Last modification date: 01/10/00 Here is the VERY, VERY rough draft to Part 7. It has not been extensively spell-checked or proofread. Expect errors. Subject to radical change without notice. Portions still under major construction As always, any C&C greatly appreciated! ^_^ ====================================================================== TIGER CLAW: A Ranma 1/2 fanfic - by Madamhydra@aol.com ====================================================================== teaser 2 of Part 7 ====================================================================== --------------- Disclaimer All rights and privileges to Ranma 1/2 belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Viz Communications, Inc., and associated parties. The characters of her series are used without her permission for the purpose of entertainment only. This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit. All original characters are the creation of the author. All copyright privileges to these characters are reserved for the author. --------------- IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a CONTINUATION-ALTERNATE REALITY fanfic. It generally follows the manga (mixed with bits of the anime) continuity to just after Mount Phoenix (volume 38). However, the subsequent wedding ceremony (and the related bombing by Shampoo and Ukyo) does NOT occur. In this story, a different incident involving the planned wedding took place. Only a limited number of the main characters have actually SEEN the Neko-ken (the Tendos, Genma, Shampoo, Cologne, Gosunkugi or Sasuke, and Kuno), although others may have heard rumors about it. --------------- Text Conventions ( ) -> thoughts > < -> sound fx <" "> -> Chinese Curse forms are denoted by appropriate suffixes (-neko, -panda, etc.) except for Ryoga (P-chan) and Mousse (Muu-muu). ********************************************************************** Part 7#: ********************************************************************** Ranma exchanged furious glances with Pantyhose Tarou. "I don't know what your problem is, Pantyhose, but don't take your shitty mood out on me!" she snapped. At that moment, Tarou's problem was a half-naked female Ranma. Having pulled off her soaking wet tanktop in order to squeeze it dry, the boy-turned-girl appeared oblivious to the fact that her breasts were fully exposed to view. And when Tarou noticed the faint smirk on Nabiki's face and saw Shampoo biting her lip in an effort to hide her smile, it was the last straw for a person not know for his forgiving nature. Taking an angry step in Ranma's direction, Tarou snarled, "I've had enough of your stupid...." "Dinner's almost ready!" Kasumi called out cheerfully. Stepping outside, she cocked her head slightly and said, "Oh! It's the nice Mr. Tarou. What a pleasant surprise. You'll stay for dinner, won't you?" Ranma winced. Kasumi's interruption gave Tarou a chance to regain control of his temper. He smiled venomously and said, "Sure. Why not?" "RANMA!!!" came a familiar, infuriated shriek. "Ack!" Ranma whirled to see Akane glaring furiously at her. "And you were complaining about ME running around half-naked!" "Half-naked?" Ranma glanced down on her bare breasts and muttered, "Oh... that." She scooped up her tanktop off the ground and glared at Nabiki. "Why didn't you say anything!?" Nabiki's only reply was a nonchalant shrug, but Ranma caught her giving Tarou an amused smirk. (Great! I knew that cooperative mood of hers was too good to last. She's back to her old tricks again!) But seeing the angry glitter in Tarou's eyes, Ranma had to choke down her own odd impulse to laugh. (So that's what he's been yelling about! Hell, I probably ought to punch him for staring, but it's sort of fun to see him so off-kilter for once....) She leisurely slipped on her damp t-shirt, but the damp fabric clung snugly to the curves of Ranma's breasts and stomach, and did little to soothe Tarou's touchy mood. Ranma said, "Dinner? Fine. I'm starved." Nabiki waved the others on the way and said, "I'll be there in a few minutes. Oh, and Kasumi?" "Yes?" "Make sure you get rid of all the cold liquids lying around, huh? We don't want to have any more accidents." "Accidents?" "With Shampoo." Kasumi blinked and murmured, "Oh my. Then I suppose it will have to be hot tea.... and the flower vases...." She wandered back into the kitchen, vaguely murmuring to herself. ----------------------------------- While everyone else was headed for the living room, Nabiki took the opportunity to check on the furry catalyst for the recent near-disaster. In the outer changing area of the bathroom, she removed the bucket from the lid of the clothes hamper and peered inside. No small black cat. "What the hell? Where did it go?" she muttered irritably. Groping around in the hamper, her fingers soon found a spot where the wicker was frayed and broken. It was barely noticeable, but it was just big enough for a very small cat to squeeze through. "Shit!" She couldn't remember whether the bathroom door had been fully closed when she had left the cat behind, but Nabiki went ahead and searched the bathroom. She found no sign of the cat. If the door had been open -- even slightly -- the little furball could be anywhere in the house. And if Ranma