Little Shack

By

VICCOLOVE

Chapter 12: Confrontations

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma and Co.

Sorry took so long but been busy, here is a new chapter.

Shampoo, Ukyo and Ryoga stood there like statues, stiff as rocks. They were unable to move or speak.

Moose simply stood next to Shampoo, already dreaming of what his life would be from now on. Now that Shampoo was finally free, he would be able to win her love and finally live happily ever after.

Seeing them there, through that window was like looking into another world or like watching a movie in which all their nightmares were playing before them, over and over again.

Ukyo held her spatula close to her, searching for comfort from her weapon. Her eyes were blurry with unshed tears. It was too many hits at the same time, the pain was almost unbearable. It almost felt like her heart could break. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized something. Didn't she already know it all this time? Wasn't it always like this? It was always her he chose. It didn't matter where, when or why, it was always her. Why should it be any different this time? She knew that it was all over now, the chase, this sick, constant chase was over. Everything was changing, they were finally moving on, but could she do it too? She bowed her head "Can I really let go of him? Can I really let go of my dreams, of my hopes, my future with him?" she wondered.

Shampoo clenched her fists almost breaking her bomboris from the force of her grip. How could the kitchen destroyer take airen away from her? This couldn't be happening to her, she refused to accept it. She rubbed her eyes convincing herself that it was all just her imagination. It was probably the lack of sleep. Her aching feet told her she was tired. She was sleepy and tired, that had to be it. But the longer she watched, the angrier she got. She was an Amazon; she was a worrier she would never give up. It wasn't in her blood to be defeated, especially by an outsider.

But their nightmare was only starting, they watched as Ranma and Akane woke up. And what they saw was the drop that tipped the water. They smiled to each other, and it was such a sweet smile, full of love and contentment.

"Good morning" said Ranma

"Good morning" responded Akane

Akane sat up on the bed and looked around as if trying to recognize the place.

"Wow. It's already morning" Ranma heard her say.

"Yeah" he simply said as he sat up next to her. He stretched his arms way above his head and yawned loudly. This made Akane giggle.

"You know, this place is not so bad in daylight. It sure needs some cleaning up though" Akane said, more to herself then Ranma.

"Maybe we should get going" he said.

"Yeah I think you're right the family must be going crazy about now" she told him.

And they continued their conversation, unaware of the audience standing only a few feet away.

The three of them watched as Ryoga took a step forward, his face contorted into a scowl which reflected everything he was feeling at the moment. It made them shiver.

Ryoga wished he was in Ranma's place at the moment. Why did Ranma have to win her love, he didn't deserve her. He was always hurting her feelings, so why did she always choose him?

He watched her as she approached Ranma, she was laughing. For a second, he wondered what was so funny that had her laughing like that. And he realized that he had never really seen her that happy.

He took a second step, hoping he had enough strength. And before he knew it he was running. In an instant, he was aware of someone else running next to him, turning around, he saw Shampoo. With his arm stretched in front of him he yelled "Bakusai Tenketsu", destroying the wall that separated them.

It wasn't until that moment that Ranma and Akane finally became aware of their presence, but it was too late. They had broken the dividing wall and were now standing in front of them.

"Prepare yourself Ranma!" yelled Ryoga pointing a threatening finger

"What are you doing here?" asked Ranma in surprise but his tone was cold, there was a kind of warning to not start any trouble

"You" said Shampoo pointing a bombori at Akane

"Shampoo…" was the only thing that Akane could say. Ranma watched as Shampoo started approaching Akane but Ranma was in front of Akane before Shampoo could get dangerously close.

"What are you two doing here?" questioned Ranma trying to distract Shampoo

"I think the best question is what are YOU doing here?" Ryoga countered, it was obvious he was getting impatient.

"That is not any of your business" Ranma returned.

Akane was getting nervous. The atmosphere in the room was turning hostile and battle auras were growing bigger each second. Akane noticed something different in Ranma's aura, the usual red color it had to it, it was much darker, almost black. Akane could almost feel his anger; she had never seemed him that way. It made her feel something she couldn't quite explain, and she didn't try to. She just stood behind him, staring at his back in some kind of daze, completely lost. Her attention was solely on him, uninterested of the argument that was happening just in front of her.

Mousse hurried into the room to be with his precious Shampoo. But he was momentarily distracted as he watched the fireplace was still lit, just enough. He managed to jump on the kitchen counter, grabbing a kettle of water he was able to heat it and turn himself back into human form.

He hurried back into the room with everyone else.

"Why you here with her?" Shampoo asked him

"Look Shampoo I don't want to do this now" he simply said and then turned to Akane. Taking her hand in his he told her "Come on let's go". Akane complied and dreamily walked as he led the way.

"You are not going anywhere until we settle this" Ryoga warned yanking Ranma back by the arm and forcing him to remain in his previous place . This is what finally made Akane come back from her dream world were Ranma was the only thing that existed.

