Hi guys,

I'm reposting parts 2 and 3 because I couldn't find them on the ffml 
alternate archives.  Also, they have gone through some minor grammatical 
changes.

Ciao,

Cass

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
This is our first fanfic, so please be gentle. Comments, criticisms and 
MSTs are welcome. You can reach us at chiaty@singnet.com.sg
You can view this at http://www.singnet.com.sg/~chiaty
This story is set one year after the start of the series and it takes on 
from there.
< > represents a character's thoughts.

DISCLAIMER : We have written this story out of fun. In no way do we own 
the characters of this story, they belong to Takahashi Rumiko, 
Shogakukan Inc, Shonen Sunday Comics, and Viz Video. 



The Fabulous World of Anime
Proudly Presents
A Joint Production by Cass and GSL


				The Pursuit Of Akane
				---------------------

Part 2 : The Dating Game


(Outside the Tendo dojo)

	Two figures stepped out of a taxi. On closer inspection, we see that 
they are Akane and Ryouga. "Um, Akane .... Did ... you .... enjoy the 
....date?" Ryouga asked nervously. 

	"Although I did not expect us to be away for 2 days, it was generally a 
pleasant experience." Akane replied. 

	Ryouga was more than elated to hear her response. He thought she did 
not enjoy the date, especially since he got her stranded in France. But 
these couple of days was the best time of his life. He had professed his 
love for Akane, their date went on smoothly and she was beginning to 
enjoy his company. In short, he felt that he was the happiest man on 
Earth. 

	Akane was about to enter the dojo when Ryouga suddenly tapped her 
shoulder. She turned around and saw him standing there under the 
moonlight. He had a silly smile on his face and began to speak. "Akane, 
since we had such a good time, can we do this again tomorrow?" Ryouga 
held his breath as he waited for her answer. 

	Akane was dumbfounded, but when she looked at him, he looked so cute, 
almost as handsome as Ranma, and his eyes, it was filled with sincerity, 
pleading her to go out with him. "Yes, of course."  She answered as she 
smiled. 

	<She said yes!> Ryouga's mind was screaming and that smile, it melted 
him right away. This was the face that he wanted to be with for the rest 
of his life. His thoughts were interrupted when Akane began to speak. 

	"But this time, I get to lead the way. I can't afford to miss school 
again." She grinned. 

	He nodded furiously. They then made their way into the house.

	The dojo was rather quiet. Soun and Genma were playing shoji, Kasumi 
was in the kitchen cleaning up, Nabiki was in her room reading a manga, 
and the only sign of disturbance was Ranma. He was pacing to and fro in 
the living room, extremely agitated. He began to mutter something about 
where did they go or why they aren't back yet. His mind was in a mess 
right now. He could not understand why he was concerned about her 
whereabouts; it was not as if he liked her. <No, of course not, he 
didn't like her, she was uncute, always malleting him and trying to 
poison him with her food. But, then why was he so anxious?> he thought.  
The question was left unanswered as Akane and Ryouga entered the room. 
They were smiling and this agitated Ranma more. He could not understand 
his feelings but felt a pang of jealousy attacking his heart. But, as 
usual he spoke before thinking. "Hey, where were the two of you!" he 
asked angrily. 

	"It's none of your business." Akane retorted, obviously still angry 
with Ranma for his earlier callous insults. She then continued "Why, 
were you concerned about me?" 

	"Of course not, why would I be concerned about an uncute tomboy like 
you?" Ranma answered defensively as a mallet appeared from nowhere to 
send him kissing the floor. 

	"Baka!" Akane muttered under her breath before leaving for her room. 

	Ryouga was at first angry with Ranma but was amused by the proceedings 
that followed. He was especially happy when Ranma got what he deserved. 
He vowed not to let Ranma destroy his wonderful day. With his poor sense 
of direction, he tried to make his way to his room and began to plan for 
the next date.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

(The next morning)

	As usual, Ranma was on the fence and Akane was walking on the ground. 
She was still angry with him and he didn't dare to approach her. He did 
not trust his tongue and knew better than to further aggravate her 
anger. It was generally a quiet walk to the school. 

