A recent news story suggests that it can be dangerous to indulge in so much
rampant emotion...and thus this fic.
Now is NOT the time to post something WAFFy...
Ranma staggered upright, drawing his arms up through sheer force of will
into a clumsy guard position. <Too slow. If anyone's still in any shape to
fight, I've had it.>
No-one was.
Completely exhausted, Ranma looked around the ruins of the Tendo dojo.
Dozens of bodies lay strewn amidst the wreckage, every one, thank heaven (or
at least the Heaven-Blast of the Dragon), worse off than he was. Their
groans were strangely comforting. He hadn't meant to let loose with quite so
much power, but he _had_ needed to end the fight quickly, before being
overwhelmed by mere numbers. Except for a few stragglers still descending
from close orbit, the rubble contained...heck, _everyone_ who had faced off
against him because of some imaginary grudge or another over the past few
years. Who knows? There could even have been a few martial artists in there
who'd never actually met him, but just tagged along to join in the dogpile.
<Ahhhh, what's the point? Why do I even bother fighting these useless
battles?>
The answer, coughing from the settling dust and trying to hold back sobs of
relief, knelt on the ground behind him. He offered her his hand to help her
up, and she didn't even try to slap it away. <She's as tired as I am...of
everything. I guess I owe her a real apology this time.>
Akane lifted her chin to face him expectantly, as he stood there with his
mouth open, wondering what to say, wondering what it was he really _wanted_
to say. <Damn, she IS cute,> he thought for the hundredth time. Her hair was
a mess. There was a smudge of dirt on her cheek he had to force himself not
to reach out and brush. For once, he had the sense to pretend he didn't see
the tears on her cheeks. Somehow, Ranma knew that she was going to hear him
out this time; there was no accusation in her eyes.
So...what was he going to tell her?
That he was sorry? For what? The part of him that enjoyed a secret thrill
every time he got into an exchange of insults with her urged him not to give
anything away. He had never asked for any of this. The part of him that was
bone-weary of the unending conflict knew that this might be his one chance
to say anything meaningful about how he felt about Akane without inviting
her mockery in return.
<How I feel about her? Where did that come from?> Ranma wondered.
She didn't look away from his stare, and he was sure he was starting to
blush. "Akane," he started, clearing his throat. "I..."
<Now,> he thought. <Get a grip on yourself and get a hold of the situation.
You can tell her you're sorry about the fight, about the dojo. She'll accept
that, you won't look like too much of a wuss, and then things can get back
to normal between us.> That would be the best course to take, wouldn't it?
"Akane," he began again, "I want to tell you..."
Akane's breath caught, and she stepped forward. This close to him,
suddenly, she wasn't cute anymore. The word seemed laughably flat and
meaningless.
"Ranma," she said, sounding insistent, almost desperate, "wait. Don't say
it."
<Say what?> the part of him that could still muster defiance thought. <Does
she think that I'm about to tell her I... That I'm going to stand here like
a total moron and admit...> But the closer he came to actually thinking the
words, the more he knew that that was exactly what he was about to do.
Nothing else seemed to matter, or to make sense, but what he really did feel
towards the girl standing less than an arm's length in front of him.
She must have seen the struggle in his eyes; she seemed close to panic as
she realized he was really going through with it. "No! Ranma, you don't know
what you're about to do!" But he couldn't stop himself, however cold Akane's
feet had suddenly become.
"Akane," he stammered, "I...I love you." He drew a deep breath, now that it
was finally out in the open. In his relief, he even found the courage to
smirk with a little of his usual insolence. "There. I said it. I LOVE YOU."
;43=02mb=rw-0\321,r\q3-=
m30942nj0ew893fdoir409
m542mt9w()YBN*)hg7 ...
"Huh? What the...?"
Akane's face hardened into an all-too familiar look of contempt as the
world seemed to collapse around them.
nmmr03489439fekvndei03
23\=9btmr0=4902=,brw\vp
***WARNING: .TXT FILE CORRUPTED***
5042=-24m=04dslpa[gm30 ...
"Ranma, you IDIOT," she growled. "Do you always have to ruin _everything_?"
l48mvfdo+>dp4op30$^^_'w?FJ%#+++ ...
***WARNING: FATAL DISK ERROR***
Oops.
The End.
All characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and the licensed
distributors of her work. The plot, such as it is, is mine. Any and all
responses are welcome.
J. Champagne
jim_champagne@hotmail.com