Hi,

Finally, the last part of this fanfic.  Whew!  What a load off our 
shoulders.  Read on...

Cass

PS:  E-mail me to say if you liked/hated it, ok?
-=-=-=-=-=-=

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 5 : Last chance at love


	Dear Diary,

		Today, Ryouga and I announced our plans of marriage. Father objected 
at first but relented after much persuading. He set the wedding date one 
month from now. Ryouga was very happy. Somehow, I wasn't as happy as I 
should be. 

		Ranma had been very quiet during the evening, preferring to eat than 
to engage in the wedding conversation. When Uncle Saotome suggested 
engaging Ranma to Nabiki, I got very angry. But, they are engaged now. 

		Why do I still feel for him? I'm engaged to Ryouga now. He said he 
didn't love me but it still hurts to think about it. 


	A knock was heard. Akane stopped writing, closed her diary and went to 
answer the door. Ranma was there. He motioned if he could come in and 
she nodded. She closed the door and waited for him to speak.

	"Akane, why did you agree to Ryouga's proposal?" He asked.

	Akane was stunned by his question. More importantly, she wasn't sure 
about the answer. She wasn't sure if she loved Ryouga but she was sure 
that it was not a spur of the moment. She found herself an excuse. 
"Ryouga will make a good husband."

	"Do you love him?" This was his next question.

	"Yes." She replied weakly.

	"Then, what about me?" He pleaded.

	"You? What has this got to do with you! You broke the engagement, 
remember?!" Akane got defensive and replied scornfully. Tears began to 
form in her eyes as she recalled the dreadful afternoon.

	"I thought you loved him. I wasn't sure of your feelings for me. But I 
wanted you to be happy. Now, I'm at a loss. I don't want to lose you." 
Ranma explained weakly. His eyes had reddened and his voice has turned 
husky.

	"What am I to you, Saotome Ranma! One moment you discard me away like 
rubbish, the next moment you want me back. I am not a puppet! How could 
you be so cruel to me?!" Akane flared.

	"No. Akane, listen to me. I was an idiot. I didn't know what I was 
doing. I thought my decision would be in your best interests.  You are 
not a puppet, in fact, you are so precious to me that I would regret for 
the rest of my life if I lose you." Ranma frantically explained. He 
braced himself for one more time and continued. "Akane, I love you. 
Would you give me a second chance?"

	She had waited all her life to hear these words. Her tears flowed 
uncontrollably. She had a funny feeling now, a mixture of happiness and 
anger but predominantly anger. "Why are you playing with my feelings? 
Why did you wait until Ryouga and I have decided to get married to 
declare your 'love' for me? I really doubt your feelings for me. Or is 
it you couldn't stand losing me to Ryouga, and this is one of your plans 
to get me back so that you will always be the victor."

	"NOOO! I really love you." Ranma had begun to cry too. He tried to 
explain further of his feelings for her but he was pushed out of the 
room. The door slammed. "Akane! Please believe me." He tried for one 
last time. 

	Ryouga had heard Akane shouting and was worried about her. He followed 
the shouting to her room and saw Ranma crying. Shocked was not even the 
word that could describe his feelings. <Ranma cry? Ranma would rather 
die than cry. What happened?> Then, he heard Akane cry. That dispelled 
all pity he felt for his rival. "Ranma! What are you doing outside 
Akane's room? Did you make her cry?!"

	By now, most of the family members had gathered outside Akane's room. 
They all had questioning looks on their faces and Ranma wasn't going to 
tell them that Akane rejected him. 

	"Hmm, I think Akane is crying. Ryouga, onee-chan, why don't both of you 
go calm Akane while I take care of Ranma." Nabiki said calmly. Without a 
word, she dragged the stoned Ranma into her room.  

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

	Akane could hear the commotion outside her room but she couldn't care 
less. Ranma's words had a devastating effect on her. She wasn't sure of 
herself anymore. For the past few days, she had managed to convince 
herself that she would love Ryouga. Their marriage would be a blissful 
one. Now, her faith has wavered. Ranma's words have given her a glimmer 
of hope; a hope that Ranma and her would be together. In a way, this had 
scared her to death. When Ranma told her that he didn't love her and 
broke the engagement, a part of her had died. She didn't want to face 
this pain again. She couldn't. It would destroy her. Then, she told 
herself that Ranma was lying to her. He didn't like to lose so he said 
those words to wrestle her away from Ryouga. She hated him. She pushed 
him away from her.