ran into it.... Nabiki hastily headed for the living room. ----------------------------------- The atmosphere around the Tendos' dining table was anything but relaxed. Ranma, back in his male form and dry clothes, and Akane sat side by side at one end of the table while Shampoo sat on the left side. This arrangement allowed Ranma the perfect opportunity to glare at Tarou who was seated on the opposite end of the table. (He's up to something, the bastard,) thought Ranma, irritably noting the smile on Tarou's face. It was a nasty, vicious, smug sort of smile, and it gave Ranma a nearly irresistible urge to gnash his teeth in rage. The Amazon's eyes warily flicked back and forth between Tarou and Ranma. Ranma's mood was already dangerously unpredictable. While the pig-tailed martial artist seemed content with giving Tarou a hostile stare, she had no idea how her former fiance would react if Tarou decided to taunt him. Akane was all too aware of the tension in Ranma's body. Below the edge of the table, out of Tarou's view, Akane put her hand on Ranma's leg and squeezed sharply. Ranma gave her a quick glance, then slowly forced himself to relax just as Nabiki opened the living room door, stepped inside, and quickly closed the door behind her. They watched in bewilderment as Nabiki briskly crossed the room and closed the patio doors, also. She then set about searching the room from top to bottom, going as far as to open all the drawers and look under all the tables. "Nabiki, what are you doing?" Akane finally asked, overcome by curiosity. Apparently finding nothing, Nabiki ran her hands through her hair in exasperation and said, "You know that little black cat that started this whole incident?" "What about it?" "It escaped," Nabiki tersely replied. "What!" Ranma's eyes suddenly darted nervously around the room. "That no good news," observed Shampoo uneasily. "Tell me about it," snapped Nabiki. "How could it...? I thought you said you put it in a safe place!" Akane shouted with a worried look on her face. "I know! It seems that I missed a small hole in the bottom of the hamper. It was apparently just big enough for the damn cat to wiggle through. It's probably still in the house. Somewhere." "Oh great," muttered Ranma, dropping his face into his hands. "Well, it's obviously not here. Akane, you stay in here with Ranma and keep the door shut. Shampoo and Tarou, help me find that stupid cat before something else happens." The Amazon jumped to her feet and said firmly, "Right! No want unhappy surprises." Tarou didn't budge. He merely raised an eyebrow and said, "Why should I bother helping you?" Nabiki gave him a dispassionate stare, then coolly retorted, "Because I'm not in the mood to pick up your pieces if you decide to screw around with Ranma today." After a slight pause, she added, "How about this? You help me search for the cat. In return, I'll give you an idea of what's been going on these last couple of days." "Nabiki! You can't tell him...!", blurted Akane. She glanced at her younger sister. "We have to tell him something. Now that Tarou knows that Ranma's got a phobia of cats, he's not going to back off and leave the matter alone unless we give him a damn good reason." Akane glanced quickly at Ranma. In turn, he stared at Nabiki for a long moment, then nodded wearily. "She's right, Akane." "Well, Tarou?" Nabiki glanced in his direction and raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Is it a deal?" He smirked slightly and rose gracefully to his feet. "Very well. I'm not an... unreasonable... sort of person." That got a muffled snort from Ranma. (Perfect! This gives me a chance to familiarize myself with the layout of the house,) Tarou thought. After ushering Tarou and Shampoo out of the living room, Nabiki paused in the doorway just long enough to give Akane a meaningful look and say, "I'm sure the two of you can use this opportunity for some much needed private discussions." ----------------------------------- ----------------------------------- A few minutes after being left alone with Akane, Ranma jumped to his feet and started to prowl restlessly around the living room. She watched him for a while, then said in an exasperated tone, "What's wrong now!? You *know* the cat's not in here, so relax!" Ranma tossed his head and growled, "That's not it! It's just that I don't like the idea of Tarou running loose in the house. It's not fair! Why am I stuck in here while HE gets to go wherever he please?" Akane watched anxiously as Ranma restlessly paced back and forth. "You remember what Cologne said! She told you how important it is for you to avoid anything that might trigger the Neko-ken. Ranma, less than an hour ago you were very close to being overwhelmed by your cat-side after Tarou tried to shove that cat into your face!" "Damn it!" he hissed irritably before plopping himself back down on the floor. Several moments passed as Ranma did his best to keep from fidgeting, but his usual self-discipline seemed to have deserted him. Suddenly, Akane broke the silence by saying, "Ranma... I've been meaning to ask you...." "Yeah?" He glanced warily at her. "You told me earlier today that you knew that I'd improved in fighting skill, even though you never mentioned it