Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi
AND HERE WE ARE AGAIN IN THE FIRST FLOOR, WHEN THE SCENE HAS JUST FINISHED PLAYING...
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Akane felt the long-forgotten feeling of and resentment boiling up inside her again. After all her hard work! And she'd wanted so badly to win...Yet Ranma still ran past her to defeat her...
"YES," the voice murmured from above. "YOU DO REMEMBER."
Ranma felt his shame double. He'd had no idea... When he had been running in the race, all he'd concentrated on was running forward, but looking at the movie, he'd seen how broken Akane had looked as she'd crumpled to the ground. The movie revolved mainly around Akane, and he was now able to see the pain her defeat had caused.
"YOUR FATHER WOULD HAVE BEEN SO PROUD," the voice continued. Akane's and Ranma's heads snapped up in surprise.
"NOW," the voice continued. "WHAT CAN YOU TWO SAY FOR YOURSELVES?"
The screen on the wall flickered into complete blackness, and the harsh beams were on again. They fell on both Ranma's and Akane's heads. Ranma looked at Akane, unable to look her directly in the eye because of his embarrassment. Akane, on the other hand, seemed to be having trouble coping with the renewed shame of her defeat.
"A-Akane..." Ranma said through the microphone. He wished they were closer...The podiums were so far apart and imposing... "You should have told me..."
Akane felt her shame give way to a slow anger.
"It was so obvious that I'd wanted to win!" she whispered harshly into the microphone. "I wanted to win for the sake of making my father proud! You won for the sake of an ice cream cone!"
Ranma felt his own embarrassment simmer into a slow anger.
"You could have given me a sign!" he retorted. "All you did was run faster and faster! You KNOW I can easily outrun you!"
Akane felt stung. Although she knew it in her heart, she hated to admit it, even to herself. She glared at him over the rise of the podium.
"You think you're BETTER than me?!" she demanded. "Come on, let's fight seriously for once!"
"Ha!" Ranma shot back, jabbing a finger into the air to point at her damningly. "You're going to lose! You're way too small to be taken seriously!"
That was the last straw. Akane slammed her fists on the cool counter of the podium.
"Oh yeah?!" she shouted. "Then just change into a GIRL! That's what you're best at, right?!"
The tears on her face surprised herself more than anyone else. She took note of the shocked and hurt expression on Ranma's face, and immediately wished that she hadn't said what she did. She blinked the oncoming stream back, feeling angry. She hadn't meant it to come out so harshly.
"I'm not going to listen to a slow-witted, self-centered, UGLY, pathetic tomboy!" Ranma shouted back. Angry tears burned behind his eyelids. He held them back.
And so the two of them stared at each other through blurred vision, shaking in vexation and frustration. Since when had things gone so out of control that they were sticking knives into each other's backs? Underneath the boiling anger was an infinite sadness and desperation to be forgiven. And yet...
This was the moment the Ring of Truth had been waiting for.
Everything was engulfed in complete darkness. There was a momentary calm, then Akane felt the podium fading away below her feet. She heard Ranma gave a small expression of surprise across her, and knew that his own podium had faded into nothingness.
They both landed on the carpeted floor. The room lit up all at once, bathing everything in a harsh yellow.
"HOW SAD," the voice said, clearly amused and enjoying himself. "NOW WE GO ON TO THE MAIN PART OF THE SHOW."
===
YIPPEE! END OF CHAPTER! FOR ANY COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE REVIEW MY WORK! THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME IN READING THIS, AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOURSELF.
E-MAIL ME: tsinoyeyesyahoo.com
AND HERE WE ARE AGAIN IN THE FIRST FLOOR, WHEN THE SCENE HAS JUST FINISHED PLAYING...
===
Akane felt the long-forgotten feeling of and resentment boiling up inside her again. After all her hard work! And she'd wanted so badly to win...Yet Ranma still ran past her to defeat her...
"YES," the voice murmured from above. "YOU DO REMEMBER."
Ranma felt his shame double. He'd had no idea... When he had been running in the race, all he'd concentrated on was running forward, but looking at the movie, he'd seen how broken Akane had looked as she'd crumpled to the ground. The movie revolved mainly around Akane, and he was now able to see the pain her defeat had caused.
"YOUR FATHER WOULD HAVE BEEN SO PROUD," the voice continued. Akane's and Ranma's heads snapped up in surprise.
"NOW," the voice continued. "WHAT CAN YOU TWO SAY FOR YOURSELVES?"
The screen on the wall flickered into complete blackness, and the harsh beams were on again. They fell on both Ranma's and Akane's heads. Ranma looked at Akane, unable to look her directly in the eye because of his embarrassment. Akane, on the other hand, seemed to be having trouble coping with the renewed shame of her defeat.
"A-Akane..." Ranma said through the microphone. He wished they were closer...The podiums were so far apart and imposing... "You should have told me..."
Akane felt her shame give way to a slow anger.
"It was so obvious that I'd wanted to win!" she whispered harshly into the microphone. "I wanted to win for the sake of making my father proud! You won for the sake of an ice cream cone!"
Ranma felt his own embarrassment simmer into a slow anger.
"You could have given me a sign!" he retorted. "All you did was run faster and faster! You KNOW I can easily outrun you!"
Akane felt stung. Although she knew it in her heart, she hated to admit it, even to herself. She glared at him over the rise of the podium.
"You think you're BETTER than me?!" she demanded. "Come on, let's fight seriously for once!"
"Ha!" Ranma shot back, jabbing a finger into the air to point at her damningly. "You're going to lose! You're way too small to be taken seriously!"
That was the last straw. Akane slammed her fists on the cool counter of the podium.
"Oh yeah?!" she shouted. "Then just change into a GIRL! That's what you're best at, right?!"
The tears on her face surprised herself more than anyone else. She took note of the shocked and hurt expression on Ranma's face, and immediately wished that she hadn't said what she did. She blinked the oncoming stream back, feeling angry. She hadn't meant it to come out so harshly.
"I'm not going to listen to a slow-witted, self-centered, UGLY, pathetic tomboy!" Ranma shouted back. Angry tears burned behind his eyelids. He held them back.
And so the two of them stared at each other through blurred vision, shaking in vexation and frustration. Since when had things gone so out of control that they were sticking knives into each other's backs? Underneath the boiling anger was an infinite sadness and desperation to be forgiven. And yet...
This was the moment the Ring of Truth had been waiting for.
Everything was engulfed in complete darkness. There was a momentary calm, then Akane felt the podium fading away below her feet. She heard Ranma gave a small expression of surprise across her, and knew that his own podium had faded into nothingness.
They both landed on the carpeted floor. The room lit up all at once, bathing everything in a harsh yellow.
"HOW SAD," the voice said, clearly amused and enjoying himself. "NOW WE GO ON TO THE MAIN PART OF THE SHOW."
===
YIPPEE! END OF CHAPTER! FOR ANY COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE REVIEW MY WORK! THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME IN READING THIS, AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOURSELF.
E-MAIL ME: tsinoyeyesyahoo.com