I promise a happy ending. Really I do! Enjoy!
Quik
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------
I finally realized what was wrong with me.. Why I treat Ranma the way I do, Why I do things only for him, Why I thoughtlessly place myself in danger for his welfare,
I'm in love with him.
Ah, if most people I know heard me admit that they'd laugh. Either because they don't believe me or they don't believe it took me so long to admit it.
Unfortunately, he's in love with someone else.
So how did I come to both of these wondrous conclusions?
It begins by finding a secret..
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------
"I can't believe what a jerk he can be, P-chan," grumbled Akane as she put away her newly cleaned clothes. "I told him I followed the recipe exact with only a few extras and he goes and runs off. The jerk."
Akane slammed a drawer shut with a huff, ruffling the bottom of her skirt in the process. "Doesn't he know how long I worked on that dinner? Couldn't he show a little appreciation? But, no, he runs out the door like I just turned into a cat leaving me completely alone to clean up after dinner." Akane glanced down as she softly added, "Probably to some other fiancée."
P-chan on Akane's bed gave an indignant little piggy snort.
Akane smiled at P-chan, "Well, at least someone seems to understand."
After hanging her last item in her closet, Akane walked over to sit in front of her pet pig. She placed her arms on the bed to rest her chin on and stared at P-chan while she continued. "I suppose soup isn't suppose to solidify like that but he could have at least tried it. I can't believe I even bother with him."
P-chan shook his head and squealed as if to say, "What a jerk."
Akane rubbed the top of P-chan's head and he soaked up the attention, closing his eyes to bask in her gentle massage. Akane found talking to P- chan seemed to help her calm down after Ranma wound up her anger to the point of wanting to destroy something. It was the closest comforting feeling she could get besides malleting the big mouth idiot on the head.
"You're so smart, P-chan. Smarter than me at least." In fact, Akane thought P-chan was too smart at times. Like the little pig really did know what she was saying. That it wasn't her imagination P-chan nodded yes and no to her questions. And wasn't it odd how P-chan showed up at weird and interesting times and places, sometimes with packages from around the world and then mysteriously disappear for weeks on end. It was so strange.
"Who do you get those packages from, P-chan? I hope you're not stealing them." Akane giggled at the thought of her little pig stealing a present for his mistress.
But thinking of P-chan's weird abilities brought up her time in Ryugenzawa (sp?). In the heat of the battle, she didn't blink at the strangeness of a pet pig boiling water. Akane had grabbed the pot to save Ranma from the eight headed Orochi. But looking back on it now, without the intensity of a threat, Akane was at a lost. Why (let alone how) in the world would a little pig boil water?
Akane frowned slightly, her eyebrows knitting together as her little pet merely studied her adoringly. It just didn't make sense. But maybe P-chan was that smart and realized Ranma needed the hot water to change back.
Akane shook her head. Such strange thoughts. She ran her hand over P- chan's head again. He wiggled it into her palm lovingly before she let it slide down to scratch his back. Akane's fingertips immediately came into contact with P-chan's bandanna. She flipped the corner a bit, noticing the ragged edges, staring at the design. Something was tapping at the corners of Akane's mind. She didn't know what but she was really close to remembering something important.
And then it came to her. Her little pet's bandanna looked exactly like Ryoga's bandanna.
The thought sat on the edge of her consciousness. As if it couldn't be quite thrown away until it had tipped over the cup of other thoughts. And those thoughts were like hot scalding water as they splashed down in Akane's mind.
It was crazy. So silly, so ridiculous, but it fit so nicely with all the strange oddities she had noticed in her pet. There was an easy way to put to rest the doubts in her mind. If she was wrong, P-chan would be a bit upset. A quick forgive and forget would solve everything. But if she was right..
P-chan immediately snapped out of his day dreams as Akane's eyes darkened to an intense golden depth. And as Akane's loving touch turned into a fierce grip on his bandanna, Ryoga saw his nightmare coming true.
Akane picked him up, her arms around him were strong but not painful. Ryoga struggled but between Akane's strength and his unwillingness to hurt her, she held him in place. With a simple careless toss, Akane flicked her little pet into the warm furo water.
