Hey guys. Next chapter all up and running. As I've mentioned before this story is coming to an end, but I'll try and make it a good ending for when the time comes. In the meantime, please read and enjoy and don't forget to review. Ignore any spelling mistakes you see, I tried to edit it as much as possible.
Onwards everybody.
Akane sucked in a breath as she came. She had hoped that by masturbating she could try and get some relief from the sadness that was in her heart, but no such luck.
Months had passed and winter was right around the corner and still Ranma had not returned. She hadn't even gotten any letters or anything, so she honestly had no idea where he was or what he was doing. Her father Soun had received a few updates from Genma but he never mentioned anything about Ranma, she figured that he was keeping his father from giving away any unnecessary details she should know about. The whole thing was incredibly frustrating. Akane had fallen into depression, all she could think about was Ranma. Nobody could blame the girl for feeling the way she did. She was hopelessly in love with him and on top of all that she was still desperately fighting back that craving for lust that had once again grabbed hold of her. It was the story of her life. Akane was tired, it was already so late at night, but she wasn't satisfied yet. At least in her fantasies Ranma was there.
She couldn't count the number of times; she had dreamed about him. In her dreams he was always close, and he wouldn't leave her. He would cater to her every wish, and she would feel so safe and loved to be beside him. Unfortunately, dreams would mess with your head, and lately she felt as though every time she thought Ranma was there he wasn't and that only made her even more sad.
Groaning a bit, Akane laid her head back against her pillow and closed her eyes starting over once more. One last time and then maybe it would be better. So, she began to fantasize again.
She found him in the shower, the moon luminating from the window of the dark bathroom. The steam of the hot water outlined his perfect body. It was so captivating, almost as though in a trance she couldn't resist stripping away her own clothes to join him; with tender care she approached him from behind not wanting to startle him. The heat between her legs was so intense she honestly could've come right then and there simply from the sight of him. She started planting kisses on his shoulder blades and he moaned softly before turning around to shove his tongue down her throat; with his strength he lifted her off the floor pressing her back against the wall, and she was in heaven. Still holding her up, his mouth left a trail down her throat to her breast she cried in pleasure as he took a nipple into his mouth. She weaved her fingers through his hair.
It wasn't just the heat from the shower that was making her feel dizzy. She felt his mouth on her other breast giving the same special attention to it. She gasped when his tongue slid across her stomach moving lower and lower. It made her shudder with anticipation. She almost didn't want to think what he was he about to do, he lifted her up some more and she screamed in delight as his mouth closed over her sweet pussy eating her up. She could feel his tongue swirl around her nub, and it was driving her over the edge. More, she wanted more. Her hips were rocking but she was firmly held in place. Blood rushed throughout her body. Oh gods, that felt so fucking good. He could eat her as much as he wanted, she just didn't want him to stop.
Her mouth opened in a silent cry as the pleasure became too much for her, she could feel her body going limp but still he continued to devour her, intent on making her feel every moment of it. All she could see was white, she was ascending to the beyond world. It was like a beautiful dream that she didn't want to end.
Akane bit her lip hard as she came again coating her fingers with her juices. Holy shit that had been so wonderful. She breathed deeply for a few moments trying to calm herself down. She almost didn't think that she had been fantasizing that had been so real. When she finally did catch her breath, she felt very heavy. She had already come so much tonight, and she couldn't do it anymore. Akane knew that was only fooling herself with her masturbation, no matter how much she touched herself she wasn't going to get that satisfaction she craved. She was so worried about Ranma, she was almost ashamed of herself for doing this to try and distract herself.
At least for the first time in weeks she was able to sleep normally, her mind had been completely spent. There was a chill in the air when dawn arrived, but it didn't wake her up at all. Akane slept through most of the morning until Nabiki woke her up for breakfast. She was still feeling groggy even as she ate her meal, she didn't even care about the first snowfall of the season as the rest of the family admired the outside.
