Ranma ½ doesn't belong to me, it belongs to the great Rumiko Takahashi, if I did own do you think I'd be here right now?
-/-
All Akane saw was red and that red just happened to be a red-haired pigtailed girl with an old red Chinese shirt. She cracked her knuckles loudly and her ki flickered and licked its way down her arms to her hands that she would use to throttle him, or her at the moment.
Ranma started to back away quickly but what stopped him was the stonewall lining the garden. For the first time in his life he was terrified of this petite doll with long hair. He tried to look past the firewall that was Akane and saw Ukyou with rage almost equaling Akane's. Ryouga looked guilty for the harmless little trick he pulled before and Akari was nowhere in sight. The two older women didn't seemed fazed by this but the familiar woman, Kyoko, was worrying her lower lips between her teeth.
"You disrespectful, conniving, no good, lying, son of a bitch! How could you do this you stupid bastard? To think I trusted the likes of you!" It looked as if Akane wasn't going to kill him yet.
"Hey! Quit insulting me you stupid tomboy!" Female Ranma shouted right back.
"Don't you even dare call me a tomboy, you sex-changing freak!"
Okay, that one hurt.
"I should blast you into oblivion right now! You have no idea how pissed I am at you!" Everyone could tell how pissed she was by the aura she gave off. But what happened next Ranma never expected. Akane started crying.
"I trusted you, damn it! I trusted you two times and you just threw it all away!" But she was still mad. Akane brought back her fist, staring at Ranma with cold but burning eyes filled with rage and hate. You know those moments where you are faced with fear and you know you should do something but your body is paralyzed? This is how Ranma was feeling.
All he could do was close his eyes and wait for the beating to be over with. He was the cause of her pain and he deserved this. Maybe not the names or the severe beating but he deserved feeling like hell. Because he was such a coward he followed his father's orders and lost Akane's friendship, trust, and possibly love. He started the fight with her that night because he was afraid and upset and almost feeling betrayed. If only he had listened to Akane, none of this would be happening.
Ranma heard the smack of flesh on flesh but didn't feel the sting. He peaked an open and then another when he saw what was before him.
Ukyou had just punched Akane.
Ukyou's face was twisted in rage and fury. Murder was in her eyes and her mouth was formed into a scowl. Her knuckles were red from the contact and her body was tense, ready for anything. Akane still had her head thrown back to the side from the impact. Her eyes were dazed and staring at nothing. Her mouth was forming silent words that no one could hear as her fingers twitched.
"Don't you ever say that to Ranma again or it will be more than just a punch, you hear me?" Ukyou ground her teeth together when Akane didn't move. She was tired of the way Akane treated Ranma or any of them. Ukyou grabbed the girl by her shoulders and shook her but Akane still stared at nothing. "Answer me, bitch!"
Without missing a beat Akane brought her hand up and slapped Ukyou across the face, her hand blazing. Then Ranma noticed something; Akane's eyes were glazed over. He had seen that look before when the two were fighting. Ukyou was brought to her knees but didn't take long for her to get back up and if it weren't for Ranma getting in her way Ukyou would have tackled Akane. "Ranma! What are you doing?"
"Ukyou, you can't hurt her!" Female Ranma exclaimed to the flailing girl.
"And why can't I?" Ukyou asked.
That was a good question. How do you tell a person, especially a raging Ukyou, that if you get Akane mad right now she will beat you to death, or near death? At that thought Ranma quickly checked over his shoulder to see Akane had her head lolled to the side and her eyes were still blank. It didn't seem like Akane was going to hurt them right now, last time she moved much faster; why was she being so slow?
Akane's eyebrows knitted together and shook her head, as if to clear a thought. She straightened herself and her eyes sparked to life, looking confused, almost like she had just woken up from a dream. "Ukyou? What happened to you cheek?" Akane warily walked over to the brunette who was currently frozen in shock.
"You burnt me when you slapped me!"
