She couldn't quite believe what she was seeing in front of her, it was like a dream, in fact, the whole situation felt like one and she didn't know if she wanted to keep dreaming… or if she wanted to wake up, still, she knew how special this whole day was, it was after all the day of her wedding with the person she loved, at least one of them… maybe? Her head was still going round and round, like when she was small and she and her sister rode the merry go round. It was that feeling of the world moving so fast around you, and not knowing if it was you or everyone else that was moving too fast.
That was the way she felt since coming back, that the world was spinning, or maybe it was herself. She was happy, that she could see her family once more, go to school, be herself once more, but it was the feeling that there was something missing in the world; everything looked the same, the same colors, the same people, but there was something that just felt out of place that she couldn't put a finger on.
Looking once more at the mirror in front of her she was in awe at the makeup that had been applied to her face; her older sister had made such an amazing job with it, making her eyes shine, her lips look fuller and make her look less like a tomboy and more like a model out of a magazine, it was perfect… so why couldn't she feel joy at what was going on?
She was going to marry the man that she loved… she loved Ranma, how not to love the one that did the impossible to save her with the cold water at Jusendo? But he was not the only one that did the impossible and even after she promised Ryoga that she will live her life to the fullest, she still didn't know if she was making the correct decision right now.
She knew this day was to celebrate, but she didn't quite feel up for it to be sincere, shouldn't she have a period of mourning or something? Did no one care that Ryoga was dead? Everyone was acting as if it didn't matter, her own father had simply blinked at the story, but just a couple of hours later he just went on, ready to celebrate their return.
Even Kasumi, the one person she knew had the biggest heart just… went ahead as if nothing had happened, how could they all just ignore what Ryoga had done? They were cheapening his memory and now she understood what he had told her, about no one mourning his death, and maybe… maybe in other circumstances she would have acted the same way?
Not even Mr. Saotome seemed to be affected by the death of Ryoga, and he had been there, he had seen the statue that had been left, he had simply said something to Ranma, something about the tragedy of losing a rival, but that there would be more and he shouldn't worry.
Akane had never seen Ranma so angry at his father before, both Akane and her father had to restrain him after he had all but tackled his father and began to hit him without stopping. At least she knew that Ranma was mourning, at least in his own way remembering his friend and rival in the art… and her heart. She felt so dumb, seriously, did everyone except herself knew about it? Well, after seeing everyone in her house avoid her gaze a few days after returning once she asked if anyone knew of Ryoga's feelings for her, it was clear that she was the only one around that had been blind to that.
Guess that all this time she had been completely obsessed with her relationship with Ranma, or lack of considering how they acted all the time, and now here she was, dressed in her new wedding gown… forced to wear it? She didn't know really, she still felt so lost, so out of place, not knowing how to return to a normal life, or whatever passed for normal in Nerima.
At the sound of the door opening, Akane finally snapped out of her thoughts and saw Ranma enter the room, basically pushed inside by none other than both of their fathers, obviously taking great pleasure at their martial art schools finally uniting. Still, she had to admit that Ranma looked nice, if a little awkward on his white tuxedo, looking a little lost and completely shocked, then he just turned around, not knowing exactly where to look at, guess Kasumi had done a great job with her dress and makeup to get a reaction like that; seeing him awkwardly say hello, not knowing what to do with his hands, plus the small blush on his face made Akane smile, it was just so adorable to get that kind of reaction from Ranma.
"So, what are you doing in that dress?"
"Ranma, don't act like an idiot, you know why I am in a dress and you in a tuxedo," really, the cursed boy couldn't be honest to save his life.
"Yeah, well, those two decided to knock me and dress me like this without even telling me what they were planning," seemed that he was finally relaxing at telling the way in which they finally 'convinced' him, not that it surprised Akane; since they came back from China their parents had been extra pushy when it came to their betrothal, this time they just pulled all stops and finally decided to marry them.
"Well, it was a good thing that they didn't knock something inside that head of yours like last time, or you would have probably asked to be the one in this dress," seeing his face go completely pale at the memory of the 'ultra feminine' Ranma accident made her chuckle. How bizarre, since they came back from China she has found herself with a lot more confidence to simply, well, tease Ranma a little bit more, talk with him. Weird what a close death encounter would do to someone, not to mention a promise made to the man who gave up his own life for her.
The two finally calmed down and after staring at each for a couple of seconds, Ranma began to scratch at something behind his neck, in a pose very familiar to her, it seems that Ranma had taken a couple of mannerisms from his friend.
"Err, look, I… are you alright? Do you… do you want to go on with this? I mean, those two didn't even ask me if I was alright with it, so I can see them doing something similar to you, just with less punches really," how weird, seems that even Ranma could see how bizarre all of this was. Sure, she wouldn't mind getting married someday, it was one of her dreams, and now she had finally the courage to one day make it true, but right now… now her heart wasn't really in the right place for her to do something like this, and apparently Ranma knew that, he had seemed to know since the moment they came back, that her heart was broken in two pieces and that one of those pieces had been left behind, at the side of a statue that will forever remain alone.
