The train was on time and they boarded the train quickly. The journey started very smoothly as both of them began to enjoy every second of it. At one point, Ranma completely started acting like a small kid who just got a chance to break through strict rules. He was looking out the window with a kind of excitement which even made Akane surprised. But she was happy to see him happy like that, it somewhat made her glad that she has decided to go on this trip.
Slowly the city life scenarios began to change into country life's scenarios. A big wave of fresh breeze washed over their faces, he closed his eyes and took a long breath in.
"I have never smelled such a wonderful smell like this before! This is pure heaven, Kane.."
Akane smiled upon hearing that. She was seated facing him; she also looked out at the window and did the same thing as Ranma was doing at that moment. She gave a small smile and looked at him and said,
"I know, Ranma. I am very much familiar with this smell. The smell of clean air, mixed with the grassy and muddy fields; this is the reason why I always ran to this place whenever I could. I am just glad you liked it, I was wondering if you would like it or not.."
Ranma immediately looked at her and said, "LIKED IT? Honestly, I envy you, Kane! I wish I could come here every year! I used to see this type of scene in movies only, but I didn't have any idea that this type of place really exists!"
Akane laughed slightly and said, "You haven't seen anything yet, Ranma! If everything settles down there, I will show you every corner of my favourite places!"
Ranma grinned at her and said, "Promise?"
Akane giggled at him and nodded her head. Ranma rested his back on the sit and asked her, "Hey, you still haven't told me. How did ya manage Akio and Oneechan?"
Akane shrugged her shoulder and said, "Last night Akio went to meet his mother. He will stay with her for the whole vacation. And Oneechan.." She blushed slightly and said, "Dr Tofu took her to meet with his parents. They would stay there for a long while."
"Really? Wow! Thats amazing!"
"Yeah, she asked me to come with her; but I told her I will go visit our grandparents. She wanted to ask you too, but I told her you would visit your parents…" Akane hesitated a bit and then asked, "Ranma, are you sure we should pretend like fiances? Would they believe us?"
Ranma shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know, Kane. But at least we have to try. So what do you think we should tell them? Like, how did all this happen?"
Akane looked at him dumbfoundedly, then she moaned and slapped her forehead as she said, "How dumb we are, Ranma! We haven't even discussed about this yet!"
Ranma chuckled and said, "We still have a long way to go, Akane. Let's discuss it now.."
Akane nodded her head as they began to plan what they would explain to them. They started discussing the first time they met, then to the day they got engaged. After a lot of agreement and disagreement, they finally concluded their fake story.
"So to be exact, you proposed to me at the end and you were very desperate. That's why I had no choice and I said yes to you and that's how we got engaged." Akane said.
Ranma growled and said, "Why can't it be like, you propose to me and I said 'yes'! Why do we boys have to be the one to propose first every time!"
Akane giggled and said, "This is what it is, Ranma! And anyways, if I tell them I am the one who was desperate to get engaged to you, they might not believe it because they know I don't like boys that much."
"Oh really? Then who do you like then?" He asked, smirking.
"Keep quiet, dummy!" Akane moaned and said, "Come to the point, Ranma. This is serious. Don't forget, it happened before my engagement with Shinnosuke.."
Ranma gave her a narrow look and said, "You are the one who is forgetting here! There was no engagement between you and Shinnosuke! You eloped for me, don't forget that.."
Akane raised her eyebrows and said, "I eloped for you! How dramatic!" She chuckled sillily.
Ranma smirked and winked at her saying, "I am sure ya got a inner sense that I am coming for you!"
"Aha?! Is that so?" She asked, laughing slightly.
Ranma nodded at her grinning widely and asked, "Hey, why don't you tell me about your grandparents! I think as your fiance I should know about them.."
Akane nodded and said, "My grandfather is a great martial artist, Ranma. He is a renowned Sensai."
"Really? Wow! That's amazing! Would he teach me some techniques?"
"Hmmm.. Honestly, I don't think so. Although my grandfather is excellent in martial arts, but he is a very selfish person when it comes to teaching his secret techniques. He knows some difficult moves, which are actually ancient techniques! But he wouldn't teach it to anyone who is not family."
"Really? What about you then?"
