Konbanwa! Not much to write about, except that came up with an outline for the next story that I will be writing! If anyone wants to know what it will be about, feel free to say so in your review and I'll post it in the end of the next chapter.
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Ai Shite Nai Wake Ja Nai Chapter 7: Matter of Heart
Ranma began to awaken, ever so slowly. His muscles, still sore from his trek, no longer ached to the same extent as they did before. He could feel that he was no longer in the wilderness, since he was lying on a soft surface. A wet cloth of some sort was tenderly placed on his aching forehead and someone next to him was softly holding his hand. Ranma tried to open his eyes, but the wet cloth obscured his vision. It seemed that whoever was taking care of him did not know much about first-aid.
Ranma tried to sit up, but he was pushed down, and a familiar female voice dictated, "Ranma don't try getting up, you're still too weak." Why was Akane helping him? Had she read his letter, and now wanted him to get healthier so she could later kill him herself?
It seemed that Akane noticed the expression on his face, as she knelt down and quietly whispered, "Don't worry baka, I am not going to hurt you. Rest, we'll talk later." Ranma was not fully reassured by those words, but he closed his eyes and slowly drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
Once she was out of her room, Akane looked around. There was no one in the vicinity of the hallway. Good. She did not want to face the uncomfortable questions from the members of her family and Ryouga. She had tried not to pay attention to their questioning glances as she dragged an unconscious Ranma from the street into her room. The girl was severely injured. Akane had heated up a kettle of hot water, poured it onto the unconscious onna-Ranma, and tended to his wounds as carefully as she could, but unfortunately cracking a few of Ranma's ribs in the process.
She had no idea what her future with Ranma would hold. Her father had apologized to the miko and let her go, so the wedding was canceled - for now. Would Ranma try to deny his feelings again? Would she be able to say that she loved him? Would her father allow the engagement to pick up where it had been left off? Akane was full of questions. However, one thing was for sure: She would not allow Ranma to be separated from her again. The day had been very eventful, but exhausting at the same time. Akane walked to the furo and opened the door. She slowly undressed, descended into the warm water, and let her mind relax, trying to forget her troubles.
Once Nabiki heard the furo door close, she quietly edged to Akane's room and peered inside. Ranma was lying on Akane's bed, sleeping soundly. Nabiki made a quick note in her journal and drew back to her room. Once inside, Nabiki made a few phone calls to her associates. Business was going to be rising dramatically now that her biggest object of blackmailing had returned. She would make a fortune just by telling his other fiancées the details of his arrival. In addition, her dear younger sister would pay a respectable sum of money for not telling anyone how affectionately she was taking care of the fiancé whom she "despised". Not to mention the amount of money the entire population of Furinkan High School would be willing to pay to bet on which fiancé Akane would choose.
Nabiki made more notes in her journal trying to calculate how much profit each transaction would bring her. With the rate that the sum of her money was increasing at, Nabiki would soon become a billionaire. Lost in thought, she did not hear Kasumi downstairs, calling everyone for dinner. A few minutes later, the mercenary girl heard a soft knock on her door, which could only belong to her older sister. None of the other residents of the house bothered to knock.
"Come in," she said coldly, maintaining her ice queen demeanor.
Her older sister opened the door and stepped inside. "Nabiki-chan, dinner is ready," she announced in her gentle, motherly tone. She walked down the stairs and into the tearoom, closely followed by Nabiki. The family had already been seated; they were trying to pretend that nothing unusual had occurred, but Kasumi could feel the tense atmosphere in the room.
Soun Tendo appeared lost in thought, probably trying to comprehend the situation. Ryouga looked as if he had walked into the wrong house, fidgeting nervously in his seat. Akane was glancing upstairs every few seconds - Kasumi could see that her little sister was anxious to talk to Ranma. Only Nabiki's expression was blank, but then again, she never showed what was on her mind.
