Author's Note: o.o
Please don't kill me.
Honestly, I have a REALLY good reason for not updating for over two weeks! I got into a car accident. Not a serious one, but still, it has been really hectic and I am trying to get my car fixed because it won't drive, and the guy who hit me isn't even answering the phone for his insurance company and they won't contact the witnesses (all of which agree it wasn't my fault) until they get a hold of this guy, and meanwhile, I am stuck in my brother's ghetto ride! Gr.
The good news is...I have finished the story! WOOT! As in, it is all written now, all I gotta do is post it! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! I am approaching the end, only a few chapters left (not gonna tell you how many exactly because then you can be surprised and be like, "Is this the end? NO! I'll kill her if she ends it here! GYAH!") But rest assured, all is settled and written and peachy.
So, hang in there guys! Here's the next chapter in the Ranma-Verse Saga! Enjoy!
World's Fall Apart
Chapter 25
Just the Two of Us
It was nine in the morning. Nabiki had arranged for a taxi to come pick up Ranma and take her to the resort, swearing she had everything taken care of. And despite Ranma's better judgment, she had believed her. She had woken up and showered. She had packed her clothes. She had done some meditation techniques. She had pep talked herself into believing she could make this week count. She had also looked at a picture of a killer roller coaster, which she was DYING to go on! Anyway, she would make this week count.
So, at 8:00 AM she had walked up to the school (for some reason Nabiki had insisted she catch the bus there) and gotten on the bus, taken the hour long drive into the mountains, into the gorgeous, natural, secluded setting with a cool, crisp breeze, warm sun, refreshing streams flowing down the emerald green sides. This is romantic! Ranma thought, Maybe the setting alone will work it's magic and I won't have to worry about how on Earth I am going to make this work…
"Fireside Resort, 1 kilometer!" the driver called back to Ranma and the three other passengers on the bus. Ranma began to feel nervous. Nabiki had promised her Ryoga would be there and he would have no idea she had intended to meet him there, so it would look incredibly unintentional.
Ranma silently practiced, "Ryoga! Fancy seeing you here! I mean, of all the resorts in Tokyo, we just so happened to decide to go to this one, isn't that funny? You here all week? Me too! You're in room 311? I'm in 312! Haha! Want to go get some sushi or something?"
But when Ranma arrived, I was not a serene rehearsed greeting. The shock she felt when she stepped off the van and into the foyer was completely genuine.
"Ranma! You here for romantic weekend escape with Shampoo, yes? Oh! Shampoo so happy!" Shampoo called as she lunged at Ranma.
"And this should be an excellent place to set up the Cat Café, I bet we'll make a killing this weekend," Cologne said as she hefted a bag twice the size of her.
"Shampoo! I was told that you were coming here to be with me! How could you…RANMA! This is all your doing, isn't it? You wrote that letter and invited me just so that I could watch you lecherously attack my darling Shampoo! Well, over my dead body! I will make this week a living hell for you!"
"Ranma honey! So you got that special offer in the mail too, huh?" Ukyo called out, coming and slapping her friend on the back.
"The red haired wench! She who stole my darling Ranma! How dare you come on this private getaway of mine to infringe on my good time! I was told this hotel was to be emptied for the weekend in honor of the noble Kuno family's stay!" Kodachi shouted, laughing manically and snapping her ribbon at a bellboy.
"The pigtailed girl! My Goddess! I feared I had not figured the meaning of your coy riddle, sent to me no doubt as a test for my love for you!" Kuno said when he spotted Ranma, "And doubtless the greatest reward of all is your wish for a loving triad with the beauteous Akane Tendo!"
"AKANE'S HERE?!?!" Ranma roared, momentarily forgetting the fact that every chaotic element of her entire life were all apparently at the same resort as her, no doubt a part of Nabiki's continuingly evil schemes.
"Hey Ranma, so you found the place okay?" Nabiki asked as she walked up to Ranma with Akane, Ryoga, Kasumi, Dr. Tofu, and Mr. Saotome, Panda style, in tow.
"RANMA!" Akane said in shock, then glared as though she would throw the red head off the mountain in an instant, "Why are YOU here?!!?"
"Hey Ranma!" Ryoga said with a grin, "Akane didn't tell me you were coming along too, I thought you were going on a training mission this week!"
"Nabiki…" Ranma said.
"Have you seen the BUFFET??!?!" Saotome Panda's sign said.
"Nabiki…"Akane demanded.
"Oh, this is just so lovely, don't you think so, dear?" Kasumi said, grabbing D. Tofu's arm in excitement.