	"Akane, thou beauty is comparable to the heavens. I thank the kami for 
bringing you to me. For thy love, I would level mountains and fill up 
the oceans. Only me, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, am worthy of 
your love. But why did you go out with the ever lost boy?" Kuno appeared 
right in front of Akane and brandished a rose to her. 

	But before he could say anything further, he was sent away by Akane 
Airlines. Akane turned towards Ranma, and said harshly, "How come he 
knows that I went out with Ryouga!" 

	"The whole school knows, Nabiki has earned herself a lot of money from 
this information." He defended himself. 

	As soon as they were in their class, Akane was swarmed with questions, 
like if she and Ranma have broken their engagement or did Ryouga and her 
have sex. Akane started to get very angry and her battle aura was 
visible. Almost on cue, the questions stopped and everybody went back to 
their places. The rest of the day was a repeat of the morning's event. 
Akane was kept busy answering the many questions and her day was as bad 
as it could be.

	Ranma did not get off lightly, for he was also swarmed with questions. 
<How could you let them go out on a date? > and <Was the engagement 
broken?> were the most common questions that he faced. He was not very 
happy about the questioning and wished the day would end sooner.  

------------------------------------------------------------------

	Night began to fall. Ryouga was very excited about the date. He was 
waiting for Akane to get dressed. He started to go over his plans for 
the night, thinking of what to say to Akane. She practically knew the 
story of his life and what is there that he could say. He began to 
ponder over this question as Ranma made his appearance in the room. 

	Ranma observed Ryouga silently. He was in a tux that means... His mind 
was screaming. <Not again, they just came back from a date and they are 
going out again! I can't believe it!> He was about to say something when 
Akane appeared from the stairs. She was wearing a revealing blue gown, 
showing maximum cleavage. She looked stunning and very sexy. She smiled 
when her eyes met Ryouga's. Ranma cringed. He was angered by the 
unspoken exchange between Ryouga and Akane. Before he could make any 
move, Ryouga and Akane said their good-byes and left the dojo. His mind 
was racing, and he began to panic. He could not stand the sight of them 
together. <Was Akane in love with him or Ryouga? Did Ryouga win her 
heart?> He had so many questions and the answers lay within her. He 
could not ask her directly but ... <maybe I could follow her to see if 
they were getting along that well.> With that thought, he disappeared 
into the streets of Nerima.

	"Where are we going, Ryouga? Akane asked sweetly. 

	"Oh, we are going to an Italian restaurant called Pregoes. Don't worry, 
I have dialed a cab to fetch us there so we won't get lost. In fact the 
cab is waiting outside the dojo." He smiled as he replied. He secretly 
vowed to make this date a successful one. 

	They entered the cab and it drove off as Ranma came running out. Ranma 
wanted to chase after the cab but Shampoo appeared riding on her bike 
and knocked him down. "How come ai ren know Shampoo here? Ah, I know, ai 
ren and Shampoo perfect pair, know each other thinking." She started to 
glomp Ranma and he was too dazed to stop her advances. The cab by now 
had vanished out of sight and with Shampoo clinging onto him, he could 
not do anything but return to the dojo.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
	
	It was a posh restaurant with a romantic atmosphere. Everything was 
almost perfect. The only thing that disturbed her was that her companion 
was not Ranma. She brushed away the thought quickly, determined to enjoy 
this date. Her previous date with Ryouga was 'interesting' and she knew 
better than to spoil this date with thoughts of Ranma. Ryouga was 
shifting uneasily in his seat but stopped when he saw her gaze. He 
looked cute, she thought. It would be a wonderful night.

	They ate as they spoke of the trivial things. He spoke of his travels 
around the world, while she listened attentively. Occasionally, she 
would break into a hearty laugh. When it was her time to speak, she 
spoke of her life before Ranma, about the satisfaction of beating all 
the guys in school and the happier times in her life. 

