We can never turn back the pages of time, though we may wish to relive a happy moment, or say good-bye just one last time, we never can, because the sands of time continue to fall, and we can't turn the hourglass over.
--Unknown

A/N: This is going to be my last chapter for a while. School is starting again and finals are coming up. Afterwards…well, we'll see. wink :D

And to my reviewers—Thanks :D You've made the time spent writing this worthwhile.

Happy reading :)

The Rain Falls Swiftly

Chapter 4—Lamentation

Akane gazed limply at the spot where Ranma had been moments ago. She was so stupid. How could she have been so stupid?

"Akane?" Shinnosuke's concerned voice said, and she shook herself, angry for letting this get to her. It was just another goodbye, after all. With all that she'd had to say goodbye to in the past few days, this shouldn't have to be any more difficult for her.

"Coming," she called back, banishing all thoughts of home and of Ranma from her mind. It was too late now. Akane had walked too far down this road to back up and try again. She was just going to have to take things as they came.

She turned reluctantly, picked up her pack, and followed Shinnosuke out into the open, glancing back one last time, just to make sure.

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Ranma couldn't believe it. She had left, and wasn't coming back. Suddenly the world was mundane, colorless, hopeless. He walked listlessly, and was home sooner than he wanted to be. He stood in the doorway, frozen in place, not knowing whether to go in or run away.

Maybe if he did nothing, he wouldn't have to think about it. Maybe if he did nothing, she would come back. Minutes passed, hours maybe, it didn't matter to him. He had become a shadow, unseen and unwanted, searching for a purpose.

Then, the eldest Tendou daughter glided down the stairs, and suddenly Ranma's world snapped back into reality, a reality that he didn't want to have to face.

"Morning Ranma," Kasumi chimed, "Looks like it's going to be a warm one."

Ranma didn't reply, choosing instead to gaze sullenly at the floor.

Kasumi walked over to where he stood, concern apparent on her face. "Is there something wrong?"

Still no reply.

"Oh…" She lifted a hand to her face to stifle her gasp, "She's gone…isn't she?"

Ranma nodded, then turned away, not wanting Kasumi to see the moisture in his eyes.

"Ranma…" Kasumi spoke gently. "She…she'll come back. She's left before, many times. She always came back. Come, I'll make you breakfast, and we'll talk about it. What would you like to eat?"

"No." The word was whispered, and Kasumi blinked, not sure if she heard it.

"No?"

He was threatening to be engulfed by silence again, and Kasumi tried again.

"No, Ranma?" she prodded gently, "No what? Is there something…"

Ranma snapped. His hands clenched and his grey eyes burned with anguish. "NO!" he screamed, no longer caring if he woke up the whole of Tokyo. "NO I DON'T WANT BREAKFAST. NO I DON'T CARE IF SHE NEVER COMES BACK. NO I DON'T CARE IF SHE DIED OUT THERE! WHO'D CARE ABOUT A DUMB MACHO CHICK LIKE HER ANYWAY?"

Kasumi stood, momentarily stunned by his sudden outburst, and was about to speak when she was interrupted by heavy footfalls on the stairs. Both turned to see a very angry Soun Tendou coming toward them, and the anger that had possessed Ranma a moment ago drained out of him as quickly as it had come, leaving him hollow and vulnerable, a feeling he hated.

"Ranma," Soun grated, his voice dangerously low, "what have you done with my baby?"

"I…I ain't done nothing to her. She went away!" The moment he had said that, Ranma's voice broke, and his throat became a hard lump of misery, imparing his ability to speak. Soun was glaring at him expectantly, his battle aura beginning to glow.

Fortunately, Kasumi saved him. "Daddy," she crooned soothingly, "calm down and listen to Ranma speak." She guided the restless man, resisting, to a chair, and sat him down.

Soun's angry eyes never left Ranma's face.

"Well?" He said through clenched teeth, "What have you got to say for yourself boy?"

"That's what I'd like to know," a new voice said. Genma Saotome stood in the doorway, angrier than either of them had ever seen him. Nabiki stood behind him, partially blocked by his corpulent figure, regarding Ranma knowingly with eyebrows raised.

Ranma took a deep breath, looking around at what had come to be his family, judging the situation, trying to find a way to break it to them gently.

Apparently, there wasn't one.

"Oh well," he thought bitterly, "there's no way in hell they can pin this one on me." He raised his eyes to meet those of Mr. Tendou's, hesitating only slightly before beginning.

"She's gone," he said.

--------------

She sat, lost in thought, only half paying attention to the pot she had placed on the fire for lunch. Shinnosuke had gone off to retrieve water, and had apparently forgotten, judging by the fact that he still hadn't returned.

They had been walking all morning, only stopping for lunch. Akane's muscles were burning slightly and her throat was begging for water, but she didn't care. Maybe this way she could take her mind off her pain. Shinnosuke had been trying to make conversation, but she had been unresponsive, save for the occasional monosyllabic reply. In the end, he had given up, and left her to her thoughts.

"He doesn'tt deserve this," she thought to herself. "He doesn't deserve to be ignored."

And yet, Akane couldn't help herself, couldn't tear her mind's eye away from home.

Would she ever go back? Would she ever see her family again? Her friends? Kasumi, Nabiki, Daddy, Mr. Saotome, Ukyou, Ryoga, Kunou and Kodachi, Shampoo, and even Cologne and Happosai. Not for the first time that morning, she questioned if the choice she had made was the right one. There was so much she was leaving behind, so much she'd miss, and…Ranma. Her fiancé.

"Oh well," she thought, "it was not as if I loved him, anyways."

Then her conscience crept in, the little voice in her head that she'd been fighting to keep subdued. She had been winning that fight, until now.

