"Ranma! Oh my, what happened to you!?"
Kasumi said as she rushed to his side..
"Kasumi Oneechan, please, I need to talk to her. I can't wait until tomorrow. I want to take her home."
"You want to take her home now?! But.." She looked at Tofu and said in a hesitating tone, "I don't know if she.."
"It's alright, honey, I will go and bring her here. Ranma, please take a seat."
Ranma nodded his head and slowly went to sit in the chair. Kasumi followed him and took a seat facing him as she began to observe his state.
"You look terrible, Ranma. Weren't you sleeping properly?"
Ranma smirked humorlessly and tried to change the topic,
"I am sorry, Oneechan! I shouldn't have come this late."
Kasumi shook her head and silently offered him the food that Tofu had made for her,
"You look hungry too, why don't you take a bite?"
Ranma looked at the offering of food and sadly shook his head. Kasumi sighed seeing this as she said,
"So, does this mean , my imouto is not the only one who is starving tonight .."
Ranma looked up at her with a vulnerable expression, Kasumi smiled at him but before she could say anything, they heard loud footsteps approaching their way. Both of them looked up and saw Akane entering the dining area with her angry steps, Tofu silently following behind her. Akane looked at Ranma hard as she said not so gently,
"What are you doing here!"
Ramma took a deep breath and stood up facing her and said with the same heated tone,
"I came here to take ya home with me."
Akane snickered and said,
"And who gave you the idea that I would return home with you?"
"Kane! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR STUBBORN BEHAVIOR!" Ranma roared in frustration.
"OH REALLY! THEN WHY DID YOU EVEN COME HERE! I DON'T REMEMBER INVITING YOU!"
Ranma growled at her and tried to keep his voice down as he said in a heated tone,
"STOP this NONSENSE and come home with me this instant !!"
She growled even more loudly and said with an irate tone,
"You WISH!! I am not coming with you at any cost! And you stop acting like a gentleman and HAND me the PAPER that you WANT ME TO SIGN AT!"
Ranma got confused hearing that as he asked her,
"What paper are ya talking about?!"
Akane greeted her teeth and said with a loud shaky tone,
"DIVORCE LETTER, YOU JERK!"
"WHAT THE..! WHY WOULD I.." He stopped his outburst as he realized why she was saying it in the first place. He closed his eyes for a moment and then looked straight at her eyes, "Stop putting words into my mouth, damn it! You very well know I haven't said any of this!"
"You haven't said "no" either!" Akane argued.
Ranma felt like ripping his own hair in frustration as he burst out saying,
"I DID! BUT YA AS ALWAYS WAS IN A HURRY TO JUMP INTA CONCLUSION AND YA RANOFF FROM THERE LIKE A STUBBORN FOOL!!"
"JUST SHUT UP, RANMA! I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU ANYMORE! JUST LEAVE!!!"
She said loud and clear and ran out from that scene. Ranma got panicked hearing that as he called out to her,
"Akane, WAIT!"
But he was again late, because they heard her closing the door and locking it.
Ranma silently kept looking at the place where Akane was standing a few moments before.
"Is this how you were planning to bring her home with you, Ranma?!"
Tofu's words brought him back to the realization. He cursed himself as he flopped down on the chair, defeated. He tightly grabbed his hair and said in a shaky broken tone,
"I messed up big time! I am so stupid!"
"Oh Ranma, Ranma, Ranma.." Kasumi said in a soft tone as she stood by him and laid her hand on his head, "Please stop blaming yourself. I am sure everything is going to be alright.."
Ranma shook his head in distress as he hid his face with his hands,
"Kasumi, what will I do now? After what happened she wouldn't want to come home with me! I can't take this anymore.."
Kasumi could tell that Ranma was crying and he was trying to hide it from her view. She pulled out the nearest chair for her and sits down in front of him. Then laying her hand over his shoulder she said with a warm tone,
"If she doesn't want to go back with you, why don't you stay the night here, Ranma.."
