Chapter 6: Anterior
Akane did not move from where she fell, but her eyes were wide in shock. Ranma looked at Saffron and he was smiling as if he had killed them both. Ranma looked back at Akane and her look of shock had not changed. Lord Saffron began laughing hysterically before speaking again.
"Well, my job here is done. Not exactly what I had in mind, but I can still go to your city in Japan and kill you and your friends."
Ranma growled. What were they all looking at? She pointed at him and screamed at the top of her lungs. "What the fuck are you laughing at?"
Then she realized what was so hilarious to Saffron, and devastating to Akane. Ranma took her hand to her mouth and then her throat.
The worst had happened.
"My voice…it changed…"
Ranma turned to face Akane and saw her approaching her. She stood in front of her and shook her head.
"Ranma! No!" she began. "There is no cure! I told you to leave it up to me!"
"Akane," she said, hearing the familiar voice emanating from herself, again.
"You will never be a man again!"
Ranma's heart beat faster, and she felt the adrenaline that had taken over her to save Akane, quickly leaving her.
"Ranma, you have to go."
"I can't…" he hated her voice. She loved it when it came from the woman in front of her, but it was unnatural to come from her.
"There's nothing else you can do here. Your manhood…is gone."
"NO! AKANE, you're all I have!" she screamed and held on to Akane, but she knew that she was done. There was nothing else she could do to help her, or anyone, even herself. She had been reduced from a man, to a half man, to now…a full woman. A woman that was half a red pigtailed girl, and half…
Akane grabbed Ranma's hand and held it close to her heart. "Warn the others; warn them of Saffron's plan."
"Akane, please."
"Ryoko…"
"What?"
"…Homu…"
"Akane, what are you doing?"
"…Pasu."
Akane finished her chant, which caused Ranma to begin feeling warmth around her. She looked at Akane and then at Saffron, who still had a smug smile on his face. She looked down and saw her body was disappearing. She felt the pull of something, far away from her and she panicked. She tried to hold on to Akane but her hands would just go right through her.
"Akane, what did you do to me?"
"Sending you home. Warn them all, Ranma. It's up to you now."
"NO! AKANE! DON'T SEND ME HOME! LET ME STAY!"
"Ranma, I can hold my own. Don't worry. I had a great sensei."
Ranma tried desperately to hold on to anything, but her form was almost gone from sight.
"AAAKKAAANEEEE, I BEG YOUUUU!"
"Bye, Ranma."
And Ranma was gone.
Akane blinked back the tears that had formed in her eyes. It was done. She had sent Ranma back to Nerima, and unless she was able to defeat the Prince of the Phoenix people, she would never see Ranma again.
"That was very desperate of you, Captain. Are you afraid of what I would do to him?"
"Afraid?" she scoffed. "He had no business here. This is my fight, remember?"
"I think you just didn't want him to see you lose."
Akane swallowed hard, still staring at the spot Ranma had been standing on, just seconds ago. Just over a week ago, they had been enjoying each other's company, just as before –even if she did not remember it at the time, and now he was gone. She blamed herself for letting it get that far. If she had just sent him back before Saffron knew of his presence in battle, she could have prevented him losing the last trace of his manhood. Akane felt fresh tears falling from her eyes again, but she wiped them with the back of her clawed hand.
"Your freak just left, and you already miss him? What is it with you, landlings, and your ridiculous emotions?"
Akane's head snapped, facing Saffron. "Don't call him a freak. That landling defeated you last time, and this," she said pointing at herself, "this landling will defeat you this time."
Saffron chuckled at her quick defense of Ranma, attempting to mask his true feeling: jealousy. He stared at her stance, relaxed but aware. It reminded him of the stance Ranma used when he fought him. Even though she was currently using the body of her cursed form, she still resembled Ranma. Her attitude, her words, her will to sacrifice her life for his…it was a painful reminder that this woman in front him was still loyal to his enemy.
The rain had increased just the slightest, affecting his servants by turning them back into their human forms. None of them would be a match for him –not that they had before, so he knew that it was just her against him. He had wasted the water of the spring of the Drowned Akane on Ranma, so that strategy was out of the way, for now. He would have to resort to calling on the nature techniques and somehow douse her with hot water, once the rain stopped. She had given him a good fight while still in her Akane form, but he knew that her inability to fly in her human form would prove a great disadvantage for her.
