Chapter One

"Did you see the news broadcast?"

Ranma twirled the phone cord around his finger until his fingertip was purple; he unwinded the cord and repeated the process. "Yeah, I did." he muttered into the receiver.

"It's unbelievable. You felt it, too, didn't you?"

"Yeah,"

"It was just a little shudder here, though. The cities along the coastline got the brunt of it. It's unreal. So much destruction, and so quickly. I still can't believe it's real." Ranma heard Akane sigh. "So, any word from Ryoga? You said he got lost again a week ago."

Ranma watched his finger twirl the thin cord around and around until his entire index finger was covered. He freed his finger and ran his hand through his hair. Ranma looked over at the fridge, at the crinkled, water-damaged peice of paper attached to the freezer door. He could hear the sounds of the television from the living room.

...largest earthquake to be reported since the beginning of the 20th century. The quake jolted Japan today and sent tsunami waves that inovated its coast. This could be seen around 2:45 in the afternoon. Homes and cars have been washed away and neighbourhoods flooded; officals say the damage is enormous. Police say that 200-300 bodies were found in one city alone; hundreds remain missing. Problems have risen in three nuclear power plants and...

"Ranma?" Akane said. "Are you still there?"

"He's in Sendai." Ranma said quietly.

The phone was silent for a while.

"Sendai?"

"Yeah," Ranma replied. "Ryoga is in Sendai."

"Sendai is on the coast."

"Yeah."

"Where the earthquake hit."

"Yeah."

Silence again; longer this time.

"Oh, God, Ranma!" Akane cried. "D-do you think...I mean..."

"I don't know, Akane." Ranma rested his forehead against the cool wall. "I don't know."

"Oh, God. What if something happened to him? I mean, all that footage on the news... everything is destroyed. I mean, I know Ryoga is strong and all, but...but..." Akane started sniffling. "Oh, God. Oh, God..."

Ranma closed his eyes, listening to Akane weep from the other end of the line. Ranma found the phone cord again and started to twist, more quickly this time. His finger quickly lost all feeling, but it didn't make a difference. His whole body was numb, anways.

"Akane, I gotta go." Ranma murmered.

Akane hiccupped wetly. "R-Ranma, I-"

"I'll call later, okay?"

Akane didn't reply for a while, the only sounds from the receiver her sniffles. "Okay." she croaked.

Ranma hung up the phone. He walked up the stairs and into Ryoga's bedroom-the one they'd been sharing for two years. He closed the door behind him, then rested his back on the door with a long sigh. He slid slowly down to the floor. Looking around the room, he noticed how little had changed in Ryoga's room after two whole years. Even after Ranma had moved in, he had contributed little to decoration in the bedroom. Not that he needed to, what with all the souvenirs Ryoga had filled his room with. It had always been one of Ranma's favourite things about Ryoga: all the places he'd been, the things he'd seen, the things he'd done. It was Ryoga's lack of directional sense that made this happen of course, so Ryoga could never fully embrace it, but Ranma had always been envious. He'd been around Japan, of course, on his decade-long training trip with his father, but he hadn't been everywhere Ryoga had been. He'd always loved to hear Ryoga's travel stories.

Ranma brought his legs up and rested his head on his knees. It ached, being in this room. All the strange souvenirs reminded him of Ryoga, and the story he had to tell for each and every one. After two years of marriage, this room had many stories; thousands of memories. Ranma looked up, rubbing his temples with an exasperated grunt. He stood up and went over to the bed, and threw himself down. He buried his face in the pillows, grabbed the blanket and pulled it over his head. He felt so heavy all of a sudden. It was a strange feeling; it wasn't exhaustion, and it wasn't even saddness. It was simply heaviness.

Heaviness he wasn't sure would lift.

Akane knocked on the door with a little hesitation. She stood back and brushed at her skirt, fixed her hair. She waited over a minute, and there was no answer. Deflating, Akane considered going home. Biting her lip Akane tapped her heeled foot, slightly bouncing on the spot. Huffing in impatience, Akane stepped forward and rapped on the door. Her knuckles connected once before the door flew open. Akane saw a glimpse of bright, hopeful eyes; a flashing, fleeting smile. Then, it was gone. Akane smiled sadly. She wasn't hurt; after all, she wasn't the one he wanted to see.

"Akane," Ranma said. "Good to see you."

No, it isn't. "Hey, Ranma. May I come in?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, 'course." Ranma muttered, moving aside to let Akane through. Ranma closed the door behind them, and the two stood in the entrance awkwardly for a moment.

"You...look nice," Ranma said finally, gesturing to Akane's outfit.

Akane looked down at her feet, and tugged on a strand of her hair. "Thanks." she said quietly.

Ranma nodded. He took her purse from her and placed it on a empty space on the shoe rack. Akane slipped off her shoes.

"I'll put the kettle on. Make yourself at home." Ranma said, walking over into the kitchen. Akane watched his retreating back, brow creased in concern. He wasn't himself, she could see it immiediately. Ranma was always a beacon; always optimistic, and cheerful. Now he was burnt-out; sullen, and quiet.