Ranma stopped rubbing his face in distress and looked at her with his misery-filled eyes,
Kasumi was correct, he was indeed crying. She felt pity for his state and said in a warm tone,
"Aww.. You guys are so immature, my God! This way you guys are harming yourself more than you can imagine!!" Kasumi smiled at him and said, "If as my imouto Akane has the right to stay with us, you have the right too, Ranma. Because I have always seen you as my little brother. Now please stop punishing yourself and fix this.. I know you can calm down my little fury imouto; you are gifted with that ability.."
Ranma couldn't utter any word to her as he looked at her with gratitude as he tried to give her a small smile. She smiled at him too and made him stand up with her..
"Go, Ranma.. Just try not to act hot-headed! If you both act the same way then.."
"Don't worry, Oneechan; I promise I won't repeat my mistakes ever again.."
Saying that, he nodded at her with a smile and started walking towards Akane's bedroom.
"Hey Ranma, wait a second .."
Tofu called out to him, he stopped and turned to look at him.
"I really hope you are not planning to break that room's door to enter!"
Tofu said playfully as he smirked at his surprised face as he threw a key towards Ranma. Ranma caught it in just time as Tofu said,
"You sure will need this! She is not going to open the door for sure.."
Ranma looked at the key in his hand, smiled and nodded at them.*
Akane was in a miserable state. She sat over the floor, her head over the bed as she sobbed on the mattress so that no one would hear that she was crying her heart out now. She didn't want to fight with Ranma at all. She was missing him so badly. For five days she hadn't heard a single word from him. Then today, when she heard his voice over the phone, she wasn't prepared for that call at all. That's why she hung up the call in her nervousness. But after hearing his voice She got more anxious to meet him and decided to forget about her stubbornness and meet him tomorrow as early as possible. But when Tofu came to her and told her that Ranma came to take her home, suddenly her misery turned into anger and she did what she did. She is feeling terrible now! She wanted to rip her own hair in frustration! She knows that this is all her fault and now she regrets everything she did with him.
She should have told Ranma all about his mother. But when she found out about this , she became nervous and unsure of how to tell him. But she should have trusted him, because he is not like others. He is very different from others and so open-minded too! Though they have been married for seven long years, he never pressured her to start a family. He always stood by her side and helped her to finish her higher studies first and then encouraged her to get her dream job. Although their parents and society pressured her into having a baby first; he thought the complete opposite. He became a pillar of her life! She needs him in every second of her life! She is missing him so badly now, all she wants now is to hold him closer to her! How she wishes she would have shared everything with him sooner, because if she did, this misunderstanding never would have happened!
'Oh Kami, why am I doing this to me? Why did I fight with him! I want to go home with him.. I can't stay away from him anymore..'
Akane was so occupied with crying and regretting what she did that she didn't even hear the door unlocking and closing again.
When Ranma was unlocking the door , he was dreadful that he would find his wife fuming at him angrily, he was actually bracing himself for the flying objects that might attack him when she would see him entering without her knowing. But the scene that welcomed him was not something he was expecting to see. For him, he would have gladly accepted the flying objects hurting him physically, but now seeing her broken like this, is hurting him more than any physical wounds.
He carefully locked the door and called out to her in a vulnerable tone,
"Kane…"
Akane stopped crying and looked up at him with surprise in her eyes. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw him standing there, in front of her! For a moment, she thought she might be imagining things; but when she noticed Ranma's miserable state, she realized that this is not her imagination and he is indeed standing there, waiting for her reaction.
Akane couldn't hold back anymore, her pain was so vivid that she couldn't control herself as she hastily stood up and rushed to him to hug him. They desperately hugged each other, but didn't say a word to each other. Akane was shamelessly crying, while Ranma tried his best to hold his emotions in check, but he could tell that he was losing his battle with himself as his emotions managed to break down as well.
They stood there for a long time. Akane eventually calmed down as Ranma continuously rubbed her back to soothe her pain. After settling into each other's warmth, Akane sniffed and said,
"You are so cruel, Ranma!! I just can't believe you came to get me after five long days!"
Ranma gulped hard and tried to control the shakiness of his voice,
"Ya haven't even called me once.." Despite trying his best, his voice broke. He hugged her more tightly and said in a miserable tone, "Please don't do this to me ever again.. We will fight, Kane! But that doesn't mean you can leave me like that!"
Akane bits her lower lips and said with a trembling tone,
"So what now, Ranma?"