It was the shock of it all that saved him. Akane watched as Ryoga popped up from the water, naked. He yelled an incoherent apology with tears streaming from his closed eyes as he frantically covered himself and scrambled out of the bathroom.
Akane dropped to the floor as her legs wouldn't support her, her eyes distant and unfocused. Hurt and anger became too much and they welled over into every emotion, drowning them all out. She could hear loud crashes about the house as Ryoga blindly tried to run as far away from her as possible. First a closet, then her room, briefly back to the bathroom, then the guest room before he finally decided to just jump out a window to save himself the trouble. His bumbling panic left Akane several moments for her to act but she couldn't seem to pull herself out of her numb shock.
Ryoga was P-chan.
Ryoga, her good friend who was so nice to her, was P-chan, her good little pet who was so loving with her.
How could she be such an idiot? The signs had been so obvious; same bandannas, mysterious long-term disappearances, the intelligence, the boiling water..and Ranma.
Ranma and his comments.
/Hey, bacon breath. Yo, pork chops. Bug off, P-CHAN./
Akane drew a sharp breath. Ranma had known. And he never told her. Never mentioned that the cute little pig she snuggled up to her chest was really a perverted boy. Why? Was this just some joke to him?
Akane could hear Ranma's mocking laughter for being an idiot for so long and not putting two and two together. It was a focus point, a well used and familiar one. Her emotions came rushing back into her system, driving her to her feet with a sense of direction and purpose.
It was time to find the boys.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------
It took an hour of searching Ranma's favorite hiding spots before Akane accepted the fact Ranma didn't run away to be by himself. That, more than likely, he ran to be with another cute fiancée who'd cook him a good meal unlike the monstrosity she had made earlier. Yet another item to add to the list of offenses. Her right hand twitched slightly, aching to use the mallet to appease the anger and hurt rolling through her.
Out of all the fiancées to run to, Ukyou seemed to be the likely candidate. Also, the thought of popping into the Nekohaunten to check for Ranma grated too harshly on already sore nerves. And even Akane had to admit Ranma was smarter than to drop by Kodachi's for a snack.
As the Ucchan became visible, so too did the closed sign though the door was open. Akane could just make out Ukyou at the grill, a plate sitting on the counter awaiting the next order. Even before the red mandarin shirt and pigtail came into view, Akane knew by the smile on Ukyou's face that Ranma would be propped up on a stool listening to Ukyou talk.
That smile brought a new wave of strong, burning anger. Akane had the urge to give the Okonomiyaki chief a good swipe with her mallet as well and see if she could keep that cute little smile on her face. But with her target in sight, Akane's focus stayed on the braided idiot on the stool. Oh, yes indeed, all of Nerima was going to feel this one if she had anything..
A burst of laughter spilled out the Ucchan's and exploded on the angry mob in Akane's head, bringing her to a complete halt. As the chuckles subsided, Akane's head tilted slightly to the side. That laughter seemed strange to her. It was one she rarely heard from Ranma. It sounded light and carefree.
Akane watched as Ukyou walked around the counter to stand directly in front of Ranma, looking at him with a twinkle of laughter in her eyes. Ranma turned in his seat to face Ukyou, his back still to Akane. Ukyou made a quick comment to what he said and they broke into another round of laughter.
Akane realized what it was that stopped her in her tracks. It was happiness. True happiness. The kind of laughter a person gives when everything is alright in the world. Ranma never laughed with her like that before. Why was that? He was laughing that way with Ukyou. Weren't they fiancées too? But now that she thought about it, they never even had a normal conversation let alone a chance to just laugh at a few silly jokes.
Well, there were reasons for that and it was usually because he has a big mouth making smart ass comments. Especially to Ryoga. In fact, if memory serves, that's what she was going to kill him about.
Right. Mallet to the loud-mouth pervert.
With her purpose firmly back in hand, Akane continued her stomping until Ukyou leaned forward and kissed Ranma. Not a little peck on the cheek, which would be inexcusable, but a full passionate kiss slowly, drawing her lips over Ranma's, which was down right unforgivable. The initial shock of Ukyou's brazenness caused Akane's feet to misstep, almost tripping Akane before freezing in place.
