Heart of Fire, Soul of Ice
By: DemonSaya
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 does not belong to me. I've merely kidnapped them and am holding them for a large sum of money. Rumiko Takahashi gets her characters back on weekends and holidays only. Other than that, I am in possession. If you would like to borrow one, please e-mail me.
Flame Policy: Trust me, just don't do it.
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Part 12: The Strongest
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Akane and Ranma walked to school, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that Akane was nervous. Then again, lately, the tension around Nerima was getting worse and worse. Kuno had even forgotten to be a pain in the ass because he sensed the tension too.
Everyone steered clear of the pair which looked drawn tight as a wire. They only felt safe in Akane's home, or sparring together in the dojo. Ranma could feel the eyes on them and knew that everyone in Nerima now realized something big was going down. Something big usually meant something involving Ranma, so it wasn't a big suprise that people were stearing clear of them.
Unfortunately, all it did was make Ranma and Akane rather iritable, and they began snapping at each other, and at their friends, too. Kuno got a one way ticket to the nurses office just for walking past Ranma, even.
At lunch, things were cooling down to a level that was somewhat normal, so they calmed down and began talking with their specific groups of friends. Akane was being lightly teased by Yuki and Sayuri, who were still cooing over the ring Ranma had bought for her. They teasingly asked her when she was going to accept his proposal.
Akane blushed, looking into her lunch box. "I told him I need time...I need that stuff that we never got. The dating, and chocolates and..." She looked towards where he was eating, obviously beeing teased mercilessly by his friends as well. "He said okay. He's giving me the time I need..."
They looked at her in curiousity. "Akane..." Sayuri said. "If a hunk like Ranma proposed to me, I wouldn't hesitate to take him up on it. In fact, I would probably throw him to the bed and rape him if he'd waited as long as he had."
Akane and Yuki stared, blinked, then burst out laughing. Sayuri blushed, looking away. "Was that my out-loud voice?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the way home from school, Ranma walked along the rail, as usual, but looking down at Akane, his face soft. "Akane..."
"Nani?"
He grinned, caught her wrist and hauled her up onto the rail with him. "Balance training time!" He cried, catching her around the waist as she landed clumsily on the rail. She looked flustered and ready to hit him, but he noticed she seemed to be trying to talk herself out of it. As if to help her, he leaned towards her, kissing her lightly on the lips. "I'm sorry if I took you by surprise." He said, grinning.
She glared at him, but it seemed to be lacking in the typical angry fire. "You scared the life out of me." She chastised him, wagging her finger, but not fighting to get out of his arms.
He carefully turned her on the rail, smiling from ear to ear. "Let's go. The faster you move, the less likely you are to fall."
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and she set one foot in front of the other and almost fell off the fence. She heard a soft chuckle, and suddenly, she felt Ranma put his hands on her waist.
"Remember, you have to move faster than that." He said gently, looking over her shoulder and smiling gently. "Let's run." He advised, then began propelling her along the fence.
Akane let out a soft shriek, her eyes going wide with fear. "Ranma…" She said in an apprehensive voice. She felt Ranma's gentle hands resting at her waist, holding her balanced, a promise to catch her if she did fall. It was sort of like a leap of faith. She had to believe in him, or she'd fall.
Ranma felt her relax and knew she had given herself into his will. He ran behind her, never faster than she could propel herself, even as her original tentative pace picked up with her excitement. He heard her laughter bubble up from her throat and knew deep down that he would do anything to save that smile. Even sacrifice himself.
When they reached the end of the gate, Akane jumped, trusting Ranma to catch her so implicitly, that she was mildly surprised when she landed on her own two feet, his hands having left her waist. She turned to him and saw him standing on the fence, smiling at her tenderly.
He lept silently off the fence, landing equally as silently directly in front of her. A tender smile touched his lips and he lifted a finger, tenderly caressing her face as he leaned down and gave her a chaste peck on the lips. "We'd better hurry, or we're going to be late for training..." He said softly, then rested his hand against her back, guiding her towards the dojo.