	Kasumi was hugging Akane now while Ryouga looked helplessly at his 
soon-to-be wife. Akane had calmed down but was still crying. She had 
refused to divulge the reason of her crying. When Ryouga tried to probe 
further, Kasumi silenced him. 

	"I'm fine. I'm very tired. Let me sleep." Akane said softly.

	Kasumi obliged. She tucked her younger sister into bed and kissed her 
on her forehead, saying that everything will be alright. 

	"If you need me, I'll be right here for you." Ryouga said, trying to 
comfort Akane. Akane muttered a word of thanks and Ryouga left 
reluctantly. Kasumi followed right behind him.

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

	Once in the privacy of Nabiki's room, Ranma regained his composure. He 
was upset over Akane's outburst. He had sacrificed his pride, his honour 
to tell her his true feelings for her. But she rejected him. He was hurt 
badly. But the main source of his pain was that Akane had not requited 
his love. <Akane didn't love me.> With one sniff, he hardened himself.

	"What happened? I want to know the details right now!" Nabiki ordered.

	"I told her that I love her and she says that I was playing with her 
feelings. She refused to believe me and chased me out of her room." He 
said unemotionally.

	"How could that be? She loves you. She should be shouting for joy when 
you declare your love for her." A thousand questions appeared on 
Nabiki's mind. <Did I misread Akane's love for Ranma? Did Akane love 
Ryouga?>

	"How would I know? Maybe she didn't love me after all." He said 
bitterly.

	"It can't be." Nabiki said softly to herself.

	"Maybe, for one time, you are wrong." His heart ached at the 
implication of his words. He couldn't stay here now. He couldn't bear to 
be so near to Akane but not having her. He wanted to be alone. With that 
decision made, he jumped out of the window and disappeared into the 
darkness.

	Nabiki sighed. She encouraged Ranma for the sake of her sister's best 
interests. But now Akane was suffering. She pondered over her actions 
and came to a decision. She would respect her sister's choice. After 
turning off her lights, she went to bed, not really being able to sleep 
with the knowledge that someone out there was terribly hurt, 
emotionally.

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

	When Ukyou, Shampoo and Kodachi had returned from Hong Kong, they were 
furious.  They couldn't find Ranma or Akane and were stuck there for a 
few days due to the heavy haze that prevented planes from taking off.  
(Shampoo didn't really mind the trip, as she was tired of sounding like 
a bimbo.  It was so long since she engaged in intelligent conversation 
with people other than Cologne and Mousse.) 

	Luckily, their anger was soon dissolved when they heard about the 
upcoming wedding and that Nabiki wasn't interested in Ranma.  In fact 
they were so happy that they offered to help in the wedding.  Kodachi 
offered to pay for the entire wedding costs, Ukyou and Shampoo were in 
charge of the food. (Ukyou does know how to cook more than just 
okonomiyaki.) And Nabiki walked away from the encounter a lot richer.

	After hearing the news from Kodachi, Kuno immediately tried to save his 
love from being forced to marry the scoundrel, Ryouga.  A duel then was 
arranged in which the loser would give up on Akane forever.   Needless 
to say, Ryouga won.  Bound by his samurai code of honour, Kuno could 
only let his graceful beauty go.  He was moody for a while but soon 
recovered when he realized he still had his pig-tailed goddess.

	With Akane out of the way, all other fianc�es doubled their efforts to 
get Ranma.  In the house, he pretended that he didn't mind the attention 
but was secretly annoyed by it all.  They constantly reminded him that 
he was free from the violent tomboy.  On the positive side, Akane no 
longer malleted him but Ranma found himself wishing that Akane would hit 
him.  At least that meant that she cared.

	Other miscellaneous details about the wedding:
1. The bridesmaids were Kasumi and Nabiki.

