Chapter 7:

Unlimited Desire

"Nodoka you idiot. Why did you run away from her in tears like that?" Nodoka looked into the mirror and sighed, she hadn't expected Akane to ask about Ranma, at least not like that. She might have reacted better had Akane asked her if she was Ranma, she could have laughed it off like some joke. Now she'd made it seem like something completely different. Akane was a bright girl, she'd probably assume something was up.

"Yeah Ran-chan, why did you run away in tears?" A familiar voice sounded off from the door.

Nodoka paused and looked away from the mirror towards a familiar face. "I, I told you not to call me by that name Ukyo, what if someone heard you?"

"Couldn't help it, you know. Fine then No-chan, why did you run in here in tears?" Ukyo had leaned against the wall of the bathroom to watch the redhead.

"I really don't know myself. Akane mentioned Ranma, and I guess I paniced." Nodoka looked away, then looked into the mirror again. "I don't know if I can handle this anymore. I keep telling myself I'm happy for her, that I want her to be happy, but every time I see her and Ryouga, it's like a knife is twisted deep inside."

"Why is that? You were gone for ten years, you really shouldn't even be dwelling on it. We were kids back then." Ukyo had pushed away from the wall and stood behind Nodoka, then wrapped her arms around the girl. "We all grew up and moved on, you seem to be the only one still in the past."

"I guess I never really let go of that promise we made. You remember how my father was, always preaching about family honor and the likes? I made a promise, even back then, as a man. I don't think I could turn away from it." Nodoka leaned back slightly into Ukyo's arms and fought back another wave of tears. "But look at me, I'm not even a man anymore. The person I was is dead, a memory to all of my friends."

Ukyo let go of Nodoka and turned away with a sigh. "Look, it's all in the past, right? You can't change what's already happened." Ukyo took a moment to pause, finally she had come to a conclusion and turned back around to face Nodoka, then removed the ribbon she'd always worn in her hair, letting it all fall freely to her back. "Besides, I see you now, as I saw you then." She took a step forward as Nodoka had turned to face her, then placed her lips to the girl's.

Nodoka stood there for a moment in shock then pushed Ukyo away. "What are you doing Ukyo?"

Ukyo took a deep breath and turned away from Nodoka with a long sigh. "I know this seems sudden, but I've always thought about you, ever since you left. Seeing you again, knowing who you really are, I still see the same person I admired back then. Sure, you've changed, we all have, and yes, you more then anyone else... No-chan, I. I love you." Ukyo closed her eyes to hold back tears, she'd wanted to tell her that for so long, and now that she'd said it, she felt as if she'd signed her own death warrent.

"Ukyo.... I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything then, I never could say it before, you only saw Akane, and I was fine with that. I was happy with you being happy, but you aren't now, and Akane is lost to you." Ukyo choked back the oncoming tears, she had to fight with them, every step of the way to keep them from coming, she couldn't let Nodoka see her this weak, not now, not when she'd finally shown her best effort of strength.

"You're right... Akane's lost, she's marrying Ryouga. It still hurts though, and I don't know why. I wanted her to be happy, even if I had to let her go, I even expected this when I came back here. I planned to let her go, I knew I wouldn't be able to have her, even from the start." Nodoka took a deep breath and looked away from Ukyo again. "Even then, I was able to be her friend again, and that only complicated things. She kissed me Ukyo, a few days ago. I, I thought I was ok then, I pushed her away. Then you tell me she's moving in with Ryouga and suddenly.... Then today she even asks me about Ranma. I can't handle this, it's too much."

"Do you know why she asked?" Ukyo took a step towards Nodoka again, and this time grabbed the necklace she wore that held the ring. "You want her to find out, don't you? That's why you still wear this, even after she asked about it. Look, I can tell just by looking at you that she's asked about it before. Nodoka, you won't be able to give up on Akane until you let go of the past." She yanked at the necklace, which broke off into her hand.

Nodoka gasped then reached for the hand now holding her most treasured possession. "Give that back Ukyo!"

The two girls hit the floor and struggled for several minutes. The tussle finally ended when Ukyo managed to slide the ring over a drainage grate in the floor, where it fell in, out of Nodoka's reach. Nodoka broke away from Ukyo just as the ring vanished, and sat over the grate, staring at the ring she had treasured for so long. Tears began to fill her eyes, and she sobbed gently.

"This is for the better you know." Ukyo knelt behind the girl and rested her head against the red-head's back.

"Y-yeah..." Nodoka continued to cry for several minutes.

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"Hey Akane!"

"Ryouga?" Akane slowly sat upright in her seat. Her eyes were a little red and she had a bit of a groggy demeanor to her. Hazily she glanced up at her fiance, she noted the look of concern in his eyes. "What's the matter?"

"You've been totally sapced out all day, what's wrong?" He placed a hand on her shoulder and stared into her eyes.

"It's that girl... She really is avoiding me. I saw her this morning, and she hasn't been back since she ran off." She layed her head back down on her desk and sighed.

"You just can't leave things alone, maybe it would have been better. Do you have any idea why she might be avoiding you?"

That was a loaded question if she'd ever heard one. Damn straight she knew. First there was the kiss a few days earlier, the kiss Ryouga would never find out about. Then there was the question about Ranma. She thought back to that question, and Nodoka's reaction. That really had been a strange reaction. "I have an idea, but I'm not exactly sure."

"If you don't want to tell me, I understand, but I'm on your side, just so you know." He patted her shoulder softly, then leaned closer and kissed her gently.

"Thanks Ryouga. Go home ahead of me, I'll come by your apartment after I finish up some things here." She stood up and stretched.

"Ok, I'll be waiting." Ryouga smiled a bit, kissed Akane one more time, then left the classroom.

This was Akane's day to clean up the classroom after school. She did her job readily, all the while letting her mind go over all the information she had. First, Nodoka had said the ring was just a trinket, something she happened to pick up. It was obvious Nodoka was attracted to her. Then there was the biggest mystery. The girl was almost completely crazy once the name Ranma was brought up. There had to be a connection there. Certainly if they'd dated in the past, Ranma might have given her the ring, but why would she run in tears at the mention of his name. Akane took a deep breath as she finished cleaning the chalkboard, and went about arranging the desks. Maybe they had to break up when she moved here, that might explain it, but that didn't solve everything. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she was back at square one.

She'd finally finished cleaning the classroom, and headed for Ryouga's. She'd just put her shoes on and headed for the courtyard gates when she overheard two familiar voices.

"Thanks for earlier Ukyo."

"Anytime No-chan. Look, about what I said this morning, I really do love you." Akane could see Ukyo's silouette move to embrace what she assumed was Nodoka.

"I know you do Ukyo." Again the silouette of Nodoka seemed to just stand there as Ukyo held her. It was then the two images seemed to merge in what Akane could only assume was a kiss.

Akane stepped back into the school and around a corner, in case the two passed by, she didn't want them to see her. She didn't know how she'd explain the tears falling from the corner of her eyes. She couldn't even explain it herself, all she knew was that her chest was tightening, and she felt like the world had ended.