A/N: I don't own Ranma 1/2.
Sorry in advance if you see any mistakes here :). Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!!
"Ranma!! Why do you keep throwing that ball so far, man!" Hiroshi yelled out in frustration as he looked at Ranma furiously.
"This is the third time you did that, Ranma! I am not getting that anymore." Daisuke said while putting his hands up in the air.
Ranma smirked at them and said arrogantly,
"Heh! You guys complain a lot! I think ya are just jealous that I am beating both of you at the same time!"
"Whatever, buddy! Now go and bring that back! Then I will show you how to throw a ball properly." Hiroshi said, trying to sound a little challenging.
"TSK.. Jeez, you guys are so lame! I will go and get that ball, I need to feed my ego with your every cry.."
Ranma laughed at them arrogantly and ran towards the place where he threw the ball. It was their lunch period at their school and for some reason they are getting an extra hour of break. With nothing to do, he asked his friends for a quick play of volleyball and enjoyed every part of it until they started crying like a baby.
He sighed and began searching for that ball in the garden area of the schoolyard which was surrounded by lots of large trees. He grinned merrily when he found the ball and ran to grab it..
"No, Akane! You have no way out now! You have to answer me!! Hahaha!"
Ranma heard some voices coming from the other side of the area, and when he heard Akane's name, his interest picked up and he started looking for them. He soon found her, she sat under the shade of a large tree with her friends. They were joking with each other and were laughing loudly on some matter, unknown to him. There was an empty bottle in the middle of them and it looked as if they were playing a game of truth or dare.
"Please.. Please guys, I am sorry; I want to take my words back! Give me a dare instead.." Akane cried out with a shy face, panicking for a reason.
"No way, Akane! We have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time! We won't let this pass this easily!" Yuka said while rubbing her hands playfully.
Ranma smirked hearing that and hid behind one big tree and listened to their conversation with great interest.
Akane growled at them and said in a whinny tone,
"Oh honestly, ... ; alright then, ask me what you want to know?"
Sayuri cleared her voice and spoke up in a dramatic tone,
"Akane, Akane, Akane; you should know that we have known each other since our childhood and we already know all your secrets. But still... *dramatical pause, we are struggling to understand some of the choices you made in the past!"
"We are actually.." Yuka started in the middle but she was stopped by Sayuri as she said,
"Yuka, let me ask her!"
"But you are taking too much time, Sayuri!" Yuka replied somewhat impatiently.
Sayuri sighs and shook her head,
"Alright then, I will go straight to the topic. Akane, we were actually curious about some secrets behind your activities, so.. you better be honest with us. Because we can easily tell if you are lying or not.."
Akane looked at them with a straight face and said,
"Try me.. I won't lie."
"You promise?!" They asked simultaneously.
Akane gulped hard and replied with a shaky tone,
"I ... I promise.."
Ranma gulped and listened carefully to their conversation.
Sayuri and Yuka discussed for few seconds and then nodded with agreement when they decided how to ask her that question. Then Sayuri asked her in a serious tone,
"So, Miss Akane Tendo, since we know you we always noticed that you tend to fall for older guys, mind tell us why..?"
"Huh! What!" Akane asked, dumbfounded.
Yuka smirked and said,
"We are talking about your crushes, Akane.."
"What the! That damn tomboy!" Ranma murmured angrily and was about to interrupt them. However, suddenly he felt a pressure on his back, which made him sit back down and hide again. He looked up surprised and saw his friends hovering over him , their faces serious as they put their finger over their lips to indicate Ranma to keep quiet. Ranma growled at them and looked back at the scene in front of him,
Akane blushed hard and bites her lower lips as she said with a shaky tone,
"What type of dumb question is this? I don't know what you guys are talking about!"
Yuka and Sayuri exchanged a tired look and said,
"We are talking about your love interests, Akane Tendo." Yuka said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Yes! I agree with Yuka! I also noticed the same thing!"
"You hardly fell for any guy of your same age..!"
"It's either a sensei of the class,.."
"Or the seniors .."
"And not to forget; your last crazy crush was Dr Tofu..!"
"And.."
"Alright, alright.. Please; now stop it! Kami, you guys are impossible!"
Yuka and Sayuri giggled hearing her and said,
"We won't stop until you spill the beans, Akane dear.."