Training be damed. She wanted to stand around and make out with him all day.
Yet, she knew that they must, so she wrapped her arm around his waist, leaning into his shelter. She knew he'd do anything he could to protect her. As they walked, Akane's mind slowly drifted to how they had wound up together. It was true that their parents had engaged them, but that was merely the push that started the rock rolling down hill. It had gradually gathered speed, following a course that had brought them to where they were now.
Along the course, was, of course, lots of obstacles, such as Ryouga, Shampoo, Cologne, Happosai, and Pantsuto Tarou. Yet, always Ranma remained, steady, solid, strong, like a rock. When his life tipped her's off course, he'd always been there to carefully set it right. And now...now they were speeding towards their biggest obstacle yet. A series of battles which would determine the fate of not only their lives, but also, the fate of Japan and the world.
But...if Ranma won, and was made a god, would he be forced to go to heaven, and...as such, be torn from her?
Akane remained quiet as they walked home, deep in thought, while Ranma brooded on his own thoughts. He gazed down at her beautiful face, his eyes soft, sad. Idly, he touched her hair. She was so strong. She was his foundation, the thing that gave his insane life some stability. She was his home, his only necessity. If that strong support was torn from him, he'd collapse. He couldn't let her fight unless it was absolutely necessary. It would only be necessary if...
If he died in one of the battles.
He stopped outside of the compound inside which they both lived. Without a word, he turned, placing a tender kiss to her temple. He kept his eyes closed as he felt her turn in his arms, and they embraced passionately. He rested his cheek against her shoulder, nuzzling her neck with his nose. "I love you." He whispered softly.
"And I you." She returned, closing her eyes and gently combing her fingers through his wild hair. She loved his embrace. It reminded her of how strong he was. He could never die. Nothing could kill her Ranma.
"You're late." The soft voice sounded, and both looked up abruptly, blushing from their collars, up to the roots of their hair. Oukami stood, his back leaning on the frame, not looking at them. "Let's get started. You two better stretch quick."
Ranma looked at Oukami seriously. "If we're going to be doing serious battles, then we need to be able to fight without a warm up. Besides, we warmed up on the way here."
Akane nodded, her face slightly sad.
Fushicho looked at the younger girl from just inside the compound. She could see the aura around the pair growing already. She gestured for them to come inside and looked both over. Meanwhile, Oukami moved beside the firey haired girl.
Akane faced Fushicho steadily, while Ranma sighed, looking towards Oukami. "What do we begin with?"
Neither said a word. Instead, they launched themselves at their human counter part, not pulling any punches, seeing how much their oponent could take. It was more than they'd originally thought. It took several minutes before anyone landed a blow, and the first one landed was from Fushicho, aimed at Akane. The girl just bit her lip and dealt with the stinging pain. If she called out, she'd distract Ranma and he'd get hit too.
After about half-an-hour of nothing but all out fighting, they abruptly stopped, sizing up the humans, and smiling grimly.
"What?" Ranma asked between panted breaths. He'd known Oukami and Fushicho were awesome, but he'd had no idea how good they really were. It was the first time he'd been truely winded since he'd been alot younger. Akane was breathing just as heavily as well, and had some nasty bruises forming on her forearms.
"That's all for today." Fushicho smiled at them. "I'll be staying with another spirit tonight, so things should be quiet."
"That was our training?" Akane asked, perplexed.
Oukami smiled, walking towards the door. "You'll learn of the benefits of tonight tomorrow." He and Fushicho promptly disappeared into the night.
Ranma and Akane looked at each other, blinked, then shook their heads. "I'm going to go get cleaned up." He paused, an invitation in his eyes. He didn't voice it, but he could tell Akane could read it.
She blushed, and waved him off. "Go ahead. I want to get some more practice in. I want to practice the Amaguriken..."
Ranma smiled a bit, and nodded. When he was gone, she drew in a deep breath. She'd been more than a little tempted to take him up on his silent offer, but she knew she had to restrain herself for now.
