Sorry for taking so long to get this out. I promise the next chapter will be out a lot sooner.

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

Akane in Chains

Chapter Five: Sadness and Resolve

Soun Tendo was completely devastated by Akane's arrest. He'd always been very emotional and easily distressed whenever he felt his daughters were hurt or troubled. Still, it did not make the sight of him weeping over his daughter any less heart-wrenching. He had cried every day since the police had taken her away and he practically broke down at the courthouse when the judge sentenced his daughter to spend a year in prison, protesting and wailing loudly. The poor man now sat on the back porch of his home. He was no longer loudly screaming like he had been earlier, but he was still crying to himself as choked sobs emanated from his throat.

Genma had tried to console his friend, but Soun did not even acknowledge him as he continued to weep to himself. The elder Saotome was not accustomed to trying to make others feel better, but he cared about his friend enough to try. Even though his efforts seemed futile, he still stayed close, not knowing what else he could possibly do.

"I've fixed some tea." Kasumi exited the kitchen holding a tray with several cups. "Would you like some?"

"Thank you, Kasumi." Genma accepted the cup the eldest Tendo daughter offered him. As he took it, he couldn't help frowning as he saw her face. She was trying to hide it with her pleasant demeanor and a forced smile, but he could see her checks were red and puffy.

Kasumi silently laid another cup by her father, her smile faltering as she watched her father weep. He did not even seem to be aware of her presence. She paused for a few seconds as if pondering what she could say before quietly turning around and heading back inside. Genma sighed as he watched her leave the room. Even she couldn't think of anything to say that could possibly help her father feel better and once more he cursed himself for not being good at consoling others.

While Genma remained with his friend, Kasumi headed upstairs. She approached the door to Nabiki's room and knocked.

"Nabiki?" She waited several seconds as she heard movement from within and someone approaching the door before it was opened.

"I thought you might like some tea," she said as she held out a cup for her sister.

"Thank you," Nabiki muttered as she took the offered mug.

Once more, Kasumi had to struggle to keep smiling as she saw her normally calm and detached sister. While Nabiki had long garnered a reputation as an emotionless ice queen, it was clear that her sister's imprisonment had substantially affected her.

"You've been up here by yourself since, ah, we got back." Kasumi was not able to bring herself to say 'back from the courthouse'. "Do you want to talk for a bit?"

"No," Nabiki replied hastily, "I just… I just need to be alone for a while." She moved to close the door, but it refused to move as her elder sister held it open.

"You need to stop blaming yourself for what happened," Kasumi said in a concerned tone. "It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is!" Nabiki snapped angrily. The enraged expression on her face fell as quickly as it had come. "I'm sorry, Sis. I didn't mean to yell at you."

Kasumi gave her sister a nod of understanding, "Please talk to me. I'm willing to listen."

Head lowered, Nabiki moved to sit on the edge of her bed. Kasumi sat next to her and waited for her to begin.

"All I ever did was make Akane and Ranma fight. Whenever I could profit from it, I was more than willing to help any of Ranma's rivals or fiancées out. Situations that could've easily resolved themselves were blown out of proportion because of my actions. And you know how the two of them are: Ranma is too stubborn and Akane is so easily angered. They blame each other every time something goes wrong and it's my fault for putting them in those situations in the first place. If I wasn't trying to make a buck off them, maybe their relationship wouldn't be so strained. Maybe Sis would've been more trusting and wouldn't have tried to chase Ranma that day and hurt that kid in the process. Maybe she wouldn't be in prison right now if I hadn't made their relationship worse!"

"You forget that they've gotten into plenty of fights without your involvement too," Kasumi replied. "Those two are just so stubborn with each other. I don't believe you caused them to fight any more than they would've anyway."

"All I know is that I am part of why they were always fighting. My interfering may not have been the only reason they fought, but it certainly didn't help! I just assumed that things would also resolve themselves or turn out okay. I never imagined this would happen."

A deafening silence descended after Nabiki finished speaking. Kasumi sat there for a couple minutes pondering her sister's words before finally voicing a reply. "We've all made mistakes. I'm just as much to blame for not trying to help Ranma and Akane work through their problems."

