Sorry for the LONG delay, the lack of talent and dedication to something is something I'm filled with... as you can all see in the fic.

Anyway, you people just scroll down and read.

Disclaimer:

Not mine, someone else's, not mine.

-"Akane? What have you decided?"- Kasumi asked the girl. The younger sister Tendo looked up, and she smiled.

-"All right, let's go."- Akane said smiling. Maybe, she'd feel better if she distracted herself. –"Just let me go and get my purse."-

Chapter Two.- Confusion means Questions, Questions lead to answers.

Akane sighed.

Everything seemed so out of place. Everything he had said, the way he had acted, was so un-Ranma that she felt it wasn't real.

Nothing was like it was always lately. He had been acting so strange around her these past days that she found herself thinking that she might've finally driven him mad.

Yet, she wasn't as troubled by the incident with Ranma as she had been back in the Tendo household, maybe she had overreacted to that. But as you thought about Ranma and his usual behavior, what had happen wasn't something that he would normally do. He was never that rude, or that mean to her. He usually always ended apologizing even when they both knew that it wouldn't be long before he ruined the whole thing all over again. But it was still different, he was never harsh with his words like he had been just before. Something strange had taken over him and now Akane was sure about that.

A voice brought her back from her deep thoughts...

-"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"- Kasumi said out of the blue.

-"Huh? Oh, yes it is."- Was the reply from the short haired girl, Kasumi sighed at this. She knew she had to wait until Akane was ready to talk to her, but she was getting more and more worried. They had already passed several stores Akane used to love to stop by and look through the crystal, staring for several minutes at the cute things that would always be waiting for her to give a small gasp or an "aww" at everything she would see.

But this time Akane hadn't even noticed not even the building itself, something was out of place here and Kasumi felt it the moment she saw her young sister alone in the garden, back at the house. Yet, she knew she had to wait until the young Tendo was ready to talk.

Meanwhile, Akane was still trying to understand the tons of things she was feeling at the moment. Truly, walking could amazingly help you forget certain things, specially when you had good company to make the path even more beautiful. Or even alone, a good walk would always be the best way to sort things out, that and staring at the shinning stars in a cool night. But the stars would have to wait for the moment, for it was 3:00 p.m. at the most and Akane wasn't up for waiting. She needed to clear things out right then, this couldn't wait, or her mind would start getting ideas and imagining things that weren't there. You know how your mind likes to play tricks now and then, and as you walk through depression's road it was likely to be filled with those ghosts your mind puts in the way to make your learning task harder.

That's why she had accepted the invitation to the market, a walk would help her sort out her thoughts and her feelings. Besides, Kasumi would always buy them alone, never ask for company, she couldn't just deny her invitation.

As the younger Tendo walked through the street, accompanied by her older sister, she felt as if everything that had happened with Ranma was just a bad dream. Some trick her mind had played her, only meant to be forgotten with time. But it wasn't like that. Not that simple at least.

Again, the same sweet voice turned on reality again.

-"What should we get first?"- Kasumi asked, not taking the silence that circled around her youngest sister. Whatever was worrying Akane, had to be something important so that she was acting the way she was.

Akane, on the other side, noticed Kasumi's worried eyes and immediately felt bad for giving her sister any more concerns. Maybe she was overreacting at some point, sure it had been a harsh conversation, but weren't all their conversations harsh lately? Well not that harsh, but still... it was the same, wasn't it?

Maybe Ranma was having problems with something and Akane had just been the last drop... yes, it was probably something alike. Once she got home she would think it more deeply and then she'd apologize to Ranma, and maybe then... she'd be able to find out what was troubling the martial artist.

-"Akane? Did you listen to what I asked?"- Kasumi asked, as she got no response from her first question. Akane then, just nodded in response and added smiling.

-"Sure Sis, let's go and get the food for today first, then we'll look for what ever else we may need."- She would think of all later, once her head was clear enough to think straight. Right now, she would enjoy the time with her oldest sister, she had been trying to cheer Akane up since they left the house, and Akane had paid no attention to her efforts at all. That wasn't fair, she could at least try instead of being all worried for a silly conversation with Ranma, besides, it's not like if they were anything special.

After all, it was just an arranged marriage... nothing more.