With a heavy hearted sigh, she began a kata that looked almost more like a dance than anything you'd use in a fight. It wasn't totally inaccurate. In fact, part of it was indeed dance, yet, she'd fused it with dance quite well, to make a graceful, beautiful kata. She now could see how narrow- minded she'd been in retrospective. Martial arts was not merely brutalizing your enemies, but knowing fierce control, and restrained power. Knowing when to quit.
She'd learned so much in such a short time. She was even able to spar all out with Ranma and come up barely lacking. She was nearly his equal now. A woman he could really love and respect. And because of it, she'd found a new confidence, and was able to respect herself.
As she ended the kata, she heard obscene applause. She turned abruptly to see a girl with short brown hair, wearing a rather skimpy outfit. The girl had an ample bust, and a very feminine figure. It made Akane blush with envy. "Very nice, Tendou-san. Perhaps you could fight with me, if you're done with your dancing around like an idiot?"
Akane's anger almost got control of her. Yet, the patience she'd learned from loving Ranma quickly jumped ahead of the anger, and she remained in control, not relaxing from a defensive stance. "Who are you?" She asked quietly.
"My names Mina. I like using the Quarterstaff. But since I'm traveling for the battle, and a nice cozy spot in heaven, I have something a bit more practicle." She pulled out a handle, hit a button, and the staff extended to full length. "I hear you're a phenominal fighter, best in Nerima, in fact."
Akane paused. "Actually, Ranma is the best." She said, her slight modesty kicking in. "But the battles have not started yet."
"I know..." She chuckled. "I'm merely X-ing out some of the competition!" Mina lept forward, spinning the staff, and grinning wickedly.
Akane ducked under the blow that was aimed directly at her temple. She spun on the ground, lashing out to trip the girl. It worked.
The girl went down on her behind, hard. "Ite!"
"I don't want to fight until it's necessary, please stop this..." Akane begged softly. "All I want is a normal life. To hell with being a god, I just want all this fighting to stop! I just...I want to be able to marry Ranma and have my happily ever after, and have kids, and not have to worry about running into a fight every week or two..."
Mina jumped up, spinning, aiming a kick at Akane. Akane caught the foot, but the other foot connected with her face. She went down hard, but saw someone watching from the shadows. Feet clad in Tai-chi shoes, and baggy black pants, poised, ready to interfere if things got out of hand.
Akane struggled to her feet, and glared at Mina. She'd make Ranma proud of her, she'd show him that she was strong. When the girl charged again, she kicked straight up, and the staff flew from the girls hand. Then, she jumped to the foot in the air, sending the other one into the girls stomache at an impossible speed. "Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken variant: Kick Attack!" Akane cried, but paled when she saw the girl spit up blood, and tried to stop, but couldn't. Gentle hands pulled her away, and lips pressed against her forhead.
Ranma stroaked Akane's cheek, then leaned over the other girl. He was dressed in pants and a tank, and his hair was still slightly wet. Without a word, he picked the girl up, and gestured for Akane to follow him. They left the girl in Kasumi's care and went to Akane's room.
Akane was very near tears at this point. "R-ranma..." She whispered, as the door closed behind them.
He held his arms open, and she ran into them. He gently stroaked her hair, rocking her in his arms. He could feel her body shaking with the force of her sobs and closed his eyes, grinding his teeth together. "It's okay, sweetheart, you didn't mean to. It's okay." He rested his face against her shoulder, giving it a kiss.
"B-but..."
"Shh...you were amazing, love." He said softly. He straightened, pushing her hair from her face and smiling. "You've gotten so strong...and that was a pretty spectacular move there, too..." He said with a grin. "A kick version of the Amaguriken. Truely amazing."
She blushed under the praise from her fiancee, boyfriend, love, and teacher.
"Truely..." His face grew serious. "But you must learn to control it, or only use it on impossibly strong opponents. The Amaguriken is on the same level as chi attacks. You must only use it when you have no other choice. Okay?"
