I'm back, and I've met my deadline! Barely. By the way, all of the Japanese places mentioned in this chapter are real; you can check the information yourself. You know, I was surprised that one of my regular readers reviewed the previous chapter; it must have been my lack of updating. Therefore, I will stop rambling and let you read on…

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Ai Shite Nai Wake Ja Nai Chapter 6: Within you, I lose myself. Without you, I find myself wanting to be lost again.

Ranma ran. For days, it had been this way. His knees felt as if they were on fire; he did not know how long he would be able to keep going. Despite everything, however, Ranma knew that he had to go on no matter what. Kodachi was still behind him in her leotard, spreading black rose petals on the ground as she shouted out random nonsense like: "I love you Ranma-sama!" and "We shall elope soon, my darling!"

The situation was getting on Ranma's nerves, especially the fact that he was still unable to get rid of the pursuing black rose - primarily because he was not able to outrun her carrying a massive pack on his shoulders. Nevertheless, now that he was back in Japan - subsequent to many hours of being followed by her across the Sea of Japan in a motorboat, while he tried to escape from her by swimming alone - Ranma considered himself lucky to be alive.

How he wished he could use a ki blast on Kodachi, and hopefully kill her, or at least injure her significantly. Then at least one obstacle that was keeping him away from a tranquil life would be gone. Ranma shook that thought out of his head: it was too much to hope for. He would never hit a girl, or any person who was weaker than he. No matter how sick and twisted they were.

For the next few hours, the phrase "I will not hit a girl, no matter what," had become a mantra to him. Concentrating on the phrase, Ranma did not notice a small boulder in his path and ungracefully tripped over it, flying face-first onto the dry road and swallowing a handful of dirt and dust. He got up and continued as if nothing happened, but the throbbing of his tired muscles increased greatly. He coughed up a portion of the dirt; his lungs were aching painfully, every breath like swallowing thousands of knives, and the razor-sharp ribbon was coming closer to him with every step. If Ranma was to survive, he would have to take action very soon. However, his destination was already coming into sight.

Surprisingly, occasionally listening to the monotonous lectures of his teachers, for once, proved useful in real life. One boring Wednesday afternoon, he had overheard a short part of a lecture about Mt. Fuji and the surrounding landscape, before falling asleep. Now the majestic silhouette of the mountain was looming on the horizon, and the lakes were slowly coming into view. The one he was heading toward, Lake Kawaguchi, was reflecting sunlight off its surface, making it shine with a radiant white light. Ranma, of course did not notice the divine appearance, as his mind was focused on other things.

While they'd been crossing the Sea of Japan, Kodachi had not noticed that he was a girl, because of his swimming speed and with his horrible luck, Ranma had fallen into a hot spring seconds after his arrival to Japan. However, if Ranma were to change now, he, or rather she, would be able to direct the crazed gymnast in some random direction and continue the rest of her journey peacefully, without fearing for her life.

Ranma hurled his pack into a nearby bush, hoping that Kodachi was too far away to notice, and braced himself for the change as he plunged into the cold waters of the lake. Thankfully, the lake was very shallow. As the wet girl emerged from the lake, she watched the gaze of the black rose turn from dumbfounded to confused to angry.

"What have you done to my precious Ranma-sama, you irritating girl?" the crazed gymnast fumed, looking around anxiously.

Ranma looked at Kodachi innocently, praying that her deep contempt was not visible on her face. After so many years of pursuit, the Kuno siblings were still unable to determine that he was the same person. Ranma-chan pointed to her right and said as nonchalantly as was possible at that moment, "I was just swimming in this lake! Try going in that direction." Ranma really, really hoped that Kodachi would fall for this. For once, her plan seemed to work.

Without even a brief thank you, Kodachi sped off in the wrong direction leaving a trail of black rose petals behind. Ranma smiled weakly and collapsed to the ground in a small heap. A passerby looking at her might have thought that the wet, bruised girl was dead. If he were deaf, that is: Ranma's snoring could have woken up a hibernating bear.