2. The best men were Dr. Tofu and Mousse.  (Mousse volunteered so as to 
keep an eye on Shampoo.)

3. The wedding gown and bridesmaids' dresses were designed by a person 
named Setsuna.  

4. Nabiki was hired by Ryouga to find his parents and bring them here 
for the wedding.  

5. Everyone from school was invited.  

6. The westernized wedding would be held in the Tendo dojo.

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

(One hour before wedding, evening)

	Ranma was sitting quietly in one of the booths in Ucchans.  He had long 
ago finished his meal but was reluctant to leave.  Where would he go?  
He couldn't go to the Nekohanten because of Shampoo's aggressiveness, 
couldn't go back to the Tendo dojo because all the joy about the 
upcoming wedding was getting on his nerves.  "Ran-chan, what's wrong?" 
said Ukyou in a concerned voice.  Ranma shook his head in denial.  
"Don't lie to me.  I know you better than anyone.  You've been depressed 
ever since Akane and Ryouga are an item.  You may have been able to fool 
everyone but not me."

	A brief pause then Ranma asked softly, "Why?  Why are you still here?  
If you know me as well as you claim then you must know that I don't..."

	"Love me," Ukyou completed his sentence for him.  Ukyou sat down and 
closed her eyes for a moment.  Ranma was ashamed at himself, he had hurt 
his best friend, maybe his only friend.  Ukyou stared at him and 
answered, "Because I love you.  Always have, always will.  I know that 
you don't feel the same way _now_ but maybe, just maybe, you'll learn to 
love me in the days to come.  After all, since Akane is getting married, 
I have one less rival."  She smiled but it faded away when she noticed 
Ranma wincing.  <I was right.  You still love Akane.>  She thought 
sadly.  "Even though you may love another, may wish to be with her right 
now than here with me, I won't give up.  Not while there's still a 
glimmer of a chance.  I'll do anything to be your wife, so will Shampoo 
or Kodachi.  That's why they use all sorts of magic potions or drugs on 
you.  We won't give up, we can't give up."

	"But if you love me then you'll want me to be happy.  I'm not happy 
with all of you chasing after me like I'm a piece of meat or a prize," 
countered Ranma.

	"I believe that I'm your best choice.  That's what keeps me going 
sometimes.  Love is a selfish thing.  I want to be with you no matter 
what.  I'm not one of those people who say, 'I'll be happy so long as 
you are' and walk away.  I'm not that generous.  I'll rather go down 
fighting than give up in the middle.  At least, I could honestly say 
that I have tried my hardest.  I won't be wondering later on if I could 
have done something or say something to make you mine."

	Ranma pondered silently over this.  Her words have given him a lot to 
think about.  He stood up and thanked Ukyou for the free meal and left.  

	"I might have just lost him to Akane," whispered Ukyou dismally.  

	"Yup."

	Ukyou whirled around at the voice and saw Tsubasa standing in the back 
of the restaurant.  "When did you come back from delivering the food to 
the Tendos?"

	"Long enough."

	"Oh."  She paused then said, "Well, we've better get dressed for the 
wedding.  I hope you're not going as the wedding cake."  She moved past 
Tsubasa and started walking up the stairs.

	"Why did you encourage Ranma?  With Akane out of the way, you stand the 
highest chance for sure.  He doesn't like Shampoo's aggressiveness and 
Kodachi gives him the creeps.  Why give up when you're so close to 
finally having him?"

	With her back facing him, Ukyou replied, "Because I know him too well.  
If Ran-chan doesn't give it one last shot before the wedding, he will 
forever be hung up on Akane.  So what if he eventually marries me. I'll 
only occupy a small space in his heart.  I don't want to be his second 
choice.  I don't want him to marry me just because he needs a friend or 
needs a warm body at night."  Her tears were flowing freely now.

	"But what if he does manages to stop the wedding?"

	"I'll still love him and I will keep doing so until the day he marries 
another."

	Watching Ukyou run up to her room, Tsubasa sighed.  "Oh Ukyou.  What's 
so special about Ranma that causes girls to fall head over heels in love 
with?"  

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

(Akane's room)

	"You're so beautiful, sis." Kasumi smiled as she admired her little 
sister.

	"Yeah, astonishing." Nabiki added.

	"Thanks." Akane blushed. She had changed into her wedding gown and was 
admiring herself in the mirror. "Where is Ryouga?" She suddenly asked, 
afraid that he may get lost on their wedding day.

	"You're not married to him yet and now you can't let him out of your 
sight." Nabiki teased while Akane blushed a deeper red.

	"Don't worry, Akane. He is with father." Kasumi voiced.

	"Yes, father will keep him in the dojo and see that he does not wander 
anywhere." Nabiki answered.

