Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns Ranma ½ and all the other people she has
sold the rights to including Kitty and Viz.
A/N: It's SUMMER!!! YAY! Sorry but I'm excited! That means I can finish this for you guys real soon! Excited? LoL! I'm sorry I took so long but my site (which I was ALMOST done) was accidentally deleted and I had to start from scratch. Now it's a lot better and things work a lot faster, etc. I'm just finishing some things up with my page but I'll put the address in my profile soon! You better go check it out or else (insert empty threat here). Thanks to all the people who review my stories and me! You can email me at tiney_panda@hotmail.com. Thanks for reading!
* * *
Selfishness is that detestable vice which no one will forgive in others, and no one is without in himself. -- Beecher
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*
Ranma sighed heavily as he dragged his head up from his makeshift pillow. This was gonna be tough. First off, he had to admit to Akane that he wasn't dead. Second, he had to stop her from marrying pork-breath whom she still hadn't figured out was that idiot Ryoga. After all that was sorted out, all he'd have left was to get rid of the many mob people trying to attack them. Moreover, he had to do this wedding bash in eighteen hours, and had another few days before the mob got insanely out of hand. How the hell could he make up something that elaborate in a matter of hours?
If anyone was to congratulate someone on Ranma's success, it was himself. He wasn't afraid to put in a good word for a particular pig-tailed martial artist when the opportunity arouse. He knew that he could make something up in the time slot that was ahead of him but he'd have to think about it pretty damn hard! Lives were at stake this time, not just normal, run of the mill lives, Akane's! He couldn't let her get hurt but he wasn't about to let her say "I do" to that directionally challenged, hollow headed pig boy!
He had thought about it before and it just wasn't an option. When he had come into her life again Akane had changed, she had smiled and laughed and smirked and thrown things and he knew why he came back. Not only that, he knew why he had to stay. She had changed into this robot, this machine running mechanically through normal situations, flowing gracefully (not too gracefully 'cause it was Akane) through these movements. Like a good kata at the end of the day, you know the moves and your used to them. And in the vein of Akane's situation, katas had to change, they had to escalate to make you stronger, to mold you into the real person you were. She was like a piece of marble and after all the extra fragments had been chipped away, she was revealed. Akane's life had taken a permanent lunch break and she couldn't develop, felt left behind. So now, all she had was Mr. I'm-so- sweet and an easy job as a bank teller. Ranma chuckled at the thought of Akane, war barren, crazy as hell Akane handing someone their change never losing her perky smile hoping one day she might be teller supervisor or manager of books.
He knew he hadn't expected to leave forever, even when he hopped the last roof out of town that cold night. He had been scared but kept going. Along the way, he met a few people with a few good ideas and after a while he had made a fair living and had traveled to the farthest extents of the world. Meeting Nabiki on one of his trips to Boston had been a real shaking experience. She had informed him on her conversations with her dad and he had said sorry for causing trouble. Ranma smirked to him, she had laughed in his face at this.
"Ranma Saotome just said sorry? Wow, I mean, I really do feel special! I want to thank my loving family, my undying encouragement from my friends and my many, many enemies." Nabiki had quipped as she watched Ranma squirm in his seat. They were in a quaint little café about thirty seconds from anything unparticular. She had flagged him down as he walked by her on the busy streets. He had to admit that that had scared the hell outta him. If he actually got scared, that moment would've been the exact time he'd start. Sadly, Ranma Saotome was never scared.
He admitted to himself that he was a little flustered by the news Akane would be the main target of these people's focused eyes. When Nabiki had delivered the chilling development, he had been ready to throw a fit. He asked her why she would drag all her problems back here, why she would drag her butt down here. She had simply informed him Akane was a main point from the beginning for them he was about to start up again but hesitated. Nabiki had looked worn and weathered which was never good for anyone but especially Nabiki. Usually a cover of shadowed deadpan for her whole life shielded her feelings but that day she had looked truly distressed for her little sister.
He mentally kicked himself for believing her sap story about them pushing her into her deep grudges with them and accepting her stupid plan. 'Yeah,' he thought sarcastically, 'like pretending to be dead would be a better way to protect Akane!' He had been spending a lot more time around her though, twenty-four hour surveillance actually. He had always liked watching people's moves, their weaknesses, their actions and he'd try to learn a little more about them from that, try to anticipate their next move. These past few days had been torture, not being able to calm Akane down as she cried getting into her car from the hospital and wanting to tell what a great criminal she was in the form of a kiss. He couldn't physically change her mind about the wedding though, she would have to make that decision on her own.
