From: Emily Siazon 


"WASURERARENAI"(Unforgettable)
An alternative reality fanfic by Emily Siazon.
All characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.
< > are thoughts
o/~ someone singing
**********************************************************************

Chapter 10
**********

     A loud scream pierced the night air, waking Shinnosuke from his
pleasant dream. It sounded like it was Akane, having one of her
nightmares again.

     He ran across the hall, ignoring the pain in his chest. Her
well being was his only concern.

     She had been having bad dreams for the past few days. Every 
time he asked her about it, though, she'd just shake her head and 
say it was nothing.

     Well, this time, he wasn't going to take no for an answer. He
would force her to tell him if he had to. Keeping something like
this bottled up just wasn't healthy.

     One look at her tear-stained face broke his resolve, however.
He saw her eyes pleading for him to understand, and he reluctantly
closed her door once again.

     Once she was sure Shinnosuke had left, Akane shivered, but not
from the cold. The dream she just had was so realistic.

     It always started in an empty hallway. She would be alone, 
when she'd hear a sound coming from the living room. She would go
towards it and find her family there, talking happily.

     She would run towards them, but some barrier would keep her
from the room. She would then scream, pound on the invisible wall, 
do everything she could to get their attention. But always, they 
would ignore her and happily continue talking, not at all worried 
that she wasn't there.

     Akane shook her head and got out of bed, knowing she wasn't
going to get any more sleep that night.

                     *        *        *

     "I'm sorry for the inconvenience," Akane apologized, while
trying to open her front door.

     "Oh, that's all right," Kasumi answered.

     The two girls had just come back from the mall, having bought a
lot of important things Akane never even knew she needed. Living in
the city was so different. There were so many new things to worry
about that she was glad she had someone like Kasumi to help her.

     When Akane finally managed to open the door, she was almost
knocked off her feet by an enthusiastic Shinnosuke.

     o/~ Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you... o/~

     "Um, Shinnosuke?" Akane tried to interject.

     o/~ Happy birthday dear Akane... o/~

     "I really don't..."

     o/~ Happy birthday to you! o/~ he sang, ending the song with a
flourish that reminded Akane and Kasumi of lounge singers they'd seen
on TV. His eyes even sparkled, although his reasons were different.
His only thoughts were on her impending reaction to his present.

     It had been exactly ten years since he met a terrified Akane in
Ryugenzawa. During that time, they had disagreed and made up
countless times, made each other laugh and cry. But through it all, 
one thing never changed. No matter what happened, he loved her, and 
if she agrees to his plans, he would do so for the rest of his life.

     "Ahem. Like I was trying to say, my birthday isn't until over a
week from now," Akane informed him.

     Her listeners' reactions to this statement varied greatly.
Shinnosuke was clearly disappointed, while Kasumi was ecstatic.

     "That's great," she exclaimed. "This means we have time to have 
a party at my house!"

     "That's not..." Akane tried to butt in, but Kasumi was on a
roll.

     "...I can serve yakitori, and we could have paper lanterns all
over the backyard! I have a lot of things to organize, so I'll see
you later."

     "Right... later," Akane answered, all the while wondering if
this wasn't just some bizarre dream brought on by a plate of bad 
sushi.

                    *        *         *

     Ranma was on his way next door to see Akane when he almost got
run over by Kasumi.

     "Why are you in such a hurry?" he asked, a bit confused at
seeing such unusual behavior from someone who was usually so calm.

     "I'm sorry, Ranma. Its just that Akane's birthday is coming
up, and I have to hurry so that we can have a party at the dojo."

     "When is it?" he asked, a bit panicked. Akane had never
mentioned this to him. He had no idea what he was going to get 
her.

     "All I know is that it's going to be a little bit over a week
from now."

     "Thanks, Kasumi," he yelled as he ran down the street, already
thinking of what he was going to give Akane on her birthday.

     While she watched his form slowly get smaller, a new thought
entered her mind. "Oh my, I wonder if Dr. Tofu would like to come?"

                     *        *        *

     It was only 7:30, and the party was already going strong.
Akane had to admit that she was having fun despite her earlier
reservations.

     She waved at Ryoga, who had just arrived from who knew where,
as she headed towards the buffet to talk with the guests. Before she
could get there, her arm was grabbed by Kasumi, who wanted her to
meet Dr. Tofu. Unfortunately, he was unavailable, having gotten into 
a deep conversation with a nearby tree.

     "He's so silly, isn't he?" Kasumi giggled before she tried to
pry him away from the engaging discussion.

                    *        *        *

     "Well, they seem to be having fun," Nabiki observed darkly
from a corner of the yard.

