Chapter 12:

"Ranma? Ranma, where are you?"

"I'm over here, Akane."

"Ranma?"

"What she doing here?"

"Yeah, what are you doing here, Akane? Ranma honey is mine."

"Oh my, don't be foolish, Ranma darling is mine."

"No no...Ranma's my fiance."

"We don't have time for bothersome girls like you, Akane."

"Kodachi's right, Akane."

"Girl like Akane die!"

"What? No! No, please! Ranma! Save me!"

"Akane!"

"No! Ranma! Ranma!"

"Ranma!" Akane jolted awake from yet another nightmare.

Ranma had yet again met his demise, due to Akane's interference.

"Akane?" Ranma opened the door to Akane's room to see her sitting up awake, trying to catch her breath from the previous fright. "Akane, are you alright?"

"Akira?" Akane looked like she was going to cry, but she was trying to stay strong.

"Akane, I heard you from my room. You sounded like you were in distress." Ranma said as he approached Akane's bed.

"Oh, Akira. It was so scary." Akane said as she choked back tears. "It's all my fault."

Ranma sat down on the bed next to Akane, trying to comfort her. "Akane.."

"He died, and it's all my fault." Akane confessed, as she let the tears flow freely. "If I wasn't...If I wasn't there.."

"Akane, don't talk like that." Ranma reprimanded. "It wasn't your fault. Not at all."

Akane started to cry more, making Ranma pull her close to him. "Shhh...it's okay, Akane. Just let it out."

"I'm so sorry..."

"Don't apologize. There's nothin' to be sorry for, you didn't do nothin'."

Ranma sat with Akane, as she cried into his chest, and he held her close. This was not a moment for celebration, but rather one of mourning.

Ranma stayed by Akane's side until she fell soundly asleep again. Ranma prayed she wouldn't have anymore nightmares.

Day 12:

"Hey, Akira?"

"Yeah?" Ranma replied as him and Akane walked home from another uneventful day of school.

"You know Sunday night?"

"Uhh..what day is it today?" Ranma asked, scratching his head, as he searched his mind for the answer.

"It's Tuesday." Akane replied.

"Oh..What happened Sunday night?" Ranma asked making Akane give him a funny look.

"You really don't remember?"

"No. Refresh my memory."

"It was when I had that nightmare." Akane simply replied.

"Oh, right."

"After you had come in, and I fell asleep again, I actually had very sweet dreams." Akane said with a grin on her face.

"Really? No nightmares?" Ranma asked with an elated tone.

"Nope. None." Akane confirmed.

"That's awesome!"

"Thanks, it might not seem that impressive, but some nights I'll have multiple nightmares in a row. It's like they won't leave me alone." Akane explained.

"That's awful."

"It's okay. I've learned to deal with them the best I can." Akane assured, as they were nearing the entrance to the dojo.

Ranma stopped for a moment, and looked up to the sky, and whispered, "Thanks."

"Oh, Akira?"

"Uh huh?"

"Do you want to go see a movie?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, sure." Ranma agreed, putting a smile on Akane's face.

"It's Tuesday, so it's cheap movie night." Akane told Ranma as they headed in to gate.

"Ah, the best movie night."

"Well, duh!"

Akane and Ranma had made their way to the movie theater, and decided they'd get something to snack on first before they chose what movie to watch.

Akane and Ranma waited in line. Akane looked over at the movie posters to see which one they should go to. A certain movie caught her eye, "Hey, Akira!"

"Yeah?"

"We should go to that movie." Akane stated as she pointed at one of the movie posters.

"Pretty Woman?" Ranma questioned, unsure he would like it.

"My friends say it's good."

"Nah, let's go see Terminator." Ranma suggested making Akane give him an unsure look.

"I don't think so." Was Akane's answer.

"Fine, it's the second one anyways." Ranma agreed. "Hey! How about Goodfellas?"

"Umm...no thanks."

"Edward Scissor-hands? Point Break? Uhh Die Hard 2?" Ranma gave out the options, but quickly realized they didn't want to see the same movie.