Kasumi put on her best smile and began to hand food out to everyone. Dinner was eaten in complete silence, as it had been every night since the Saotome family had left their household. No fighting, no loud chewing, no conversation, just quiet. Kasumi kept on smiling, but her mind was enveloped in turmoil. She had known for a long time that Akane had feelings for Ranma, but what would her little sister do now? Their father really wanted the new engagement to work out. Kasumi did not want to go against her father's wishes, but she wanted what was best for Akane.
She glanced over at her sister. Akane was trying to finish the gyoza as fast as she could, looking up at the second floor more and more often. Finally, after a few minutes of struggling, she quickly set down her plate and called out "Gochisosama!" as she hurried up the stairs.
Ryouga watched her withdraw upstairs. For him, the day had been a complete tragedy. When he had walked down to meet the miko with Akane, his heart had sunk. Akane did not want the wedding and he knew that. The thought of himself getting married on that day made his head spin. Mr. Tendo had only given them fifteen minutes; he could have waited until he and Akane had sorted everything out before he tried to marry them. However, every one of Ryouga's worst fears had come true when he'd seen Akane run out the door and into the streets.
When she'd returned, Ryouga had been both appalled and dumbfounded. Akane had come in carrying an unconscious Ranma, crying, but looking relieved and happy. Ryouga had not offered any assistance or tried to stop her. The battle for Akane's heart was over, and he had lost.
Upstairs, Akane slowly opened the door to her room and walked in. Ranma was no longer sleeping, but looking at the ceiling with a blank, distant look in his eyes. As she approached him, he snapped out of his state of mind and looked at her.
"Sorry, didn't see you come in," he mumbled under his breath. Akane sat down on a chair next the bed and took one of his hands into hers. He tensed up, but did not pull away. For the second time in that day, he questioned Akane's motives: a microscopic part of him faintly whispered to his mind, saying that Akane might care for him, but Ranma quickly silenced that voice by reminding himself of all the times Akane had admitted to despising him and malleted him out of Nerima.
Akane did not know what to do. She knew that if she said anything now, she would deeply regret it later since it would come out as an insult no matter how hard she would try to make it sound sincere. Now that she thought of it, that situation occurred every time she and Ranma had tried to have an ordinary conversation. Either that, or one of their suitors dropped by and ruined everything.
At that moment, she was not the only one who felt that way. Ranma desperately wanted to break the awkward silence by saying something nice to her. He looked up into Akane's hazel eyes, now at the verge of tears. The silence began to tear him apart inside. He had to do something, or Akane would begin to cry, and crying girls were one of the things that he, one of the most powerful martial artists on Earth, could not handle.
"Hey, Akane?"
"What?" She had not expected him to say anything and was stunned to hear how soft his voice was.
"Thank you for umm… fixing me up." Ranma lowered his head as much as he could have in his prone position, feeling a slight blush come to his face.
"Umm, you're welcome." Another awkward silence filled the room. This time, the silence was broken by the sound of Akane's crying. Unable control her rage, Akane knelt down and punched Ranma in the stomach with all of her strength. He winced at the sharp pain, taken aback at Akane's reaction.
"Why? Why did you leave me like that? Why, you baka?" she screamed at him standing up. Ranma did not reply, he simply returned to gazing at the ceiling with an agonized look on his face. Akane's knees gave in and she collapsed back into the chair sobbing quietly.
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Yes! I am so evil; this has to be my cruelest cliffhanger ever! I am sorry. I just felt that this had to be stopped right here. Please do not flame me, though I might deserve it. I'll make it up to you somehow, I promise. Hmm… I know! I will post the next chapter in 9 days. By the way, people who do not review my story but still read it, please review! The more reviews I will get, the faster I will post the newest chapters!
Firestorm2004: I wish I had that ability! Maybe, someday I will when I become a better writer.
Ranmakane4ever: Ranma was gone for a little bit more than a month.
Goku905041: The beginning of this chapter was inspired solely by you. Thanks!
My other reviewers: Thanks you so much for your reviews! The more of them I get, the faster my chapters will come out!
Sneak Peek at Chapter 8: The reactions of the other fiancées are revealed. Ranma and Akane finally admit their feelings for each other!