before. Why?" "Huh? Why what?" "Why didn't you say anything? You knew. You HAD to know that I've been going to another dojo to train." He shrugged and muttered, "Sure, I knew. I'm not an idiot." "Well, you never acted like you knew! I don't get it! That isn't like you at all!" "What's THAT supposed to mean?" "I mean that you didn't even try to make some stupid crack about it like you usually do!" Ranma snapped, "Because I didn't want to mess things up, okay?" "Huh?" Akane stared blankly at him. He ran a hand impatiently through his bangs and muttered, "I could tell that your technique was getting better. I didn't want to say anything that might make you do something stupid like quitting." "Why on earth would I do something like that!?" she retorted angrily. Ranma scowled at her. "Hell if I know! Most of the time I've got no idea how you're going to jump if I say something. I can't count the number of times when I've tried to say something nice or helpful, but you insist on taking it the wrong way! Just like the time you tried to take cooking lessons! I told you that the lessons were actually working, but then you decided to get all mad and quit!" "It was the WAY you said it! You made it sound like only total morons needed to take basic cooking classes like that!" "I did not! I only said that you were finally being sensible and learning the basics that any normal girl with common sense would probably already know. But oh no, you decided to get all huffy and quit for no reason! I didn't want the same thing to happen with your martial arts training!" "Are you saying that I'm UNreasonable!?" Akane's eyes narrowed ominously. He could have said a lot of things at that moment. He could have told her that of course she was being unreasonable and cited numerous instances to support that statement. He could have said something insulting about her intelligence and how she was always walking around with a huge chip on her shoulder. But this time, Ranma simply sighed and rolled over onto his back. As he stared at the ceiling, he said in a weary voice, "Akane... I'm really not in the mood to argue, okay? Just forget I said anything." Normally she wouldn't have let him back away from the argument so easily. However, in view of everything that had already happened that day, she wasn't in the mood for a rousing fight, either. She settled for a loud snort and an angry scowl, just to let Ranma know that she wasn't conceding anything. Another long period of silence followed before Akane finally gathered up her courage to talk about the issue that had been bothering her the most. "Can you now tell me about what's been going on between you... and Ukyo?" Ranma sighed once more, then sat up. "You really want to know?" Seeing Akane's tense, but firm nod, he said, "Fine. You remember what screwed up the plans for that so-called 'secret' wedding that our parents arranged last fall?" "Of course!" Akane would never forget those frantic days eight months ago.... It had been a beautiful day. She had been both nervous but weirdly eager about the upcoming wedding... then everything seemed to go wrong at once. First, Shampoo had stomped through a wall to pester them about the 'secret' wedding, then naturally Mousse appeared, chasing after his beloved Shampoo. The Chinese boy had taken things the wrong way and started fighting with Ranma. But in the midst of that battle, Akane had noticed that Ranma had been strangely distracted. There had been too many close calls and sloppy mistakes that totally unlike him. As various other people like Kodachi, Kuno, and Ryoga had shown up, everything had gotten hopelessly confusing as everyone ended up fighting and/or arguing with everyone else. In the ensuing chaos, no one really noticed anything strange until Ranma had suddenly and inexplicably collapsed. Even after they had taken Ranma to Dr. Tofu's clinic, she and everyone else had assumed that Ranma had been knocked out by a stray blow, sleeping powder, or something equally minor. Everyone thought he would quickly recover as usual. They couldn't have been more wrong. (I'll never forget the angry expression on Dr. Tofu's face when he told us what was really going on.... The way he whisked Ranma away into isolation....) Akane shivered slightly at the memory. She recalled the stomach-churning uncertainty and fear she had felt when Dr. Tofu's words began to sink in... when she realized just how serious Ranma's condition had been. After Dr. Tofu had finished with his scathing lecture, there were plenty of guilty looks all around. Accusations and denials had flown left and right as everyone blamed everyone else, with Kodachi and Shampoo being the most obvious suspects. The following days had been nervewracking as they all anxiously waited, but things had turned out reasonably okay -- Ranma had eventually recovered from his experience with no apparent aftereffects, the wedding had been cancelled or indefinitely delayed, depending on one's point of view, and life had slowly settled back to its normal chaotic state in Nerima. The one benefit of the whole incident had been that everyone had mutually agreed to stop messing around with any more magical or other occult-related things -- even Kodachi, although she went back to using her weird