"I don't know.." Ranma broke their hug and laid his hands over her shoulders. He intensely looked at her and said,
"I don't care what we were fighting for, damn it! I don't want to care about what you did! If you want, I will apologize tou you for everything!!"
"But why would you apologize to me? You said I was the one who is wrong so I should be the one apologising to you, right?"
"I don't care, kane!! I don't care!…" He gave a shaky breath as he held her cheeks with his trembling hands as he said in utmost honesty, "Do ya have any idea what ya have done to me? I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep without you! You know how much I need you, but still ya didn't want to come back to me! I was losing my mind without you, damn it! If I haven't come to you today, I know I would have gotten completely insane! I can't stand to be alone without you , Akane. Please, I don't want to care about anything else but us now. Please, don't leave me like this ever again.."
Akane lets him express his feelings to her first, then when she saw him finishing his speech, she gives him a sad smile and said with her shaky tone,
"Five days… ! We have been away from each other for only five days, Ranma.." Ranma tried to intervene but she laid her finger over his lips and shook her head and continued saying,
"What do you think, Ranma; that I have enjoyed staying away from you!? Do you have any idea how much I have missed you and how much I have suffered?"
"Then why, Akane? Why are we fighting each other and pushing us for?" Ranma desperately asked her.
Akane took a sharp breath and said in a painful tone,
"I did this because….. because I wanted to give you a glimpse of the life your mother is going through, Ranma.. In these five days, you became so lonely, you became desperate; just think about those ten years your mother had to spend alone, without her husband and son, how lonely she might have felt, can you guess now, Ranma?"
"Akane.." Ranma never considered thinking about it like that, but now that she is putting this point so boldly, he couldn't help but wonder about his mother.
Akane started walking away from him and went to stand by the window as she said,
"Mr Kenzo is your mother's childhood friend, Ranma. They have fallen in love with each other before your mother got married to your father. But because they had a family raivality, your grandfather forcefully made your mother marry your dad. They never saw each other after that, but when your father left her for ten long years, they again met each other. If they wanted they would have forgotten about everything and moved on with each other. But your mother is a one word woman, she never wanted to abound her son and that's why, despite living all by herself, she chose to wait for you.
Yes, you guys did met again, but have you ever noticed how your mother was struggling with her marriage life with your father. She always acted so happy and relaxed, I also couldn't have guessed it if I hadn't found her crying her heart out when your father again came up with the plan to go for a ten years training trip which you denied to go.
You told me you helped us with our father's issue with Mrs Hinako; but Ranma, that was really a different case! My parents, unlike yours has separated because of fate. My father loved my mother and he is still doing so. He never left her for any training trips and always stayed by her side. But your father, he always seeks opportunities to leave your mother. He never tried once to fix their marriage and now he is giving blame to her for ruining their marriage!
She was only seventeen when she had you, for crying out loud! And at the age when she should have enjoyed her life, she had to live a life full of loneliness. And why? Because she dared to marry a Saotome? How many years do you think she has to punish herself more for being your mother, Ranma?
I… I somehow talked to her and found out about Mr Kenzo. Your father was right Ranma, I was the one who asked him to come to Nerima, because I found out that he never married any other woman, because he still loves your mother. For last one month, I was trying to hook them up. Your mother never wanted to go with it. But I insisted that she do it for herself. Trust me Ranma, I have never seen your mother this happy before! You know how beautiful she looks when she smiles, for real?"
Akane looked at him, waiting for his response, but he became completely speechless as he looked down in disbelief. Akane sighs tiredly and said,
"Ranma, I wouldn't have done that if I hadn't seen your father preparing for another ten years long training trip. This is very disappointing for me. But as a woman, I can't let your mother suffer like this all the time. That's why I took this decision without your concern. But by doing so, if I have hurt your feelings anyhow, I am sorry for that, Ranma. I promise I didn't mean to cause any harm, I just couldn't see your mother suffering anymore.. If you had let me, I would have confessed to you this that same day, but you were so angry at me to understand anything; that's why I had decided to let you go for a few days, so that you can at least understand the feelings your mother has gone through for years.
