Broken
Shadow Knight
Chapter 1: Nightmares
Disclaimer: I don't own it!....sniff...I can truly admit it now...-_-
Well, come this was a story I began writing a long time ago, but never got the guts to post it up on here. Well, now that I do, I am taking bold new steps and posting it on the site. I truly hope you like and will REVIEW.... Basically, the story is an R/A (Ranma/Akane) fic. So, if you don't like that coupling, you don't have to read it.
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!! ^_^*
*Panda Signs*
~
"Ranma! Please don't leave me! Please...come back!"
A girl is seen, tears in her eyes trying to run after a striding figure in front of her. She suddenly trips and falls, hitting the ground soundly. Although she felt pain stinging her hands and knees, she pushes herself up to her knees and droops her head as tears hit the ground. The figure, hearing her fall and quietly crying, looks back at the girl with a frown on his face. Stepping swiftly, he comes to stop in front of the sobbing girl, staring down at her with a cold indifference in his eyes. Crouching to his knees, he looked at the girl and suddenly grasped her chin roughly in his callous hands.
The boy stared her and whispered harshly, "And why should I, Akane? It's not like you care for me or anything. You never show me any affection. All you ever do is beat me for nothing. I've always rescued you, always protected you, and what do I get in return? A load of your crap. You never liked me, you never tried once to at least be a friend. Not at least until after you discovered my curse. This is good-bye Akane-san."
The figure let go of her chin and continued to stare at her.
The girl on the floor, shuttered violently at the name as it was spat out with disgust. Lifting her head up, she looked at the figure outlined in the mysterious darkness engulfing itself around them. With tears in her eyes, she stared at him.
"No. Please Ranma. You've got to believe me. I never tried to hurt you. And I'm really s-sorry. I just...I don't know. But,....I think..I..I..love-
Ranma looked back at the stuttering girl with a smirk on his face that reached up to his cold eyes.
"What? Love Me? Yeah Right! You expect me to believe that? If that's what you believe, then you're really stupider then I thought. You think I'll just say, 'I love you too' and it'll all be better? Well get a life Akane! And see if you can figure this one out through your thick head....I...Hate...You! Now leave me alone. Forever!"
Akane began to feel a cold hollow spot form in her chest. Like something was gone. Something special. With a crumbling expression of determination on her face, she looked up at him.
"But...you're my fiancee...."
Ranma smirked coldly, "Your fiancee? Forget it, I don't love you anymore. From this moment on, I'm breaking the engagement. In fact, I think now I'll pick between Shampoo or Ukyo. They're much better then violent witches like you. They never hesitate in telling me they love me. They'd do anything for me. Not you. All you've ever done is hurt me."
Akane looked shocked as she looked down at the ground, "But Ranma! I'm telling you now. I want to care for you.....I want to tell you my feelings...."
Ranma sneered, "Why should I care, Akane? You're nothing to me. Don't you get it? I don't care about you anymore. I did once, when I was still a young fool in love, but only then did I realize that you never loved me. No, you despised me. Even when I saved you so many times before, you still only abused me.
I would be nice to you, and you would just continue to hurt me. And it didn't end there, no, you would continue to try and put me down as if I were a lesser being then you because of my curse. When my other fiancées came into the picture, it only got worse. You continued to imply that it was my fault that my fiancées came after me, trying to show their love and appreciation toward me. You got jealous of them, and you got jealous of me.
You were always jealous of my skill, you hated me for it. And, now that I've seen the truth I decided that I just don't love you anymore. I can't. I have other fiancées; I'll just pick one of them, and not you."
Giving one last cold stare at the trembling girl, he stood erect, and began to walk away.
Akane continued to quiver with each sob. But, as she heard footsteps leading away, her shivering stopped in half sob as she jerked her eyes up to look into the darkness. Tears in her eyes, she saw that her fiancee, the man she loved had turned away from her. Not only had she lost him now, but she had become a miserable and pitiful tomboy.
She had been degraded to this position where she had just been a fiancee. But a loved one. Now, she was loved by no one. She wasn't loved back by the man she loved. Not any more any ways. With a strangled sob, she stared at his back, her heart pierced and cold. Normally, she would just go hit him with her mallet, but now she couldn't even stand. No, it hurt too much to even be mad. Now she could only feel despair as she felt all the words he said begin to have a ring of truth to them. She glanced hard at her hands for a moment.