Akane sighs, but instead of getting angry at them , a beautiful smile formed on her face. She sighed dreamily and said,
"Ummm, I don't know, ... maybe... because I love mature guys. If they are older than me then maybe they would help me to grow up! Someone who will guide me properly and help me solve problems! Older guys actually know how to talk to a woman properly, how to behave and.."
"How to please a woman..?" Sayuri said slyly, twirling her eyebrows in a naughty manner.
"HEY! I didn't mean to say that.." Akane cried out, flustered.
Yuka burst out laughing at her face as she said in a owed tone,
"Oh gosh, Akane, I didn't know you are this pervert!"
"Hey!!"
Sayuri started giggling alongside her and said,
"Come to think of it, you are absolutely right, Akane! I never thought about it this way! If we chose an older guy as a partner, at least he would know what he is doing!"
"Oh you are right, girl! Just thinking about it is making me want to date my older brother's friend! By God, he is so handsome!! But I thought he was too old for me.. But after today, I won't hesitate a bit to ask him out on a date.."
"Umhmm umhmm, I would look for one too! You know... more older, more experienced !"
"Guys!Guys !! Please.. This is really embarrassing now!!"Akane said fuming, blushing red. Then the three friends exchanged a knowing look with each other and burst out laughing hard.
Ranma couldn't take the scene anymore. He stood up from his hiding place and heatedly glared at the girls group.
The girls shrieked when they suddenly heard the noise coming as they became shocked to find Ranma glaring at Akane, while Daisuke and Hiroshi stood with sad faces.
Sayuri growled angrily, she quickly stood up and said,
"Hey!! What is wrong with you guys? Were you spying on us!?"
Akane and Yuka also stood up as Yuka said with a disappointed tone,
"It is not good to spy on girls. We were having a private conversation, you know!"
Hiroshi cleared his voice and asked in a hesitated tone,
"Uhh.. We are sorry, we didn't mean to.. Ummm, Akane-san, can I ask you something?"
Akane blinked in confusion and asked,
"What is it, Hiroshi?"
"Ummm, Akane-san,... Did you; did you rejected my proposals just because I am your same age? Is that the real reason?"
That statement made Akane recall what they were actually talking about moments ago. When she suddenly saw Ranma and others, for a moment she completely spaced out and forgot about their silly conversation. But now, as she heard Hiroshi's question, she remembered everything and her face got bright red with embarrassment. She knows what she said might upset Ranma a lot and she started anticipating a possible outburst from him. She sighed and looked at Ranma and decided to face him in a casual manner.
But to her surprise, he didn't react as she thought he would do. He simply looked at her, his eyes blank, face tensed. He released a long sigh and silently left the place.
Two days had passed since that day and Ranma's been avoiding Akane in every sense possible. Not only that, two days in a row he didn't even return to the Tendo house as well! He was really angry at her this time. He knows he shouldn't react like this, it was just a casual conversation between some silly childhood friends, but for some reason he couldn't shrug off the uneasy feeling that her words had spread over his heart.
"Ranma! Ranma! Wait!!"
Ranma heard her calling after him. She has been following him since he left the school to return to the place where he was staying now. He could tell that Akane was getting irritated by his behaviour, but for some annoying reason he couldn't make himself talk to her.
"RANMA!! I SWEAR, IF YOU DON'T STOP THEN.."
Ranma stopped walking and heatedly looked back at her and asked her in an annoyed tone,
"What do ya want, tomboy!"
Akane stopped in front of him, slightly huffing for running behind him. She pouted up at him and asked,
"What is wrong with you, baka?! Why are you avoiding me?"
"I ain't avoiding ya, tomboy!"
"YES, you are!!" Akane's shaky voice paused Ranma. He couldn't hold his stare anymore as he averted his eyes from her. She sighed and asked him more politely this time, "What happened to you, Ranma? Why are you avoiding me like this? You have not come back home for two days straight! What is wrong with you? If you do not tell me what is bothering you then how can I fix it?"
"Fix WHAT, Kane? There is nothing to fix.."
"But Ranma.."
"Listen,... JUST leave me alone, tomboy!"
"What!"
"You heard me, leave me alone!"