He looks so tired, Akane thought to herself as she sat down at the kotatsu. I wonder if he gets any sleep.

Akane looked up and noticed the television was on, at low volume. It was on the news channel; the story currently covered held no interest to Akane. She guessed this televison was on as much as possible, always on the same channel. She could picture Ranma in her mind's eye, sitting at the table and waiting for any sort of update. Her thoughts were cut off as Ranma walked into the living room, grabbing the remote off the table. He muted the volume, cutting off the female reporters voice, but didn't shut off the set.

"I have some purin in the fridge. Would you like some?" Ranma asked in a low voice.

"Sure, that sounds great." Akane said, attempting a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

The corner of Ranma's lip twitched, but it was all he could muster. He walked back into the kitchen. Akane sighed; whenever she tried in the past to cheer Ranma up (which she usually had to do when Ryoga got himself lost for weeks at a time and Ranma would be in a slump) all she had to do was give him her best smile. The smile that used to make him blush and look away stammering, before. It was just as good a weapon now, though. It didn't turn him into the klumbsy teenage boy with a crush on a tomboy, but in the very least she knew it was contagious enough he simply had to smile back, no matter what mood he was in.

Ranma walked back in with two steaming cups of tea, setting them on the table. After another trip into the kitchen, he came back out with two small dishes with purin on them, and set one of them in front of Akane. The custard pudding was surrounded in caramel sauce along with the thin layer on top of the dessert, and surrounded by stawberries. This was good, Akane thought with a smile. One of the many things she knew about Ranma was his undying (if not a bit guilty) love for sweets, especially parfaits. He wouldn't dare eat them as often as he liked, but he stowed them away for whenever the urge struck him. Akane rolled the strawberries around in the sauce, and thought to herself, if Ranma still had a sweet tooth, and could still put this much TLC into making her pudding, then the Ranma she knew had to still be in there, deep down. She stabbed a berry with her fork than sliced off a slab of pudding, popping it into her mouth.

"Mm," Akane said, looking up. "This is delicious."

She'd glanced up in time to see Ranma in the middle of savouring a mouthful, fork still pressed between his lips. "Thanks." he said around the fork and a mouthful of custard.

Akane smiled. Ranma's lip twitched again, a little more this time and lingered. Then vanished.

"So," Akane started suddenly, digging back into her pudding. "Haven't you gotten a letter from him?"

Ranma poked at a strawberry. "Just one," he replied. "It came the day of the quake, but he'd sent it a few days before then."

"He hasen't called or anything? Maybe he's trying to hunt down a phone. I'm sure with his sense of direction, and how hectic things must be down there it'd be difficult for him to find a phone."

Ranma stared at his pudding. "...Maybe." he mumbled.

"Ranma, you need to stay positive about this. You know Ryoga better than anyone in the entire world, right?"

Ranma nodded solemnly.

"Then you need to have faith in him." Akane said. "He would do the same for you if you were in his shoes right now. You've waited for him before longer than this long."

She reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. "It'll be okay, Ranma."

He stared at their hands and didn't reply. Akane sat back and sighed. She scooped her last peice of purin into her mouth, then rose.

"I better go. Kasumi asked me to grab a few things for dinner. Thank you for the pudding. It was really good." Akane's shoulders drooped as Ranma simply nodded again. She just started to get something out of him and he was shutting down again. "I'll call later, okay? Bye."

Akane walked out of the living room. Ranma listened to the shuffling at the front door as she grabbed her purse and put on her shoes. The door shut soon after, and the house was silent. Too silent. Ranma snatched the remote and unmuted the televison.

...clean-up has begun to clear the massive destruction left behind, as well as a search and rescue for missing persons buried beneath the debris. Hundreds are still missing, and the death toll keeps rising toward a colossal-

Click.

Ranma threw the remote at the screen, and it hit with a ringing snap. The remote clattered to the floor and the batteries fell out. Ranma ignored it, and looked down at his dessert and grimaced. He grabbed his plate and cup and went into the kitchen. He dumped the tea down the drain and stowed the remaining pudding in the fridge. For the first time ever, a Saotome had lost their appetite. Ranma walked slowly back into the living room, looking down at the remote of the floor. Shirokuro could possibly choke on those batteries if he just left them there. Sighing, he squatted down and picked up the batteries and put them back in the remote. He set the remote on top of the television and walked out of the room and up the stairs.

He entered his bedroom, going over and sitting down on the edge of the bed. He sat there in silence, and quickly started to fidget. He threw himself down on the bed, and stared up at the ceiling. He draped his arms across his eyes, as his breath hitched dryly as a strange sob escaped him. He rolled onto his side and curled himself into a tight ball, as if that would take the aching throb out of his chest and throat. Ranma buried his face in the sheets to smother his shame, as a second dry sob escaped his mouth.

Hundreds followed after that, and he, drowning in shame and self-loathing, was powerless to stop them.

"Ranma?"

The blackness swept away like a veil, and his eyes blinked open slowly. He felt himself being shaken, his limp body rocking back and forth. He made a small, thick noise in his throat that sounded like it came out of a cave, and he shifted.