His intention was not to end her life. His intention was to neutralize her long enough to make her see that Ranma had nothing to offer her, anymore. Now that he was not a man anymore, her feelings for him were obsolete. How he had lost control of her, he did not know. Yet, he knew that regaining it would be possible, if given the appropriate time.
He walked up to her, taking small steps as he did so. She did not move from where she stood, but she extended her hand to call on the Gekkaja. As he neared her, he called on the Kinjakan, and held it in his hand. The tools of the sacred water taps had been entrusted to them, and each one had been bonded with their own tool. When he was but inches away from her, he lifted his free hand and used it to caress her face.
"Why do you fight me? Have you forgotten what happened between us?"
Akane did not move but she frowned at him. Just months ago, his touch would have sent her down to her knees, but now that her memories were back, all she felt for the man in front of her was revulsion.
"Whatever happened does not mean anything to me anymore, nor did it ever to you. I know you just used to me to get to him. But I will not let you touch him. Your plan will not see the day of light, I can assure you that."
Saffron chuckled at her determination to protect the landling she had just sent back home, without his consent. He stuck the Kinjakan on the ground, allowing his other hand to be free. He then lifted his hand and cupped Akane's face with both of his hands.
"You're almost correct, my dear. I can kiss my army of landlings goodbye, but he has just become another one of those imbecile, weaklings your race is filled with. He is no longer invincible; and I'm still immortal. I can crush him with my bare hands, and I can make you watch."
Akane glared at Saffron, knowing what he was thinking. He had asked Akane to earn Ranma's trust so that she could create a spring of the Drowned Ranma. With the new powers he had discovered in his last rebirth, he was able to create more powerful cursed springs; springs that would take in not only the physical look of a person who fell in them, but also the same abilities, emotions and memories of the poor soul who fell inside. He planned to create his own army of Ranma soldiers, under his command thanks to the power of the surikomi eggs. He would extract his memories; learn his entire being, including his techniques and weaknesses. Anything he could get his hands on that would serve him in having his revenge. He had never been one to thirst taking over the world, but he had planned to travel to Nerima and destroy the one place Ranma called home.
What Saffron was not aware of, was that Akane had been able to create the spring, but had held it a secret from him when she began realizing that perhaps her Lord was wrong. Her Lord had tried to convince her that Ranma was the real enemy of their kind. He had brainwashed her into believing that her deficiencies as a Phoenix had been his doing. He had gone as far as planting the seed of hate towards him when he had informed her that Ranma had been the reason his last rebirth had failed.
What was she to do, a woman in love with her Lord? What was she to believe, but the words of the man who had made her body tremble? She had believed that the way Lord Saffron treated her, was the normal way a woman was supposed to be treated by the man that she loved. However, after meeting Ranma, all of that changed. He had been so kind, and gentle with her, but also believed she could handle herself. He had been protective, and treated her with respect; attributes that Lord Saffron was not even aware existed. Now that she knew she was not Kiima, but Akane Tendo –Ranma Saotome's fiancée, her hopes that she would ever find a man like Ranma could come true. Someone out there who would return her love, did exist.
"Words. All you have is your words. They don't scare me, Saffron. You don't scare me. You can't hurt me with words."
Saffron narrowed his eyes at her, sensing she was feeling many emotions, but fear was not one of them. Had she not had her memories returned to her, she would have been on her knees, begging for his forgiveness by now. Yet, she stood near him, allowing him to touch her, without a trace of fright in her eyes. It reminded him of why he had allowed her to stay after he found out who she really was.
After he had been killed by Ranma, he was reborn just a few days after that. Akane, posing as Kiima, had been there to sooth him and raise him until after six months he was able to go through his first rebirth of this life. She cared for him, day and night, until his second egg broke and he awoke as a ten-year old boy. She took the time to teach him the Phoenix ways, train with him, teaching him everything he knew. After six more months, his second rebirth occurred, and his egg broke to show a 20-year old man. She continued her teachings with him, and he became close to her. As a kid, he only saw her as a loyal servant who behaved as his babysitter and mentor. However, when he was reborn as a man, he started seeing her as a woman who would help carry on his legacy. He was the last member of the royal family of the Phoenix tribe; he had to assure the continuation of his species for generations to come.
