Oops, ok, so 3 posts isn't enough, sorry for the error (/^_^\).
***************
Akane walked out of the tent, yawning. It had been a long while since she�d
slept properly. She shivered slightly in the cold early morning air and
looked around for Ranma.
"Ranma?�Ranma?�Anata wa doko da?" she called out. Her voice echoed around
the clearing, with no response. Her first thought was to panic, then get
angry. "Kuso! Ranma! If you left me here I�ll�" she snarled.
"Tadaima!" Akane looked over to her right, the voice had come from somewhere
in the bushes.
"Ranma?" she called back.
"Hai! Be there in a moment!" came the reply. Akane gave a sigh of relief.
She had actually begun wondering where she�d go if Ranma had indeed left.
She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and went about freshening
herself up with a bucket of water that was next to the tent. She didn�t know
where it came from but was glad for it�s presence. Ranma stepped out of the
bushes later and Akane gasped when she saw him. He was clad only in his
usual Chinese pants and tank top. His exposed skin on his shoulders, neck
and face were riddled with small cuts but the most noticeable thing was the
lack of his pigtail.
"Ranma�What�" Akane began, he cut her off.
"Training Akane�I�ve decided to enter the tournament after all�Not for the
prize that lies at the end, oh no�" his voice took a dangerous edge. "�but
for the revenge that waits for me!" Akane looked into his eyes and saw that
he was dead serious. He would kill Cologne, Shampoo and possibly Mousse if
he ever saw the Amazon trio again.
"Ranma�" Akane began. "�I�I mean�" Ranma turned to look at her.
"What is it Akane?"
"I�don�t want you to do this�" she finished with some difficulty.
Ranma looked at her strangely for a moment. "Why not?�You don�t want me to
punish those who forced us into this state?!?" he shot back. Akane looked up
at him with an almost pleading look on her face.
"Ranma, don�t get me wrong�" she began, then realised Ranma wasn�t listening
to her.
"No�This time, all is unforgiven�" he snarled, a dangerous glint in his
eyes. "�That old prune has gone too far�I�ll make SURE that no-one ever has
to suffer at her hands ever again!"
"�Ranma�It�s not that�I agree that Cologne has overstepped her bounds�But
you mustn�t sink to their level just to get even with them!�" Akane stated
after Ranma had calmed down slightly. "�What about honor?�" Akane jumped
when Ranma screamed at that last word and slashed his right hand at a nearby
tree, it collapsed with a loud cracking noise.
"Don�t EVER mention honor to me ever again! I�ve HAD IT with everyone�s
perception of �honor��From now on�I do things MY way!" He half-shouted.
Akane flinched slightly. Ranma was so different now, no longer the person
she used to know and love. This man standing in front of her now was a
little less than a demon, borne by the flames of hate and vengeance. Akane
stood back a few feet as he fumed silently for a few minutes, she spoke when
he�d calmed down enough to listen.
"Ranma�Do you remember what you said back in the garden?" she asked,
changing the extremely-touchy subject.
"Err�" Ranma scratched his head for a moment. "�..Hai." <I think�>
Akane caught the look on his face but didn�t say anything to give it away.
"�Remember what you said that if you entered the tournament, you�d take me
along?"
<I said that?> Ranma thought quickly. <�What would I ever want that
kawaiiku�Okay, I guess I did�> "�Hai, I remember�"
"�If you don�t care about honor anymore, does that mean you won�t take me
along now?" Akane asked, looking right into Ranma�s eyes. He promptly �acked�.
"Yes�No!�I mean, yes I won�t�No!�" Akane smiled to herself as she watched
Ranma stumble over looking for an explanation for a minute then decided to
press her question.
"I take it you won�t then�" she said, looking downcast. "�Then I may as well
go home, if you don�t want me around�" she said, sniffling as she turned to
walk away.
"Akane! Wait!!" Ranma called out frantically. She stopped, not turning
around for fear she might betray the smile on her face. It took her a few
moments of �rearranging� to get the sad look back.
"What is it?" she asked, turning around, trying her best to maintain the
front. Ranma walked up to her and placed both hands on her shoulders, sighing.
"Akane, I meant it when I said I�d take you along, as well as Ran-ko�" he
said, looking into Akane�s eyes. "�And I also said I�d help you prepare for it."
"Hai! You did!" Akane said, giggling. "�So when are going to do it?" Ranma
caught the sudden expression change on Akane�s face and knew that he�d just
been had, but he didn�t mind that much.
"We can start now if you like�We have a week before the tournament starts�"
he said.
"One week�" Akane muttered. "Ranma, do you think that�s enough time?"
"Should be�If nothing goes wrong�" he turned to face Akane, a dead-serious
look on his face. "�I have to warn you now, Akane, this isn�t going to be
easy�But compared to what you�ll face in the tournament this will seem like
a cakewalk later�You understand?"
