LITTLE SHACK

CHAPTER 11

BY VICCOLOVE

Hello guys, sorry it took soooo long. I'm here with a new chapter, and yes it's not the last one like I said before. I am not totally happy with it but I just wanted to post. Hope you like it!

Ranma and Akane had been holding each other for a while now. They were happy to be in that place sharing a moment like that.

It was hard for Ranma to imagine that something like this was happening to him. Falling in love was such an unmanly thing to do, well, according to his father, especially when acting like one. And Ranma was seriously starting to believe the later part.

He was worried though, this had been such a perfect moment, he was afraid he was going to screw it up. He always did that, you know, it was this weird disease that made him act like a complete jackass. So he resolved to just shut his mouth and enjoy the moment.

"What are you thinking" asked Akane with her face still buried in his chest.

Oh crap! now his plan was ruined, honestly why did Akane have to ask that at this precise moment. He shuffled through his brain, he wasn't sure what she wanted to hear and was afraid that one word would screw this up. He was seriously starting to believe that he wasn't normal. Of course not, that word didn't suit him at all.

"Nothing" he responded trying to sound as calm as possible.

A sweat drop appeared at the back of Akane's head. "Nothing?" she asked, not believing him.

"Yeah, nothing" he confirmed

Akane didn't believe him. There just had to be something in his mind, but maybe he just didn't want to tell her. "Is he not enjoying this as much as me?" wondered Akane.

"Really?…nothing?" she persuaded.

"Well…I was thinking that this is perfect" he said shyly, avoiding her eyes for a moment.

Akane couldn't help smiling. This was the Ranma she knew, inarticulate and unsure when it came to talking about his feelings. But it was ok, if he couldn't do it, she wouldn't force him, she would wait for him.

"Yeah, it is isn't it?" she replied. But then again, she was as clumsy when it came to her feelings, as much as him.

There was a certain sparkle in Akane's eyes, Ranma noticed, only it was nothing he had ever seen before.

One of the reasons that he loved watching her spar was because every time she would be practicing, her eyes shone with her passion for the art. When he made her mad, her eyes would almost be black with the rage, it was the most fascinating thing he ever saw in the world. But tonight, the sparkle in her eyes was because of him, it was for him, he never imagined that she would look at him the way she was at that precise moment.

How can a look say so much? He wondered.

Akane was starting to feel a little nervous, he just stared at her with a goofy expression.

There were so many thoughts going through her mind, and she wondered if he was going through the same thing.

Akane's POV

I wonder what's going to happen now.

What's going to happen with his fiancées? Would he get angry if I asked him? But he must know he needs to do something, right?

I wonder if he would want my help. I know Ukyo and Shampoo and me are not the best of friends but maybe I can help him convince them.

I hope he doesn't take it back. Of course he won't, why would he?

I hope he knows how much I do care about him, I want to tell him that I don't care about anyone but him, but I don't think I have the guts.

I want to tell him that I don't care about Kuno or any of the crazy students at Furinkan High, or any prince that might come our way.

Does he really know it? I know I haven't been so affectionate towards him, all I ever do is hit him with that damn mallet that I don't even know where it comes from.

Really, where do I get that thing?

Anyways, I wonder how everyone is going to take it.

Do I even want to tell them, do I want to tell my family? If we do, they'll sure ruin everything, I just know it.

Is he going to want to keep it a secret? I hope so. It would be the best thing for us not to announce it, at least, not yet.

He looks so handsome.

Oh, I want him to kiss me again!

What would he think if I kiss him?

Would he mind?

Ranma's POV

I just wish I knew what secret formula I could use to make all my "fiancées" to disappear. Well, maybe not disappear just lay off me, free food is good, and a guy's gotta eat, right?

How can I make them understand that I don't care about them, I don't want to hurt them. But I have to do it, and the sooner the better.

I wonder what she's going to do about Kuno and Ryoga? I don't even know if she knows how much Ryoga likes her. Should I tell her? What would she think if I did? I just don't know if it's the best thing.

