Author's Notes: I hope people are still reading this. Sorry I took so long to update. I'd like to make a promise to update faster, but I hate lying. ::wink:: If this chapter seems worse than the others, it's because I ran into some trouble. I knew what I wanted to say, but I couldn't put it into words. The next ones should be easier to write because I have them mapped out better than this last one. Well, enough with the boring notes. Go read the chapter! Please remember to review. And while you're reviewing, could someone tell me whether or not Ukyo knows that Ryoga turns into a pig? I might need it in the upcoming chapters.
Also, thanks to The Liz for making me think about Cologne's role. I actually forgot to write her into the future until The Liz mentioned her. Um, oops. =)
Disclaimer: I'm too lazy to write a new disclaimer. As I said in the last chapter, Rumiko Takahashi owns all the characters except for Kaori Kamikuro because, well, I was the one who created him!
Chapter 3 – A Moment Alone
Ranma couldn't believe what he had heard. Two years? He had been gone for two years? Is this really what happens in the future?
"Well?" Nabiki asked impatiently. "Are you going to tell us where you've been or not?"
"You don't have to explain right now, Ranma," Kasumi said kindly, as if to compensate for her sister's rudeness. "Are you tired? Do you want to eat something first?" she asked.
"No, that's ok. I just..." He scratched the back of his head with uncertainty. Was this the power of the Gem of Times? Whether it was or wasn't, Ranma didn't want to get everyone involved in this mess...with the exception of Akane, of course.
"Um, if it's ok with everyone, I'd like to talk to Akane in private first," Ranma announced nervously.
"Uh, sure I guess," Akane said, standing up. "Let's go upstairs."
"Wait!" Kuno jumped up and grabbed her hand. "Are you sure you should be alone with him? He's been gone for a while and we don't really know if--"
"I'll be fine, Kuno." She covered his hand with her own and smiled at him. "Don't worry, I trust him." Kuno reluctantly let go of her hand and sat back down.
"All right, but I'll be right down here if you need me," he said protectively.
Akane smiled at him again. "I know you will, Kuno." She turned to Ranma. "Come on. Let's go up to my room."
"What was that?" Ranma wondered with a twinge of jealousy. The true pervert of Furinkan High had just held Akane's hand and she hadn't punched him through the roof! He toyed with the idea of Kuno and Akane becoming a couple while he had been "missing," and began to feel physically sick.
Ranma followed Akane up to her room, never once meeting her eyes. He wanted to ask her about Kuno, but he felt awkward about being so upfront with her if he really had been out of her life for two years.
"Why should I even care?" Ranma asked himself as they walked down the hallway. "It's not like I ever really loved Akane...or that she ever loved...me..." He sighed. With his emotions in turmoil, he followed Akane into her room.
Surprised, Ranma quickly realized that Akane had redecorated. He had never really taken the time to notice her old room, but he knew for certain that the pictures of Akane and Ranma that now covered the walls were not there two years ago. His eyes flew to framed memories of festivals they had gone to, the Romeo and Juliet play they had starred in, and even a souvenir photo from their visit to the Cursed Caves!
"What's with all these pictures?" he wondered to himself, and stepped toward a photo of them together at the beach.
As Akane watched him examine the pictures, she felt her heart flutter nervously in her chest. Those photos were the only reminders she had had of Ranma over the last two years. She had spent many lonely nights looking at them, thinking about what she would say when he returned. Now he was here in her room, and all of those rehearsed words flew out the window.
Ranma turned and met her gaze. He was quite confused about everything that happened so far and, like Akane, he didn't know what to say. Not a word had been spoken since they left the dining room. Even now, a mutual silence hung in the air between them.
"His eyes are so clear," Akane thought to herself. "Can this be real?" She wanted to reach out and touch him to see if he were really there, but she was afraid he would disappear like he had in so many other dreams.
From where he stood, Ranma could see the pain in her eyes, the fear. He felt the sudden urge to console her.