	"Now that you're ready, I'm going to take care of the food 
preparations." Kasumi said. 

	"I also need to get ready for the ceremony. So, we shall leave you 
alone in here. But I believe Shampoo, Ukyou and Kodachi will be here 
soon. They seem to be happier about your marriage than you." Nabiki 
smiled, taking her last sentence as a joke. Kasumi frowned and pulled 
Nabiki out of the room before she could protest.

	<Of course, I'm happy. Today is the day that I'm getting married to 
Ryouga. How can they be happier than me?> She smiled forcefully. "From 
today onwards, I'm going to be known as Hibiki Akane." It sounded a bit 
funny to her. <I just need to get used to it."> She repeated as she 
stared at her image on the mirror. "Hibiki Akane. Hibiki Akane. Hibiki 
Akane. Hibiki Akane. Saotome Akane." <Huh!> She had absently said the 
last phrase. It worried her intensely. <How could I still think about 
Ranma when I'm getting married to Ryouga.> She had hardly seen him 
during this month. He was avoiding her and so was she. She wondered if 
he would turn up in the wedding ceremony. 

	"Akane." A voice was heard coming from the windows. She recognized it 
immediately. She turned to the source of the voice. There he was. Ranma 
was standing on the windowsill. "May I come in?" He asked. 

	She nodded. <I wonder how long has he been there?> A sense of deja vu 
hit her. It was in this room that he declared his love for her. They 
were almost in the same position as that evening. He had the same look 
in his eyes, unsure but determined. Her heart began to pump harder.

	There was an awkward silence. Nobody spoke. The only sounds that were 
present in the room were their racing heartbeats.

	He broke the silence. There was no time to admire her beauty. He had to 
hurry or he would lose her forever. "Akane, please give me another 
chance?" 

	Akane immediately felt pity for him. He looked so worn down. He was so 
sincere. But, no. She would not let him ruin the wedding. She missed him 
but she couldn't let the insanity in her life continue. She was tired of 
fighting with his other fianc�es for his love. She was tired of being 
kidnapped or attacked by his enemies. She was tired and Ryouga is her 
lifesaver. She found herself a million reasons to marry him. He is 
sweet. He is cute. He treats her well. Her honour is bound to Ryouga. 
"No."

	He was devastated. The fire within him had died along with her 
response. He thought he could still salvage the situation but he failed. 
The woman whom he loves more than his own life was lost to him forever. 
So many lost chances. So many regrets. 

	There was silence again. He held tightly the figurine in his hands. He 
didn't want to cry in front of her. He slowly got a grip of himself and 
looked at her in the eyes. His voice started to quaver. "I won't be 
attending your ceremony. I'm not well. Here's a present for you." He 
held the figurine to her. 

	It was a wood carving of Akane. The carving was a very precise piece of 
work, which showed that the carver had put a lot of effort in it. The 
carving also has Akane's distinct features. It was very lifelike, almost 
a replica of her. The carver must have loved her greatly to know the 
face so well. It was a gift of love. 

	She wept. Her commitment to Ryouga wavered again. She looked at the man 
in front of her. A man that she longed for. She looked at the figurine 
again. An expression of his love. She was terribly lost.

	"Akane. Goodbye." He said lastly. He stole a last glance at the weeping 
bride and made his way towards the window. He was about to jump out of 
the window when a voice held him back.

	"Ranma." It was a soft whisper but a voice full of love. She stood 
there, sobbing. He hated himself for making her cry. He wanted so much 
to hug her but refrained himself. She was to be someone's wife. She had 
chose to marry Ryouga. <NO!> His willpower to leave had left him. 
Whatever honour he had left had flown away. He could not restrain 
himself. He rushed towards the bride and cradled her into his arms. 

	The feeling was sensational with their warm bodies pressing against 
each other. Akane had resisted at first but returned the hug when she 
couldn't contain her own feelings for Ranma. She was crying harder now. 
He was doing his best to hold back his tears. "Akane." He whispered into 
her ears. She turned to look up at him. "I am not a liar, Akane. I love 
you, truly, madly, deeply. I love the way you smile. I love the way you 
smell. I love the way you frown, the way you get angry. Heck, I even 
love the way you pulled your mallet out on me. I just love the way you 
are."

