-I can't believe how fast I'm writing this... This chapter was written in one sitting, in about an hour - in fact, that's pretty much how all the chapters so far have gone. Hopefully the rest of this story will come as easily. Thanks for all the reviews, I appreciate all the input you guys have given - hopefully this chapter will ease a few minds about some of the things you were concerned about, with Ranma's actions.
-Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi has all rights to the Ranma 1/2 characters. I'm just being selfish by using them for my own satisfaction.
Better Left Unspoken
It had now been almost 6 months since Ranma had left. Everyone had pretty much given up on his returning. Even the rumors that had been circulating about his departure had faded. They had been pretty ridiculous anyway. Everything from Ranma actually being in a mental hospital after getting hit on the head one too many times by a mallet to him being stuck in girl form and joining a convent. Akane hadn't really felt like explaining what had actually happened. Her family knew, and her friends had figured it out after her bout of depression, but as far as she was concerned, that was all that needed to know. The rest of the Nerima gang had also figured it out, but Akane wasn't talking to them all that much anymore. The only one she really kept in contact with was Ryoga. Ukyo, Shampoo and her had attempted to become friends since Ranma had left, but it just didn't work. Three girls that loved the same guy just didn't make a good combination.
Akane had been doing much better. She was still going to graduate with her class, after having worked really hard on her schoolwork at home. It had been tough, but also a great way to keep her mind off of a certain pig-tailed boy. She often got together with her friends from the high school, doing typical girl things, getting back into the swing of life.
She was not dating, but it was certainly not for lack of opportunities. A lot of guys had asked her out, but she would just tell them that she wasn't ready for any kind of dating just yet. She knew eventually she'd be able to, but it wasn't anything she was going to rush into without being sure that she was ready. Thankfully, none of the guys put up too much of a fuss. And the occasional one that did got a taste of the old Akane courtesy of a mallet to the head.
Akane and her sisters had grown much closer again, now that there weren't so many chaotic interruptions in their lives. They often would do things together, without having to worry about a massive fight breaking out, or a curse being put on them. It was much more relaxing, and definitely less stressful, albeit a bit boring... Akane would sometimes find herself wishing for some of the action that she had gotten used to in the past few years.
Her feelings for Ranma hadn't changed that much, she was still in love with him, but it didn't hurt anymore. Well, almost anymore. There was still the occasional night where she'd wake up from a dream of him to find herself crying. But those times were getting less and less. It was true after all, the pain did get better over time, life did go on.
Akane was training regularly now, and had improved a great deal. She had learned a lot of new techniques, and had even managed to get Genma to show her a few new moves, although she modified the training subtly, without him realizing it. Although he knew a lot of Martial Arts, he really wasn't a good teacher. So Akane would just find a better way for him to teach her it, without risk to her life or sanity, and sway him over to that method.
Soun had still tried to keep the engagement on, in fact, it hadn't ever been officially dissolved, but whenever he'd bring it up, Kasumi would gently steer the conversation to something else. She had that knack of being able to change the topic without any kind of conflict arising.
Nabiki had mellowed out somewhat as well. What with repair costs for the house and dojo plummeting drastically, she wasn't so hellbent on making money hand over fist. She still was amassing a small fortune, but she was back to her usual scams - in school betting and the like. She had been a large factor into preventing the Kuno's from bothering Akane over the past while. It was wonderful what a restraining order would do, especially when the richest family in town didn't exactly want the public to know that there was one against them.
All in all, the Tendo's weren't doing too badly.
One evening, just as Akane had finished her daily workout, and was heading to the furo to wash, the doorbell rang.
Kasumi's voice echoed out from the kitchen. "Can someone please get that? My hands are all sticky at the moment, and I really can't leave this recipe right now. Akane? Are you out there? Would you mind, dear? Oh, and if it's someone for Father, can you let them know that he's out with Mr. Saotome for the evening?"
"Don't worry, Kasumi, I'll get it." Replied Akane, heading to the door. "It's probably a salesman - do we want any?"
"No, not today, thank you." Kasumi answered.
Akane laughed as she opened the door.
Her laughter cut short, as though chopped through with a knife.
