Ranma and Co. is Copyright Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan, Inc. 1993
Ranma ½ is a trademark of Viz Communications, Inc.
A Ranma ½ Fan Fiction by INABN - "Forever and a Day"
Chapter Two: Pale SunlightShortly after Akane left the table, Ranma and the others finished up. Souun was still out of it, despite the calming Kasumi had effected. Mechanically, he rose from his seat to wander off into another part of the house, doubtless to find a quiet corner and sob. Well, that's what Ranma speculated anyway. When Kasumi began clearing the table, Ranma moved to help out; he had made a promise after all, even if it was just to himself. Graciously, Kasumi declined his initial offer, but when he continued to help, she relented and accepted the assistance.
They spent the next ten minutes straightening out the table and cleaning the utensils. Kasumi washed what few dishes there were, before handing them to Ranma so he could dry them and put them into the cupboard. Again the time flew by with Ranma's aide, and before long the chores were done. "Kasumi, is it true then, that what I sent never showed up?" Ranma felt he needed to be sure, before he spoke to Akane again. He didn't want there to be any more misunderstandings between them. As it was, they already had enough to last a lifetime.
"So far as I know, it is. I remember the first month after you left on your travels; it was very hard on everyone. Some waited each day, thinking you would show up, like it had been a hasty decision. Perhaps, even a joke of sorts."
Ranma felt a bit confused at hearing this. "But, I told practically everyone that I was going, and why I felt I had to leave." He paused to elicit a wry chuckle. "Did ya know that Ryouga actually followed me when I left?"
"No, I had no idea. How long did he stay with you?" Kasumi hadn't had much personal contact with the Hibiki boy, but she did know a bit about his notorious directional sense.
"We went quite a ways from Nerima, couple of days travel really. I didn't mind the company at the time, he was constantly nagging at me over one thing or another but we got along I guess. One morning I woke up, and he wasn't there. I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. That's what makes him Ryouga, I think." Ranma scratched his head, realizing that he was rambling a little. "Anyways, I bumped into him a few months back. He seemed to be doing pretty good for himself. Wasn't so angry all of the time. Though he did look a bit, I don't know…tired."
"Well, I'm happy to hear that he's getting along better. Ryouga-kun was very shy when he was visiting, unless the two of you were playing."
"Uh yea, Kasumi look it's been nice talking with you, but I should probably go and, you know, see how Akane's doing. I saw her go upstairs; do ya think she's in her room?" He didn't really want to leave Kasumi hanging, but if he didn't sort things out between himself and Akane, it was bound to feel uncomfortable the rest of the time he was visiting. The truth was, talking with Kasumi, he felt at ease, despite the rather trivial conversation they had been having. But, there would be plenty of time for that later, whereas Akane might become more volatile the longer he waited.
"Why, yes. I can't think of anywhere else she might go, upstairs that is. Be attentive of my little sister's feelings Ranma-kun. Things haven't been easy on her while you've been gone." With that in mind, Ranma made his way up to Akane's room, leaving the eldest Tendou daughter to her own device.
Akane had finished writing an entry in her diary only scant seconds before she heard a light knock at her door. Taking her time, she put away the small notebook, before calling out to see who it was. Of course, the possibility of it being someone other than Ranma was slim at best. "Who is it?" Akane had toyed with the idea of making her voice gruffer than it was, to show that she was still irate. But, on the off chance that it wasn't Ranma standing out there, it wasn't much of a choice.
"It's Ranma," his reply sounded distorted through the closed door. "Can we talk?"
"Humph, we're talking right now, aren't we?" Akane grumbled from her side of the door.
"Very funny Akane, you know what I meant. Look, we started off on the wrong foot downstairs. Can't we talk about it?" Ranma untied the leather wrap from his ponytail while he leaned against the wall next to Akane's door. He'd taken to wearing his hair loose some time ago, and he felt more at ease when it hung free around his shoulders.
"If you don't want to, I understand." While he was speaking, Akane's door popped open a few centimeters. Ranma watched the open slit of the door for a second, before he heard Akane's voice waft through.
"If you aren't going to come in, you might as well leave Ranma."
Pulling himself from the wall, he quietly walked into her room, shutting the door as he went. Ranma's eyes wandered across the room. Not much had changed from what he last remembered. Sure, there were a few minor cosmetic changes, but nothing drastic. Several of her manga had been replaced with more mature books, and there was a new poster or two. All in all, it was what he supposed a normal girl's room should look like. Akane sat on the edge of her bed, watching as he looked about.
"You said you wanted to talk, so stop staring at everything."