When it became obvious Ranma wasn't pushing her away, panicking, or other wise protesting, that he was sitting there, accepting Ukyou's invitation, Akane's murderous thoughts vaporized to the whispered questions in her mind. Why wasn't he trying to get away? Shouldn't he be pushing her away like he did to any advances his fiancées made?
After what seemed to be ages, Ukyou pulled back slightly only to be crushed into a hard embrace from Ranma. She leaned her head onto Ranma's shoulder as a content smile spread across her face along with a pretty blush. It was the most romantic scene Akane had ever witnessed in her life. And it made the world back lashed into Akane's face, disappearing into a blur of tears.
When her lungs and legs began to burn, Akane finally came to her senses again. She realized she had been running for a while and had reached the cherry blossom trees her mother used to take her to see when she was young. Finding the nearest tree, Akane collapsed to her knees at its base, hugging herself as she tried to swallow the sob working its way up her throat. But her heart could not be so easily covered and forgotten and Akane cried until she was left with only a heavy dull ache within her.
Her heart hurt so much and anger burned around its edges as she rested her back against the rough bark of the tree, wiping away the last tear. She felt as if her world had collapsed, emulating her dark emotions when her mother had died.
'But why? Why does it hurt so much?' Akane asked herself. Akane felt as if Ranma had betrayed her with that kiss to Ukyou. But Ranma was never hers or vice versa. It didn't make sense. 'I don't even like the idiot. Right?'
A sudden sense of dread filled Akane when nothing within her agreed. 'Ok,' thought Akane, 'so I can admit to liking Ranma. He has some good points. But I don't LOVE him, right?'
There was a poignant pause as the hurt, ache and longing pierced her heart sharply. Akane's eyes grew wide, 'Oh, God.I DO love him.'
As the shock of the revelation slowly drained away, Akane gave a wet laugh. How ridiculous was this? She finally figured out and admitted caring for the dummy and he goes and falls for someone else. Akane drew her knees up in an embrace, hugging her legs to her chest, as the chuckles tried become choked sobs.
Akane forcefully scrubbed the tears from her eyes. She was being pathetic. Ranma did not make the promise to marry her. And he most certainly told her and anybody who would listen how he felt about the whole arrangement. How many times had he listed her faults? As he said, can't cook, slow and predictable, uncute and brutish. And how many of those were true? Here she was, hunting him down to smack him hard with a mallet. No thought of giving him chance to explain, just lashing out to appease her anger. And her earlier cooking skills certainly proved her ineptness at cooking. Akane's last shred of pride refused to acknowledge her lack in feminine charms.
The laughter of the happy couple echoed in Akane's head. Of course he had fallen for Ukyou. In her own anger and her own faults, she had pushed Ranma away. He had found his happiness else where, to a fiancée that was caring, cute and a good cook and to top it all off, a good friend. Even so, the sharp ache which penetrated the sense of loss told Akane that she still loved him.
'So, the first boy you can admit to have fallen for is in love with another,' Akane thought to herself. 'Now what do you do?'
She could have followed in the footsteps of some of the other fiancées and try to win him back. But he had finally done what all of them had waited for. He had made a choice. Besides, she had nothing to offer him that he wanted. That much was now obvious.
Akane pushed down her darker feelings and focused on Option B. To help Ranma, to help him be happy. Even though he didn't choose her, Akane refused to deny him his chance at happiness. Especially after all that she had put him through. Her atonement was a faltering strength but it was something to lean on.
Akane released a deep sigh at that decision, her eyelids heavy from spending so much emotion. As she stood, Akane realized that though she might not have to face Ranma tonight by sneaking back into the house via her bedroom window, she would have to walk to school with him in the morning. Too tired to form a better plan of action, Akane promised herself to pretend nothing had changed. Ranma's relationship with Ukyou must remain secret. If any one in Nerima found out, all hell would break loose. Her acknowledgement of her true feelings had to be re-buried for both Ranma and her sake as well.
Akane didn't realize how hard it would be.