"Oh honestly, why are you being so rude to me?" Akane asked in an angry tone.
Ranma growled and replied harshly,
"I am just telling you the truth!! And why do you want to talk to me anyways, if you like OLDER AND MORE MATURE GUYS then why are YOU waisting your time talking TO ME, HUH?!"
"Huh! What are you saying, Ranma..I ..." she paused as suddenly she remembered. She sighed tiredly and said with worn out tone,
"Seriously Ranma? You are still thinking about that day! How dumb are you!?"
Ranma growled at her angrily and said,
"DUMB? ME!! YOU ARE THE ONE WHO ALWAYS ACTS LIKE A DUMB! NOT ME!"
"I AM NOT THE DUMB, STUPID!" She took a deep breath to calm herself, then she tried with a carefully controlled tone,
"That day, the three of us were just having a nonchalant conversation, Ranma! There was nothing serious about that.."
Ranma smirked humorlessly and said,
"I don't think so, Akane! That day what I heard was nothing but true.."
"Hey! That's not.."
Akane tried to protest but he stopped her,
"Look, I don't know what that Sensai or that guy from that Senior class of yours meant to you; but I do know about Dr Tofu!! And not to mention, your latest so-called crush, THAT DAMN SHINNOSUKE..!!! Come to think of it, isn't he older than you too!! You were also ready to accept his proposal if I hadn't reached there on time!! So don't come here and tell me that was a casual conversation and there was nothing serious about that!! Your friends were right! You DO LIKE mature guys!! Then WHAT are you doing with me, huh? Why do you need me for? You always tell me that I am not mature enough! So if you have so many objections about me then why don't you talk to your father to cancel our damn engagement.."
Akane didn't say anything right away. She gave him time to finish his speech first, and when she saw him resting his speech and looking at her; she calmly walked towards him. She puts both her hands on his collars and pulled him closer to her face as she whispered hotly,
"You are right, Ranma.. I DO like mature guys! Guys who knows how to take control of their life and guys who knows what they are doing with others' feelings. We have been engaged since last four years, with your extra finances trailing behind us, but still, you couldn't choose whom you want in your life and shamelessly you kept playing with our hearts! Being a muscular man doesn't certify you to become a mature person, Ranma! For being mature first you need to take your responsibilities seriously and take charge of your actions. But all you do is complain about this and that! Neither you are letting any of us go and neither you want us to have any separate lives! You are nothing but a mature kid to me, Ranma Saotome! I would really appreciate it if you start taking some action from now on. Because after a few months when we will finish our school life, I really want to start a new life,"
Finishing her statement, she sighed deeply and released his collar, then without saying anything anymore, she started walking away from him.
"So what if I choose someone else and it's not you.. Won't your father get angry about this? And...and what about you? Would you be okay with this?" Ranma asked in a haste.
Akane stopped walking. In all honesty, she doesn't have any answers for his question. She never thought about being apart with him. But she needs to answer him correctly, if that's what he needs to take this matter seriously, she will give him a honest answer. She bravely looked back at him and said with a small smile on her face,
"I am much more mature than you think, Ranma. And about my father, I will talk to him if I need to, don't worry about him. I just want you to make up your mind and choose who you really want to be with. I will support you throughout your decision, I promise."
A soft breeze blew her hair as she kept looking at him with her delicate eyes. Ranma also kept looking at her, his face blank, only his eyes were speaking his heart out. She could tell how unsure he is feeling right now. She slowly walked towards him and stopped in front of him. She held his hands with her soft hands and said with a soft whisper tone,
"Ranma, you are my best friend and whoever you choose, I will always be by your side like your friend.. I won't leave your side ever,.. I just want you to be happy, that's all.."
The Next Day- (At the night time)
How she wished she could take the time back. How she wished their little silly game of truth or dare never had happened. How she wished she never said those dumb words to her friends. How she wished she never pushed Ranma to take his responsibilities seriously and choose his fiance like a mature man. How she wished whatever was happening now was nothing but a frightening nightmare... But it's not possible right now! The worst has already happened.. Now all she could do is to accept this harsh reality. The reality which is the cause of her loneliness and which left her heart completely shattered..
*Knock.. Knock.. Knock..**
"Akane dear, are you alright?" Kasumi's concern-filled voice came from the other side of the door.