"Yes, this is really nice, Nabiki! Thank you so much for inviting us!" Dr. Tofu said.
"Nabiki…A WORD PLEASE?!!?!?" Ranma and Akane both shouted, each grabbing one of Nabiki's arms, none too lightly either, and dragging her roughly into an open ballroom.
"Calm down, girls…" Nabiki said, seeming a little shaken at the two girl's anger. Of course, it was inevitable, she knew that.
"Explain yourself…" Akane demanded.
"Now!" Ranma demanded.
"Okay," Nabiki said, smoothing her shirt and knocking Ranma's hand off her arm, "Okay…now, I know this looks bad,"
"Uh huh," Akane and Ranma agreed.
"I know it looks like I tricked you and lied to you and betrayed you both," Nabiki said, and at the increased heat in the girls' glares, she quickly went on, "But this for your own good! I promise!"
"Yeah, and how's that?" Ranma asked.
"Consider this week a sort of…final battle," Nabiki suggested as she ran her hand along the velvet covered railing near the door, "The two of you have been rivals now for over a month, considering every day a part of the fight for Ryoga. But this fight cannot go on forever, can it?"
"It can as long as this freak thinks she has a chance," Akane said.
"I ain't quittin' until Ryoga realizes he's dating a psycho and he'd be better off with me," Ranma said.
"Yeah, whatever," Nabiki waved off, "Or, you could have a final battle. End this once and for all. How does that sound? You two can stop this foolish battle and have a winner take all fight…whoever leaves this week with Ryoga's affection wins, and the other has to back off,"
"But how do we determine who has his affection?" Ranma asked.
"How's this sound? A kiss…" Nabiki suggested, and before the two girls could say anything, she continued, "Hear me out…Ryoga is a very shy boy. He is also pretty honorable and chivalrous and that. He would never kiss a girl unless he was in love with her, right?"
"Yeah," Ranma said, and Akane nodded in agreement, but secretly felt a little less confidence because they had been dating for a month and he hadn't kissed her yet. But she didn't want to turn down the idea because she knew she had a better chance since they were already together.
"Here's the rules," Nabiki said, "The first one to get Ryoga to kiss her wins, and the other has to give up her pursuit. He must be the one to kiss you; you cannot kiss him, that doesn't count. Mouth to mouth resuscitation does not count as kissing. He has to be completely sober, no slipping him sake or something. And finally, no magic or threats, and no disguises. He has to know exactly what he is doing and who he is doing it to, sound fair?"
"Perfectly," Ranma said.
"I've got this in the bag!" Akane said.
"Now, I will personally see to it that you are each given equal time with him," Nabiki began.
"How will you know if he kisses us?" Ranma asked.
"Don't worry, I have eyes around the building," Nabiki said, "Now…let the games begin!"
-break--break--break--break--break--break--break--break-
This is so unfair…Akane thought angrily as she sat around a very large table surrounded by a bunch of people she had expected to leave behind in Nerima, It had sounded so perfect…I should have known not to trust Nabiki…
"Problem's in Paradise?" Nabiki had said slyly after Ryoga had left the night of their anniversary.
"What?" Akane asked, slightly startled since the girl had seemingly come out of nowhere.
"I just can't help but notice that you and Ryoga have been arguing a bit lately…things have seemed a little…tense," Nabiki said, "He seems discontent, you seem edgy, and Ranma…well, she isn't quite as invisible in loverboy's eyes as she once was, is she?"
"Mind your own business," Akane said sourly.
"Oh, but it is my business," Nabiki reminded her, blocking her path to the stairs, "Business is my business, and this is an excellent business opportunity for both me and you,"
"I don't want anything to do with your schemes, Nabiki," Akane told her primly, "They always end up bad,"
As Akane walked away, Nabiki said, "Fine, your choice, but whatever will I do with this full package to the most romantic getaway in Japan…"
"Romantic getaway?" Akane had asked, her interest piqued.
"Yes, just the two of you…"
But that's not how it was at all. No, it wasn't just the two of them. At last count, it was actually the thirteen of them. Yep. Thirteen chaotic drama bombs of the Nerima district all at the same table. Of course, Akane had expected Nabiki, Dr. Tofu, and Kasumi to be there. After all, she had to afford the trip somehow, and Dr. Tofu had seemed more than willing to buy the family package as a gift to Kasumi.
"It just isn't the same unless the whole family's there!" He had said happily.
"What about Ranma?" Kasumi had asked, "Wouldn't she like to come along?"
"Ranma will be on a training mission," Akane had said immediately, assuming that Nabiki had taken care of it all.