Anyway Ranma, you don't have to worry about this anymore. Because your mother again chose you before her happiness. Today she came back home giving her final goodbye to Mr Kenzo. He is leaving tomorrow and he has promised your mother that he will never come back to her life again. So.. that solves all the problems, isn't it, Ranma? Don't worry, soon everything will be as it was before.. Nothing will change, ...nothing.."
Akane finished her speech with a sad sigh as she slowly made her way towards her bed. She laid down on the corner side of the bed and puts some space by her side to give Ranma a choice if he wants to sleep beside her or not.
Ranma couldn't utter a single word to her. His heart started to beat painfully as what Akane revealed to him kept repeating to his mind again and again. He silently stood at the same spot for a long moment. He became completely clueless and for some reason he lost his ability to think clearly. He looked at Akane and saw her body facing towards the wall, her back towards him.
Her appearance worked like a magnet to him, pulling him closer to her. Suddenly, this simple bed looked so comforting to him as if it was calling for him. His restlessness won the battle against his resisment as he sighed defeatedly and slowly walked towards Akane. He laid down beside her, at first hesitant, but soon putting all his fear away. He carefully turned to face her and pulled her body closer to his chest and held her as tightly as possible. He puts his face down on the crock of her neck as a silent tear drops over her cold shoulder. She felt it on her skin and immediately turned towards him and hugged him back with similar desperation. Their bodies melted together as one as they forgot all their misery and found peace into each other..*
Next day:
Akane smiled in her sleep as she pulled the blanket more securely over her body. She had a very good sleep last night after a long time. She is feeling very well-rested and cozy as she snuggles inside her blanket. Her hand blindly searched for her husband, but all she found was an empty space and a pillow. She moaned sleepily and slowly opened her eyes to look for him, but to her surprise he was not sleeping beside her.
She hastily woke up and sat over the bed. The first thing she noticed was the table clock and she became extremely surprised when she saw the time. She couldn't believe that she had slept all morning because now it was half twelve in the afternoon. Her sleepiness was gone in a second as she quickly left her bed and got ready to go out and face the day.
She ran towards the dining area, hoping to find her husband there. But he was not in there, she found Nodoka and Kasumi working for lunch hand in hand as they talked and laughed with each other. Looking at Nodoka, she remembered the incident with Mr Kenjo. He was supposed to leave today, but despite knowing that Nodoka is acting as if nothing is happening at all! Akane wondered how she could be so strong! Her smile and ability to hide her pain from others mesmerized her all the time!
"Oh my, Akane! You finally woke up!" Kasumi said while giving her a warm smile.
"Akane? Just wait a minute, I will prepare you some quick breakfast.." Nodoka said as she busied herself to make food for Akane.
Akane rapidly blinked her eyes to hide her tears from them as she quickly ran towards Nodoka and hugged her from behind.
"Oh dear, what happened, Akane?" Nodoka asked her , surprised by her sudden approach.
Akane shook her head and said,
"Nothing, Mother. I just want to say that I love you so much.."
Nodoka giggled hearing that as she turned to face Akane with happy tears in her eyes,
"Oh honey, I love you too."
"Oh my, now I am jealous.."
They all giggled as Nodoka hugged both Akane and Kasumi at once as she said,
"I just can't thank my Kami enough for giving me daughters like you.." Nodoka looked at Akane and said, "Just give me a few minutes to make your food, Akane. You have to get ready after that.."
"Ready ? But why?" She asked in a confused tone.
Nodoka and Kasumi traded look with each other as Nodoka said with a bright smile ,
"Well, Ranma could be back anytime now.. So you should get ready to go home with him, silly."
"Why only me then? You should get ready too, right?"
Nodoka's smile strained immediately after hearing that, but she gave her a small smile and turned to continue what she left in the kitchen.
Akane got confused at her sudden mood change, she turned to look at Kasumi as she asked her,
"Oneechan?"
Kasumi sighed sadly and said,
"Ranma didn't talk to his mother. He just left without saying anything to her and asked me to tell you to be ready and he said, he would come back soon to take you home with him.,"
"That baka!! He has completely lost his mind if he thinks that I will go home without my mother!"