Meanwhile…

Several hours had past since the door had been closed, a heavy air could be felt inside the dojo.

Punches and kicks were being thrown at the air. A fast breathing and the smell of sweat filled the room. Screams of fury were heard as more punches were unleashed. A high aired kick and a slam after it echoed in the room as he damaged a certain part of the wall when he miscalculated his fall.

He was angry. Really angry.

He had been training for a long time, anger was filling his senses and blocking away any thoughts for the moment. Only allowing fury to unleash itself, and the boy, being the artist he was… showed off his anger in the kicks and punches he slammed into the nothingness that filled the room. But as the anger barrier was slowly crumbling down, it was leaving free space for confusion to come and cloud the way. Now he wasn't angry with her, he was mad with himself for not being able to understand what was going on.

Damned she! Who does she think she is to treat me the way she did?

He sighed and stopped for a moment, partially from desperation and the other from exhaustion. What had happened to him? Why did this all start? When did he feel like this for the first time? He regained his posture and started again, slamming kicks and punches here and there, really not intending to hit anything just slicing the heavy air that clouded the room.

Another punch. Why? Why am I feeling this way? A high kick, a punch, a roll.

Why do I let this bother me so much? Well, it's not as if I can help it… that's the whole problem in the first place. He jumped high and slammed his fist into the ground, leaving a small crater in the spot where his fist landed. He couldn't properly concentrate on his training; his mind was too blurry and his own thoughts revolted in his head while his stomach did the same. Then he remembered he hadn't eaten at all and decided to rest for a while. He wasn't sure how much time had he been there, inside of the dojo, but he knew it had been a lot. He could see through the small cracks in the walls, that it was getting dark; the sun was probably setting, or just about to start.

Why do I keep thinking of her?

He didn't know why suddenly she seemed to be very present in his mind, but he did know why he kept getting this knot in his stomach every time he thought about her. It wasn't hunger, that, was called guilt. Why am I feeling so guilty?

As the very question popped up in his mind, he remembered the argument they had shared before he locked himself inside the Tendo dojo. He then realized the things he had said, and immediately understood why, and also, he noticed the pain in his chest as he remembered the look on her face. She seemed so sad…

Everything had gotten out of hand, he couldn't control himself any longer. Why couldn't he handle it better? Why couldn't he understand it at all

I'm so ashamed of myself, it's all my fault. And indeed, it was. He had lost control of his feelings, and they had driven him crazy. Now he couldn't even talk to her normally with out screaming something hurtful. He had never been a good talker, yet he had never screwed it the way he did today.

He let himself fall to the floor, exhausted. He had taken things a little over the edge this time. Yet, he still needed to train a lot more, he needed to be stronger… he had to be the strongest. Besides, if he kept training, he'd be able to forget the things that were clouding his thoughts. He stood up, and again, regained his posture, once set he started again.

Again the rain of punches started but they weren't as fast and strong as they had been before, he wasn't concentrating enough. He sighed and again, started over. He punched hard, harder than before… but again, the rhythm slowed down after some seconds.

It wasn't that he was not concentrating enough, it was that he was concentrating on something else: Her face. She looked so hurt when he yelled and he kept feeling awful about it. No matter how much he tried to punch hard, it wasn't helping; he just kept missing and missing.

Dizziness flooded him, and he remembered again that he had not eaten a single thing in the whole damned day, and he had trained really hard for several hours now. He stopped and again, slumped to the ground, only this time, he wasn't up for trying to stand up. He only managed to sit, his legs crossed and his arms resting on the floor, giving him support to maintain balance.

He thought about what he had done, and kept wondering why was he acting the way he did, that wasn't something he would usually do and he was very aware of it. He let out a long sigh and looked down.

It's all done now, all I can do is try to fix it… But how? Yes, how? How could he fix something, when he didn't even know why had it all happened? What pushed him to do such a thing? Was it the same thing that had been haunting him the past few weeks? Could it all be explained with that?

Yes, that is. But why do I feel that way? Why am I so scared?

