Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2 or any of its characters. I use their characters only to make Fan fiction. They all belong to Rumiko Takaheshi.

Author's Notes: Hello, Minna-san! I'm terribly sorry for not having posted/updated in such a long time, but a lot of things are happening in my life (Plus, I'm lazy…) School, friends, researching… Well, I'm trying hard to continue with my story.

I was able to fix this and my previous chapter, but the first got corrupted (No! Dammit!) So, I'm asking for help from anyone who might be interested. If one of you offers to fix the previous chap., I'd be really grateful. Also, I need some beta-readers. If anyone wants to help me out with either, please either e-mail me or put it in your reviews.

(Update: Why? Now, my whole back-up diskette is corrupted…)

Okay, I think that's everything. Continue with the story!


Vampire Savior: by firagabird

Fulfilling the Prophecy, Chapter 4: Forgiveness

Symbols:

"speaking"

'thinking'

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Scene location change (brief)

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.


"Gomen-nasai." It was odd how just one word could have so many different meanings, how just one word contained so much depth. And yet, Ranma said just one word. Gomen-nasai.

"Wh-what?"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

'Wh-what…?'

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

With just one word, Akane was completely taken by surprise.

"Why… why are you apologizing…?" The teary-eyed young teen felt her cheeks slightly wet, and wiped it on the palm of her hand. At the same moment, Ranma reflexively took that hand, gently and by the wrist, gesturing to it.

"This is why…" For a few seconds, Akane's mind took it's time to process the information that was so suddenly given to her.

'A hand… A hand is in front of my face… The hand is wet... My hand feels wet… This is my hand in front of my face… My hand looks blurry… I'm crying… I wiped my tears away with my hand… Ranma… Ranma is apologizing because of this wet hand… Apologizing because of these tears… Why am I crying…? I'm crying… because I treated Ranma badly… I still do… I just did… Ranma's apologizing because… because I have been hurting him…? No… no, that-that can't be… Apologizing… People apologize when they know they did something wrong… Ranma thinks that he's done something wrong… Ranma never apologized before... He only ever does if he's done something very wrong... what is so awful, I wonder… I am crying… Ranma is apologizing because I am crying… Because he knows that he has done something very wrong, something awful… He knows that it is his fault… that I am… crying……?'

Finally, it clicked. It all clicked. Akane was pulled back to all her memories about the past two years. Her attitude towards Ranma, the only boy- no, not a boy- the only man he ever truly loved. Sure, there was Tofu Ono, but it was puppy love. She knew that now. She hurt him. She felt horrible about it. It was only a few moments ago, when she had been crying on Kasumi's lap, that she discovered that fact. She mistreated him, and she hated it. She hated it so much, that it made her tears come back. Ranma… She loved him… Even then, when he was boastful and arrogant, she knew deep down that she loved him… That there was a part of him inside that caught her heart... When he turned 18, he seemed to have grown out of that attitude. He was kinder, kinder to her, and kinder to everybody. His true self had so suddenly surfaced, and she loved him even more. And yet, she hurt him.

"No, Ranma…" She whispered weakly, trying her best not to choke on her tears. "Please don't, don't apologize… It's not your fault. I-it never was…" It was true. While she looked back at the past, she noticed how the problems she blamed Ranma for never seemed to have been started deliberately by him. Sure, he was involved most of the time, but that was always due to the consequences of others (mainly his dad). It made her feel worse thinking about it: She blamed him, hurt him, for things he never caused, never meant to happen.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Her voice was very faint, but she could hear it. Nabiki could hear it clearly.

'It… It never was… No, no, it-it can't be true…' She tried to reason it out, knowing that all of the times she extorted him she had thought that it was all just the braided martial artist's fault. 'It was all his fault, no one else's… It just has to be…' For the first time in her life, she felt unsure of herself.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ranma, on the other hand, was completely taken aback at what his fiancé had just said.

'Not my fault…? She ain't cryin' 'cuz o' me? How's that possible?' He was used to being blamed constantly of problems that always tended to rise up around him. In fact, that was why he was dubbed the "avatar of chaos". He couldn't comprehend what he had just heard. "Akane, What're ya talkin' 'bout?" He was trying to reason with the emotionally unstable teen, ignoring the fact that he had never done this before. "Listen ta yourself. Ya don't know what you're say-"

"I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'M SAYING, RANMA!" the female martial artist cut him off with a strong voice, making him jump slightly. "My tears aren't caused by anything you have done, and neither was any other problem in my life!" Passionate anger engulfed her at that moment, and she didn't care about a thing, besides what she was saying and wanted to say. "For the past two years, you have been living with me in my house. Ever since the day you walked into my life up until this one, you have NEVER purposely caused ANY of the pain and chaos that accompanied you. The curse was not your fault! Ryoga's incessent anger was not your fault! Gods damn it Ranma, THE WEDDING WAS NOT YOUR FAULT!"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Nabiki winced at the volume of her sister's voice, putting a hand in between the glass and her ear.