She nodded. "I tried to stop, but I was moving too fast. I've never had that problem before. I don't know what to do...I don't want to kill anyone."
His face sobered. "You're going to have to loose that mentality if you expect to survive the final battles, you know." He lowered his gaze. "I had to do it at Jusendo..." He held his breath, his mind flashing back to then. "Saffron wouldn't give me the water to save you...If I hadn't killed him...you would have died...Even after I'd gotten it, I was still so sure you were dead." He lifted his hand, running his fingers across her cheek bone. "I never want to feel like I can't help you again. From now on...I will do anything if it will protect you. I will kill if I have to..."
His words chilled her down to the bone. "Ranma?"
He didn't speak, rather, he lowered his lips down to hers, kissing her deeper and with more passion than he ever had before. It truely was a kiss that would curl a girls toes. His fingers dug almost bruisingly into her back and her's lifted and latched into his shirt. She felt his love for her released in a single kiss and the sweetness and power of it made tears well in her eyes and glide down her face.
He pulled back enough to kiss each and every tear away, skimming his lips across her cheeks, his lips smiling gently. "It's okay..."
She looked up at him, her eyes shimering, and she slowly pulled out of his embrace. He wore a confused, and somewhat hurt expression on his face which made her smile. But she said nothing, pulling him towards her bed. She watched his eyes widen and stroked his face with a fine finger. "Can I trust you enough to stay beside me, but not to rush me into anything?"
He smiled, trailing his fingers down her neck. "As long as I am permitted the comfort of holding you, I will be content..." He responded.
She radiated happiness, and disappeared briefly into her closet, reappearing a short time later, dressed in a soft, cotton nightgown, which flattered her greatly. She looked towards the bed and saw him sitting there, looking at her with a content expression. A soft blush colored her face. "Wh-why are you staring at me?" She asked, sitting beside him, her hands clasped in her lap.
He merely smiled, pulling her down into the bed with him. "Can I hold you like this forever?" He asked, taking a great comfort in having her in his arms, where he knew she was safe. Where he knew she was protected.
Her answer was a smile and a kiss to his cheek. She wound her arms around his waist, burying her face into his chest. She could still smell the soap on his freshly washed skin, and a few other scents, which when combined, comforted her greatly. "If you don't mind having your arms full of sweaty tomboy." She teased gently.
He looked down at her seriously. "When you came out of that closet, you were no sweaty tomboy." He confessed, blushing a bit, and running his hand down her back. He let it rest on her round hip, his face softening along with his eyes. They burned into her's. "You were a woman, a woman I'm very much in love with, even if part of the time you're a sweaty tomboy, I don't care. Akane is who I love, and it doesn't matter if she's wearing a practice gi or a dress."
Her eyes watered up again and she threw her arms around him, burying her face into his chest. "Oh, Ranma..." She smiled, thinking about how much they'd both matured in these few weeks. They'd grown so much. Everyone had. She sighed, slowly drifting into a content sleep.
Ranma looked down at her as she slept. He wasn't mistaking. She still wasn't even close to her maximum ability. She was getting so strong, she was having trouble keeping her control up to the level of her speed and strength. He stroaked her sleeping face with a tender hand and smiled. Such a beautiful and strong spirit. Her aura had gotten huge, and incredibly enough, considering the rapidity of her learning, her control was just barely keeping up.
He sighed, frowning a bit. Inevitably, Akane would wind up saving him someday, when she reached her maximum potential. A moment later, he smiled broadly. He didn't mind. He could sacrifice his pride to see Akane happy, even if she became stronger than him. With that final thought, he drifted off into a shaky, uncomfortable, and very troubled sleep.
The nervousness had reached it's climax.
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End part 12
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Author's note: Yay! Finally, we get to the juicy stuff. I know I didn't go into the traning of Ranma and Akane much, because they were already pretty far ahead of everyone else. Anyways, now that I've managed to break down my wall of proverbial writers block, maybe I'll start turning out more chapters, ne? Well, TTFN! *DemonLovin* ~DemonSaya~
By: DemonSaya
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 does not belong to me. I've merely kidnapped them and am holding them for a large sum of money. Rumiko Takahashi gets her characters back on weekends and holidays only. Other than that, I am in possession. If you would like to borrow one, please e-mail me.