Akane opened her mouth in defense but realization dawned in her eyes. Akane was at a loss for words. She bowed her head in shame and looked down at her small hands that could cause so much damage and destruction. Before Akane bowed her head Ranma saw her inner fire in her eyes disappear again. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I just wanted to help but I guess I didn't do a very good job. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"What are you talking about Akane?" Ranma asked, concerned for her and whether she had turned mental from everything that was locked behind closed doors. He heard her sniff and her tears fell to the ground like rain.
"I guess you all are better off without me. You were fine before I came into your lives, you'll be fine now. All I ever do is hurt you all anyway. Goodbye." Without another word Akane turned around and darted off of Ayumu's property.
Ryouga, who was sitting on the porch with his mother, turned to her and asked, "What just happened?" Ayumu turned to her son, opened her mouth, then closed it again and shook her head.
Ayumu, wearing the famous Hibiki sheepish smile, turned to Kyoko. "I'm sorry you had to see that Kyoko-San." Then she noticed something very important. "Kyoko-San? Kyoko-San, where did she go?"
Dark Place
He sat on his thrown and laughed evilly. This game was far too fun, it was reaching a close and that meant that he could bring a few new cards out to play. One of those cards happened to be his favorite move that he used on his favorite player. Shadow Strings allowed him to control his little spitfire whenever he wished but he could only use it on her, not that he was complaining. "Poor weak hearted girl." This was his favorite part of the game, his father enjoyed doing the same thing to that good for nothing thief.
Elsewhere ~
Akane crouched down by the base of a tree, hiding her face in her hands in shame. She wasn't crying, they had all dried out inside of her. Besides, she was tired of crying. She had cried all her life. When she found out who she was and where she came from. She cried when she had to learn to trust and when it had been thrown away. She had cried almost everyday day but no more. She was strong and she wouldn't give those backstabbers the satisfaction of seeing her so weak.
A hand was suddenly placed on Akane's shoulder in comfort. It had startled her completely, she hadn't heard anyone come up behind her, and if it wasn't for that hand holding her she was sure she would be ten feet up in the air. The first thing Akane did was fall forward and the hand let go of her, she got up quickly then spun around to meet the one who snuck up behind her.
And it was like she was looking into a mirror. She saw her dirt streaked porcelain face and her plump lips and her nose that fit perfectly on her face. Her eyes that were a sea of emotions, the soil brown eyes hat held specks of gold and the thick eyelashes that framed all of that.
The woman smiled at Akane's dazed face. She fingered Akane's long hair and Akane immediately snapped out of it. She backed away quickly and got into a defensive position. Kyoko giggled and Akane raised an eyebrow in curiousity.
"You've been having black outs lately haven't you?" Kyoko asked.
Akane stood staring at the woman who smiled knowingly. Even as Akane shook uncontrollably she still tried to ask casual. "Wh-what do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb with me Akane." Kyoko said. "You can't hide anything from me and if you want to save your friends from yourself listen very carefully."
Later ~
Akane walked back to Ayumu's home in the rain, her baggy gi fell around her. She hoped that the three other teens had forgotten about her and just went home. But she wasn't sure that Ranma would give up that easy, he wanted to find out about her and no one was giving him real answers. He would walk to the ends of the Earth to find out if he had to.
She stopped in front of the front door of Ayumu's house for a long time until she finally decided to knock. Obviously Akari answered the door and without a word she stepped aside to let Akane enter.
"They are in the tea room Akane-Sama." Akari informed.
Akane nodded in thanks and before she was even done slipping off her muddy shoes in the genkan Akari held out her leather satchel to her. Akane received it gratefully and went to the tearoom where everyone sat.
Everyone had mixed reactions when they saw Akane but she ignored all the questions and comments and the glares she received from Ukyou. Instead she got down on her knees and bowed low to them all. "I'm sorry! Please forgive me for my previous actions, I would like to continue this journey with you all!"
Without hesitation Ranma, who was now male, nodded his head and said, "You are forgiven and we would all be delighted to finish this journey."
"Ranma!" Ukyou exclaimed, getting up in outrage. "After everything she has done you have forgiven her?"
Ranma looked at the presently kneeling Akane and nodded in confirmation.