"Umm, he knew I am not going to pursue martial arts as my career. That's why he didn't teach me. But he wanted to teach Shonnosuke about this to pass his inheritance, that's why he wanted me to marry him."
Ranma looked down and asked, "Now what? Is he going to teach Shinnosuke after our revelation?"
"I don't think so, Ranma.. It's very complicated. Anyways, let me tell you about my grandmother.. Umm how to put it correctly, oh yes, she is actually my grandfather's …… boss!"
"Boss?"
"Umhmm." Akane nodded excitedly, grinning ear to ear "Just imagine, being a bossy wife of an arrogant, moody husband! No matter how strong my grandpa might act, he is nothing infront of my grandma. He acts like a tiger with others; but in front of my grandma he is nothing but a wet cat."
Ranma gulped hard, "Is she too scary? I mean the angry type?"
Akane started giggling softly as she shook her head, "For me, she is the sweetest.. And you know what, everyone says I have inherited my grandmother's attitude."
Hours later
They had to change two trains. In the late afternoon, they stopped at a cafe to have some food before boarding the last train. It was a long tiring journey, but neither of them felt tired. They were too busy enjoying themselves and relishing the views. They kept on talking, not caring about the time as they became comfortable sharing space with each other. When they reached the village, Akane had told him that they needed to board a bus to reach her grandparent's house. He was excited to meet them, but the bus journey was meant to be an hour and half long, so he had no other choice but to wait patiently.
When the bus started, Ranma tried to look out the bus window to see the view. But because of the evening time, and lack of lights, he was unable to see anything. Then suddenly he felt a pressure on his shoulder and noticed Akane had fallen asleep. He smiled and looked at his watch to see the time. Akane told him this ride is about one and half hour; so he can at least let her sleep for half an hour. He partially blamed himself for her tiredness. In his excitement to know about everything and everyone, he didn't let her sleep the whole journey. Maybe that's why she became tired at the end. He gave a long sigh, and rested his head over her head and struggled to keep his eyes open.
"Careful, Ranma; please mind your steps.." Akane said as she carefully guided Ranma to the narrow walking path. The light was a little bit deemed on the road, thats why it was hard for them to see anything clearly. She held onto his hand tightly as they both slowly walked towards the locality.
The lights from the houses were slowly getting visible, making their walkway more clear. But still Akane didn't let his hand go, in fact she held him extra tightly.
Ranma smiled at her and asked her, "Are you scared?"
Akane gulped and shook her head; "No! I am fine."
"Uhh, the way you are grabbing my hand, this is telling me otherwise, my fiance!"
Akane stopped and looked at him pouting, "You want to know if I am scared?" She hastily put his hand in the middle of her chest and asked him, "Did that answer your question, Ranma?"
At first Ranma became agitated when she put his hand over her chest. But then when she asked him the question, he calmed himself down and tried to focus on what Akane wanted him to feel. He gave her a horrified stare as he asked her, "Akane! Why is your heart beating so fast? Are you okay?"
Akane gave a long sigh as she dropped his hands. She looked down and started walking again, silently this time. Ranma hastily walked beside her and silently, wrapped his arm around her shoulder and securly pulled her towards him,
"Stop worrying too much! I am by your side. Everything is going to be fine, Kane."
Akane stopped again and looked up at him with a helpless expression. Ranma warmly smiled down at her. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and laid both his hands on her cheeks. Akane gave a slow sigh and said,
"Oh Ranma, I am really scared. What if they.."
"Shh.. Nothing will happen." He gave her a warm hug and said with a whispered tone, "If we are together, one can harm us.."
Akane nodded her head and stayed in his warmth for a long time. Then after some time, they again started walking towards the village hand in hand.
When they reached the neighbourhood; people immediately noticed their presence. They were happy to see Akane there, but when they saw a stranger holding onto their dear girl, they all became curious and started gathering around them as they followed them towards Akane's grandparent's house.
Akane could hear the people's curious whispering voices. She could tell that someone has already gone inside her grandparent's house to inform her grandparents about her arrival. As she thought, she saw her grandparents happily running out of the house. But when they saw Ranma beside her, their happy face instantly changed into a surprised one. Akane held onto Ranma's hand tightly, which he returned with the same force.