	 The bride hadn't stopped crying. Her make-up had smudged. But she 
still looked beautiful to him. He slowly took his handkerchief and wiped 
away her tears. It was a small act but it comforted her. All her 
determination, her resolution and even her brains had fled. She was in a 
total mess. His words added to confuse her mind. But love has never been 
associated with mind. Love comes from the heart. She learned to trust 
her heart instead. She had a million reasons to wed Ryouga but she only 
needed one reason to be with Ranma. Love. Unconditional love.

	"Ranma." At her calling, he stopped wiping her tears and looked at her 
affectionately. She tiptoed, giving a light peck on his lips.  "I love 
you too, Ranma." He cried, there was no stopping now. He was 
exhilarated. She sank further in his loving arms. There was silence 
again. They continued to sob as they savoured the presence of their 
loved ones in each other's arms. 

	It was like eternity before they stop crying. The din in the dojo was 
getting louder but they were blissfully oblivious. Their joy was written 
all over their face. If one had not known what had happened, one would 
think that they are crazy, crying at one moment and smiling the next. 

	It seemed like the right thing to do. He cupped her face and slowly 
tilted her face to kiss her fully on her lips. They closed their eyes 
and began to enjoy their intimacy. He pulled her tighter against him and 
his hand strayed to stroke her back and hair. She deepened the kiss and 
slung her hands around his neck, holding him tightly, wishing that it 
would never end. However, their passionate kiss was short-lived.

	"Akane, are you ready? The ceremony is about to start." Kasumi said as 
she knocked at the door.

	Taken aback, Akane broke the kiss and frantically found herself a lame 
excuse. "Uh, I'm not ready yet. I'll be out in a minute."

	"Do you need any help?" Kasumi asked sweetly.

	"Uh, no. Thanks." Akane answered clumsily. 

	Ranma and Akane both sighed in relief when they heard Kasumi leave. 
Akane turned worriedly to Ranma and asked. "What are we going to do? The 
ceremony is going to start."

	"Well, we need to talk to Ryouga." Ranma said in a matter-of-fact 
voice.

	"How will he take it?" She asked, although she already knew the answer.

	"Bad? But whatever we do, it must be fast. Time is ticking away." He 
replied.

	"Ranma, why don't you bring Ryouga here." It was not a question but a 
statement. 

	"Okay. At least we don't have to tell him in front of the guests." He 
reasoned to himself.

	"Not we, only me." Akane corrected.

	"Huh? How can I let you handle it alone? What happens if he becomes 
nasty?" He objected.

	"It will be better if I handled it alone. He would not hurt me. And how 
would you feel if you were in his position?" She explained.

	"Okay." He said reluctantly.

	"So go now, I need to change out of this wedding gown." Akane shooed 
Ranma to the window, after giving him a peck on the cheek.

	With a leap, Ranma jumped down to the ground below him. There were 
already lots of guests in the dojo. He meandered his way to find Ryouga. 
It was not hard to find him. He was surrounded by his friends and 
well-wishers. In a white tuxedo, he stood out. Ranma felt guilty as he 
approached him. Ryouga was surprised to see him but he was in too good 
of a mood to notice anything out of place. "Akane wishes to speak to you 
in her room." Ranma whispered. 
	
	Without a word, Ryouga excused himself from his guests. He only stopped 
occasionally to receive blessings from his friends. But he rushed to 
Akane's room as soon as he could.

	Ryouga nervously entered Akane's bedroom, our bedroom, he corrected 
himself.  Already, his few belongings had been moved into the room.  In 
an hour's time, he thought to himself, I will be complete.  That thought 
only made him more nervous, was his tie straight, was his hair combed 
back...  

	He blinked, then blinked again.  "Why aren't you in your wedding gown?  
The wedding is about to start!  Or we'll miss the auspicious time."  He 
smiled and continued, "No matter, I'll just tell the rest that you'll be 
delayed a bit."  He turned to leave.

	"No. Ryouga, don't go," panicked Akane.

	Ryouga beamed at Akane.  In his joy, he failed to notice Akane's teary 
face.  

	"I.. There is something I must tell you."  Akane lowered her gaze to 
the floor and continued, "You're a good man, Ryouga.  Any girl would be 
lucky to have you."  Ryouga blushed.  "Ryouga, you've been so sweet 
towards me and you've comforted me in my darkest hours.  For that I am 
grateful.  But you deserve better.  You deserve a girl who loves you 
with all her heart and soul.  But I am not her.  I hoped that in time to 
come, I could become her.  But I was only lying to myself.  Because I 
love Ranma, always have, always will.   And that's why I can't marry 
you."