Akane bits her lower lip and said with a shaky tone,
"I am fine, Oneechan.."
There was a pause for a brief second , then Kasumi asked her again,
"We are really worried about you, dear. Do you need anything?"
Akane sniffed and tried to convince her with a hard tone,
"I am fine, Oneechan. Please don't worry about me. I will be just fine.."
Kasumi gave a long sigh and said,
"Alright then.. Please don't hesitate to ask me anything you want.."
Akane didn't have the heart to reply back to her. She silently wiped on her bent knees and started thinking about her dreadful day.
Since yesterday, when she last had that conversation with Ranma; she was having a bad feeling in her heart. All day she couldn't shrug off the feelings that something would definitely go wrong this time. And the rumour that Nabiki told her this morning, made her more anxious when she found out that Ranma might be staying at Ukyo's house. She shut down that topic when her family recklessly started discussing about it in front of her. She was hoping to see Ranma at the classroom and find out about this by talking to him. But to her dismay, he didn't attend the class and to make things more worse for her, she couldn't find Ukyo anywhere either.
With a heavy heart she started her class but she couldn't concentrate on any classes. At the end of their school when she was walking back to her house, she heard a loud sound coming from the direction of the cat cafe. She rushed to that place and the scene that welcomed her shocked her fully. The cafe was half demolished. All the tables and chairs were either broken or upside down. Shampoo was sitting at a corner seat as her grandmother comforted her and at the other side of the cafe, Mousse was cleaning the broken glasses, a smug smile on his face. His eyes suddenly fell upon her, he stopped his work and nodded at her and slowly came to greet her.
"Hi there, Akane Tendo. What bring you here toady? Sorry, the restaurant will be closed for.."
She didn't let him finish, "Mousse, where is Ranma?!"
Mousse was shocked at first, then asked her calmly,
"Why? Don't tell me you don't know anything that happened.."
Akane shook her head quickly, making him grim. He looked back at Shampoo and then turned to look at Akane as he said,
"Ranma came here with Ukyo and he told Shampoo that he doesn't want to marry her. He blood pledge broke the deal and that's why they couldn't do anything to him. After everything, both of them left. I think maybe you would find him at Ukyo's place now.." He paused for a moment then asked her in a hesitating tone, "So did he break the engagement between you two as well?"
Akane took a sharp breath of surprise as her wet eyes silenced him. He sighed knowingly and said,
"You are much stronger than you think, Miss Tendo and you definitely deserve much more better than him.. Please don't lose hope.."
Akane bites her lower lip and desperately starts running towards Ukyo's place to look for Ranma. When she reached the place her legs stopped moving on their own. She kept looking at the door with utmost trediption, too scared to face the reality. She began to pant hard as her heart felt like it was on fire. The pit of her belly twisted uncomfortably. After some moment has passed, she gathered some courage and slowly walked towards the door. She didn't even have to go inside, because the scene that welcomed her was enough to glue her feet to the ground.
In front of her, she could see them as clear as water as they were hugging each other with a force that would put shame to any bear hugs. Ukyo had what looked like happy tears in her closed eyes as she had the most elegant smile on her face. She couldn't see Ranma's face properly, but the way he was hugging her back and laughing together, confirmed her suspicions. Her heart felt like it stopped beating completely and for a second she felt like she would faint standing there. She took a deep shaky breath and quickly started running as fast as she could to escape this dark reality.
She began to sob silently on her knees as she started blaming herself mercilessly. She knew that she might have to face a day like this, but she never imagined it would hurt this much. She thought that she was prepared for any outcome, but now it felt to her like she had lost a part of her soul. It's killing her to think that Ranma won't be a part of her life anymore. He has finally chosen someone and that someone is not her.
After what happened at Jusenkyo and after coming back from China, he had acted so protective towards her! So caring, always on edge to take care of what she needs. It's like, she just had to wish it on her mind and the next day she would see him doing everything for her. His actions made her believe that maybe this feeling was mutual for her and not one-sided. Maybe he is still shy to say that to her, but he really has feelings for her. That made her confident about this situation and she jumped to the first opportunity to help him to express his feelings for her. And now she regrets her decision!