Akane's face lit up as a smile spread across her face. "You will not regret your decision and Ukyou," Akane swung her vision over to Ukyou who was looking anywhere but Akane. "After my business is done in the Wind Clan you are all free to return to your homes." Akane got up and readjusted the strap of her bag. "Be ready to leave soon."
Meanwhile, outside, the young "Kyoko" smirked and wrapped her cloak around her body. As she did so her body decreased in size.
Dark Place
"I have brought what you requested my Lord." Ken kneeled down in front of his master and presented the sack to him. He got up off his throne to retrieve it and looked inside to check that all it's contents were there.
"Very good Kyoko, or do you prefer Ken?" he laughed heartily and Ken clenched his teeth. He walked back over to his throne and studied each individual item in the dim lighting. "It is a shame that brat Temari had to betray us." He suddenly brought up, drawing Ken's attention. The dark man chuckled and the last item he held up was an intricately designed compass. "I got what I wanted from her though."
When he noticed that Ken was still there he shooed him away. "What are you doing just sitting there? Go fetch me the last item. Now!" Ken nodded and changed back to Kyoko and left the room.
Earth Clan
Ayumu waved goodbye to them all until they were out of site. Ayumu chuckled and turned to Akari who stared lovingly at her son's retreating back. "Akari?"
The young girl snapped to attention and stuttered, "Y-yes my lady?"
"Could you draw me a bath?" Ayumu asked.
"Yes my lady!" Akari left as quickly as possible, she knew that her lady loved to tease and she was simply giving her a chance to escape.
Ayumu giggled at the younger girl's antics and went to follow her inside. She walked down the now empty halls; it was so lifeless now that her son and his friends were gone. She passed by her husband's shrine where she kept the compass. The only problem was that the door was open and she kept it closed at all times.
Akari knew better than to go into this room. Ayumu slid it open wide enough for her to squeeze through and screamed out, "The compass is gone!"
Ice Clan
"Great Grandmother!" Shampoo cried out in her native tongue. She pushed through the crowd, trying to get to her grandmother's hut. "Great Grandmother! Great Grandmother!" She squeezed past the last group of people and went for a mad dash to the largest hut. She burst through the animal skin flap so fast that she got tangled up in it. "Great Grandmother, I sensed an evil presence here!"
She stopped when she saw the state her grandmother was it. A look of horror painted her wrinkled old face and her tiny build was tiredly hunched over the tiny glass box. "Great Grandmother?" Shampoo joined the Elder on the ground and looked into the box to find . . . nothing. Shampoo didn't understand why her grandmother was acting like this until she realized that this was the same container used to store the Ice Bindi. Shampoo suppressed a gasp; their sacred item was missing, most likely stolen.
"The fated day has finally come, we are all doomed, all doomed. We must prevent the inevitable." Cologne mumbled. Shampoo was about to ask what her grandmother meant when Mousse calmly came walking in, oblivious to the situation.
"Has anyone seen Mikado or Azusa?"
Water Clan
Genma stormed down the halls like a madmen, his wife on his heels. "Now calm down dear, you needn't be so rash." Nodoka coaxed.
"Needn't so rash? This is a big issue Nodoka!" he boomed. As he entered the servants' wing he shouted out, "Search the mansion! Search everyone and their rooms! Do not stop until we have the Water Clan's treasure back!"
Travelers ~
The four set off into the night to the Wind Clan. It was all silent and the only noise was the chirping of cicadas and the rustling of the leaves. The Wind and Earth Clan stayed fairly close to one another since they lived off the other. The Wind Clan provided the Earth Clan with essentials such as pots and pans and the wind to spread the seeds. And the Earth Clan provided the Wind Clan with medicine and food.
As always Akane led them all since she gave off a natural light and Ryouga brought up the back since he could sense any life force in their general area. And, as always, the silence was awkward.
"So are we going to be traveling all night?" Ukyou spat out, she was still pissed at Akane. Ukyou only received a nod; the brunette huffed and tried to find something to occupy her time.