Suddenly, Shinnosuke also came running out from his own house with his grandfather trailing behind him. He also seemed happy to see her, but when he noticed their interlocked hands, he lost his calm. For a moment, he couldn't react because of his surprise; then when he came back to his senses he growled angrily and lashed out saying,
"How dare you touch my fiance!! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!!"
"Shinnosuke, calm down, please dear !" Akane's grandmother called out in a calming voice. She nodded at him when Shinnosuke looked back at her. He gave a hateful stare to Ranma and Akane as he slowly backed down from them.
Akane's grandmother came near to Akane with tearful eyes. She looked at her adoringly as she laid her hand on Akane's cheeks.
"Where have you been, my child? Haven't you thought of your grandparents? We missed you so much.."
Akane sighed sadly, she laid her hand over her grandmother's hand and said, "I have missed you guys so much, Grandma. But I couldn't come.."
"But why, dear?"
Akane looked at Ranma and then to her grandmother as she said, "Because, I thought you guys would be angry at me."
"Angry for what exactly?" Her grandmother eyed Ranma suspiciously and asked, "And who is this person with you?"
Akane wrapped her arm around Ranma's arm as she said with a nervous tone, "Grandma, he is Ranma.."
Her grandfather joined the conversation as he asked them as he eyed their closeness with heated eyes,
"Why are you holding him like this, child? He might be your friend, but you should not hold him like this in front of everyone! Did you forget your manners?!"
Akane gulped hard and said, "He is not my friend, grandfather. He is my.. my.. He is my.."
"Fiance.." Ranma finished for her as he smiled looking at Akane and nodded his head.
Akane gave a long breath and nodded back at Ranma. Then looking back at her grandparents, she said, "Ranma is my fiance.."
"Are you trying to fool us, child!" Suddenly, her grandfather roared in anger as he came in front of them. He glared at them and said, "Dont forget; you are promised to Shinnosuke and HE IS YOUR ONLY FIANCE!"
"Pardon me for my interruption, sir, Ya can't force her to marry someone she doesn't want to.." Ranma said with a hard tone.
Her grandfather frowned angrily and said, "I am talking to my daughter here! DON'T YA DARE SAY ANYTHING, YOUNG MAN OR I.."
"Or you what, grandpa?!" Akane shield Ranma as she stood in front of him as she said, "Grandma, you asked me why I didn't came before? Its because of this! I knew you guys wouldn't believe me and will try to force me to marry Shinnosuke.
"But dear, he is the right choice for you." Her grandmother said firmly.
Akane moaned impatiently and said, "It should be my choice, grandma. You guys can't force me! Ranma is a very nice guy. He is also a perfect guy for me."
"Is he a martial artist?" Her Grandfather asked.
"Yes, he is.." Akane said, with a small smile.
"Then I want a dual between us." Shinnosuke declared with a harsh tone.
Everyone looked at Shinnosuke with shock as Akane asked in disbelief, "Why would you even say that, Shinnosuke? I told you already that I don't want to marry you!"
"THEN WHY DID YA AGREED THAT DAY, AKANE!"
Akane paused as she looked down in shame, not knowing what to say to him anymore. Shinnosuke growled at her and lashed out at her saying,
"You humiliated me in front of the whole neighbourhood, Akane!! The girl who was supposed to be my fiance, left me on the day of our engagement! Why did you humiliate me like this, Akane! What did I do to you to deserve that? I had agreed to all of your wishes! Then why!!"
"Shinnosuke.. I… I am sorry.. I.." Akane sniffed as she bit her lower lip. She couldn't say anything to him, then suddenly she felt Ranma's arm around her waist as she looked up at him.
Ranma looked at Shinnosuke and said, "Akane and I had been together long before this incident happened, Shinnosuke. She didn't want to hurt her grandparents, that's why she agreed."
"BUT WHO GAVE HER THE RIGHT TO RUIN MY LIFE!!" Shinnosuke yelled at them.
Ranma frowned and said, "Please don't raise your voice with my fiance!"
Shinnoauke growled at him and said, "Akane is MY FIANCE! She had been promised to me since we were children.."
"Please Shinnosuke.." Akane tried to intervene with her shaky tone.
"No!" Shinnosuke looked at her with a hurt expression as he said, "I love you, Akane. I can't let anyone take you away from me!! I need you by my side! You can't betray me like this.."