------------------------------------------------------------
Quik
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------
I finally realized what was wrong with me.. Why I treat Ranma the way I do, Why I do things only for him, Why I thoughtlessly place myself in danger for his welfare,
I'm in love with him.
Ah, if most people I know heard me admit that they'd laugh. Either because they don't believe me or they don't believe it took me so long to admit it.
Unfortunately, he's in love with someone else.
So how did I come to both of these wondrous conclusions?
It begins by finding a secret..
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------
"I can't believe what a jerk he can be, P-chan," grumbled Akane as she put away her newly cleaned clothes. "I told him I followed the recipe exact with only a few extras and he goes and runs off. The jerk."
Akane slammed a drawer shut with a huff, ruffling the bottom of her skirt in the process. "Doesn't he know how long I worked on that dinner? Couldn't he show a little appreciation? But, no, he runs out the door like I just turned into a cat leaving me completely alone to clean up after dinner." Akane glanced down as she softly added, "Probably to some other fiancée."
P-chan on Akane's bed gave an indignant little piggy snort.
Akane smiled at P-chan, "Well, at least someone seems to understand."
After hanging her last item in her closet, Akane walked over to sit in front of her pet pig. She placed her arms on the bed to rest her chin on and stared at P-chan while she continued. "I suppose soup isn't suppose to solidify like that but he could have at least tried it. I can't believe I even bother with him."
P-chan shook his head and squealed as if to say, "What a jerk."
Akane rubbed the top of P-chan's head and he soaked up the attention, closing his eyes to bask in her gentle massage. Akane found talking to P- chan seemed to help her calm down after Ranma wound up her anger to the point of wanting to destroy something. It was the closest comforting feeling she could get besides malleting the big mouth idiot on the head.
"You're so smart, P-chan. Smarter than me at least." In fact, Akane thought P-chan was too smart at times. Like the little pig really did know what she was saying. That it wasn't her imagination P-chan nodded yes and no to her questions. And wasn't it odd how P-chan showed up at weird and interesting times and places, sometimes with packages from around the world and then mysteriously disappear for weeks on end. It was so strange.
"Who do you get those packages from, P-chan? I hope you're not stealing them." Akane giggled at the thought of her little pig stealing a present for his mistress.
But thinking of P-chan's weird abilities brought up her time in Ryugenzawa (sp?). In the heat of the battle, she didn't blink at the strangeness of a pet pig boiling water. Akane had grabbed the pot to save Ranma from the eight headed Orochi. But looking back on it now, without the intensity of a threat, Akane was at a lost. Why (let alone how) in the world would a little pig boil water?
Akane frowned slightly, her eyebrows knitting together as her little pet merely studied her adoringly. It just didn't make sense. But maybe P-chan was that smart and realized Ranma needed the hot water to change back.
Akane shook her head. Such strange thoughts. She ran her hand over P- chan's head again. He wiggled it into her palm lovingly before she let it slide down to scratch his back. Akane's fingertips immediately came into contact with P-chan's bandanna. She flipped the corner a bit, noticing the ragged edges, staring at the design. Something was tapping at the corners of Akane's mind. She didn't know what but she was really close to remembering something important.
And then it came to her. Her little pet's bandanna looked exactly like Ryoga's bandanna.
The thought sat on the edge of her consciousness. As if it couldn't be quite thrown away until it had tipped over the cup of other thoughts. And those thoughts were like hot scalding water as they splashed down in Akane's mind.
It was crazy. So silly, so ridiculous, but it fit so nicely with all the strange oddities she had noticed in her pet. There was an easy way to put to rest the doubts in her mind. If she was wrong, P-chan would be a bit upset. A quick forgive and forget would solve everything. But if she was right..
P-chan immediately snapped out of his day dreams as Akane's eyes darkened to an intense golden depth. And as Akane's loving touch turned into a fierce grip on his bandanna, Ryoga saw his nightmare coming true.
Akane picked him up, her arms around him were strong but not painful. Ryoga struggled but between Akane's strength and his unwillingness to hurt her, she held him in place. With a simple careless toss, Akane flicked her little pet into the warm furo water.