She had hurt him with these hands of hers. She had abused him, malleted him, and slapped him so many times. As she thought back, she began to realize that some of the times she hit him, it wasn't even his fault. He was just caught in a bad situation at a bad time. He had even forgiven her for it. He never hit her. Never hurt her. He even saved her a few times. Many times actually. But she still had only rejected him. No wonder he didn't love her. It all made sense.
Fluttering her eye lashes, she felt another tear drop fall, landing on her clutched hand. It was strange, she thought. She knew she had been crying, but that one particular tear made her realize what was happening. To realize that she was crying.
Yes, this had happened before. But.....never had it hurt so much. Never had she felt such pain. Not since her mother died had it ached so much. It was funny in a way, she though wryly, she had vowed to never let herself cry from pain again like that time so many years ago. She had vowed to always be strong, to never show any weaknesses. And, she had succeeded for eleven years. Then he came. He came and took away her mask of strength he replaced it with the mask of a fiancee. A mask which she refused.
Later on, she tried to refuse the feelings that had grown on her. She tried to deny the love she felt. But it was to avail. She became one of Ranma's many admirers. Her iron wall against any feelings was broken down, degraded into dust. She wanted to laugh at it. Laugh at her sadness and how pathetic she was acting. Maybe hoping it would go away. But she knew it would never happen. There was no escape out of this web she had created. No, this was the end. She could never have the man she loved back. He was gone to her. Lost to love someone else.
"Ranma...but...I...please stop..."
Ranma still continued to walk off into the distance.
"Forget it. I'm not engaged to you anymore, and you have no control of me. I'm gonna do what I want. Find someone who gives a crap about what you think. Who will actually care what happens to you. Good-bye."
As Ranma walked off in the distance, Akane looked up. When she did, two figures approached Ranma, almost seeming to materialize out of the thick black blanket of darkness surrounding them. As they came closer, Akane could make out the faces of the figures. Shampoo and Ukyo.
Normally, she would see red and mallet him flat as a pancake. But...now it was different. He wasn't her fiancé anymore. He didn't care how she felt. He was his own man. She stared on at the young man with sorrow in her eyes. Sorrow that she was nothing to him.
As his other fiancées reached him, their faces grew into wicked grins. Turning around, Ranma looked directly at the awed girl. With his face in a smirk, he grasped the hands of both girls and pulled them close to him. Lying on his chest, they did not waste their time making things worse for Akane. As soon as they were laid against his chest, they looked up with happiness in their eyes, lust and love mixed as one. Ranma, responding, grasped their shoulders and pulled them closer. With one final cold stare, he began to walk away with each girl grasped in one arm.
Akane, still in shock, shook her head and gasped as she realized that Ranma was leaving. Still shocked, she felt her hands jump to her face. She couldn't lose him. Not to those other girls. It was just all wrong....she...was supposed to be with him....Jumping up to her feet, she ran toward the trio. Although she ran fast, they only seemed to disappear into the distance even faster. They always seemed to evade her. Finally, they were only a dot in the distance, and soon, they vanished from her sight.
Still running, Akane began to slow down until she finally stopped and dropped to the ground, on her knees, crying her heart out. Feeling the pain increase in her heart, she dropped to her knees until she was face flat on the ground, gasping at each sob. It hurt, she realized. This was a pain that would remain there forever in her heart. It was killing her. Both emotionally and mentally. She didn't know how she could still be living with this much pain. All she could do now was lay on the ground and gasp out.
Akane curled up into a fetal ball as tears leaked from her eyes, "No....Please....Ranma....come back...don't leave me alone...It....it hurts too much....Ranma...."
~
Suddenly a raven-haired girl with short-cropped hair jerked up in her bed flushed with cold sweat, her heart pounding.
Opening her mouth, she let out a silent scream. Sitting there for several minutes, clutching her sheets in her fist, she felt her heart slowly begin to beat back to normal. Closing her golden brown eyes, she nestled her head between her hands, trying to erase the dream from her mind. Falling back into her bed, she shuddered thinking of her nightmare.
~
Meanwhile, in another room of the house, a young man with black hair in a pigtail, twist and turns recklessly in his sleep. Expressions of pain and fury contracted on his face as a battle was fought unseen, but in his mind.
