Broken Hearts, Mended Souls
By
Nuclear Twinkie

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Disclaimer: In all seriousness, all rights to Ranma1/2 and its characters go to Rumiko Takahashi. In all silliness... "Wow, Ranma's life is just as messed up as mine. Do you really think he'll be able to resolve all this?" Ranma never accepts failure at almost anything he does. Yeah Tenchi, I'm sure he'll resolve it, but not like everyone thinks. "Trying to stay away from the fanfic clichés, huh?" I try, but sometimes... oh man, Tenchi hide quick! "Where is Lord Tenchi?" I told you Ayeka, I don't know. "Something makes me think you're lying." What reason would I have to lie to beautiful girl like you? "Well, you do have good taste. Very well, I'm leaving." She gone, you can come out now Tenchi. "Man, how did they get here?" I don't know, but I'm trying to write a fic and keep getting interrupted. If I ever get my hands on Washu...

{} = Character Thoughts
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"Yo, Akane"

"You might want to change that to Dear, Akane."

"D-d-ear Akane? What kind of letter do you think this is?" Ranma is sitting at a desk in Nabiki's room. He is dressed in his normal Chinese clothes and appears nervous. He is holding a pen and there is a trashcan next to the desk filled with crumpled up pieces of paper. Ranma is looking at Nabiki in surprise. Nabiki is sitting on her bed with her arms crossed and a tired look on her face. It's early evening and the sun has just set.

"It's a letter to help make up for not telling her about Ryoga. You have to be as nice as possible, and it just so happens girls like being called dear."

Ranma sighs and returns to writing. "If you say so Nabiki. Dear Akane." Ranma sits unmoving staring at the sheet of paper. A look of intense concentration appears on his face as Nabiki gets increasingly annoyed.

"You know, Ranma, it helps if you move that little stick called a pen across the paper. It makes marks that other people can read."

"I KNOW THAT! I'm no good at this stuff. How in the world am I going to make this up to her in one letter?"

Nabiki sighs and moves closer to the desk. "You're not Ranma, but the letter is the beginning. Just pretend that I'm Akane and you trying to apologize for everything, but instead of speaking, just write it down."

"That's a great idea Nabiki. OK, Dear Akane..."

Elsewhere in the house, Kasumi is holding a tray with milk and cookies as she knocks on Akane's door. "Akane, I brought some milk and cookies."

A tired and angry sounding voice comes in from the other side of the door. "I'm not hungry."

"I understand, but may I at least come in? Please, little sister."

Kasumi hears the click of the doorknob and door opens just a crack. Kasumi carefully pushes the door open to see Akane walking back across the room. Kasumi walks in, sets the tray on the desk, and sits down on the chair as Akane turns and sits down on the edge of her bed.

Akane's cheeks are wet and her eyes puffy and red. Her hair is uncombed from time laying in bed, and she is already in her yellow pajamas. She reaches over to grab a pillow, which she wraps both arms around and squeezes. She hangs her head and sighs. "Ka-Kasumi, I..."

"There's no need to say anything yet, Akane. First, have a cookie." Kasumi pulls the towel of the plate filled with warm, chocolate chip cookies and holds it out to Akane. The smell of the fresh baked cookies fills the room.

Akane slowly looks up and sees the plate of cookies. She stares for just a moment before putting her head back down. "Kasumi, I'm not really hungry."

"You're going to refuse one of my fresh baked, chocolate chip cookies?" Kasumi exaggerates holding the cookie under her nose and breathes in deeply. She then moves the plate close to Akane's face, hoping the smell will reach her. "They smell sooooo good. Are you sure you don't want even one?"

Akane looks at the plate and then looks up at her sister. She manages to smile through all the pain. "Thanks, Kasumi." Akane picks up a cookie and takes a small bite. "These are pretty good."

"I told you they were good. Now, I want to think about nothing but cookies and milk for the next five minutes. If that becomes too hard, just eat another cookie."

Akane gives Kasumi a confused look. "Cookies? Kasumi, I don't think..."

Kasumi interrupts Akane. "Milk? You can't eat cookies without a cold, tall glass of milk. Here you go."

Kasumi hands Akane the glass. Akane takes a small drink and then another bite of the cookie. She continues to eat cookies and drink milk for several minutes. Kasumi then takes the empty glass form Akane. "Now don't you feel better?"

