LITTLE SHACK

CHAPTER 10

BY VICCO LOVE

A/N: NEW CHAPTER ^_^. HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE IT.

Ukyo open the door to her restaurant, it was dark and cold, and it seemed to fit her mood perfectly.

Looking inside her restaurant made her feel even more depressed. It was empty, just exactly like she felt her heart was. She felt an enormous wave of sadness wash over her and she suddenly felt her knees become weak, almost to the point of making her fall. But she wasn't about to let that happen. No one was going to see her defeated, no one was going to see her weak, no one was going to see her vulnerable.

She had almost forgotten about the little black pig she currently held in her arms.

Ryoga was watching Ukyo intently. She seemed so sad, so depressed, she reminded him of himself when he was at his all time low of the ShiShi Hokodan. He could see it in her eyes, and something told him that it was the very same thing he was running away from.

He "bweed" at the memory, and it wasn't till then that Ukyo turned back her attention to him.

"Let's get you some hot water" she told him

He responded with a "bwee, bwee"

Ukyo set him down on the floor and walked over to the kitchen to heat some water. Ryoga followed close behind, he didn't want to get lost.

On another part of town, Ranma and Akane sat uncomfortably in the cottage looking away from each other. They had been silent for a while now.

Ranma was seriously wondering if Shampoo had somehow given him a potion when he didn't notice. He was acting like a love struck teenage boy, it almost made him sick. The worst part of everything was that he was pouring out his heart to her and she was turning him flat to the ground and in the process stepping on him a little too.

He knew from the start that telling her the truth about his feelings was not going to be a walk on the park. But he had to admit that he didn't really think it was going to be that difficult.

"Can I ask you something, Akane?"

"What is it?" she asked curiously

"Why do you always help me out when I'm in trouble? Why are you always there for me?"

"Well…I…um…"

AKANE'S POV

I sat there frozen, stunned.

I thought he never even noticed I was there by his side, he has told me countless of times that he didn't need me or my help.

But right now I can see he needs me, just as much as I need him. And so I got the guts to at least reassure him of this:

"I've told you before, not matter what happens, I will always be there for you, and I meant it" I said trying to be as serious as I could be.

But I couldn't say anything else. I just kept quiet.

I was feeling uncomfortable; I didn't want to be there. This is getting risky, if he keeps on talking like this, I'm afraid I'll start rambling on just like him and I'm not sure its safe. Besides, how do I know he's not just looking from something to tease me about later. But no, I know him too well; he never talks about his feelings like this. He would never joke about something like this either.

But did he really mean it or is he just toying with me? How can I make sure that he's not just playing?

But despite everything, I looked at his eyes and he wasn't being arrogant, cocky, or smug. He was being honest; his eyes told me he was being serious.

RANMA'S POV

So that's it, she just wants to be friends then. I knew it. But I had to know if she liked me or not. I needed to know if I was fighting for something real or not.

Crap.

I shouldn't have told her anything. Why did I have to open my big mouth?

Why is she staring at me? Maybe she wasn't to laugh at me. What do I do now?

This was a mistake. This is why I don't like talking to her about this kind of stuff.

I have never wanted to say anything because I know she doesn't feel the same way.

I JUST WANT TO RUN AWAY.

He walked towards the door and yanked it open. He felt his anger bubble inside him. She sat there for a moment just staring at him, and when he was about to step out, her voice stopped him.

"Where do you think you're going?" she inquired.

"I'm going home" he simply said looking outside into the darkness ahead of him.

"I thought it wasn't safe be out there" she questioned him.

"I'm pretty sure it's safer out there then in here" he told her.

"So that's it, you're just going to run away?" she shouted at him.

"I am not running away!" he remarked, his hand on the doorknob, squeezing with anger, making a few small dents in the steel doorknob.

"Yes you are" she yelled at him. No one could make her loose it like her.

"It's not like you care" he reproached her and he still couldn't look at her.

"Is that really what you think, that I don't care about you?" she sounded outraged, her fingers turned white with the force she was clenching her hands.

"You sure never show anything else" he snapped back

"And you do, right? You go around the streets screaming "I like Akane Tendo". You are so full of it. And how dare you say I never show you that I like you? Isn't it enough that I try my hardest to help you in anything that I can? Does that not mean anything to you?" She felt her anger surge and fill her whole body.

"You don't get it" he finally looked at her then. Akane saw his hurt face. She wondered what in the world it that he was mad about was. She was the one being attacked, right?