concoctions after only a month or two. That made yesterday morning's attack, especially with Kuno's and Ryoga's transformations and all the other obviously magical occurrences seem even more shocking. Ranma's voice pulled her out of her memories. "Did Dr. Tofu tell you why I ended up so sick?" he asked. "Sort of. He said something about too many love potions, drugs, and magic mixing together." She didn't want to admit that she had been too upset at the time to pay closer attention to what the doctor had told everyone. "Yeah, but what he didn't tell you guys was that one particular magic potion -- a very special sort of blood potion -- was the main culprit in this mess." "Blood potion? What's that?" "Dr. Tofu said it's a special type of love potion that uses a person's blood to focus its effect and give it some added kick. It's kinda like the difference between just punching wildly and using a pressure point. You don't fall in love with the first person you see or usual stuff like that. Instead, you only fall in love with the person who provided the blood for the potion... and you fall HARD." Ranma grimaced. "I've never heard of anything like that!" "No big surprise. This blood potion stuff is supposed to be incredibly rare." "Then how on earth did it end up in Nerima?" "You're asking me? Considering all the weird stuff that shows up around here?" "Oh. Forget I asked. So who gave it to you?" He shifted uncomfortably. "I'll... get to that in a minute. Anyway, this blood potion is really powerful, but under certain conditions, you CAN fight off the effects. Unfortunately, doing that is pretty dangerous." "How dangerous is 'pretty dangerous'?" "Really dangerous." "Ranma...," Akane growled. He exhaled slowly, then reluctantly said, "If the victim puts up too much resistance, the blood potion can kill... or worse." She gasped sharply. "So the reason you were so sick...." He nodded shortly. "That blood potion... Tofu said that it messed me up so badly because I was fighting it so hard. Because it was trying to change something in me that I didn't want changed. The magical junk the other guys tried was pretty much small stuff, but combined with what the blood potion was already doing...." Akane frowned. There was something important in what Ranma just said, but she couldn't quite pick it out. She pushed it aside for the moment and clenched her fists. "So that's why Dr. Tofu was so mad! Who was crazy enough or desperate enough to use something that dangerous!? Was it Shampoo and Cologne!? Or was it Kodachi?" Ranma shook his head wearily, then whispered, "It was Ukyo." Akane blinked in disbelief. "But... that can't be!" Ranma's lips curved up in a bitter smile. "Hard to believe, huh?" "But that seems so...." She couldn't believe she was actually defending her rival. Akane didn't hate Ukyo. Actually she liked the other girl, but the fact that Ukyo was constantly chasing after and snuggling up to Ranma was a constant annoyance that prevented any closer friendship between the two girls. However, the use of magic potions seemed so unlike Ukyo.... "Are you sure? How did you find out, Ranma?" "It's sort of hard to explain. I don't remember much about those couple of days. Only a lot of...." He shook his head, then continued. "When I was out of it, Dr. Tofu called in an old friend of his. I never found out the old man's name, but apparently the guy knows a lot about this magical stuff. He was the one who told Tofu about this blood potion. Anyway, before he left, he apparently gave the doc a way of figuring out whose blood was in that potion. Do you remember that big fight between Ukyo and Kodachi a few weeks back?" "Yes. Ukyo got a nasty cut from Kodachi's razor hoop." "And we took her to Tofu's to get it stitched up. Well, apparently Ukyo's blood matched the blood that was in the potion. I first thought there was a big mistake, but after Dr. Tofu told me, I started to recall some of the stuff that was going through my head while I was under that potion. I remembered who the potion was trying to make me fall in love with." "Ukyo?" He nodded. Akane was still having a hard time believing it. "But still...," she murmured doubtfully. "I know. That didn't mean that she was the one who actually put her blood into the damn potion. That's what I told Tofu. I couldn't accept it either. I thought that it was maybe Ryoga or Kuno trying to get me out of the way by hooking me up with Ukyo. Believe me, I dreamed up every possible excuse or crazy scenario that I could think of." (He would. He'd look for any possible explanation except that Ukyo deliberately do this to him....) "And then... a couple of weeks ago, something happened...." "What was it?" "I saw it in her eyes," he whispered. "Huh?" Akane looked baffled. "Sayuri and a couple of the other girls were talking about what happened to me just as Ukyo was passing by. She didn't see me, but I got a good look at her face. She wasn't angry or upset. She looked sick and she looked incredibly guilty." He took a deep breath. "I know. It seems so flimsy, but if you had been there to see it for yourself.... Damn it, Akane. She knew. Even if she didn't do it herself, she KNEW about it. Then I remembered the last thing I ate and drank before everything went to hell." Akane