~
Looking around, darkness seeped into every corner of the room. Only then, could one see the blazing flare of a bright blue light spread in the room, a harsh glare. As the light grew, three figures stood out within the flickering light. In the source of the light, a young man stood with the flames of his aura dancing wildly around him. With his hands balled into tight fist, the man, outlined in the blue aura, stared at the figure before him with anger and contempt.
"Get your stinking hands off my fiancee pig-boy! Don't even touch her Ryoga. If you do, I'll bring you down to your freaking knees you little piece of sh-."
"Shut up Ranma. I don't want your crap anymore. I already took enough of it. Don't force it on others. They don't need to experience the trash you bring around every where you go. I certainly don't need it anymore. Leave Ryoga alone, Ranma. And for that matter, leave me alone too."
Ranma's head snapped up and stared into the darkness as a figure approached him, from behind Ryoga. As soon as Ranma saw the pale face in the light of his aura, his expression crumbled into a face of confusion and hidden hurt. He felt his anger dissipate as he stared at the face of the girl, and into her dark and frigid eyes.
Even as his aura began to grow dim, he could still see the emotionless mask on the face of his fiancee. So cold and hard were her eyes that he had to look away as if he felt they were piercing his very soul. Staring dully at his feet, he could feel her penetrating stare on his down turned face.
Ranma mumbled, "But Akane,......I just want to protect you..."
The girl's pale lips turned upward into a cruel smile. With a smirk on her face, she looked on with telltale amusement in her eyes as she stared at the boy's pained and hurt face as words continued to spill out of his mouth, prattling on.
Then her face suddenly turned cold, her eyes hard. "Stop babbling like the idiot you are Ranma. I'm sick of you making excuses and such. I'm tired of seeing fiancées hanging around your neck, goggling at you as you lead them on to believe they have a chance of love and happiness with you. You led me on. That was until I realized how stupid I was. Then I realized maybe there was some truth to your insults. I was being stupid all right, stupid enough to think I even loved you a little bit."
She looked at him with a disgust radiating in her eyes. With eyes cold with hatred, she spat on the ground in front of his feet. Ranma, stared at the spot, stunned. Looking up, he stared at Akane with a loss look in his eyes. Seeing her harsh eyes glowering at him with such hatred, Ranma suddenly felt something pierce his chest, ripping and tearing his heart to shreds.
That's when he felt a hollow spot begin to grow in his heart along with an age old aching. He had felt this ache before when he left his mother. But this was worse then he had ever experienced before. His heart suffering, he looked up at his fiancee. She stared back at him with an emotionless mask, eyes burning in silent hatred. Ranma's confidence began to crumble, but he knew he couldn't let her go. Not like this.
"But Akane....," Ranma mumbled, "you can't leave me. You're my fiancee....and the honor toward the dojo...
Without finishing his sentence, Ranma trailed off silently. Staring at the ground, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching him. Then suddenly, a pair of shoes appeared in front of his feet. Looking up, he saw an emotionless face looking at him. With eyes hallow and shining with a deadly beauty, he stared into those deep pools, almost drowning in them. He was staring into the face of the one woman he loved.
Then he watched as her eyes turned darker, a harsh glint tainting her beautiful orbs.
"Ranma. Don't you get it? It's over. I am tired of this. This...this endless pain in my heart. When I'm with you, I feel only pain. So many things happened Ranma. You had so many chances to make up for your mistakes. You know, I would have forgiven you. But did you ever stop and tell me how you truly felt? Did you ever show me any respect?
I gave you my all. At first, I admit that I didn't like you. You seemed like every other jock or idiot who chased after me. But I realized my mistake, and I tried to make up for it. But what did I get in return? Your harsh verbal assaults only grew worse, you constantly denied any feelings toward me, and never tried to show me love. No, you only avoided me. You went to see your other fiancées."
Akane's pale beauty was marred with a angry frown.
"And you speak of honor? A thing which you don't have? You say that this is all for the honor toward our dojo, all because our parents arranged this. Outwardly I agreed with you,......but inside I knew I was lying to myself. I was just denying my feelings toward you. I tried Ranma, I really did. But things just kept happening. Fiancees kept popping up out of no where, I got kidnapped who knows how many times, but I still loved you. Even when you did so many things, I still loved you."