	Ryouga thought about the times when Akane confided in him. But this was 
different. This time he was here in person, not as P-chan. She was 
confiding in Ryouga and this made him happy as he realized that she was 
beginning to accept him. He knew she was having a great time and that 
was the reason why he was having a great time too. 

	She was happy. To many people, this was just another normal boring 
date. A candlelit dinner, music playing in the background and waiters 
buzzing in and out serving them food. The person sitting in front of her 
was not even the one she liked the most. Thoughts of Ranma kept flooding 
her mind during the dinner despite earlier attempts to shut them out. 
Ever since Ranma got here, her life was anything but normal. She was 
kidnapped, challenged by his other fianc�es, drawn into adventures that 
involve time travel or other mystical stuff. This dinner was something 
that she longed for. <If only Ranma was here instead of Ryouga but Ranma 
will never ask me out on a date.> She sighed. She was uncertain of 
Ranma's feelings for her but she now knew that Ryouga was in love with 
her. <He was always so sweet towards me, how could I have missed the 
hint.> She berated herself. 

	Being with Ryouga was also very different from being with Ranma. With 
Ranma, you don't know what would happen next. In fact, you couldn't even 
have a decent conversation with him without insults being exchanged. But 
Ryouga was different, he had offered her a peace of mind. She did not 
need to worry about the other fianc�es crashing in nor worry about his 
next insult at her. Ryouga provided stability. 

	She could see that he is trying very hard to make her enjoy this 
evening and she appreciates it. Since their first date, she had gotten 
to know him better. At first, he was a bit shy but tonight he seemed to 
be bolder. Gradually, she got engrossed in their conversation, 
dispersing all thoughts about Ranma. And this was when she starts to 
enjoy herself, soaking in Ryouga's undivided attention to her, 
complemented by the excellent atmosphere. In conclusion, it was an 
excellent night.  

	Time seemed to pass quickly when you're enjoying yourself. They had 
finished their dinner and Ryouga suggested going to the beach. Akane had 
declined, stating schoolwork as a reason. Dejectedly, Ryouga suggested 
taking a slow walk home but Akane would need to take the lead. She 
agreed of course. The cool breeze and the dim lights all added up to a 
beautiful walk. They talked merrily as they made their way back.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

(Back in the Tendo dojo)
	
	"Genma, you know, I am getting very worried. The kids never seemed to 
get along. If we don't do something, our families will never be joined." 
At this thought, Soun broke down into tears. Genma, who was used to his 
constant weeping, was unfazed by his sudden downpour but took the 
opportunity to switch the Shoji board around. "I agree. Maybe we should 
set them up on a date. You know ...." They kept their conversation down 
and began planning. 

	<They must be up to something.> Ranma thought. He had just stepped into 
the dojo and saw Mr. Tendo and his father discussing. He knew they were 
most probably talking about Akane and him, maybe planning of how to 
bring them together. He wondered how they could be so oblivious to what 
is happening around them. They were still unaware about the dates Akane 
had with Ryouga. <Baka!> He muttered as he saw his father. How could he 
destroy his life like that? Engaging him to so many people. As he 
thought of Akane having a date with Ryouga, he got angry. To top it off, 
Shampoo foiled his attempts to follow them. 

	<Shampoo.> He thought. She was a friend but she kept pestering him with 
her advances. He did not like her to glomp him. He didn't want to hurt 
her. He knew he didn't love her but he just didn't know how to settle 
this problem. This evening, she had came along to bring him her 
delicious ramen. But she also did not lose any time in giving him hugs 
and kisses. He had to struggle to keep her at bay and after much 
persuading, she agreed to go home if he accompanied her. Once he sent 
her back, he took the earliest opportunity to leave. He didn't want to 
get into a fight with Mousse or worry about Cologne. He wanted to be 
alone. He wanted to sort things out. He wanted to know if Akane had 
fallen for Ryouga.