His hopes were crushed when his servants did everything they could to steer him away from making her his wife. He could not understand why, a woman so suitable to be his queen, was labeled as unfit for the job. She had found a way to speed up his rebirth process, for Pete's sake! What in the world made her so unfit? It took him many weeks of probing, but he was finally told the truth about his Captain: she was not a pure Phoenix. In fact, she was not a Phoenix at all. He had been devastated, knowing that his anticipations of preserving his kind were based on false hope. As a way to prove their story to Saffron, his people challenging him to use the Jinsei Kako spell to return the memories of his past lives to him.
After a few days considering it, he finally used the spell and he was able to recall his fight with Ranma, and how the woman he thought was his Captain was actually his enemy's love interest. He was informed that the real Captain had perished in battle, and that for lack of better options, and under the departed Captain's orders, they kidnapped the Tendo girl and took her in as one of their own. They had expected her usefulness to quickly end, but when she proved to be a good leader and warrior for them, they let her stick around. Eventually, she would become a feared and respected member of their tribe, which was heightened when Lord Saffron began showing signs of his feelings for her. When he had announced to his oldest advisor of his intentions to wed, he had been told his wishes could not be fulfilled. After his memories returned to him, he made a vow to kill the man who had caused his premature demise, and to destroy everything he held dear. Partially, due to his insults to his being, but also because he held the heart of the woman he could never be with.
When he learned that Akane was the person his enemy cared for the most in his life, his hatred of Ranma increased. Not only had that human made a fool out of him, had dared traveled to his lands, destroyed his belongings, and embarrass his people, but he had also managed to end his life. And all for what? To save his beloved. The woman who clearly reciprocated his love, to the point of risking her life for his. The woman who had experienced the pain of having the water in her body evaporated out of her insides, and still fought by Ranma's side, as a measly doll. The woman who showed Ranma the way to place the final blow on his heart. The woman who had placed all her efforts in supporting her fiancée in his fight, to the point of standing up to a demigod that was twenty times her size.
"That's what I loved about her, the fire she carried inside." Lord Saffron thought, still holding her in his hands.
"Not all is lost, Captain. We can end this fight here, without the need to end your life. If you give up right now, I'll leave the landling out of it. Losing you and his manhood are punishment enough."
Akane chuckled. "You really don't know what I am capable of, Saffron. I'll make sure to give Ranma your regards when I go back to him."
Saffron's patience was running thin. He removed his hands from her face, and immediately slapped her on the face, throwing her on the ground. Akane wasted no time and rolled away from him, twirling the Gekkaja in her hand. "You know, I kissed the landling before I sent him back."
Saffron frowned, picking up his own tool from the ground and took a few steps back.
"I knew you were a filthy whore."
"Perhaps, but he proved to me one thing about you."
"What is that?"
"You're a lousy kisser."
Saffron reacted by pointing the Kinjakan towards her and threw a large flame towards her. She jumped in the air and used the Gekkaja to surround the ball of fire in a cube of ice, effectively dissipating Saffron's jealousy-fueled attack. He jumped in the air towards her and threw another fireball at her. She called on the power of her tool and twirled it in front of her, creating a barrier of ice that protected her from the flame. Saffron, however, had used it as a distraction, appearing behind her and hit her back with his own tool.
Akane screamed in pain as she was sent flying down to the ground, hitting the rocky surroundings with a loud thud, and then bouncing a couple of times until she was able to stop. She used the tool to push herself up, staring at the sky to search for Saffron. He had wasted no time in flying down towards her, attempting to catch her off-guard while she was still down. Akane fell to her knees, still disoriented after her crash, and stuck the Gekkaja in the ground, in front of her.
"Kaminari!" she screamed, invoking a bolt of lightning from the skies, falling directly on Saffron as he had almost reached her. Saffron fell to the ground, grinding his teeth as the electricity ran through his muscles, leaving him on all fours and smoking from his slightly charred clothes.