"I don't know..maybe this was a bad idea." Akane confessed, putting Ranma in a panic.

"What? No, no, this was a great idea. There's got to be a movie we can both agree on." Ranma assured.

"I doubt it. Our tastes are just too different, Akira." Akane replied. "Maybe, we should just go home.

"No way. We'll find a movie." Ranma scoured the movie posters again for the right movie, until one caught his eye. "Aha! I know which one."

"Which?"

"You'll have to wait and see." Ranma told her as they grabbed their popcorn and drinks, and headed in to the movie of Ranma's choice."

Ranma and Akane found a seat, with their big bucket of popcorn, and extra large drinks in hand.

"Tell me what movie we're watching." Akane whispered to Ranma.

"I told you, you'll just have to wait." Ranma whispered back.

The opening credits began to roll, and it eventually became evident which movie they were seeing. Ranma kept his eyes on Akane, as a huge smile appeared on her face and there was a twinkle in her eye.

Akane leaned over to Ranma, and said with glee, "You actually picked Beauty and the Beast?"

"What? Bad choice?"

"Of course not." Akane assured, before continuing, "I've been wanting to see this one for so long, but I thought it was too childish."

"Well, I'm glad."

"Thanks, Akira."

"No problem."

"Shhh! Can you two stop talking? The movie's about to start." Someone from behind the pair reprimanded.

"Sorry." They both apologized, before turning their focus to the movie.

The two attentively watched the film, which depicted the story of a selfish jerk, with an egotistical attitude, who thought way too highly of himself(this statement could also describe the villain of the movie as well), turning in to a beast, and only having a certain amount of time to get a love confession from someone, or he'd stay permanently as a beast. It was truly a story of true beauty, not the kind on the outside, but the kind on the inside. Even the main character, Belle, was beautiful, hence her name, but she didn't just posses good looks, but also a good heart. Was the film depicting the truth about love, or was it just another hopeful fairy tale. Is it possible to be loved, when you deem yourself unlovable? Aren't people more shallow than we think? Aren't looks king? Although, I think the better question is, can people really change? Can someone truly go from being a selfish jerk, with an egotistical attitude, who thinks way too highly of himself, to a person who is gentle, kind, and puts others before themselves? Very few people possess these qualities nowadays, not everyone's a saint y'know.

On the walk home, Akane gushed about the movie. She thought it was amazing, and she was super grateful to 'Akira' for picking it.

"...It was just so awesome!" Akane exclaimed with glee, while she practically skipped beside Ranma. "Thank you, Akira."

"Don't mention it, It was my pleasure really." Ranma replied.

"What did you think of the movie?" Akane questioned.

"It was good."

"That's all?" Akane peppered, not impressed with Ranma's simple answer.

"Yep, it was a solid movie." Was Ranma's reply.

"Well, I'm glad you feel that way, although maybe you would have more to say if we would've watched something like 'Terminator'." Akane teased.

"No no, I really did like the movie. I'm not much of an analyst, though."

"I understand."

Ranma did enjoy the movie, although he wouldn't go around telling the guys that. The movie left Ranma with a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. He related to the movie, way more than he would ever want to admit. He almost felt like he was playing the part of the beast, in this second chance story. Ranma went from being a great looking guy, with a not so great attitude, to possessing the body of an undesirable young man, where his only charm is his attitude. Ranma can't rely on his looks, or even his skills, to win over Akane's heart, and if he can't rely on the outside, he has to rely on the inside. Ranma now has to treat Akane the way he should've in his previous life, so that she will see past his exterior, and see that there's a lovable person in there. Ranma might not have a rose, but he has a watch, and the time is ticking down on it. If he wants to live again he has to pull out all the stops, and not hold back. He should just be glad that there's no Gaston, so far, that is.

*Author Notes*

Hey everyone! The last time I updated, I had had hopes of putting out a lot more chapters through out the week, but I guess that never happened! Sorry about that guys!

Also, I do not own any of the mentioned movie titles. Credit to the makers of the mentioned movies!

Have a great rest of your week guys! God bless!

Isaiah 40: 29

"He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength."