Clumsy at Love
Chapter 28: Silver Linings
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma
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Akane walked back to Ranma's hospital suite and found him staring out to the open window. She stopped moving forward, seeing the frown on his pale face and those strained blue eyes… she had seen them a month ago when he was ignoring her big time.
She thought, should she continue walking in and intrude? Or should she just go and leave him alone?
She decided to choose the latter.
She was about to walk away when he noticed her presence.
"Akane," he called out. "Sorry, I didn't notice you were there."
She turned and met his eyes. "I ~ " she stuttered, noticing the sudden shift of his mood. Is it just my imagination?
"Why are you standing there? Come in," he told her.
He did not need him to tell her twice. She walked in and reoccupied the chair beside his bed. Looking at him up close made her sure that what she saw earlier was not her imagination.
"You must have been shocked." It's not a question, she noticed.
And then he added, "I'm sorry," Almost inaudible.
That surprised her. "Why are you apologizing?" She blurted out. "I should be the one asking for your forgiveness for what my sister did."
Ranma shook his head. "This is why I don't think having everything is not exactly a blessing. You see, if I don't have this irresistible charm and killer sex appeal, none of this would have happened."
She frowned. Is he serious or what? She thought. Because seriously, what happened to him was not one bit funny.
And then he smiled.
Seriously?! He had time to joke? At a time like this?
"I'm sorry for being the reason why Nabiki hated you all this time." He then said.
That caught her again. "But that's not your fault... I don't think it is your fault," she reassured him.
"I feel otherwise."
Silence.
"I don't think I can easily forgive your sister," he confessed.
"I'm not expecting you to," she muttered.
"I'm not mad because she almost killed me. Knowing her reason why she had done it, I know she didn't mean to harm me. But ~ she did terrible things that I couldn't just accept."
Akane noted the way his hands trembled as he continued. "She stole my might have been, and there's no way she could turn back what already been lost."
"Are you talking about the letters and the gifts?"
Ranma looked up, stunned.
"She didn't tell you that I have it with me now?"
"I get it. She only confessed about her crimes," she mumbled when he didn't respond. "You see, I happened to find them in the basement the same night her craziness took full swing," she told him.
I said I had them. So, why does he still look so down?
"I haven't seen everything, but I want to thank you... thank you for sending those letters and gifts." She means it and really wanted him to know.
"You received them too late," he replied. "I don't think it still has the same meaning it had before."
That comment instantly bursts her bubble. "Of course." she agreed bitterly. In her mind was the most impactful and unforgettable phrase of all his letters.
I like you as well.
Of course, how could he still like the me now?
"Of course," she repeated, her voice shook.
He liked me, and it's a thing in the past now.
Silence.
"So, what will happen to Nabiki?" she asked, changing the subject to what matters. "Are you gonna sue her?"
"And make you cry in the process? Or be the cause of your father's death? I don't think so."
Then there was a pause.
"Did you two talk?" He asked.
"Huh?"
"Nabiki."
"Uh, yes." Not really sure why he asked.
"Did she ask for your forgiveness?"
"Uh ~ Uhm... I think she said sorry but doesn't regret anything... well, that's Nabiki for me," she mumbled.
"And you're not angry at all?!" he sneered.
"I don't think I've got the right to be angry with my sisters." She exclaimed and then gasped; she wasn't supposed to spill that.
"And why is that?"
"You wouldn't understand." She replied, looking away.
"Try me." he insisted.
She hesitated, then shook her head.
He stared at her for a moment before speaking again. "Suing your sister is not an option because she's a family..." He told her. "But that doesn't mean I will just let her get away without teaching her a lesson or two."
Hearing him say that he will not sue her sister is a good thing. But what about that lesson?
Her expression might have given her away, for he answered her unspoken question.
"Don't worry. I won't hurt her." He told her. "Will just shake her a little."
"Huh?"
"So, are you gonna ditch work today and accompany me the whole day?"
"Are you crazy? Of course not!"
"But it's almost eight ~."
Akane shot up. "Right! Oh, no ~ I'm gonna be late." She groaned, picking up her bag then stopped. "Uh, are you gonna be okay here on your own?"
Ranma smiled. "Really appreciate the concern, but I'm fine. Don't worry."
She blushed. "Me? Worrying? You must be joking." She spouted, then left the room in a hurry.
0 ~ 0 ~ 0
"Hey, there." Its Kuno.
"Hey." She greeted back, barely looking at the overly confident man. There's something about the way he stares made her feel uncomfortable but primarily disgusted.
"How's Ranma? When will he come out of the hospital?"
That surprised her. How did he hear about it when they didn't even tell his own parents?
He smirked then leaned on her. "I heard there's a foul play." He whispered and sniffed, inhaling her scent.
She backed away. "You must have heard it wrong."
"Actually, I don't care if you're the one who tried to poison him or not." He told her. "I'm only worried about the reason why." he clarified and then asked. "So why? Were you not happy with him? Was he not satisfying your sex needs?"
She looked up, clearly scandalized.
"Look at you, blushing…" he commented, trying to touch her red-hot cheeks, which she quickly averted.
Thankfully, the elevator doors opened. She hurried out. But he still followed her down to her path.
"Later, when Ranma decided to call it quits between you two like he always does with the rest of the ladies he dated, come to me. As you know, I'm handsome and rich as hell as he is, but unlike him, I'm a certified expert in making women happy in bed. You can ask around to see that I'm telling the truth. I wouldn't mind having a secondhand beautiful you."
Her hands automatically flew into the air and would hit his cheek hard if Ranma had not caught it. "That's what I thought so, too." Ranma agreed coolly though his face was red in rage. "If she were secondhand, I wouldn't mind still having her, too. But luckily, I got her first, and I didn't mean to let her go, not ever. Now, if you're valuing our friendship, you should start putting this into that hard head of yours, that my wife or would be ex-wife, if that would ever happen, is definitely off-limits."
Ranma glanced at his infuriated wife. "Please excuse us," he said, wrapping an arm around Akane's waist.
"Dry up and die." She hissed, throwing a death glare at Kuno while Ranma tried to pull her away.
0 ~ 0 ~ 0
"Breath," he instructed when they were out of the hallway and inside the empty meeting room.
Akane looked up, her glaring eyes glistening with tears.
"I'm sorry. I know I should have let you strike him once, but ~ we're at the office." He hates to tell her this. "I promise to find you an opportunity so you could punch him, kick him, everything... Just not here. This is the sacred workplace of my parents." He explained.
"I get it." She mumbled, looking away.
He heaved a sigh of relief when her expression finally loosened. "I'm sorry I had to stop you."
"I said, I get it." She snapped and then looked back at him, alarmed. "B~but what are you doing here?"
He smiled sheepishly. "Uh, yes... the doctor let me go."
"What? Really?" She asked, suspicious.
"Yep..." he replied, avoiding her gaze. "Come on. There's a lot of work to do today." He added, walking out of the door ahead of her.