Ranma watched, awed at what he had just heard his fiancee say. She loved him? But....how? When? Thousands of questions ran through his head, not knowing which one he wanted to ask first. Screwing his eyes upward, he looked, baffled at the face of his Akane when he stopped. She stood there, looking at him intently as a tear suddenly slipped down her cheek. Her eyes were still frigid, but there was a age old sorrow in her eyes that made his heart ache again. He didn't want to see her like this. Not sad. It was worse then any blow he could ever receive.
Akane continued, "I really did love you Ranma. I tried to show you so many times. Even when I was dying in that doll body at Jusenkyo, I knew that I loved you. No matter what happened to me. Then you saved me, Ranma.
You threw all your soul into that fight for me. I was so happy, I was practically floating. Even as you held me in your arms, I wanted to erase all your pain. Then, you said you loved me. I was bursting with joy. When we got home, I was surprised at their idea of the wedding, but when I remembered what you said back at Jusenkyo, I knew I was ready. Ready to be committed to you.
Then, when we were just about to get married, your fiancées came with their claims on you. I was ready to battle them all. To show them what was between us. To battle them to the death.
But.....I wasn't ready to battle you.
You immediately ran away from me, declaring that you couldn't love a tomboy like me. As they all ran after you, I was left there standing, in a wedding dress to a wedding that I would never have. I gave up then Ranma. I just couldn't take it anymore. I found someone else, when you left me behind.
So now, you know. It was .....interesting meeting you. Now, I must leave. Good-bye Ranma-san."
Ranma suddenly shook himself out of his reverie and stared at Akane's back. He watched Ryoga's arms slithered around Akane's waist. Responding, she latched her arms around his arm and pulled him close to her, almost out of comfort and support.
Ranma's eyes saw red as he stared. Racing forward, he went to grab Ryoga's arm when suddenly they disappeared in a flash. Looking around, he fell to his knees and began banging his fist on the ground as silent tears streamed down his face. Bowing his head, Ranma continued to thump his fists roughly on the ground. Knowing he was acting like a child, he continued to be pound. He had lost the one thing that was precious to him. And the worst thing about it was that he hadn't even considered her feelings. Now all he could do was cry out.
"NO! Akane, please! Don't leave me. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. Please...AKANE!!!!!"
~
A raven haired boy laid on a futon, twisting and turning. A sheer expression of agony and sadness was painted on face. Sweat streaking down his face, the boy clenched his fist tighter around the blanket covering him. His eyes were squeezed as he continued to shout out. Soon, the same boy found himself bashed over the head and thrown outside into the pouring rain.
After a few seconds, a furious and annoyed redhead reappeared, jumping through the open door and shaking a small fist at a large panda holding a sign. Walking over to the large animal, the girl continued to shake with anger. Raising a small fist to hit the panda, she yelled at him.
"What was that for pop?! Better speak soon or I'm gonna pound you flat!"
The panda's sign was quickly flipped away and reappeared with a new sign. On it read a few words in quickly scribbled Japanese. * You woke me up with your ranting, boy. *
Ranma felt his eyes narrow. "So what! That's still no excuse to wake me up like that! Just because I had a n-.....oh forget it. I'm don't want to get in another argument with you at this time of the night. Just leave me alone old man. And don't you dare hit me with that sign again, or the zoo's going to have a new panda for people to look at.."
Finished threatening the overgrown beast, she walks out of the room and heads toward the bathroom. As the door opens, the same raven haired boy from before steps out, drying his hair with a towel as steam issues forth from the bathroom.
Walking back towards his room, he passes a door with a wooden duck swaying lightly from his movements. Engraved in it were the symbols, "Akane". He stood there for a moment, thinking of his dreams. Looking up again, he felt an odd chill travel down his back and he shuddered at the memory. Casting his eyes down, he walked back quietly into the room he shared with his father.
Slipping under his blanket and onto his futon, the boy stretched and popped a few joints until finally he rested and shut his eyes. He knew that it had just been a dream, but the scenes from it kept running through his head like a broken record. Setting his thoughts aside from the dream, he tried to focus on other things. He struggled between the two until finally he was too wary to think of anything and fell into a deep sleep.