She pulled herself up by grabbing on the Gekkaja. When her hands reached the high parts of the tool, she propelled her body to twirl and aimed her kick towards Saffron's face. Just as Ranma had predicted, the Lord was weak to regular brute strength. Her kick made him fly backwards and land on his face, covering it with mud.
Taking a page of his book, Akane jumped in the air and aimed her wings at the fallen Lord, calling on her trademark Thousand Wings of the Seabird Attack, effectively pushing the Lord back to the ground, making his face stain with the mud he had just finished wiping off. He crouched over and screamed as his body became a human torch, effectively deflecting Akane's attack.
Akane attempted to fly towards him to attack him again, but Saffron turned around and pointed his tool at the sky.
"Tatsumaki!" he yelled, and before Akane could react, her body was engulfed in a fiery tornado. The powerful winds were making it difficult to breath, and her body began being slammed by the debris that lay on the floor, including the body parts of her fallen Phoenix soldiers. Saffron took this chance to lift himself from the ground, concentrating in making the tornado more powerful, hoping to suffocate her to death.
Akane opened her mouth, trying to get air into her lungs, but her attempts did not work. She began feeling dizzy and she clawed her throat in desperation at finding the much-needed air. "I can't die like this. I have to… Ranma. Ranma is counting on me."
She closed her eyes to concentrate, and used the last of her energy to call on the only technique she knew had the chance to get her out of her predicament.
"Itai Danketsu Sa Seru"
Her body became limp, floating in the eye of the twister. Saffron saw her defeated stance, and smiled knowing he had bested his mentor. His victory was short-lived, though, as Akane's spell began taking effect on him. He began feeling his lungs burn with the lack of air, the same feeling Akane had before she blacked out.
"What is happening to me?"
He dropped his tool to claw at his chest and throat, feeling the desperation of having the air sucked out of his being. He fell on the ground and lost concentration of his creation. The tornado disappeared, allowing Akane to free-fall to the ground, making a crater to mark her landing spot. As soon as Akane' lungs began filling with air, so did Saffron's. She slowly opened her eyes, relishing the feeling of oxygen filling her body again. She knew that Saffron would be confused and affected as well as a direct result of the incantation she had just used on him.
Akane took a few more deep breaths before she rolled to her side and began pushing herself up from the ground. "That…son a bitch. He almost killed me."
She coughed as she stood again, a little wobbly but ready to fight. She called on the Gekkaja, and the tool obediently flew towards her hands. As soon as she held on to the weapon, she pressed the latches on it, effectively splitting the Gekkaja in two. She used her hands to twirls the two parts, and blades came out of both ends of each part, turning the staff into two, double-bladed swords.
By now, Saffron was recovering from his sudden weakness, but lay on all fours. He took deep breaths, his eyes widened in shock and confusion at what had just occurred. Akane had used a spell to transfer her pain to him, so that whatever she felt, he felt. Now that her life was no longer in danger, the spell had begun to wear off. He heard footsteps coming closer to him, so he looked up and saw Akane walking towards him. He extended his arm to reach for Kinjakan, but Akane noticed his intent and stopped him by twirling her swords in front of her, sending waves of blades towards him. One blade missed him by an inch, but the other cut his face and threw the Kinjakan farther away from him.
Saffron smiled at her, wiping the blood of his cut. "It seems I have underestimated you, bitch. Now you will see what the real power of the Lord of the Phoenix tribe can do to a scrawny human like you."
Akane returned the smile. "This scrawny human has you on your knees, my Lord."
Saffron growled as he stood up and began shinning. The light he was emanating increased to the point that Akane was not able to see anything and had to close her eyes. When she opened them again, Saffron was inches away from her with the Kinjakan in his hands. He held the tool on both of his hands, extended horizontally. He used it to push Akane to the ground, making her lose the grip on her swords. He made them land on the ground, his weight crushing on her body as he used the Kinjakan to press on her neck and keep her arms pinned between the tool and ground.
"Do you remember the last time I was on you, like this?"