Akane was once again lost in her own thoughts and Ranma was stuck in the middle of a dazed Akane, fiery Ukyou, and lost Ryouga. Why did all the bad things happen to him?
They had traveled all night and didn't reach the Wind Clan until late morning, reaching noon. Of course they took short brakes to rest their feet and get a drink of water.
Ukyou immediately relaxed when they crossed the border and she entered more familiar territories. The wind wrapped around her like a comforting blanket and whistled a melody that only she could hear. The streets were bustling with activity, it was storm season after all and they were working around the clock to tame the raging winds. Young children were being taught how to control their powers and teens were going out for their first assignment. Even if someone saw Ukyou they didn't stop to say hello.
But as they worked their way up the hill to Ukyou's home, things started to calm down and the winds were gentle. Ukyou's home was a traditional Japanese mansion surrounded by cherry blossom trees that danced in the wind; it was beautiful.
Ukyou didn't even bother to knock on the door, it was her home after all, and walked in. It was quiet and peaceful, unlike outside and Ranma was fidgeting from the silence, how could Ukyou live like this? But she seemed perfectly content with it all and walked down the hall to her father's study, giving small nods of acknowledgement to servants she passed in the halls.
Akane studied the almost lifeless halls, she was expecting it to be more cheerful but everything was the same color. Judging by the outside you expected the inside to be just as grand, but it was all just a sick illusion. She was so close and she couldn't wait to be done with it all, but it was all moving so slowly. Ukyou seemed to sense all of this and looked at Akane out of the corner of her eye. "We're almost there."
She wanted to end that with, "I know how much you want us out of your life" but suppressed that desire.
They found Zen Kuonji sitting in his office, overlooking the raging waters. His ears perked when the four entered but he did not move from his position. "Welcome back my daughter." He got up and walked over to engulf his only child in a bear hug.
Ukyou's toes barely touched the floor and she was kicking them madly, since her arms were pinned to her sides. She blushed a deep red, for her friends were watching. "Okay dad, thank you, now please put me down."
Zen did as he was told and laughed heartily. Honestly, Akane had never seen him like this, of course she had only met him once and he was very stone faced; she never would have imagined he would be a doting father. She smiled as he watched him joke with Ukyou and muss her hair. Her father had never done that to Akane, she was too busy training to be the new Fire Lord due to her father's health.
She always promised herself that she would be a better parent then her father. She tenderly placed a hand over her womb, that day would never come.
"So Ukyou, are you going to stay or leave?" Zen asked.
"I'm going to stay father." Ukyou replied with a smile.
Zen laughed once more. "Good, it has been getting quite boring around here."
Akane continued to watch them all smile and laugh. She knew she didn't belong here so she reached into her satchel and stroked her thumb over the watch, the curtain was closing and she must take her bow. She would step out gracefully, with her head held high, accepting her fate with pride.
"Is there something that you need?" Zen asked Akane suddenly. Akane was startled out of her thoughts and looked around the room; no one was there except herself and Zen. She must have been zoned out longer than she thought.
"Yes, this belongs to you Zen-Sama." Akane pulled out the bronze pocket watch with a clear lid that could let you see the wheels and turns that controlled the watch. "This belongs to you." Akane bowed and held the item out to him. He accepted it gratefully and when it left her hand she moved to turn away but Zen stopped her.
"I know you want to leave but you can't." Akane cocked her eyebrow at the man. Zen continued, "A storm is brewing and you cannot travel in those weather conditions. At least stay for the night." Akane nodded her head in agreement.
And Zen was right; a large storm hit them that night.
Akane sat in her room, just listening to the thunder and watching the lightning illuminate the sky. She barely heard the knock on her door due to the volume of the wild winds and thick raindrops hitting the roof. "Come in," she shouted over a clap of thunder. Ranma entered with a serious look on his face and Akane's eyes widened, she knew what he came here for. "Get out," she growled low in her throat, lightning shadowing her face.
"No," he said with equal intensity.
Akane got up and stalked over to stand in front of him. "Why can't you just drop it, you have asked so many people, why can't you accept not knowing."