	Ranma slowly made his way to the roof. He liked to stay on the roof, 
mainly because he was unlikely to be disturbed there. He gazed into the 
sky. The moon shone brightly. He wondered if his mind was playing 
tricks, as the stars seem to form the outline of Akane's face. It even 
has Akane's characteristic smile. <Akane's smiling face.> He relaxed 
slightly at this thought. <Why did he get jealous of Ryouga? Was it 
because he liked Akane?> He gulped. "No. Why would I like an uncute 
tomboy like her?" He almost shouted out. But when he saw the stars, he 
was reminded of her smiling face. She was so cute that it clenched his 
heart. <Maybe it's time to stop denying your feelings. You love her, 
don't let your pride get in the way.> He was startled. It was as if 
there was another person talking to him. He turned around to search for 
any moving being but found none. He knew the words came from him. 
Somehow he had imprisoned his feelings for so long that it alienated 
him. He was not ready to accept them. Again, he pushed these feelings 
into the deeper dungeons of his heart. 

	Akane and Ryouga had just stepped into the dojo, walking across the 
backyard. Their return was met with scrutiny from Ranma. They were 
laughing merrily and Ryouga seemed to be bracing himself to ask Akane 
out again. <I can't take it any more.> Ranma shouted in his mind and 
jumped down onto their path. He wanted to vent his frustration on 
someone. Ryouga would do fine.

	Akane and Ryouga were taken aback by Ranma's sudden appearance. They 
began to get angry. Ryouga was the first to explode. "Ranma, what are 
you trying to do! For frightening Akane, Saotome, prepare to DIE!" With 
a swift motion, Ryouga sent a kick flying at Ranma's direction. Ranma 
was prepared for it. He sidestepped and punched Ryouga in the gut. 

	"How does that feel, pig-boy?" Ranma smirked. 

	"Argh!" Ryouga's face grew redder and threw a chi-blow at Ranma.
 
	Ranma dodged and continued to taunt Ryouga. "Is that the best that you 
could do? You're pathetic." 

	"Well. Let's see about this." Ryouga moved with deadly grace to sweep 
Ranma's legs off the ground. He was about to follow up with a punch but 
was kicked away by Ranma.

	"Stop fighting!" Akane shouted. However, her command fell on deaf ears.
  
	They continued fighting as Akane looked hopelessly at them. She decided 
that they can take care of themselves and went inside the house.  
"Onee-chan. Ranma and Ryouga are fighting outside. Can you please stop 
them?" Akane asked when she met Kasumi on her way to her room. 

	"Oh my. I must hurry." Kasumi replied.

	In the backyard, Ranma and Ryouga were lying on the ground, panting 
heavily. They each had taken a couple of blows but nothing life 
threatening. Kasumi nearly cried out when she saw them. She quickly 
helped them into their rooms and applied first aid. Ryouga was tired but 
he managed to thank Kasumi before slipping into a deep sleep. Ranma 
strangely, on the other hand, felt contented. He had pushed his 
frustrations out of his system and it felt good. It did not matter 
whether how badly injured he was. He whispered his apologies and 
appreciation to Kasumi before he too fell asleep.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

(In the morning, on the way to Furinkan High)

	<I don't understand why he must always fight with Ryouga. Yesterday 
night, he just appeared from nowhere and gave me a fright. Why must he 
spoil my day?> Akane was still ignoring Ranma and refused even to look 
at him. 

	<She is still angry with me.> Ranma thought and wore a worried 
expression on his face. <She is ignoring me now. This is bad.> Ranma 
braced whatever courage he has and started speaking. "Akane, can you 
stop ignoring me?  You have done that for the past two days. What have I 
done to deserve such treatment from you?"

	"What have you done!" Akane asked incredulously. "You hurt my feelings 
with your harsh words. You started a fight with Ryouga. To put it 
simply, you acted like a total jerk." 

