"Akane…..!! When did you….?"
Akane stood there with wide eyes. Her body was shaking with agony, for a second she thought her heart had stopped beating as well. First Ranma and now Shinnosuke! She still couldn't believe what she had heard! Ranma…. He was the one who called Shinnosuke here? Did he really want to get rid of her this badly? But why…?
Ukyo was hesitant to approach her, but she gulped down her anxiety and whispered softly, "Akane! Honey, are you okay? Look, we were just.."
"Ukyo.." Akane started with a shaky whispered tone as she looked at her with tears in her eyes. Then she held her hands tightly and said with a shaky tone, "You trusted me with Ranma but I… I... Oh Kami, I am so sorry, Ukyo. Please forgive me." She said while sobbing softly.
Ukyo was still in a state of shock. She got completely speechless and did not know what to tell her. Akane composed herself and straightway walked towards Shinnosuke. He looked at her helplessly, guilt written all over his face. The miserable way she was looking at him, he couldn't take it anymore, he looked down and said,
"I am sorry, Akane, I…"
"Did Ranma asked you to come here?"
Shinnosuke looked at her and said with an honest tone,
"He did ask me to come here, Akane. But what I asked you last night, it was all me. I really want to marry you, Akane. If you give me a chance I will prove it to you that.."
"Shinnosuke, please stop." Akane held his hands with her hands and said with a pleading tone, "You are a very good person. A good friend and someone I can trust with my eyes closed. But I am sorry, Shinnosuke; I can't marry you. I just can't do that now!"
"Why, Akane? Is it because I came here on Ranma's request?"
Akane weakly shook her head and said, "It's because I can't give you false hope that I will return your love the way you want me to do. Please, Shinnosuke, try to understand my side. I don't want to lose you as my friend. Please don't ask me to marry you anymore."
Shinnosuke gave a long sigh and slowly nodded his head; "Alright, Akane. I won't ask you to marry me anymore. I will always cherish you as my friend. I am not going to abandon you ever. I promise.."
Akane smiled through her tears. She leaned towards him and kissed him on his cheek and gave him a friendly hug and whispered softly, "Thank you, Shinnosuke. It really means a lot to me. Thank you so much.."
Just then Ranma came down the stairs and stopped when he witnessed the scene between Shinnosuke and Akane. He was breathing heavily because of his running, as he gave Akane a defenseless startled stare. His jealousy flared up immediately seeing them so close together, but he didnt want to mess things more between Akane and him, he took a deep breath to compose himself and silently waited for Akane to break the hug. He had hurt her feelings badly today, he didn't want to cause any trouble to her anymore. Then he saw her breaking their hug as she started thanking Shinnosuke for some reason. His patience broke down, gulping down his insecurities, he looked at her and said,
"Akane! Please listen to me, I.."
"Stop it..!" Akane turned from Shinnosuke and looked at Ranma, her stare filled with rage and hatred. She took a long breath and said harshly, "Don't come near me ever again, Ranma Saotome. I DON'T want to see your face ANYMORE!"
Saying that with a venom-filled tone, she left the place in haste leaving all three of them behind. After Akane left, the three of them stayed at their places, not moving, not reacting; just standing. After some moments of complete silence, Ukyo broke the silence as she looked at Ranma and asked him,
"Why did she apologize to me for? What did you do to her on the roof, Ranchan?"
When she saw him looking down with a pity face, she immediately understood he had done something stupid again. She growled angrily at him and snapped out of him by saying,
"YOU ARE COMING WITH ME TO MY HOUSE RIGHT NOW! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING FROM YOU !!"
They reached Ukyo's house quickly. Ukyo put the closed sign on her restaurant door and heatedly demanded that Ranma tell her everything that he was hiding from her and tell her everything from the start.
Ranma never felt this lost before. It's like he had become completely blind and his mind had stopped working fully. He had lost all his control over his thinking, the words he speaks doesn't want to listen to his heart anymore, the whole surroundings became a toxic ridicule to him. And after what Akane said to him, he was not sure if he could live seeing hatred from her side.
He know he needed help. After the way he talked with Akane at the roof, he understood that he has lost it completely. And if he doesn't let others to help him, he would make things worse for everyone, including him. He gulped hard as tears of regret blinded his vision. He looked up at Ukyo, who bacame speechless as she witnessed this weak side of her Ranchan; then he asked her in a defeated tone,
"Ucchan.. I don't know what I am doing anymore! Please help me.."
Ukyo's anger replaced with concern for her childhood friend, she walked towards him and sat on the floor in front of him and told him, "I will help you, Ranchan. Just please be honest with me and tell me everything you said to Akane which made her angry at you like that. It's serious this time, Ranchan. Don't hide anything from me."
