Introducing:
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Ranma ½ Fan fiction Production:
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A SECOND CHANCE TO LOVE…
Part Six:
School at Furinkan High was noisy with chattering of students and occasional yelling from a frustrated teacher. The entire time from beginning of school to lunch break, our favourite heroine – Akane has been ignoring her idiotic fiancé making funny faces at her. Her patience (not that she ever has the long endurance of putting up with much lunacy around Nerima) drew to a close when she overheard some conversation between the male classmates and the other main subject of the last Jusenkyou incident facing Saffron of the Mount Phoenix.
"Oi Ranma. So how is the last trip to China? Seen any cute girls?" Hiroshi and Daisuke jabbed in each other on the arm in suggestive behaviour. "All the cute fiancées came along with you right?"
Ranma was in the middle of flicking a small piece of eraser at Akane's head when he stopped upon hearing their last misadventure. "Um. Yeah. So what about it?"
"Any close encounters with one of your cute fiancées? I for one will never miss a chance at spending time with one of them. Shampoo is a hot one!" Daisuke began his usual discussion on which fiancée he preferred as Ranma, out of habit, zoned out the sharing of opinions.
"Nah. My marital arts capability saved the day as usual. As for the cute girls, depending on which particular girl you are referring to." Ranma puffed up his chest despite his secret reluctance to broach the subject since his thoughts has been on the near-death of Akane and the failed wedding that followed. Many things he would rather put aside for time being until he could ponder deeper in peace and quiet.
'Oh man. Why is Akane still angry with me? I merely teased her just like any other times. I'll never understand women. Touché.' Ranma stuck out his tongue at the back of Akane's head as Akane with her invisible radar for any movements from her baka fiancé, detected the gesture and threw a table on his head.
"Stupid jerk." Akane muttered as she dusted her hands off any dust particles gathered from the table.
In less than a blink of an eye, the wall behind the classroom exploded as Shampoo boldly strode in. "Nihao!" Shampoo called out her usual greeting as she hefted the ramen carrier on one hand. "Where is Ranma?"
Daisuke pointed at a trembling cupboard just miraculously moved from the windows to the front of the blackboard. "He's there."
Shampoo revealed her white toothy grin and slapped a discount coupon to Nekohaten on his hand. "Two free meals on Shampoo's tab."
Shampoo strutted seductively towards the cupboard and threw open the door, revealing Ranma squashed up in a corner. "Aiyah. Shampoo have brought nourishment to husband. Husband must try." With great ease, she hefted Ranma out and sat him on a table.
With great gusto, the purple haired Chinese Amazon displayed a plate of Chinese braised pork on fried chow mein – a tempting aroma drifted to everyone's nose close in the vicinity. Ranma, being himself as usual surrendered to the temptation and begun inhaling the delicacy.
Akane sniffed in disdain as she glared at her iinazuke enjoying the food her rival whipped up. It had always puzzled her greatly how others seem to make cooking look so effortless and yet when it comes to her own attempt, people run away to avoid her creation at all cost.
Shampoo smiled as she flaunted her feminine qualities at Akane. "Airen, how is Shampoo's new dish?"
Ranma who was too absorbed in his feast, mumbled through his full mouth, "Great!" and not able to see as usual the reason for the animosity between the youngest Tendo and the Chinese Amazon warrior. It never occurred to him that Akane was hurt because of her insecurity of inability to measure up to the areas in martial arts or even normal culinary skills and that made her felt useless.
Akane, her face looking downcast for a briefest moment, recovered and gave her automatic reply without much heat this time. "I don't care. The jerk can eat any of his cute fiancées food all he wants. It is not that I am trying to please the idiot."
The boy-in-question upon hearing the rebuttal, was also too immense in protecting any of his pride left since his condition of turning into a woman, spoke without thinking, "Great. If only you get it into your 'uncute' head that you will never be any good. Face it. The only thing you can ever dream about beating me is just studying and yuck, math."
The blue-haired fiancée bit back any urge to burst into tears and mumbled out, "So I'm never good enough. Right?" Her voice contained all her doubts, pain and a last bit of hope hanging on a fragile thread.
"Yeah! Your legs are thick as trucks of a old tree. Your waist is like a thick bucket. You are not as pretty as me and the other girls. Your cooking is toxic waste! Heck, all in all. You are uncute and sexless!" Ranma counted the usual list of Akane's 'poor qualities', unable to differentiate the crossroad of this words were pushing them to make.
Tendo Akane, aged 17 and at the tender age where all young women were antagonising over the approaching womanhood of their lives, stood with her eyes shut tightly as each word hit her like a tidal wave.
Indeed, the words were repeated many times before, yet deep in her heart, she did not have enough confidence in herself despite numerous amorous active pursuing after her by countless boys. Tofuu-sensei who was deeply obsessed with her eldest sister Kasumi was the first male she really wanted to make an effort to appear more attractive and wanted, yet the kind doctor could not take notice of her presence the moment Kasumi-oneechan was even mentioned.
Young Akane's tender ego was bruised and was hardly recovered before a certain Saotome Ranma barged into her heart once more. Hurtful words were exchanged and moments were regretted. However, each few and precious times that Ranma showed even a slightest bit of concern or a simple word of praise was enough for a teenage girl to accept as crumbs of attention tossed in her way from people that really matter.
As time passed, as all these words are repeated over and over again, Akane begun to question herself whether this was the kind of future that she could foresee with Ranma. She was getting exhausted with all these words exchanged and coping with emotions that taxed on her. Slowly, it grew to an ultimatum that she voiced out in one last single question that will determine if her life will include Ranma at all, especially since the Mount Phoenix incident.
"Why then are you still engaged with me? You can just break it off." A soft-spoken word uncharacteristic of Akane was hidden with feelings of defeatism, tiredness and without her usual bit of life.
Ranma, at this point sensed something amiss. A nagging thought of warning was trying to get him to notice and Ranma, confused blurted out, "Because our fathers engage us by birth. It was a matter of honour." At that sentence, the voice suddenly died off as the last vestige the vibrant life in her amber-brown eyes faded at this declaration.
So that was what was still holding them together, just a mere determination to uphold a promise by two fathers over some silly session of sake. Her shoulders slumped as she fought back bitterness that begun to descend over her. She thought so and yet it did not relieve her of the wave of failure and pain that threatened to overtake her.
Slowly, Akane smiled and raised her hand to hit Ranma on the cheek. It was a blow that hardly sting and yet Ranma held his hand in astonishment as he felt he had just lost a greatest battle without even knowing what it was.
"Akane?" Ranma expected a beating from her iinazuke just like their usual routine. Yet, something in her eyes stopped him from going further.
"Saotome Ranma, from now on, the engagement between us is over. You are still bounded by the promise to Tendo, but it will not be me." Akane forced out a humourless grin, "You can try Nabiki with your usual charm, although unless you owe 5 oil mines, you won't be able to afford her."
With a casual wave she hardly could feel she could muster, the blue-haired girl turned and strode into the front door, the light from the afternoon sun momentary blinded Ranma as the door swung and she stepped into the open air and into a new future without Ranma.
(End of Chapter 6)