Ranma growled hard and lashed out saying, "What's WRONG with you, man! HOW DARE you say these words to my fiance infront of me!"
Shinnosuke gave him a hard stare and said, "I will stop and accept your engagement. But you have to fight me! And if you lose, you have to leave us alone!"
Akane hastily looked at Shinnosuke and said, "That's STUPID!! Ranma, don't listen to him.."
"Let's do it then.."
"WHAT?!" Akane asked in a panicked tone as she gave Ranma a horrified stare.
Ranma looked at her and said, "If fighting is the only solution, I am ready for it."
Akane had enough. She angrily turned towards Ranma and grabbed his arms. She violently shook him and asked him in a desperate tone,
"Are you out of your mind! I told you that Shinnosuke is a Martial arts Sansei; and you are accepting his challenge to fight?!"
Her words and Shinnosuke's arrogant smirk made Ranma agitated. He gave her a hard stare and said,
"I can handle him, Kane and I want you to trust me.."
"Ranma, No!!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH, CHILD!" Akane was roughly snatched by her arm by her grandfather. He sternly looked at her and said, "If these two young martial artists want to settle this issue by fighting each other then why are you stopping them? You are a martial artist ad well, you should know that you can't interfere if two martial arts are fighting for rights."
Akane couldn't hold back her tears. She helplessly looked at her grandmother and said,
"Grandma, Please.. Ranma just started learning martial arts, he can't fight Shinnosuke.."
Her grandmother gave a long sigh; she walked towards Akane and patted her shoulder as she said,
"Don't worry, dear. You never know; Ranma might win this battle. Then we would gladly accept him as a family."
"No!! You don't understand.."
Akane said with a desperate cry. She wanted to argue with her grandparents about it to make them stop the fight between Ranma and Shinnosuke. But before she could say anything, suddenly she heard a battle cry coming from not too far from her.
Her whole body got cold with fear. She hastily turned and saw that Ranma and Shinnosuke had already started fighting with each other. Her eyes went wide, her body became numb as she saw the heated battle between the two guys. Ranma was actually giving it all. He was fighting Shinnosuke as if his life was dependent on it. The fight became intense by every passing second. Blows were thrown from both sides as both of them managed to injure each other in many ways.
Akane's whole body began to shake in agony. This is not what she had planned to happen. Their intention was pure. Although they were lying, they wanted to do it because they wanted to help Yuri. This is entirely her problem. But here he is, fighting for something that is not his issue and getting hurt because of her. A loud agony-filled yell, and the loud sound of a body clashing hard on the concrete wall and breaking the wall, brought her back to her senses. For a moment everything became silent. After a moment of shock, she realized the person who was lying on the ground was none other than...
"RANMA!!! NOOOOO!!!"
She cried out helplessly as tears of misery filled her eyes. Ranma slowly turned and helplessly stared at her direction as he tried his best to keep his eyes open. His face was bleeding badly, but still, he tried to give her an assuring smile. He tried to get up from his prone position; but Akane looked at him with her horrified eyes as Shinnosuke lost it completely and charged towards Ranma with blind rage as he hit Ranma's head with his big wooden Katana.
"NOOOO!!!!"
"No!! ……………No!! ……..Please, don't.."!!"
"Please……. I beg you! No!!"
Ranma opened his eyes and for some moment he got confused about why he suddenly woke up from his deep sleep. He rapidly blinked his eyes in confusion and then he heard her again.
"Don't… Don't hurt him anymore please.. Please.."
He hastily looked down and got scared when he saw Akane was literally sobbing on his shoulder, her body shaking in discomfort. He quickly put more pressure on holding her back and pulled her close to his chest. He laid his hand on her wet cheek as he tried to wake her up in a hushed tone and as calmly as possible.
"Akane… Kane, hey! You okay?"
"Please don't.." Akane kept on crying with a weavery tone.
That made him more panicked as he sarted shaking her to make her wake up, "Akane please wake up!! Hey, open your eyes!"
With a long intake of shaky breath, Akane opened her eyes widely. Her eyes had a hunted look on them as she tried to focus on Ranma's face.
"Akane? Oh gosh! Are you okay?"
