Subject: [Ranma][Fanfic]Wasurerarenai, part 10
From: Emily Siazon
Date: 10/12/1997, 10:39 AM
To: fanfic@fanfic.com

"WASURERARENAI"(Unforgettable)
An alternative reality fanfic by Emily Siazon.
All characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.
< > are thoughts
o/~ someone singing
**********************************************************************

Chapter 10
**********

     A loud scream pierced the night air, waking Shinnosuke from his 
pleasant dream. It sounded like it was Akane, having one of her 
nightmares again.
 
     He ran across the hall, ignoring the pain in his chest. Her
well being was his only concern.

     She had been having bad dreams for the past few days. Every time
he asked her about it, though, she'd just shake her head and say it
was nothing.
 
     Well, this time, he wasn't going to take no for an answer. He
would force her to tell him if he had to. Keeping something like this
bottled up just wasn't healthy.

     One look at her tear-stained face broke his resolve, however.
He saw her eyes pleading for him to understand, and he reluctantly
closed her door once again.

     Once she was sure Shinnosuke had left, Akane shivered, but not
from the cold. The dream she just had was so realistic.

     It always started in an empty hallway. She would be alone, when
she'd hear a sound coming from the living room. She would go towards
it and find her family there, talking happily.

     She would run towards them, but some barrier would keep her from
the room. She would then scream, pound on the invisible wall, do
everything she could to get their attention. But always, they would
ignore her and happily continue talking, not at all worried that she
wasn't there.

     Akane shook her head and got out of bed, knowing she wasn't going
to get any more sleep that night.

                     *        *        *

     "I'm sorry for the inconvenience," Akane apologized, while trying
to open her front door.

     "Oh, that's all right," Kasumi answered.

     The two girls had just come back from the mall, having bought a
lot of important things Akane never even knew she needed. Living in
the city was so different. There were so many new things to worry 
about that she was glad she had someone like Kasumi to help her.

     When Akane finally managed to open the door, she was almost
knocked off her feet by an enthusiastic Shinnosuke.

     o/~ Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you... o/~

     "Um, Shinnosuke?" Akane tried to interject.

     o/~ Happy birthday dear Akane... o/~

     "I really don't..."

     o/~ Happy birthday to you! o/~ he sang, ending the song with a
flourish that reminded Akane and Kasumi of lounge singers they'd seen
on tv. His eyes even sparkled, although the reason was thoughts of her
reaction to his present.

     "Ahem. Like I was trying to say, my birthday isn't until over a
week from now," Akane informed him.

     Her listeners' reactions to this statement varied greatly.
Shinnosuke was clearly disappointed, while Kasumi was ecstatic.

     "That's great," she exclaimed. "This means we have time to have a
party at my house!"

     "That's not..." Akane tried to butt in, but Kasumi was on a roll.

     "...I can serve yakitori, and we could have paper lanterns all
over the backyard! I have a lot of things to organize, so I'll see you
guys later."

     "Right... later," Akane answered, all the while wondering if this
wasn't just some bizarre dream brought on by a plate of bad sushi.

                    *        *        *

     Ranma was on his way next door to see Akane when he almost got
run over by Kasumi.

     "Why are you in such a hurry?" he asked, a bit confused at seeing
such unusual behavior from someone who was usually so calm.

     "I'm sorry, Ranma. Its just that Akane's birthday is coming up,
and I have to hurry so that we can have a party at the dojo."

     "When is it?" he asked, a bit panicked. Akane had never mentioned
this to him. He had no idea what he was going to get her.

     "All I know is that it's going to be a little bit over a week
from now."

     "Thanks, Kasumi," he yelled as he ran down the street, already
thinking of what he was going to give Akane on her birthday.

     While she watched his form slowly get smaller, a new thought
entered her mind. "Oh my, I wonder if Dr. Tofu would like to come?"

                     *        *        *

     It was only 7:30, and the party was already going strong. Akane
had to admit that she was having fun despite her earlier reservations.

     She waved at Ryoga, who had just arrived from who knew where, as
she headed towards the buffet to talk with the guests. Before she
could get there, her arm was grabbed by Kasumi, who wanted her to meet  
Dr. Tofu. Unfortunately, he was unavailable, having gotten into a deep
conversation with a nearby tree.

     "He's so silly, isn't he?" Kasumi giggled before she tried to 
pry him away from the engaging discussion.

                    *        *        *

     "Well, they seem to be having fun," Nabiki observed darkly from
a corner of the yard.

     Akane had a gone to talk to her a couple of minutes earlier,
since she seemed to be the only one at the party not having any fun.
She had been so busy trying to figure out the source of the older
girl's unhappiness that the comment caught her off guard. "Who?"

     "Who else?" Nabiki asked, gesturing towards Kasumi and Dr. Tofu
laughing gaily at the back porch.

     "You don't seem to happy that they're getting along," she
answered slowly, a bit puzzled at the other girl's reaction.