	Ryouga frowned and said in a strained voice, "I must have heard you 
wrongly.  For a moment there I thought you said that you love Ranma and 
didn't want to marry me."  He laughed, a forced laugh.

	Akane's heart went out to him.  She hated herself for hurting Ryouga, 
for not being able to return his love.  "Ryouga, you didn't hear 
wrongly.  The wedding is cancelled.  I'm sorry."

	"NOOO!  You're just having wedding jitters.  Everyone has them!  
Everyone has doubts before their wedding."  He cried, grabbing Akane and 
hugging her.  "You said you'll marry me.  You promised!  Please... don't 
leave me.  I love you."  His tears soaked the back of Akane's shirt.

	"I'm sorry Ryouga.  I don't love you."

	After a while, Ryouga left the room, dejected.  He wiped his tears.  
When Ranma delivered the message that Akane had wanted to see him, 
minutes before the big event, he had been surprised.  Preoccupied, he 
hadn't noticed Ranma's expression, a mixture of guilt, unease, happiness 
and pity.  It should have cued him in onto the situation, that his 
nightmare, not his dream was slowly being fulfilled.  What was that 
saying again?  Hindsight only works backward or something like that.  He 
snorted.  He was such an idiot, blinded by happiness that he didn't 
realize that Akane was going to break up with him, not until the 
horrible words "the wedding is cancelled" were uttered.  Maybe he had 
known but stubbornly refused to acknowledge it.  Just like he had known 
subconsciously that Akane's heart had belonged to Ranma long ago.  All 
the little things that signaled Akane's love for Ranma, he firmly 
ignored.  He couldn't see them then, hadn't wanted to see them.  And so 
he foolishly embarked on his quest and failed.  He had lost, not in the 
beginning, on their first date, or after the proposal but at the end.  
It wouldn't have hurt so much if Akane had chosen Ranma earlier.  He was 
on cloud nine for a whole month, then harshly, cruelly, dragged down 
into hell.  It wasn't fair!  How could he live through all this misery 
after he had experienced such sweet joy?  IT WASN'T FAIR! 

	His vision went blurry again.  <Damn these tears!>  He would let 
himself cry but not in front of his relatives and friends.  He didn't 
want to create a scene.  He would just walk out of this place where he 
had lost his heart and had it returned shattered into a thousand pieces.  
But then he saw Ranma.  Their eyes met.  Ryouga roared and launched 
himself at Ranma.  Punches and kicks flew at a rapid rate and met the 
still body of Ranma.  Ryouga kept on punching.  He couldn't stand the 
pitied look Ranma was giving him and tried to beat it out of him.  But 
Ranma just let Ryouga hit him and looked at Ryouga with those eyes that 
oozed pity and guilt.

	Suddenly, he was pulled away from Ranma by several pairs of arms.  Only 
then had Ryouga realized that he had been shouting "IT ISN'T FAIR!" over 
and over.  "LET ME GO!"  He struggled free and ran away, not bothering 
to cast a last glance at the place his love lived.

	Everyone gathered around the still body of Ranma, alternating glances 
at him and Ryouga.  The fianc�es didn't know whether to stay and look 
after Ranma or seek revenge on Ryouga.  No one knew what happened.  Why 
had the bridegroom left?  For once, Nabiki had no answers, none that she 
was certain of anyway.  

	"It is all my fault. The wedding is cancelled," sobbed Akane.

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

	Most of the guests had left. The others were concentrated outside 
Ranma's room. Actually, a minute ago, they were in the room, hovering 
over Ranma's unconscious body that it disrupted Dr. Tofu from giving him 
medical attention. So in a flare of anger, he ordered everyone out. Now, 
they are pacing around, each with their own thoughts.

 	Shampoo was worried and angry at the same time. <What happened? Why 
violent girl cancel wedding? Ryouga looked want kill Ranma. What 
happened?> She gazed hatefully at Akane for she knew that she was the 
cause of all the troubles. Mousse was following her every step which 
angered her more. 

	Ukyou was far quieter. She was worried for the well being of her 
fianc�e. But deep in her mind, she knew that she had lost him. He had 
taken her advice and succeeded. 
	 