"Listen Akane.." Nodoka said in a serious tone as she stopped her work and went straight towards Akane. She held her shoulders tightly and said, "And if you think I will ideally sit back and see you ruining your beautiful marriage life because of me , then you are wrong.,"
"But Mother!"
Akane tried to protest but Nodoka stern look stopped her,
"Dear, after going through tremendous hardships and sacrifices, you and Ranma have created a beautiful world for yourselves! And now you want to fight with him because of me?! Look honey, I am happy to be with you guys. I…. I don't need anything else in my life! My life is already filled with happiness! I don't want to lose what I have now to get something that maybe never meant to be in my life.." Nodoka's eyes filled with unshed tears as she said, "I don't want to lose you guys, Akane."
"Oh Mother, you will never lose us! Just get ready now, we will return to our house.." Akane said with an encouraging smile.
"I can't, Akane!"
"But why?!"
"Because things have changed!"
"Nothing has changed! Now stop worrying and let's go home.."
"Akane please… Try to understand, dear..! After what happened, I can't go back there. I can't face my son anymore! It's all my fault that my son is ignoring me now!" Nodoka said with her shaky tone.
"You haven't done anything wrong, Mother! Stop blaming yourself, please , now come home with me.." Akane said with an impatience tone.
Nodoka tried to give her a small smile as she said,
"I am sorry, my child, but I can't go back to live with you guys anymore!"
"She is right! She won't live with us anymore!"
They all became surprised when suddenly they heard Ranma's hard voice coming from the entrance of the dinning area. Nodoka couldn't look at his intense eyes as he looked at her directly. She bites her trembling lip and looks down nervously.
"Oh my my my.." Kasumi's concern-filled tone brought Akane back from her stupor. She angrily growled at him and went to him with heavy steps, as she harshly whispered to him,
"Ranma, are you out of your mind? How dare you talk to her like that! Listen carefully, if you don't allow her to stay with us then.. then I won't go back home with you! I am warning you Ranma, if you hurt her one more time then.."
"What 'bout the way she hurt my feelings, Kane?!" Ranma said with a stern tone as he kept looking at his mother.
Akane looked at him sadly and said with a soft tone,
"Ranma please, I told you everything last night, didn't I? Please don't blame her for anything.."
Ranma gave a big sigh and said,
"That's why I am hurt, Kane! That my mother chose to share her deepest secret with a tomboy like you and not with me!"
"Ranma that's because.." Akane tried to reason with him but she paused in the middle when she realized what he called her, "Did you call me a tomboy right now?!"
Nodoka also looked up at him with surprise and saw him giving her a sly smile,
"Of course, what else! You are so dumb, my God! If you had come to me the first day and told me everything, nothing of this would have happened! And Mom, don't you trust your son? Am I making you uncomfortable?"
"Oh Ranma!" Nodoka cried out happily as she rushed to hug him and started crying on his shoulder. "I am so sorry for everything I did, my son.."
"Don't worry, mom! Akane is right, ya haven't done anything wrong , ya don't have to feel ashamed for anything! I just wish ya have told me everything sooner.."
"Now now now, Kasumi oneechan, I think something is burning! Can you smell it?" Akane said in a singsong tone as she mimicked to wave in front of her nose as she went to Kasumi's side and acted to look at the stove. "Oh my, nothing is in the stove, so what is burning?!"
Kasumi giggled sillyly and said,
"Maybe your husband is too jealous of the fact that his mother loves you more than him, Akane!"
"Exactly, Oneechan!" Akane said cheerfully as the both sisters began laughing.
Ranma pouted at them and possessively held his mother tightly and said,
"Well, of course I am jealous! Why won't I be!" He smiled as he heard her mother giggling while hugging him, then he said, "And don't forget, I am the main hero here, who always saves the day.."
That made Akane stop laughing as suddenly she remembered about Mr Kenjo. She looked at Ranma and said while sighing,
"I am sorry, Ranma! I wish I had told you sooner about this! I was … I was scared to tell you. And now, there is nothing you can do to save the day. It's quite impossible now."
Ranma snorted and carefully broke their hug and said with a smug tone,
"In my dictionary, nothing is impossible, Mrs Saotome! Now come here, I want you to hold my mom for me.."