If Ranma were here he'd be complaining about the snow and cold. She missed the way he would whine about something. Breakfast simply wasn't the same without him. Normally he'd be fighting to keep his food safe from his gluttonous father and she'd have to scold him for making too much noise first thing in the morning. It was the memory of all those little things that made her sniff a bit from sadness. Without Ranma, life in the Tendo household had, been way to dull and uninteresting. She couldn't stand it.
"Akane? Where are you going?" She stood up putting her dish aside.
"I'm going for a walk. I'll be back".
"You didn't even finish your meal".
"I'll eat later, I want to be alone right now".
The cold morning air felt great against her skin, Akane had told herself that an early morning walk would help cheer her up. She had been telling herself to cheer up for weeks now, but of course it didn't do any good. It was like nothing mattered to her anymore, not even the sounds of birds chirping in the dawn choir brought her joy like it once did. She hadn't really been paying attention to her surroundings, so she didn't even notice that she had somehow ended up at Ukyo's okonomiyaki shop. She stood outside the entrance for a few minutes just staring. Akane had not seen Ukyo for some time; the girl had been smart enough to keep her distance away from her since that day.
Akane had no idea why she suddenly wondered why she wanted to know how Ukyo was doing. While the two were not particularly close, they were still friends. It was only when Ranma was involved in some way that Ukyo's jealousy became a nuisance. She sighed as she shook her head. There was no point standing here, she was about to leave when Ukyo stepped outside to sweep, and she jumped a bit when she noticed Akane.
"Akane? What are you doing here? My shop isn't open yet".
She chewed her bottom lip; well, this was certainly an awkward situation. She cleared her throat "I'm just taking a walk is all. I'll be going now". Before she could get anywhere Ukyo stopped her "Wait. It's cold out here. Why don't you come inside, and I'll make tea".
Akane raised an eyebrow. What was with the sudden offer? What was the thinking behind it? She didn't know if it was a good idea to accept, logically she should politely decline and be on her way; yet almost against her will Akane nodded and she cursed herself for being so curious in the moment. She was thankful that Ukyo didn't see her scowl as she led her inside and pulled out a chair.
"I'll be a few minutes. Wait here".
Akane tsked to herself in great irritation once Ukyo was out of sight. Why the hell had she agreed for tea in the first place? While Ukyo had always been more decent than most women who were after Ranma, she was still a rival nonetheless and Akane hated to admit that she felt challenged by that. But she hadn't seen Ukyo in some time, Akane honestly didn't know if her words from that day had stuck with Ukyo or not. Like so many other parasites that were attracted to Ranma, Ukyo was persistent.
"Here you go". Again, Akane could only accept the tea that was placed in front of her, and Ukyo took a seat beside her with her own cup. There was this almost disturbing silence between them as they sipped their tea. Akane had to resist the urge to squirm; what the hell was Ukyo thinking? She was about to say something when the brunette beat her to it.
"Listen I've been thinking about what you said".
Akane was caught off guard. That had definitely not, been what she had expected to hear. "Eh? What does that mean?"
"As you know Ran-chan and I are childhood friends. He was actually, one of my very first friends".
Who cared about that? Akane had not asked about her life story. So why was Ukyo telling her this. Akane could only guess that she was leading up to her main point, so with great reluctance she had no choice but to listen as Ukyo spoke.
"I still remember our adventures together. He was always tricking me into giving him free okonomiyaki, but I still liked him either way".
Akane more then anything wanted to tell her to shut the fuck up and quit wasting her time. She didn't want to hear Ukyo boring childhood stories; surly she hadn't offered her tea just for this?
"When I asked him that day if he would take care of me, I really had meant what I said. I'm an only child so without any brothers or sisters I didn't know what it was like to have someone other than my father care about me".
Was she talking about family love? Or was that just an excuse? Akane couldn't tell, but still for the sake of being polite she kept her mouth shut. "I guess looking back on my childhood I considered Ran-chan more than a friend, after a while I began to see him as my own brother. Of course, it would've been weird if I started to develop feelings for a brother, so I suppose I wanted Ran-chan to see me as something more then just a sister".