Ranma looked down at her face as he rapidly bliked his eyes to get rid of the tears. Then gathering his courage, he told her everything, including about the night Akane and him spent together.
As Ukyo kept listening to him, at first she became so shocked that she only gawaked at him with a shocked expression on her face. Then when he finished his speech; she growled angrily and stood up feeling frustrated. She so wanted to pound his head with her big spatula, but she composed herself, not wanting to make him more miserable than he already was! She started pacing in front of him like a caged tiger. She stormed on her feet and started scolding him,
"Are you out of your mind, Ranchan!!? You guys already had sex and instead of proposing her the next day for marriage, you BROKE your engagement with her!! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!! If I Knew it that day I would have never taken you side!! Damn it!!"
Her words only helped him to feel more guilty about his actions. He looked down in shame and said, "I did not intend to do it with her that night. It somehow just happened! I did it that night because I felt emotionally broken that night. I couldn't stop what I did. It happened in the heat of the moment. Because we have been enduring so many uncertainties for very long time and that's why maybe, we both lost control over ourselves . I thought about it all night, Ucchan. And I didn't want to bind her freedom because we made love with each other one night. For one night do you think I am going to take her safety for granted? That is why I stepped out from our engagement before we could get anymore close to each other."
Ukyo gave him a stern look and asked, "Then what about today? You DUMMY, you had the GUTS to talk to her that way!! Don't forget you are the one who broke the engagement between you two! You are the one who asked Shinnosuke to come here!! You are the one who wanted Akane to make a move!! So why would you care if she dates someone! She could date as much she wants to, she could kiss whoever she wants to and she could definitely SPEND NIGHT WITH WHOMER SHE WISHED TO!! WHO ARE YOU TO ASK HER QUESTION? Poor Akane!! DO YOU EVEN HAVE A TINY BIT OF IDEA HOW BADLY YOU HAVE HURT HER FEELINGS? I AM SURE IF SHAMPOO HAD ATTACKED HER SHE WOULDN'T HAVE FELT THE PAIN THE WAY YOUR WORDS HAVE HURT HER!! YOU ARE COMPLETELY INSANE, RANMA!!!"
"I KNOW I MESSED UP, ALRIGHT!! I KNOW ITS ALL MY DOING!" Ranma looked up at her and lowerd his voice and said, "I called Shinnosuke the same day the broke up with her, thinking that if he came here, he could take care of her. And .. and I wanted Akane to move on with him. I wanted to see them together before I…. I leave this place…"
"What? Ranchan! You are planning to leave Nerima?"
"Damn it, what would I do staying here without her? With Akane gone from my life, nothing matters to me anymore. I just wanted to see her moving on with her life with Shinnosuke. That was my only intention. But I.. but I failed, Ucchan! I .. I failed! Every time I saw Shinnosuke comforting her, I couldn't think straight. Everytime I saw them together, I felt this tightening feeling in my heart it was unbearable! It felt like I was chocking, I felt someone was squeezing my heart! I thought I could see them together but I couldn't! I COULDN'T!! I can't see Akane with anyone, Ucchan! I can't take this pain anymore! I feel like I am dying inside now! What should I do? I want to help Akane. I want her to be safe all the time. But at this rate I am going to mess everything up! What should I do, Ucchan! Please help me.. Please.." Ranma gripped his hairs with his hands as silent tears blinded his vision.
"Oh Ranchan.." Ukyo went towards him; she placed her hands on his shoulder and said, "You are lost because Akane was the one who used to lead you the way. No wonder you are feeling this way, honey. You love her, dummy. Go back to her and tell her all the truth!"
Ranma shook his head and said with a broken tone, "After what I did to her today, I know she hates me now! She told me herself that she doesn't want to see me anymore. I have lost her , Ucchan.. I have lost her for real.."
"You haven't lost her yet! I will talk to her if it's needed."
Ranma looked up at her with hope in his eyes. She smiled down at him and said, "Let's go, Ranma. You have to tell her all the truth."
"Now?" Ranma asked, not sure.
"Obviously now! When else, dummy?"
Ring *Ring*
Ukyo growled and said, "Gosh, I don't have any time for any calls now." Her phone kept ringing on the background, but she ignored it and helped Ranma to stand up, "Stand up, Ranchan! We should go now and talk to Akane about it. That poor girl had cried enough! And don't you dare hesitate because of Shampoo!"
"But Ucchan, Shinnousuke had asked her hand for marriage the other day.."
"And she politely declined it today.."
Ringg*Ringg*
"She did?!" Ranma asked in disbelief.
