Chapter eight: Ranma's relationship crisis! Two steps forward, one step back!
Ranma whistled happily to himself as he swept the leaves and dirt away from the walkway that lead from the house to the main gate. Soun watched on, nodding his head happily at the boy's progress. As far as the eldest Tendo could tell, things were finally going as planned within his household. Ever since their date several weeks prior, neither Ranma nor Akane had said so much as a nasty word to one another. Their violent fights had finally faded into nothing larger than minor arguments now that a true sense of true friendship had been introduced between them. Things were going exactly as they were supposed to, and it was about damn time!
Soun contemplated this fortunate turn of events and pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming He fought back his usual flood of tears that came out during such emotional moments. The slight bit of pain he felt as he pinched his skin showed him it wasn't a dream. He looked to the clear blue sky with shining eyes. I did it, darling! After all these years, our most headstrong daughter has finally come of age!
Still, it was a bit early to be celebrating. Both of them still continued to hide the brunt of their true feelings, especially around their parents. Nature's course was taking its course, just a bit slower than usual.
Ranma smiled and lifted his face up to look at the warm sun as it rose lazily into the mid-afternoon sky. He knew his new relationship with Akane was going to cause some major problem in the future and he'd probably have to deal with them sooner rather than later, but that didn't really bother him. They'd all be overcome with determination just like every other challenge he'd faced already. If he could remove the threat of Ryoga, getting rid of his other pests, like Mousse and Kuno, would be a piece of cake in comparison.
Soun lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply, leaning back against the side of the house. "Ranma, have you thought about marriage yet?"
Ranma spun to face him, as a look of bewilderment etched itself onto his face. "M-marriage?! I'm too young to think about that! Besides, I've still got a lot of training to do! I'm not ready to… I'm just not ready for that yet Mr. Tendo!"
Soun walked up to Ranma and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "I know the idea seems strange to think about now… but believe me, there was a time when I was just like you."
"Oh?" Ranma had a tough time believing that Soun had ever been like himself. Their personalities seemed to be as different as night as day.
Soun was silent for a moment before he laughed merrily, breaking the stillness between them. "When I was about your age, I was just as dedicated to the martial arts as you are now. Granted, I never went through the kind of adventures you did, and I certainly didn't possess the skills you have, but it was still a time in my life that required absolute devotion to the art and intense training. But one day, someone walked into my life that ended up changing it forever.""
"And who was that, Mr. Tendo?" Ranma asked.
Soun smiled softly. "The girl who would become my future wife. She transferred to Furinkan one beautiful spring day, a day just like this one in fact. I fell in love with her gentle kindness and beautiful smile. I used the same devotion I had during my martial arts training towards her. My infatuation with her eventually turned to love. After a time, she began to return those feelings and I became the happiest of men. I courted her throughout high school and we were eventually married."
He gazed longingly at the white clouds above, dwelling on thoughts of his deceased beloved. "Our marriage didn't stifle my love for the Art in the slightest. I continued to train on a regular basis… but I also learned a hard lesson. I found out that life couldn't just be all about me and my wants anymore, not with a family to care for."
His gaze turned serious. "Ranma, someday you too will have a family. You will have to watch what you say and control your actions to a much greater extent than you do now. It will make things run much more smoothly if you pay a bit more attention to her feelings, and vice versa. You must be ready for it! Don't make some of the same mistakes Genma did and abandon your wife, no matter what the reason."
"Hold on a sec, Mr. Tendo!" Ranma swung his arms out in front of him. "One date with Akane doesn't set anything in stone! I'm not ready to even to think about marriage yet! And what gave you the idea that we had become so familiar anyways?!"
Soun waved his hand. "I don't mean that you must modify your current habits completely. I'm not rushing you into marriage either, not anymore. Only you and Akane will know when that time should come. I'm only trying to prepare you for the future. Remember, you should never change yourself entirely for anyone, not even Akane. A good partner will love you for who you are and accept your faults as part of the package deal. What I'm driving at is, you absolutely do not know how lucky you are!"
Ranma blinked… then blinked again. "Lucky?"
Soun nodded. "Yes. While I love my three little girls equally, Akane possesses one quality neither Kasumi nor Nabiki have."
Ranma grinned and held up his finger. "Oh, I know! It's a passion for brute strength and a tomboyish nature?"
Soun glared. "No. She looks so very much like my dear departed wife. It's this part of her that's making her soul shine so much brighter. You've seen how tender and caring she is towards your well being. My wife behaved much the same way towards me. She loves you deeply, Ranma. The only reason you haven't realized it before now is because you kept driving her off with your childish comments and immature attitude."