'Dammit Akane, keep it down!' She heard them starting to talk again, or rather it was the infuriated youth speaking and Ranma listening, and quickly put her ear back and managed to catch the end of her outcry. She almost dropped the glass when she heard those last words.

"The wedding was not your fault."

Her gut wrenched and her eye involuntarily twitched, widening. Her mouth was slightly agape, as her hands felt numb. After all this time, the middle sister always thought that her onee-chan didn't know it was her fault for inviting everyone to ruin the wedding. All this time, she kept that small fact that she really did something to make a lasting impression in everyone, especially her sister. She could still remember what had happened. For weeks, she refused to come out of her room, and she could always hear her beloved sister cry herself to sleep. That was the main reason she stopped her habit immediately afterwards…

The month following after, everyone tried to forget that incident, and the place quieted down for a while. Things went as usual in the Tendo household, with the exception that no one was bugging them anymore. Akane was still affected by the memory sometimes but she went on with her life, although they never saw even a spark of joy that she used to radiate. Even Kasumi, whose face was perpetually plastered with an angelic smile, seemed less enthusiastic about anything. Nabiki had prayed to the Gods that no one would find out after seeing the ripples that SHE caused. Unfortunately, Akane just did.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

As the "rage, incarnated" stood up and continued, Ranma couldn't do anything but listen and stare. "For all the time that I've known you, you have never hurt me. Not even a mere scratch. In fact, you have protected me from every single danger that surrounded you. In contrast, I- no, not just me- WE have all hurt you incessantly for things that were NOT your fault. Can't you see, Ranma! You're not the problem. Everyone else is. Nabiki extorts you're curse and your ability in a fight. Our fathers and your mother try to get us together using any means possible, even drugs. Ryoga continues to try and defeat you after being four days late for a fight that was supposed to have ended years ago. Our suitors and admirers make our everyday lives a living hell. And I," she whispered the last of her anger out, mixing it with tears. "I have blamed everything bad that ever happened in my life on you. It's not your fault, Ranma…. It never was. It never will be."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

'Oh, oh gods…' Nabiki, her eyes welling up for the first time since their mother's passing, held a hand over her mouth as her eyes widened in shock and horror. The horror of discovering everything her the disturbing truth. You would find it hard to believe, but the second of the Tendo daughters did have a conscience. She'd never done anything that seemed cold or malicious without reason. Every time she exploited Ranma whenever she needed money, she reasoned that it was all his fault that he was freeloading. That he wasn't doing a thing to help in the household. What Akane just said had hit hard. Very hard.

'I… I have been exploiting and extorting Ranma for two whole years, without even so much as an excuse…?' She thought, letting the glass slip away from her numb hands. 'In the process, I've humiliated, ridiculed, and practically tortured him, just to get a few hundred more yen into our family's account.' What, you didn't know? Nabiki didn't do all this just for fun, you know. She's not that much of an ice queen. The only reason she did what she did to earn money, was because of her family's financial status. She just found pleasure, maybe even went a little overboard, with earning money. 'I… he… There is no way I can repay for him… He won't even trust me with anything. No one would, no one could…' It just hit her again. Ranma wasn't the only one. There were also others that she also hurt, though not as harshly as what she did to her sister's fiancé. Weakly, she whispered out. "What have I done?"

She couldn't handle it anymore. Her conscience, the same one that she had tried finding loopholes in to feel a sense of judgment, was driving each and every point deep into her mind. It hurt.

'No… No, please… stop it… I, I…' Her dilated eyes had been transfixed on the horror of everything at empty space through quaking hands. She was losing her very sanity.

'Get a HOLD on yourself, woman!' A voice from her head suddenly boomed, knocking the unstable youth from her trance.

'Wha…? Wh-who 's there…?'

'Call me your conscience, you could probably only comprehend that much,' the voice of a man stated coldly.

'My… my conscience…'

'Yes. Now first things first. SNAP OUT OF IT!' almost felt as if she was smacked, straightening herself up instantly.

'I-I have, I have…!'

'Good. Now, listen to me very carefully. You have done countless things to that boy, yes?'

'Yes… I have…'

'Stay with me here. All of them are unforgivable, as you say.'

'…' Nabiki's damp eyes looked down in shame. "They… they are, aren't they…?"

'Yes, they are. BUT, You can do something to compensate. That IS what you want, is it not?'

"Of… of course that is what I want…!" She spoke with an involuntarily raised tone.

'Keep it down, will you!'

"Oh…" She knew that thinking would probably be better, so she switched to that. 'S-sorry…'

'Better. Now, to repent a bad deed, one replaces and erases it with a good one. Do you understand?'

