Solar Demise Chapter 10 

Hey guys, it's been a while. ^^;;  For those of you not in the know, I've currently got two ongoing stories: this one, and my Inuyasha fanfic, Fade and Flare (accessible through my profile).  If you're sitting around bored some time, feel free to read it!  

Well, this story (at least the main chapters) has been narrated by Akane, but it's come to a point where we need to break away from Akane's firsthand experience to move things along.  Hopefully this isn't some kind of forbidden writing faux pas. 

Enjoy, nonetheless.  The first part of this chapter has a more evolved version of the teaser I posted last time.

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Shit, he thought to himself. It was well past twilight and he was lost in a maze of streets, hopefully far from Nerima by now. He had walked long enough; he figured he was in the next town already. Away from Her. A chilly breeze bit at Ryouga's shoulders as he trudged down another street. He shivered, cursing at the fact that it was hard to see without streetlights. Walking through a dark forest was better, he decided. He could start a fire without worrying about whether or not he'd get arrested for arson. It wasn't like he couldn't take on the cops, of course, though it wasn't like he -wanted- to start trouble. Hibiki Ryouga was brought up to be polite and well-mannered... unlike a certain rude jerk of a-- no, he wasn't that bad actually. Ryouga sighed in resignation.

Saotome Ranma had too many things that Ryouga wanted, and did nothing to get them, either. Girls fawned over him even though he neglected their feelings. He fought so many strong people, always managing to win somehow. He easily picked up new fighting techniques and even learned to create his own. Ryouga felt as if he had to push himself beyond his limits just to barely keep up. Every time he saw himself in Ranma's shoes a familiar anger burned in his belly. He would have handled things so much better than Ranma did.

There was an opportunity to have her, something inside of him asserted.  Would he have been able to chip away at Akane's defenses back when Ranma initially left her?  Ryouga wasn't too sure.  His mind replayed a seemingly distant memory, along a gorgeous beach where he walked with Akane arm in arm.  Back then he was convinced all too much that he didn't enjoy the moment as much as he should have.  Back then Ryouga was more concerned about his suffering friend, and had thought he could finally completely embrace the love that Akari unwaveringly offered to him with no regrets now that Akane admitted what she really wanted.

Hiroshi had been a friend from school; Ryouga knew that much.  Even though Hiroshi witnessed a lot of their antics and a handful of fights it was painfully obvious to Ryouga that he didn't even grasp how important it was for Ranma and Akane to be together.  Hiroshi had probably never heard of Mount Phoenix and Saffron, and wasn't there to witness the sheer desolation and hopelessness in Ranma when everyone thought Akane was dead.  Hiroshi would have run home crying in the face of something as massive as the Yamato no Orochi if he could even make it that far into Ryugenzawa without becoming dinner for a giant lizard.  Hiroshi couldn't possibly fathom and certainly not endure the sacrifice and pain Ranma experienced without a second thought; from fights, training, compromises of his manhood, and culinary assault, all for Akane!

Not at all, Ryouga decided.  No matter how much of a friend Akane may have seen him as, Ryouga knew that Hiroshi did not belong in their group of martial artists friends and rivals.  The calibur of experiences such a group had under their collective belts could only be wild fantasy to someone as painfully normal as Hiroshi.  Their lives were touched by the world's strongest, the world's strangest, and other phenomena from the far edges of human existance.  Ranma was the center of this group,  unequivocally bound to Akane, their darling.  There was nothing to explain it save for the belief in this, one that had slowly manifested in Ryouga's heart.

This was why Ryouga had let things go.  This was why Hiroshi was not good enough for one of their own.  As 'friendly' as Hiroshi may have been he selfishly tried to take Akane for himself, smearing her with the stench of normalcy.

Look at how dramatic I've made things out to be.  "I'm such a kid," Ryouga sighed. He thought he'd gotten over this, but the memory of seeing Akane and Hiroshi replayed in his head. The look on her face was so cute and flushed as he kissed her. Would she look like that with Ryouga? How soft did her lips feel? Ryouga shook those thoughts out of his mind. "No!" he stopped walking for a second to compose himself, using one hand to lean on a wall. The image of Akane's lips appeared in his mind again. In a small fit of frustration, Ryouga began poking holes in the wall his hand was previously resting on. He groaned, agitated, increasing his pace.

"Hey! Quit vandalizing my building!"