"We both know that's not true," Nabiki responded, shocked her elder sister would consider herself culpable in ruining her sister's life. "You didn't place your own sister in situations that made her despise her own fiancée!"

"It is true," Kasumi insisted. "Oh, I would listen whenever Akane needed someone to talk to or listen about a fight or argument she had with Ranma, but I didn't do anything. I never really tried to help her work through the issues they had. I just assumed they would be alright and everything would eventually work itself out."

Silence reigned as Nabiki absorbed what her sister just told her.

"Dwelling on our mistakes is not going to change anything," Kasumi continued resolutely. "I know Akane wouldn't want us to be blaming ourselves. What's important is that we try to make up for our past mistakes with what we do now."

"I understand what you're saying, Sis," Nabiki slowly responded. "It's just so hard."

"I know, but you're not in this alone," Kasumi answered, pulling her sister into a hug. "We're here for you, just as you're here for us. And just as we all are going to be there for Akane."

Whenever he needed to be alone, Ranma found the roof of the Tendo Dojo to be a very relaxing place. He would come up here whenever he needed to think on something or just have a few moments of peace after a hectic day of training or fighting. Though the sun had already set an hour ago, he was oblivious to the passage of time, completely absorbed in his thoughts.

To say that he was depressed by Akane's incarceration would be an understatement. He didn't cry aloud like Soun, but everyone could see that he was deeply affected. It still seemed unreal to him. After all, they had argued and fought countless times in the two years they'd known each other. Sure, she usually hit him whenever she got angry, but he always recovered and life would just go on. It never crossed his mind that anyone else might accidentally get hurt.

Much like Nabiki, he blamed himself for what happened. He should've just taken Akane's attack instead of running away. If he had just held his ground, no one else would've have gotten hurt. Akane wouldn't have done anything wrong and she wouldn't be in prison.

His guilt went beyond that though. The truth was Akane had been completely right in her argument that day. As much as Shampoo and Ukyo relentlessly pursued him, he'd never gone out of his way to dissuade them. Even though he didn't return either one's feelings, he still happily played along cause he liked being the center of attention. He never once considered how that made Akane feel. If he'd just been more resolute in turning his other fiancees down, Akane wouldn't have had a reason to get mad at him that day. She'd still be here at the Dojo and not in some prison cell.

He was driven out of his circling thoughts when the sound of someone jumping onto the roof behind him reached his ears. He began to turn only to be bowled over as he was leapt on and pulled into a tight embrace.

"Ni hao, Ranma!" Shampoo greeted the pigtailed martial artist cheerfully, "Shampoo thought Ranma might still be awake."

"Shampoo," Ranma stuttered as he forced his way out of the Amazon's arms. After extracting himself, he stood upright from where he had been tackled and watched wearily as she did the same. This was the last thing he wanted now. "Look Shampoo, I'm really not in the mood for this right now. Could you please leave? I'd really like to be alone."

As much as he prayed that the universe might show mercy on him this one time, it was not to be. Just like every other time somebody wanted something from him, words alone were not going to be enough to dissuade them.

"Why Ranma want Shampoo to leave so soon? And here Shampoo went to trouble of making dinner for us." She sat down the Chinese take-out box she had brought with her and produced a couple bowls of lo mein.

"I'm not hungry," he muttered. Despite not having eaten all day, he really wasn't interested in food.

"But Shampoo made it especially for you!" she pleaded, honestly shocked that Ranma was turning down her food. He had never resisted her cooking before. Even after the times when she used magical ingredients in her dishes to control him or try to make him fall in love with her, he had never stopped eating her food and always seemed happy to have some.

"Sorry, but I'm just not hungry. Now, could you please leave?"

Shampoo paused for a moment before an idea struck her. "If Ranma has dinner with Shampoo, Shampoo promises to leave as soon as Ranma finishes."

Ranma gave her an annoyed glare, but slowly walked over and picked up the offered bowl and chopsticks. If it was the quickest way to get her to leave, he figured he may as well eat. For her part, Shampoo was ecstatic, smiling happily as Ranma began to eat. "You like, Ranma?"