"Yeah, I actually do. Thanks Kasumi." Akane gets up and gives her sister a hug.

"That's what us big sisters are for, Akane. Now, tell me what's wrong." Kasumi continues to hug Akane as Akane tells her everything and cries herself to sleep.

The next morning Akane gets out of bed and gets ready for school. She opens her bedroom and finds an envelope taped to the door. It has her name written on it in handwriting so horrible, it has to be Ranma's. She rips the envelope off the door and throws it in the trash. She walks downstairs and into the kitchen without even acknowledging anyone. Her father, Genma, Nabiki, and Kasumi are all at the breakfast table. She grabs her lunch and walks to the front door.

Kasumi walks up to Akane as she is putting on her shoes. "Akane, you haven't even eaten breakfast yet. Are you leaving for school already?"

Akane looks at Kasumi and forces a smile. "I'm not that hungry Kasumi. Thanks anyway. Bye!" Akane opens the door and runs off to school. {I just don't want to see Ranma right now. I'm not going to have much of a choice once I get to school, but if he says even one word to me I'll mallet him into the middle of next week!}

Akane gets to school early again, and immediately proceeds into school. As she gets to her locker and opens it to put her shoes in, another envelope with Ranma's handwriting falls out. Akane stares at the letter as tears form in her eyes. "That, that idiot!!!"

"Akane, what's wrong?" As Akane looks up at Sayuri and Yuka, they gasp as they see her tear stained face. They run over to her as Yuka puts her hands on Akane shoulders. "Akane what is wrong? You almost never cry at school."

Sayuri reaches down and picks up the envelope. She recognizes Ranma's handwriting but forgets she grabbed the letter as Akane starts crying harder and hugs Yuka for support. Sayuri puts a hand on Yuka's shoulder to get her attention. "C'mon, let's get Akane out of here. I don't think missing one day of school will make a difference." As the girls walk off, they don't notice the figure hiding in the shadows following them.

Later, the three girls are sitting under a tree in a nearby park. Akane has stopped crying and just finished telling them both what has happened. "...And now Ranma keeps leaving these letters for me to find."

Sayuri holds up the letter Akane dropped at school. "Have you read it to see what it says?"

Akane grabs the letter, crumples it up, and throws it away from her. "Why would I want to? He cares more about himself and being a martial artist than he ever will about, about..."

Yuka takes a deep breath. "Akane, you don't have to say anything, but it has become apparent that you do care about him. We both know it, and we know that you want him to care about you."

Akane begins to protest, but Sayuri takes her hand. "You know she's right, and you know from everything that has happened that he cares about you too." Akane looks at Sayuri in shock. "You know it's true. Look, if he does care, there will be another letter waiting for at home, right?"

Akane quietly says, "Yeah... but..."

Yuka takes Akane's other hand. "But nothing Akane. This is really tearing you up, and you need to figure out how you feel about Ranma. Whether you decide you hate him or like him, you need to decide once and for all. We'll be here to back up whatever you decide."

Akane smiles as she looks at the other two girls. "Thanks. You two are the best friends anyone could have." Akane grabs the other two and they share a hug for several moments. They all stand up. "I'm just going to go home. I've got a lot to think about."

"Do you want us to walk you home?"

Akane shakes her head. "I should be OK. I kind of need some time to think. Sayuri, Yuka, thanks again."

Sayuri and Yuka give Akane another hug and then head home as well. None of them notice the hidden figure that darts in the direction of the Tendo Dojo.

Akane slowly walks home, leaving plenty of time for thought. {I guess the big question is, do I love Ranma? Do I love that insensitive jerk? HA! I could never love him! He insults my cooking, and does whatever he can to not eat it. He thinks I'm a horrible martial artist, and won't even spar with me for real. He's always telling I'm an uncute, unsexy tomboy. No matter what I make for him, he always finds ways to insult it. He absolutely horrible! He even picks on poor little P-Chan...}

Akane kicks a rock and leans against the railing of the canal. She looks up to see the sun in the afternoon sky. {I never realized how much Ranma tried to pick on him. I always Ranma was jealous of a little pig. I always thought it was so silly. He did try to do whatever he could to keep him away from me. Now that I think about it, he did drop clues everywhere trying to get me to realize it. NO!!} Akane brings her fist down on the railing, severely smashing it out of shape. She turns and starts to stomp home in anger.