"Huh?" Ryouga spun around quickly to face the voice. "Oh, I'm sorry--"

The figure folded its arms, walking out the front door towards Ryouga. "Y'lost again?"

Aw, dammit. Ryouga's stomach sunk. His feelings became an open book when he slumped, reshouldering his backpack. "Yeah, I guess so, Ukyou."

She snorted, rolling her eyes. "Well, considering how late it is I suggest you get your sorry butt in here and stay for the night."

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We hadn't said anything to each other on the walk home last night.  I was itching to ask what had happened with Ukyou but felt like I didn't need to; the end result was clear enough.  The first couple of days after were tense; we were used to Ukyou's frequent visits and waited for her each day.  I felt a mix of relief and hesitation at the end of the first day, when we had not seen her.  I thought to myself that I was one step closer to being with Ranma.  Shampoo would be my only obstacle afterwards.

I pictured her tear-stained face as she ran away.  Was that what I looked like when I experienced the same kind of pain?  I sympathized with her because we were the same in what we wanted.  Part of me felt guilty, wanting to reach out to her as a friend.  I wanted to be there for her, telling her that things would be fine if she just moved on and forgot about Ranma.  However because we were the same in our desires I didn't buy those sentiments.  There's no way that Ukyou would, either.  

When it came down to it, though, I knew that in being happy I had to hurt people.  With knowledge of how much my feelings cost others I still realized that deep down, I could live with all that.  I simply wanted to be with Ranma.  Whether or not he remembered our past, we shared a natural closeness.  Even on the day we met I experienced a kind of comfort with him, one that nobody else had ever given me.  The first night that Ukyou did not come became the night that all of my apprehensions about the matter cleared.  Even if Ranma never remembered his past with me, I would simply make more memories with him, no matter how many times Shampoo tried to erase them.

What Ukyou and Shampoo knew and what I never realized was that I needed no trickery and no elaborate schemes to make Ranma love me.  I just had to be me.  

What they failed to acknowledge was that love could not be forced.

It was now three days after we had last seen Ukyou.  Alone I lay on my side with the shoji slid open, staring out at the dojo.  My face was pressed against the cool wood floor with arms spilled out in front of me as the hint of a breeze combed over my body.  Dinner wasn't for another couple of hours but the sun had already sunk below the skyline.  While most of the sky was still a clear blue, hints of orange were starting to appear.  I could feel my eyelids sinking with thoughts about Ukyou and I dancing in my mind as I drifted off.

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"Hey Man, it's kinda strange to see you come around these days!"

"Hey Ranma."  Hiroshi removed his shoes in the entryway as he and Ranma entered the Tendo house.  "I wanted to talk to you a bit.  Where's Akane?"

Ranma handed his friend a pair of guest slippers to put on before wandering into the living room.  "Beats me;  she didn't feel like sparring before dinner like we usually do-- oh."  Ranma stopped, staring at the sleeping figure near the open shoji.

"Hmm?"  Hiroshi caught up to Ranma and turned to look at what the pig-tailed martial artist had been staring at.  He smiled upon recognition, his stare absently running across Akane's inky, black hair.  Her waist expanded and contracted smoothly with every shallow breath she took.  "Should we get a pillow for her, or something?"

"Nah, don't bug her.  She hasn't been sleepin' well lately."

"..ah."  This is the perfect time to skip the small talk.  Hiroshi's nervousness panged a little in his chest as he searched for a way to liason into the topic.  "So, Ranma, you lucky bastard... how many times have you two gone all the way already?"

Okay.  So that wasn't as tactful as he hoped.  Ranma nearly jumped out of his skin in reply.

"WHA--"  Ranma's wide-eyed stared flew back and forth between Akane and Hiroshi.  He flailed wildly and spoke again with a muted voice, so as not to wake Akane.  "What the hell are you talking about?!  I... we... we're not like that!"

Hiroshi decided to feign a little ignorance.  "You... you mean to tell me you and that... that sex bomb wandered around Japan for at least three or four months--"

His speech was cut off with one of the darkest glares he had ever seen.  Ranma looked downright scary as he eyed his friend.  "She's not a fuckdoll, Hiroshi."

"Whoa, hang on, Saotome.  I wasn't implying that.  I was just saying... Akane is undeniably hot.  You two disappeared together, alone somewhere and the last time I saw you two together 

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Ranma is pissed at Akane, Let's maybe bring them together for a little bit (no memories, though).

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Shampoo, and damn, this is hopeless.

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