It was the shock of it all that saved him. Akane watched as Ryoga popped up from the water, naked. He yelled an incoherent apology with tears streaming from his closed eyes as he frantically covered himself and scrambled out of the bathroom.
Akane dropped to the floor as her legs wouldn't support her, her eyes distant and unfocused. Hurt and anger became too much and they welled over into every emotion, drowning them all out. She could hear loud crashes about the house as Ryoga blindly tried to run as far away from her as possible. First a closet, then her room, briefly back to the bathroom, then the guest room before he finally decided to just jump out a window to save himself the trouble. His bumbling panic left Akane several moments for her to act but she couldn't seem to pull herself out of her numb shock.
Ryoga was P-chan.
Ryoga, her good friend who was so nice to her, was P-chan, her good little pet who was so loving with her.
How could she be such an idiot? The signs had been so obvious; same bandannas, mysterious long-term disappearances, the intelligence, the boiling water..and Ranma.
Ranma and his comments.
/Hey, bacon breath. Yo, pork chops. Bug off, P-CHAN./
Akane drew a sharp breath. Ranma had known. And he never told her. Never mentioned that the cute little pig she snuggled up to her chest was really a perverted boy. Why? Was this just some joke to him?
Akane could hear Ranma's mocking laughter for being an idiot for so long and not putting two and two together. It was a focus point, a well used and familiar one. Her emotions came rushing back into her system, driving her to her feet with a sense of direction and purpose.
It was time to find the boys.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------
It took an hour of searching Ranma's favorite hiding spots before Akane accepted the fact Ranma didn't run away to be by himself. That, more than likely, he ran to be with another cute fiancée who'd cook him a good meal unlike the monstrosity she had made earlier. Yet another item to add to the list of offenses. Her right hand twitched slightly, aching to use the mallet to appease the anger and hurt rolling through her.
Out of all the fiancées to run to, Ukyou seemed to be the likely candidate. Also, the thought of popping into the Nekohaunten to check for Ranma grated too harshly on already sore nerves. And even Akane had to admit Ranma was smarter than to drop by Kodachi's for a snack.
As the Ucchan became visible, so too did the closed sign though the door was open. Akane could just make out Ukyou at the grill, a plate sitting on the counter awaiting the next order. Even before the red mandarin shirt and pigtail came into view, Akane knew by the smile on Ukyou's face that Ranma would be propped up on a stool listening to Ukyou talk.
That smile brought a new wave of strong, burning anger. Akane had the urge to give the Okonomiyaki chief a good swipe with her mallet as well and see if she could keep that cute little smile on her face. But with her target in sight, Akane's focus stayed on the braided idiot on the stool. Oh, yes indeed, all of Nerima was going to feel this one if she had anything..
A burst of laughter spilled out the Ucchan's and exploded on the angry mob in Akane's head, bringing her to a complete halt. As the chuckles subsided, Akane's head tilted slightly to the side. That laughter seemed strange to her. It was one she rarely heard from Ranma. It sounded light and carefree.
Akane watched as Ukyou walked around the counter to stand directly in front of Ranma, looking at him with a twinkle of laughter in her eyes. Ranma turned in his seat to face Ukyou, his back still to Akane. Ukyou made a quick comment to what he said and they broke into another round of laughter.
Akane realized what it was that stopped her in her tracks. It was happiness. True happiness. The kind of laughter a person gives when everything is alright in the world. Ranma never laughed with her like that before. Why was that? He was laughing that way with Ukyou. Weren't they fiancées too? But now that she thought about it, they never even had a normal conversation let alone a chance to just laugh at a few silly jokes.
Well, there were reasons for that and it was usually because he has a big mouth making smart ass comments. Especially to Ryoga. In fact, if memory serves, that's what she was going to kill him about.
Right. Mallet to the loud-mouth pervert.
With her purpose firmly back in hand, Akane continued her stomping until Ukyou leaned forward and kissed Ranma. Not a little peck on the cheek, which would be inexcusable, but a full passionate kiss slowly, drawing her lips over Ranma's, which was down right unforgivable. The initial shock of Ukyou's brazenness caused Akane's feet to misstep, almost tripping Akane before freezing in place.