	Kodachi was pacing furiously, making disgruntled noises. She thought 
she would have one less rival to deal with but now it seemed that they 
are back to square one.  In her crazed mind, she vowed for revenge on 
those that hurt her Ranma-sama, namely Ryouga and Akane.  "It's you. It 
is because of you that Ryouga fought Ranma. Why are you still here? 
Haven't you hurt Ranma enough?" She voiced her anger at Akane, and 
started to make a move on her.

	"Ya. It's violent girl fault. You no right to be here. You no Ranma's 
fianc�e anymore." Shampoo added. 

	Kuno blocked the attack for Akane.  He was happy that the wedding was 
called off and the only reason he has left behind was to see if the foul 
sorcerer would die from his injuries. He couldn't wait for the day to 
see Ranma's corpse. But now, his crazy sister was attacking his beloved 
Akane. "My dear sister, have you gone mad?"

	"Hohohohohohohohoho." The laughter filled the Dojo much to everyone's 
disgust.

	"Alas, my sister has truly gone mad."

	"Hey, back off. All of you are in our house. Akane can be wherever she 
wants." Nabiki declared. Her face was calm and commanding authority. 
Shampoo seemed to have cooled down but not Kodachi.
  
	"Akane will pay for her deeds." With that, Kodachi flung her ribbon 
towards Akane.

	Akane had not made any move and again Kuno blocked it. Taking no 
account of their blood relation, Kuno moved in to attack Kodachi.

	"Kuno-baby, please take this fight elsewhere. So that your little 
sister won't be able to hurt Akane." Nabiki spoke as she mentally 
calculated the property damage that they have accumulated.

	The motivation seemed to work, as in a moment the Kunos were gone. 
Nabiki was disturbed. Akane did not try to protect herself when Kodachi 
attacked. In fact, Akane had been rather passive during the whole 
ordeal. 
	 
	The door to Ranma's room opened. Everybody crowded round Dr. Tofu as he 
appeared. "He's fine. Just a couple of broken ribs. With his rate of 
recovery, he will be running around in two days." Simultaneously, 
everybody sighed in relief. Then, they tried to enter the room but were 
blocked by Dr. Tofu. "He needs rest and he only wishes to see Akane." 
The rest protested but the doctor was firm. He let Akane squeeze in and 
guarded the door after her.

	"Ranma. Are you all right?" Akane cradled his face as she spoke. She 
winced as she saw his bandaged body. "It's all my fault."

	"I'm fine, Akane and no, I'm to be blamed. If I had told you earlier of 
my feelings, all of this would not have happened." He was lying in his 
futon, staring longingly at her. He felt weak and it is taking all his 
strength to remain in a conversation with her.  
	
	"No. I'm the source of trouble. If I had not broken Ryouga's heart, he 
would not have injured you. Now, Ryouga is somewhere alone by himself, 
feeling all the emotional trauma that I have inflicted on him. And 
you... almost lost your life. What were you thinking? You should be able 
to block the blows." She had redirected her attention to his face. Her 
hands not touching his body for fear that it may hurt him. She had a 
guilty expression on her face and she was very, very sad.

	"I owed it to him. He could beat me anyway he wants if that would bring 
his pain away. I've caused him misery." Ranma coughed as he spoke. His 
voice became weaker as he went on. Akane was about to protest but he 
stopped her by taking her left hand to his mouth, kissing it lightly. 
"Let's not argue." 

	She nodded. He was so weak and she remembered Dr. Tofu words. He needed 
rest. "Ranma, you need to rest. I'll watch over you if you don't mind." 
She moved closer to him. Their heads inches apart. Then, their soft lips 
met, sending sweet sensations throughout their bodies. The intoxicating 
taste of the kiss had also momentarily set them free of their problems. 
Then, Akane broke the kiss. Ranma groaned, he wanted to kiss her more, 
to assure himself that this was not a dream. Akane smiled as she sat 
beside him. "Now, go to sleep." She watched him as he closed his eyes 
and she sighed contentedly. 

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

(6 months later)

	Ranma and Akane were holding hands as they watched a TV programme.  
Commercial break.  Ranma turned to Akane and commented, "This is great.  
No unwanted fianc�es barging in, nobody charges in wanting a duel.  Just 
the two of us."