Many hours later Ranma awoke, cold and hungry. She noticed that night had fallen, and a cold wind was slapping at her back as if trying to rouse her. Her muscles were very sore from the running, but she stood up, retrieved her pack, and slowly began walking towards Nerima in spite of her pain. As dawn slowly approached, Ranma broke into a run.

Ranma was aware that her body still greatly desired sleep, however, she knew that she could not waste any more time. The clumsy tomboy might have gotten herself into trouble already. Ranma needed to see Akane; a feeling inside of her foretold a danger, and if she did not hurry, it would take her weeks to reach Tokyo. With that thought, she jumped onto the branch of the nearest tree and continued her long journey hopping on trees.

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Not far away, in the Nerima ward of Tokyo, inside the Tendo household, Akane was still recovering from shock. "No" she muttered softly under her breath. A wedding, so soon? How could her father do this to her? For the past minute Akane had been trying to get her father's words to sink in, but her mind turned numb, refusing to be penetrated with such information. She looked over at Ryouga; he had turned a sickly shade of green and looked like he was on the verge of fainting. Akane knew she had to do something to escape this terrible fate, but what would she be able to do? Her attempts at escape were futile, no matter what she did. She would never be able to dissuade her father from such an important decision unless something significant occurred. Something like… But no, it was impossible.

Akane's anger gradually turned to tears as she realized that nothing could be done by her alone to improve this situation. Therefore, Akane did what Ranma would have done at a moment like that: She ran. Akane knew it was a cowardly thing to do and it wouldn't make Soun change his mind. In the end, it would make things worse, but at that moment, Akane was well past caring.

Akane ran past the confused figure of her father, past the smiling miko, past a surprised Kasumi and a smirking Nabiki into the dark, gloomy streets of Nerima. She did not plan to go far. All Akane needed was some time to contemplate her new engagement and maybe think of an honorable way out. In that abrupt moment, Akane had forgotten that she was in Nerima, a place where chaos always prevailed no matter what the circumstances were.

As the sky slowly started to shift from a yellowish-red to a deep navy blue tone, she noticed a figure at the far end of the road. The figure seemed to be approaching her, but at a very slow speed. As the person approached her, Akane's heartbeat began to rise: She would recognize that redheaded figure anywhere.

"You're back," Akane whispered softly not caring that tears of joy were streaming freely down her face. All the agony and distress that had built up inside her over the past weeks had vanished almost instantaneously. She watched hopefully as Ranma ran closer and closer to her, forgetting of all the trouble for a brief, but happy moment.

Ranma did not know for how long she had been running, but she was out of the deep forests and had to be someplace in or very close to Tokyo. At the end of the road, a blue-haired girl was standing, but Ranma's mind was far too weary to determine who the girl was. Her only thought was to go on. However, as she approached the girl, her final strengths receded rapidly. Ranma gave in to her body's desire to stop as she reached the girl. She softly mumbled, "Help…" and collapsed into the girl's outstretched arms losing consciousness.

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Finally, I am done! Expect the next chapter in 10 days. And now for the review replies:

Firestorm2004: Thanks for the great review. I really wish that I can write an entire chapter and then proofread the whole thing at least five times in six days, but my teachers give us so much homework and it is almost impossible to get my parents of the Internet.

glazedlookineyes101: Your review made me laugh. (In a good way). I guess that Soun wants what is best for his girls, at least what is best in his opinion.

Soda-cola-pop: Thanks, for pointing out the mistake, I will try to fix it as soon as I can. I don't take your review as a flame, since I understand that nobody's perfect (especially me). I'm glad that you like my story though.

Meia: I'm also an RA fan, but I guess that's how my writing style is. Don't worry, I will add more people to the storyline in the next chapters.

Anonymous: Please sign in next time you review this, because I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

Sneak Peek at Chapter 7: Ranma wakes up. What is on the minds of everyone in the Tendo household?