When it became obvious Ranma wasn't pushing her away, panicking, or other wise protesting, that he was sitting there, accepting Ukyou's invitation, Akane's murderous thoughts vaporized to the whispered questions in her mind. Why wasn't he trying to get away? Shouldn't he be pushing her away like he did to any advances his fiancées made?
After what seemed to be ages, Ukyou pulled back slightly only to be crushed into a hard embrace from Ranma. She leaned her head onto Ranma's shoulder as a content smile spread across her face along with a pretty blush. It was the most romantic scene Akane had ever witnessed in her life. And it made the world back lashed into Akane's face, disappearing into a blur of tears.
When her lungs and legs began to burn, Akane finally came to her senses again. She realized she had been running for a while and had reached the cherry blossom trees her mother used to take her to see when she was young. Finding the nearest tree, Akane collapsed to her knees at its base, hugging herself as she tried to swallow the sob working its way up her throat. But her heart could not be so easily covered and forgotten and Akane cried until she was left with only a heavy dull ache within her.
Her heart hurt so much and anger burned around its edges as she rested her back against the rough bark of the tree, wiping away the last tear. She felt as if her world had collapsed, emulating her dark emotions when her mother had died.
'But why? Why does it hurt so much?' Akane asked herself. Akane felt as if Ranma had betrayed her with that kiss to Ukyou. But Ranma was never hers or vice versa. It didn't make sense. 'I don't even like the idiot. Right?'
A sudden sense of dread filled Akane when nothing within her agreed. 'Ok,' thought Akane, 'so I can admit to liking Ranma. He has some good points. But I don't LOVE him, right?'
There was a poignant pause as the hurt, ache and longing pierced her heart sharply. Akane's eyes grew wide, 'Oh, God.I DO love him.'
As the shock of the revelation slowly drained away, Akane gave a wet laugh. How ridiculous was this? She finally figured out and admitted caring for the dummy and he goes and falls for someone else. Akane drew her knees up in an embrace, hugging her legs to her chest, as the chuckles tried become choked sobs.
Akane forcefully scrubbed the tears from her eyes. She was being pathetic. Ranma did not make the promise to marry her. And he most certainly told her and anybody who would listen how he felt about the whole arrangement. How many times had he listed her faults? As he said, can't cook, slow and predictable, uncute and brutish. And how many of those were true? Here she was, hunting him down to smack him hard with a mallet. No thought of giving him chance to explain, just lashing out to appease her anger. And her earlier cooking skills certainly proved her ineptness at cooking. Akane's last shred of pride refused to acknowledge her lack in feminine charms.
The laughter of the happy couple echoed in Akane's head. Of course he had fallen for Ukyou. In her own anger and her own faults, she had pushed Ranma away. He had found his happiness else where, to a fiancée that was caring, cute and a good cook and to top it all off, a good friend. Even so, the sharp ache which penetrated the sense of loss told Akane that she still loved him.
'So, the first boy you can admit to have fallen for is in love with another,' Akane thought to herself. 'Now what do you do?'
She could have followed in the footsteps of some of the other fiancées and try to win him back. But he had finally done what all of them had waited for. He had made a choice. Besides, she had nothing to offer him that he wanted. That much was now obvious.
Akane pushed down her darker feelings and focused on Option B. To help Ranma, to help him be happy. Even though he didn't choose her, Akane refused to deny him his chance at happiness. Especially after all that she had put him through. Her atonement was a faltering strength but it was something to lean on.
Akane released a deep sigh at that decision, her eyelids heavy from spending so much emotion. As she stood, Akane realized that though she might not have to face Ranma tonight by sneaking back into the house via her bedroom window, she would have to walk to school with him in the morning. Too tired to form a better plan of action, Akane promised herself to pretend nothing had changed. Ranma's relationship with Ukyou must remain secret. If any one in Nerima found out, all hell would break loose. Her acknowledgement of her true feelings had to be re-buried for both Ranma and her sake as well.
Akane didn't realize how hard it would be.
------------------------------------------------------------