~
So... Like it? Hate it? Tell me what you think!!! All REVIEWS are appreciated greatly. The more reviews I get, the faster I'll strive to continue. I've already got some more of the story since I started, so don't worry about long intervals of time between updates. Thanks for reading and please PLEASE REVIEW!!! Um...thanks. ^_^
Ciao. ^_~
Shadow Knight
Chapter 1: Nightmares
Disclaimer: I don't own it!....sniff...I can truly admit it now...-_-
Well, come this was a story I began writing a long time ago, but never got the guts to post it up on here. Well, now that I do, I am taking bold new steps and posting it on the site. I truly hope you like and will REVIEW.... Basically, the story is an R/A (Ranma/Akane) fic. So, if you don't like that coupling, you don't have to read it.
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!! ^_^*
*Panda Signs*
~
"Ranma! Please don't leave me! Please...come back!"
A girl is seen, tears in her eyes trying to run after a striding figure in front of her. She suddenly trips and falls, hitting the ground soundly. Although she felt pain stinging her hands and knees, she pushes herself up to her knees and droops her head as tears hit the ground. The figure, hearing her fall and quietly crying, looks back at the girl with a frown on his face. Stepping swiftly, he comes to stop in front of the sobbing girl, staring down at her with a cold indifference in his eyes. Crouching to his knees, he looked at the girl and suddenly grasped her chin roughly in his callous hands.
The boy stared her and whispered harshly, "And why should I, Akane? It's not like you care for me or anything. You never show me any affection. All you ever do is beat me for nothing. I've always rescued you, always protected you, and what do I get in return? A load of your crap. You never liked me, you never tried once to at least be a friend. Not at least until after you discovered my curse. This is good-bye Akane-san."
The figure let go of her chin and continued to stare at her.
The girl on the floor, shuttered violently at the name as it was spat out with disgust. Lifting her head up, she looked at the figure outlined in the mysterious darkness engulfing itself around them. With tears in her eyes, she stared at him.
"No. Please Ranma. You've got to believe me. I never tried to hurt you. And I'm really s-sorry. I just...I don't know. But,....I think..I..I..love-
Ranma looked back at the stuttering girl with a smirk on his face that reached up to his cold eyes.
"What? Love Me? Yeah Right! You expect me to believe that? If that's what you believe, then you're really stupider then I thought. You think I'll just say, 'I love you too' and it'll all be better? Well get a life Akane! And see if you can figure this one out through your thick head....I...Hate...You! Now leave me alone. Forever!"
Akane began to feel a cold hollow spot form in her chest. Like something was gone. Something special. With a crumbling expression of determination on her face, she looked up at him.
"But...you're my fiancee...."
Ranma smirked coldly, "Your fiancee? Forget it, I don't love you anymore. From this moment on, I'm breaking the engagement. In fact, I think now I'll pick between Shampoo or Ukyo. They're much better then violent witches like you. They never hesitate in telling me they love me. They'd do anything for me. Not you. All you've ever done is hurt me."
Akane looked shocked as she looked down at the ground, "But Ranma! I'm telling you now. I want to care for you.....I want to tell you my feelings...."
Ranma sneered, "Why should I care, Akane? You're nothing to me. Don't you get it? I don't care about you anymore. I did once, when I was still a young fool in love, but only then did I realize that you never loved me. No, you despised me. Even when I saved you so many times before, you still only abused me.
I would be nice to you, and you would just continue to hurt me. And it didn't end there, no, you would continue to try and put me down as if I were a lesser being then you because of my curse. When my other fiancées came into the picture, it only got worse. You continued to imply that it was my fault that my fiancées came after me, trying to show their love and appreciation toward me. You got jealous of them, and you got jealous of me.
You were always jealous of my skill, you hated me for it. And, now that I've seen the truth I decided that I just don't love you anymore. I can't. I have other fiancées; I'll just pick one of them, and not you."
Giving one last cold stare at the trembling girl, he stood erect, and began to walk away.
Akane continued to quiver with each sob. But, as she heard footsteps leading away, her shivering stopped in half sob as she jerked her eyes up to look into the darkness. Tears in her eyes, she saw that her fiancee, the man she loved had turned away from her. Not only had she lost him now, but she had become a miserable and pitiful tomboy.
She had been degraded to this position where she had just been a fiancee. But a loved one. Now, she was loved by no one. She wasn't loved back by the man she loved. Not any more any ways. With a strangled sob, she stared at his back, her heart pierced and cold. Normally, she would just go hit him with her mallet, but now she couldn't even stand. No, it hurt too much to even be mad. Now she could only feel despair as she felt all the words he said begin to have a ring of truth to them. She glanced hard at her hands for a moment.