thought a moment, then inhaled sharply. "You mean...?" "Yeah. Do you remember? That day, we both dropped by her restaurant to grab a quick snack." She stared at him. "So that's why things have been tense between you two... no, wait a moment. That's not right. If that was the case, things would be a lot worse than 'tense'. Ranma, does she know that you know?" "I... I don't think so." "I don't get it! If you're so sure that she's guilty, why haven't you told her?" Ranma looked away. "I... I wanted her to tell me herself. She's my friend, Akane! My oldest friend. Yeah, I'm upset that she used the damn potion on me, but that not what really bothers me. I can deal with that. It's not as if I haven't made plenty of screw-ups of my own. But how can I ever trust her again if she won't tell me the truth!?" He pounded the floor in frustration. "You don't understand! I'm talking about the way she acts so innocent and outraged whenever the topic comes up. It's the way she lets everyone else blame Shampoo, Kodachi, or any of the others for something SHE's done! Every time she does that, it's like she's lying to me over and over again!" At first, Akane couldn't understand why Ukyo's behavior upset Ranma so much... then she abruptly realized that it sounded uncannily like Mr. Saotome's. (His father never accepts responsibility for his own actions. Mr. Saotome never admits he'd done something wrong, not unless someone's threatening him or unless he's trying to get something out of someone.) Akane stared down at the floor and muttered uncomfortably, "Oh. Now I see. Then it's no wonder you've been acting so edgy around Ukyo." Ranma muttered, "Tofu thinks I should just confront Ukyo and get it over with." "But... but that won't solve the real issue, will it?" (The broken trust....) "No. No, it doesn't." She gnawed nervously on her lip, then said tentatively, "Ranma...?" "Yeah?" "You said something about... that you fought the potion because it was trying to change something that you didn't want changed...." She took a deep breath, then blurted out in a rush, "What did you mean by that?" He shifted uncomfortably. "Akane...." She frowned at him. "It had to be really important to you if you made yourself sick trying to resist the blood potion's effects. Nabiki says that I'm always jumping to conclusions and that I don't try hard enough to understand what's really going on...." "Nabiki... said that?" "Yes! But this time, I don't want to make a mistake about something like this, so just answer the question, okay!?" He stared at Akane, momentarily fascinated by the mixture of concern, worry, and familiar impatience in her expression. Ranma didn't want to discuss the topic anymore. The whole issue with Ukyo was painful enough without getting into his feelings about Akane. But on the other hand, he was tired... tired of hiding those feelings all the time... tired of worrying about people making fun of the way he felt.... He was tired of holding so much back... tired of being guarded and cautious. It was like a crushing weight that he constantly carried. He couldn't remember a time where he didn't have all those secrets bottled up inside him. A strange reckless mood came over Ranma. He wanted to be free of all the things that seemed to chain him down... the things that seemed to choke the very spirit out of him.... (Why not? Just lay it all out on the line, huh? No guts, no glory. Faint heart never won fair lady....) He took a deep breath. "I told you that a person can fight off the potion under certain conditions, right? You see, the thing about this blood potion is that not only does it make the victim fall in love with the blood donor, it's also supposed to make him fall OUT of love with everybody else. So if the person affected by this blood potion has really strong feelings for somebody else besides the blood donor...." "But... Ukyo's one of your best friends...." He snapped, "She's a friend, okay, but she's NOT the girl that I really love!" Akane blinked at him. He raked his fingers through his hair in exasperation at her apparent lack of understanding. Finally, he planted his hands firmly on the table and leaned over toward her. "You, Akane! The whole reason that I fought that blood potion tooth and nail was because I love YOU!" She gaped at him. "If that potion had merely tried to make me fall in love with Ukyo, it might have worked. I don't know. But that blood potion tried to destroy my feelings... my LOVE for you. And no matter what the consequences were... no matter the cost... I wasn't about to let that happen!" ----------------------------------- '.... I love YOU!' Those simple words seemed to echo over and over again in Akane's head. The words that she had both hoped and dreaded to hear. Ever since Mt. Phoenix she had dreamed about Ranma telling her that he loved her. Staring into his eyes, she couldn't doubt that he was deadly serious about what he said. It gradually dawned on her that he would have died rather than surrendering to the blood potion's power. That realization both awed and frightened her. Only in the past several months had she reached the stage of admitting to herself -- however reluctantly -- that she did indeed care about Ranma in THAT way. But her feelings of 'I care' and 