"And what is it exactly that I don't get?" she asked sarcastically.

"Can't you understand that I DON'T like you" he shouted at her. As soon as he said it, he regretted it. "Ok, that definitely didn't come out like I wanted to"

She was taken aback by his response. She knew he didn't feel the same way as her but she never expected him to just blurt it out like that.

He saw her flinch at the words that escaped his lips. How what is it that he always had to screw up everything between them. His inability to communicate was always a problem between the two, well that and her ability to just jump into conclusions.

Akane didn't want to show him just how much those three words had hurt her: "I don't like you". He might as well just kill her right then and there. Against her will, her eyes betrayed her and started to get blurry. She couldn't take it, sure he had always called her names but hearing him confirm her worst nightmare was just unbearable.

"Fine then! You know what, just get out of here. I HATE YOU" she screamed at him.

He just stood there. And he in fact hated himself for always hurting her like this.

Seeing as how he wasn't going to move any time soon, she ran to the nearest door and slammed it close. She was thankful that it was in fact a room.

Ukyo had heated some water for Ryoga and took him to the restroom so he could change back and for him to put some clothes on.

That had been a while ago already, he was sure taking his time in there.

Ukyo waited patiently for him, after almost forty minutes, walked out. As soon as Ukyo saw his face, she knew something was wrong, it was apparent by his expression that he was sad. Of course his red battle aura was a giveaway.

"What's wrong sugar?" she finally asked him.

Ryoga was staring at the floor. His eyes were filled with unshed tears. He seemed to be lost in thought, somewhere very, very far away.

It made Ukyo curious, only one person could make him that depressed and that was Akane. He still hadn't said anything and Ukyo wondered if he had even heard him.

"Ryoga, what's wrong?" Ukyo asked again, this time more persistent.

"He's going to pay!" Ryoga mutter under his breath.

"What are you talking about? Did you get in another fight with Ranma?" she wondered if that was the reason Ranma had stood her up. She knew Ranma would never do anything like that to her, maybe it was just a big misunderstanding.

"Ranma. Next time I see you, be prepared" he shouted, not really answering Ukyo but merely just talking to himself.

"I'm talking to you, you know?" Snapped Ukyo, he was starting to bug her and in her current mood, it was just getting to be too much.

"Don't you get it. They're there, alone, what if he tries something" he was looking at Ukyo and his hands fell on his side and were turned into fists.

Ukyo was more confused than ever, she really didn't know what was going on but whatever happened, was really bothering him.

She walked up to him and slapped him. She didn't want to do it but she figured it was the only way to snap him out of it. He was just way to upset.

"Just tell me what happened" she urged.

"I was walking around, I wanted to go home but I just made a wrong turn somewhere. It started raining and I was somewhere in the forest. It was impossible to set up my tent but I noticed there was a cottage around and I thought that maybe I could spend the night there but…Ukyo, they're there and they seemed so…comfortable with each other" he was now sitting and looking more depressed than ever.

"Who's there?" Ukyo asked, she sure hoped it wasn't what she was thinking.

"Akane and Ranma are there …alone…" before he could finish his sentence Ukyo interrupted.

"Why, that hussy. How dare she think she could just steal him like that? I knew she was upset because he asked me and not her, but this was low even for her" in an instant she had run upstairs to change into her usual clothes and had her spatula at hand.

"Now come on, you're going to take me to them" she instructed Ryoga grabbing him by his arm and dragging him outside.

"Wait Ukyo let me get my umbrella" he pleaded.

Ranma was standing in front of the door where Akane had disappeared into. He placed one hand on the door and whispered "Akane…"

He wanted to explain what he really meant. He didn't have an idea of what to do, she was in that room and he didn't have the guts to go in. He gather the courage he really didn't know he had and turned the door knob slowly, to his surprise it wasn't locked. The room was dark and he could barely see inside, it took a few minutes for his eyes to get used to the darkness.

And then he saw her, she was lying in the middle of a bed, she was tightly hugging a pillow and her face was buried in it. He was certain that she hadn't seen him by the fact that he was still alive. He wondered if she was crying. He cautiously walked towards the bed, when he was close enough he notice that the only sound she was making was her even breathing, she was asleep.

He sat next to her, facing away from her. He sighed deeply.

"Akane…" he knew she wasn't going to respond but it might have been better that way.

That was the only way that he could really talk to her.