Ranma's features darkened. "Wait a sec, she does the same thing!"
Soun sighed and conceded a nod. "Yes, you're right. She's much like you in a sense. But it's not entirely her fault, nor is it entirely yours. Both of you were raised without the help of a mother. You see Ranma, by the time my wife had passed on she had already raised Kasumi and Nabiki into little girls. They were old enough to remember her teaching and life lessons. Akane, on the other hand, can't even recall whole memories of her mother. She was little more than a baby girl when she died."
"I've tried to be a good father," he said, sighing. "To my credit, I think I was, but I've come to find that only a woman can truly raise a daughter into womanhood."
Ranma cast his eye's downward. "I uh... never thought about it like that..."
Soun pointed a finger at Ranma. "Exactly! You don't think! Keep Akane's feelings in your heart and mind and maybe you won't say such nasty things to each other in the future. I've already had a similar conversation with her. Its time you both continued on this current good trend and grow up a little bit more. Time is so very precious and the two of you have already wasted enough of it. You're not children anymore."
"Yes sir." Ranma felt himself growing increasing uncomfortable. The normally whiny and skittish Soun Tendo had transformed into a wall of discipline and truth right before his very eyes. He forced himself to meet Soun's rigid gaze, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat.
"Good." Soun turned and started to walk back towards the house. As Ranma raised his arm to continue sweeping, Soun stopped walking, but didn't turn around. Ranma cocked his head to look at the older man again, leaning on the broom.
"Ranma, there is just one more thing I want you to know."
Ranma nearly trembled. "Uh, yeah?"
"I'm so very proud of you son! Despite all your faults, you are turning into a brave warrior." With that said, Soun walked into the house without further comment.
A brisk wind picked up and rustled Ranma's pants. Then a silence evolved and nothing stirred for an endless moment. "T-thank you..."
"Ranma?"
The boy nearly jumped out of his skin as Akane put her hand on his shoulder. He spun around and jumped back a step, nearly falling into a defensive combat stance. "Akane, don't scare me like that!"
Akane retracted her hand as if she had just been burned. "I'm sorry. It's just... I saw dad talking to you and I wanted to find out what was going on. He looked really serious and that isn't like him at all."
Ranma leaned on the broom and smiled non-convincingly. "Oh, that? It was nuthin, just a man-to-man talk, ya' know?"
Akane beamed and held up a plate. "Oh. Well, anyways, I saw you working hard out here so I baked you some cookies!"
"C-c-cookies!?" Ranma's heart froze in his chest and his stomach kissed itself goodbye. He clearly remembered what had happened the last time he had tried some of her "homemade" cookies during that bake off competition against Kodachi and he wasn't about to repeat that incident!
Akane nodded happily. "Yeah, don't they look yummy?"
To a demon of hell maybe! That explains the sudden explosion that rocked the kitchen a little while ago. I shoulda' known it was Akane trying to cook again! He eyed the plate as if it were going to come alive and attack him at any moment. The cookies seemed to have been cut from pieces of concrete and painted brown as an after effect. He started to sweat and took a nervous step backwards. Akane just never learned. True, she had made some small advancement in the art of cooking, but it still sucked! He didn't like having to suffer through all her experiments just because they were engaged.
"Uhhh... gee, Akane, thanks, but... I'm not really hungry." Ranma waved his hands in front of himself and took a cautious step backwards. Inside, his mind was racing. How was he going to get out of this situation unscathed? He had sampled her cooking many times in the past to keep her happy and his stomach had suffered in agony as a result. He was still in too good a mood to go through that today.
Akane blinked. "But I made them just for you!"
"I appreciate it, but I'm just not hungry." I'd rather just appreciate living!
Sparks of anger flickered in her eyes rich, shining eyes. "I spent the last few hours baking these! The least you could do is humor me and taste one. Please? You might be surprised!"
Yeah, surprised to live through the experience! Ranma shuttered and jumped backwards again.
"Take one," she roared, throwing a cookie at his mouth with a ball park pitcher's precision.
"No!" Ranma batted it away with his hand and instantly yelped in pain as the food hit his palm. It felt like he had just hit solid diamond! He rubbed his aching palm and paled considerably, eyeing the "cookies" as if they were deadly opponents to his continual existence.