'I like' seemed such a pale, insignificant sort of thing compared to 'I love you', especially the way that Ranma said it. "Ranma... how long have you.... I mean, when did you...?" "When did I actually fall in love with you or when did I first realize it?" "Well, either... or both." He shrugged. "I don't know when I.... It just... sort of snuck up on me, I guess. A lot of little things. All I knew was that I worried about you. I didn't want you to get hurt. That sort of stuff. But I really realized how I felt -- admitted it to myself, at least -- this fall." Akane watched him soberly, then said softly, "Mount Phoenix.... So I didn't imagine it at all." "Yeah. Whatever.... Listen, do we have to talk about that NOW?" he muttered uneasily. His bangs hid his eyes as he lowered his head and hunched his shoulders defensively. Akane's temper flared. "Yes, now! Ranma, you've been ducking that topic for months!" She stared at him and her voice softened as she said, "Why won't you even discuss it with me? Why do you keep acting like it never happened?" For a long moment, he didn't answer. Ranma merely stared down at his hands and watched his knuckles whitened as his fingers tightened their grip on the table's edge. "Why...." He couldn't stand the hurt bewilderment in Akane's voice anymore. Something snapped. Ranma jerked his head up and around. With his face only inches from Akane's, he snarled, "Because it HURTS TOO DAMN MUCH TO THINK ABOUT IT." She recoiled and nearly fell over in surprise at the suppressed violence in his voice. His blue-grey eyes seemed to burn as he hissed furiously, "Do you have any IDEA how I felt, holding you in my arms... thinking that you were dead!? Of course you don't! How can you possibly know what it feels like to sit there feeling like someone had ripped out your heart, then left you to slowly bleed to death with a huge gaping hole in your chest!?" It was impossible to tell who was more shocked by Ranma's sudden outburst -- Akane or Ranma himself. "R-R-Ranma...?" Akane had expected Ranma to try to bluster his way out of the whole conversation or maybe make a tentative admission about his feelings. She certainly hadn't expected anything like the raw pain she saw in his eyes. He could only stare back at her, dazed by the unfamiliar emotions that seemed to erupt from some unfamiliar part of his soul. He didn't understand why he was telling Akane this. But these feelings, long buried and constantly denied, refused to be ignored any longer. A locked cage had finally burst open and there was no imprisoning this particular beast any longer. He turned away suddenly, rubbing his arms as if to fight off some inner chill. Akane could barely hear his voice as he whispered, "I... I thought you were... gone... and it HURT so much." He could remember all too well the sensation of being inexorably sucked down into some endless pit of grief, misery... and a dark, cold rage that could have devoured the entire world. "If you hadn't woken up... I don't know WHAT would have happened. I... I don't think... I don't think it would have been good." Akane watched Ranma shudder. She swallowed a few times before speaking. "I... I'm sorry. You're right. I had... no idea what you went through." "Fine. Can... can we stop talking about it now?" Ranma mentally added, (Before I start tearing this place apart with my bare hands....) He peeked over his shoulder at Akane. She stared at him with a worried expression. "I never realized that you felt so... so strongly. I mean, you were always insulting me... teasing me...." Ranma was quiet, then said, "I had to. That was the only way I could...." (It was the only way I could protect myself, Akane....) ----------------------------------- Akane was at a total loss for words. And what could she say? Although she would have fervently denied any interest in what she categorized as 'romantic junk', she couldn't help picking up certain preconceptions and expectations about love from her classmates. When a guy finally got around to professing his love for a girl, it would either be a shy admission as they sat alone or perhaps a passionate declaration during some moonlight stroll. Passionate, yes, but what she was hearing from Ranma was of a totally different order of magnitude. She certainly didn't expect this sort of elemental intensity or raw, searing emotion. It was powerful, heady stuff for a seventeen year old girl who was only just becoming a young woman... and perhaps even a bit terrifying. Akane struggled to smother the hysterical laughter that bubbled up inside her. She had expected a house cat, but instead found she had a tiger by the tail. Unfortunately, considering everything that had happened over the last two days, the imagery was much too close to reality for comfort. After regaining a bit of composure, she muttered, "Why? Why me, of all people?" "I... I don't know. I'm sorry if you don't understand how I feel but that's just the way it is. The fact that you might not feel the same way I do really doesn't matter," he said tersely. "But I.... What did I do... to deserve...?" she mumbled. "Damn it, Akane. Do you think that these last two years have been fun and games for me!?" He slammed his hands down on the table. "Why do you think that I've