-"How can I feel so damned helpless!"- He yelled, as he slammed his fists into the ground, feeling a sudden wave of misery flooding him. He sighed heavily, feeling the burden he'd been carrying these past days jump into his shoulders once again. –"Why am I so miserable?"- He said aloud, as he felt his head start to hurt, maybe from the pain he felt, maybe from hunger. What difference did it make? –"Why do I feel so bad!"- He asked again to no one, only this time… he got an answer he wasn't waiting for.

-"Because you haven't eaten anything, and because you won't come out of the dojo."- A voice he knew so well answered him from the door. As he immediately lifted his gaze, he saw Akane Tendo standing in the doorway, with a serious look in her face.

-"How… how long have you been there?"- He asked the girl, as he feared she had witness his fall.

-"Long enough to know something's really wrong."- She replied as she entered the dojo, closing the door behind her. –"Ranma, what's going on with you? Please, let me help you sort things out, maybe we can find out what's troubling you so we can solve it together. Don't you think? Come on, let's get inside, I'll get you something to eat."- Akane asked him, a small smile of plead appeared in her face. Ranma looked down, feeling bad. Akane, noticing this smiled and added -"Don't worry, I won't cook it, I promise."-

But Ranma felt even worse.

She's really worried about me, I don't want to trouble her. I don't like being a burden, besides… shouldn't she be angry at me for the awful way I spoke to her before? Why is she trying to help me? Why is she so nice to me? Why do I feel so ashamed? Why?

-"Why are you helping me? Why are you here? Why aren't you angry at me?"- He asked her, Akane just smiled and sat beside him, as she looked down.

-"I came here to apologize. It wasn't right for me to mallet you, and it wasn't right either to make fun of your pain. It was my fault that you were hurt, I'm so sorry Ranma, forgive me please."- Replied the short-haired girl as she looked away from him, guilt in her chest. And with that answer, the boy slammed his fist into the floor and let his eyes spill the tears that they were fighting.

-"Why are you doing this? Stop it! Get away from me!."- Yelled the boy all of a sudden– "Mallet me! Punch me! Do something! Just… just stop acting like that! Quit looking at me that way."- Finished the boy as he felt the tears rushing down. Never before had he felt so weak. He immediately looked away from her, he wouldn't let her see him in such a pathetic state. He had to be strong, he had to be the strongest… and strong men don't cry.

Akane's eyes widened at such weird behavior, now she was certain that not only something was wrong with him, she was sure it was something bad. She couldn't remember seeing Ranma in such a state. So sad, so depressed… But what could be so important to him to have him feeling that miserable? What could've happened? Well, whatever it was, she was certain that it had a solution. And she wouldn't leave him alone until she knew exactly what was wrong and how could she help him fix it.

-"No."- She said firmly. –" I'm not leaving you until you tell me what's wrong with you. I'm not leaving you alone until I know what's making you feel this way, until you tell me why are you so sad!"- She paused for a brief second, and continued just before Ranma could say anything to avoid answering. –"And you can't avoid me forever, I've been meaning to ask you this for a long time now… What's happening to you Ranma?"- She demanded, she needed to know after all; wasn't she supposed to be his fiancée? It was one of her future duties to help him in whatever problems he could have. Maybe this way, he would notice who she really is, and what she really feels.

Why is she doing this? Why isn't she angry? I… I can't believe she noticed it. Nobody else did, or nobody else cared, she really is special. Not even Ukyo saw my misery the other day we talked. But how can I make her understand… she won't look at me the way she does if she knows. But why? Why does she care so much? Why does she cares for me? What is this feeling… I don't understand it. My head hurts so much, I really feel dizzy. I'm a weak…

-"Well, Ranma, I'm waiting. Tell me what's wrong, did I do something to make you feel this way? Is it my fault?."- Akane asked softly, guilty still in her chest. He couldn't take it, why was she being so nice? Couldn't she see the effect she had in him? If she kept so close, she would see his weakness… she would see his flaws.

-"STOP! STOP IT!"-Yelled Ranma, now totally blurred by tears. –"GO AWAY! DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THIS! DON'T LOOK AT ME NOW!"- He kept yelling and Akane instead of leaving, took hold of Ranma's hand and pulled him into a deep and tight embrace. She didn't know what else to do.

