing so. RAxAK.

Warning: may be OOC. Ranma and Akane, my favorite Ranma½ pairing. You have no idea how long I've wanted to write this, and I'm throwing in my own character for fun… also, I just realized that it would be very hard otherwise.

"Still No Comment." Speech.

-71.- Chinese.

'Head-on, apply directly to the forehead.' Thoughts.

[This space purposely left blank.] Chinese thoughts.

[Insert long line here]

Chapter Summary- They wake up, and move onward, Takeshi trying to make sure that they at least stay on course. Of course, another so-called "Fiancée" will probably come along and screw something up. I wonder how Nabiki's doing…


Hokkaido-

1:13 A.M-

Takeshi groaned slightly as he woke up from a nightmare in which donuts no longer existed. "Urngh… five more minutes…" Takeshi groaned as he slowly stood up from his *Lovely* little grass bed and stretched a bit, "Man, a dream in which people are pushin' Brussel sprout flavored ice cream into my mouth, without donuts to get rid of the taste does not make for a good- middle of the night?" Takeshi looked at the dark and starry sky, then checked his watch. "One fifteen in the morning… well, I give up on goin' back to sleep." Takeshi sighed, then looked over at Akane, Kasumi and Nodoka, all of whom were sleeping peacefully on the grass on top of the hill… except for Akane, who was looking slightly sweaty. "…Hm." Takeshi walked over to Akane and crouched down, looking slightly like a certain sweets-loving detective. "…Geddaweyreoga…ungh…" Akane mumbled in her sleep, tossing slightly, "…?" leaving one confused Takeshi.


Akane's second dream-

Akane was walking towards Ryoga, who was five metres away from her, and although her mind and heart screamed to run away, her body moved towards Ryoga as if it was doing so on it's own. 'No…Why am I moving towards him?' Akane very agonizingly willed herself to stop, maintaining the position even through the mental pain that was caused by doing so. "What's wrong Akane? Are you stuck?" Although Ryoga looked perfectly normal, his voice was distorted to the point of being scary. "Don't worry, I'm coming." Ryoga slowly began walking over to Akane, who could still manage no more than a simple standing position. "N-No…G-Get away Ryoga… G-Go away…" Akane watched helplessly as Ryoga continued walking towards her.

"Akane, what's wrong? Are you sick?" The distortion of his voice made it sound haunting and mocking, which only fueled Akane's desire to get away from him. Slowly, Akane managed the will to step back, feeling as though her legs weighed a hundred pounds each, respectively. Akane managed to croak out, "Ryoga…I don't…want… you… near me…," despite her throat feeling like cotton balls were wedged in it. "I bet Ranma is making you say that, right?" Akane attempted to retort, but her voice died out before she could, as if by magic. "I'll kill him!" The distortion was making his voice sound diabolical and disturbing, and as Akane's feet grinded to a halt, she thought out, 'Ranma… Where are y-you… P-Please… help me… my body isn't…'

"Somethin' wrong, 'Kane?" Came the soft whisper of Ranma Saotome behind her, and- gathering the strength to turn her head,- she turned away from Ryoga for a moment to look at Ranma, who was sitting down and looking out a window that seemed to be hanging in midair with a blank stare. Akane's voice came out in segments, "Ran-ma, Pl-ease hel-p me," which was a miracle in itself that she could talk at all. Ranma, however, simply turned his head to look at her, his teary steel-blue eyes seemingly piercing her very soul through her own amber-brown eyes. Ranma's response came, "You want me ta help you?" soft, yet cold, making Akane's own eyes turn a bit watery. "Pl-ease." Came Akane's response, laced with desperation. He simply replied, "I've tried ta help you lotsa times before with Ryoga. But you would just mallet me, yell at me, or cause some kinda bodily harm whenever I tried ta show you. Why should I help you now?" An answer that cut Akane deep, and made her hang her head in guilt and silent agreement. 'Why should he help me when I've hurt him for trying so many times before? Ranma, I…I…'

"Akane, what's wrong? Is Ranma there? Oh, no need to protect him now Akane, I'm here!" Now cornered, Akane watched in terror as Ryoga ran towards Ranma, with his belt on hand. Feeling a hold on her break, Akane ran towards Ryoga, fists at the ready…