stuck around Nerima for so long? Why do you think I've put up with being yelled at, beat up, accused of all sort of shit, and blamed for every little problem that pops up unless there was some incredibly important reason for me to stay? Why do you think that I've put up with all the dirty jokes and with everyone poking fun at me because I turn into a girl? I could have packed up my bags and hit the road at any time during the last year and a half, you know! I certainly didn't stay here because of Ukyo and Shampoo! They probably would've been glad to follow me anywhere I went. There's only one thing keeping me here, Akane. Only one thing!" During his outburst, Akane was slowly shaking her head. "Ranma. That's not what I meant. I... I do... care about you... a lot." Why were the words was so hard to get out? And to her ears, they sounded so puny and shallow compared to what she had just heard from him. "I was trying to ask you... what did I do to deserve...?" She took a deep breath, then burst out with, "But why? Why do you care about me? You said it yourself! I haven't been easy on you and we're always arguing and.... I don't get it! Why not Ukyo? Or Shampoo? Shampoo couldn't keep her hands off you and Ukyo never bothered to hide the fact that she wants you, too! So why pick me!? It just doesn't make sense!" Ranma hunched his shoulders and muttered, "Who said that love had to sensible? Maybe I'm just an idiot." "Thanks a lot," she muttered back. "You're not the easiest person to love, you know." The simple little word that had given him so many problems for nearly two years now seemed to roll off his tongue with almost frightening ease. It just feel so natural... so RIGHT. She glared at him. "Don't tell me you fell in love with me just because I was a CHALLENGE! That WOULD be just like you!" She fell back to her familiar patterns of anger and insult in an attempt to get some emotional distance... to somehow protect herself from all these feelings getting dumped on her bewildered head. Ranma gritted his teeth. She had demanded an answer. Well, he gave it to her and he wasn't about to let her ignore or shove it aside like she usually did, no matter how much it bothered her. Not this time. In a clipped voice, he said, "You've got it all wrong, Akane. Stop trying to twist this all around. I love you. Not because of the challenge, but despite it. It hasn't been easy staying here, but it would hurt me a hell of a lot more to leave. I can't tell you exactly why I feel the way I do, but that's just the way it is, so deal with it, okay? I'm sorry if you don't feel the way I do, but...." Akane had had enough. Ranma's admission had left her feeling ashamed, cowardly, and woefully inadequate. Akane Tendo HATED feeling that way. She poked Ranma hard in the chest for emphasis as she snapped, "Just where did you get off telling me how *I* feel, huh? You think you're the only one who's been doing a lot of thinking about their feelings lately? Do you think YOU'RE the easiest person to care about? It hasn't been easy for me either, with all your fiancees, rivals, and just plain weirdoes that constantly show up around here! And the stuff I done to help you... do you think I'd go through all that trouble for just any passing acquaintance or just any casual FRIEND!?" He muttered, "You might. You're that sort of person." She couldn't figure out whether she had just been complimented or insulted, but she refused to be sidetracked. She charged full speed ahead, because if she had to think too much about what she was saying, she would probably lose her nerve and never get up the courage to try again. "You talk about worrying about ME. Have you ever considered how much I worry about YOU? I worry about you getting hurt with all that fighting you do. I worry about you when you run off and hide when things get particularly crazy. Why do you think I've gone through all the trouble of bugging Dr. Tofu about your cat phobia and the Neko-ken. Behind your back, no less!? "And why do you think I get so damn mad when you call me 'uncute' and 'unsexy' and insult me the way you do!? It's because I CARE about how you think about me! More than anyone else, I want YOU to like me!" "I DO! I like you! I love you! What else do you want me to say!? What do I have to do to make you believe me!?" Ranma shouted back. "I do believe you! That's part of the problem!" she shrieked at him. "Say WHAT!?" Ranma sounded both totally confused and utterly outraged. Akane chose to ignore that last question. She probably couldn't have answered it if she tried. Instead, she snapped, "I care about you! I worry about you! I trust you...." When she saw the skeptical look that flitted across Ranma's face, she flushed angrily and snapped, "I'm talking about the serious stuff! You might be an irritating, arrogant jerk a lot of the time, but when it's really important, I know I can trust you, okay!? Whenever I really needed you, you were there for me. You think I haven't noticed that!? What I'm saying is that you probably mean more to me than anyone else in the world and I'd do anything I have to protect you! If that's love, then I guess I'm in love with you, too!" yelled Akane. Ranma and Akane glared at each other. They were both panting heavily, as