{That is no excuse! He let Ryoga do all that to me without ever telling me! I will never forgive him! I'm going to go home and tell him I want him to leave. I never want to see him again! Yeah, that's exactly what I'm going to do. It's what's right. Forget him and move on.} Akane sighs as she slows down her pace of walking.

{Why does it sound like I'm trying to convince myself, instead of stating a fact? Do I want to never see Ranma again? I can't even imagine what life would have been like the last year and a half without him. I remember when he saved me. How could I not? Toma, Taro, Kirin, Moose, Mikado, Safron. I can't possibly count all the times he has fought for me. He's even destroyed Jusenkyo and the spring on Togenkyo for me. Sayuri and Yuka are right. He does care about me, but do I care about him?}

Akane finally makes it home. She walks inside and is taking of her shoes as Kasumi comes to see who came in the door. "Akane, what are you doing home? School isn't out for another two hours."

Akane puts on her slippers and looks at her sister. "I decided to come home early. I just wasn't feeling up to going to school all day."

Kasumi walks up to Akane and puts her hand on Akane's forehead. "Oh my, are you feeling all right? Should I call Doctor Tofu?"

Akane smiles and gently removes Kasumi's hand. "It's not that kind of feeling all right. I just don't know how to deal with everything that's happened in the last week."

Kasumi smiles. "Why don't you go up to your room and get some rest. If you need more milk and cookies, just let me know."

Akane starts walking up the stairs and turns around long enough to say "Thanks, big sister." Akane gets to her bedroom door and sees another note taped to it, but this time a single long-stemmed red rose is there as well. {A rose, from Ranma?!?} She takes the note and rose, inhaling the fragrance of the latter it as she enters her room. {It smells so good.} Akane sits down on her bed, lays the rose down next to her and stares at the envelope. {Well, I might as well read what he has to say}

***

Dear Akane,

First, I want to say I'm not very good at this type of thing, but I knew I had to say something. I wanted to explain why I did what I did, and why I now know that what I did was wrong. Akane, my dad is many things, but honorable isn't one of them. My dad has done so many bad things, that I wanted to make sure I didn't end up like him. That's why I never told anyone about Ryoga's curse. When I found out I was the one who knocked him into the spring, I had to make it up to him somehow. I now understand that not telling you was wrong.

Akane, I am sorry. I never meant to hurt you, and didn't fully realize how much this would hurt you. I won't make excuses or try to beg for forgiveness. That's what my dad would do, not me. All I ask is the chance to make it up to you. I made a mistake, and would like to make amends. Akane, when you are done reading this please meet me up on the roof. It's where I've been most of the day. Please talk to me Akane. I care about you too much to end it like this.

Ranma

***

Akane stares at the end of the letter in shock. {He, he admitted it. He cares about me, but do I care about him?} Akane walks downstairs and out the front door. She climbs up a ladder and onto the roof. She looks to see Ranma sitting there staring at the setting sun. Akane walks over and sits down next to him. She is carrying the rose and letter he gave her.

Both of them are looking at the sunset instead of each other. Without turning to him, Akane asks, "Ranma, is what this letter says true? Do you really c-ca-care about me?"

Ranma turns his head and looks at her. "Yes. Yes I do, but it doesn't matter."

Akane is stunned. She grabs his arm. "Why, why doesn't it matter Ranma? Why?"

Neither of them notices the figure that has shadowed Akane, hanging of the edge of the roof spying on them. The figure that is just as stunned as Akane. That figure is now overflowing with anger and feelings of betrayal. That figure is trying to remain calm, instead of doing everything she can to kill both Ranma and Akane. She moves her hand to her weapon as she realizes being calm isn't going to happen.

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Author's Notes: Thanks yet again to Langdz for pre-reading this. I never realized how fun cliffhangers are from the writer's point of view. Boy, am I evil or what? Anyway, please e-mail me with opinions, criticisms, and suggestions. Please be constructive with all C&C. I don't mind being told what someone doesn't like, as long as they provide some direction to make it better. (ntwinkie@effectnet.com)