"Get your hands off of me" Ranma threatened

Akane could see that Ranma was trying to keep his control in check but she could also see it slowly slipping away. She didn't want anymore arguments and she definitely wanted to avoid a fight between those two. "Ryoga, you really need to calm down" she told him, soothingly, trying to calm him down.

"I AM NOT TALKING TO YOU" he snapped at her, his eyes never leaving Ranma's figure

Everyone present gasped at the sudden outburst, if they weren't seeing this, they wouldn't have believed it. Ryoga actually yelling at Akane, but his anger blinded him. It was so like him to act so impulsively and violently, without really knowing what he was doing.

But the one that felted it the most was Akane, she really thought of Ryoga as her friend so she didn't understand why he was acting like he was. She was shocked at his behavior.

"Ryoga, you really need to calm down" this time it was Ranma warning him, with a menacing glare. He had noticed the surprise in Akane, and the hurt in her eyes. Enough was enough and he wasn't going to let Ryoga treat Akane that way. He didn't want things to get out of hand and knowing Ryoga, he tended to act carelessly when he was feeling that angry. Ranma had already saved Akane from Ryoga's violent behavior a couple of times.

Ranma and Akane started their way out through the "man-made" door that Shampoo and Ryoga had made. Ryoga watched Ranma as he and Akane were leaving. He stared at his back, watching as Ranma calmly walked away. Ryoga felt completely ignored, Ranma's attitude was making him angry. He was supposed to be taken seriously, wasn't Ranma at all intimidated by him?

But it wasn't over yet and before Ranma could realize it, he found himself hitting the closest tree trunk with a magnificently loud bang.

Everybody stared at Ranma who was currently on the ground. They looked from Ryoga to Ranma. Ever since Ryoga had appeared in Nerima, it was always the same. The two would fight every time they saw each other. But this time, even to the others, Ryoga had crossed the line. You never attack an opponent from the back.

Ukyo still stood outside, she really didn't want to come in and interfere with things…She understood now, this is the way things should be, so why try to change them?

Of course, seeing Ranma fly out from the house wasn't in the plans either.

"Ranma-honey?" she whispered, wondering what had happened. She saw Akane run after him. And she saw Shampoo come out. The last one was Ryoga, he stood tall, arrogant. Proud of what he had done.

"Ranma…!" screamed Akane, she saw him hit the floor. But he didn't move. "Is he unconscious?" she wondered in panic and then ran to him. She knelt on the ground. "Ranma?" she called quietly but there was no response. She shook him lightly and she felt him stir and groan.

"Ranma are you ok?" she asked him with worry

"Yeah" he said weakly trying to get up. His body ached, in any other situation, he would have been able to recover faster. But today, he was exhausted from everything that was happening and he felt his body unable to respond like he wanted. Akane helped him get on his feet and Ranma was now leaning on the tree.

Akane was mad, why in the world did all of them were always following them? Why couldn't they spend some quiet time with no interruptions? After such a special night between Ranma and her, this was like a nightmare.

Akane approached Ryoga and he was rewarded with a slap that could have broken a normal person's jaw.

"Akane…" was the only thing Ryoga could articulate

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" she demanded to know

"I…I'm protecting you, he probably… kidnap you and brought you here …against your will" he stammered, he couldn't stand Akane's gaze. Her eyes so dark, frightening. He bowed his head.

"This all your fault" interrupted Shampoo

"Oh yeah, and how is this my fault?" asked Akane, her voice dripping with anger

"You bring him here" Shampoo accused

Ranma had regained his strength but he couldn't help to just look at her, he loved to see her like that.

He noticed her eyes, he always did, the way they were slowly darkening with each word that Ryoga and Shampoo threw at her. It was like the darkness of the sky about to let loose a storm. The way her arms fell limb aw exactly what she was feeling.

She seemed fearless. And that was true, he knew, she never ran away from anything. She wasn't scared of Shampoo, she wasn't scared of Ukyo or Kodachi. She was never afraid of a challenge. Does anything scare her? Ranma wondered. And that was one of the million of things that he loved about her

She was different then the others, she stood on her own, she was her own species. Sometimes she was so bright that she could blind him.

As the discussion became more heated, Ranma noticed that her clenched fists were now shaking. Ranma wasn't paying attention at what Shampoo was saying anymore, but whatever it was, it was hurting Akane.

"Look Shampoo, I don't know what goes on in that brain of yours but its not like we planned this" she told Shampoo

"I don't believe you" Shampoo responded

"Maybe you didn't but I'm sure he did" interrupted Ryoga once again accusing Ranma

At the sound of Ryoga's voice, Ranma finally seemed to come back from his trance. And suddenly the only thing Ranma saw was fire. It was as if seeing Akane so confident, she gave him the push he needed to finally get things straightened out.