She wished, she hadn't pushed him to confess his feelings like that. Otherwise, he would still be by her side; mocking her, calling her names. But now that he had chosen Ukyo, she couldn't expect him to act that way towards her anymore! Who will be by her side now? Who will take care of her like he did? Who would blindly jump off a mountain for her sake as he always used to do! Who would look for her like he always did! How can she...
*Knock.. * Knock**
Akane was in a very miserable state of mind. She didnt had the strength to answer any knock anymore. But when she heard more knocking on her door, she whimpered and said,
"Please leave me alone! I want to sleep.."
"Kane?"
She stopped her whining and sat straight up. She knew this was coming, but she didn't think that he would want to talk to her this fast! She thought he wouldn't want to return from Ukyo's house tonight! But here he was, waiting outside her door to talk to her, to tell her that he doesn't want to be with her anymore.. Why is he so desperate to get rid of her?? Why don't he just leave her alone for one day! She can't face him now! Not like this..
"Akane? Are you alright?"
Akane sighed and looked at the door with longing in her eyes. Here he goes again; getting worried about her, Calling her name in a frantic way, asking her about her wellbeing; just like he always does. But she needs to hold up her feelings for now, because this is not the same Ranma as before. He is not her fiance anymore. She has lost the right to call him her own a long time ago. He is nothing but a friend to her now... Just a friend..
"Hey! I am coming inside if ya don't let me in now!"
She heard his warning tone and smiled with all her misery. She gave a big sigh and stood up from the floor and said to him,
"Wait, don't come in now! I am changing, wait a moment.."
"Uhh.. Ok, I guess.."
Akane hastily went in front of her mirror to fix herself. She looked like a complete mess right now; her hair was shabby, her face puffy with all her crying, and there were shadows under her eyes! If Ranma sees her like this, he would surely feel guilty about his decision. She cant let him feel this way. She was the one who told him that she would take this situation more maturely and accept his friendship. But she is not looking as strong as she told him she would be. She never thought Ranma choosing another woman would affect her this badly. Her eyes filled with tears again , but she hastily wiped those tears away. She quickly started applying some good amount of makeup on her face to make her look good and happy in front of him. After a quick patch-up, she looked herself on the mirror for the last time and casually called out,
"Umm.. You can come in now, Ranma.."
Ranma slowly entered her room and saw her standing beside her bed with a big smile on her face. He closed the door and kept looking at her with a stunned face.
"You look okay to me! Why'd everybody is saying that you are not feeling well..?"
Akane tried to giggle forcefully as she said,
"Oh you know my family, I just told them that I have a headache and... hey!" Akane stopped talking and noticed a deep cut on his right cheek. She took a sharp breath and asked in a panicked tone, "Ranma, what happened to your cheek?"
Ranma puts his hand on his cheek and hissed in pain,
"Umm.. I don't know.. I didn't even realize it was there."
Ranma said in a whispered tone as he saw her getting busy finding her first aid kit which she always kept in her room because of him. He smiled at her and watched her carefully. She soon found what she was looking for and looked at him. She sat over her bed and patted in front of her,
"Come here, baka, let me see it. You definitely need a bandage."
Ranma sighed and slowly walked towards the bed. He sat in front of her and watched her every move as she carefully started tending to his wound.
She hissed when she started applying some medicine over it. She began to blow softly on his cheek to make his pain go away.
"Akane.."
She bites her lower lip when she realized he didn't call her the usual way. She gulped hard and said,
"Don't move too much."
"I ... I have something to tell ya.."
Akane released a big sigh and said,
"Okay, but first let me fix this wound , then I will listen to you."
Ranma sighed defeatedly and nodded his head. She was so focused on fixing his cheek that she didn't even realize how close her face was to his cheek. After applying the ointment, she gently placed a bandage on his cheek. She sighed, happy with her work and said,
"All done..!"
Ranma smiled and turned his face to look at her; but by doing so, their noses accidentally bumped with each other. In other circumstances, they would have parted millions of miles away, calling each other names, blaming one another and what not! But not today... For some magical reason, both remained still in their space as they got lost in each other's stares. They were so close to touching their lips. But for some reason, this closeness didn't bother any of them anymore! She automatically closed her eyes and waited for him to make a move on her. But as his breath touched her lips , she remembered everything again and quickly moved away from him.