Ukyo giggled and nodded her head excitedly, "She said it in front of me! So, is there anything else that is stopping you from crawling down to her knees and asking for her forgiveness?!"
For Ranma, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his heart. He released a long breath from his mouth and hurriedly nodded his head. They were about to leave the place in haste, but the phone started ringing for the third time in a row. Ukyo groaned and said,
"Ranchan, give me a minute please. Let me check who is calling me…"
Ranma nodded his head and looked at Ukyo as she quickly went to the phone's side and received the call.
"Hello, Uky.."
"UKYO?! WHERE THE HELL IS THAT IDIOT?"*
"Hello Mr Saotome? Are you talking about Ranma?."
"I KNOW HE IS WITH YOU! SHINNOSUKE TOLD ME!!"*
"Shinnosu.."
" BRING HIM TO TOFU'S CLINIC IMMEDIATELY!! AKANE HAD AN ACCIDENT WHEN SHE WAS RETURNING FROM SCHOOL AND IT IS SERIOUS!! HELLO? DID YA HEAR WHAT I SAID TO YOU? SHE IS ADMITTED TO THE CLINIC!! HELLO? HELLO! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING, DAMN IT!!"*
Ukyo hung up the call. She dreadfully looked at Ranma, her eyes wide with fear as she whispered to him,
"Ranchan.. Ranchan, Akane.. She.."
Ranma ran towards her and asked her while shaking her shoulders, "What happened? Who called you just now? Where is Akane? Talk to me DAMN IT.."
Ukyo's eyes filled with tears as she said in an urgent tone, "Oh Ranchan, it was your father... Akane.. She is admitted to the clinic.. this is.. this is serious!"
Ranma didn't need to hear more from her. He could literally felt his blood getting cold with fear. His whole body started shaking with agony. Still, with blind determination, he started running towards Dr Tofu's clinic.
It didn't take him long to reach the clinic. He was having difficulty breathing properly, he was panting hard as he entered the clinic and immediately his parents and Nabiki started asking him question after question. He didn't bother to answer any of them. His eyes focused on only one person who was sitting on a waiting chair, her head was down as she was slowly wiping her eyes with her handkerchief.
Ranma walked towards that person and kneeled down in front of her knees. He looked at her with a broken expression on his face as he asked her in a fearful way,
"Oneechan… Kane? Akane.."
Kasumi looked at him and immediately felt pity for him. Then she said with a motherly tone, "She is hurt because she saved an elderly woman who was carelessly crossing the road. She saved that woman but got hit by a car instead. Tofu said it was a close call. She has injured her head and leg, but she is fine now. They are still treating her wounds and told us to wait here." She sniffed and slowly wiped Ranma's tears with her shaky hands and then said, "Don't worry, Ranma. She is out of danger now.. It's just.." She started crying again as she said, "Its just, I know why you broke your engagement with my sister. Father told me everything. That time I was also worried about Akane's safety and her well-being; that's why I didn't stop you. But now look, Ranma, my sister is hurt anyway. And it's not because of you or Shampoo either. At least when you guys were engaged, I had this secure feeling in my heart that you are there for her. You will look after my baby sister. But today, when I saw her in this condition, for the first time I felt scared and so powerless! Because I know, there is no Ranma to save her from harm. She is on her own and there is no one to aid her. I don't like this feeling at all, Ranma! I think I have failed my sister.."
She broke down into sobs after saying that. Ranma also couldn't hold back his tears anymore. He cared less that his mother was standing behind him and she disapproved of showing his weakness to anyone. His whole body felt numb and his mind became fully blind.He felt like he was the most weakest and worthless person on the earth. He felt so devastated that he slowly laid his head over Kasumi's lap, his shoulders shaking as he kept silently sobbing on her lap. Kasumi laid her hand over his hair and said with a shaky comforting tone,
"There there, Ranma. Don't cry. Akane is just fine. She will be as good as new in no time.."
Ranma heard what she said, but he was feeling too weak to reply to her. He clutched her dress strongly and let his all misery out by crying on her lap.
Akane stirred on the bed. A soft moan came out from her mouth, her throat fully dry as she tried to lick her drying lips with her tongue. She opened her eyes and immediately closed them again. The light in the room was too much for her eyes to take. She tried to focus her surroundings by hearing things and feeling her body first. She could hear some beeping sound coming from her left. For a moment she got sacred as a tear fell from her closed eyes.
'What happened to me? Where am I now?' Her franctic thoughts stopped as she suddenly remembered everything. She remembered getting hit by a car when she was trying to save the elderly woman from getting hit. She knew she was badly hurt. She still recalled how scared and helpless she felt at that time. Then she fainted on the road. She guessed she was in the hospital now. Well, that explains where this beeping sound is coming from.