Ok, she was starting to piece together the puzzle. Though she was taking her sweet time Uyko was telling her honest feelings.
She could see how giving their childhood circumstances why, Ukyo would start to want something more out of Ranma than something as childish as brotherly affection. But that still didn't answer the question completely. Akane needed more information before she could get the last piece to complete the puzzle for good. Ukyo would need to tell her more. Whether or not at the time Ranma saw her as a sibling was really anyone's guess, but giving the fact that he didn't even know she was a female until years later, Akane knew that it was safe to assume that Ranma honestly couldn't have felt anything more outside of sibling love if that was case. Most children were not able to distinguish romantic love from platonic love at a young age. So, there was no way that Ranma could've loved Ukyo at that stage in their childhood.
"First loves never actually disappear. They stay in the back of your mind coming to the surface from time to time to remind you of what you wanted when you don't want to be reminded".
Ah, that was the missing piece. Akane finally obtained all the necessary information that she needed to paint the picture too the story. When she thought about it, it made a lot of sense that Ukyo would feel like this. Despite having known her since they were kids, Ranma simply hadn't developed romantic feelings for her, not even meeting again years later. Akane couldn't say for sure if Ranma even had a brotherly love for Ukyo; probably not she had never seen him express that kind of affection for Ukyo and she doubted that he would. Akane knew that Ranma only thought of Ukyo as his childhood friend that would give him meals, nothing more and nothing less. Whatever sort of affection that Ukyo wanted to believe in was just a sham. She couldn't force Ranma to choose who he fell in love with and although it was a tough pill to swallow Akane knew that Ukyo knew that Ranma had chosen her, and there was nothing that Ukyo could do about it no matter how much she didn't want to accept it.
There was another wave of silence as both girls finished their tea. Akane didn't know what to say, should she even say anything at all? What would Ukyo's reaction be if she did?
"I can't force Ran-chan to fall in love with me, because I already know that he's in love with you. I could see it plain as day, I just didn't want to admit to myself".
Akane couldn't help but feel sorry for her, the expression on her face spoke volumes. "Still when you're a foolish young girl with dreams of love, you're willing to do anything to make it come true even at the expense of others".
She knew that Ukyo was apologizing to her even if she wasn't saying it directly. Akane knew when to give credit and right now Ukyo was being brave and trying to do the right thing for her sake.
"I was raised better than that, so that wasn't cool of me at all. I've accepted that I should be fortunate to even be friends with Ran-chan at all. Even though he'll never see me as anything more, I can at least have the comfort of knowing that he still cares for me in some way just like when we were kids".
Akane was impressed, she never thought that of all the people it would be Ukyo to admit her wrongdoings first. She really was more decent and kinder than the rest. Akane couldn't sense any hostility from her, so she assumed that their friendship wasn't going to be affected in any way. Still, it was better if she didn't ask that question since she didn't want to push her luck. Though she was still a bit wary, since in the past Ukyo had often sugarcoated her words to hide what she was really feeling and more than once it had caused problems. Akane knew that there was a fine line between trust and deception that was playing out here, but for now leave things as they were.
She cleared her throat again "Thank you for telling me that, and for the tea but I really must be on my way".
She politely declined Ukyo's offer for some okonomiyaki and instead hurried home. There was something about the whole experience that left her with a guilty feeling in her heart. It was hard to describe, Akane didn't feel the least bit regretful for saying what she had said that day. So maybe it was the feeling like she didn't trust Ukyo enough as a person to hold her word for it. She was almost home when she ran into Ryoga who just so happened to be lost again. She had spotted him around the corner and he almost jumped a mile in the air when she called his name.
"Akane-san good morning".
She frowned a bit, "What are you doing here?"
That hadn't been intended to sound harsh, but she wasn't in the mood for dealing with more people for the moment. Before Ryoga could answer Akane couldn't help but ask about Ranma in hope that maybe by chance Ryoga had seen or heard from him. Much to her disappointment he hadn't.
"How long has he been gone?"
"A few months now. I keep hoping that he'll come back, but I never hear even a single word about it".