"I.. I am sorry, Ranma.. I was just.. It's just.."
Her heart started pounding so hard for him. Her head started swirling badly! She couldn't believe how much her heart was squeezing with pain! She has Ranma so close to her by her side, but still it felt like he is very far away from her! When she thinks that she won't be able to make him her own anymore, only this thought alone was making her feel like she would die of suffocation.
She needs to remind herself again and again that this is not the same man who used to call her his fiance. He is someone else now, someone who is looking much more mature and who had already chosen who he really wants to be with. He is nothing but a friend to her now! Just a friend! And friends don't kiss each other ! She should not expect anything like that from him! She need to keep her distance from him, or else...
"I told Shampoo once and for all that there is no future for us.."
Akane bit her tongue and asked with a shaky tone,
"What.. what she said?"
Ranma smirked and showed her his cheek again and said,
"What do you think? But thankfully she couldn't do much about it, because me and Ucchan went there with a proof of her previous husband."
"Her husband? Was she married? But how did you know about this?"
Ranma sighed and said, "Mousse helped me when I asked for help from him. Apparently, she was already married when she first saw me. Their village rules allow their woman to marry as many men as they like, you just have to be as strong as her. But if the other person has objections about their previous marriage, he can oppose it!"
"Oh Kami! This is crazy..!" Akane whispered, still in shock.
"Tell me about it! I was really shocked when I heard it too! Remember when she used to go back to China And returned late; that's because she had to give time to her other husband. Mousse knew it, but he has no problem being her husband, no matter which number she puts him in..."
"Well, that definitely sounds like Mousse!" She giggled but stopped when she noticed the intense way he was looking back at her. She averted her eyes from him and said while looking down,
"Umm.. Anyway, I am happy for you and Ukyo.."
"Really?" Ranma asked her in such a way as if he felt a great sense of relief. That made Akane's situation more miserable as she almost gave into her tears. But she hold herself strong and said,
"Umhmm.." She tried to say more but her all words got caught up on her throat.
"Is that mean you don't have any objections to that?" He again asked , excitedly.
Akane looked away from him and said with a tightly controlled tone,
"I already told you, I am happy for both of you! You.. you made the right choice.."
Ranma was shocked to hear that,
"Huh? What are ya saying, tomboy?"
"Look, Ranma. Please don't put pressure on me.." She gulped hard and clutched her bed tightly. She tried her best to control her tears as she said with a shaky tone,
"No really, I don't understand what are you saying!" Ranma said in a confused tone.
Akane sighs and whispered with a shaky tone,
"I... I saw you guys, okay?"
"You saw us?! What do you mean by "you saw us?"
Akane gripped her bed more tightly and said,
"Ranma, I know where you have been staying these past two days and I also know why..!So you don't owe any explanation to me. I know why you did that."
Ranma growled annoyingly and said,
"Jeez Kane, why are you tangling up all the words! I don't even understand what you are saying anymore!"
Akane couldn't take the pressure anymore. She growled at him loudly and faced him with an angry face as she cried out to him with angry tears.
"What are you not understanding, huh?! I know that you have chosen Ukyo and I saw you both hugging each other! I said I am happy for you both! Why are you pressuring me so much huh? Do you want to see me cry for you? Would it boost your ego? Then be happy!! You did succeed in making me cry!! Happy now!"
At first, Ranma was shocked to get this type of reaction from her. He couldn't bear to see her cry like this! But as he kept listening to her , he finally understood why she was acting this way. If he wanted he could have directly told her the truth, but he decided to play along for a few moments. He cleared his voice and asked,
" I don't understand.. Why are you crying like this? You are the one who told me that you are okay if I chose someone else!"
"Aww! I AM OKAY WITH YOUR DECISION! How many times do I have to repeat myself,baka! WHY DID YOU COME HERE ANYWAYS? GO BACK TO HER ARMS AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" She cried out in a frustrated tone, facing him fully with forced determination. But after a while she looked down as her eyes poured down tears of agony.
Ranma didn't want to stretch the situation anymore ; her sobbing was getting wild and she already looked like passing out. He sighed tiredly and without any word, he grabbed her hands and pulled her towards him and hugged her tightly.
Akane took a sharp breath of surprise when she felt him embrace her with great force and then when she heard his whispered tone, she almost forgot breathing.