And yet, here she was, sitting across from her, glaring at her, and making the fact that this was supposed to be a special, romantic trip for her and Ryoga completely moot.
"Oh Ranma! I so happy you come for Shampoo!" Shampoo said, clinging to Ranma's arm.
"Get off!" Ranma growled, shaking her away, then turning to Nabiki, "So, how is it that all of you got invited anyway?"
"Oh, well, you know me," Nabiki said, "I'm a generous person, and I saw that there was such a great deal on tickets I had to tell everyone about it so we could all enjoy it!"
"And isn't is just lovely to have everyone together?" Kasumi beamed.
"Lovely…" Akane agreed acidly under her breath.
"Well, I think I'm going to go check the hotel out a bit," Ranma said, putting down her chopsticks and then saying, before Akane had a chance to interject, "Want to come Ryoga?"
"Huh?" Ryoga asked, putting down his tea cup, "Oh, sure. It's a pretty big place, we should see what they have here and find out where everything is,"
"Definitely, I can't wait to find the spa!" Akane said, a quick glance at Ranma.
"Oh, Akane," Nabiki said, "I was hoping you would help me unpack!"
"But I…" Akane began, but was interrupted.
"The bags are awfully heavy, I don't think Kasumi and I can manage on our own," Nabiki said, and recognizing that she wasn't going to win, Akane subsided and lowered her head.
"Sure, I'll help you," she agreed.
"Besides, you and Ryoga can spend some time together later tonight," Nabiki reminded her.
Ranma grimaced, but it was fine…she had firsties. She had the first few hours, at least, of the trip, with Ryoga all to herself…
"Oh Ranma! We go find most romantic spot, yes?" Shampoo asked.
"No! YOU are NOT coming!" Ranma said, panicking slightly, then she jumped up, grabbed Ryoga's arm, and ran off.
"RANMA!" Shampoo shouted, but Ranma was darting through the halls, pulling a confused Ryoga along behind her. As she turned a corner, she flung open the nearest door and jumped inside, pulling Ryoga in after her.
And so there they were, pressed up against each other inside a horribly cramped, dark janitor's closet. So close that Ryoga could feel Ranma's breath on his chest through his thin cotton shirt. So close that Ryoga could feel Ranma's chest, still heaving a little from running, pressed into him. So close that Ryoga bit his lip and prayed that Ranma didn't notice what part of him was currently pressing against her.
"Ranma?" Ryoga whispered after several minutes of silence, unsure why he was whispering, "What the…why are we in here again?"
"Shh!" Ranma said, reaching up and putting her hand over his mouth. Ranma leaned over and pushed the door open a crack, peering out cautiously. When she was sure the coast was clear, she took her hand off of Ryoga's mouth and took his hand instead, pulling him out after her.
Ryoga looked awkwardly down at his hand, wondering why he felt a strange chilling tingle go up his arm when Ranma touched him.
"Ranma…" he said quietly, his voice cracking a little. He cleared his throat and tried again, "Ranma, what the heck was that about?"
"I didn't want Shampoo to come with us…" Ranma said, then after a second she clarified, "You know, I didn't want her glomping me and going 'Oh Ranma! You date with Shampoo! Yes?' And then later Mousse would be calling me a pervert and trying to beat me up with a training potty and Augh!"
"True…" Ryoga said.
"Besides, I'd rather just spend time with you," Ranma said with a nonchalant shrug, thinking nothing about the honesty that made Ryoga twitch a little.
He looked over at her in confusion and repeating her words in his head, Just wanted to spend time with me…? It was starting to sink in to Ryoga's sometimes rather thick skull. Not that he KNEW what was going on, but he was definitely starting to piece it together. Something was going on with Ranma. Ranma was acting weird. Ranma was…
"WOAH! Check it out!" Ranma said, dropping Ryoga's hand and jumping into a large, open room. The whole room was lined with mirrors, walls and ceiling. It had mats and punching bags, horses and bars, and all variety of weaponry, both sharp and not, spread across a long table against the back wall, "Oh my God! Look at this room! This is AWESOME!"
"Nope…same old Ranma," Ryoga chuckled under his breath, his momentary breakthrough crumbling back into cluelessness.
-break--break--break--break--break--break--break--break--break--break-
"So, where do you think Ryoga and Ranma went off to?" Ukyo asked with a sly grin as she helped Nabiki and Kasumi unpack. As it turned out, they actually DID have many quite heavy bags, and given Ranma and Ryoga's running off, as well as Mr. Saotome's instant disappearance as soon as the smell of fresh baked goods filled the air, it was quite a handful of work.
