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Ryukenzawa S. Ashley Burns

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C'mon man...don't think...whatever else you do, just don't think about what you're thinking about...

Not much farther...

He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt her take his hand.

"I'm sorry I made you worry about me. Let's go home."

I'm holding her hand...

She was saying something else, now, but he wasn't really listening. He kept seeing the entire day's events in his mind, over and over and over...asking her why she'd picked Shinnosuke, to turning into a girl to save her, to seeing her almost drown...

I almost lost her...

All his nerves and feelings were focused on his left hand, which was locked in hers. He idly wondered if the rest of his body still even existed. He wondered if he cared.

All he could think about was her.

All he'd really thought about for months was her.

I must be crazy. There's no way she'd go for it. No way. She can't possibly care about me. I mean, come on! I'm part girl for cryin' out loud...and we're always fighting...and she never shows any affection or nothin', not like all the rest of my crazy fiancees...

But if that were true, why was she here? Why hadn't she stayed with Shinnosuke?

Probably just coming back 'cause she missed her family...

Then why is she holding your hand?

Maybe it didn't mean anything. But maybe it did.

"Ranma, are you even listening?"

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The fire snapped and crackled, and sparks flew up into the night sky. The forest around them was dark. The crickets sang, and the wind whispered. It was beautiful. Neither one noticed. Ranma was too busy staring at the fire, and Akane was too busy trying not to look at Ranma. Neither one spoke, lost in thought, for a long time.

"Ummmm...Ranma?"

"Yeah?"

"You okay? You're not usually so...quiet."

He looked up at her. She looked beautiful. She always looked beautiful, whatever he said...but especially now. The firelight added red highlights to her short black hair, and a glow to her skin. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them and her head resting on her knees, and she was looking at him, concerned. It almost hurt him, somehow, to look at her. It was an odd feeling.

He looked back at the fire. "What were you doing out there?"

She sighed. "When I was younger, my family went on a trip to Ryukenzawa. I got lost, and wandered around in the fog crying for hours. Then I was chased by one of those huge animals, and I fell, and...this boy leapt out and attacked it. He saved me. But he was hurt while saving me, so I carried him back to his home. He gave me a whistle, told me it would keep me safe...then he told me how to get back."

"Shinnosuke, huh."

"Yes." She sighed again. "I owed him. I wanted to find him, and return the whistle, and thank him...so when the villagers called to ask for help fighting all those creatures, I went. I thought maybe I could find him. And he ended up resuing me again. He didn't remember me- he never remembers anything- but I was sure I knew who he was. Then his grandfather told me that because of the scars on his back- the ones he'd gotten from rescuing me, years ago- he was dying. Only the Water of Life had kept him alive...and it was disappearing. I had to help."

He kept staring at the flames. "That why you told him that maybe you could love him?"

There was a long moment of silence. "Yes. No. I don't know."

"You coulda stayed to find out."

She didn't respond.

He looked up at her; his eyes were oddly sad. "I love you," he said quietly.

He looked down, not wanting to see her expression. "I knew it for sure earlier, when I saw you wake up after...after almost drowning. But I think I've known for a while and just didn't want to admit it. I nearly died for you today, and...I'd do it again, if I had to. You nearly died, and I can't stand to even think of it. You're an uncute violent tomboy who jumps to conclusions, but...I need you, Akane." He was whispering, and there were tears in his eyes. "I need you."

Looking back up at her was the hardest thing he'd ever done, and it was several minutes before he managed it.

She looked as though she'd been slapped. She was staring at him, the color drained from her face, her eyes wide and one hand covering her mouth.

He looked away again and stood up, his fists clenched. "I'm sorry, Akane. Don't let it bother you; I won't bother you anymore either, once I get you get back home. I don't want this to bother you...I just... wanted you to know," he finished lamely. "In case there aren't anymore chances. It's okay, though. I'll go back to China to look for a cure, and your life can go back to normal, like it was before I showed up, and..."

His voice stopped working then, and he stood up and turned around to enter the tent, where he wouldn't feel her eyes watching him. Had to tell her...even though it means...I still had to tell her...

He'd barely taken a few steps before he felt arms wrap around him from behind, felt a warm body press against his back, her hands splayed across his chest. He stopped short.

"Ranma...Ranma, don't. You didn't even give me a chance to respond. Please listen to me."

He closed his eyes, not letting himself hope but still letting her touch thrill him. He waited, tensed with anticipation.

She was whispering. "You stupid jerk! You jump to conclusions as often as I do, you know...you're a stupid, perverted, macho idiot..."

He winced, and started moving forward again.

"...but I love you, too."

He froze. She held him closer, her face buried in his back so that he almost couldn't hear her.

"I never knew how to tell you...and there were so many other people in the way, and our family pushing us together all the time, and you know how stubborn I can be...me, the boy-hater, falling in love... I didn't want to believe it.

"But I need you, too, Ranma...you challenge me...you make me laugh, and cry, and feel...and I'll do anything, stop being jealous over you, stop hitting you, even stop force-feeding you my cooking, anything, so long as you don't walk away from me now. Anything so long as you don't leave me."

They were very still, and the only sound was of Akane's muffled sobs as she clung to his shirt.

Ranma forced himself to start breathing, then to turn around. Akane looked up at him, her face tear-stained, then she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him, and he felt her tears on his skin. Then he was holding her, and kissing her cheek, her neck, her hair, every part of her he could easily reach. He didn't even notice that he was crying, too.

"God...I thought I'd lost you, I thought...I'd never leave you, Akane, not if you want me here...I..."

"I know." She looked up at him; she was smiling, and her eyes were bright. "I know you won't."

He could only stare at her in wonder as she placed her hands on either side of his face and pulled his head down to hers, and then he really was kissing her, and holding her as though his life depended on it. As though he'd never let go. He couldn't think about all the troubles this would cause, all the pressures, all the chaos; all he could think about was how close he'd come to losing her, to never knowing...never telling her...and now, he knew, he didn't need to say anything.

He broke off the kiss, a bit reluctantly, to look at her. She was still smiling, and he smiled back, touching her cheek. "Ranma? We don't need to go home yet, do we? I mean...back to all the other fiancees, and relatives, and rampaging demons...do we?"

"Huh? We don't?" He was a bit confused.

"No." She hugged him close again, leaning against him. "Why don't we just camp out here for a while? I mean...this is going to take a while to get used to...and I'd rather not have anyone in the way. Do...would you mind?"

He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "No...I think I'd kinda like that. We've never had time to ourselves before."

"Yeah...someone always gets in the way. Like Kunou with his 'Saotome! Release my beloveds, you evil sorceror!'" she mimicked, giggling.

He laughed softly. "Yeah. And his dad obsessed with cutting our hair, and our parents obsessed with marrying us off..."

"What will we do about that, Ranma?" she sobered suddenly.

He squeezed her gently. "Worry about it later. We're only sixteen."

She smiled. "Yeah, that's true. For now, we can think about other things. Like this..."

She reached up and kissed him again, and he closed his eyes, feeling happier than he'd ever been.

I've got to thank her for running away to Ryukenzawa sometime...

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Bleh. Unfinished. I don't know if I'll ever finish it, though; it's nice in ways but was written solely as a outlet for my romantic frustrations. Ah well; I'll worry about it later.

Believe it or not, this originally had a scene in it that was taken almost directly from Jerry Maguire. You probably know the one.

S. Ashley Burns