The moment he had feared all this time had finally come, it was time to tell the truth but first he planned to make Ryoga pay.

"So what if I did" Ranma taunted Ryoga

"How dare you!" Ryoga screamed and with his fist in the air and started running towards Ranma.

Ranma was already waiting for him in a fighting stance. Ranma saw Ryoga come and he smirked, he was so predictable. Before Ryoga's fist could impact his face, Ranma quickly moved to the right and avoided the blow. Ryoga tried to come back with a kick with his right leg but Ranma simply jumped to avoid the hit. An exchange of punches and kicks started between the two.

"So what if I did?" Akane heard Ranma say. She paled, what in the world was that moron thinking. The only thing that Ranma was going to gain was to make Ryoga even more mad.

"You take airen away… Now you pay!" Shampoo sneered as she attacked Akane who at the moment was distracted. But Akane was quick enough to evade a blow to her face. Quickly moving aside causing shampoo to make a large dent on the tree that was behind her. "if that's how you want it that's how you got it" Akane thought, now involved in her own fight.

Akane charged at Shampoo at her full speed, aiming at her mid section. But Shampoo evaded it easily by crossing her bomboris in front of her; but she was still taken back by Akane's strength. Shampoo then attempted to make a clean leg sweep, but Akane saw it and jumped back landing perfectly and gracefully on her feet. She stood there wondering, amazed that she was keeping up, Shampoo was equally surprised. The two girls then looked at each other trying to catch their breath. Then at the same time charged at each other with a battle cry. Exchanging punches and kicks at impressive speeds.

Ranma and Ryoga became a heated exchange of punches, a continuous flow of attacks and blocks.

They were fast, it was difficult to follow their movements but Moose still tried to. Such fights had always existed between the two and Moose concluded that it was always the same issue: Akane Tendo. But this fight was different, it was the final battle between them, the decisive battle. And it appeared that Ryoga wasn't going to settle for anything but the victory. Ryoga tired to attack with impressive force but Ranma wasn't letting his guard down either.

Ryoga tried to throw punches as fast as he could at Ranma but he blocked everyone of them. As Ryoga tired a punch him with his left fist again, Ranma send a kick to Ryoga's stomach, finally finding an opening. Ryoga flew back several feet, hitting a tree head first. A sense of déjà vu hit him of his earlier attack on Ranma. Struggling for his balance he tried to stand up fast, which caused him to feel slightly lightheaded and dizzy.

He managed to stand for a minute, whizzing loudly as he tried to catch his breath with great difficulty. He shakily reach his right arm to clean the sweat off his forehead. "No, no, no…" his mind kept screaming "…you can't loose now, this is too important…"he continued thinking…"besides, you know you're better than this, you can win if you really want to" he tried to reassure himself.

Ranma waited patiently but like usual he was too overconfident and didn't expect Ryoga to recover so quickly. When he tried to react, it was too late, Ryoga swiped his legs from under him, and he felt a sharp pain on his back as he fell onto the hard ground.

Ukyo watched intently at the fight in amazement, her jaw slightly hanging open. And she found herself secretly admiring Akane against her own will. Akane wasn't the strongest fighter or the most skilled but she had something else that Shampoo and herself didn't have, and that was willpower. She was using nothing but willpower and her love for Ranma to go after Shampoo.

"What a girl…Akane" Ukyo whispered to herself .

But it was obvious that Akane was exhausted, her movements were nothing like in the beginning. She was running out of stamina, and her attacks were beginning to be sloppy and weaker.

Shampoo jumped towards Akane for another attack. Akane tired to back-flip out of the way but she was not fast enough. Shampoo moved faster managing to trip her as Akane attempted to land on her feet. Before Akane could hit the ground, she extended her arm trying to break her fall. She rested her weight on her right hand. Fearing that would be the deciding moment, she tried to think of a way to strike, in the position she found herself in, she easily twisted her leg and was able to strike a roundhouse kick but she only managed to disarm her weapons from her oponent. Akane was thankful that she had been able to get Shampoo rid of her bomboris. Unfortunately as Akane fell to the ground after her attack, the position let herself to be open as well and Shampoo quickly took advantage, preparing to throw a punch at Akane's stomach. Akane rolled out of the way and stood up. Both charged at the same time, both managed to land a hit and the two flew back, Shampoo received a light hit on her side, she fell back and hit the ground on her butt. Akane, however, was impacted with a much more powerful punch and flew a few feet away.

Akane hit the ground with a loud thud. She remained on the ground, face down, and didn't move. Shampoo wasn't hurt with Akane's hit, so she was able to get up without much difficulty. Shampoo approached Akane, she stood looking down at her with disgust. Her dirty face, her now torn dress, Akane was a mess. Shampoo had a hard time figuring out how to attack more effectively. Akane slowly opened her eyes, she felt weak and her body ached. She tried getting up but she simply wasn't able to, her limbs rested on the ground, lifeless, they seemed too heavy to move but she had to try. Trying again, Akane got on all fours, slowly pushing against the ground, trying desperately to pull herself together.