"Hi. I'm back."
(A/N - if I was really cruel, I'd end this chapter here... but I won't! ^_^)
*SLAM!!* The house shook as Akane whipped the door closed. She spun around and fell backwards against the door, her heart pounding.
*He's back... he's back... Ranma's here... Ranma's back and I look like crap! I'm a sweaty mess, and he's here. Ranma's at the door, and I don't know what to say, or what to do... He's back, and I'm a mess! He came back...* Akane had a million things running through her head, all basically saying the same thing.
Kasumi came out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel. "Who was at the door, Akane?"
"Ranma." Akane mouthed, not seeming to be able to make a sound.
"What was that? I'm sorry, dear, I couldn't hear you."
"Ranma... was at the door." Akane managed to whisper, still in complete shock.
"Ranma? Oh, he's back! Umm, Akane, where is he?"
"Oh my God! I slammed the door in his face! All he said was that he was back, and I slammed the door! Ranma!" Akane yelled as she threw open the door and raced out to call after the young man walking away down the street.
Akane raced out, right into Ranma's chest, as he still stood there, looking slightly dazed. He caught her before she stumbled and fell, but she immediately stiffened, and he dropped his hands from her in confusion.
"I take it you weren't expecting me?" Ranma said.
Akane looked at Kasumi helplessly. She just couldn't say anything, all she could do was stand there like an idiot, looking at the boy that had walked so casually out of her life 6 months earlier, and now seemed to be walking back in the same way.
"Oh, Ranma. No, we weren't. It would have been nice if we had known you were coming. I'm afraid I didn't make enough for supper."
"Kasumi, that's okay, I'm not really hungry." Akane's voice cracked. "I just remembered, umm, I have to, umm, be... somewhere else... right now. Yeah, I've got to go, or I'll be late for... that... thing I have to do." She ran up the stairs, taking them 3 at a time.
A few seconds later, they heard her bedroom door close. Ranma looked at Kasumi, obviously not understanding what was going on. Nabiki came into the front area, having heard the commotion, to find out what was going on.
"So, the prodigal son returns. Here to stamp the final blow on Akane, are we? Well, not while I'm around!" Nabiki hissed at Ranma.
"Okay, can someone please tell me what's going on? Why are you all looking at me like I've grown a second head or something?" Ranma replied.
"What's going on? WHAT'S GOING ON?? You take off, out of the blue, for 6 months, with no notice, no letting us know where you went, or why you left, and then come waltzing back in here like you just left this morning? And you ask us what's going on?" Nabiki's voice started to get louder and louder.
"Nabiki, please. Why don't we let Ranma explain his actions before we do something hasty." Although said politely, the words Kasumi spoke, had a touch of ice behind them. It was fairly clear that she was almost as mad as Nabiki was, or as mad as Kasumi could get, anyway.
"Wha...? Hold on just a sec! I wrote every week to let you guys know where I was! I wrote Akane every couple of days! Heck, I even wrote the old man a couple of times." Ranma said, visibly stunned by Kasumi and Nabiki's attitudes.
"Yeah, right Ranma. And next you'll tell us that the post office must have lost every single one of those letters, because we sure as hell didn't see them." Nabiki sneered. "My God, do you have any idea what it was like for us, how Akane was? How you almost destroyed my little sister? And you try to cover it up with some stupid lie about letters that you sent?"
"Okay, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know why you didn't get any of my letters, but I did send them." Ranma started to get defensive. "I've got the address that I sent them to written down right here." He rummaged through his bag, and pulled out a scrap of paper.
Nabiki snatched the paper from him and looked at it. "Ranma, you IDIOT! All that you've got here is "Tendo Household, Nerima, Tokyo, Japan". Do you have any idea how BIG this place is? How many Tendo's there are in Tokyo? We do have a street name and number, you know."
"Well, I couldn't remember what street it's on - I never bothered to look before. And besides, everyone in the area knows this place. You mention the name Tendo, and they know who you guys are."
"Ranma... The post office in wherever the hell you were doesn't! God, you are the most clueless, dumbest, idiotic piece of semi-human I have ever met!" Nabiki was still furious.