Ranma started to move back to that touchy subject again, the wedding. Akane was so dumb; she would marry somebody for the pure reason of getting back at her very dead, very ex fiancé. What kind of weirdo would want a girl like that? She was so violent and jealous too! Ranma almost convinced himself that he didn't have to do a thing to stop this wedding, Ryoga would finally come to his senses and dump her at the alter. And then what? How would things be after that? Would they go back to the way they had been years before? On the other hand, the way she had acted around him those first days he had shown up?
He scratched his head and tried to shake out all the heavy thoughts in his mind. Life had never made a lot of sense for him before and that wasn't going to change now. He didn't care about what was going to happen if Akane married Suru, she didn't want to and that was all that mattered! At least, that was what he had thought before. She was going through with this wedding with no gun to her head, out of her own free will. Hell, she was going forth with this wedding without even a banana to her head! She didn't have to do this but yet she was going to walk down the aisle in, Ranma checked his watch, sixteen hours. Could she actually, through some demented turn in sanity, want to go through with this?
Akane wasn't about to go have a wedding just to spite a ghost. If he truly thought that then he would be even denser than he knew he was. She would have bowed out and not hurt any feelings at most today. She wouldn't leave him at the alter, that just wasn't her style. That was what frightened him. Akane wasn't the nicest girl to him but to anybody else she was so caring and sympathetic and all that and if she got the notion that 'Suru' really needed her she would stay with him forever.
How could he let her do that to herself? Pig-boy knew damn well that Akane was better off with him but Ryoga wanted to be selfish and inconsiderate of her feelings. He was just going to let her throw her life away so he'd come home to who he wanted.
Every time Ranma thought about this, his stomach became sick. Wasn't that what he was doing to Akane? He had seen how she'd reacted when he first came and he swore there were tears in her eyes. She just didn't understand how much Ranma needed her, how much he had to have her with him. They completed each other like a crossword puzzle, he was the clue and she was the answer. Yet why was his head telling him to leave her be? Why wouldn't it just shut up? He punched himself lightly in the head and softly groaned.
At least he only had two options, he could break up the wedding or he'd leave it be and let her decide. Now, he was not a person to let things lie but he needed to figure out what was best for her. She needed him but wanted Suru for some strange reason. If she found out he was Ryoga she'd flip and all that normalcy shit she'd been downing around him would fly away. If she didn't find out then she would live a happy life, never making any quakes, teller of the month for three years in a row, and she'd never try to shake things up, ruin the routine for the rest of her existence. Alternatively, her and Suru could become bounty hunters and rule the drug lords of the world. Ranma started to laugh and mused the possibility, 'yeah right.'
So now all he had to do was figure out which path he wanted to take, which fork in the road to follow, to go through the woods or on the path. We all end up in the same place in the end we just have different ways of getting there and if your way is long or short, it doesn't matter. He was making this seem like such a big deal when there were much more important things to think about and still he could not tear his attention away from the looming decision. He'd have to choose soon though, only now he had fourteen hours. He decided he'd get some sleep and think it over in the morning.
A/N: What's that? No outrageous cliffhanger? Well I guess there's the wee bit about what Ranma will choose to do. Which action do you think he'll choose to do?
And now . . .
(drum roll please)
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
My drumroll rules.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
This drum roll is longer and unannounced. Ooh. Ahh
REVIEWING REVIEWS!
Dogbertcarroll: No! © Ranma made of cheese ©©!MUAHAHAHAHA! lol
Christine: Ya, I can't wait to work on my other stuff, it's been a crazy ride! Don't worry though, it's not over yet!!!
Ka_chan: I'll try for the romance but I dunno if that'll make sense and all that jazz. I've known since the beginning what I wanted it to end like but it's still hazy for me too!
QuirkyCellist: Nope, no horrible disease here! Ya, I agree with you about that chapter. I was tired when I wrote it and worried about school, etc. I'm v. excited about the end though! I hope you like it!
X: Does it remind you of an old western where the guys have their guns out and their looking at each other knowing something's gonna happen but not being quite there yet? I like westerns! Lol!
FluffyWolfy: I hope you liked this one and I hope I'm still on your author alerts list! 'Till your next review!
A/N: Review my story or I might forget to write the next chapter! Next chapter hopefully up soon!
