Chapter 3:An Angel's Dream
Ranma stared at Ranko in disbelief for a few moments.
"What?" Ranko looked down, her face full of shame and sadness creasing her face.
"Oh Ranma! I've been having such horrible dream…horrible, horrible dreams….." Ranko said her voice getting quiet.
"But what did you just say. Did you say that I was going to disappear?" he asked her. She nodded.
"Why? Just from a little gold dust?" he asked her. She closed her eyes.
"That isn't just gold dust. It's one of my powers. I can make people disappear, by just blowing that dust at them," she said to Ranma, her voice saddened.
"So why the hell did you blow it at me?!"
"I didn't mean to Ranma! I was dreaming!" Ranko said anxiously, "please forgive me…"
"So, does this have some kind of link to the dreams you've been having?" Ranma asked her. She nodded.
"What are your dreams about?' Ranma asked Ranko. Ranko looked away.
"Ranko?" No reply.
"Ranko, this isn't a game I have to know what's in your dreams. If this has something to do with me disappearing, then I need to know!" Ranma told her, his voice rising with impatience. Ranko nodded.
"I know Ranma…." She then looked at him, a painful expression lingering on her face. She stuck her palm out and in it appeared a little blue gem in the shape of a diamond. Picking it up, she held it up.
"Ranma, this will show you what is in my dreams…" she said, and before he could reply she placed it on his forehead. There was a sudden jolt through his body, and he squeezed his eyes closed. When his eyes opened, he was in a new place. His eyes scanned over the barren new world. Hat was when his eyes layed on Ranko. She was in a blue kimono, and she was sitting on a bench, all alone, as if in deep thought. She began to speak.
"Why doesn't anyone love me? Why do they hate me so much? What have I done to upset them?" Ranko asked herself sadly. A man dressed in black with black hair stood before her and she looked up at him. Ranma felt an uneasy presence about him.
"Come with me Ranko, I will love you…." He told her. Ranko looked up at him and nodded quietly. She walked behind him quietly as he led her to the building across the street. Ranma followed them. The building was a old brick apartment building, with broken windows and shattered glass laying on the floor. He led Ranko upstairs, to a door with "B3" written on it. It didn't take Ranma long to figure out what was going on.
"Ranko! RANKO! STOP!" he shouted taking her by the shoulders. She didn't even see him. She just walked right through him. He gasped and followed her still. Ranko looked around the room and turned around, to see the man lock the door. Ranma's eyes grew wide as Ranko screamed and thrashed about as he pushed her down onto the bed and he tore her clothes from her. Ranma took a step back as he forced himself to stay still. He knew if he tried to help her, he would be unable to, and would just get frustrated from lack of ability to do anything. Just then the door broke down and there was the one person who could help her….
"Stop! Get off of her!" Shouted the dream Ranma. He threw the man away from Ranko, who grabbed her kimono and threw it back on, tying it quickly. She ran to Ranma crying. But the dream Ranma pushed her away.
"Run away Ranko, I can take care of this," he said to her. Ranko nodded and ran out of the room. Dream Ranma attacked the man furiously, but the real Ranma followed Ranko out of the building. She ran out the door and down the street. She ran down to the beach at the end of the street, the night made everything look so dark, the sand wasn't fine, but rough. Ranko looked about frantically, and her eyes suddenly widened as the man burst out of the apartment building. He looked left then right. Then he saw Ranko. Ranko screamed and ran down to the beach. She saw a huge rock over looking the water. Looking back, she saw the man running at her. Quickly she scrambled up the rock, Ranma following closely behind. Ranko ran until she hit the edge and turned away, as she back to the edge. The man managed to get up and started towards her. Ranko began to weep terrified. That was when a golden light burst from her, and she turned into a golden angel. She looked at the man and blew the golden dust at him. Suddenly, dream Ranma knocked the man over furiously, just in time to get hit with the dust. Ranko was smiling, until she saw the dust had hit dream Ranma. When she saw this she took a step forward to help him, but the light faded away from her, and she was suddenly tumbling into a dark abyss. That was when Ranma felt another jolt and awoke. The blue gem fell off of Ranma forehead, and Ranko hugged him, crying deeply.