Akane coughed and wiggled under him, remembering what he had meant. He had done something similar to her the night he had tried to take her by force. Thankfully, for her, it had been the exact same night Ranma had arrived back in China, and when his soldiers had advised him of such, he had stopped his assault on her, and had sent her to begin her spying on the man.
Akane wanted to scream, but with her throat being crushed by all the anger of this man, all she could was making choking sounds. "Ranma can't save you this time. You sent him back to Japan."
Akane's eyes became red, her veins popping up on her neck and face. "What are you going to do now, wench?"
Akane closed her eyes, calling on nature to help her. She began feeling her lungs fill with water, and her ears, nose and mouth began leaking water as well. Saffron saw the odd behavior under him, wondering what the woman was up to now. Before his eyes, Akane's body turned transparent until she looked like a giant blob. Her body melted to the ground, turning into water, splashing him on the face, and making him fall on his face when she was no longer there to pin down. The water that remained under him attached to his clothes, and traveled through the fabric until it gathered on his back. Once the puddle of water regrouped on his back, it solidified and reshaped as Akane. She sat on him, holding her weight on one knee, with her arm extended in front other. She called one of the swords of Gekkaja before stabbing him with it through his back.
Saffron cried in pain when he felt the blade pierce his body, and let go of the Kinjakan. Akane side-somersaulted away from him using one hand over his head as a catapult. She then used her free hand to grab the Kinjakan he had released in his pain, and then jumped away from him, holding his tool in her hand. She used the Kinjakan and pointed the tool at her sword that was still on the ground. She commanded the Kinjakan to enchant both swords to disappear, before she snatched the Kinjakan in half and clashed the two parts, making it disappear.
Saffron, who spat blood when the sword disappeared from his back, looked up just in time to see her place a binding spell on the two tools of the sacred bath. With the binding she had just completed, neither of them would be able to use the tools against each other until she completed an unbinding ceremony to release the tools.
"What have you done?"
"I was getting fucking tired of your stick! Why don't you fight me like a man?"
Saffron knew that both of their powers were decreased by the loss of the tools. The tools aided them in enhancing their magical powers and channeling their energy to perform powerful incantations in a faster and more efficient manner. Now that she had bound the tools, all they had left to use was their Phoenix magic and fists to fight each other.
Saffron stood up and took a few steps back from her, looking at her up and down. He had always known that the Captain had been the best soldier of his ranks, but he had never seen her fight so vehemently. He locked his eyes with hers and saw it again: the same fire in her eyes he knew she must have had, if she had not been a doll, when aiding Ranma win the fight. This was why he wanted her. This was why he kept her around. He had never met a woman who would throw herself into battle, so passionately, as she had.
"Ranma said Saffron couldn't have won a drunken bar fight. I have to do it. I have to beat him with my bare hands."
"Captain, how do you expect to defeat me now? How can you, a half Phoenix, defeat the greatest Phoenix there ever was?"
"Why don't you shut your mouth and come find out how?"
Saffron jumped towards her and attempted to punch her face. She easily evaded him and twirled around him, aiming a kick to his back. Saffron extended his arm behind him and caught her foot, sending her flying at a great speed towards the castle. Her back hit the walls of the castle, leaving a Kiima-shaped hole on its path. Akane kept flying, crashing a couple more walls before her momentum stopped. She moaned in pain as she forced her body to shake off the ache. She opened her eyes and saw Saffron coming down on her, ready to knee her on her head. She reacted by pulling her legs closer to her chest and then propelling them in the air to kick Saffron off her before he was able to touch her.
He flew backwards but opened his wings wide to create a gust of wind to stop him from going far. Akane got up and flew towards him, both punching and kicking each other, landing a few hits in the act.
After landing a few kicks, Akane began avoiding Saffron's attempts to hit her, and fought only with defensive attacks. Saffron followed her, his anger increasing with every missed punch. She remained as calm as possible, guiding him to where she wanted him to be. Once he reached the center of the aerial spiral she had been leading him into, she stopped, allowed him to get closer to her, lifted her fist in the air and screamed.
"Hiryu Shoten Ha!"