She knew that she hadn't yet recovered, not yet and she didn't know when she would be ready to move on, but she knew that it wasn't going to be today. It hadn't been easy for either of them, with the two almost wishing the next time they rounded a corner they would find a young boy with a huge backpack looking at a map, wondering where he was now. Just two days ago both had gone out, to walk and talk, to get out of the house and just as they were walking, at the other side of the train tracks she could swear she had seen him, but once the train passed, there was only a person wearing a mustard colored sweater. Akane didn't know why, but the desire to cry had overwhelmed her, so they stood there, with Ranma's hand on her back as tears continued to fall.
"I… don't know Ranma, I thought I was, I thought that I wanted to marry, to finally leave all this back and forth behind us, but I know we are just rushing ahead onto something we don't yet understand… I wish I was able to explain it better." And someone, Ranma's face showed that he had at least understood what she was trying to say, just not entirely.
"I think so? I mean, we are still in High School and all that, you know? I mean, well, dammit, why is it always so hard to talk about stupid feelings?" His face showed his annoyance, something Akane had become used to see after all the fights and misunderstandings that happened around them all the time, it was clear that he was trying to finally break through the teachings of his father; she understood now that he was trying to become better at expressing himself, specially after everything that had happened, but it was still instinctual to simply clam up, to not be seen as unmanly, and it was something they will have to keep on working.
Looking at him, not knowing how to express himself made Akane want to help him, but before she could say something she felt something that almost made her fall to the floor; it took several seconds for her to finally recover from such a feeling, finding herself being held up by Ranma, who's face showed such raw fear, but she was fine, she just needed to breath.
She wasn't in pain, it just felt as if something had been pulling at her, something inside her heart, a feeling, but what was it? For days she had this feeling inside her, like an arrow pointing in a direction, so far away, and now, for some reason, that feeling had grown in intensity.
It was a sensation that began to encompass her whole buddy, filling her with so much love that it had been overwhelming, but she wasn't afraid, not now, and something inside of her told her she knew what she was feeling, that she knew this presence. Just as Ranma began to truly panic, Akane finally recognized this feeling, what was the source of it, what she could now understand as the presence of someone else, someone she thought she would never see, and it was getting closer… no, he was here.
At the moment she understood what she was feeling, the door of the room where they were was suddenly opened, making both teenagers almost jump out of their skin; they both turned to the source of the noise, expecting their parents, ready to all but shove them into the altar, but instead, right at the door threshold there was someone they didn't recognize, something that was just completely impossible.
Right there, in front of them, breathing deeply as if she had been running non-stop, was Tendo Akane, or at least someone that looked so incredibly similar to her. Her hair may be longer, almost reaching her shoulders, but it was the same color shade, that same black bluish tone, it was the same silk-like look and shine that Ranma loved and that he had wanted to touch since he had known her, only that he had always fought the part of him that found her attractive, all because of his insecurities and pride. The girl's eyes were almost the same shade of brown, but there were subtle differences, enough to make them realize that this girl was not a clone, because while Akane was cute, this girl had a more angular face instead of the heart shaped one of Akane; if there was a way to explain it, Akane was more idol cute, while this girl was more runway model, someone that could easily appear on the cover of magazines.
To give strength to the comparison, the way the girl was dressed really differentiated both girls, with Akane having a more compact, well proportioned body, fitting her cute but slightly tomboyish appearance. In contrast, the body of the newcomer was just made of pure curves, with her almost skin tight black and gold cheongsam with an embroidered golden dragon accentuating every single curve of her body, from her pronounced hips to the rather bountiful shape of her chest; the beautiful stockings on her long legs finished her attire and both teenagers had to reboot their brains after such an apparition.
It was probably the first time in her life that Akane had felt like this, sure, she had met many beautiful girls in the different adventures that she had, but this time? Well, it was slightly embarrassing, because this was the first time that not only she knew objectively that the other girl was attractive, it was also the first time she had FELT attracted to another girl.
But it was more than that, this feeling was not just because she found the other girl pretty, gorgeous really, it was the feeling that she could finally breathe again, because she knew who this other person was, she knew the name and like one, both girls ran into each other's arms, embracing in the middle of the room, leaving Ranma completely confused.
"Hey Akane," the beautiful girl that looked like her smiled and she noticed the one thing missing for her to finally acknowledge this feeling, this certainty of knowing exactly who this girl was, after all, those cute little fangs were a dead giveaway.
"Welcome home Ryoga," behind them, completely shocked at what had just happened was Saotome Ranma, not understanding what the hell was going on.