"It's good," he answered very unenthusiastically.

Shampoo frowned. She had been hoping that his mood would turn around after he started eating. "Ranma so quiet," she said after a minute of silence. "You usually so talkative."

"I don't feel like talking right now."

"Well, if Ranma have nothing to say, maybe hear great news Shampoo have."

Ranma gazed dispassionately at Shampoo, not giving her a verbal response. Regardless, the Amazon continued.

"Great-Grandmother is going back to village next week to meet with other members of Amazon Council. She taking Mousse with her so he can see his family. They both be gone whole week," She flashed a suggestive smile, "That mean no one else be at restaurant. Ranma could spend time with Shampoo, alone. No distractions to get in way."

"Not interested," Ranma muttered, not even looking up to meet her eyes as he slowly continued to eat.

Shampoo scooted next to him and pulled him into another embrace, bushing herself up against him as she did so. "Shampoo sure Ranma will enjoy."

Once more, Ranma forced his way out of the Amazon's arms. "Look, I'll finish eating your meal like you wanted, but I am not interested in anything else!" He usually got frustrated with the Amazon, but his current mood went beyond that. He was downright furious. However, the source of his anger wasn't so much Shampoo as himself. In the two years she'd been chasing him, what had he done to get her to stop before now? Oh sure, he'd complained in the past, but he never really did anything beyond that. And now, Akane was in prison, because he never manned up and just told Shampoo flat out he wasn't interested!

"Shampoo just want to make Ranma happy," she replied, frustrated by Ranma's reaction. Even when he said no, he usually wasn't this angry.

"Happy?" he snapped in disbelief, "How can you possibly expect me to be happy after what's happened?"

"Akane got what she deserve!" she blurted out, deciding to cut to the heart of the matter. "She hurt innocent child while trying to hurt you! She deserve to be punished!"

"That doesn't mean she deserved to be thrown in prison for it!"

"Then what does Ranma think Akane deserve, if not prison? You think she should be allowed to get away with what she did?"

"I don't know, but she didn't deserve to go to prison for an accident!"

"Accident no excuse for what Akane did," Shampoo retorted. "She belong in prison, if act too violent."

"Too violent?" Ranma shouted, "Who are you to judge others for acting violent? When you first came to Nerima, you were trying to kill me!"

"That… That different."

"How was that different?"

"Shampoo was trying to fulfill Amazon law."

"And that's an excuse?"

"But Shampoo not hurt anyone," she hastily replied. "Besides, no try kill Ranma after finding out truth that he is man."

"It doesn't change that you tried to harm me and didn't care if others got in the way! Hell, even after you found out I was a guy; you've started plenty of fights with Akane since then! Don't try to act like you're any better!"

"But… Shampoo just trying to get Ranma to see how much better choice she is than Akane."

"And what if you had accidentally hurt someone in one of those fights?"

"Shampoo not hurt anyone," she repeated pitifully, unable to come up with a better response.

Ranma glared angrily. "Just leave."

Shampoo couldn't fathom how everything had gone so wrong. Why couldn't he just be happy with her? Desperate to try and salvage the situation, she cautiously stepped toward him and started to speak, "Ranma, please…"

"I said leave!" Ranma bellowed furiously, throwing the bowl of lo mein as he did so. It sailed past Shampoo's head, barely missing her before smashing into the roof, shattering to pieces and splattering noodles and pork on the tiles. "You want to make me happy, Shampoo? Then go back to China with your Great-Grandmother and stay there!"

Shampoo had never seen Ranma this furious with her before. The Amazon couldn't help but flinch at his glare and stepped back from him. Not knowing what to do, she turned and fled.

Ranma stared after her for several seconds before turning away, satisfied she wouldn't come back, and returned to lying down. If only he'd been that forceful with her years ago, maybe she'd have left by now. In any case, he wasn't going to insult Akane anymore by stringing them along. She had resigned herself to serving her time, but he was resolved to be there for her and let her know how much he truly cared for her.

Next: Akane's first night behind bars.

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