I know I have to tell her about P-chan. I don't know how but I gotta do it. It ain't gonna be easy, how can I tell her that her best friend, her confidant, her pet is an actual boy who has been lying to her. I've lied to her too, and I know I will have to make it up to her somehow. But I know that we can not be together until I've come clean with her.

I just hope she doesn't hate me after.

Speaking about them, I wonder how they're going to take it?

And the Tendo's and my pops?

Hell no.

That would be the stupidest mistake we would ever make. I wonder what she wants to do. I hope she has something because I just don't.

She looks so pretty.

Oh, I want to kiss her again!

I wonder if she would mind.

Should I ask her?

Ukyo, Ryoga, Shampoo and Mousse, still in his cursed form, kept running. They had reached the woods by now and currently trying to get through the trees. There was hardly any space to walk in, the trees were so big and so close to each other that there was hardly any clear space they could see. Of course the darkness of the night didn't help either. There was hardly any moonlight that was getting through with the leaves.

"So now where?" Ukyo questioned Ryoga

"Um…I think…Yeah, it's definitely this way" he said pointing to a spot ahead of him.

"Are you sure, sugar? I mean, I don't mean to doubt you but that way, it doesn't seem that safe" she replied.

"What do you know? I know perfectly well where I'm going!" he snapped back while walking the way he pointed, rising his nose up in the air in indignation at such an outrages question.

The four kept walking but Ukyo was certain that something was wrong. It was taking too much time, they had already been walking for hours, how much longer was it going to be?

Ryoga was ahead of the other three, leading the way when all of a sudden they hear a "thud".

"What is that?" inquired Shampoo holding her both hands clasped together in front of her face.

"I don't know" responded Ukyo

"Where pig boy at?" asked Shampoo

"Ryoga!" called Ukyo but there was no response. Silence filled the air around them and it made them start to get nervous. Where could that jackass run off to? Wondered Ukyo. She kept walking forward but stopped when she heard the "thud" noise again, only this time, it was twice in a row the second was much lower then the other one.

"Shampoo, Mousse?" called Ukyo. But there was no response again. "Oh great, now I'm lost" whispered the girl through gritted teeth. She kept walking, maybe she would find the others, they were just there a few seconds ago, how far could they really be?

But after a moment, Ukyo came to a halt, she was having trouble keeping her balance, she waved her arms instinctively trying to gain some kind of control back. But it was too late, she was falling and ended up with a "thud" of her own.

"Ouch" she said as she hit the bottom of whatever they were at. She stood up and squinted her eyes trying to see more clearly but failing miserably. She dusted her pants and shirt when she heard a noise, it was the others, they had fallen too.

"Where we are?" asked Shampoo

Ukyo was irritated now, not only were they not going anywhere but now they had even falling.

It seemed to be even darker down there, if they were having trouble seeing before, then it was nearly impossible now. It was almost pitch dark.

"Where the hell are we, Ryoga?" yelled Ukyo while pointing a finger at space, actually away from Ryoga but she didn't know.

"I don't know, how do you want me to know?" he argued

"I don't know…let me think…BECAUSE YOU ARE LEADING!" she yelled at him

"THEN WHY ARE YOU DRAGING ME AROUND" he yelled back.

"Excuse me for trying to help" she snapped, sarcastically.

"You guys stupid, we lost and cold" shouted Shampoo, these two were really getting on her nerves. She even considered going back home, it was obvious that to find Ranma and Akane with the help of Ryoga, a week wasn't even enough. Plus, she was tired of carrying Mousse.

Shampoo sat on a big rock that was close by, watching the yells of insults dance between Ryoga and Ukyo. It seemed like she was going to be there for a while but at least, she was entertained.

Ranma started feeling sleepy, with Akane still in his arms he swayed back and forth, in a slow dance-like motion.

His eyes started to close, but he forced himself to stay awake. But everything was making him sleepy, he was too comfortable, holding her, her warmth that mixed with his own. And then he realized something, it had been a while since Akane had made any type of noise, and he knew that she had fallen asleep.

He picked her up "Why waste a perfectly good bed" he thought as he carried her to it. He looked at her and she looked like an angel. She seemed so peaceful. He sat one the bed, still admiring her, before lying down.