Hokkaido-

1:24 A.M-

…And punched Takeshi square in the face. Takeshi fell (actually sorta rolled) over backwards, clutched at his face in pain, and yelled in agony. After a few minutes, when the agonizingly painful pain had dullened enough to enable movement that only caused severely unbearable pain, Takeshi slowly shifted into a sitting position facing Akane, and said, "That fist o' your's should be considered a public menace, Akane. I still need to put my nose back where it should be. Y'know, around the front of my face?" Kasumi and Nodoka couldn't help but wake up to Takeshi's cry, and his yelps of movement, so they went to check up on him, to find Takeshi with an obviously painful fist-shaped mark, and Akane looking sheepish. Then they realized that it was still the middle of the night. Nodoka looked over the situation and asked, "Would you care to explain why you two are awake in the middle of the night, Takeshi?" Takeshi turned his head in surprise, a crack emanating from his neck, then fainted from an overload of pain. Stupid weak human necks. Ow.


-Ten minutes later-

Takeshi's Point of View-

'Ugh… jeez… I feel hungry… Urgh!?! Argh, it hurts so much when I move… Did Meta go drinkin' in my body again? No… it's something else… Argh… maybe opening my eyes won't hurt... it's worth a try.' I open my eyes, struggling to make shapes out of the silhouettes that my d*** eyes can't seem to interpret. For a moment, I don't know where I am, or what happened… then I remember. Now struggling even more, I manage to make out the face of a girl with blue-ish black hair. Akane. Then everything else clears up. Despite the pain, my hand slowly makes its way to the part of my chest where the Dimensional Armorsuit lays dormant, and activates it. Now I reach for the portion of my armor on my abdomen and press a small pad, dulling the pain to near nonexistence. 'Well, that was certainly an ordeal that I never, ever, ever, ever, ever… ever, ever want to go through again. Ever.'


Universal Point of view-

Akane, Nodoka and Kasumi slowly stepped back upon seeing the unusual looking armor appear, too startled to move. When Takeshi fully opened his eyes, and allowed sound to once again course through his ears, he noticed the startled look on Nodoka's face, (…Say what?) who's expression was the most obvious of the three. Takeshi slowly got up, groaning, "Nngh," And rubbing his neck a bit. He rubbed a bit more and asked, "So… what's with the look?"

"Um… Takeshi, I thought you said that you only use your armor when you're fighting…" Akane said, pointing to the obviously quite shiny-in-the-light armor that Takeshi was sporting. He stared at her like she was mad, and responded, "That's right, and this was a battle against unconsciousness. And perhaps pain," before looking around and continuing, "Well, I'm gonna need to keep my armor active for a while- deal with it- and I'm not gonna be able to go back to sleep, soo… let's go!" Akane shook her head and responded, "Takeshi, you might not be able to go back to sleep, but we really need our sleep to keep our energy up. I'm sorry, really, but you'll just have to wait." At this, Takeshi put on puppy dog eyes and mimicked a whiny eight-year-old, saying, "Awww, bu-bu-but Ranma's gonna kill himself an' stuff… and stuff…" Sighing, Akane gave in, saying, "Alright, alright, we're coming, although if anything, more for Ranma's sake than yours, Takeshi."

"Whoohoo! Yay!"


Nerima-

Tendo household-

1:45 A.M-

Nabiki woke up with gusto, giving up on sleeping with three household members missing. 'Where are they? It's been a day since Akane, Ranma and Kasumi went missing… maybe they eloped… but then why would Kasumi come along?' Feeling the irritation at not being able to solve the puzzle overtake her, she walked through the hall, down the stairs, and onto the front porch. Sighing, Nabiki sat down and pondered over the solution, her heart unknowingly melting. Very slowly. Giving up for the moment, she looked over the grassy lawn, trying to reach a state of serenity. Suddenly, a small gleam given off by the moonlight caught her eye, and, curiosity piqued, Nabiki got up and walked over to the object of interest. Upon reaching said object, she found that it was a small, black and polished case for a ring of sorts. Nabiki raised her eyebrow, and expectantly opened the case-ey thing. She wasn't disappointed, as there was a beautiful diamond professionally set in amber, its ever-melancholy gleam present in the moonlight. 'W-whoa… this could be worth so much…' then her conscience finally took a stand, 'No… Akane… Akane and Ranma… they need this much more than I do… but if they're dead, it's mine.' Her conscience consigned to this resolution and calmed down. Nabiki soon returned to bed, her need of sleep overpowering her discomfort.