Saffron's eyes widened when he heard the familiar words. He looked down and saw the dragon rising up from the ground, wrapping itself around him, and taking up to the sky before exploding in a massive release of energy. The blast had been so intense that the walls of the palace crumbled, and fell under their own weight. Akane, still floating above the whirlwind of energy, aimed her left arm below her, and held her hand in place by surrounding her wrist with her right hand.
"Shi Shi Hokodan!"
She screamed the name of the technique as she produced one ball of energy after the other, bombarding the already fallen structure until the mountain collapsed. After the dust settled, the once proud Phoenix Mountain was reduced to a pile of rubble and ash.
Akane stared at her work, hoping it had been enough to stop the Lord of the Phoenix tribe. She slowly allowed herself to come back to the ground, kneeling when she finally reached it. She took in quick breaths, and begun to feel the effects of releasing so much energy at once. She wiped the sweat and blood from her face, praying she did not have to fight anymore. The silence around her told her the rain had finally stopped, and the first rays of the sun could be seen slowly coming up. She allowed herself sport a small smile. Ranma would have been so proud of her if he had seen her fight just now.
She waited a few more minutes for any sign of Saffron but when nothing occurred, she stood up and began walking away from the battleground. She took a few steps before she felt her back hit by a wave of water, sending her skidding on the ground until her body hit a boulder that lay on her path. She felt the water filling her mouth and nostrils, so she called on the fire technique to evaporate the wave surrounding her. For some reason, the technique would not come to her as easily as before, but after a few more seconds, she was finally able to invoke it. The water disappeared and she gasped for air. Saffron stood a few feet away from her, panting as much as she was.
"You still want more?" she asked, before her eyes widened.
She stared at her hands and realized her claws were gone. She took one hand to her teeth and her fangs had disappeared as well. She then looked behind her and her wings were no more. And her voice, her voice had changed. It had returned back to her old Akane-self.
"That water…that was cursed water….my Phoenix form…it's gone…"
Not allowing her to recover from the shock, Saffron ran towards her and began his assault. He punched, kicked, and clawed her nonstop. Her clothes began to tear, and she could feel dozens of cuts appearing on her skin. Her head was flipped side to side by his punches, and she could feel the pain of cracked ribs on her abdomen. His kicks were more menacing than before, holding nothing back.
"He's gonna kill me."
Akane felt the pain of her sprained ankle return, now that her Phoenix form was gone. Her strength and magic had been severely reduced by the loss of her curse. She hit herself mentally for allowing herself to be tricked into losing the only advantage she had. She did not attempt to defend herself or stop Saffron from using all his strength to convert her into his personal punching bag. She felt tears run down her cheeks, forcing herself to think of Ranma to ignore the pain.
"Ranma, I've let you down. I never even told you how I felt about you."
Akane's greatest pain came from knowing that once Saffron was done having his way with her, he would waste no time in heading to Nerima and ending his and her family's life. She had let them down; it was all up to Ranma now. "Be strong, Ranma."
After Saffron had his fill of revenge, he stopped hitting her, and her body fell, face down, as soon as he removed himself from her. Akane lay on the ground, unmoving as a new wave of pain hit her body. She could feel every cut, every bruise, every broken rib, and every broken bone in her body. She painfully moved her face to the side so that she could cough up blood. There was no way she could defeat him now. The only advantage she had left was that he was too tired to do anything else but direct attacks. Even though his body could not handle direct attacks himself, her body was in no shape to fight back to the level that was required to defeat him.
She stared at nothing in particular as she remained on the ground, tasting her own blood in her mouth. She heard Saffron fall to his knees on the ground, obviously still exhausted after the ordeal she had made him go through. What else could she do? Even if she had the ability to hit him one last time, what good would it do? He would be reborn in a few days, and she would be powerless to stop him with her human body. She would have time for nothing else, but to die. She could not reach Nerima in time. She could not hide and wait to recover to fight him back because he would make it to Japan before she was able to regain the ability to hold up her own chopsticks again.
Had it all been for naught? What had she been thinking, attempting to take on a demigod? She was only a girl from a small town, who had ended up in China against her will. What good had she done? Delay the inevitable, perhaps, but she had not done anyone any favors. Saffron would still kill her. Saffron would still go to Japan. He would still get his way, and all she could do was watch until he decided to end her life.