"Ranma?"

Ranma turned around heavily, and squeezed his eyes shut tightly as he moaned.

"Lemme sleep, Ryo."

A hand squeezed his shoulder. He groaned, scrunching up his face further and swatting it away weakly, his limbs like lead.

"Wake up, Ranma."

"Go away, Ryoga...I wanna sleep." Ranma whined.

"Ranma." the voice was a whisper. "Open your eyes."

Ranma grumbled, and slowly opened his eyes.

"Are you okay, Ranma?"

Ranma lurched up and kissed him hard, knocking him over and making himself collapse off the bed and onto the floor, landing on top of him. He heard himself moan desperately as he covered every inch of skin with his lips. He felt the body beneath him gasp and hold back moans as he continued his administrations. Two hands gripped his shoulders and squeezed.

"Ranma."

The spell broke.

Ranma looked up and met Akane's shocked hazel eyes. He bolted upright with a loud gasp and clamped his hand over his mouth, his heart racing like a chaotic horse. Akane sat up, slowly, and stared at him. They stayed that way for a long time, staring into the other's horrified eyes. Ranma finally took his hand away from his mouth. He felt like his sixteen-year-old self again, and like a tidal wave each moment came flooding back. Each sneaking glimpse they'd taken when they thought the other wasn't looking, then looking away red-faced when they were caught. Each time he'd held her, each time he'd saved her, and each time she'd saved him. Each time he'd seen her cry, and each time he'd made her cry. Each time they'd fought, and each time they'd made up. Each time he'd felt like kissing her. Each time he almost got to.

He saw it on her face she'd just seen all of the same exact things. His thoughts jumbled as the memories zipped by him as if they were being played for him on a film strip at top speed. He knew in that moment that they're thoughts were exactly the same.

They closed the space between them and their lips collided.

They yanked each other closer, their mouth mashing together, teeth gnashing, tounges flicking. Lost in the midst of passion, they dragged each other to the floor, moaning and sighing into each other's mouths. They fought for dominence, rolling around the carpet and pinning each other down. Akane's finger ran through Ranma's hair and gripped. Ranma broke away and kissed along her jawline, down her neck. Akane arched her back, gripping tighter at the hair at the back of his head, biting down on her lip to hold back her moans. She dragged her hands down across his shoulders, down his chest. She reached around blindly until her fingers curled underneath the bottom of his shirt, and pulled it up. Her hands roamed over his stomach, her fingertips tickling the skin. Ranma twitched, and shuddered.

Akane hooked her arms around his neck, pulling him down roughly. Ranma grabbed the sides of her head, pulling at her soft, short hair. Akane cupped his face, moaning softly. Suddenly, Ranma's heart lurched painfully, a relentless tug that made him gasp in pain. Akane gazed at him curiously, and her brow furrowed in concern at the look of horror on his face. He got off of her quickly and leaned back against the bed, panting heavily.

"...Ranma?" Akane questioned softly, sitting up.

What have I done? This is Akane. She's one of my best friends. I used to like her when I was a kid, but...I realized I didn't love her as much as she deserved. But now she...and I...all I could think about was how...how I used to feel with her. She makes me...feel like I'm a kid again. I've just been so empty and so...so tired lately...and I just couldn't take it anymore...

"I think...you need to go," Ranma whispered.

"Ranma-"

Ranma got to his feet. "I'll walk you out." he said quietly, walking toward the door before she could say anything.

Dejected, Akane got to her feet with a sigh, and followed him. The two walked down the hall in silence, down the stairs, and to the front door. Akane quickly brushed past Ranma and hastily put on her shoes. She looked up, staring at Ranma with her large doe eyes, looking fearful and confused. Ranma had his arms wrapped around himself, his expression towards her pained, sympathetic, and shameful. Akane bit her lip, and Ranma walked past her and opened the door, unable to meet her eyes. Akane hesitated a moment, before hanging her head and walking out the door without a word.

Ranma closed the door slowly. He stayed there for a while, gripping the doorknob as he stared off at nothing. He walked into the kitchen mechanically, eyes downcast. He looked up and his eye caught sight of the wrinkled peice of paper pinned to the fridge. Ranma walked over and stared at the smudged note; impossible to read, but it didn't matter because he could remember every single word like it had been burned onto his brain with a brand. At the bottom of the paper were four words that, though smeared by tea and running ink, were still legible.

I miss you,

Ryoga

Ranma pulled the note off the refridgerator, and pressed it to his face as he felt the burning ache in his chest and throat again. He sank down to the floor, and thought of the feel of his lips on his, his hands holding him, his warm breath, his voice, his smile, his brown eyes...

...and hating himself everytime the girl he'd just sent away kept invading his thoughts with the same images.

And what scared him the most was that he liked her there...

...and wanted her back in.

Author's Notes:

My poor Ranma-hunny... I'm always so mean to him! D: *goes to sob in a corner*

All I can say about the next few chapters is this:

Shit, meet fan.

(...I do believe this is one of my shortest Author's Notes ever. O.O)

- Jadells