"Akane..." Ranma whispered, breaking the silence. He watched her eyes slowly fill with tears, and his heart quickened. It always tore him apart to see Akane cry, but it hurt more when he knew she was crying because of him. He saw one shimmering tear slide down to her chin, and he reached out to brush it away.
Akane remained frozen, afraid that she would wake up from her dream the moment he touched her. He stepped closer to her, and she quivered. As his fingers touched her delicate cheek, she suddenly came to life and rushed into his arms, sobbing. Ranma remembered the first time Akane had hugged him like this. He had just returned from a long and difficult journey chasing after Herb and the Pot of Liberation. She welcomed him home with an embrace he was too embarrassed to return. Even now he still felt shy, but he wrapped her in a protective hug nonetheless.
They stood that way for what seemed like an eternity to Ranma, not that he minded. When he finally heard her sobs lessen, he led her over to the bed and sat her down.
"Are you ok now?" he whispered to her.
She sniffled and looked down at her hands. "You said you'd never stop protecting me."
"What?"
"Before you left me in the park," Akane whispered, pulling away from him. "You promised you would never stop protecting me." She looked up with fresh tears forming in her eyes. "Why did you leave me?"
"It's not what you think!" he cried defensively, though not angrily. "I had to follow that Kamikuro guy who attacked you in the park. Look." He pulled the Gem of Times out from the neck of his shirt and showed it to her. "This is the--"
"Gem of Times," she finished for him.
"Wait, how did you--?" Ranma stopped. "I think I'm too surprised to even act surprised anymore."
Akane gave a small laugh that caused the new tears in her eyes to splash on the bed.
"Cologne told me everything. I know about the Shadow Assassins and Kamikuro. She even told me that I'm now his target and that you were traveling to the future to save me."
Ranma took a moment to think about that.
"So if you knew that I was going to the future, then didn't you know I would come back someday? he asked.
"Of course I knew that. Cologne knew that too."
"Then what's with the crying?" Ranma asked.
"You jerk!" Akane yelled at him. "Do you know how long we've had to wait? It's been more that two years since the day you saved me at the park and used the Gem to travel to the future. No one has seen you since then and we didn't even know how long we had to wait before you showed up again. You have no idea how hard it's been on the people who love you."
"The people who...love me?"
"Yes," she answered bitterly. "The people who love you. And at least Cologne and I knew what happened to you. It made the wait a little easier for us. No one else knows about the Gem of Times."
"What did everyone think had happened to me?"
At that, she gave another small laugh.
"Lots of stupid rumors began after you left. Everyone saw you chasing Gosunkugi out of the park that day. Some people saw the fight too. They put two and two together and decided that you had killed Gosunkugi for attacking me and you were hiding out from the law in China. Heh, there were even some people who thought you and Gosunkugi had run off so you guys could be together."
"What? How could they think that?" Ranma cried indignantly.
"They didn't know what else to think. The worst idea came from your mom who thought you ran away from home."
Ranma was stunned. "No way...why would she think that...I would never..."
"Even Ukyo and Shampoo believed it. Our dads too. They all thought they put so much pressure on you about marriage and fiancés that you just snapped and ran," Akane said.
Ranma imagined his mom crying, thinking that her son didn't love her enough to stay. His dad would have left on a long training voyage to keep himself busy. Ukyo and Shampoo must have been heartbroken. Akane even knew what had happened, but she still cried her heart out over him.
"Akane, I'm sorry I left you and I'm sorry I put you through all of this." He wiped away her tears again. "I didn't know that this would happen when I used the Gem of Times, but I don't regret using it."
"What?" Akane asked. "How can you say that?"
"Because I did this to protect you, and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again."
Akane gasped and stared into his eyes. "Do you really mean it?"
"Yeah, I do." He smiled and shyly took her hand in his own. "I guess it's kinda late for me to say it, but I really care about you. I'd do anything to protect you."