	"But.... I've always been like that and you didn't stay mad for so 
long." Ranma continued. He waited for Akane to speak but sensed that she 
was not going to say anything or rather, she was at a loss for words. 
"I'm sorry." Ranma spoke softly. He did not like to apologize but this 
was the only way to salvage the situation. 

	Akane was fuming. When she heard the two little words, it calmed her 
down. She was unsure whether to forgive him yet, but he looked so 
apologetic. She started to observe her fianc�e. He looked worn out. It 
was as if he had gone through emotional stress. The injuries from the 
previous night fight were showing. This Ranma was not the one that she 
was accustomed to. Anyway, she couldn't bring herself to hate Ranma for 
too long, especially since now that he has apologized. "Let's just 
forget about the whole thing." 

	Ranma was smiling from ear to ear when he heard her. She too was 
influenced by him and forced a smile for him. "RRIIINNNGG!" 

	"Come on Akane, let's hurry or we'll be late," Ranma blurted and ran. 
Akane followed and dashed into the building of Furinkan High. She now 
felt much better.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

(Tendo dojo)

	Night has fallen. Nerima used to be a very peaceful neighbourhood. That 
was, until Ranma and Genma moved in. Now, chaos was common. Every now 
and then, screams were heard ricocheting around the neighbourhood, just 
like this one. 

	"WWHHAAATT!" Ranma roared. 

	"You heard me. I've got you a reservation in a nice restaurant. I 
borrowed a tuxedo for you. I even bought some flowers for you to give 
Akane. Now, get dressed and take Akane out," Genma bellowed.

	"But...but...but..." Ranma tried.

	"No buts. If you don't go, not only Akane will get upset, Soun will eat 
you alive before throwing us out of the house. So, go get changed. Akane 
is waiting." Genma retorted and pushed Ranma into his room. He waited at 
the door for a few minutes to make sure that Ranma didn't sneak away. 
<Strange. Ranma didn't put up much of a struggle. Hmm... could he have 
fled by the windows? Oh, no!> Genma rushed into the room to see Ranma 
half-naked.

	Ranma's frown has disappeared after entering the room. <Akane's waiting 
for him.> Genma's last words kept lingering in his mind. He had objected 
to the date that his father has set up but somehow, deep inside, he felt 
joy. He was excited but at the same time, repelled the idea of the date.  
He began to change into the tux that was lying on his futon. This was 
the time when Genma charged in. 

	"Oops. Sorry. Just to check if you are still here." Genma spoke before 
retreating.

	Meanwhile, in Akane's room, Soun had started sobbing. "Akane, if you 
and Ranma don't get married, the Tendo family and the Saotome family 
would not be joined. Our dojo will not have an heir. Akane, for our 
family honour and my sake, please go on this date." 

	Akane looked helplessly as her father wails. She couldn't reject her 
father or risk having her room flooded. She nodded and Soun cried even 
harder. "Oh, my daughter is going on a date." Akane face-faulted.  After 
her father left, Akane had begun to get dressed. Her heartbeat hastened 
and she felt a sweet tingling feeling in her heart. For nights, she had 
dreamed of going out with Ranma, and today, it has become a reality. 
Since this morning, Ranma had been very nice to her. They had not fought 
and this was a feat. She sighed. <If only Ranma had personally asked her 
out.>

	An knock was heard. With the grace of a lady, Akane walked towards the 
door and opened it. Ranma was there. 

	"For you." He was holding a bunch of roses, with an embarrassed smile 
on his face.

	"Thanks," Akane said as she took the roses from him. The sweet scent of 
the roses began to register in her mind as her spirit soared to greater 
heights.

	<Wow! She is really beautiful tonight.> Ranma thought. "Um, are you 
ready?"

	"Yes," Akane replied in a matter-of-fact.

	"So, let's go." Ranma held up his hand to Akane absent-mindedly. She 
was apprehensive but took it anyway. He was electrified by her touch. 