"I can't accept that. Just like I can't accept how much you changed! Why? Can't you just give me an honest answer? I'm sick of all these damn riddles!"
"Why do you want to know anyway, huh? What is it to you?" She pointed a finger to his chest. "Do you care about me or something?"
"What if I do?" he answered with a question.
"Then we have a problem, I mean, how can you care for someone like me? When all I've done is be rude and spiteful towards you? How? Can you answer some of my questions Ranma? And did it ever cross your mind that I may have wanted to tell you but I was afraid of what you think? But now I will never tell you, you want to know why? Because I can never trust a betrayer and liar like – " Akane was cut off from her rant when Ranma gripped his fingers around Akane's slim shoulders and smashed his lips against hers.
Akane was left shock and all she could do was beat at his chest, until he took her hands and pinned her against the wall, deepening the kiss. Akane clenched her eyes shut and whimpered in protest, which only gave Ranma access to slip his tongue into her mouth. She felt the sting of tears pierce her closed eyelids, those tears slid past them both to land on their locked lips. Ranma was afraid he was hurting her, her bones were so fragile and he was frightened that he might break them. When was the last time he had felt these small bone beneath his fingers? Four years ago when he held her shoulders violently.
He pulled away panting, their warm breaths mingling with each other's. Akane looked at him through watery eyes. "Why?" she asked.
That was a very good question – why did he just kiss her? His mind said to shut her up but his heart spoke differently. "I don't know." Ranma was thankful for his speed at that moment because before Akane could even think, he was gone. Akane sank to the ground and brought her knees up to her chest. She rested her head on her knees and hugged her legs while she sobbed. "Don't," she said in-between sobs. "Don't act like this now, when I know I have to leave you."
Ranma ~
Ranma stormed down the halls to his room. Why was that damn girl so infuriating? Why did she make him feel so weak? Why did he want to take her pain away when he saw her in such a suffering state? She made him so mad, she made his blood boil, she made him laugh and smile, and she made him want to live. Ranma halted and turned to the wall to punch it. He welcomed the pain and look at his red knuckles in satisfaction. how could that small girl take such control over him?
He remembered holding her small shoulders in his hands and reminded him that she was just as weak as the rest of them, but she was just better at masking the pain.
Later that night ~
When the storm had died down and everyone had taken to his or her beds was the time Akane sneaked out. Her first stop would be Zen's office for the pocket watch, no need for things to get ugly and for him to get it himself. She only hoped the older man would forgive her.
As soon as she retrieved it and had hidden it in silk wrapping she took off into the night and headed towards the thick evil aura. The reason why the Wind Clan had so many storms was because how close it was to Death Valley.
Everything in Death Valley was dead and no animal life resided there, Akane was actually surprised how he managed to survive there.
It took half of the night to get there with her speed and even though she wanted to back down, even though she thought this was wrong; she couldn't turn back. It was too late.
The second she stepped into his land she almost fell to her knees, the dense aura about crushed her but she knew he wouldn't allow her to die; she was too important to him and his little game. She smirked and with that comforting thought in mind trudged up the small incline to his majestic palace. It was all so dark and bad shivers shot up her spine with every step closer. It was the kind of feeling that made her want to run and hide somewhere.
But she was done running, she was done hiding; she was sick of being such a damn coward and decided to do something. She was tired of blaming her problems on others. She wouldn't let him control her any more. It was a shame she just know had this revelation right when she was literally walking to her death.
She didn't even bother to knock, she wasn't going to show respect to this bastard, and to think she once called him, "friend".
She sensed his presence ahead and she stopped two feet away from him where his toe touched the natural light she gave off. She chuckled when she watched him cringe away from her heat.
"It has been far too long," The man that has been hidden this whole time warily stepped out into her light to reveal his hunched over back, his arms dangling lifelessly by his sides, and the bags under his eyes. "Hikaru Gosunkugi."
A/N: Review if you were totally expecting that! This is a present to my dear friend and supporter, tuatara, who has published his first story! Surprise!