"Oh, Ranma." Akane threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. "I love you," she said softly.
Ranma quickly pulled away, blushing furiously.
"Um, ahem, uh," he stammered.
Akane watched his reaction with disappointment. She wasn't surprised that he couldn't return her words, but at least she knew how he felt.
"Um...what was that thing with Kuno downstairs?" Ranma asked timidly.
"What thing?" Akane asked.
"You know...when he held your hand and you and he were all..."
Akane smiled. "It's not what you think. We're not like that."
"Well, then what was it?"
"He's just really protective of me. I think of him as a big brother."
"What?" Ranma asked with skepticism. "When did Kuno go from 'crazy stalker' to 'big brother'?"
"Hm...it's been so long since that happened. After you 'went missing' he did his usual stalking thing, but he also kept asking me about the 'pig-tailed girl'. I just got tired and flat out told him that you were the 'pig-tailed' girl and he seemed to think you kidnapped her." Akane shrugged. "No idea where he got that from. Anyway, I paid Nabiki one thousand yen upfront and told her I would pay her another four thousand if she could get Kuno to see the truth about you."
"And she actually managed to do it?" Ranma asked incredulously.
"You saw him for yourself downstairs. He changed you back into a guy and everything."
"How'd she do it?"
"No one's really sure," Akane said mysteriously. "Nabiki tied him up and she locked herself in her room with him. Almost three days later, he left her room and said to me 'Ranma becomes the pig-tailed girl with cold water and a guy with hot water.' And after, he just kinda stopped stalking me. Of course, it might have been because he and Nabiki became a couple."
"What!?"
Akane smiled at him. "You've missed a lot. Even Kasumi and Dr. Tofu's wedding..."
"Really?" he asked. "Well I guess that isn't really surprising. I kinda always thought they would get together."
"Me too," she agreed.
Ranma sighed. "I wish Cologne had told me that this would happen when I time jumped. I didn't realize I would have to miss so much."
"Oh! That reminds me!" Akane jumped up and went over to her desk. She pulled out a letter from the top drawer and handed it to him. "This is from Cologne."
"What does it say?" he asked as unfolded it.
"I don't know," Akane admitted. "I didn't read it. She wrote it when she returned to China."
"Wait a minute. She left?"
"Yeah, a little more than a year ago. Shampoo was really upset when you 'ran away'. She waited for you for almost a year, but she was too heartbroken. Shampoo returned to China, and Cologne and Mousse went with her."
Ranma sighed and read the letter.
"So," Akane said when he put down the letter. "What does it say?"Dear son-in-law,
Since you have been missing for so many days, I can conclude that it is the future you have traveled to and not the past. If you had been to the past, you would have returned without anyone noticing your absence. But, since you are missing, it means that you have gone to the future and we must wait for you to reappear again.
I do not know in what year you are reading this, but I am certain that your sudden reappearance in this new time is disorienting to you. For that, I am sorry. However, there are two ways you can fix this broken timeline.
The first way would be for you to defeat the Shadow Assassin in this current time. If you can do this, then you may return to the past to close the rip in time and continue your life normally. This will change the future so that you will no longer be missing like have been for the past years.
If you do not manage to defeat the Shadow Assassins and he jumps to a new time, then return to the past anyway, but return a few hours after the time you opened the rip. Find me at the Cat Cafe and tell me to give you the Heavy Stone. I will understand immediately even if you do not.
I will be unable to assist you now, so try to find other allies to aid you in your fight. Good luck.
"I don't completely understand it, but she gave me instructions about how to fix the messed up timeline."
"Really? That's great! What do you have to do?"
"Well first I have to defeat Kamik--"
Akane's bedroom window suddenly shattered. Ranma dove on top of Akane to shield her from the flying glass.
"You have to defeat who?" a squeaky male voice asked.
Ranma looked up to see Kamikuro, who was still hiding in Gosunkugi's body, standing in Akane's room.