TIME TO LET GO
By Kiwi Noriega

All rights are of Rumiko Takahashi.

Author's note:
	
	Yeah, another one here, (Hey! I'm on a role here!) but this time it's
really short, yet it has meaning. Anyway, hope you all like this one.
-Kiwi :C)

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Time To Let Go


	Shampoo was so happy; yet the rumors about Ranma and Akane was still
nagging at her. She was going to ask Ranma to take her on a date tonight.
She skipped to a low roof beside the dojo. From a distance she could see
Ranma, his back facing her. Her grin widened and before she could take
another step, Ranma turned and revealed Akane in his arms. Shampoo was
shocked. So many thoughts came to her mind, but she ignored them. Then she
saw Ranma move down and kiss Akane. After that, she could see Akane
mouthing the words, 'I love you, too, Ranma.' Her thoughts were proven.
Anger first got into her and she was thinking of ways to break the couple
in front of her. Then she stopped; her anger was gone and replaced for it
was sadness-sadness that crept through her whole body, threatening to take
her down. It was too much; she could not bear this anymore. She turned
around with tears at the corner of her eyes, trying so hard not to burst
out into tears. Shampoo leaped away from dojo as fast her feet could carry
her. She wanted to be far from the image, far from the thoughts that had
sparked in her. 
	Shampoo ran away for the first time. She had never thought that it would
be this painful-painful enough to make her cry. She was an amazon, a
warrior. She wasn't supposed to cry. She was supposed to be strong, to
withstand all the things that would come her way. But she can't just ignore
what she was feeling right now. Not when she felt that everything was over.

She lets the tears drop as she ran and just let it disappear into the cold
wind trying to swallow her up. She slowed down and found herself in front
of the Nekohanten. 
	Shampoo entered the Nekohanten to see it was empty, except for Mousse at
the counter. He faced her and just the sight of her with tears streaking
down her face was enough to make him stop and just quietly go to her. 
>From her expression and everything, Mousse was sure that it was something
serious. He had an urge to spout drivel and babble about her beauty, but he
stopped. This wasn't the time to talk of such things. It was time for him
to just be a friend to Shampoo and help her through her problem.  
Shampoo had prepared herself for Mousse's noisy words, but to her surprise,
Mousse didn't start all his praising and just stood in front of her,
looking down into her eyes with concern etched all over his face. She
looked into his eyes for once; and saw or rather felt warmth surround her
as if she had just been sheltered from a raging storm.
He slowly touched her cheek and faintly smiled at her, trying to give her
all his strength and love. Shampoo closed her eyes and hugged Mousse,
emptying all her grief and sadness with tears that soaked his soft shirt.  

Mousse gently stroked her long beautiful hair and rocked her back and
forth, all the while whispering, "Shh...I'm here, don't worry, I'll never
leave you."
They stood there in each other's arms wrapped in a blanket of security and
warmth as the wind picked up from outside the store. Shampoo calmed down
and let go of Mousse, looking up to him and smiling weakly. She gently
touched the corner of Mousse's right eye and said, "Shampoo thank you,
Mousse." The loving smile he returned made Shampoo think of a lot of things
she had overlooked and forgotten. 
The winds outside stirred some leaves and made them go up into the air,
twirling as they descended. At this time, as she watched the leaves gently
fall down, she realized one thing. It was time to let go. It was time to
stop pursuing something she could never have. Time to accept what she had
always known. She knew that it would hurt for a long time, but as she held
Mousse's hand in hers, she knew that the hurting would pass and that the
person that would help her through this all was right beside her, holding
her hand. 

-end.


***
Hey, hope you enjoyed it, I want to thank the people who gave me advice
about the web page, it really helped. Anyway, you can all visit my new
fanfic page at          http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Temple/9371 
*oh yeah, haven't posted 'Time To Let Go' yet on the page, I want to know
what you people think of ti first.

-hope you all visit!!

All commments, suggestions, criticisms and everything are welcome at 

becknkal@addax.bc.ca

THANKS!!!!
-Kiwi :C)