"He should be more responsible as man. A real man would never hide from adversity".
She shook her head "I don't blame him at all. It wasn't his fault to begin with".
Normally Ryoga would be over the moon knowing that he finally had a chance to win Akane's affection; unfortunately, life always had ways of giving you a hard dose of reality. He could see that Akane was very miserable, she missed Ranma and she was trying hard not to show it too much. When she had smacked him that day, it was a clear message that he never once stood a chance to have her. Akane had already made her decision and it wasn't his place to interfere with her life. It had taken Ryoga time to accept that but once he did, that still didn't make it any better.
There was an eerie silence between them, Akane was in thought. But eventually she broke the stillness "Ryoga I'm asking you this as a friend but, if possible, I want you to try and find Ranma".
His jaw dropped "What? Why?"
"I'm aware of the history between you, but I also know that despite everything you are his friend. You can't tell me that Ranma hasn't helped you out many times before".
Ryoga wished he could've said otherwise, but Akane was right. He hated to admit that, but even he had grown concerned about Ranma in his long absence. He still didn't like how Akane could only see him as a friend and Ryoga knew that he was being selfish in that regard, but old habits died hard. He was however grateful that Akane was talking to him after such a long time. He had almost thought that she never wanted to see him again.
"I know it's a lot to ask, but you're the only one I can trust with this. I'd even say that you're one of his closest friends. I know that I sound crazy for asking this, but I don't know what else to do".
Akane knew that she was asking Ryoga for the impossible. Given his horrible sense of direction, the odds were against him ever finding Ranma at all. But he was also the only one who could do it, even if he had a one in a million chance Akane had to make that bet. She wasn't about to mention to him that she was actually counting on the chance that Ranma would find Ryoga and hopefully be pursued enough to go back with him.
"I understand if you refuse, I know it's a selfish request. I'm so worried about him and I don't know how he'll react if he sees me".
Akane would've gone off on her own a long time ago to search for Ranma had her fears not held her back. She fully expected him to say no but much to her surprise, his expression told otherwise.
"Akane-san if that is what you want, they I shall search every corner of the globe until I find him".
"Really? You would do that for me?"
The memory of slapping him came to her mind, but she didn't have any regrets about doing it. In some sense Akane was relieved that her unusual friendship with Ryoga was still preserved, but that still didn't excuse the way he had acted that day. It was a very odd mix between gratitude and selfishness.
He nodded "I'll keep searching no matter what. I promise you that I will find Ranma and drag him back here for you".
Truth to be told, Ryoga was only putting on a nice guy pose out of force of habit. But now that he had agreed he was basically stuck with his task at hand. It was way harder than he thought to let go of his one-sided crush. Although he would be lying if he said that he didn't care at all about Ranma's wellbeing. Ryoga would never say it out loud, but Ranma was his closet friend, and he felt a responsibility to find him.
Akane smiled a little "Thank you Ryoga".
That was all the encouragement that he needed to get him going "And when I find him, I'll beat some sense into him".
Akane could only watch as he ran off to God knows where. She hadn't expected him to agree to easily. But Akane had never truly grasped Ryoga's character to begin with, and she was still in the dark about his feelings towards her. All she saw was a person that despite everything she still considered to be a friend who wanted to find Ranma and bring him back to her. But of course, five minutes later Ryoga was right back where he started, and he sheepishly apologized and went off somewhere else. Sometimes she wondered if he'd even be able to find a straight line if it was right in front of him.
She knew that it had been a selfish thing to do, but desperation was forcing her to think outside the box. If only her fiancé would come home, then she wouldn't have this longing in her heart. Akane sighed again as she looked up at the sky, wherever Ranma was she could only guess. But she wished that he would come back to her. Even now she was wearing her ring. Akane vowed to herself that if Ranma ever did come home she would make everything right again, and she wouldn't allow a single person to disrupt their happiness. Not ever again.
All done for now.
That long await lemon will happen, just be patient. Gotta set up the mood first before anything else. I'll have the next chapter up whenever I get the chance, so goodbye for now.
Don't forget to review.