Shampoo's eyes emitted pure hate. She wanted Akane out of the way and she knew that this was the perfect moment. But she couldn't do it there, she had to get away. Away from everyone, away from Ranma who was busy with his own fight. There wasn't anyone that could interrupt with her duty. She was finally going to get rid of her obstacle. She reached for Akane, she picked her up and threw her over her shoulder.

Shampoo started running away into the woods. She stopped a few minutes later , far enough so she could carry out her plan. She threw Akane to the ground making her cough from the impact on her back. Shampoo looked at her, her eyes fixed on Akane's form, watching like a hunter eyeing its prey. She slowly lifted her right leg, her face eliminated with an evil smirk. Ukyo saw horrified, as Shampoo's leg come down and mercilessly impacted on Akane's stomach. A simple grunt radiated from Akane.

Ukyo started running, she wasn't thinking at the movement. She was just reacting. "What do you think you're doing?" she screamed confronting Shampoo

"Spatula-girl stay out of this" Shampoo warned.

"Sorry but I can't let you do this" Ukyo responded, getting into a ready stance, spatula at hand.

"If you no help, you obstacle" Shampoo stated, she faced her looking at her challengingly, daring her to make the first move.

Ukyo could see the hate in Shampoo's eyes and it almost made her back away. Shampoo was intimidating but Ukyo couldn't back away. She never thought she would be protecting someone, least of all Akane, but she convinced herself that it was for Ranma's sake.

Shampoo was far from angry, why was spatula-girl interfering, she was sure she also wanted Akane out of the way. But she wasn't going to let her waste the little time she had.

Both girls faced each other. Shampoo just stood in place, patiently waiting for an attack. Ukyo on the other hand, was starting to grow nervous, her confidence was slipping away and she started to wonder if this was even a good idea.

They were unsure of who was going to strike first. After a few seconds of silence Ukyo started to get inpatient. "Here goes nothing" she told herself. With a battle cry, Ukyo started running towards Shampoo, she attempted to strike with her spatula. But she was taken back when Shampoo did not attack back, Ukyo saw Shampoo slide on the ground in between her legs, Shampoo wrapped her hands on both Ukyo's legs and with all her strength slammed Ukyo to the ground. Ukyo yelled as the pain hit her as her back impacted the ground. Ukyo coughed weakly, her eyes shut, the pain was too much to handle. Shampoo stood up and without wasting a second send a kick to Ukyo's side. Ukyo screamed as the kick impacted, Shampoo repeated her attack once, twice, three times, Ukyo felt like she was dying. Each time Shampoo's foot impacted her side she felt a small crack, the power of Shampoo's simple but effective attack had probably broken a rib . "Is this the end?" Ukyo wondered. She had fought against Shampoo before and knew perfectly well that Shampoo never went all out but now she realized that Shampoo was indestructible. Ukyo slowly closed her eyes as blackness took over her mind, she remained on the ground, unconscious.

With her last obstacle out of the way, Shampoo went up to Akane again, she still remained on the ground, who was still too weak to move. She was still having a hard time breathing as well.

"What are you doing Shampoo?" she asked, her voice was low, weak

"Getting rid of obstacles" Shampoo stated

"Can't you see this is wrong?" Akane tried to reason with Shampoo

"I want airlen, no one stop me now" Shampoo simply said

"But he doesn't love you" Akane almost shouted

"Yes he does" Shampoo yelled turning away from Akane

"No Shampoo, he doesn't love you. Do you think you can keep him with you against his will?"

"He loves Shampoo, he does" she yelled, her anger growing, she looked at Akane again. "So what if he no love me? If I don't have him, he can't have you" she stated.

Akane watched as Shampoo walked towards her, her eyes seemed so evil. Out of nowhere Shampoo took out another one of her weapons but this time, it wasn't her bombories it was a…sword.

"Oh no" Akane said quietly to herself, she remembered perfectly well, the sword she now held in her hands was the same sword Shampoo used when she was trying to kill girl Ranma. She watched Shampoo walk towards her, as she neared she took the sword with her two hands, blade facing down. The blade shown with the sun, a sparkle hit Akane in the eyes, momentarily blinding her. She was aware of Shampoo's closeness when she felt the tip of the sword in her stomach. She hissed at the pain as the blade penetrated skin.

She took a deep breath and will all her remaining strength she yelled "RANMAAAAAAAAAA!" at the top of her lungs.

Sorry if this wasn't so good but this is my first fighting scene. So be gentle. Hope you guy liked the chapter.

Chapter 13: Ranma vs. Shampoo