She calmed down a bit, but her breathing was still shaky. She gulped hard and whispered horsely,
"Ranma… Ra..Ranma.. Ranma, you are not hurt, are you?" She asked in a weak tone as she again started sobbing silently, looking at him helplessly.
Ranma was shocked to see her act so devastatingly. He quickly took out his water bottle from his bag and made her drink some water first. He could guess that she might have had a nightmare again, but this time her reaction was really making him worried for her.
After drinking some water, she slightly calmed down as she looked down at the bottle.
"Did you had a bad dream, Akane?"
Rama's concern-filled tone made her look up at him. Her eyes instantly filled with unshed tears as the image of Ranma's bloodstained image ran through her mind.
"Oh Ranma!" She whispered with a broken tone and hugged him as tightly as she could. She silently weeped as she hide her face at the crock of his neck as she whispered in between her cries,
"Please Ranma, I want to go home.."
"Home? Umm yeah, we will reach at your grandparents house soon..""
"No! No! No.. I want to go back to Nerima."
Ranma was slightly taken aback, "Akane, but we just came here! We will reach within a few minutes I guess!"
"I dont care! I dont wanna go there. Please Ranma, please let's get out of this place now." She said with a shaky weak tone.
"Hey, calm down. I think you had a bad dream, that's why you are reacting this way.."
Akane shook her head weakly as she sobbed softly on his chest as she practically bagged him saying,
"Oh Ranma please please, let's get out of here. I don't want to go there. Please take me back to Nerima. Please I beg you lets go home.."
Her cry filled plea made him silent. He became completely clueless about what step he should take at that moment. He gave a long sigh and asked her softly, "Are you sure?"
Akane broke the hug and nodded her head and said in a whispering tone, "Yes, please yes. I am sorry for troubling you,Ranma. But please please let's go from here.!"
Ranma sighed and nodded his head. He carefully wiped her face with his hands and said,
"Okay, now stop crying please."
Akane nodded her head weakly , "I am sorry, Ranma. Thank you.."
Ranma tried to give her a reassuring smile as he asked her, "So how do we get back home? Should we get down at the next stop?"
Akane looked down in deep thought, then she recognised the place the bus was going and sighed.
"Not the next stop. After two stops we will get down from the bus and take a bus to return to the station."
Ranma still looked uncertain. But he didn't dare to to question her because of her devastating situation. Although he was feeling a little sad that they had to return, because he was looking forward for this trip for so long. But Akane's wellness is more important to him then any of his desires. He saw as she settled down on her seat again and her eyes looking down at the bottle she was holding. He sighed and decided to cheer her up,
"Hey, so what would we do after we return? Where will we go?"
Akane slowly looked up at him with her puffy eyes and said, "Do you want to go to Dr Tofu's place? They wanted us to go there.."
"Oh yeah! That's a great idea, Akane! That will be fun! Only thing is that I lost the opportunity to be your fiance.."
His childlike frown made her giggle softly. She playfully bumped his shoulder with her shoulder and rested her head on his shoulder. She was feeling very guilty that after all this long exhausting travelling, she isn't taking Ranma to her grandparents house. After her horrific dream experience, she couldn't even dare to think about taking Ranma there. Maybe she is overthinking about this, maybe she is even being dramatic; but no matter what, she can't risk it. She can't put Ranma's safety at danger anymore. She has to take him safely back to his home.
"Are you okay now?"
Akane bites her lower lip hard, nodded her head and hugged him more firmly. She couldn't say anything to him anymore, she just closed her eyes and stayed silent.
After ten minutes, the bus stopped at a bus stop as some passengers began to get down from the bus. At that moment Ranma felt a slight pull on his arm. He looked down at Akane and saw that she was somewhat trying to hide her face at his shoulder as she squeezed his hand tightly. He looked at her worriedly and was about to ask her what was bothering her, but suddenly ..
"This is our stop. Did you forget the road already, Oneechan?"
Akane quickly looked up at Ranma and saw him looking up at some person. She recognized that tone of voice immediately, she knew who the person who just talked. She started breathing unevenly as Ranma looked down at her, wondering. Akane bites her lower lip,as hot sweat began to wet her forehead. She took a deep breath in and stood up while holding Ranma's hand tightly.
"Akane?" Ranma stood up as well; She didn't look at him as she looked down and said,
"Let's get down first.."