"I guess you really don't like me huh? Its ok I guess. I sort of knew it. I don't really believe Ukyo or Shampoo likes me either, they just want me because well one wants me because of a law and the other one just because my father promised" he forced a chuckle.

"And then there's my curse. Not the prettiest thing in the world, I know, but I made myself believe that it didn't matter. I thought that maybe you could accept me like this. But I promise that I won't say anything about this ever again. I just wish I could have told you how I really feel" he stood up to leave.

He looked back at her and whispered "I love you, I always have"

"Ranma…I love you too" what Ranma didn't know was that Akane was never asleep. How could she fall asleep when he had just told her that he didn't like her? She had grabbed the pillow for comfort, it had started to thunder and she hated it. She pretended to be asleep because she really didn't want to talk to him.

"You…You heard …all …of that?" he asked, stuttering. "But you know you don't have to say it if you don't mean it" he told her.

In the darkness of the room, he stood, mentally kicking himself. He had just declared his feeling towards her because he thought she was asleep. He didn't quite know if he should be glad or upset, it wasn't exactly how he wanted to tell her but it was now in the open.

After what seemed like eons, she stood up and approached him. He was nervous; he didn't know what she was going to do.

She just hugged him; she put her arms around him and simply hugged him. Her embrace was warm and comforting.

"You dummy. Let me tell you something. In all my life, I have never met anyone who deserved to be loved more then you. You are an exceptional human being, you're a good and loyal friend, and you help others even if it might hurt you. And even though I might not like your curse at times, I have accepted its part of you. Your curse makes you who you are" She placed her right hand on his chest, just above his heart "and I know that in here, you are just Ranma"

"Really, you do?" To say that Ranma was surprised was an understatement. "How could she be so nice when I have been a complete jerk to her all the time? he thought to himself. Akane never ceased to amaze him. "But I promise I'll make it up to you somehow".

They just continued hugging, in the darkness of the room; they stood still, holding each other. It was a pleasant feeling that overwhelmed them both, to feel their heartbeats at the same rhythm and to be so close to each other without interruption, misunderstandings or spectators.

"Come on Ryoga the sooner we find them, the better!" exclaimed Ukyo

"Stop pulling me so rough. I don't want to get wet again" Ryoga complained. Honestly, how was he supposed to lead her when she was the one dragging him? Truth be told, he wasn't even sure where he was going, he had just found Ranma and Akane by luck. Now what was he supposed to do?

Ryoga and Ukyo were walking passed the Nekohanten at that precise moment. It was already late and the restaurant was closed but Shampoo and Mousse were cleaning the tables.

Shampoo and Mousse were arguing, or to be fair, Shampoo was yelling at the top of her lungs at Mousse for simply staring at her.

She just couldn't stand having Mousse always running after her. She really didn't understand how Mousse didn't realize she didn't and never will love him. He was simply too stubborn for his own good.

Shampoo opened the door to the restaurant and was about to throw Mousse out when she spotted Ryoga and Ukyo walking by. She held Mousse in his cursed form for a minute before releasing him and letting him fall with a thud to the floor.

"Where Spatula girl and Pig Boy going?" she questioned them with narrow eyes. She curiously examined both as they suddenly seemed to stop when they heard her voice.

"Might as well. This concerns you as much as it does to me" Ukyo stated looking intently at Ryoga. "Do you have any idea where Ranma and Akane are at this precise moment" she asked her

"What you talking?" inquired Shampoo.

And Ukyo told her, she told her about Ranma and Akane. She told her about what Ryoga had seen.

Shampoo seethed, her fists at her side, and there was a glint in her eyes that radiated hate and the promise of pain.

Instantly, Shampoo was ready to follow Ryoga and Ukyo. She didn't even told her great-grandmother that she was going out. She just got a jacket and umbrella and she sprinted out the door.

"My dear Shampoo where are you going?" called Mousse who was now human again.

"Stupid duck boy stay here!" she instructed and then ran after Ukyo.

"But Shampoo you could get hurt!" yelled Mousse running out after her. To his dismay, he hadn't picked up anything to cover and was now in his curse form again, running after the three figures with an angry "quack, quack".

Three people and a duck ran across town in the middle of the night with a mission in mind.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? LET ME KNOW. I TRIED TO MAKE IT BETTER THEN LAST CHAPTER HOPE I DELIVERED THIS TIME ^_^ I THINK THE NEXT CHAPTER IS GOING TO BE THE LAST, I HOPE TO HAVE IT OUT SOONER THEN THIS.