"Nabiki, dear, why don't you go try to relax - you can talk to Ranma after you've calmed down. We need to find out what happened here, and we're not going to be able to do that if you're like this. I'll talk to him right now, and then maybe tomorrow, we can all sit down together and get things straightened out." Kasumi used her power of suggestion on Nabiki.
"Don't think I don't know what you're doing Kasumi." Nabiki said. "Fine, I'll leave you to it then. I really don't want to talk to him right now anyway. I've got to go see if Akane is all right." She headed upstairs without another look at Ranma.
"Kasumi, I really don't know what's going on here, but can you please fill me in? Why's Nabiki acting like that? Why'd Akane run away from me like I was the devil?"
"Oh, Ranma... You really don't know, do you? Well, you'd better come in and sit down. We've got a lot to talk about." Kasumi let Ranma enter the house.
Kasumi filled Ranma in on what had happened in the household since he had left. Ranma was visibly shaken, almost to the point of tears, when he heard about how Akane had been.
"I did that to her... I almost destroyed the girl I care about, all because of my stupidity. Nabiki was right - I am idiotic!" Ranma groaned.
"Well, the letter thing was a silly mistake, but the way you left Ranma. Why on earth would you do that? So coldly - I didn't think you were like that. I was so disappointed in you, I still am."
"Kasumi - that's not how it was. When Akane told me she loved me, I couldn't believe it! It was what I wanted to hear, but the thing I wanted to hear the least! I love her too, I can finally say it, I've said it to myself every night since I've been gone, but I couldn't say it that night. Even though I felt it, my stupid lack of maturity kicked in, and I froze! God, I wanted to say something, and I couldn't. I panicked, Kasumi. Don't you think I regret it? I ran away, trying to think about how I could say how much I love her, without scaring her. If I had told her all that I felt for her, I was afraid she'd tell me that she didn't feel that same level of love. She's my universe, I'd kill for her - I have killed for her. I'd give up everything for her if she asked me to."
"But, Ranma, Akane said that you looked at her with pity..."
"Pity for myself, that I couldn't say anything at the exact right moment. That I had to ruin this perfect night, where my dreams were coming true. By the time I stopped running, I was miles away, and I still couldn't think. I knew I had to grow up to be worthy of her, to deserve all the love that she offered to me, so I wrote her the next day, explaining what had happened, and what I was going to do. I've spent the last 6 months learning about myself, and training to make myself a better person. I know I was horribly immature, I know I was insensitive to her, and I knew that if I didn't do something about it, she'd lose her love for me, and I wouldn't be able to stand that!"
"Oh Ranma. If only that letter had gotten to Akane. She's had 6 months to start getting over you. I don't know that you'll be able to go back to where you were." Kasumi sighed unhappily.
"But maybe we can move forward! I want to be with her - I want to run up to her room, and tell her how I feel!"
"No. That wouldn't be good right now. Akane needs time, Ranma. Yes, maybe you can move forward, but it won't be easy, and it won't be fast. Right now, I don't know if Akane even knows how she feels about you. I'm not sure if she knows whether she loves you or hates you. And if you went up there, and told her what you've just told me, I'm sorry, but she wouldn't believe it at the moment. You'll have to slowly explain to her, once she's had a chance to get used to you being back here again. This is such a shock to her, that I'm afraid of how she'll react. And if she starts to go back to how she was after you left - Ranma, I'll have to ask you to leave her alone."
"What can I do, Kasumi? I need to do something... I can't let things end this way! I just can't!"
"You want Akane, you'll have to fight for her. Not against anybody but yourself. You'll have to prove your love all over again. But don't be a fool this time around. Don't hide your feelings like you did before."
"I can do that! I'd be glad to do that, if it could mean that Akane and I could be together. But how? I don't know where to start!"
"Well, I think it's time you did some courting, Ranma. Forget that you're her fiancé, start off by being her friend again, and take it from there, the way it should have been in the first place."
End Chapter Three
-So, next chapter will be what happened in Akane's room before and after Nabiki got there. Hmm - haven't decided exactly what that will be yet, but as this thing seems to be writing itself, we'll all be surprised! Sigh... Hope you are enjoying this, R&R please! Now, my fingers are sore so I've got to take a break for tonight - but 3 chapters in almost as many days, not too bad. Hopefully the next one will be out by the weekend. See you then!
-Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi has all rights to the Ranma 1/2 characters. I'm just being selfish by using them for my own satisfaction.
Better Left Unspoken
It had now been almost 6 months since Ranma had left. Everyone had pretty much given up on his returning. Even the rumors that had been circulating about his departure had faded. They had been pretty ridiculous anyway. Everything from Ranma actually being in a mental hospital after getting hit on the head one too many times by a mallet to him being stuck in girl form and joining a convent. Akane hadn't really felt like explaining what had actually happened. Her family knew, and her friends had figured it out after her bout of depression, but as far as she was concerned, that was all that needed to know. The rest of the Nerima gang had also figured it out, but Akane wasn't talking to them all that much anymore. The only one she really kept in contact with was Ryoga. Ukyo, Shampoo and her had attempted to become friends since Ranma had left, but it just didn't work. Three girls that loved the same guy just didn't make a good combination.
Akane had been doing much better. She was still going to graduate with her class, after having worked really hard on her schoolwork at home. It had been tough, but also a great way to keep her mind off of a certain pig-tailed boy. She often got together with her friends from the high school, doing typical girl things, getting back into the swing of life.
She was not dating, but it was certainly not for lack of opportunities. A lot of guys had asked her out, but she would just tell them that she wasn't ready for any kind of dating just yet. She knew eventually she'd be able to, but it wasn't anything she was going to rush into without being sure that she was ready. Thankfully, none of the guys put up too much of a fuss. And the occasional one that did got a taste of the old Akane courtesy of a mallet to the head.
Akane and her sisters had grown much closer again, now that there weren't so many chaotic interruptions in their lives. They often would do things together, without having to worry about a massive fight breaking out, or a curse being put on them. It was much more relaxing, and definitely less stressful, albeit a bit boring... Akane would sometimes find herself wishing for some of the action that she had gotten used to in the past few years.
Her feelings for Ranma hadn't changed that much, she was still in love with him, but it didn't hurt anymore. Well, almost anymore. There was still the occasional night where she'd wake up from a dream of him to find herself crying. But those times were getting less and less. It was true after all, the pain did get better over time, life did go on.
Akane was training regularly now, and had improved a great deal. She had learned a lot of new techniques, and had even managed to get Genma to show her a few new moves, although she modified the training subtly, without him realizing it. Although he knew a lot of Martial Arts, he really wasn't a good teacher. So Akane would just find a better way for him to teach her it, without risk to her life or sanity, and sway him over to that method.
Soun had still tried to keep the engagement on, in fact, it hadn't ever been officially dissolved, but whenever he'd bring it up, Kasumi would gently steer the conversation to something else. She had that knack of being able to change the topic without any kind of conflict arising.
Nabiki had mellowed out somewhat as well. What with repair costs for the house and dojo plummeting drastically, she wasn't so hellbent on making money hand over fist. She still was amassing a small fortune, but she was back to her usual scams - in school betting and the like. She had been a large factor into preventing the Kuno's from bothering Akane over the past while. It was wonderful what a restraining order would do, especially when the richest family in town didn't exactly want the public to know that there was one against them.
All in all, the Tendo's weren't doing too badly.
One evening, just as Akane had finished her daily workout, and was heading to the furo to wash, the doorbell rang.
Kasumi's voice echoed out from the kitchen. "Can someone please get that? My hands are all sticky at the moment, and I really can't leave this recipe right now. Akane? Are you out there? Would you mind, dear? Oh, and if it's someone for Father, can you let them know that he's out with Mr. Saotome for the evening?"
"Don't worry, Kasumi, I'll get it." Replied Akane, heading to the door. "It's probably a salesman - do we want any?"
"No, not today, thank you." Kasumi answered.
Akane laughed as she opened the door.
Her laughter cut short, as though chopped through with a knife.
"Hi. I'm back."
(A/N - if I was really cruel, I'd end this chapter here... but I won't! ^_^)
*SLAM!!* The house shook as Akane whipped the door closed. She spun around and fell backwards against the door, her heart pounding.