Ranma didn't say anything to her. He could tell that she knew this young person who just talked to her. He could feel how agitated she felt at that moment, her sudden sweaty palm and slightly shaking body giving him the impression of how nervous she was feeling at that moment.
They got down from the bus as the bus started leaving. There was an uncomfortable silence between the three of them at first. Then Ramma cleared his voice and said,
"Uhh.. Hi!" Ranma said awkwardly.
That guy gave a big smile to him and said, "Hi mate, my name is Daisuke!"
"Hello, Daisuke. I am Ranma. I am.."
Akane didn't let him finish, "How long have you been on the bus with us?" She asked, looking up at Daisuke.
Daisuke shifted his gaze towards Akane and said, "Oh! I was in the bus long before you two entered! I was sitting in the back of the bus. I didn't tell you because I wanted to surprise you at the end. Haha!"
"He is your brother?" Ranma wondered loudly.
Akane gave a long sigh and nodded, "He is one my younger cousins, Ranma. Wait, let me talk to him... Look, Daisuke.." She hastily held his hands and said, "My brother, please don't tell anyone that you saw me here.."
"What? But I already did!" Daisuke said with a bright smile.
"You did?!" Akane asked in disbelief.
"Well, ofcouse I did!"
"But HOW!!"
Daisuke smirked at her and took out a cell phone from his pocket and said, "Father gave it to me last month on my birthday! Isn't it cool, sis! You know we can take pictures here as well!"
"Awww keep quiet for a minute, damn it!!" Akane said frustratingly as she started pacing like a maniac. She then stopped and asked him again, "When and what did you tell them?"
Daisuke scratched his head and said, "I told them the minute I saw you on the bus. They called me every five minutes to ask where you are and how long it would take!"
Akane slapped her forehead in frustration and cried out angrily, "Thanks for NOTHING, BAKA!!"
"Oh, I didn't tell them you are bringing a handsome man with you. I actually didn't notice him before.."
"Really?" Akane gave a big sigh of relief as she muttered to herself, "Thank God!" . She then took a deep breath to calm her nerves down as she said in a more softer tone, "Daisuke, my sweet brother; please give me a minute, I want to talk to Ranma privately. And please don't call anyone now."
Daisuke shrugged his shoulders and said, "Okay.. But please hurry up, sis! I am feeling very hungry."
"Then why don't you go first; I will join you later." Akane suggested, excitedly. Praying that he would listen to her.
Daisuke gave her an obvious look and said, "Are you crazy! If I entered the area without you, they would beat me to pulp. No chance!"
Akane sighed defeatedly and said, "Okay then, wait here.." She stormed towards Ranma , grabbed his hand and took him towards a nearby tree to talk to him privately.
She gave her a urgent look and said, "Ranma, the next bus will come within thirty minutes."
"Okay.. So why are you telling me this?"
Akane moaned and said in a panicked tone, "You have to leave, Ranma! Please, you need to go from here.."
"What about you?"
Akane gulped and said, "I will return after two or three days. I have no other choice left, Ranma. They know I am here, that's why I have to go there. But they don't know about you; so it's better you leave now."
Ranma smirked humorlessly and shook his head, "Without you, not a chance."
Akane got more nervous as she said, "Please Ranma! You can't come with me! This is not safe at all! If you don't listen to me then.."
"I don't care, Akane!" Ranma rolled his eyes at her and said, "I am going wherever you are going. So don't even think of convincing me.."
"But, Ranma.."
"Hey! Are you guys done talking? What are you talking about, anyways?" Daisuke came running to them.
Akane moaned tiredly, she gave Daisuke an annoyed look and said, "I asked you to give us some privacy, didn't I?"
Daisuke shook his head and said, "I want to give you guys privacy but the problem is, just now Grandpa called me and I told them about Mr Ranma. Sorry, in my excitement I forgot that you asked me not to tell them, haha! Anyways, they were ready to come here, but I told them we would be there in a few minutes! No point in making them come here, right?"
Akane looked at Daisuke with extreme disbelief. She still couldn't believe how dumb he could be! She was so relieved when he told her that he hadn't told them about Ranma, but now..