"I know you think my cooking is bad, I'm not stupid! You're going to marry me one day, and that means you'll have to trust me! Stop being such a jerk!" Tears threatened to spill from Akane's eyes at any second.
Ranma's temper flared and he found his composure slipping away like sand and tumble into the abyss of his anger. "Listen, I've told you very nicely several times that I didn't want one! And just who are you to tell me what I'm going to do with my life? Marrying you is the last thing I'd ever want to do! Got that!? I'm not that desperate! I-" His eyes widened in realization and he clamped his hand over his mouth as his brain caught on to what he was saying but it was far too late, the damage to her heart had already been caused.
"I see..." Her hard slap knocked him sideways.
He recovered his balance a second later and looked at her in shock, clutching his burning cheek. He had just screwed himself over big time, and that hurt far more than any physical injury. "Akane, wait I… I didn't mean-"
"I sharedmy first true kiss with you because I believed in you! I thought that after spending so many carefree weeks with you since then things would finally change. I guess I was wrong; you're nothing but a heartless jerk! Just leave me alone! Go off and live with Shampoo if I'm so horrible to be with! At least she can cook, right!?" As tears flooded down the sides of her cheeks, she ran into the house, sobbing heavily.
Ranma looked down at his hands in shock as his mind started spin. (What have I done? How did this happen? How could something so trivial explode so fast?! I've said some nasty things before but...) He dropped the broom onto the stone walkway. Waves of guilt consumed him like a furious fire. In the blink of an eye he had helped to destroy the foundation of trust they two had been building. A few wrong words had caused his control of the situation to slide out of control completely.
He bowed his head in shame. "You're right, Akane. I am a jerk. I've had it all backwards; I don't deserve to be with you… not the other way around. I'm so sorry..." Balling his hand into a tight fist, he jumped over the house wall and ran down the street. His flight was useless, and he knew it. No matter how fast he ran, his knew his guilt would never tire and anguish would overtake him even if he ran halfway across the city.
No more than five minutes after Mr. Tendo's talk, I go and mess things up! How in the world could I be so damn stupid?!
He jumped onto a side street, clutching his head, wishing to the powers that be for the chance to rewind the last few minutes and redo them.
Watching from the side of the house as his son took off, Genma sighed and shook his head. "He's ruining all he's worked for. Children can be so foolish, eh, Tendo?"
Soun sighed sadly. "Youth isn't necessarily a virtue, it seems. I knew he wouldn't heed my advice as much as I wanted to believe otherwise. Oh well, it seems there is only one thing left to do."
Genma nodded and pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Yes, we must bring Ranma back and fix this situation!"
Soun slapped him on the back. "Good of you to volunteer, Saotome!"
"What!? Hey, why do I have to do it?!"
Soun's eyes narrowed. "Hmmm, I don't know Saotome. Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that it's because he's your son!?"
Genma folded his arms and almost seemed to pout. "You always say that! I fixed this problem the last time it happened!"
"Get moving! I'll handle Akane; you go after your son."
"Alright, alright! Arggg, leg cramp! Uh, let me just lay here for a second until I recover my strength."
"I'll help you catch up with him!" Soun punted Genma into midair.
"I'm such a fool!" Ranma slammed his fist into the river canal wall again and again, cracking its sturdy concrete frame. The pain that shot up his arm didn't even remotely compare to the grief that was eating him alive inside. The venomous words he had used to hurt Akane so badly played over and over in his mind, torturing him to no end.
"I am such an idiot!" He slammed his hand into the wall again with even greater force. When he withdrew it, blood dribbled from his bruised knuckles. He clutched his burning hand and howled at the sky. "Arghhh! Damn it! Why do I always mess things up!?"
"It's because you're scared boy."
Ranma bristled and turned around to see Genme walking up behind him. "Pop, it aint the time for this! Leave me alone!"
Genma shook his head. "Actually, I don't think there could possibly be a better time. You've come so far, Ranma. Why did you choke out?"
"Leave me alone!" Ranma ran up the slanted wall and disappeared into the streets once again.
Genma watched in shock. "Hey, get back here! I was just warming up for one of my great father-son talks! Ahh crap!" He took off after his son as fast as his short stocky legs would allow.
Like a hurricane of destruction, the Shadow Warrior moved throughout Asia, challenging and crushing targets of interest with the same cold determination he'd shown against the leaders of Nekonron, Togenkyo, and the Musk Dynasty. Leaving broken warriors in his wake, his mental list of targets shrunk until there were but two names left for him to destroy, two names that burned in his mind more than any other.