At some point, later that night, Akane woke up. She was momentarily confused, seeing the unfamiliar room made her wonder for a moment but then she looked to her right and she saw him. Lying next to her, asleep. And she smiled, there so many mixed emotions within her at this moment, she didn't really know how to handle them.

Watching him sleep there next to her, made her realize something. The hardest part was over, they had been honest to each other, she had told him that she loved him and he felt the same way. To her, it seemed that he had already fixed everything, the thing that had bothered her so much before was that she never knew how he felt, but now she knew.

She knew that everything that was waiting for them out there in the real world was still as messed up as ever, but in there, it seemed like a new world, and she liked it.

She tenderly caressed his cheek. "Everything is going to be fine. You and I, we'll work it out some how. We always make it through" she whispered to him and then lied down again, this time, she rested her head on his chest. And there was no better feeling, she fell asleep listening to the rhythm of his heart.

The NWC had finally started moving again. Ryoga and Ukyo kept fighting, and Shampoo was certain that they weren't even paying attention to where they were going. And at this time, she didn't even care, what was it going to do to find some little shack in the middle of nowhere, if they were late. She looked around and realized that it wouldn't be long for dawn.

Shampoo hated to admit it, but she was scared, scared of what could happen between Ranma and Akane. She always knew that her strongest rival against her "airen" was Akane. Since that first day that she saw them together, she knew that a very strong connection excited between those two. It wasn't hard to see but she wasn't going to be defeated by some outsider. Especially such a clumsy girl who, in her opinion, didn't really have anything to offer Ranma. She would be the perfect wife compared to Akane and Ukyo, why couldn't Ranma see that?

But she was never going to give up, she was an Amazon and as such, she was going to fight till the end. She knew that if she really tried, Ranma could love her, without a potion, without force, she believed he could learn to love her if only he gave her a chance.

Ryoga and Ukyo stopped arguing, abruptly. And Shampoo could see they stopped. By some miracle from a God, they had made it out of the woods. They were staring into an open space that was surrounded my gigantic trees. And in the middle of it, stood a shack, a little shack that seemed to be kept in very good state.

"Ha, see I told you" he yelled at Ukyo with a triumphant attitude. But for some reason, Ukyo didn't seem that pleased which only confused Ryoga. "Now what?" he questioned her.

" You jackass. It's already morning" she yelled at him while looking at the shack.

"So we're here. That's what matters" he told her "Now come on" Shampoo followed close behind.

Before they could do anything else, they discussed a plan of action.

"We need to surprise him" Ryoga told them. He was sure that Ranma was holding Akane against her will and he didn't even want to know what Ranma could be doing to her.

They agreed to look around first, Ryoga checked all the windows, he wanted to know all the exits, in the event that Ranma would want to escape. The girls went their way and he went his own.

He peeked through a first window, and it was a tiny kitchen.

He peeked through a second window, it was a small tea room.

He stood on his tip-toes trying to read a third window, it was positioned a bit higher then the other ones, but when he reached the edge of the bottom, he realized it was a room. In his haste, he almost missed the couple who was sleeping peacefully, holding each other.

He jerked his head and shook it, this wasn't happening. "It's a dream…no…it's a nightmare. You'll wake up any minute now" he told himself. But the rational part of his mind told him that he wasn't dreaming, he wasn't even asleep, and so he stood there watching the couples embrace. He felt that little by little, the depression took over him, he felt his heart clench that he had to place a hand on his chest, to try and relief the pain.

He closed his hands into fists, almost drawing blood, he couldn't feel anymore. It was as if part of him had died in that very moment, in that place. The only thing he felt was the hate, the need for revenge, he finally took her away from him. But whatever little happiness Ranma could have achieved was going to be crushed into million pieces, just like his heart.

Ranma Saotome was going to pay!

I guess not a lot is happening in this chapter, I sort of wanted to give their thoughts about what is happening. I realize that Shampoo doesn't have a big role in this story but that is just the way it came out. So what did you guys think? Let me know!

Chapter 12: Confrontations