'Yes… I understand… But… in order to replace all I have done… it'll be almost impossible…!'

'Of course, it isn't hard to think that. But what would you expect? You've been at it for two years.'

'I have… haven't I?'

'It's not impossible, though,' it continued, ignoring her. 'Just lengthy. It will take time, but it CAN be done. I assure you of it, by my honor.'

'It can… But, wait…'

By my honor...

'Who… Who are you?'

'Merely a conscience, for the moment. I will tell you more in the near future. Now go back to your feeding session and STOP EAVESDROPPING!'

The middle Tendo daughter slightly jumped and nearly gasped, quickly getting up and picking the cup that she had dropped up. She left with haste, looking back at the door.

'Thank you, whoever you really are.'

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

After exhausting herself of adrenaline, Akane slumped to her knees and panted in short, quick, and shaky gasps. Processing what he had just heard, Ranma discovered that everything the fiery teen said was completely true.

'It… never was my fault… It was always someone else who caused it. Akane was blaming me for things that weren't my fault… But, that means she thinks it's HER fault! Oh, shit!' Quickly crawling towards his fiancé to try and change her train of thinking, the braided martial artist touched her shoulder and tried to talk to her, unaware of the flinch on the same area he held her on. "Akane, you're not thinkin' straight. It can't be your fault-"

"STOP APOLOGIZING, RANMA!" she yelled again, so suddenly that it made the surprised youth back away and let go of her. It was obvious that she was still tensed up with anger, as she looked up at him with furious, beige-colored, twin orbs. She slapped the hand away reflexively in her blind anger, and the suddenly fearful martial artist instinctively backed up into the wall, the horror shown in his wide, azure eyes. He wasn't afraid of her physically, since he knew that he could defeat her in a fight. It was those eyes, and the situations he was accustomed to whenever he saw them. It made him want to get away, as he always saw those eyes before getting hurt. Ranma lost rational thought.

Coming back to her senses, Akane blinked profusely in confusion caused by shock, turning into horror as well as she realized what she had done. "Gods… No, Ranma… Don't, please… I-I didn't mean…" She slowly moved towards her loved one, tears starting to well up again. "Please, Ranma…" She stopped right in front of him, and tried to touch his cheek with her hand. Shaking slightly, Ranma's dialated eyes looked at the incoming hand, and reflexively flinched away, kicking at the floor to get away from her. He tripped on a piece of clothing, but didn't wonder why it was there; the only thing on his mind right now was to get away from the… the predator. As he fell, the terrified youth kept his gaze on the person he was escaping from. He used his hands this time, and bumped into a corner. He reached a dead end. "R-Ranma…" Akane's tears were freely flowing by now, the thought of how much he hurt him, paired up with her beloved's sudden irrational fear, becoming too much to handle. All she could think of was trying to stop Ranma from being afraid of her. The tear-stricken teen tried her hardest to keep herself together, as she neared her target. From a distance, one might get the feeling of a predator approaching a trapped prey. In the current, primal state that Ranma's mind had been brought about by something unknown, that was the feeling he was getting. His hands and feet tried to push him through the wall as she neared, to no avail. Finally, after what seemed to both as an eternity, Akane kneeled in front of the trembling martial artist. She herself was trembling, but with the difference of her knowing exactly what was happening. How she wished she didn't.

The latter of the two went for a second go.

"R-Ranma… Please… S-stop running…" The words apparently didn't seem to have the intended effect if any, as her fiancé continued eyeing her fearfully. Reaching out for his cheek, Akane put effort into moving her quaking hand as cautiously as possible. It seemed that her rather short-sighted plan was about to work, when something, something that would be etched into her mind for a long time, was spoken by him.

"Please… Go away…"

Dread, horror, pain, anguish, and just about everything bad mixed, together with shock. Akane instantly pulled her hand back, holding herself up with her other arm behind her, as she felt faint.

'Go away…' she repeated in her mind dully, not able to understand such simple words for a moment. She repeated it…and repeated… And repeated… And she understood. "Oh… Oh, gods…" The shock faded away, and it was replaced with everything else. "Oh gods, no…" Her eyes widened and her pupils turned to pinpricks, as she now used both arms to support her, as fresh tears gushed out through the wells in her eyes. "Oh gods Ranma, please no…" She spoke in a weak whisper, but her fiancé heard it all. Her backing away gave him back his sense of reasoning. The words felt so painful and full of self-loathing, that it drove back his rational thought. As he gathered himself back together, Ranma saw everything in slow motion… Akane is trembling…Trembling, and crying… Trembling, because she is crying… She slumps into a shaking sit… She puts her hands, on her face… Her eyes… Her eyes are… Oh gods, those eyes…As he looked into his fiancé's eyes, it was his turn to be transfixed in horror. 'My gods… A-Akane…' His urge to apologize profusely and beat himself up for this was great, but was suppressed by one memory…

"It's not your fault."