*He's back... he's back... Ranma's here... Ranma's back and I look like crap! I'm a sweaty mess, and he's here. Ranma's at the door, and I don't know what to say, or what to do... He's back, and I'm a mess! He came back...* Akane had a million things running through her head, all basically saying the same thing.
Kasumi came out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel. "Who was at the door, Akane?"
"Ranma." Akane mouthed, not seeming to be able to make a sound.
"What was that? I'm sorry, dear, I couldn't hear you."
"Ranma... was at the door." Akane managed to whisper, still in complete shock.
"Ranma? Oh, he's back! Umm, Akane, where is he?"
"Oh my God! I slammed the door in his face! All he said was that he was back, and I slammed the door! Ranma!" Akane yelled as she threw open the door and raced out to call after the young man walking away down the street.
Akane raced out, right into Ranma's chest, as he still stood there, looking slightly dazed. He caught her before she stumbled and fell, but she immediately stiffened, and he dropped his hands from her in confusion.
"I take it you weren't expecting me?" Ranma said.
Akane looked at Kasumi helplessly. She just couldn't say anything, all she could do was stand there like an idiot, looking at the boy that had walked so casually out of her life 6 months earlier, and now seemed to be walking back in the same way.
"Oh, Ranma. No, we weren't. It would have been nice if we had known you were coming. I'm afraid I didn't make enough for supper."
"Kasumi, that's okay, I'm not really hungry." Akane's voice cracked. "I just remembered, umm, I have to, umm, be... somewhere else... right now. Yeah, I've got to go, or I'll be late for... that... thing I have to do." She ran up the stairs, taking them 3 at a time.
A few seconds later, they heard her bedroom door close. Ranma looked at Kasumi, obviously not understanding what was going on. Nabiki came into the front area, having heard the commotion, to find out what was going on.
"So, the prodigal son returns. Here to stamp the final blow on Akane, are we? Well, not while I'm around!" Nabiki hissed at Ranma.
"Okay, can someone please tell me what's going on? Why are you all looking at me like I've grown a second head or something?" Ranma replied.
"What's going on? WHAT'S GOING ON?? You take off, out of the blue, for 6 months, with no notice, no letting us know where you went, or why you left, and then come waltzing back in here like you just left this morning? And you ask us what's going on?" Nabiki's voice started to get louder and louder.
"Nabiki, please. Why don't we let Ranma explain his actions before we do something hasty." Although said politely, the words Kasumi spoke, had a touch of ice behind them. It was fairly clear that she was almost as mad as Nabiki was, or as mad as Kasumi could get, anyway.
"Wha...? Hold on just a sec! I wrote every week to let you guys know where I was! I wrote Akane every couple of days! Heck, I even wrote the old man a couple of times." Ranma said, visibly stunned by Kasumi and Nabiki's attitudes.
"Yeah, right Ranma. And next you'll tell us that the post office must have lost every single one of those letters, because we sure as hell didn't see them." Nabiki sneered. "My God, do you have any idea what it was like for us, how Akane was? How you almost destroyed my little sister? And you try to cover it up with some stupid lie about letters that you sent?"
"Okay, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know why you didn't get any of my letters, but I did send them." Ranma started to get defensive. "I've got the address that I sent them to written down right here." He rummaged through his bag, and pulled out a scrap of paper.
Nabiki snatched the paper from him and looked at it. "Ranma, you IDIOT! All that you've got here is "Tendo Household, Nerima, Tokyo, Japan". Do you have any idea how BIG this place is? How many Tendo's there are in Tokyo? We do have a street name and number, you know."
"Well, I couldn't remember what street it's on - I never bothered to look before. And besides, everyone in the area knows this place. You mention the name Tendo, and they know who you guys are."
"Ranma... The post office in wherever the hell you were doesn't! God, you are the most clueless, dumbest, idiotic piece of semi-human I have ever met!" Nabiki was still furious.
"Nabiki, dear, why don't you go try to relax - you can talk to Ranma after you've calmed down. We need to find out what happened here, and we're not going to be able to do that if you're like this. I'll talk to him right now, and then maybe tomorrow, we can all sit down together and get things straightened out." Kasumi used her power of suggestion on Nabiki.