Ranma arched a brow at her comment, before sitting in the chair by the desk.
"Listen, I know why you're mad. There's just nothing I can do about it. I told you I'd write, and I kept my word. I really have no idea why you never got any of the letters." Ranma calmly stated.
Akane narrowed her eyes; Ranma, of all people, thought he knew why she was mad. Well he had another thing coming. When she was done with him, why, there would be nothing left…
"You 'think' I'm mad just because of some stupid letters? It's been two years Ranma. Two years…you do know how to pick up a phone don't you?" Akane wasn't quite yelling at this point, merely using a forceful tone of voice. Her words had the intended effect, and Ranma was thrown off guard.
"Phone… huh?"
"Yes, you know the thing you use to talk to someone over long distances. What, were you afraid someone would trace the call? That's pretty low Ranma."
"Trace the call? What are you talking about? Why would anyone want to trace my calls?" Ranma mainly understood what she was getting at, but he refused to believe that she was speaking out of anything but anger at the moment. Why was she attacking him like this?
"Hah, that's more like it, dodge the question as usual. You probably didn't want anyone to find your little hidey-hole. Just admit it."
"Look Akane, I'm not sure where you came up with this, but there really weren't any phones where I was at. It was hard enough to find places that could send mail. If I'd a known that it meant this much to you, I'd have tried to call." Ranma fervently hoped this line of reasoning would calm Akane down. Sure he had learned to be more decisive and self-reliant over the past two years, but working on his conversational skills hadn't been foremost on his mind.
Akane just responded with a wry chuckle.
"I don't see what's so funny about this," Ranma remarked, already growing tired of the runaround Akane was giving him. He was about to come up with some sort of rejoinder when he noticed her expression soften ever so slightly.
"Ranma, did you have to leave? Was it really that bad?" Akane's abrupt change only served to further confuse Ranma.
Already he felt that the situation was beyond him. It sounded like she was asking why he had left. That had been one thing that he felt he'd made abundantly clear to everyone two years ago. Akane certainly hadn't tried to stop him then, so why was she all fired up about it now?
"Well, was it?"
Blinking, he focused on her expectant face before she could prod him again.
"You actually have to ask that? Of course it was." His blunt reply prompted a sharp intake of breath from the girl sitting across from him. Furrowing his brow, he nevertheless continued on, "I know we talked this over back then, I really had no idea that it bothered you this much. You could have said something."
"Get real Ranma. Don't think that you can just come walking back like nothing happened. Things change, people change. You know that, right?" At this point, Akane's voice took on an unfamiliar lilt. It almost sounded, forced, like her throat had suddenly gone dry.
"Yea, Akane, I do. Believe me. I…I didn't realize that you felt this way. I can go, if I'm bothering you this much." Resigned, he pulled himself to his feet. "I'd only planned on staying for a few days, so I'll be out of your way soon. Maybe we can talk again later." Having said that, he slid the door open and left the room.
For her part, Akane just stared at the empty chair so recently occupied. Trying to marshal her thoughts on what had just happened, she was having trouble deciding if things had gone better or worse than she had expected. One thing was for sure things weren't quite the same as they had been. Akane blinked, realizing that she was now alone. Lying back on her bed, she covered her face with an arm and sighed. After all this time, she had him right here, in her room, and totally messed up.
Kasumi had just finished putting away the dishes from breakfast when she heard Ranma come back down from his talk with her little sister. She hoped everything went all right. Akane's behavior toward his appearance had been less than exemplary. It had come as quite a shock to see him standing at the door like that. Nevertheless, there was no excuse for Akane to act in such a way.
Ranma slid noiselessly into the dining room, his face a mixture of confusion and under further scrutiny, disappointment. Once again it fell upon Kasumi to apologize for the behavior of her sibling. "Honestly, when will Akane learn to grow up," Kasumi thought to herself as she watched him lean idly against the wall. She wondered if it would be improper to bring the matter up outright, or if she should wait until he had time to center himself. Naturally it might be best to 'get it out of the way,' as Ranma had spoken of not ten minutes ago. That way there would be nothing to bother his visit any further. Now, how to broach the subject?
Rubbing his forehead, Ranma gave a frustrated sigh. Why did everything have to be so difficult with that girl? He'd thought that they had taken care of all misunderstandings before he left on his trip. Apparently that was not the case anymore. But, what else could he do? Talking it out certainly wasn't an option this time around. Akane was still too stubborn for her, or anyone else's, peace of mind. Ranma was just about to go sit down, when he heard the soft patter of Kasumi's footsteps approach.