Holding in the impulse was almost unbearable that his eyes started to water, but he managed to do it for her sake.

'I… What can I do…? I need to comfort my Akane, whatever the cost…' His mind focusing too hard on two extremely difficult tasks, he didn't notice his using the word "my". He needed to think of something, and as fast as possible. Of course he was having a hard time; this situation had never happened before in his life. The gut-wrentching sound of her weeping was not helping either. At a point, it almost seemed to have given up and lose hope, as he slumped into a kneeling position in front of her and was ready to openly beat himself up. However, as he how he was posed.…

"Akane." He called her gently and smoothly, with no hint of any tremble in his voice. The suddenness of his call brought the self-tortured girl back to reality. She noticed how it came from right in front of her, and looked up. Her face was right in front of her. The shock held her in her place, surprise and a small amount of fear in her moist eyes. As he looked into his, though, it quickly turned to confusion and a not-so-little amount of adoration.

'His… eyes… They are so, so… caring...' For a moment, they were doing nothing, just staring into the orbs of their lover, the windows to each other's soul. Then Akane felt a hand come up to the back of her neck, jolting her out of the trance she had. 'Wh-what…?' She tried to clear her mind, blinking furiously. As she was doing so, another hand snaked to her back, gsping at that as the one on her neck gently applied pressure to have a grip on it. She glanced at the two hands nervously. 'What is he… going to do… with me?' Fear was coming back into her mind, but was then banished back out when she looked back into her eyes.

"Akane." He repeated with his voice full of emotion, lowering his eyelids slightly. 'I don't know what I'm doing… But I should have done this a long time ago.'

The closeness of her partner, combined with the warmth of his voice, and especially the touch of his skin on hers, was making the female martial artist sizzle with hormones. Absently noting a similar situation, with the difference of Ranma being conscious and making all the moves, Akane would have expected those two voices to start arguing again. Strangely enough, she didn't even hear so much as a squeak in the back of her head.

'Good riddance, too,' she thought with a slight sense of mischief mixed in with her intentions. 'They'd be an annoyance.' She noticed a continuous sound coming from the direction in front of her, forcing her to stop her train of thought. She gazed towards her fiancé, and was surprised to see him breathing faster and sweating slightly. 'Ranma's… What's wrong with Ranma?' It was a bit after that she noticed how he seemed to be coming closer. 'Wait… Is he going to… kiss me…?' She was both shocked and extremely excited at the thought, but hesitated. She waited a few seconds, and made sure that he really was nearing her face and not her eyes playing tricks on her. 'Oh, gods… He really will do it…'

Adrenaline was now pumping through her body like there was no tomorrow. When she punted him into the sky, cried on and was comforted by Kasumi, tended to his injuries, or even when she was having those two fantasies about him (well, maybe she did think of it then, but not exactly the same way… /), it never crossed her mind that she would get to kiss him, infinitely less so that he would be making all the moves.

It was happening now, though, and she was loving and hating every second in between this and the moment they locked onto each other. Her mind was in the state where the line between consciousness and sub-consciousness blurred. As he slowly pulled the flushed youth with the arm he placed behind her, she let instinct take over and followed its every instruction. Her eyes closed as the two closed the gap between them, and her hands trembled and shivered violently in anticipation. She put one on top of the other and placed them on her chest as her face finally started feeling the warmth of her loved one's breath. She relished in the feeling, and, in a split second, neither she nor Ranma knew nothing of the world surrounding them.

And they kissed.

End of Part 2


Author's Note: Phew! Finally, I finished it and updated! I'm sure that it still has a lot of errors in it, but it'll do. The important part is that, after about half a year, I finally completed another chapter part.

To all those who wanted me to update for so long, please forgive me. In my place, school starts in June, so I really couldn't find the time to continue with VS. Part of the reason is also because I couldn't write a continuation with "Watchers", and thus had to delete it. (By t he way, please forgive me for having removed so much. I'm just not that good as to continue from such a difficult plotline yet!) This submission, labeled "Forgiveness", is pretty much what would have happened after that anyway. Finally, I have to confess that laziness was a factor in it…

Anyway, it's been a pretty long time. I hope people who used to read it will come back to read my ever-so-slowly continuing story. And with that, I also hope that all the old offers for help (and maybe some new ones as well) will still be, well, offered.

I really hope that this chapter will be as good as my normal style of writing, since I've been doing this under time pressure. Every chance I could get, usually break times during school, I use the comp in the library and try to get a few lines in. If it doesn't turn out as colorful as I hoped it would be, then I'm in deep shit…

Btw, I'm sorry about the previous submission. I kind of forgot to fix some bugs. I'll update that soon, I promise.

Read & Review! Comments & Constructive Criticism is Welcome! Please No Flames!