She absentmindedly tried to bring her other hand which was not attached with channels to her face. But as she tried to move it, she felt a heavy weight over it. As her sensing ability was slowly returning to her, she could feel that someone was holding onto her hand and she could also feel the pressure of its head over her open palm.
She moaned again and tried to move her hand. Then she slowly turned and looked at that person. It didn't take her long to figure out who that person was. She moaned weakly and tried to use little force to remove her hand this time.
Ranma was forcefully brought back to his senses. He fell asleep holding Akane's hand while watching over her. At first he was confused about why he suddenly woke up; then he felt her hand moving again and he was fully awake. He frantically looked at Akane. Her eyes slightly open as she tiredly looked at his direction. For a few seconds his whole body became completely numb. Since last night he had been waiting to see her open her eyes, but she remained unconscious. And now, a day after, after a long wait to see her eyes open, she was finally looking at his direction.
He hastily stood up and went close to her face as he cried out in a relief-filled tone, "Akane!! Akane!! Oh Akane!! You finally opened your eyes! DR TOFU!! DR!" He calmed himself down a bit and frantically placed his hands on her cheeks as he said, "Wait, wait; I will just call Dr Tofu.. You just wait! Please..please keep your eyes open.. Please.."
Akane silently watched as Ranma frantically left the room and started calling for Dr Tofu at the top of his lungs.
Soon Ranma entered the room in haste. Dr Tofu came running after him as Kasumi also entered the room in haste. Ranma again grabbed Akane's hand as he said frantically,
"Kane, Dr Tofu is here!! You will be just fine.."
"Akane dear?" Kasumi said with happy tears in her eyes as she held her other hand.
Akane moaned and snatched her hand from Ranma as she called out to Kasumi with a whispered tone,
"Oneechan, I.. I need water, please.."
Kasumi nodded her head, she looked at Ranma and asked him, "Ranma, can you please.."
"NO!!" Akane called out in urgency as she tried to open her eyes fully.
Kasumi went close to her head and asked her politely, "Akane, dear what happened?"
"Tell him to leave, Oneechan!" Akane said frantically as she tried to sit up in her bed.
Kasumi worriedly looked at Ranma and said, "Akane, please calm down sweetheart!"
"NO!! I don't want to see him! Tell him to leave!!" She started coughing and panting hard as Kasumi quickly laid her on her bed again.
"Ranma, I think you should.." Tofu tried to say to Ranma, but he held his hands up to stop him. He nodded his head and looked at Akane and said,
"Please take care of her, Dr Tofu.." Saying that in a defeated tone, he looked down and left the room.
Akane eventually calmed down as Tofu came forward to help her drink some water. Then he started checking her as Kasumi stood by them with a worried expression on her face. She wanted to follow Ranma outside, but she also couldn't leave Akane alone there. She patiently waited for Akane to calm down first. Then after helping her to get back to sleep, she tucked her under the cover and went outside to at least call the Saotome house to see if Ranma had returned home safely. She felt so bad for him; that poor guy stayed by Akane's side every second of the day, waiting for her to wake up. And now when she finally woke up, she reacted this badly with him. She went outside the room and stopped.
She placed her hand on her chest as a warm sensation enveloped her heart. In front of her, Ranma sat on the waiting area chair just outside Akane's room. She sighed and shook her head. She then slowly went beside him and sat beside him. Then before she could say anything to him, he asked her in a low tone,
"How is she now?"
Kasumi smiled at him and said with a whispered tone, "She is fine, Ranma. Sleeping."
"Oh! That's good.." Ranma mumbled softly.
Kasumi sighed and laid her hand over his shoulder and said, "Ranma, why don't you go back to your house and take some rest? You can come back tomorrow if you want."
Ranma shook his head and said, "I can't, Oneechan! I can't.. I have to stay here with her or I will.."
She began to rub his back fondly and said softly, "Oh Ranma Ranma Ranma! You are such a sweetheart.."
A/N: Merry Christmas, my Ranma family!! Lots of love. I intentionally didn't post last day. I didn't want to worry you guys ;p. But don't worry, this story will definitely end before the new year :)..
Thank you for your love and support for this fic. It really really means a lot to me that you guys are so hooked with this fic. I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter as well! Please don't forget to send your love to me as your reviews :)..
One more thing, I want to thank one of my readers who corrected me in the last chapter. I was writing "Ryugenzawa" the wrong way the whole time! I swear, I also heard it wrong all the time. I thought it was Rykunzawa; which is wrong!! But the good thing is, now I know ;p! Oh my God, all those years, I didnt even bother to check the spelling :p !! Sorry for the mistake :).
Anyways, thank you all so much again. See you all soon :)..