	Click. Ranma and Akane simultaneously turned towards the source of the 
sound.

	"Well, looks like father's plan has worked," Nabiki grinned, holding a 
camera in her hands.

	"Hey! Give me the film!" Ranma ordered as he closed in on Nabiki.

	"Not in your lifetime," Nabiki retorted. She made a dash to her room 
and locked it. "By the way, have a nice time at La Mason," shouted 
Nabiki.

	Ranma was disgusted and Akane had a disapproving look at her face. 
"Come on. Let's go. We can handle her later." Akane stated. Ranma 
agreed. They bade their farewells to the rest of the family and left.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
 
	"Argh! Where am I now?" Ryouga shouted, holding a bunch of flowers in 
his hand. He had left the Tendo dojo in the morning to buy flowers for 
Akane. He had intended to surprise her with his gift but now he was 
lost, as usual.  Lost in a forest, with nobody to ask for help, he 
walked in another direction and prayed that this would lead him to 
Akane.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"BANG!" A large hole was formed as Shampoo cruised in with her bike. 
She looked around but only found Nabiki reading a manga. "Hello, Nabiki. 
You see Ranma? I brought ramen." 

	Nabiki sighed, "Could you please use the door. Our maintenance 
expenditure is increasing by leaps and bounds. As for your question, it 
will cost you."

	Shampoo fiddled with her wallet and pulled several bills for Nabiki. 

	"As I said, this will cost you, especially after the hole in the wall 
that you made." Nabiki grinned after taking the money and laid her hand 
out, asking for more.

 	Shampoo unwillingly pulled out all the money that she had and gave it 
to Nabiki.

	"He is at La Mason, an Italian restaurant." Nabiki replied.

	With a flash, Shampoo disappeared through the hole. Nabiki was busy 
counting the money when a knock was heard. She went to answer the door 
and found Ukyou waiting.

	"Hello, Nabiki. Where is Ranma? I've made some okonomiyaki for him." 
Ukyou smiled.

	"Oh, this is going to cost you." Nabiki grinned.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	Ranma was pulling a chair for Akane. He had been acting very 
chivalrously, opening the doors for her, speaking so politely. She even 
wondered if the person she was with, was Ranma. So far, everything was 
going fine. No insults, no bad feelings. However, Ranma seemed to be 
'slower' in his response than usual. He seemed to take time to carefully 
plan his words before saying it. She knew that he was trying very hard 
not to anger her, and she appreciated his efforts. 

	The night before, Akane was with Ryouga in a similar restaurant. She 
secretly hoped that this date with Ranma would be more enjoyable. 

	Ranma smiled. He felt uneasy wearing a tux and on top of that, he was 
having a date with Akane. He vowed to make best of whatever his father 
had planned for him. Akane's dates with Ryouga had troubled him 
significantly. 

	They brought up their wineglasses for a toast and began sipping. Then, 
they stared endlessly into each other's eyes. Ranma was at a loss for 
words. He preferred not to say anything or risk angering Akane. The 
uncomfortable silence lasted for quite a while.

	"Ranma, you are awfully quiet today. What's wrong?" Akane asked.

	"Huh. Nothing's wrong. Just enjoying the atmosphere." Ranma replied 
nervously. "What do you want to do after the dinner?"

	"What do you suggest?" Akane grinned. <Wow. This date is becoming a 
real one.>

	"Well, we could go to the beach or visit the newly opened disco." Ranma 
answered trying to hide his enthusiasm. 

	"I would go anywhere with you." 