" You are crazy! But I don't care; because I love you , Kane.."
Akane's sobbing stopped instantly. She bits her lower lips and shook her head wildly. Then she tried to compose herself by hiding her face on his chest. Then after few moments of silence she broke the hug and looked at him with a serious expression,
"Look, Ranma. I am sorry for my behaviour. I know what you are trying to do here.. You don't need to lie to me by saying that you love me!"
Ranma scrunched his eyebrows together and asked her in a confused manner,
"What do ya mean by that?"
Akane sighed and tried to smile with her tears as she said,
"Ranma, you are such a baka! I know you didn't mean it that way. You can't see me crying like this and that's why you said this. But, please you don't have to do it! I Know who you love and I promise I am happy for you both. It's just, I wasn't expecting it to happen so early and that's why maybe I reacted in such a way.. Look, I will be just fine. And as I told you before, I will be your friend forever! You don't have to lie to me because you want to make me happy.. I promise, I will try my best to move on too. I just need some time, that's all."
Ranma became fully annoyed by her crying smiling face, he gave her a stern look and asked her angrily,
"Oh really! Then how are ya planning to move on without me?"
Akane sniffed and said with a shaky tone,
"I haven't planned it yet, dummy. Maybe, I would go and study overseas. And I hope I will find someone older there this time.." She giggled as she tried to loosen up the air between them. But what happened next was completely opposite of what she thought.
Ranma growled angrily and asked her in a heated tone,
"Gosh, ya still haven't learned your lesson yet, isn't it tomboy.."
"Huh!" Akane asked surprised, but her astonishment went top-notch when suddenly Ranma grabbed her face with both his hands and roughly pulled her face towards him and captured her lips with a desperate kiss.
She closed her eyes tightly and immediately melted at his touch. She was stunned by his action, but moreover, she was surprised to see how he could be so wild yet so gentle at the same time. She moaned and tightly wrapped her arms around his neck as she began to kiss him back with similar desperation.
Ranma wrapped his one hand over her back and he placed his other hand over her neck, to prevent her from breaking their kiss. Everything felt so magical for her. His every touch was healing her wounded heart in a pleasant way. She wanted to stop the time and lose herself in this timeline for forever. But suddenly, a quick flush image of Ukyo's smiling face came to her mind. She opened her eyes widely and pushed him away and said in a breathless tone.
"Ranma! What are we doing? This is wrong! We can't do this! Oh Kami, this is wrong, what was I thinking..!"
"NOTHING IS WRONG HERE!!" Ranma loses his cool and pulls her towards him again.
Akane eyes filled up with tears as she said,
"Ranma, you are with Ukyo now! This is wrong.."
Ranma sighed and shook his head. He carefully wipes her tears and said,
"I am sorry to make you worry like that.."
She sniffed and asked him with a weak shaky tone,
"What do you mean, Ranma?"
Ranma smirked at her, he gently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and clutched her cheek lovingly and whispered to her,
"I mean , I love you Akane. And I meant every word I said. Not like a friend and for sure not to sympathize with you; I love you the way it should be.."
Akane's lower lips started trembling , she sniffed and asked him in a shaky tone,
"But I saw you with Ukyo today.. You guys were hugging each other and.."
"Oh Jeez Kane, I should give you an award for jumping to conclusions so easily!"
"Hey!!" Akane protested while sniffling.
He grabbed her hands tightly and said with a serious tone,
"Ukyo is just my friend, nothing else other than that! We were hugging each other because we were happy that we managed to get out of Shampoo's grasp these easily. When I asked you if its okay with you, what I meant to say is if you are okay with the idea of us being a friends, nothing other than that! And by the way, Ukyo is already dating someone else.."
"What? Really?"
"Yap! She asked me to keep it a secret and that's why I didn't tell ya anything.."
Akane still couldn't believe her ears! She looked at him , her face bright red with embarrassment as she asked him,
"When did that happen?"
Ranma shrugged his shoulders and said,
"Long time! I don't remember when.."
It took time for Akane to digest all the news at once . She gulped hard and started blushing hard as she said softly,
"So.. Does that mean.."