Flame Policy: Trust me, just don't do it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part 12: The Strongest
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Akane and Ranma walked to school, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that Akane was nervous. Then again, lately, the tension around Nerima was getting worse and worse. Kuno had even forgotten to be a pain in the ass because he sensed the tension too.
Everyone steered clear of the pair which looked drawn tight as a wire. They only felt safe in Akane's home, or sparring together in the dojo. Ranma could feel the eyes on them and knew that everyone in Nerima now realized something big was going down. Something big usually meant something involving Ranma, so it wasn't a big suprise that people were stearing clear of them.
Unfortunately, all it did was make Ranma and Akane rather iritable, and they began snapping at each other, and at their friends, too. Kuno got a one way ticket to the nurses office just for walking past Ranma, even.
At lunch, things were cooling down to a level that was somewhat normal, so they calmed down and began talking with their specific groups of friends. Akane was being lightly teased by Yuki and Sayuri, who were still cooing over the ring Ranma had bought for her. They teasingly asked her when she was going to accept his proposal.
Akane blushed, looking into her lunch box. "I told him I need time...I need that stuff that we never got. The dating, and chocolates and..." She looked towards where he was eating, obviously beeing teased mercilessly by his friends as well. "He said okay. He's giving me the time I need..."
They looked at her in curiousity. "Akane..." Sayuri said. "If a hunk like Ranma proposed to me, I wouldn't hesitate to take him up on it. In fact, I would probably throw him to the bed and rape him if he'd waited as long as he had."
Akane and Yuki stared, blinked, then burst out laughing. Sayuri blushed, looking away. "Was that my out-loud voice?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the way home from school, Ranma walked along the rail, as usual, but looking down at Akane, his face soft. "Akane..."
"Nani?"
He grinned, caught her wrist and hauled her up onto the rail with him. "Balance training time!" He cried, catching her around the waist as she landed clumsily on the rail. She looked flustered and ready to hit him, but he noticed she seemed to be trying to talk herself out of it. As if to help her, he leaned towards her, kissing her lightly on the lips. "I'm sorry if I took you by surprise." He said, grinning.
She glared at him, but it seemed to be lacking in the typical angry fire. "You scared the life out of me." She chastised him, wagging her finger, but not fighting to get out of his arms.
He carefully turned her on the rail, smiling from ear to ear. "Let's go. The faster you move, the less likely you are to fall."
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and she set one foot in front of the other and almost fell off the fence. She heard a soft chuckle, and suddenly, she felt Ranma put his hands on her waist.
"Remember, you have to move faster than that." He said gently, looking over her shoulder and smiling gently. "Let's run." He advised, then began propelling her along the fence.
Akane let out a soft shriek, her eyes going wide with fear. "Ranma…" She said in an apprehensive voice. She felt Ranma's gentle hands resting at her waist, holding her balanced, a promise to catch her if she did fall. It was sort of like a leap of faith. She had to believe in him, or she'd fall.
Ranma felt her relax and knew she had given herself into his will. He ran behind her, never faster than she could propel herself, even as her original tentative pace picked up with her excitement. He heard her laughter bubble up from her throat and knew deep down that he would do anything to save that smile. Even sacrifice himself.
When they reached the end of the gate, Akane jumped, trusting Ranma to catch her so implicitly, that she was mildly surprised when she landed on her own two feet, his hands having left her waist. She turned to him and saw him standing on the fence, smiling at her tenderly.
He lept silently off the fence, landing equally as silently directly in front of her. A tender smile touched his lips and he lifted a finger, tenderly caressing her face as he leaned down and gave her a chaste peck on the lips. "We'd better hurry, or we're going to be late for training..." He said softly, then rested his hand against her back, guiding her towards the dojo.