At that moment, the hurricane of feelings that was blowing inside of Ranma, blew his self control away, and he lost all senses. Now it was set loose, and it wouldn't calm down until he had taken that heavy weight off his chest. It was then, when a song he had heard, came to his mind. And as he told her everything… he was sure he was hearing it.

"And I give up forever to touch you,

'Cause I know that you feel me somehow.

You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be,

And I don't want to go home right now."

-"I'm so scared… Scared of just touching your skin, scared to have you so close to me. I feel like a coward, I'm scared of these things that are happening to me. Here I am, powerful Ranma Saotome crying and whimpering over nothing."-

"And all I can taste is this moment,

And all I can breathe is your life,

And sooner or later it's over,

I just don't want to miss you tonight."

-"I needed to talk to somebody, yet I knew I couldn't, I'm not weak. I know I'm not. But… I feel so alone. I didn't know who to talk to about this, I don't know this feeling, I've never felt anything like this before. I… I don't know what this is, what it means… could it be what I think?"-

"And I don't want the world to see me,

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand.

When everything's made to be broken,

I just want you to know who I am."

-"I was trained to fight and that's what I do better, but I don't know how to deal with this, I've never had anyone to teach me what is this I've been feeling lately. I can't be whinnying like this, it's not a men-thing to do. Yet I can't stop the tears, I feel so miserable… What happened to me?"-

"And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming,

All the moment the truth in you lies.

When everything feels like the movies,

Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive."

-"You can't understand it, every time we fight, I want to yell at you how I feel and tell you to forgive me. But every time something happens, something stops me. I know I act as if I didn't care, but I do, hell I do. All those stupid arguments we have mean so much to me, because it's the only way I know to do this. But I've tried to explain it with words or even actions, but I couldn't find the right time or the right words. And after lots of thinking I realized I wasn't brave enough to tell you."-

"And I don't want the world to see me,

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand.

When everything's made to be broken,

I just want you to know who I am."

-"But how can I have the strength enough to face even death itself, yet I can't even look at you in the eye with out feeling my knees weak. I don't care for any other girl, I haven't cared for any other girl at all. Don't you see it? I've never felt anything like this for any other person."- Ramna tried to keep on, but he was feeling awfully sick, his head was spinning. Akane knew that he had to take that weight off his chest, but she was afraid of what he was trying to tell her, even when her heart was beating faster and faster; she was nervous and anxious to hear the boy's conclusion. But, even when she wanted him to tell her, his health was first.

-"Ranma you can't keep up like this, you're face feels hot. You're gonna faint if you keep this up. Please let's go inside"- Akane pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears, Ranma shook his head determined.

He was not weak. He was not a weak boy.

-"I'm NOT finished yet…"- He argued, he wasn't stopping until she knew.

"… And I don't want the world to see me,

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand.

When everything's made to be broken,

I just want you to know I am."

-"There's no one I've felt so attached to, other than you. Having you so close right now makes my body tremble, every detail about you is printed in my memory. Like the way you smile, the moves you make, how your hair waves in your face. Every time I feel alone I think about you, and I feel happy again."-

"… And I don't want the world to see me,

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand.

When everything's made to be broken,

I just want you to know I am."

-"The pain I feel when you're in danger, pushes me up to fight anything. It's why I've gotta be the strongest, that's why I train so much: I have to protect you, I NEED to protect you."-

"… I just want you to know who I am."

-"I don't know what exactly is love, but I do know that when I'm with you I feel so free, so alive… Your smile's so beautiful, so relaxing. I can talk about anything with you. I don't know how I was capable of filling the void I felt for so long, but it's all thanks to you."-

"… I just want you to know who I am."

-"Yet I'm so tired of it, I'm so tired of pretending. I'm so sick of having to hide this, I just want you to know the truth. I can't keep up the act any longer… I don't want to keep pretending, because the only fool here is me. I have to say it, I need to say it… You're the best thing in my life, I love you."- And as he saw surprise plastered in the girl's face, he smiled at her and closed his eyes. –"I love you tomboy".-

Then the black veil came and he knew nothing more...

"… I just want you to know who I am…"

tbc…

I know it's weird, but that's why Ranma was so rough before. It's also the way the author feels around certain somebody. Fluffness included!

Comments are always welcomed.

Baby-chan