"Don't think I don't know what you're doing Kasumi." Nabiki said. "Fine, I'll leave you to it then. I really don't want to talk to him right now anyway. I've got to go see if Akane is all right." She headed upstairs without another look at Ranma.
"Kasumi, I really don't know what's going on here, but can you please fill me in? Why's Nabiki acting like that? Why'd Akane run away from me like I was the devil?"
"Oh, Ranma... You really don't know, do you? Well, you'd better come in and sit down. We've got a lot to talk about." Kasumi let Ranma enter the house.
Kasumi filled Ranma in on what had happened in the household since he had left. Ranma was visibly shaken, almost to the point of tears, when he heard about how Akane had been.
"I did that to her... I almost destroyed the girl I care about, all because of my stupidity. Nabiki was right - I am idiotic!" Ranma groaned.
"Well, the letter thing was a silly mistake, but the way you left Ranma. Why on earth would you do that? So coldly - I didn't think you were like that. I was so disappointed in you, I still am."
"Kasumi - that's not how it was. When Akane told me she loved me, I couldn't believe it! It was what I wanted to hear, but the thing I wanted to hear the least! I love her too, I can finally say it, I've said it to myself every night since I've been gone, but I couldn't say it that night. Even though I felt it, my stupid lack of maturity kicked in, and I froze! God, I wanted to say something, and I couldn't. I panicked, Kasumi. Don't you think I regret it? I ran away, trying to think about how I could say how much I love her, without scaring her. If I had told her all that I felt for her, I was afraid she'd tell me that she didn't feel that same level of love. She's my universe, I'd kill for her - I have killed for her. I'd give up everything for her if she asked me to."
"But, Ranma, Akane said that you looked at her with pity..."
"Pity for myself, that I couldn't say anything at the exact right moment. That I had to ruin this perfect night, where my dreams were coming true. By the time I stopped running, I was miles away, and I still couldn't think. I knew I had to grow up to be worthy of her, to deserve all the love that she offered to me, so I wrote her the next day, explaining what had happened, and what I was going to do. I've spent the last 6 months learning about myself, and training to make myself a better person. I know I was horribly immature, I know I was insensitive to her, and I knew that if I didn't do something about it, she'd lose her love for me, and I wouldn't be able to stand that!"
"Oh Ranma. If only that letter had gotten to Akane. She's had 6 months to start getting over you. I don't know that you'll be able to go back to where you were." Kasumi sighed unhappily.
"But maybe we can move forward! I want to be with her - I want to run up to her room, and tell her how I feel!"
"No. That wouldn't be good right now. Akane needs time, Ranma. Yes, maybe you can move forward, but it won't be easy, and it won't be fast. Right now, I don't know if Akane even knows how she feels about you. I'm not sure if she knows whether she loves you or hates you. And if you went up there, and told her what you've just told me, I'm sorry, but she wouldn't believe it at the moment. You'll have to slowly explain to her, once she's had a chance to get used to you being back here again. This is such a shock to her, that I'm afraid of how she'll react. And if she starts to go back to how she was after you left - Ranma, I'll have to ask you to leave her alone."
"What can I do, Kasumi? I need to do something... I can't let things end this way! I just can't!"
"You want Akane, you'll have to fight for her. Not against anybody but yourself. You'll have to prove your love all over again. But don't be a fool this time around. Don't hide your feelings like you did before."
"I can do that! I'd be glad to do that, if it could mean that Akane and I could be together. But how? I don't know where to start!"
"Well, I think it's time you did some courting, Ranma. Forget that you're her fiancé, start off by being her friend again, and take it from there, the way it should have been in the first place."
End Chapter Three
-So, next chapter will be what happened in Akane's room before and after Nabiki got there. Hmm - haven't decided exactly what that will be yet, but as this thing seems to be writing itself, we'll all be surprised! Sigh... Hope you are enjoying this, R&R please! Now, my fingers are sore so I've got to take a break for tonight - but 3 chapters in almost as many days, not too bad. Hopefully the next one will be out by the weekend. See you then!