"I'm so sorry Ranma! Please forgive me!" Ranko wailed. Ranma put his arms around her.
"Ranko, you shouldn't be apologizing… I should apologize for not finding out sooner about…" he stopped talking suddenly as he trailed off in remorse, "but there is still one thing I don't understand…. Why…..why did you feel so unloved?" Ranma asked. Ranko dropped her hands, and hugged her arms as she turned away.
"I am so selfish… I don't deserve it…." She whimpered. Ranma frowned.
"Ranko, answer me," he pressed calmly, "what don't you deserve?"
"I don't…. I don't deserve such care…. I shouldn't want it so much…." Ranko managed.
"Ranko…d you really feel unloved?" he asked her. Ranko looked down eyes shining.
"I know I shouldn't ask for such things, I wasn't even real… I should be grateful just for being alive…." Ranko answered sadly. Ranma put his hands on her shoulders.
"Ranko, you should never…..NEVER have to feel that way. You deserve it more then any of us," he told her honestly. Ranko bit her lip as emotion over took her. She gasped in a sudden realization of something.
"Ranma! We need to get you help right away!" she looked up at him, her eyes wide. Ranma looked at Ranko a bit confused.
"Okay, I still don't understand how this is going to make me-" Ranma suddenly stopped and winced and he grabbed his chest.
"RANMA?!" Ranko shouted in shock and fear. Ranma groaned as the pain he was feeling was expressed in every muscle of his face. He sighed as the pain receded.
"Whoa! What was that?" he asked in confusion.
"Oh my god, its happening…." Ranko said her voice getting quiet. She suddenly hugged Ranma around his waist and spread her wings out wide.
"W-what are you doing?!" Ranma asked as his eyes widened.
"I'm going to save you Ranma…we are going to China!"
"Can't I just stop at the house really quick? I need to pee!" Ranma begged.
"Fine, but only so we can get supplies!" Ranko told him. That was when the liftoff occurred. Her wings flapped and pulled them both high into their air, high over the buildings, and the houses, high over the town, high over the roves and the moon was reflecting against their faces all the while. The air was already slightly chilling, and to be soaring through the air didn't make it any warmer. They cascaded along the sky, and hovered over the tops of houses until they reached the dojo, where Ranko set Ranma down, as she folded her wings. Silently, she opened the door and padded upstairs, Ranma following behind her quietly. When they reached their room, Ranko slid the door open and entered the room, looking around momentarily. She knelt at the dresser as Ranma pulled his backpack out that was already pre-filled and supplied, incase of an emergency. Ranko pulled an outfit out of her drawer, and whispered to Ranma, "Please leave, I need to change…" Ranma nodded silently, and left the room, closing the door behind him.
"Ranma?" he heard some hiss. He looked up to see Akane in her pajamas looking at him from down the hall.
"Ranma…what's going on? Where are you going?" she whispered as she approached him.
"Ranko and I need to go to China for some sort of remedy," Ranma told her. Akane suddenly looked worried.
"Remedy…for what?" she asked nervously.
"Akane…I'm disappearing…"Ranma told her honestly.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean just what I said…I'm….going to disappear if I don't get this remedy…." Ranma replied.
"Why? How?" Akane begged her voice getting sad.
"Look I don't have time to explain, but just promise me something Akane…Promise me you…" Ranma's voice stopped.
"Promise you…what?"
"Promise me…. You'll never forget me…" Ranma said his voice full of pain.
"How could I…" Akane asked her eyes shining. She suddenly reached into her pocket and pulled out a gold pocket watch.
"This used to be my dad's, but he gave it to me… please take care of it while you're gone," she asked him. Ranma took it his eyes sad.
"Akane….." Ranma whispered. He dropped his back pack and suddenly pulled her into a hug. Akane's eyes widened and then closed as a tear ran down her cheek.
"Ranma…." Akane murmured to herself. Ranma swallowed hard.
"Goodbye…." He said his voice still in a whisper. It was as if they were too afraid to let go, in fear of never seeing each other's smiling faces again. But somehow, they both knew that they both were thinking, "I love you."
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AHHH! Finished chapter 3 ya'll!! Took me a while, but yay! Newayz, hope u like it so far. I've been neglecting writing.