Training be damed. She wanted to stand around and make out with him all day.
Yet, she knew that they must, so she wrapped her arm around his waist, leaning into his shelter. She knew he'd do anything he could to protect her. As they walked, Akane's mind slowly drifted to how they had wound up together. It was true that their parents had engaged them, but that was merely the push that started the rock rolling down hill. It had gradually gathered speed, following a course that had brought them to where they were now.
Along the course, was, of course, lots of obstacles, such as Ryouga, Shampoo, Cologne, Happosai, and Pantsuto Tarou. Yet, always Ranma remained, steady, solid, strong, like a rock. When his life tipped her's off course, he'd always been there to carefully set it right. And now...now they were speeding towards their biggest obstacle yet. A series of battles which would determine the fate of not only their lives, but also, the fate of Japan and the world.
But...if Ranma won, and was made a god, would he be forced to go to heaven, and...as such, be torn from her?
Akane remained quiet as they walked home, deep in thought, while Ranma brooded on his own thoughts. He gazed down at her beautiful face, his eyes soft, sad. Idly, he touched her hair. She was so strong. She was his foundation, the thing that gave his insane life some stability. She was his home, his only necessity. If that strong support was torn from him, he'd collapse. He couldn't let her fight unless it was absolutely necessary. It would only be necessary if...
If he died in one of the battles.
He stopped outside of the compound inside which they both lived. Without a word, he turned, placing a tender kiss to her temple. He kept his eyes closed as he felt her turn in his arms, and they embraced passionately. He rested his cheek against her shoulder, nuzzling her neck with his nose. "I love you." He whispered softly.
"And I you." She returned, closing her eyes and gently combing her fingers through his wild hair. She loved his embrace. It reminded her of how strong he was. He could never die. Nothing could kill her Ranma.
"You're late." The soft voice sounded, and both looked up abruptly, blushing from their collars, up to the roots of their hair. Oukami stood, his back leaning on the frame, not looking at them. "Let's get started. You two better stretch quick."
Ranma looked at Oukami seriously. "If we're going to be doing serious battles, then we need to be able to fight without a warm up. Besides, we warmed up on the way here."
Akane nodded, her face slightly sad.
Fushicho looked at the younger girl from just inside the compound. She could see the aura around the pair growing already. She gestured for them to come inside and looked both over. Meanwhile, Oukami moved beside the firey haired girl.
Akane faced Fushicho steadily, while Ranma sighed, looking towards Oukami. "What do we begin with?"
Neither said a word. Instead, they launched themselves at their human counter part, not pulling any punches, seeing how much their oponent could take. It was more than they'd originally thought. It took several minutes before anyone landed a blow, and the first one landed was from Fushicho, aimed at Akane. The girl just bit her lip and dealt with the stinging pain. If she called out, she'd distract Ranma and he'd get hit too.
After about half-an-hour of nothing but all out fighting, they abruptly stopped, sizing up the humans, and smiling grimly.
"What?" Ranma asked between panted breaths. He'd known Oukami and Fushicho were awesome, but he'd had no idea how good they really were. It was the first time he'd been truely winded since he'd been alot younger. Akane was breathing just as heavily as well, and had some nasty bruises forming on her forearms.
"That's all for today." Fushicho smiled at them. "I'll be staying with another spirit tonight, so things should be quiet."
"That was our training?" Akane asked, perplexed.
Oukami smiled, walking towards the door. "You'll learn of the benefits of tonight tomorrow." He and Fushicho promptly disappeared into the night.
Ranma and Akane looked at each other, blinked, then shook their heads. "I'm going to go get cleaned up." He paused, an invitation in his eyes. He didn't voice it, but he could tell Akane could read it.
She blushed, and waved him off. "Go ahead. I want to get some more practice in. I want to practice the Amaguriken..."
Ranma smiled a bit, and nodded. When he was gone, she drew in a deep breath. She'd been more than a little tempted to take him up on his silent offer, but she knew she had to restrain herself for now.
