Okay… there you go! Now this is where we left off. Next chapter will be a new one and not a repost.

EPIPHANY

'Finally home' I think while closing the Tendou's front door behind my back.

It is kind of late so I walk slowly trying to be as quiet as possible. I walk by the kitchen while mentally kicking myself for missing Kasumi's dinner. I really shouldn't have let Ray talk me into try her cooking after the lesson. Jeez that girl may not be as bad as Akane -no one is- but she is not that far behind either.

I sigh, freeing this weird feeling I have every time I think of Akane. Really… I never thought it was possible to feel homesick without leaving home.

"Ranma?"

I hear Kasumi calling so I turn around and find myself face to face with her smile.

"Hey Kasumi" I say a little bit nervous. "I'm sorry to get home this late. Something came up"

"Oh Don't worry" She replies and then a small frown draws on her face. "Isn't Akane with you?"

I do a double take at that. 'Akane? Why would she be with me?'

"No" I answer a little bit confused and kind of worried… who am I kidding? Really worried. "She is not home yet?"

"No" Kasumi answers sounding more confused than me. "She didn't came back from school… We all thought she was with you… since you both were gone"

That was bad… really bad. I feel my heart shrinking while different scenarios of what could have happened to her go through my head… They really weren't pretty at all.

"What?!" I mutter without thinking.

"Oh my! Ranma is really late where could she be?" Says Kasumi.

"Don't worry I'll find her" I say with determination and then I flee out of the house in search of the tomboy.

Damn… now she is missing. Anything could have happened to her and I found out she's not safe hours after she disappeared… this can't be good. I am really aching while thinking that I should have been there to protect her… that she shouldn't be in any danger… and that she might be in that very moment… And I can't help but feel that somehow this is all my fault.

I jump through the roofs desperately trying to find her… However, I don't have much time to feel guilty because I found her really soon… too soon actually. I see her already heading home.

I jump down in front of her without really thinking what I'm doing. I just feel so relieve. She doesn't notice me though.

"Akane!!" I call and then she looks at me.

"Oh" She says and then stares at me for a long beat. When I take a good look at her I realize something bad definitely happened to her. She seems somehow broken and lost… but it's all in her eyes. Trapped in them… I try to find any injuries or trails of attack, but I find none.

"Are you okay?" I ask, still dead worried for her and feeling so bad for whatever was that happened.

She looks deeply in my eyes and I can't help but feel a little bit uncomfortable. She is so sad and her eyes are still red and puffy from crying. I want to go there and hug her, but I can't really… It's not something she would want me to do.

She nods a response and then breaks eye contact with me.

"Are you sure?" I ask not really convinced.

"Yes. I'm okay all right" She answers suddenly sounding mad and looking directly at me again. Her eyes hold a look I've never seen before. There is a sad resigned determination. She looks fiery. She looks strong… and she is telling me to leave her alone… with that look she is telling me she doesn't need me.

Then I remember the past eight months and I start to get angry.

"Jeez Akane!!" I yell "How stupid can you be!?" She seems surprised at my reaction. "Don't you wear a watch or something? Or is it that you're so stupid you can't even read the time?" I can see her anger raising. "Don't you realize people got worried? Though, I wouldn't really know why anyone would worry over an uncute violent tomboy like yourself!"

She is angry. I can really see the rage growing in her eyes. But when she is about to insult me back… something happens and she stops.

It isn't really long before she speaks. But something really important must have happened, because in those few seconds I could see a battle in her eyes… a battle inside of her.

When she finally speaks she surprises the hell out of me. Just like she always does.

"I'm sorry if I got my family worried Ranma" She says evenly. And then starts to walk away from me. " And I'm really sorry they forced you to go and try to find me"

Ouch… that hurts "I'm sure you had more important things to do"

It takes a full minute before I get a grip of myself, then I start to feel like an idiot. Here I am… eight months longing for a chat with her and when I finally get the chance I blow it up putting my foot on my mouth again. God how much of a jerk can I be.

I follow her slowly and quietly for a long beat, until I gather the courage to say what I have to say.

"I'm sorry Akane" I tell her almost whispering. She stops in her tracks but doesn't turn around to look at me. That only makes me even more nervous. "I- I-- I shouldn't have said what I said" She keeps quiet. "Jeez… I really am a jerk" I finish defeated.

"Yes you are" She says walking away again. I immediately follow her with a frown on my forehead. It wasn't fair she attacked me I was apologizing after all. "But, that's who you are" She continues before I can stick my foot in my mouth again. "You can't apologize for being who you are" I really don't know how to take that… it doesn't sound like an insult though.

"What do you mean?" I ask her dubiously, this time walking by her side.

She looks at me and then gives me a tiny sad smile. I feel something warm growing inside me.

"I mean people should accept you the way you are…you know? The good and the bad… they should love you that way" She most definitely notices my panicked look, but she continues anyway. "If they don't" she stops looking at the night sky for a moment. "Well…they don't." She says simply. " You can't blame them for it and you definitely can't blame yourself." She looks down again. "You can't apologize for being who you are Ranma"

I just can't figure what to say… how can somebody sound so wise out of a sudden.

"Even if you are a jerk" She finishes with a small smirk. I look at her and can't help but smile too… that's why I fell for that girl. She's full of surprises.

We walk silently for a moment and then I decide to tell her. 'It's now or never' I tell myself.

"You know 'kane?" She just looks at me. "It's nice talking to you again"

Her eyes mist for a second, 'oh crap! Is she gonna cry?' I think. But then, she doesn't cry… she smiles again. That cute little smile that is so reassuring even if it holds some sadness.

"Yeah… it's been a while" She replies. An another beat follows her voice.

"So what was all that about?" I ask… I am still curious.

"What was what about?" She asks back.

"That speech of yours… that was deep." I really feel stupid saying that. "Where did it come from?"

She stops and looks at me once again. I realize she stopped partly because we are already at home.

"I don't know" She answers me sincerely… then she turns around. "I guess I had an epiphany" She finishes while entering her house.

I follow her and then we are both happily greeted by a relieved Kasumi.

"Oh my Akane! Where have you been?" Kasumi asks while giving Akane a huge hug. 'That's nice' I think. ' 'kane was looking like she needed a hug'

"I'm sorry sister. I didn't realize the time"

"Oh thank you Ranma. I was so worried" She says still hugging Akane.

"It was nothing. She was already heading home when I found her."

I look at the scene before me and decide the two girls need some time alone. Akane needs someone to talk with… and as much as I would like to be that someone, I am sure Kasumi is a much better candidate.

"Okay… I'm hitting the sack now. Bye Kasumi. Goodnight Akane" I say while making eye contact with my ex-fiancée.

"Goodbye Ranma" She says a little too solemn. I smile at her and then go upstairs to my room.

I wonder why she said goodbye for a second. It was weird, why couldn't she just say goodnight. Goodbye sounds too definitive… I don't like the sound of that word coming out of her mouth…

I forget about it soon enough, though. The memory of that little chat eats the bad feeling that goodbye left me… Epiphany she said… I would definitely look for the word in a dictionary first thing in the morning. I drift onto sleep wondering how that word is spelled and wanting to dream of her all night long.

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There you go!! I actually liked this one. Don't forget to tell me what you think!