A/N: It's SUMMER!!! YAY! Sorry but I'm excited! That means I can finish this for you guys real soon! Excited? LoL! I'm sorry I took so long but my site (which I was ALMOST done) was accidentally deleted and I had to start from scratch. Now it's a lot better and things work a lot faster, etc. I'm just finishing some things up with my page but I'll put the address in my profile soon! You better go check it out or else (insert empty threat here). Thanks to all the people who review my stories and me! You can email me at tiney_panda@hotmail.com. Thanks for reading!
* * *
Selfishness is that detestable vice which no one will forgive in others, and no one is without in himself. -- Beecher
* *
*
Ranma sighed heavily as he dragged his head up from his makeshift pillow. This was gonna be tough. First off, he had to admit to Akane that he wasn't dead. Second, he had to stop her from marrying pork-breath whom she still hadn't figured out was that idiot Ryoga. After all that was sorted out, all he'd have left was to get rid of the many mob people trying to attack them. Moreover, he had to do this wedding bash in eighteen hours, and had another few days before the mob got insanely out of hand. How the hell could he make up something that elaborate in a matter of hours?
If anyone was to congratulate someone on Ranma's success, it was himself. He wasn't afraid to put in a good word for a particular pig-tailed martial artist when the opportunity arouse. He knew that he could make something up in the time slot that was ahead of him but he'd have to think about it pretty damn hard! Lives were at stake this time, not just normal, run of the mill lives, Akane's! He couldn't let her get hurt but he wasn't about to let her say "I do" to that directionally challenged, hollow headed pig boy!
He had thought about it before and it just wasn't an option. When he had come into her life again Akane had changed, she had smiled and laughed and smirked and thrown things and he knew why he came back. Not only that, he knew why he had to stay. She had changed into this robot, this machine running mechanically through normal situations, flowing gracefully (not too gracefully 'cause it was Akane) through these movements. Like a good kata at the end of the day, you know the moves and your used to them. And in the vein of Akane's situation, katas had to change, they had to escalate to make you stronger, to mold you into the real person you were. She was like a piece of marble and after all the extra fragments had been chipped away, she was revealed. Akane's life had taken a permanent lunch break and she couldn't develop, felt left behind. So now, all she had was Mr. I'm-so- sweet and an easy job as a bank teller. Ranma chuckled at the thought of Akane, war barren, crazy as hell Akane handing someone their change never losing her perky smile hoping one day she might be teller supervisor or manager of books.
He knew he hadn't expected to leave forever, even when he hopped the last roof out of town that cold night. He had been scared but kept going. Along the way, he met a few people with a few good ideas and after a while he had made a fair living and had traveled to the farthest extents of the world. Meeting Nabiki on one of his trips to Boston had been a real shaking experience. She had informed him on her conversations with her dad and he had said sorry for causing trouble. Ranma smirked to him, she had laughed in his face at this.
"Ranma Saotome just said sorry? Wow, I mean, I really do feel special! I want to thank my loving family, my undying encouragement from my friends and my many, many enemies." Nabiki had quipped as she watched Ranma squirm in his seat. They were in a quaint little café about thirty seconds from anything unparticular. She had flagged him down as he walked by her on the busy streets. He had to admit that that had scared the hell outta him. If he actually got scared, that moment would've been the exact time he'd start. Sadly, Ranma Saotome was never scared.
He admitted to himself that he was a little flustered by the news Akane would be the main target of these people's focused eyes. When Nabiki had delivered the chilling development, he had been ready to throw a fit. He asked her why she would drag all her problems back here, why she would drag her butt down here. She had simply informed him Akane was a main point from the beginning for them he was about to start up again but hesitated. Nabiki had looked worn and weathered which was never good for anyone but especially Nabiki. Usually a cover of shadowed deadpan for her whole life shielded her feelings but that day she had looked truly distressed for her little sister.
He mentally kicked himself for believing her sap story about them pushing her into her deep grudges with them and accepting her stupid plan. 'Yeah,' he thought sarcastically, 'like pretending to be dead would be a better way to protect Akane!' He had been spending a lot more time around her though, twenty-four hour surveillance actually. He had always liked watching people's moves, their weaknesses, their actions and he'd try to learn a little more about them from that, try to anticipate their next move. These past few days had been torture, not being able to calm Akane down as she cried getting into her car from the hospital and wanting to tell what a great criminal she was in the form of a kiss. He couldn't physically change her mind about the wedding though, she would have to make that decision on her own.