She had hurt him with these hands of hers. She had abused him, malleted him, and slapped him so many times. As she thought back, she began to realize that some of the times she hit him, it wasn't even his fault. He was just caught in a bad situation at a bad time. He had even forgiven her for it. He never hit her. Never hurt her. He even saved her a few times. Many times actually. But she still had only rejected him. No wonder he didn't love her. It all made sense.
Fluttering her eye lashes, she felt another tear drop fall, landing on her clutched hand. It was strange, she thought. She knew she had been crying, but that one particular tear made her realize what was happening. To realize that she was crying.
Yes, this had happened before. But.....never had it hurt so much. Never had she felt such pain. Not since her mother died had it ached so much. It was funny in a way, she though wryly, she had vowed to never let herself cry from pain again like that time so many years ago. She had vowed to always be strong, to never show any weaknesses. And, she had succeeded for eleven years. Then he came. He came and took away her mask of strength he replaced it with the mask of a fiancee. A mask which she refused.
Later on, she tried to refuse the feelings that had grown on her. She tried to deny the love she felt. But it was to avail. She became one of Ranma's many admirers. Her iron wall against any feelings was broken down, degraded into dust. She wanted to laugh at it. Laugh at her sadness and how pathetic she was acting. Maybe hoping it would go away. But she knew it would never happen. There was no escape out of this web she had created. No, this was the end. She could never have the man she loved back. He was gone to her. Lost to love someone else.
"Ranma...but...I...please stop..."
Ranma still continued to walk off into the distance.
"Forget it. I'm not engaged to you anymore, and you have no control of me. I'm gonna do what I want. Find someone who gives a crap about what you think. Who will actually care what happens to you. Good-bye."
As Ranma walked off in the distance, Akane looked up. When she did, two figures approached Ranma, almost seeming to materialize out of the thick black blanket of darkness surrounding them. As they came closer, Akane could make out the faces of the figures. Shampoo and Ukyo.
Normally, she would see red and mallet him flat as a pancake. But...now it was different. He wasn't her fiancé anymore. He didn't care how she felt. He was his own man. She stared on at the young man with sorrow in her eyes. Sorrow that she was nothing to him.
As his other fiancées reached him, their faces grew into wicked grins. Turning around, Ranma looked directly at the awed girl. With his face in a smirk, he grasped the hands of both girls and pulled them close to him. Lying on his chest, they did not waste their time making things worse for Akane. As soon as they were laid against his chest, they looked up with happiness in their eyes, lust and love mixed as one. Ranma, responding, grasped their shoulders and pulled them closer. With one final cold stare, he began to walk away with each girl grasped in one arm.
Akane, still in shock, shook her head and gasped as she realized that Ranma was leaving. Still shocked, she felt her hands jump to her face. She couldn't lose him. Not to those other girls. It was just all wrong....she...was supposed to be with him....Jumping up to her feet, she ran toward the trio. Although she ran fast, they only seemed to disappear into the distance even faster. They always seemed to evade her. Finally, they were only a dot in the distance, and soon, they vanished from her sight.
Still running, Akane began to slow down until she finally stopped and dropped to the ground, on her knees, crying her heart out. Feeling the pain increase in her heart, she dropped to her knees until she was face flat on the ground, gasping at each sob. It hurt, she realized. This was a pain that would remain there forever in her heart. It was killing her. Both emotionally and mentally. She didn't know how she could still be living with this much pain. All she could do now was lay on the ground and gasp out.
Akane curled up into a fetal ball as tears leaked from her eyes, "No....Please....Ranma....come back...don't leave me alone...It....it hurts too much....Ranma...."
~
Suddenly a raven-haired girl with short-cropped hair jerked up in her bed flushed with cold sweat, her heart pounding.
Opening her mouth, she let out a silent scream. Sitting there for several minutes, clutching her sheets in her fist, she felt her heart slowly begin to beat back to normal. Closing her golden brown eyes, she nestled her head between her hands, trying to erase the dream from her mind. Falling back into her bed, she shuddered thinking of her nightmare.
~
Meanwhile, in another room of the house, a young man with black hair in a pigtail, twist and turns recklessly in his sleep. Expressions of pain and fury contracted on his face as a battle was fought unseen, but in his mind.