Four and a half days away from Jusenkyo-

2:47 P.M-

Ranma was asleep, snoring lightly. Although his sleep was not peaceful in any way, from what can be interpreted of Ranma's continued tossing and sweating…


Ranma's Dream- (Wow, there seems to be a lot of dream sequence writing.)

Ranma choked out, "A-Akane… please… no…," as Akane approached him menacingly, an enraged look plastered on her face, and a sheathed tantö on her side. "You…You…" Akane sputtered accusingly, pointing at Ranma, "You knew… you knew about Ryoga… and you never told me!" Ranma took a step back, oblivious to the fact that there was a cliff behind him, stuttering, "B-But I took- I was b-bound by- I didn't know he w-would-" He was cut off by Akane, harshly retorting, "You took what? Enjoyment in seeing him cuddle with me?" Now it was Ranma's turn to get angry, saying, "Akane, you of all people should know that I wasn't happy at all to see Ryoga get all warm an' cozy with ya! Why else was I "picking" on him?" For a moment, she was silent, unable to think of a retort, before finally retorting, "To quote, 'It was this unfathomable longing of the soul to vex itself-to offer violence to its own nature-to do wrong for wrong's sake only-that urged me to continue and finally to consummate the injury I had inflicted upon the unoffending brute.' Similarly, you may have simply done it to do evil." For Ranma, the accusation itself wounded him deep inside, and the fact that it was she who dealt the accusation proved too much for his already weary mind, for who could take such an accusation from their most loved one without indescribable wounds to their very soul? Ranma tipped backwards in his petrified depression, falling from the unseen cliff…


Four and a half days away from Jusenkyo-

4:01 A.M-

Ranma awoke with a jump, struggling for air in his frightened state, before settling down a bit. Wearily, Ranma reached out and grabbed the Saotome family blade, his bearings, and his bundle of spare clothes. Before getting up and moving onward, he thought, 'Akane, if you're lucky enough, you'll never hafta see me again… you, and everyone else, will finally be able to move onto better lives…' and with that, he left. And so did the spirit of Techno, hiding in the shadows. Techno quickly began traveling to where Takeshi was, with a lot to tell him. Two hours of continuous travel sucks.


…Somewhere-

4:04 A.M-

"Takeshi, are you sure that you know where you're going?" Akane asked in a weary tone, obviously tired from their two-hour-long walk. They'd been walking for two hours without stopping, and were now on a dirt path just outside of a small town, with a small farm to their left, and another path to their right. Dazed, he responded, "Uh, yeah, yeah, o' course." Two minutes later, when he actually started paying attention, he changed his answer, "Um, no, not really," looking very sheepish. Then the weirdest thing happened… they bumped into Dr. Tofu. Literally. Although both groups were knocked back, Tofu had the misfortune of sidestepping and hitting the fence surrounding the farm… right in the ribs. He fainted from the fence hitting a knockout pressure point in one of the ridges between the upper ribs. Getting up, Takeshi stated, "Yeah, more painful than being forced to eat brussel sprouts and lychees at the same time, in the same mouthful." Slowly, they moved over to Tofu, who looked pretty healthy, save for the fact that he was unconscious. Suddenly, Takeshi tackled Nodoka and Akane, driving them to the ground with a loud thump. Startled, Akane fumed, "Takeshi, what are you doing? Have you lost your mind?" Akane stopped, however, when Nodoka tapped her shoulder to point out something on the floor beside them. It was a mace. Beach-ball-ish.


It's about time that I post up a chapter! Oh, and by the way, If you don't Review This chapter, then the next update is not going to be on express order, that much I'll say. Yes, I am a blackmailing jerk. No, not really. I will get to it soon if you review this chapter, but if you don't, two things will happen; It will take a lot longer to post my next chapter, and I will spontaneously combust. Thank you. D-Jumper out. *Boooom!*