No? it asked, skeptical, He didn't mean anything to you?

Akane shook her head angrily; trying to ignore the voice, even though she knew it had a point.

Come on, it pressed, you can be honest with yourself. What is he to you?

"Nothing." she whispered, and somewhere in the back of her mind she was grateful that Shinnosuke wasn't there and couldn't hear her talking to herself. "A friend…no, an acquaintance, someone I once knew."

Nothing more?

"Nothing more."

Did you love him?

"No."

The voice was relentless. But you would have, it accused, you would have, had you stayed.

"No."

Don't try to lie to yourself, it just comes back to haunt you, in the end.

"NO!" Akane shouted, standing, fists clenched, eyes burning with tears, completely oblivious now to the already ruined curry. "NO!" she said again, her voice shattering the stillness of the forest. "I DON'T! I NEVER WOULD HAVE!"

No?

Akane stood, feeling empty, still shaking from her outburst, her mind a mass of grief and confusion. Slowly, she sank to her knees, tears falling freely now, and clenched the grass with one hand.

"No…" she whispered. "I didn't love him. Don't love him. Never will love him…"

Okay, the voice said, unbelieving, If you say so.

--------------

The atmosphere in the room was tense, so tense that someone standing 30 feet away could still be able to feel the animosity seeping toward him. It wasn't silent. No, not by all means, but by this time, Ranma was actually hoping it could be.

Anything was better than this.

It had gone better than he'd thought, actually. They hadn't blamed Ranma for what had happened--although Soun still kept shooting glares at him now and again--and his father hadn't spoken a word about making him go off to find Akane.

For now.

Ranma sighed from his perch in the doorway, and watched as Kasumi tried to calm an emotionally distraught Soun, with Nabiki looking on coolly. From the very depths of his being, he wished he'd never come to the dojo, or at least, he hoped he'd left before he'd been caught up in any of this. Ranma had grown up with his father, battling hardship after hardship, sometimes going nights going without food or drink. That he was used to. That he knew how to deal with. But, when it came to matters of the heart, he was hopeless.

"No," he thought, "I don't want to deal with this. Not now."

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Nabiki Tendou, watching her older sister and her father with a slightly amused expression on her face, saw a slight movement out of the corner of her eye, and looked up to find Ranma gone.

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Ryoga was lost. Of course, he was always lost, but this time it was different. This time he really had nowhere to go. He couldn't even go see Akane anymore, not after he'd decided to finally let her go. Not after she was…leaving.

He heard a sudden movement in the trees, and turned to see Ranma running headlong towards him. Ranma. Ranma who was Akane's fiancé. Ranma who would always be before him in her heart. Ranma who'd made Akane leave. His fists clenched, and he grabbed him as he passed, slamming him against the trunk of a tree.

Ranma soaked up the impact with barely a blink, and stared at him, surprised. "Ryoga?" he said.

He ignored Ranma's question. "Why did you make her go?" he grated, voice dripping with menace, "Why?"

"Make…who?"

Ryoga bit back his temper. "You know who, Ranma. Don't play stupid with me."

Realization crossed Ranma's face. "You mean…Akane? How'd you know?"

Ryoga smiled wryly. "You can hear a lot of things when you're a pig. Things that you couldn't as a man."

"I tried to make her stay," Ranma said quietly, almost to himself, "but I couldn't. She wouldn't listen to me."

Ranma's posture was stiff, his expression almost guilty, and Ryoga felt almost sorry for him. He remembered how many times he'd been in trouble, and Ranma had helped him. That must be able to make up for all the times he had foiled Ryoga's plans, kicked him, and sat 'thinking' on his head.

Oh well, what was the use? It wasn't as if Akane would come back to him if he killed Ranma.

Looking at him, Ryoga could see how sad and empty he was. Maybe even more so than he was himself. Ranma cared for Akane very much, even though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, even his own conscience.

"Ranma." He said.

Ranma didn't look up.

"Ranma."

He finally focused on Ryoga's face, a sad look in his eyes. "What?"

"How long are you going to run?"

"I don't…"

"How far do you want to run? Where do you have to go to escape and forget this ever happened."

Ranma looked away, and Ryoga shook him hard.

"Listen to me. I've run farther than you ever could, and I'm telling you it doesn't help. You can't run away from yourself, Ranma. You can't turn back the pages of time and erase just what you don't like and keep what you do. It doesn't work like that. Believe me, I've tried it."

Ranma looked at him, a pleading look on his face."Then what am I supposed to do?" he asked plaintively.

Ryoga let go of him and stepped away, smiling for what felt like the first time in years. "Figure it out yourself, I'm not going to mommy you all your life."

Ranma stared at him, then smiled slowly. "Thanks man, I needed that." He turned, and walked back the way he came, disappearing through the trees.

Ryoga watched him go, a sinking feeling in his heart. What was he doing, giving Ranma advice like that? He was supposed to be the loner—no friends, no family. So what just happened? Then he smiled, a sad smile. Ranma would know what to do. He'd find Akane and make her feel better. Akane would be happy, and that's all that mattered to him. Ryoga's smile faded again, as he thought of Akane. Beautiful, perfect Akane. No, she was never going to be his, and he was just going to have to accept that.

"Goodbye, Akane," Ryoga whispered, turning his face up toward the sky.

He hoped the clouds would take his blessings to her.

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A/N: And this is where I stop. Sorry, but I've run out of ideas, and no ideas equals no story.

So, I'm putting this story on hold, at least until I get an idea for it.

Readers, feel free to send me some. I'd like it to include Ryoga somehow, he'd just too good of a character to leave out. I wont be continuing this fic until someone sends me a good idea, or I think of one myself.

Until then, adios.

--starxswept