Ranma started to move back to that touchy subject again, the wedding. Akane was so dumb; she would marry somebody for the pure reason of getting back at her very dead, very ex fiancé. What kind of weirdo would want a girl like that? She was so violent and jealous too! Ranma almost convinced himself that he didn't have to do a thing to stop this wedding, Ryoga would finally come to his senses and dump her at the alter. And then what? How would things be after that? Would they go back to the way they had been years before? On the other hand, the way she had acted around him those first days he had shown up?
He scratched his head and tried to shake out all the heavy thoughts in his mind. Life had never made a lot of sense for him before and that wasn't going to change now. He didn't care about what was going to happen if Akane married Suru, she didn't want to and that was all that mattered! At least, that was what he had thought before. She was going through with this wedding with no gun to her head, out of her own free will. Hell, she was going forth with this wedding without even a banana to her head! She didn't have to do this but yet she was going to walk down the aisle in, Ranma checked his watch, sixteen hours. Could she actually, through some demented turn in sanity, want to go through with this?
Akane wasn't about to go have a wedding just to spite a ghost. If he truly thought that then he would be even denser than he knew he was. She would have bowed out and not hurt any feelings at most today. She wouldn't leave him at the alter, that just wasn't her style. That was what frightened him. Akane wasn't the nicest girl to him but to anybody else she was so caring and sympathetic and all that and if she got the notion that 'Suru' really needed her she would stay with him forever.
How could he let her do that to herself? Pig-boy knew damn well that Akane was better off with him but Ryoga wanted to be selfish and inconsiderate of her feelings. He was just going to let her throw her life away so he'd come home to who he wanted.
Every time Ranma thought about this, his stomach became sick. Wasn't that what he was doing to Akane? He had seen how she'd reacted when he first came and he swore there were tears in her eyes. She just didn't understand how much Ranma needed her, how much he had to have her with him. They completed each other like a crossword puzzle, he was the clue and she was the answer. Yet why was his head telling him to leave her be? Why wouldn't it just shut up? He punched himself lightly in the head and softly groaned.
At least he only had two options, he could break up the wedding or he'd leave it be and let her decide. Now, he was not a person to let things lie but he needed to figure out what was best for her. She needed him but wanted Suru for some strange reason. If she found out he was Ryoga she'd flip and all that normalcy shit she'd been downing around him would fly away. If she didn't find out then she would live a happy life, never making any quakes, teller of the month for three years in a row, and she'd never try to shake things up, ruin the routine for the rest of her existence. Alternatively, her and Suru could become bounty hunters and rule the drug lords of the world. Ranma started to laugh and mused the possibility, 'yeah right.'
So now all he had to do was figure out which path he wanted to take, which fork in the road to follow, to go through the woods or on the path. We all end up in the same place in the end we just have different ways of getting there and if your way is long or short, it doesn't matter. He was making this seem like such a big deal when there were much more important things to think about and still he could not tear his attention away from the looming decision. He'd have to choose soon though, only now he had fourteen hours. He decided he'd get some sleep and think it over in the morning.
A/N: What's that? No outrageous cliffhanger? Well I guess there's the wee bit about what Ranma will choose to do. Which action do you think he'll choose to do?
And now . . .
(drum roll please)
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
My drumroll rules.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
This drum roll is longer and unannounced. Ooh. Ahh
REVIEWING REVIEWS!
Dogbertcarroll: No! © Ranma made of cheese ©©!MUAHAHAHAHA! lol
Christine: Ya, I can't wait to work on my other stuff, it's been a crazy ride! Don't worry though, it's not over yet!!!
Ka_chan: I'll try for the romance but I dunno if that'll make sense and all that jazz. I've known since the beginning what I wanted it to end like but it's still hazy for me too!
QuirkyCellist: Nope, no horrible disease here! Ya, I agree with you about that chapter. I was tired when I wrote it and worried about school, etc. I'm v. excited about the end though! I hope you like it!
X: Does it remind you of an old western where the guys have their guns out and their looking at each other knowing something's gonna happen but not being quite there yet? I like westerns! Lol!
FluffyWolfy: I hope you liked this one and I hope I'm still on your author alerts list! 'Till your next review!
A/N: Review my story or I might forget to write the next chapter! Next chapter hopefully up soon!