"I'm certain they're just running about, playing in rooms and getting into trouble," Kasumi said pleasantly and cluelessly.
"Trouble…heh," Ukyo chuckled, "That's for sure,"
Akane breathed in sharply and angrily and slammed down the stack of clothes she was holding. They were Ryoga's, and she was annoyed enough that she had to unpack her boyfriend's stuff while he was off gallivanting with that hussy Ranma who she knew without a doubt now was on a mission to steal him. It just wasn't fair. And Ukyo wasn't making it any better.
Kasumi looked at Akane, and then weighed Ukyo's response. She took on a concerned look then held her hand up to her mouth. "Oh…do you mean…"
"…Ranma has been interested in Ryoga for a while now…" Dr. Tofu said quietly to Kasumi, hoping Akane wouldn't hear.
She did, and Kasumi was so surprised that she said, "Oh goodness! Akane! If Ranma is interested in Ryoga…I can't believe you're comfortable with the two of them spending time alone together!"
That was enough. Akane angrily shoved Ryoga's suitcase off the bed so that his possessions sprawled everywhere, then she stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her. Kasumi looked shaken, having realized too late that it had been the wrong thing to say.
Meanwhile, Akane was fuming, storming angrily down the hall and smashing her fist so hard into the down button on the elevator that she took a chunk out of the wall. She was starting to think that agreeing to Nabiki's stupid little plan wasn't such a good idea. She was starting to think that there was no real reason she HAD to let Ranma spend time with Ryoga. She was starting to think she was going to do something about it.
-break--break--break--break--break--break--break--break--break--break--break-
Ryoga was starting to think his girlfriend was insane. He was starting to think there was more going on than he knew about. He was starting to think, as much as he hated to admit it, than maybe Akane had some reason to be jealous and angry, even if it was just her nature. After all…he did seem to have an unexplainably guilty conscience.
Him and Ranma had been sparring, and when one of Ranma's kicks missed Ryoga, her foot almost went full force into the mirror, but Ryoga though quick and grabbed the neck of her shirt, pulling her back. Since he had done this so quickly and unexpectedly, even the ever-attentive Ranma had been taken off guard and had fallen backwards. So, like any gentlemen would do, he caught her. Of course, in Akane's defense, it did look extremely unwholesome. Ranma had landed so that Ryoga had both his arms under her back and he was leaning slightly over her. Ranma was looking up at him in surprise, and to the unknowledgeable outsider it looked as though Ryoga had just swept her off her feet and was going to embrace her in a fiery, passionate kiss.
"That was NOT my intention!" Ryoga said, for the millionth time, but he wondered why he was even bothering. Akane was in her angry, stubborn, violent, slightly shrieky mood right now, so reason or apologies wouldn't do any good.
"YEAH! WELL THAT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE!" Akane roared, and then added, "I can't believe you'd let her win THIS easily! Like all she had to do was throw herself at you and you go to kiss her! Geez!"
"Okay, she DID throw herself at me, but not like that!" Ryoga tried again, desperately, hopelessly, "Listen, we were sparring, she jump kicked me, I dove out of the way, and when I realized she was going to smash the mirror, I pulled her back by her shirt, and when she fell I caught her. She just landed that way, and we weren't like that for more than a few seconds! I swear!"
"Whatever!" Akane said angrily.
Ryoga was finally starting to lose his patience, "AUGH! Akane! I don't know what else to tell you! I mean, if you really don't trust me…"
"It's not you I don't trust!" Akane said, "It's her!"
"But…" Ryoga asked, slowly piecing everything together, "Why wouldn't you trust Ranma…"
Akane reddened. She had to say something, but the truth wouldn't do, would it? Could give Ranma an edge…
"Because Ranma ruins everything!" she said, feeling as though she were still being honest, "That girl has chaos written all over her! It follows her, and everything she touches gets destroyed! By hanging out with her, you are letting her destroy us! Is that what you want?"
"Of course not!" Ryoga said.
"Do you even…" Akane said, sniffling as her anger turned into pain, "Do you even care about me at all? Did you ever?"
"Akane!" Ryoga said, berating himself for sounding more annoyed than he had intended. But really, this was getting old…still, he started again, more gently this time, "Akane, of course I care about you…"
"But…" Akane sniffed, "Ranma…"
"Ranma and I…" Ryoga started, and only the slightest of pauses, one indiscernible to Akane, but noticeable to Ryoga, indicated that what he said was not entirely truthful, "We're just friends…that's it…that's all I want it to be, and that's all it will ever be,"