With a heavy hearted sigh, she began a kata that looked almost more like a dance than anything you'd use in a fight. It wasn't totally inaccurate. In fact, part of it was indeed dance, yet, she'd fused it with dance quite well, to make a graceful, beautiful kata. She now could see how narrow- minded she'd been in retrospective. Martial arts was not merely brutalizing your enemies, but knowing fierce control, and restrained power. Knowing when to quit.
She'd learned so much in such a short time. She was even able to spar all out with Ranma and come up barely lacking. She was nearly his equal now. A woman he could really love and respect. And because of it, she'd found a new confidence, and was able to respect herself.
As she ended the kata, she heard obscene applause. She turned abruptly to see a girl with short brown hair, wearing a rather skimpy outfit. The girl had an ample bust, and a very feminine figure. It made Akane blush with envy. "Very nice, Tendou-san. Perhaps you could fight with me, if you're done with your dancing around like an idiot?"
Akane's anger almost got control of her. Yet, the patience she'd learned from loving Ranma quickly jumped ahead of the anger, and she remained in control, not relaxing from a defensive stance. "Who are you?" She asked quietly.
"My names Mina. I like using the Quarterstaff. But since I'm traveling for the battle, and a nice cozy spot in heaven, I have something a bit more practicle." She pulled out a handle, hit a button, and the staff extended to full length. "I hear you're a phenominal fighter, best in Nerima, in fact."
Akane paused. "Actually, Ranma is the best." She said, her slight modesty kicking in. "But the battles have not started yet."
"I know..." She chuckled. "I'm merely X-ing out some of the competition!" Mina lept forward, spinning the staff, and grinning wickedly.
Akane ducked under the blow that was aimed directly at her temple. She spun on the ground, lashing out to trip the girl. It worked.
The girl went down on her behind, hard. "Ite!"
"I don't want to fight until it's necessary, please stop this..." Akane begged softly. "All I want is a normal life. To hell with being a god, I just want all this fighting to stop! I just...I want to be able to marry Ranma and have my happily ever after, and have kids, and not have to worry about running into a fight every week or two..."
Mina jumped up, spinning, aiming a kick at Akane. Akane caught the foot, but the other foot connected with her face. She went down hard, but saw someone watching from the shadows. Feet clad in Tai-chi shoes, and baggy black pants, poised, ready to interfere if things got out of hand.
Akane struggled to her feet, and glared at Mina. She'd make Ranma proud of her, she'd show him that she was strong. When the girl charged again, she kicked straight up, and the staff flew from the girls hand. Then, she jumped to the foot in the air, sending the other one into the girls stomache at an impossible speed. "Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken variant: Kick Attack!" Akane cried, but paled when she saw the girl spit up blood, and tried to stop, but couldn't. Gentle hands pulled her away, and lips pressed against her forhead.
Ranma stroaked Akane's cheek, then leaned over the other girl. He was dressed in pants and a tank, and his hair was still slightly wet. Without a word, he picked the girl up, and gestured for Akane to follow him. They left the girl in Kasumi's care and went to Akane's room.
Akane was very near tears at this point. "R-ranma..." She whispered, as the door closed behind them.
He held his arms open, and she ran into them. He gently stroaked her hair, rocking her in his arms. He could feel her body shaking with the force of her sobs and closed his eyes, grinding his teeth together. "It's okay, sweetheart, you didn't mean to. It's okay." He rested his face against her shoulder, giving it a kiss.
"B-but..."
"Shh...you were amazing, love." He said softly. He straightened, pushing her hair from her face and smiling. "You've gotten so strong...and that was a pretty spectacular move there, too..." He said with a grin. "A kick version of the Amaguriken. Truely amazing."
She blushed under the praise from her fiancee, boyfriend, love, and teacher.
"Truely..." His face grew serious. "But you must learn to control it, or only use it on impossibly strong opponents. The Amaguriken is on the same level as chi attacks. You must only use it when you have no other choice. Okay?"
