DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ and all characters related do not belong to me. They are the intellectual property of Rumiko Takahashi.
People say time heals everything, you know?
Like some medicine…
But time doesn't heal.
It kills.
Time can make everything fade away as if never existed.
The good and the bad…
Time can wipe it out and destroy it… like a poison.
Time is a poison if you let it be Ranma… and no one is safe from it…
No one can beat it.
Not even you.
VENOM
I
Once upon a time Ranma Saotome wouldn't have thought it twice before calling Akane's name after catching a glimpse of her in the middle of a crowd. Once upon a time the youngest of the Tendo sisters wouldn't have thought it weird if it happened. Because, once upon time Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo knew each other… sadly, it wasn't once upon a time anymore.
Akane Tendo opened her home's door with a cheery smile on her face; blissfully unaware of the surprise waiting for her at the other side of it. Her expression gave her an uncanny resemblance to her oldest sister.
"Good morning." She politely greeted. A second later the smile vanished from her features as she felt her heart crashing against the floor. Confused, she stared at a pair of blue eyes she hadn't seen in a long time and fervently thought she'll never see again.
"Hey, 'kane." The boy… that was now a man, greeted. He was wearing that same arrogant and somehow honest smile that had always been a unique trait of his. He walked closer to her in earnest, ignoring the way the women's face twisted in confusion.
Akane couldn't find the voice in her throat… for a minute there she actually forgot how to make her mouth work. She stood there in complete shock, wearing the same expression of someone who had just seen a ghost. It was no surprise since a long time ago the man standing in front of her had earned the label of "dead" in her memories.
Having him suddenly there… him looking like the same cocky and childish boy she remembered, except he wasn't a boy anymore. He was an attractive man clad in an elegant suit and wearing a tie. A tie.
It definitely wasn't something easy to digest.
Akane Tendo seriously started to doubt her sanity. It's a figment of my imagination, her troubled mind processed.
"May I come in?" asked her hallucination and without waiting for an answer, he, or rather it came through the door, lightly touching her shoulder while doing so.
Hallucinations don't talk, do they? She wondered while frowning. Okay, so maybe they do… but they can't move, right? She shook her head in a vain attempt to think clearly. And they definitely can't touch. The girl moved slowly, she closed her door and turned around. Not yet sure if she had imagined the whole thing, or not.
"Whoa! Akane," came a manly voice from inside. "What's that smell? Where you cooking?"
And that did it. No figment of MY imagination could be such a jerk. She decided with a deep frown plastered over her forehead as she started to walk towards her visitor.
"Ranma!" she yelled, annoyed; rolling her hands into fists as she felt an old and no longer familiar anger filling her up.
The man walked towards her after hearing her calling. "Hey!" he started with mock excitement. "You DO remember my name."
"What in the world are you doing here!"
Ranma cocked and eyebrow. "I'm glad to see you too Akane." He said with irony and then he turned around, going into the kitchen.
"Now, hold on a second!" the woman followed him.
"You were cooking." Ranma confirmed. "It looks like a tornado went through your kitchen." He stated amused while looking at the mess around him and a weird substance boiling over the stove.
"RANMA" the girl drawled dangerously.
"What?" He answered, looking as innocent as he could.
"What are you doing here?"
The man looked uncomfortable for a second, then he stuck his hands into his pockets. "Thought, I'd come by to say hello." He said with a shrug.
Akane couldn't do anything but stare.
"Hey… you got long hair." He pointed while tilting his head in examination of the woman standing in front of him. With no little surprise, Ranma noticed Akane's hair tied in a long braid that pretty much reached her waist. He hadn't seen it when he first walked in.
"WHAT?" She asked, baffled.
"I liked it short," he explained almost pouting. "And what are you wearing?" Ranma asked while signalling her outfit. It was for sure something only her oldest sister would wear.
"To say hello?" The girl asked not quite believing it and after ignoring his question.
"Yes, to say hi. You know," He said with a wave, trying desperately to get her to drop that subject. "Hey… you kinda look like Kasumi dressed like that."
But Akane wouldn't let it drop. She smiled wearily. "So one day you though 'Oh, I wonder what's up with the Tendos' and you decided it was a good idea to come by and say hello?"
"Well… yeah. It's been a while."
"A while?" Akane shook her head and gave a soft bitter chuckle. That's so you, Ranma. She thought a little bit amazed by him.
He just nodded.
"Ranma…" the girl started softly, her features showed no emotion. "It's been ten years… TEN years." She stated calmly.
Ranma fidgeted from his spot. "I know."
"¡No!" she spat, suddenly sounding hurt and angry. "You don't know."
"Akane…"
"Ten years Ranma, without a word. Without news from you… with not knowing…" The girl lowered her head. "..with no goodbye."
The easygoing smile the man had tried to keep since the door opened faded away without leaving traces… he felt the urge to get close and hold her but he didn't dare to do it. "I AM sorry about that." He said subdued.
"And you wanted to say hello?" The girl asked looking at him in the eyes.
Her voice was free of spite. It didn't even waver a little. But Ranma knew she was hurt… he knew he had hurt her.
"Yeah…" He answered with sorrow, starting to regret having thought, the stupid idea of going there ten years too late, wasn't really as stupid.
Akane Tendo nodded slowly. She wiped her hands over her apron trying to get back her composure. Ranma stared curiously at her. The image of his tomboy fiancée trying to control her lion's temper wasn't something he thought he'd live to see. He finally realized time had changed her… and then he regretted not having being there to see how it happened.
The woman took a deep calming breath and then she gave him a bittersweet smile. "Hello Ranma," she said softly.
He was confused for a second and then he understood. "Hello."
Akane Tendo stood proudly and bowed before leaving without looking back. She was sure her visitor knew the way out very well.
To be continued.