She closed her eyes, forcing her mind to remember the happiest memory she could think of at the time. If she was going to leave this world, she wanted it to be while her mind wandered away from the pain she was sure to experience once Saffron recovered from his comeback. She could almost see the images, slowly forming in her brain. She could almost feel the cold breeze on her rooftop. She saw the stairs twinkled about them, as they lay above her room, talking about the events that had transpired that day.
Ranma and Akane lay above her room after he had knocked her window in the middle of the night. At first, she had been reluctant to opening it up at all, but after seeing his pleading face, she could not resist for long. He offered his hand to lift her up to the roof, and she allowed him the pleasure of feeling as if he was being a strong man for her.
They had been silent for a while, and just stared at the dark sky. She was beginning to get chilly, so she hoped Ranma would soon tell her what he had woken her up for tonight. After a few more minutes, he finally started the conversation he had in his mind.
"It was a crazy couple of days, eh, Akane? Me engaged to Nabiki?"
"Crazy for you or for me?"
"For both? Didn't it drive you insane that your sister went through all that just to spite you?"
"I guess."
They remained silent for a little while longer before Akane spoke again.
"So, how did it feel being engaged to my sister?"
"It felt like I was broke all the time."
Akane laughed. That Nabiki sure knew how to make everyone become in debt with her.
"It couldn't have all been bad? Must have been nice to be engaged to a girl who wasn't uncute, tomboyish and didn't hit you all the time."
It was Ranma's time to laugh. "You would think so, but I kinda missed it."
"Sure you did."
Ranma stood up to stare down at her. "I did! It keeps me in check! It's like sparring sessions, all the time."
"Shut up, Ranma! As if I could ever be at your level to keep you in check. I can't even touch you, let alone ever think I can defeat you, at all."
"Why would you even want to be at my level? If you don't need me to protect you, what the hell am I good for, then?"
Akane gave it some thought, wondering if Ranma saw her as a continuous damsel-in-distress, that he had the obligation to keep safe all the time. "Is that why you have stayed with me? Because your other fiancées are stronger and can fight their own fights?"
"No, Akane."
Akane scoffed. "Whatever you say. I can read between the lines," she said as she began standing up to return back to her room. Ranma saw this, and quickly pushed her back down. He then lay on top of her, pressing her arms down with his hands, making sure they were on either side of her head. He then used the bottom of his bent legs –particularly his shins, to hold down her thighs.
Akane wiggled under him but she soon realized she was stuck, so she looked at him as he lowered his face to her.
"Ranma, what are you doing?"
"Why do you always think the worse about me?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"You always think I'm a perv, or that I'm making fun of you, or that I don't…"
"You don't what?"
Ranma pursed his lips, knowing that Akane would only misinterpret what he wanted to say to her. "Never mind."
"No, Ranma. Tell me! What were you gonna say?"
She saw him debate with himself regarding continuing the conversation. She was glad to see he finally gave in.
"I don't stay with you because you're weaker than the other girls."
"See! You DO think I'm weak!"
"Will you hear everything I have to say before you twist my words?"
"Well, out with it, already!"
"I've stayed with you because you're the only one who really gives a damn about how I feel. All the other girls, they see me as a prize or a toy. You see me as another human being, and it makes me feel like you could actually care about me, someday."
Akane, at a loss for words at his bluntness, remained quiet, staring at the honesty in his eyes. Ranma stared back at her, as if trying to read her thoughts through her eyes.
"Ranma, but…"
"What?"
"I already do."
"Then you've got nothing to worry about. Even if you're never as strong as me, it's your concern for me that keeps me by your side."
"What if I am, one day, as strong as you? Are you just gonna up and leave and find another weakling to watch out for?"
Ranma shook his head. "Then you are what you are. But, I hope, Akane, that I never have to see you in a situation where you have to be as strong as I."
"Why not?"
"Because if you have to fight my fight, then I've failed to care for you as you've cared for me, all this time."