She nodded. "I tried to stop, but I was moving too fast. I've never had that problem before. I don't know what to do...I don't want to kill anyone."
His face sobered. "You're going to have to loose that mentality if you expect to survive the final battles, you know." He lowered his gaze. "I had to do it at Jusendo..." He held his breath, his mind flashing back to then. "Saffron wouldn't give me the water to save you...If I hadn't killed him...you would have died...Even after I'd gotten it, I was still so sure you were dead." He lifted his hand, running his fingers across her cheek bone. "I never want to feel like I can't help you again. From now on...I will do anything if it will protect you. I will kill if I have to..."
His words chilled her down to the bone. "Ranma?"
He didn't speak, rather, he lowered his lips down to hers, kissing her deeper and with more passion than he ever had before. It truely was a kiss that would curl a girls toes. His fingers dug almost bruisingly into her back and her's lifted and latched into his shirt. She felt his love for her released in a single kiss and the sweetness and power of it made tears well in her eyes and glide down her face.
He pulled back enough to kiss each and every tear away, skimming his lips across her cheeks, his lips smiling gently. "It's okay..."
She looked up at him, her eyes shimering, and she slowly pulled out of his embrace. He wore a confused, and somewhat hurt expression on his face which made her smile. But she said nothing, pulling him towards her bed. She watched his eyes widen and stroked his face with a fine finger. "Can I trust you enough to stay beside me, but not to rush me into anything?"
He smiled, trailing his fingers down her neck. "As long as I am permitted the comfort of holding you, I will be content..." He responded.
She radiated happiness, and disappeared briefly into her closet, reappearing a short time later, dressed in a soft, cotton nightgown, which flattered her greatly. She looked towards the bed and saw him sitting there, looking at her with a content expression. A soft blush colored her face. "Wh-why are you staring at me?" She asked, sitting beside him, her hands clasped in her lap.
He merely smiled, pulling her down into the bed with him. "Can I hold you like this forever?" He asked, taking a great comfort in having her in his arms, where he knew she was safe. Where he knew she was protected.
Her answer was a smile and a kiss to his cheek. She wound her arms around his waist, burying her face into his chest. She could still smell the soap on his freshly washed skin, and a few other scents, which when combined, comforted her greatly. "If you don't mind having your arms full of sweaty tomboy." She teased gently.
He looked down at her seriously. "When you came out of that closet, you were no sweaty tomboy." He confessed, blushing a bit, and running his hand down her back. He let it rest on her round hip, his face softening along with his eyes. They burned into her's. "You were a woman, a woman I'm very much in love with, even if part of the time you're a sweaty tomboy, I don't care. Akane is who I love, and it doesn't matter if she's wearing a practice gi or a dress."
Her eyes watered up again and she threw her arms around him, burying her face into his chest. "Oh, Ranma..." She smiled, thinking about how much they'd both matured in these few weeks. They'd grown so much. Everyone had. She sighed, slowly drifting into a content sleep.
Ranma looked down at her as she slept. He wasn't mistaking. She still wasn't even close to her maximum ability. She was getting so strong, she was having trouble keeping her control up to the level of her speed and strength. He stroaked her sleeping face with a tender hand and smiled. Such a beautiful and strong spirit. Her aura had gotten huge, and incredibly enough, considering the rapidity of her learning, her control was just barely keeping up.
He sighed, frowning a bit. Inevitably, Akane would wind up saving him someday, when she reached her maximum potential. A moment later, he smiled broadly. He didn't mind. He could sacrifice his pride to see Akane happy, even if she became stronger than him. With that final thought, he drifted off into a shaky, uncomfortable, and very troubled sleep.
The nervousness had reached it's climax.
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End part 12
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Author's note: Yay! Finally, we get to the juicy stuff. I know I didn't go into the traning of Ranma and Akane much, because they were already pretty far ahead of everyone else. Anyways, now that I've managed to break down my wall of proverbial writers block, maybe I'll start turning out more chapters, ne? Well, TTFN! *DemonLovin* ~DemonSaya~