"Ranma, son, where are you going?" Nodoka said with a concern-filled tone.
"I will be right back, mom.."
He said smiling and quickly ran out of the house. Akane came beside Nodoka and held her shoulder. They both shared a confused look with each other as they patiently began to wait for Ranma.
"Oh my, I wonder what he is upto now.!"
Kasumi said as she sat in the dining area, suddenly feeling way too anxious.
They didn't have to wait for too long, as very soon Tofu entered the house with a bright smile on his face. Ranma entered after him and showed the surprise he had planned to show them which made all of them shocked to their bones and their whole life changed in a brief second..*
A Month Later
The weather was giving a different kind of peace today as the cold south wind kept blowing now and then.Ranma laid over the roof of their bedroom, a pleasant smile on his face as he silently gazed the star. His mind is feeling so light today, it feels as if he has achieved a big victory in his life and he is over the moon. He never thought he would ever face such a day as today. He gave a satisfied sigh as he started recalling the memories that happened today..
"Tea!!"
Ranma creaked one eye open and saw his wife offering him a cup of tea. A sly smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he opened his eyes fully and suspiciously looked at his personal star.
"What! Won't you drink it?"
"Ya sure it won't kill me?" Ranma asked jokingly as he sat up and took the offering cup from her hand.
Akane shot out her tongue at him and said jokingly,
"You can die for me once in a while, now can't you?"
Ranma flashed her a sexy grin and pulled her arm to make her sit beside him. He tightly slung his arm around her shoulder as he said in a horse tone,
"Anytime, tomboy! But first , I want to live my life with you.."
Akane looked at him lovingly and laid her warm hand over his cheek as she whispers to him,
"Aww! Sometimes I wonder how my insensitive baka has become so sensitive and romantic..!"
Ranma smirked at her and smugly said,
"I was always like this, only ya didn't want to see it!"
Akane giggled and gives a soft kiss on his cheek and said,
"You know, I was going to make coffee for you, but I …. I kinda failed for umm… three times!"
"Three times!! For making a cup of coffee!" He asked, shocked, as he looked at her dumbfoundedly.
Giving him an apologetic smile, she said,
"In the first try, I put salt instead of sugar; then at the second try, I accidentally mixed a lot of sugar and at the last attempt… I dumped the whole coffee jar!" Akane giggled hard as she continued saying,
"At the end thankfully I found the tea bags and decided to go for only boiling the water for making the tea!"
Ranma laughed at the way she was describing her cooking adventure to him, he took a sip from his tea as he said while shaking his head,
"That's my girl! I knew you would do that!"
"Hey! That's rude! At least you can give me points for my thoughtfulness!"
Akane said grumbling as she pouted at him when she heard him laughing hard. Akane examined him for a while as a warm smile came to her face. His laugh was spreading a warm sensation on her heart, because throughout the day, she felt so worried for him, because today ….. was the biggest day of his life! Today... was the day when he witnessed his mother's marriage happening.
She still remembered the day like it had happened just yesterday, when he surprised all of them by bringing Mr Kenjo back at Tofu's house that day. When she thought there was no hope left for Nodoka and Mr Kenjo to be together, Ranma came as an aid and just like a magician, he fixed everything in time!
That day, when she was enjoying the lazy slumber at her sister's house, he went to the station on time and didn't let Mr Kenjo leave and asked him to come along with him. Nodoka became so nervous when she had to face Ranma and Mr Kenjo at the same time; but Ranma made everything easy for them and that same day he made Mr Kenjo confess his real feelings to his mother. To clarify what both of them really want.
From that day on, Ranma took everything on his shoulders! From debating with his father for separation with Nodoka, to making his mother comfortable about this whole situation; he took care of it all, single handedly! She knows him very well, she knew he was also scared about what was happening and about the drastic change that's happening to his life, but he kept a strong exterior for everyone and gave positivity to all of them. Since that day, he took it as a mission to make his mother happy and today he succeeded!
It all started a month ago and after all the hardships, everything happened so smoothly today. She was very excited about it too and she was eagerly waiting to see everything happening without any hassle! Although she gave him space to do things at his own comfort and pace , her eyes never left him, she never left his side for once but she didn't dare to interfere; fearing she would make him uncomfortable.