	Akane nodded.  "We haven't been alone for so long in weeks.  But the 
price is so expensive. Wonder what Nabiki is doing with 2 months of our 
allowance?"

	"Who cares!  There's other things I'd rather concentrate on," he 
replied huskily.

	Akane blushed and tilted her head forward, waiting for the kiss.  
Moments passed.  Puzzled, Akane opened her eyes and saw Ranma engrossed 
in the show.  She was about to scold the jerk when he shouted excitedly, 
"Hey, that's Ryouga!"  

	Akane peered at the figure in the tv, who was wearing a tuxedo and 
started shooting at the hero.  "Nah.  I think it's his elder brother, 
Tsuyoshi."

	"Wow.  For a moment there, I thought Ryouga had became an actor and 
that you could have married an actor..." his voice trailed off.

	"I'm worried about him.  We haven't heard any news from him since, well 
since you know what."

	"Don't worry.  There are lots of women better than you.  I'm sure he 
has probably forgotten about you."

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

(Ryouga was in an empty classroom)

	He sat down and took out his leather wallet.  In it was a crumpled and 
torn photo of Akane.  It had been shredded and scotched taped together 
several times.  He fingered the photo and remembered...

	Them walking along the beach, talking.  Running away from the football 
stadium.  Being dragged by Akane as she went into one shop after 
another.  Her in a beautiful wedding gown. Her telling him that the 
wedding was off.

	For several months, he was devastated.  Not a day would go by without 
him thinking about Akane.  Some days he would dream about Akane, being 
in her arms, kissing her.  And he would cry, knowing that was not going 
to happen.  Other days, he would think about how humiliated and how 
foolish he was.  He hated Akane and Ranma.  Hated them for ruining his 
life, for making him hurt so much.  He would take out her photo and tear 
it into pieces.  But after awhile, he would painstakingly scotch taped 
the pieces together.  Because he could never really hate her.  He loved 
her, even then he still loved her.  So he never sought revenge, knowing 
that he would hurt her by killing Ranma.  

	Now, he thought of her less often.  He could go on for days without 
recalling the failed wedding or dreaming about the perfect life they 
could have led together.  

	His thoughts were interrupted by people shuffling in.  They greeted him 
and sat down.  He smiled and said, "Ok, class.  I want you to gather in 
pairs and start conversing in Japanese.  Start with the line 'There was 
an interesting tv show last night'."

	"Hai sensei," they replied in unison.

	As he listened to a group's conversation, he thought about Nerima and 
its inhabitants.  Perhaps when he no longer loves Akane and could stand 
seeing Akane and Ranma together, he would go back for a visit.  He had 
gotten used to living in this European country but a visit would be 
nice.  (Sushi was really expensive here.)  He hadn't really gotten over 
her yet but soon, someday, he knew he would step foot into Nerima again. 

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

	Akane glared at Ranma who was backing away, slowly.  She pulled her 
mallet out of hammerspace.  "Insult me again and I won't be so 
forgiving," growled Akane as she hid the mallet.  

	Ranma sighed in relief as he sat down.  That's one thing that had 
changed as a result of the Ryouga and Akane wedding mess.  Akane and 
Ranma had realized just how precious their relationship was and started 
to treasure it.  He tried to express his emotions more often and not to 
insult Akane all the time.  Akane had learned to be more understanding.  
But although their relationship had improved, Ukyou, Shampoo, Kuno, 
Kodachi and others were still causing trouble.  But he was confident 
that they would get through it all, together. 


THE END!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Authors' note:

	Tsuyoshi (brother of Ryouga) is created by us. 

	At the end of this story, Ryouga was working as a Japanese tuition 
teacher.

	Any similarities to the fanfics out there are merely coincidences.

	For all those Ryouga fans out there, we're sorry. Because GSL is a 
supporter of Akane gets Ranma, tough luck on Ryouga gets Akane groupies.  
(GSL: Pls don't hate me. We promise to treat Ryouga better in our next 
fanfic.)

	Over a lunch in a fast food restaurant, we discussed that there are few 
Chinese female fanfic writers for Ranma, so we decided to sacrifice 
ourselves for the good of the fanfic community. *_*   And so this fanfic 
is born.

	If you like us to write a sequel to this, you will have to e-mail us. 
Cass's e-mail address is : chiaty@singnet.com.sg



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