Taking a day off before he left to finish things once and for all in Japan, he teleported back to his home village after a long trek across the Sea of Japan. He touched down in the middle of one of the farmlands at the outskirts of the village, frightening several of the farmers who had been attending to the fields. One elderly woman fell completely over with a surprised and frightened rasp, dropping the hoe she'd just been wielding on some unruly soil.
The imposing warrior approached her and gently helped her up, dusting her off and inspecting her for injuries. He could feel the pulse of a sharp pain in her lower back as knot of tense muscles screamed in protest. Pressing his gauntlet softly against back, he sent a small wave of power surging through her body. Gasping softly, she straightened her back, sighing as the pain subsided.
Stepping back, he bowed low. "My apologies for startling you Ma'am."
The old woman's mouth broke into a crooked smile and she gently patted him on the shoulder. "Still know how to make an entrance, don't you?"
"It was far more dramatic than I intended for it to be. While I have mastered the art of teleportation, I'm not always able to move myself to the exact spot I wish to go. It was because of my inexperience that you fell over like that. Please give me a few moments to attend to a matter in town and I will come complete the rest of your work in the field today."
The woman laughed softly. "You are so polite and thoughtful. Be sure to say hello to your mother. I'm sure she worries about you when you go off on this training journey time after time."
"Yes Ma'am."
He turned and walked towards the town. Training Journey. As if it was as innocent as all that.
There was no way he could tell them what he really was really doing when he left each time. It was only in recent years that his family's reputation had gone from that of outcasts to that of respected village members and he wasn't about to mess that up. Only his master at the temple knew the truth, but he was bound by a warrior's code of secrecy.
Passing people on the way, they bowed to him in reverence, some falling all the way to the ground, pressing their foreheads to the soil. They almost treated him like a living god; such was the level of their respect for his achievements. More of this came when he entered the small town. More townspeople paused in their busy lives to greet him or welcome him home and he felt a small thrill, waving and calling out greetings. He decided to steer clear of his home for the moment since his first place of business was the temple.
Reaching the small Buddhist temple in the western part of the village, he opened the wooden door and stepped inside, sliding his helmet up and off of his head as he approached a small elderly man who was currently meditating on the floor in front of a modest sized statue of Buddha. Without turning around, the man motioned for his student to stop and kneel.
"Welcome back, my former student. You removed your mask in respect. I see you still remember your manners."
"Yes, Master Q'lei. I remember far more than just your lessons in respect and manners. The combative skills you taught me have served me well these past weeks. I have vanquished every opponent quite decisively."
The master slowly rose and bowed before the statue before he turned around to face his former apprentice with a sigh. "Those techniques I taught you and that armor I taught you fashion, all of it was done purely for defensive reasons in mind. I never intended to help you satisfy some age old desire for revenge."
The Warrior bowed his head low. -I know, sir. But my path is my own and I did defeat you fairly for the right to walk it.-
The old man nodded. "Yes. Yes, you won and earned the right to leave, tragically enough. I can only assume that you've returned home to pray and meditate because you plan on finishing this little quest of yours tomorrow?"
The Warrior met his master's look without blinking. "Yes. It will end tomorrow."
"Violence only creates more violence," the old master sighed sadly. "I don't suppose I can try and talk you out of this notion of revenge? It's like a fine poison, and if you aren't careful, it will consume your heart."
"My master, great is your wisdom." He pressed himself to the ground in a low bow. -I know that you are right. You have not been wrong yet. However, this is my path and I have to walk its course until the end."
Master Q'lei sank back down into a sitting position in front of his student and closed his eyes, nodding slowly. "To what end, I wonder? Will it be your end or the end of your enemy?"
The student also moved into a prayer posture. "Only time will tell, sir."
"Very well, my committed student. Let us pray together. With luck, the gods will help your soul to abolish this rage and help you to find inner peace."
The master and the apprentice prayed together. The Warrior prayed only for victory, since it was the only beacon of life left striving for. The dark shadows in his heart whispered of coming battle and violence and even as he prayed, reciting sacred sutras, his lips curled upwards to form a most twisted smile.
To escape his father, Ranma moved to the courtyard outside of Furinkan to contemplate his screw up. His hand ached like hell, but he didn't care. In his depressed state, the pain somewhat atoned for what he had done. His mind reeled with possibilities. With a million ways to handle a solution he wondered why he always chose the worst of them.