~
Looking around, darkness seeped into every corner of the room. Only then, could one see the blazing flare of a bright blue light spread in the room, a harsh glare. As the light grew, three figures stood out within the flickering light. In the source of the light, a young man stood with the flames of his aura dancing wildly around him. With his hands balled into tight fist, the man, outlined in the blue aura, stared at the figure before him with anger and contempt.
"Get your stinking hands off my fiancee pig-boy! Don't even touch her Ryoga. If you do, I'll bring you down to your freaking knees you little piece of sh-."
"Shut up Ranma. I don't want your crap anymore. I already took enough of it. Don't force it on others. They don't need to experience the trash you bring around every where you go. I certainly don't need it anymore. Leave Ryoga alone, Ranma. And for that matter, leave me alone too."
Ranma's head snapped up and stared into the darkness as a figure approached him, from behind Ryoga. As soon as Ranma saw the pale face in the light of his aura, his expression crumbled into a face of confusion and hidden hurt. He felt his anger dissipate as he stared at the face of the girl, and into her dark and frigid eyes.
Even as his aura began to grow dim, he could still see the emotionless mask on the face of his fiancee. So cold and hard were her eyes that he had to look away as if he felt they were piercing his very soul. Staring dully at his feet, he could feel her penetrating stare on his down turned face.
Ranma mumbled, "But Akane,......I just want to protect you..."
The girl's pale lips turned upward into a cruel smile. With a smirk on her face, she looked on with telltale amusement in her eyes as she stared at the boy's pained and hurt face as words continued to spill out of his mouth, prattling on.
Then her face suddenly turned cold, her eyes hard. "Stop babbling like the idiot you are Ranma. I'm sick of you making excuses and such. I'm tired of seeing fiancées hanging around your neck, goggling at you as you lead them on to believe they have a chance of love and happiness with you. You led me on. That was until I realized how stupid I was. Then I realized maybe there was some truth to your insults. I was being stupid all right, stupid enough to think I even loved you a little bit."
She looked at him with a disgust radiating in her eyes. With eyes cold with hatred, she spat on the ground in front of his feet. Ranma, stared at the spot, stunned. Looking up, he stared at Akane with a loss look in his eyes. Seeing her harsh eyes glowering at him with such hatred, Ranma suddenly felt something pierce his chest, ripping and tearing his heart to shreds.
That's when he felt a hollow spot begin to grow in his heart along with an age old aching. He had felt this ache before when he left his mother. But this was worse then he had ever experienced before. His heart suffering, he looked up at his fiancee. She stared back at him with an emotionless mask, eyes burning in silent hatred. Ranma's confidence began to crumble, but he knew he couldn't let her go. Not like this.
"But Akane....," Ranma mumbled, "you can't leave me. You're my fiancee....and the honor toward the dojo...
Without finishing his sentence, Ranma trailed off silently. Staring at the ground, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching him. Then suddenly, a pair of shoes appeared in front of his feet. Looking up, he saw an emotionless face looking at him. With eyes hallow and shining with a deadly beauty, he stared into those deep pools, almost drowning in them. He was staring into the face of the one woman he loved.
Then he watched as her eyes turned darker, a harsh glint tainting her beautiful orbs.
"Ranma. Don't you get it? It's over. I am tired of this. This...this endless pain in my heart. When I'm with you, I feel only pain. So many things happened Ranma. You had so many chances to make up for your mistakes. You know, I would have forgiven you. But did you ever stop and tell me how you truly felt? Did you ever show me any respect?
I gave you my all. At first, I admit that I didn't like you. You seemed like every other jock or idiot who chased after me. But I realized my mistake, and I tried to make up for it. But what did I get in return? Your harsh verbal assaults only grew worse, you constantly denied any feelings toward me, and never tried to show me love. No, you only avoided me. You went to see your other fiancées."
Akane's pale beauty was marred with a angry frown.
"And you speak of honor? A thing which you don't have? You say that this is all for the honor toward our dojo, all because our parents arranged this. Outwardly I agreed with you,......but inside I knew I was lying to myself. I was just denying my feelings toward you. I tried Ranma, I really did. But things just kept happening. Fiancees kept popping up out of no where, I got kidnapped who knows how many times, but I still loved you. Even when you did so many things, I still loved you."