A low laughing sound came from Ranma's side which brought her back to reality. She looked at Ranma and saw that he was trying his best to suppress his laughter. He looked at her and said,
"Oh well, let's go, Akane. Now everyone knows I am here with you. Everyone is waiting for us now." he winked at her, and before she could say anything to him he started chatting with Daisuke and asked him to lead the way. Knowing very well that eventually she would follow them.
He was actually enjoying talking with Daisuke, that man seemed very pure-hearted. Then suddenly he felt Akane running beside him as she hooked her arm around his arm. Ranma smiled down at her and said,
"Took ya long to come, babe!"
Akane glared up at him and pouted her lips, "Shut up, baka! I tried to warn you but you didn't listen to me."
Ramma smirked down at her and whispered softly,
"You are with me, why would I get into any trouble?"
Akane couldn't say anything to him anymore as she looked ahead to the road. The more they were nearing the place, the more her heart became heavy. For her, it was as if she was reliving her nightmare. She could feel the same anxiousness, the same tightness on her heart as she felt in her dream. She could see the village now as they were walking down the narrow road. And very soon they slowly entered the village.
The neighbours were all out of the house. Happily, excitedly waiting for her arrival. When they entered the village, Daisuke started crying out happily that he had brought their Akane back for them. He seemed very proud of himself as he bounced and yelled in his excitement, earning many encouraging claps from the happy neighbours.
As they were nearing her grandparents house, the neighbourhood's happy face started to turn from happy to confused one as they saw Akane protectively holding a guy next to her. They started whispering to themselves; some giving them a shocked stare and some disappointing stares..
This is what she saw on her dream for past few days! Now, this is all turning into reality. She never felt this scared before. Her feet were wiggling in fear, her whole body shaking with anxiety. She was only walking but her breathing was coming as if she had been running for a while. And to make things more embarrassing for her, she began to sweat hard and her sweaty hands began to to slip from Ranma's hand.
Ranma's grip on her hand tightened as if he understood her struggling. He carefully looked down at her and whispered to her, "Well, now I know why ya told me not to touch you in public. Your neighbour's might not like that we are holding each other this close. Should we walk apart from each other?"
To answer his question, she wrapped his arm even more tightly with both her arms and grabbed his hand with both her hands. Ranma smiled down at her and asked her with a low whisper tone, "Are you scared?"
Akane gulped and shook her head; "No! I am fine."
"Uhh, the way you are grabbing my hand, this is telling me otherwise, my fiance!"
A sudden deja vu ran through her heart, making her whole body numb with fear. The pit of her tummy twisted uncomfortably, her heart squeezing in pain. These are the same words she had heard in her dreams. So does that mean…
Her legs gave up. She stopped walking as she couldn't walk anymore. She fearfully looked up at Ranma as he looked down at her with concern filled eyes. He was about to assure her that he was just kidding with her, but then..
"Akane!! My Child!!"
Akane turned her gaze as suddenly she heard her grandmother's voice. As soon as she turned to look at her, she was instantly seized in a tight hug as her grandmother ran to her and hugged her with all her might. Her grandmother cried in happiness as she started lovingly stroking her hair.
"Oh my Child, how I missed you…"
"Move! Let me see my naughty granddaughter!!"
Suddenly an old man pushed himself out of the crowded people. Then when he saw Akane and his wife hugging each other, he gave a weak howl as he called out to her,
"Akane, my princess! I knew you would come back to us." He rushed towrds them and hugged her with all his love.
They broke their hug after a while and looked at Akane with tears in their eyes. Akane also had tears in her eyes, she missed this two-person so much, but her duty as a sister had always tied her legs and forced her to make a distance from them. She sniffed and hugged her grandmother with her one arm, her other arm still tightly holding into Ranma's hand. She smiled at them and said,
"I am sorry, grandma, grandpa.. I missed you guys so much.."
Her grandfather frowned at her when he saw that she was only hugging her grandmother and not him.
"Why are you hugging her only? Where is my hug?"
Akane's grandmother laughed and said, "Stop being jealous for a second, dear husband. You should already know my Akane loves me more then you.."
Her grandfather growled and was about to snatch Akane's hand to make her hug him to show off to his wife that Akane loves him too, but he was surprised when he saw Akane was resisting. He angrily followed the trail of her hand and at that exact moment both of them noticed an unknown young guy awkwardly standing beside them and Akane was holding him protectively.