Yes, they had fought before. Yes, Akane had called off their engagement when he had knowingly, and unknowingly, hurt her in the past. He hated hurting her more than anything. He was drawn to Akane. She was such a necessary part of his life that it shocked even him how he acted sometimes. The urge to just reach up and hold her in his arms over the last few weeks was almost more than he could bare. He figured amidst his guilt that part of his attraction to her stemmed from their similar personalities. At that same time, that explained why they fought so much. It was an interesting relationship they had, and more violent than either wanted it to be.
He almost smiled. They were indeed alike. The bridge between them had been built through a common love of the martial arts. Unfortunately, that bridge had fallen and been rebuilt almost every day over the last several years. If he could just watch his comments and if she could just watch her temper, a wonderful middle ground could be firmly established. He honestly believed that.
"But there might not be a next time to right these wrongs..." Ranma sighed. "She has no reason to forgive me this time. Mr. Tendo gave me some excellent advice and I just blew it! I failed. I always fail when it comes to my relationships with others. I'll always fail..."
He leaned up against a tree and gazed depressingly out at the streets beyond. A wry smile touched his lips. "I hate feeling sorry for myself too."
"I can see that you still have a lot of growing up to do. Ranma m' boy." Genma jumped with surprising accuracy over the school wall and walked up to his son. "Oh, wipe that depressed look off your face, it doesn't suit you. Ranma, you can't just get depressed and mope about! You're a man of action!"
Ranma turned his head to the side. "Mr. Tendo brought up some very good points, Pop. I haven't exactly had the chance to grow up like a normal guy. I never really knew mom until she found out about my curse a few months back. I don't know how to act around people a lot of the time." He turned to walk away, preparing to jump back over the wall.
Genma grabbed his son by his shoulder with surprising strength. "Boy, wait! Listen to me; I admit I wasn't a good father at times."
Ranma's eyes narrowed. "At times, huh?"
Genma continued undeterred. "I shouldn't have separated you from Nodoka at such a young age, I know that now. However, that's no excuse for you to keep acting like a victim. It doesn't work in society, and that's a truth I myself had to realize as well. I know this much: if you continue on like this, life and its opportunities will simply pass you by. Then you will lose your chance with Akane."
Ranma looked crestfallen but he tried to hide it. "Feh, as if I care."
Genma sighed. "You worry far too much about your masculinity. You've grown into a man Ranma, so don't worry. We all know you love Akane so stop holding back the feelings you have for her! She's very sensitive about certain things and you have to be gentler. Always remember, an inch of kindness will stretch a mile!"
Ranma shook his head. "It aint as easy as all that."
Genma took his hand off Ranma's shoulder. "It's absolutely as easy as that! As quick as she is to get angry at you, she forgives you just the same. Go salvage your last few weeks' worth of progress."
Ranma smiled gently and shook his head. "And here I thought nothing you did could surprise me, Pop. I really messed up this time huh?"
"Damn straight you did! Now, go back home and cheer her up! Give her this when you apologize." Genma placed a red rose in his hand then stepped back, folding his arms.
Ranma eyed the flower curiously. "Which store did you steal this from?"
"When I ran past the florist place around the corner… wait, never mind that! You have a job to do boy!"
The boy smiled and shook his head. "Thanks pop, I won't let ya' down." He took off running, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. In his hand he clutched the tool that would aid him in his battle for redemption. He did love Akane, perhaps he always had. Now he had to show her. All he cared about was making things up to her, even if it cost him his pride.
Genma smiled slightly as Ranma disappeared from sight. "You do make me proud, Ranma. Go and follow your heart!"
At that moment his stomach chose to make him aware that it was hungry. Hopping back over the fence, Genma started off towards Ukyo's restaurant, rubbing his stomach. "Wonder if I can get a free meal…"
Soun flagged Ranma down as he came skidding into the house. "Son, here! Quickly!"
"What is it?" Ranma asked. He wanted to get past as quickly as possible. He had other business to attend to.
"Shhhh, Akane's asleep. Listen to me, I buried all of her… er, 'cookies' in the backyard." He pointed out to a small spot in the corner of the yard. The grass and bushes growing around the burial spot had turned a sickly shade of brown and any animals that had been dwelling nearby had run away in fear. As they watched, a small tree de-rooted itself and then fell over on its side, twitching in silent pain. Both Ranma and Soun stared for a moment in silent amazement.
Soun pushed a pen and a piece of paper into his hands. "Never mind that! Quickly, write a note apologizing for what you did and convince her that you actually ate her food!"