     "They're so in love it makes me sick," Nabiki continued, not
seeming to have heard Akane's remark. Her eyes, however, betrayed her
real feelings. It was obvious that she had feelings for Dr. Tofu.

     "You love him, don't you?" Akane wasn't really asking.

     Nabiki thought about denying it, but a quick glance at Akane's
face informed her that the blue haired girl already knew the truth.
"Yeah. As long as I can remember," she sighed. "It hurts, you know?
It's so obvious that they're in love, but I can't seem to let him go."

     Akane was about to answer, when she heard Kasumi call her over.

     "I'll be right there," she yelled, giving Nabiki an apologetic
smile. "Do you mind..."

     "No, don't worry. I'll be fine."

     "If you say so," Akane answered reluctantly, worriedly looking at
Nabiki's face, which had changed back to its usual neutral expression.

                      *        *        *

     "Excuse me, can I please get everyone's attention?" Akane yelled
over the noise as soon as she got on the makeshift stage.

     The yard quieted down quickly, everybody giving her their full
attention.

     "Thanks. I'm up here to share with you all a present that my
oldest friend, Shinnosuke, has given me."

     With a self assured smile, Akane listened for Shinnosuke to start
the song. They had worked hard on writing it for the past couple of
days, and she knew that it sounded good.

     Once he had finished playing on the piano the opening bars, Akane
started to sing.

     Ranma immediately recognized it as the song Shinnosuke was
playing when he was at their house. He smiled and started to tap his
foot along with the catchy beat.

     o/~ In a covered passage in the sun, I confided in a friend.
         A wonderful person, but "it's a secret..."
         Lamenting the hair I cut too short,
         There were nights I couldn't sleep.
         I wonder if I can ever laugh about it. o/~

     Upon hearing this, Ryoga felt guilty. To think, he was the cause
of sadness that haunted her even now. It was unforgivable. There must
be some way he could make it up to her.

     o/~ I won't forget (that rainbow)
         I won't forget (that love)
         Even when I become an adult, I don't want to lose them. o/~

     Ranma couldn't help but wonder if she was referring to her family
with those words. Did this mean she hadn't given up on finding them?

     o/~ I won't forget (this sky)
         I won't forget (this dream)
         The gentle seasons I now share with you.
         In sadness (the days I shook and),
         In joy (the days I cried),
         These are important memories. o/~

     Ryoga waited until the last note of the song ended before he made
his way towards Akane. He ignored the group of people congratulating
her and asked, "Can I talk with you?"

     "Sure."

     She led him to a secluded part of the yard and waited patiently
until he managed to gather his thoughts.

     "Is what you said true? I-I mean about losing sleep because of
what Ranma and I had done."

     "Honestly? Yeah, sometimes. But I'm not mad. I mean, how else
could we have become friends?"

     "I can think of other alternatives," he answered with a rueful
smile.

     "So can I. But you have to admit, it certainly made our first
meeting unforgettable."

     "That's true."

                      *       *        *

     It was late at night, and only Ranma and Akane were left in the
backyard. Everyone else had either gone home or, in the case of the
dojo's residents, had gone upstairs to sleep.

     The last time either had seen Shinnosuke, he was asking Ryoga for
directions to the bathroom, so they weren't expecting him to show up
any time soon.

     Akane stood by the pond, staring at it's calm surface. She was
totally unaware of Ranma's presence until he cleared his throat to get
her attention.

     She didn't look up at him but acknowledged him with a soft, "Hi."

     "What are you still doing here?"

     "I was just thinking."

     "About what?"

     "Nothing in particular."

     "Oh," Ranma said, unable to think of anything else to say.

     They stood there quietly for a while, watching a koi occasionally  
jump above the water, the moonlight hitting its scales painting the 
surrounding area a bright rainbow of colors.

     "I-I got you something," Ranma whispered, breaking the silence.
"I meant to give it to you earlier, but..."

     "What is it?"

     Silently, he handed her the small, brightly covered package that
he had been holding the whole night.

     He watched as Akane eagerly ripped open her present. "I hope you
like it."

     She let out a gasp of surprise while she took out the contents of
the cheery red and yellow box. "My necklace! H-how did you find it?"

     "I didn't. I saw it at a store in town and..." He stopped talking
when he saw a tear fall into the pond, marring its smooth surface.
"Why are you crying? I thought you'd be happy."

     "I am," Akane answered while turning around to face him, wrapping
her arms around his torso and embracing him tightly. "Thank you."

     Slowly, seeing that no one else was there to interrupt, Ranma
hugged her back.

     In another corner of the yard, Shinnosuke silently watched the
exchange. His expression unreadable, he put back a small velvet box
in his pocket and walked away.

**********************************************************************
AUTHORS NOTES: Can anyone guess what Shinnosuke's other present is?
   Hope you liked the waffy parts of this chapter because I'm going to
put the characters through emotional hell in the next part.
   Why? I'm doing that because it's very important to the plot. Its
not like I _enjoy_ making them suffer <innocent look>
   Anyway, don't forget to send c&c, 'kay?