if they had been locked in a life-and-death battle. Perhaps they had been... not with another opponent, but rather with themselves, their own pride, and their own fears. ----------------------------------- Finally, as their nerves settled and tempers cooled, Akane asked, "But Ranma, if you knew how you felt about me back since Mount Phoenix.... Why didn't you say anything about getting married after you recovered from Ukyo's blood potion? Our parents would've loved to arrange another wedding!" Akane normally didn't think about her own behavior too much, but this time she was appalled to notice a self-pitying whine in her voice. Ranma sighed. "Akane... it's just that.... I didn't want to try again because I was afraid what might happen the next time we tried to get married. You saw for yourself yesterday what the mere rumor of a wedding did to Kuno and Ryoga! And that's without Ukyo, Shampoo, Kodachi, and everyone else getting into the act. Nothing really happened to you the first time around, but who knows what might occur if we tried to hold another wedding. You could really get hurt!" Akane stared at Ranma. (I thought he didn't care... that he was glad to avoid marrying me.... But all this time he was actually worried about ME getting hurt?) "I kept hoping that I'd think up a way to untangle this mess... something that would make Ukyo, Shampoo, and the others leave us alone.... I didn't want anyone to get hurt. But it's no use. I've finally decided that they simply don't WANT to know the truth." "Not exactly. It seems that Shampoo's finally willing to give up on you. And that means that Mousse will probably leave you alone." "Yeah, but see what that decision's cost her! Cast out from her tribe, separated from the only family she knows...," Ranma muttered in a depressed voice. "She doesn't deserve that, just for being honest and realistic." Akane looked away. "And while that takes care of Shampoo and Mousse, what about all the others?" he continued. "Any ideas?" she said quietly. He gritted his teeth. "No, but I've just about had it -- totally HAD it -- with all these guys and their interference." (No more mister nice-guy....) ----------------------------------- ----------------------------------- Ryoga discovered that it was a surprisingly hard to open his eyes. And after struggling to do this simple task, he only managed to pry open one eyelid. There was something soft covering his left eye and nearly half his face. He slowly managed to drag his hand up and was gingerly poking at the mysterious clump when a soft female voice firmly said, "Mr. Hibiki, please leave your bandage alone." He blinked his right eye and noticed a petite woman in a nurse's uniform peering down at him. Cool fingers encircled his wrist and tried to pull his hand down from his face. However, even in his severely weakened state, he was still much stronger than the nurse. She finally gave up and called out to an unseen companion, "Get in touch with Dr. Tofu, please. He's the only one who knows how to handle these... martial artists." Out the hallway, another woman replied, "I think he's still in the building. I'll try to catch him before he leaves." There was a rapid patter of footsteps. Ryoga squinted at his arm and saw that it was almost completely wrapped with bandages. "What... what happened...?" "Mr. Hibiki, you were badly injured in a fight. What are you doing? Please lie down until Dr. Tofu can take a look at you. You really shouldn't be moving around. Mr. Hibiki!" Despite the nurse's efforts to push him back down, Ryoga managed to sit up and swing his legs over the edge of the bed, but the effort left him exhausted and shaking. (What the hell's going on? Why am I so weak and tired?) The pain was bad, but he had suffered through much worse. It was his lack of stamina that he found most disturbing of all. He had never felt so tired. His memories were a bit foggy, but what did the nurse say about a fight...? Ryoga stiffened and growled, "Ranma...!" Without thinking, he slid off the bed with every intention of going after his long-time rival. He managed to take one step before his knees abruptly buckled. Strong arms grabbed him and kept him from landing flat on his face. "Ryoga, you've got to go back to bed. You're in no shape to do anything." Dr. Tofu said sharply as he heaved the young man back onto the hospital bed. "Dr. Tofu, what the hell's wrong with me? Why am I so tired?" The doctor sighed quietly as he pushed up his glasses. "Well, considering everything's that happened, you're lucky you're still alive." "And what's with this bandage?" Ryoga muttered as he started to pull at the wound dressing on his face. Tofu hastily pulled Ryoga's hand away. "Don't mess with that. You could make things worse." "Damn that Ranma...." Ryoga tried to get out of bed again. Left with no choice, Tofu firmly said, "Go to sleep, Ryoga," and knocked his patient out with a pressure point. ----------------------------------- (end of teaser 2 of Part 7) ********************************************************************** -------------------------------------------- madamhydra@aol.com /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/:E http://www.geocities.com/madamhydra/ --------------------------------------------