Ranma watched, awed at what he had just heard his fiancee say. She loved him? But....how? When? Thousands of questions ran through his head, not knowing which one he wanted to ask first. Screwing his eyes upward, he looked, baffled at the face of his Akane when he stopped. She stood there, looking at him intently as a tear suddenly slipped down her cheek. Her eyes were still frigid, but there was a age old sorrow in her eyes that made his heart ache again. He didn't want to see her like this. Not sad. It was worse then any blow he could ever receive.
Akane continued, "I really did love you Ranma. I tried to show you so many times. Even when I was dying in that doll body at Jusenkyo, I knew that I loved you. No matter what happened to me. Then you saved me, Ranma.
You threw all your soul into that fight for me. I was so happy, I was practically floating. Even as you held me in your arms, I wanted to erase all your pain. Then, you said you loved me. I was bursting with joy. When we got home, I was surprised at their idea of the wedding, but when I remembered what you said back at Jusenkyo, I knew I was ready. Ready to be committed to you.
Then, when we were just about to get married, your fiancées came with their claims on you. I was ready to battle them all. To show them what was between us. To battle them to the death.
But.....I wasn't ready to battle you.
You immediately ran away from me, declaring that you couldn't love a tomboy like me. As they all ran after you, I was left there standing, in a wedding dress to a wedding that I would never have. I gave up then Ranma. I just couldn't take it anymore. I found someone else, when you left me behind.
So now, you know. It was .....interesting meeting you. Now, I must leave. Good-bye Ranma-san."
Ranma suddenly shook himself out of his reverie and stared at Akane's back. He watched Ryoga's arms slithered around Akane's waist. Responding, she latched her arms around his arm and pulled him close to her, almost out of comfort and support.
Ranma's eyes saw red as he stared. Racing forward, he went to grab Ryoga's arm when suddenly they disappeared in a flash. Looking around, he fell to his knees and began banging his fist on the ground as silent tears streamed down his face. Bowing his head, Ranma continued to thump his fists roughly on the ground. Knowing he was acting like a child, he continued to be pound. He had lost the one thing that was precious to him. And the worst thing about it was that he hadn't even considered her feelings. Now all he could do was cry out.
"NO! Akane, please! Don't leave me. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. Please...AKANE!!!!!"
~
A raven haired boy laid on a futon, twisting and turning. A sheer expression of agony and sadness was painted on face. Sweat streaking down his face, the boy clenched his fist tighter around the blanket covering him. His eyes were squeezed as he continued to shout out. Soon, the same boy found himself bashed over the head and thrown outside into the pouring rain.
After a few seconds, a furious and annoyed redhead reappeared, jumping through the open door and shaking a small fist at a large panda holding a sign. Walking over to the large animal, the girl continued to shake with anger. Raising a small fist to hit the panda, she yelled at him.
"What was that for pop?! Better speak soon or I'm gonna pound you flat!"
The panda's sign was quickly flipped away and reappeared with a new sign. On it read a few words in quickly scribbled Japanese. * You woke me up with your ranting, boy. *
Ranma felt his eyes narrow. "So what! That's still no excuse to wake me up like that! Just because I had a n-.....oh forget it. I'm don't want to get in another argument with you at this time of the night. Just leave me alone old man. And don't you dare hit me with that sign again, or the zoo's going to have a new panda for people to look at.."
Finished threatening the overgrown beast, she walks out of the room and heads toward the bathroom. As the door opens, the same raven haired boy from before steps out, drying his hair with a towel as steam issues forth from the bathroom.
Walking back towards his room, he passes a door with a wooden duck swaying lightly from his movements. Engraved in it were the symbols, "Akane". He stood there for a moment, thinking of his dreams. Looking up again, he felt an odd chill travel down his back and he shuddered at the memory. Casting his eyes down, he walked back quietly into the room he shared with his father.
Slipping under his blanket and onto his futon, the boy stretched and popped a few joints until finally he rested and shut his eyes. He knew that it had just been a dream, but the scenes from it kept running through his head like a broken record. Setting his thoughts aside from the dream, he tried to focus on other things. He struggled between the two until finally he was too wary to think of anything and fell into a deep sleep.
~
So... Like it? Hate it? Tell me what you think!!! All REVIEWS are appreciated greatly. The more reviews I get, the faster I'll strive to continue. I've already got some more of the story since I started, so don't worry about long intervals of time between updates. Thanks for reading and please PLEASE REVIEW!!! Um...thanks. ^_^
Ciao. ^_~