Ranma quickly scratched out a message as ordered and folded the piece of paper neatly in half. "I hope she swallows it."
Soun placed the plate and piece of paper on the kitchen table directly underneath the empty cookie pan. "Don't worry; she'll believe it because she wants to believe it."
"Yeah..."
Soun watched him walk from the room. "Son, where are you going?"
Ranma held the rose up for him to see. "I still have one last thing to do."
He walked up the stairs with determination under Soun and Nabiki's watchful gaze. He knocked once on Akane's door but there was no response. He looked down at Soun who nodded him onward encouragingly. Gulping, he slowly opened the door and stepped inside. One there, he saw Akane sleeping on her side, facing the far wall. Stepping up to her quietly, he saw dampness on her pillow indicating she had cried herself to sleep. This realization only made him feel worse. Sighing heavily, he sat down on the edge of the bed with her and gently touched her shoulder.
"Akane?"
She did not stir. Growing bolder, Ranma ran his hand through her short blue hair and gazed loving down at her peaceful face. For an endless moment, time itself stood still. He knew that only with her in a deep sleep could he truly be himself without fear or shyness. Maybe someday he could provide more but for the moment, it was his only means in which to communicate.
"I know your asleep, Akane. I won't be long, but I have to say a few things and make my peace at last. I'm not very good with emotional stuff; you and I both know that all too well. I'm gonna' try real hard to fix that. Listen, I know I've been such a fool lately. I know you care about me… but, to be honest, I don't really think I deserve it."
He took a deep breath. "I care about you a lot too. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to burst but I've always kept quiet and hid it away in the back of my mind. Sometimes I tried to tell you, but the words never came out right.
"I've said some very nasty stuff to you in the past that was undeserved. I want you to know I didn't mean any of it. I was just being childish.…"
He gazed at her beautiful face, peaceful in sleep. "You're so beautiful. I realize I've never told you that in a serious way before. I want you to do me a favor, k? Could you possibly... ya' know, give me another chance to do things right? We gotta' cut breaks for one another if we're going to get married one day and all… Oh, I know we'll still fight from time to time and problems will still roll our way, but as long as I can be with you, nothing will stop us."
He stared at the tear stains on her sheets. "I hate making you cry, Akane. Let's make a deal! Starting today, the pervert and the tomboy are gone! It's just you and me."
Blushing heavily, he ran out of words to say. He felt like an idiot, she couldn't even hear him and yet he was compelled to spill his soul before her. He kept going though because for some reason it brought him a measure of peace after the chaotic afternoon.
"I uh, guess I'll go and let you keep sleeping. I just wanted to say what's been building up in me, ya know?" He silently placed the rose in her hand and stood up.
Akane murmured something unintelligible in her sleep and rolled onto her back. Ranma looked down at her soft, inviting lips and decided to risk it all. Slowly, he brought his lips to hers for a brief, cautious peck on her lips. The tender moment did not wake the slumbering girl and Ranma breathed a sigh of relief. He paused at her doorway and thought for a moment. Something still seemed to be missing; he was forgetting to say something.
Suddenly, he knew. He had forgotten to say the words he had wanted to tell her. "What I've been trying to get at is... I'm sorry, Akane. Sleep well and have wonderful dreams." He closed the door quietly, smiling softly in her direction. He hadn't been able to tell her he loved her. It wasn't time to say those words to her; he had already taken a great step, no need to overdo it. A great weight lifted from his heart like magic and he called out to Kasumi and asked her to bandage up his hand.
Smiling slightly, Akane opened her eyes a crack after her door shut and touched her lips, blushing slightly. "Its okay, Ranma, I forgive you. You're a total jerk at times, but you're my jerk!" Reaching for her covers, she snuggled up against her pillow, sighing happily.
Just outside of the Shinjuku train station, traveling pedestrians took several cautious steps backwards as the ground began to rumble and crack. Concrete splintered and tore as entire sections of people were thrown back by an invisible energy field. A large black cloud followed this, signaling the arrival of the Shadow Warrior as he teleported back to Japan after a very long absence. He materialized in an instant, touching his plated boots on the ground of the land he had come to hate. Realizing where he was and how quickly his goal was to completion, he laughed manically, throwing raw energy away from himself with hellish glee. The onlookers fled from him in all directions, screaming with terror.
He raised his hand and summoned a fistful of energy, and he cupped it his hand, raising it skyward. "The final part of my journey is at hand! This energy will kill you Ranma Saotome. Mark my words, tomorrow will be the day you die!"