After another few moments of silence, Ranma stood up from above her and helped her get back on her feet. She patted her pajamas to remove the dust that accumulated on it before reaching over to grab Ranma's arm.
"Ranma, if that time ever comes, I promise I won't give up until I can be by your side."
Ranma smiled, enjoying the moments where they were able to speak up their minds without the fear of rebuff.
"And I'll be waiting for you, Akane."
Akane felt a wave of renewed strength course through her body at seeing the memory end in her mind. She could not give up! She had promised him she would not give up! The time they had spoken of on the roof was here, and now. This was her turn to prove that she could be the one to make everything go back to normal. This was her turn to fight his fight.
"Ranma…is waiting for me…"
Saffron, hearing she still had the energy to speak, growled in anger.
"Why won't you die?"
"Ranma…he's…he's waiting for me to come back…"
"Stupid girl, no one is waiting for you."
Saffron began walking up to her, ready to give her the final blow. He was so sick and tired of this, and he had allowed the battle to last longer than it should have, hoping at the end she would return to being his servant again. Akane slowly and painfully moved her left arm in front of her, but wasn't able to do more than that.
Saffron stood a foot away from her, and stepped on her open hand, pressing her palm to the ground. He charged his hands with energy that would blow her body to pieces before speaking to her one last time.
"Any last words, Captain."
Akane nodded.
"Well?" he pressed.
"Baku…saiten…ketsu."
Saffron stared at the girl, unsure of what she had just done. Before he could realize what had happened, the ground below them began shaking and shinning. The small rocks and pebbles on the ground began jumping up and down as the earth beneath them cracked. The light was shining so bright it blinded Saffron as the ground began erupting, covering them in waves of rocks. The impact made Akane's body fly up on the air, and impact Saffron, making them both fall on the ground as rocks hit them from every side. Akane landed on top of him, sitting on his stomach. She placed her open palms on his neck to hold his head as still as she could.
She then lowered her face to his and locked their lips together, making Saffron lose sight of what she was about to do. With her lips still on his, she called on the last trick she had in her bag. It was a technique she had never used, and had only read about in the books of dark magic of the Phoenix tribe. She knew her human body would probably stop working after she used it, since it was a technique that was strictly created for the Royal Clan.
She closed her eyes and uttered the chant in her mind.
"Noroi Seishin Bodi Inai Ki Rinku."
In an instant, Saffron felt himself lose control of his body. His eyes opened wide, only to see Akane still locked on his lips. His body began burning inside and expanding as if he was going to explode. His body went limp and though he could no longer feel any part of his body, the pain remained. He felt as if he himself was being dehydrated by the sacred tool, just as had Akane been two years ago. It was not until Akane opened her mouth on his, and he felt his life being sucked right out of him, that he was able to understand the technique's true goal.
Saffron's spirit transferred to Akane's body, leaving a wide-eyed lifeless carcass that used to be Saffron's body. Once his entire spirit was in her, she raised her head and opened her mouth, releasing his spirit towards the sky in what could only be described as a ray of light coming from Akane's mouth, and eyes. As the spirit traveled through her, she performed a binding spell to prevent Saffron's spirit from ever returning to his body, and to forever remain in limbo. She used the last of her energy to lock the portal to limbo, effectively ending the rebirth of the Lord of the Phoenix tribe.
Saffron's body turned to dust once the light in the sky disappeared, only to be blown away by the wind that remained from the Bakusaintenketsu attack. His existence turned into a memory. His soul was what allowed his body to be reborn from the ashes. Without a soul, Saffron would never be able to return, and therefore his body would not be able to heal itself. Akane felt the last of her Phoenix powers leave her, having just used the ultimate murder technique. The technique that had been used for generations against the anterior members of the royal family of the Phoenix tribe, effectively narrowing it down to just one.
Lord Saffron of the Phoenix tribe.
Lord Saffron, who she had just pulverized.
With a final sigh, her body finally shut down and fell on the ground, only to later be found by her loyal followers of the Phoenix Clan.
A/N: Holy $( #$ #&#&! What do you think Ranma's reaction will be after hearing that? Next chapter, coming soon, and titled: Accomplished. Don't forget to review!