ch5ymtHeartbroken
Akane was heartbroken.
Yes, that was the word, heartbroken.
The one person she'd ever love
had chosen someone else and she'd agreed to it because she wanted him happy.
Sadly, she looked over at her bedside table, a tear rolling down her face.
"Aishiteru...Ranma..."
She whispered, looking at his picture. It was an excelent picture,
he was smiling at her. He'd never really been the serious type, but
this was a genuine smile. Something all too rare for Ranma.
"Akane?"
Ranma's voice came from her
window and she looked over, not surprised when she saw him sitting on the
ledge. "Ranma..."
"Are you okay...?" He
stood, walking to her and gently brushing the tear from her cheek.
"I...I don't know..."
She responded, slowly sitting. "I take it you canceled your other
engagements...?"
He shuddered at the sad quality
of her voice. "Yeah...I did..." He gently lifted her face.
"If I'd married any of you...It would have been-"
"Ukyou?" She asked, looking
away.
"No, Akane. YOU."
He said, caressing her face.
Her eyes widened and snapped
back to his face. "Me...?"
"Hn..."
"Ranma..." Another tear
fell and she threw herself at his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
"I wanted to marry you..." She cried, clutching his shirt.
"Akane..." His eyes widened.
"I...I don't want to see you in pain...please, don't cry...please..."
She couldn't stop now that she'd
started. "I'm sorry I always hit you and abused you...I never wanted
to hurt you...I care about you...I love you... I don't want to see you
hurting..."
He put his arms around her and
hugged her. "I know...I'm sorry this is hurting you so much..."
He caressed her hair, closing his eyes tightly. "They say actions
speak louder than words, ne?"
She nodded. "I'm sorry...I
always blamed everything on you...it wasn't nice, so I don't blame you
for picking someone else..."
He smiled sadly. "Akane,
the ring was a present for you, not an engagement ring..." He lied.
She jerked back and stared up
at him. "WHA-"
He held a finger over her lips.
"Shhhh. Your birthday is coming up. I had been thinking about
cutting off all my engagements and I did pick the girl I want to marry,
but I can't tell her yet..."
She sighed. "Who is she...tell
me...if you can't tell her, tell me..."
"I can't tell you either..."
"But..."
"No, Akane." He caressed
her face gently.
"If you wont tell me who she
is...at least tell me...do I know her...?"
"Yes...I'd say you know her
very well..." He smiled, leaning down and kissing her cheek gently.
"I promise, I'll tell you soon...very soon..."
She nodded, a sad smile flitting
across her lips.
"Hey, even someone as kawaiikune
as you can smile better than that..." He joked, tilting her face
up. "Come on, gimme a good one, please..."
She nodded, smiling as a tear
glided from her eye. She watched him sag slightly and tried again,
a genuine smile this time.
He smiled back, hugging her.
"Good..."
Shampoo watched this scene, seething.
"So, he pick violent pervert girl over Shampoo...we see, ne?"
When Akane left the house wearing
her gi, Shampoo stepped towards her. "Shampoo challenge Akane.
She challenge Akane for Ranma."
"I am no longer able to give
Ranma." Akane looked down sadly. "He broke off our engagement
as well."
Shampoo's eyes narrowed.
"Why he treat you so tenderly then? He love you. Shampoo want
him. Will kill in order to get him."
"..." Akane sighed, nodding.
"Alright, I'll fight you, but there's really no point..." She took
a ready position.
"AKANE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
Ranma cried, running out of the house. "Are you nuts? You're
in no shape to fight her!"
"I know, but she thinks we're
still engaged, so I have to...don't interfere, Ranma..."
"But-"
"PROMISE ME!"
He stood there, trembling.
*What if she gets hurt?!!* His mind objected. *You can interfere
if she's in danger. Other than that...* He hung his head.
"I promise..." He whispered.