Ranma kept looking at her with his soft eyes , and nodded slightly. After a few moments of silently looking at each-other, he slowly started to chuckle and suddenly he started laughing at her face. He fell back on the bed laughing hard and started rolling over her bed. Akane wasn't expecting that from him. She pouted at him and asked,
"Hey! What's so funny?! Why are you laughing like an idiot, huh?"
He stopped laughing and looked at her with a silly face, He turned to face her and rested his head over his hand and then asked her,
"I just remembered a smug tomboy who told to me to act maturely! I thought you were much more mature than I am, Kane!"
He started laughing again when he saw her blushing madly. She huffed and threw a pillow at him and looked away from him. She pouted up and said while crossing her arms over her chest,
"Haha, very funny! For your kind information I was managing well before you came here. I broke down because you pressured me!"
Ranma chuckled and gave her a sneaky stare and said playfully,
"Hmmm.. Kane.. You know, your face powder is all gone now.." Saying that he started laughing again.
"Huh!" She hastily puts her hand on her cheek and realizes that Ranma was indeed right. She moaned and hid her face with her hands. "You are so cruel, Ranma! So what if I am an immature? Laugh as you wish.."
Ranma stopped laughing and calmly looked at her. He sighed and grabbed her hands with his and pulled her towards him. She fell over his body as he hugged her tightly and whispered into her ears,
"You are not immature; you are just my mature baby I guess.."
Akane chuckled upon hearing that, she nodded her head and hugged him more protectively. They kept on hugging each other like that, enjoying their closeness,. Then after some time, Ranma said in a hesitated tone,
"I was staying at Dr Tofu's house for the past two days. Umm after what I heard you say to yar friends , I became confused about what you really meant by a mature man! That's why I decided to stay close to Tofu to observe him, well he is the only one who seemed mature enough to me!" He heard her giggling which made him smile as well as he said, "Honestly, I couldn't guess much staying with him, but when I had that conversation with you and you specifically told me about what you want me to do, I took action immediately. I knew Ucchan is already dating someone, so I only had to take care of Shampoo. That's when I decided to ask Ucchan for help, because I wanted to surprise you."
Akane sighed at his arms and tightened her hold on him.
"Kane?"
"Umhmm.."
"So do you think I am mature enough for you? Or do I need to try.."
Akane stopped him by swiftly giving him a kiss on his lips. She broke the kiss after some time, she sighed and said in a fearful tone,
"I take all my words back, Ranma! I don't want you to change at all! You are perfect the way you are! Just.. just be yourself! Don't ever change! Not for me, not for anyone else. You have no idea how much I have missed you.."
"Really?"
She nodded her head and said with a smile on her face,
"I just want my old Ranma back. I want my immature fiancée back to me.."
Ranma smirked at her and said huskily,
"Are ya sure? Because if the old Ranma returned.." He shifted their position and made her lie underneath him as he said harshly, "Then you will be in great trouble! Be careful of what you wish for, tomboy.."
She pulled his braid and pulled his face inches closer to her face as she whispered to him lovingly,
" If that's the price I have to pay for loving you this immensely then be it.. I am ready for all the troubles in the world.. Bring it on, Ranma Saotome!"
Ranma felt a wave of love washing over his heart for the woman who laid underneath him. Her expressive brown eyes, beautiful messy face, shabby black blue hair taking his breath away in every way possible. He desperately wants to show her how much he loves her, how much she means to him and how much he needs her. Her every word worked like magic on him. He wasn't sure for how long he kept looking at her face. She didn't seem to mind him looking at her, her elegant smile was the proof for it. He sighed and closed the distance and gave a soft kiss on her forehead as he whispered to her,
"I love you, Akane.. I will never leave your side."
A/N: I can't tell you how much I have stressed myself to write this oneshot! But thankfully, I am happy with the outcome :).. I hope you also enjoyed reading this oneshot! Please don't forget to let me know! And do send me your support with your kind reviews :).
With this fic I am participating in the dynamic that the great Mundo fanfic InuyashayRanma has arranged for us which is called,
#porque_cinco_fiestas_son_mejor_que_una
And I also want to thank my friend Kaysachan for helping me to understand some matters ;p.
I have one page on FB, "Mrs Impatience" ; I post all my new updates there and sometimes sneak peeks of my new fics! Take care guys! See you soon!