	Ranma smiled, and then realization struck him. That voice did not 
belong to Akane. He turned and saw Shampoo. She groped him. He saw the 
change of expression on Akane's face, from a confused look to a very 
angry look. He frantically tried to push her away and in doing so, he 
brushed Shampoo's breasts. Akane was mad. He was desperate. Finally, a 
giant spatula separated them. Shampoo was sent flying and crashed onto a 
neighbouring table. He was grateful. He wanted to thank Ukyou but she 
began fussing over him. He then felt Akane's deadly gaze and shuddered. 
He went limp as Akane dropped her mallet on him.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"That jerk. How dare he flirt with them when he is having a date with 
me! I hate him!" Akane cried. She had run away from the restaurant but 
not before rendering Ranma unconscious. In the corner of her eyes, she 
saw Ukyou and Shampoo fighting to give him first aid. Her anger subsided 
and was replaced by sadness. Her tears started to flow fiercely. <It had 
the beginning of a good date and he just had to ruin it.> She bumped 
into something and lost her balance.

	"Ryouga?" Akane saw the familiar face under the dim streetlight. She 
crawled towards him and hugged him tightly. 

	He couldn't breathe as Akane had held him too tightly. He didn't care 
if he gets suffocated. Her tears had soaked his shirt. He didn't care 
that he may turn into a pig. The woman that he loves so dearly was 
crying and that was what that matters. He cursed himself. He had vowed 
to protect her and she was in so much grief. He knew it had to be Ranma 
who had hurt her so badly. <I will kill you, Saotome.>

	Ryouga patted her on her back and hushed her. Akane got control of her 
feelings and was looking at Ryouga now. She was slightly embarrassed by 
her crying. "I'm sorry Ryouga."

	"It's all right. Are you okay?" Ryouga asked worriedly. His hands by 
his side now.

	"Yeah. I'm fine." Akane responded. But deep inside, she could still 
feel the bitterness.

	"Let me walk you home." Ryouga said.

	Akane nodded.

	"Umm. Akane, which direction is the Tendo dojo?" Ryouga asked shyly. 

	Akane forced a wry smile and led the way. Ryouga followed beside her. 
They had maintained silence for Akane did not wish to talk. Ryouga 
watched impatiently at Akane. He wanted to know what was eating her? 
What did Ranma do? He wanted desperately to hug her and will her sadness 
to go away. "Akane. I want to help you. Tell me what happened." 

	"Ryouga, I know you care for me but can you let me grieve alone." Akane 
whispered, not even turning her head to face Ryouga.

	"Is it Ranma?" Ryouga asked. He had to know what happened.

	Akane was silent but then she began sobbing.

	<Stupid! Why did I let her cry again!> Ryouga cursed himself again. Her 
tear-shrieked face felt like a dagger thrust into his heart. He brought 
Akane into his arms and carefully stroked her hair. "I'm sorry, Akane. I 
shouldn't have mentioned him. It's just that seeing how sad you are 
pains me. I would do anything to make your sadness go away. If you would 
let me, share your woes with me. I would do my best to protect you."

	His words touched her. She looked up at him. He was like a saviour to 
her. She was still crying in his arms and in between sobs, she began to 
speak. "Sometimes, I feel that he does not cherish me. If he doesn't 
like me, why did he not denounce the engagement? If he does, why did he 
maintain all the other claims that Shampoo, Ukyou and even Kodachi made? 
Why does he always insult me? Why.....why am I crying over him?"

	"He is not worth crying for. Ranma's a jerk. If I were him, I would 
thank the kami for us to be engaged. I would never let you grieve in 
such a way. If he doesn't cherish you, I will. If he doesn't love you, I 
will. Your happiness is what I live for." Ryouga was staring at Akane. 
His eyes brimming with his love for Akane. "Akane, I love you. I know I 
said that before. I know you may not feel the same way with me 
but...but... you must know that you are a very beautiful woman. It is 
Ranma's loss that he does not cherish you. And......" Ryouga was at a 
loss for words. He wasn't a good speaker but his sincerity warmed 
Akane's heart.

	"Thank you, Ryouga. I don't know what to say." Here was a man who loves 
and cherishes her. She was taken aback by his confession of love for 
her. But his words comforted her. <It is Ranma's loss.> She repeated 
over and over in her mind.

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Dictionary:

kami = god

onee-chan = older sister


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