Akane nodded after a few moments. "�Hai�I understand�" Ranma nodded then
took a deep breath.
"Ok, here we go, this will be a very long week�"
Akane nodded, then took a slow deep breath. "Hai�Ikuzo!"
To Be Continued�
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Closing Theme: Just Fallin� Love (A Million Times During the Heartrending Night)
Just Fallin� Love ~ ikutsu mono setsunai yoru no nakade ~
rasen kaidan yukkuri mai oriru Winding staircase, the time dropping lightly
jikan no nakade, furi muku The moment you turned to me,
jyunkan ni kanjita, mune no zawameki I felt the perplexity of my heart.
anata to wa ichido, atteiru? Have we met before?
sore tomo �dejavu�, Or is it just Deja Vu?
fushigi na yume mitai ni� It's like a mysterious dream�
Just fallin' love, umareru, maeni mo kitto Just fallin' love, maybe before
we were born
Take off with you, haruka na, Take off with you, looking down from a star
hoshi kara mitsumeteita. far away.
Garasu no youni, toumei na As clear as glass, the feeling taught me
omoi ga, oshiete kureta within me flowing people, there is nothing
nagareru, hito nami no
naka ni wa, nani mo nai koto
konna heibon na, mainichi ni In such an ordinary life
umoreru maeni, watashi wo saraini kite.. Before I'm buried, please come
take me
Just fallin' love, deai wo, kanjite ita no Just fallin� love, I had a
feeling we would
Take off with you, setsunai, ikutsu mono someday meet.
yoru no naka� Take off with you, a million times during
the heartrending night�
anata ni koishite, wakatta no I realized when I fell in love with you
unmei no ito, itsudemo yureteru koto The strings of destiny are always shaking.
Just fallin' love, umareru maeni mo kitto Just fallin' love, maybe before
we were born
Take off with you, haruka na, Take off with you, looking down from a star
hoshi kara mitsumeteita. far away.
Singer: Udagawa Ayako
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Author�s notes: Wow! This chapter has to be the darkest, saddest one I have
ever written ever. I hope you like it, I really enjoyed writing this ^_^ (I
love dark fics, especially Zen�s �The Bitter End�). If you have a dark, sad
Ranma fic somewhere, send it my way and I�ll be glad to C&C it for you. ^_^
Also, you may have noticed this is the first chapter which I�ve decided to
add an opening and closing theme. Ok, I know these aren�t Ranma songs but
they are nice so I decided to put them in. ^_^ Comments and corrections on
these also, please tell me.
Also, please forgive my use of Mandarin (or over use as some of you may put
it)I felt it appropriate for Shampoo and Mousse to speak in their native
tongue and I simply used the language just to illustrate that point. A full
translation/glossary is at the end. Originally I had written the entire
dialogue exchange between the two completely in Mandarin, then decided to
just leave some in and replaced the rest with english for slightly easier
reading. Once again, I apologise. (Note: Mandarin/Cantonese romaji is hard
to write as some pronunciations aren�t exactly possible to write using
english sounds, so some may be incorrect.)
PLEASE (with whipped cream and cherries on top) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send me
some C&C on this chapter. (begs pathetically on knees and kowtows.) I do
require your valuable input and all C&C will be answered. I do need the
input so I know what to not do in future, Jusenkyo�s Curse is my first fic
after all. (no lie)
Japanese glossary:
Itoshigo: lit. My dear child. (something a mother would say to a child.)
Kakikesu: lit. �to disperse�
Uchikesu: lit. �to counterattack�
Oyasuminasai: Goodnight.
Arigato: Thank you
Oneechan: elder sister
Oniichan: elder brother
Imouto: little sister.
Wakarimasu: I understand.
Wakarimasu ka?: Do you understand? (if shouted it�s taken as �do you get it
yet?!?�)
Urusei: Shut up!
Sanzen no Ka: The Japanese equivalent to the River Styx.
Chinese(Mandarin) glossary:
Chin lai ma, men may yo sor zhu = Come in, the door isn�t locked.
Ni xiang sa mo, Mu Suu? = What do you want Mousse?
Wo pu xiang ni chow wo xian chai = I don�t want you bothering me right now.
Lai, che ii tian tong xi ma = Come, have something to eat.
Wo pu xiang chi xian chai = Leave it, I don�t feel like eating at the moment.
May tse la = Nothing�s wrong.
Tse lan-ma, tse pu tse? = It�s Ranma, isn�t it?
Zhu cou = Shut up/silence!
Hao, zhiang ma = Ok, speak.
Ni tao ti xi zhiang xa mo? = Just what do you mean exactly?
Wo pu ming pai = I don�t understand
Mo men pu xi ren me?�Ta tui wo men xiang gou = Aren�t we humans too? She
treats us like dogs!
Hsieh hsieh = Thank you
K u s a n a g i K y o
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"Kusanagi Flames, Yagami Tears, Orochi Blood"