Her heart was beating so hard today, when she saw him walking his mother to the aisle as he handed her hand to Mr Kenjo. He was practically shaking with excitement, she never saw him this nervous before, not even at their own wedding. His eyes were always teary, but all the time he blinked his tears away as he tried to look strong in front of everyone. But Ranma could never hide anything from her, how can he, she is a part of him.
Although she knew the emotional breakdown he was going through with, she didn't tried to comfort him. He was trying so hard to act tough and casual in front of his mother and if she comforted him that time, she knew he would lose his confidence and calmness.
After everything was done, both of them came back to the Tendo house and after freshening up; he straightly went to the roof for some alone time. Akane understood his wanting to be alone ; she patiently waited for him to come down to their room. But after one hour of waiting when she saw he was not coming down, she thought it's time to approach him. She made up this whole coffee scene just to make him laugh at her, because she knows how he enjoys it when she explains her cooking disaster to him..
Akane sighed as she silently laid her head over his shoulder. She noticed the stiffness of his body settling down as she smiled and whispered to him,
"I am so proud of you, Ranma."
Ranma looked down at her and interlocked his hand with hers and then said with a small tone,
"I haven't done anything! It's all you, Kane!"
"Me! I haven't done anything silly!"
Ranma shook his head and sighed. He kept staring at the far distance as he said,
"She looked so gorgeous today, so carefree! I have never seen her look so beautiful before! Her smile was so ravishing too, so calming! I never told ya this before Kane, but now I want to share this feeling with you. I always used to feel miserable about how my father used to behave with my mother! It always felt so … unfair!! She doesn't deserve a husband like him or a family like this! But I didn't want to lose her and I also didnt know how to fix their problem too..! I tried to convince my father lots of time to withdraw his plan to go for any more trips! But he was so thickheaded and selfish to understand anything!! You understand what I am trying to say, right?"
Akane simply smiled at him and nodded at him to carry on,
"I.. I always used to feel this heaviness in my heart and guilty too. I used to feel as if I am a burden in her life, because of me, she is bound with a selfish guy like my father! Thats why I wanted so badly to prove my abilities to my mother. I just wanted to give her some moment of proud and happiness. Her smile means a lot to me! But I never imagined how lonely she might have felt her whole life! Just look at Mr. Kenjo, he has waited for my mother for his whole life; and what my father did.." Ranma paused as he looked away from her, feeling disgusted.
Akane rubbed his hand and gave him a moment of silence, and encouraged him to continue.
"At first I thought he wanted to change himself to save his marriage, I thought, maybe he still loved my mother. But that damn old man, when I offered him the winning prize money I got in that tournament, he got ready to sign on that divorce letter in a second! Tsk, what would I accept from a father who had traded his own son for food! Akane, I am sorry, baby; I should have asked ya first before offering him the money.."
Akane talked for the first time as she said,
"Who cares about that money, Ranma! And how many times are you going to apologize to me for this! For me your love is more valuable to me then any prize money…"
Ranma looked at her with love in his eyes, his eyes getting wet with emotions as he said,
"Ya have no idea how light hearted I am feeling today, Kane! It's like.. a heavy weight has been lifted off my heart! I have never felt so fulfilled before.."
Although Akane never stopped Ranma from showing his emotions to her, but seeing him crying always breaks her heart. She slowly wiped his tear clean. She carefully sits over his lap and hugged him tightly as he held her to him more desperately.
"Oh ,Ranma! I love you so much! You are an amazing son and husband! My hero!!"
"I love you more, Kane.. I forgot the count of how many times ya have shown me light in the darkness of my life! Thank you for coming to my life and showing me the value of love! Please always stay by my side , Kane!"
Akane couldn't stop but smile and cry at the same time as she said,
"I am always here for you, Ranma! Always..."
A/N: As I said before, everyone deserves to be loved and feel special. I always used to feel pity for Nodoka and wanted to write something like this for her! I hope you guys has enjoyed reading it! Sorry for the delay :)! Please if you liked this fic don't forget to leave a review for me! It really means a lot to me :)!! Thank you again and hope to see you guys soon!!
