Akane's POV

I'm naked.

At least that's how it feels like when the belt of my bathrobe comes undone and displays pretty much everything it's supposed to cover up. The left side of my chest, my right leg from the top of my thigh - and I'm pretty sure - Ranma also got a glimpse of my most intimate parts...

I stand there petrified for about a second before I instinctively grab the ends of the bathrobe and pull them tight around my waist. Ranma's still looking at me, a dazed expression on his face. His taut, bare chest is gleaming with sweat and moving in and out as he exhales raggedly.

I've never felt so embarrassed in my life, my heart's thumping in my chest and my face feels like it's on fire. Why did this have to happen now ? In front of Ranma ?

I wanna scream "pervert" but the word remains stuck in my throat. Why is he still staring like an idiot ? Why isn't he saying something or - worse - making fun of me ?

"Akane..." he finally says in a hoarse voice.

I glare at him, prepared for the worst.

"What ? I'm an uncute and sexless tomboy, I know" I exclaim, still hugging my bathrobe tightly.

"You're not" Ranma responds almost instantly.

"What...?"

"I'm sorry for ever saying these things to you" he adds, looking sincere "I didn't know it actually affected you"

"It doesn't" I reply in a whisper - very convincing.

"Akane..." Ranma begins, looking away, "do you really wanna go to the US ?"

"I... guess so. Anyone with this opportunity would've gone, right ?"

I'm hesitating. He knows it.

"Not you" he says in a determined tone. "I know you've always been a straight-A student and stuff but... what about the dojo ?"

"Well, you're still gonna take over the dojo, aren't you ?"

He stares at me, looking like he wants to say something that won't come out.

"Right. I am" he finally blurts out, "It's always been... the plan"

"Good" I say, swallowing with difficulty.

"And I thought it was your plan too" he adds, his eyes still locked on mine.

I don't know what to say. Is he actually... disappointed?

"Look, can't you see that this is what you were made for ?" he asks, motioning around him with his arms "To become one of the greatest martial artists in this country? That's what you always said!"

"Well maybe I've changed my mind!"

"But why ?" he asks loudly.

"I just wanna get away—" I say, without even realizing the meaning of my words as I speak them.

Ranma casts a glance at me, a hurt look on his face.

"Not from you!" I say quickly "but from... all the craziness that's been going on, since..."

"Since I've moved in here" Ranma finishes, fatality in his tone.

I suddenly realize that I can't deny it. Ranma was the beginning of all the chaos in my life, and in my family's. But it's not like there were only downsides to that... In reality, I just can't imagine my life without him living here anymore...

"Look... Ranma ?"

"What now..."

"Don't... hate me for this"

"I don't... hate you" he replies slowly without looking at me.

I feel my eyes prickle with tears as I realize something important : that's it, I've made my decision.

Only now, I realize that I really do want to get away for a while, and be able to think about something else than Shampoo, Ukyo, Kodachi, Kuno, and all the rest... maybe that's why I said "yes" so quickly, because inconsciously, I knew what was better for me.

But Ranma... It shatters my heart to know that I won't see him for so long. Even if I hardly admit it to myself, he's the person I'll be missing the most... It rips me up inside to even think about all that could happen during this year... what if he forgets about me and ends up marrying Shampoo or Ukyo ? What if he realizes that his life is better off without me in it ? I couldn't stand that - I just couldn't.

"Well if that's what you really want... goodbye, Akane" Ranma whispers, turning around to pick up his shirt.

"G-Goodbye" I stutter, surprised at the way things are turning out.

Strangely, I feel like there's so much more to be said before we must part. But my whole body's frozen as I watch him get out of the dojo.

He doesn't even turn back to look at me one last time.

'Stop him! Tell him the whole truth before it's too late!' a voice screams in my head... but I ignore it, too stubborn and petrified.

A flow of tears rushes down my cheeks as Ranma slams the door behind him.

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"Damn it!" Ranma exclaimed as he leaped on the roof.

He was boiling inside. Fortunately, he had managed to get away from Akane before bursting out, but now he just had to let it all out, one way or another...

"Akane no bakaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa !!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

His voice echoed through Nerima's streets, scaring off a few tomcats that were eating out of some garbage cans.

For one second, he looked behind him, afraid to find Akane, fuming and about to pound him on the head with her mallet - or without it - but nobody was there. She was probably already sleeping in her room. He suddenly felt the urge to go and watch her sleep through the window of her room but he held himself back, remembering that the curtains must be drawn anyway.

Ranma sat down, arms crossed and elbows on his knees. He felt like his own mind didn't obey him anymore. One one hand, he was truly mad at Akane, disappointed and deeply hurt, but on the other hand, he forced himself to put his anger and resentment away because he now knew that she would really leave. All he wanted was to be as close to her as possible, as long as possible...

He glanced at the sky, and cursed at the moon, at the stars, and at the whole universe. Why did he have to move in here ? He was happy before, going nowhere and everywhere with his Pop, not caring about anybody else but himself. But Akane had changed him and his whole world. He'd become somebody he'd never been before - and it really sucked at times. Now he was involved and he felt weak. Akane had had this power over him, since the very beginning. She could make him do anything in the world - but he would never admit that to her.

Ranma sighed and lied down, his hands under his head. After a few minutes, his eyelids shut themselves and he fell asleep, despite the many thoughts in his head that just wouldn't leave him in peace. Those became dreams, haunting and obsessive nightmares which always involved Akane being taken away from him in a thousand different scenarios.

And then, suddenly, everything changed. The darkness became light and a beautiful, dark and short-haired angel flew down from the sky and leaned over to kiss him.

It was Akane. He had dreamed of the two of them kissing oh-so-many-times, but this was different. It felt so real, and so good that it sent electrical shivers all through his body.

Ranma knew this wasn't going to last long, so he fought to stay asleep, but consciousness was already coming back to him, taking the imaginary light away, but strangely... not the kiss. Ranma kept his eyes shut, not wanting to check if it really was just his imagination playing tricks on him or if Akane's lips were really kissing his.

'Please let it be real, let it be real...' he prayed blissfully, enjoying every new and incredibly pleasant sensation.

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Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Next chapter will most definately get lemony so you've been warned (I will then have to change the rating of the story so don't forget to add it to your story alerts...)

Reviews are always welcome :)