"Oh my, my, my! Who is this young man I see?" Akane's grandmother asked as she laid her hand on her cheek.
Akane's grandfather was still in shock, as he saw her precious little grandchild hastily changing sides as she went beside that new guy and hugged his arm protectively.
"Why are you holding this man like this?" This is the only thing that came out of her grandfather's mouth.
"G-grandfather I..I" Akame started stuttering nervously.
"This is not how we greet our new guests, honey!" Akane's grandmother chimed in as she stood beside her husband. She smiled at Akane and Ranma and slightly bowed at him, "Hello son, I am sorry for my husband's behaviour."
"Oh no, it's alright, mam!" Ranma bowed down respectfully and slowly looked up at her. His nervous system was ready to blow anytime seeing all of them and the way her companion was shaking in fear, was only helping him to feel more anxious.
"What a nice gentleman you are!" Her grandmother talked sweetly, "So Akane, who is this guy with you? Is he your friend?"
Akane gulped hard and looked at them, "He... He is Ranma.."
"Ranma? That's a nice name! Is he your friend, dear?" Grandma asked again.
Akane held Ranma more tightly as she began to stutter on her reply,
"He is my... he is.."
"Hey look, Shinnosuke is coming.." Someone whispered from behind.
Akane hastily looked ahead her grandparents and saw that Shinnosuke was indeed making his way towards them. He had a happy smile on his face when he got near to them. But when he actually saw her standing beside Ranma and holding him tightly; his happy face instantly turned into raw rage. To her it felt as if her dream was coming into reality. Her heart dropped immediately as her ears started buzzing in her panic state.
"Akane? My child, are you okay?" Her grandmother shook her shoulder slightly to make her look at her, but she kept on looking at Shinnosuke.
Ranma could feel Akane's nervousness. He couldn't blame her because he could also feel the pressure this whole crowd was giving them. He decided to take matters in his hands, to help her and to take some load off her shoulders. When he heard what Akane's grandmother had asked her, he cleared his voice and said,
"I think she must be tired for all the journey we did, mam."
"Oh, is it, my child?"
"But who are you? And why are you with my grandchild?" Akane's grandfather asked, impatiently.
Ranma nervously smiled at him and said in a hesitating tone, "I ... I am ... I am Akane's .. I am her fi.."
"HUSBAND!" Akane declared in a panicked tone.
"Yes, Husband..." Ranma repeated after Akane without even knowing what he said. But when he realized what he just said, his eyes went wide open as he turned to look at her in complete disbelief.
"WHAT!"
"What!"
"Oh my, my, my!!"
The whole population who were present there got shocked by this sudden revelation. They were talking amongst themselves, asking questions, some sounded shocked, some disappointed.
Shinnosuke stood at his spot, not moving at all as he looked at Akane with complete disbelief. Her grandmother and grandfather were at the same state; as they both looked at Ranma and Akane with their open mouths and wide shocked eyes.
Akane finally looked away from Shinnosuke and shifted her fearful gaze towards Ranma, who was still looking at her with complete disbelief. Her lower lip trembles in fear as she gave him a vulnerable look, and then she whispered softly with her cracked tone,
"Ranma is my husband.. Husband..please.."
Her helpless look made him more confused. Ranma's whole world began to swirl as he tried to process what was happening there. He gulped hard, his forehead getting wet with his cold sweat. He gave a shaky breath as he nodded his head nervously. Not knowing what he was doing anymore, he squeezed Akane's hand tightly and declared,
"I am... I am Akane's... Husband.."
A/N: OH MY GOD!!! This chapter was so hard to write T-T.. I couldn't hold myself from writing every detail of my imagination. Why my imagination is so complicated to write T-T. I just hope you guys felt the tension throughout the chapter that I wanted you guys to fell. And also you guys understood why Akane took this sudden decision to change her plan. If I had missed any of these dream sequences , I know it wouldn't make that much sense. I just hope my hard work will pay off and you guys would feel the tension in this chapter.
Please guys, please please please don't forget to leave me a review. You have no idea how hard this chapter was for me to write. Your one word of encouragement would work like medicine to my tired eyes T-T..
So what do you think will happen next ;p.. Muhuhuhahahahahahaha... See you guys hopefully soon :D.. Take care..