     Akane had a gone to talk to her a couple of minutes earlier,
since she seemed to be the only one at the party not having any fun.
She had been so busy trying to figure out the source of the older
girl's unhappiness that the comment caught her off guard. "Who?"

     "Who else?" Nabiki asked, gesturing towards Kasumi and Dr.Tofu
laughing gaily at the back porch.

     "You don't seem to happy that they're getting along," she
answered slowly, a bit puzzled at the other girl's reaction.

     "They're so in love it makes me sick," Nabiki continued, not
seeming to have heard Akane's remark. Her eyes, however, betrayed
her real feelings. It was obvious that she had feelings for 
Dr. Tofu.

     "You love him, don't you?" Akane wasn't really asking.

     Nabiki gave a bitter smile as she answered, "My feelings 
doesn't matter. It's obvious that he's in love with Kasumi." 

     Ever since she could remember, she had been going to 
Dr. Tofu after some fights that got too rough. And whenever 
Kasumi came to pick her up, he would suddenly become nervous and 
would start to babble incoherently.

     Nabiki knew that she could never affect him like Kasumi did.
She had accepted a long time ago that he was never going to be 
hers. It didn't make seeing them together any less painful, though.

     She gave the blue haired girl a wan smile before she started 
to walk away, suddenly filled with an urge to be alone. "Now, if 
you'll excuse me..."

     "Uh, yeah. See you," Akane said a bit reluctantly, worried by
the brief glimpse she got of Nabiki's face which had changed back
to its usual neutral expression.

                      *        *        *

     "Excuse me, can I please get everyone's attention?" Akane
yelled over the noise as soon as she got on the makeshift stage.

     The yard quieted down quickly, everybody giving her their full
attention.

     "Thanks. I'm up here to share with you all a present that my
oldest friend, Shinnosuke, has given me."

     With a self assured smile, Akane listened for Shinnosuke to
start the song. They had worked hard on writing it for the past 
couple of days, and she knew that it sounded good.

     Once he had finished playing on the piano the opening bars,
Akane started to sing.

     Ranma immediately recognized it as the song Shinnosuke was
playing when he was at their house. He smiled and started to tap
his foot along with the catchy beat.

     o/~ In a covered passage in the sun, I confided in a friend.
         A wonderful person, but "it's a secret..."
         Lamenting the hair I cut too short,
         There were nights I couldn't sleep.
         I wonder if I can ever laugh about it. o/~

     Upon hearing this, Ryoga felt guilty. To think, he was the
cause of sadness that haunted her even now. It was unforgivable. 
There must be some way he could make it up to her.

     o/~ I won't forget (that rainbow)
         I won't forget (that love)
         Even when I become an adult, I don't want to lose them. o/~

     Ranma couldn't help but wonder if she was referring to her
family with those words. Did this mean she hadn't given up on 
finding them?

     o/~ I won't forget (this sky)
         I won't forget (this dream)
         The gentle seasons I now share with you.
         In sadness (the days I shook and),
         In joy (the days I cried),
         These are important memories. o/~

     Ryoga waited until the last note of the song ended before he
made his way towards Akane. He ignored the group of people
congratulating her and asked, "Can I talk with you?"

     Excusing herself from the horde of people surrounding her, she
answered, "Sure."

     Akane led him to a secluded part of the yard and waited
patiently until he managed to gather his thoughts.

     "Is what you said true? I-I mean about losing sleep because of
what Ranma and I had done."

     "Honestly? Yeah, sometimes. But I'm not mad. I mean, how else
could we have become friends?"

     "I can think of other alternatives," he answered with a rueful
smile.

     "So can I. But you have to admit, it certainly made our first
meeting unforgettable."

     "That's true."

                      *       *        *

     It was late at night, and only Ranma and Akane were left in
the backyard. Everyone else had either gone home or, in the case of 
the dojo's residents, had gone upstairs to sleep.

     The last time either had seen Shinnosuke, he was asking Ryoga
for directions to the bathroom, so they weren't expecting him to 
show up any time soon.

     Akane stood by the pond, staring at its calm surface. She was
totally unaware of Ranma's presence until he cleared his throat to
get her attention.

     She didn't look up at him but acknowledged him with a soft, "Hi."

     "What are you still doing here?"

     "I was just thinking."

     "About what?"

     "Nothing in particular."

     "Oh," Ranma said, unable to think of anything else to say.

     They stood there quietly for a while, watching a koi
occasionally jump above the water, the moonlight hitting its scales 
painting the surrounding area a bright rainbow of colors.

     "I-I got you something," Ranma whispered, breaking the silence.
"I meant to give it to you earlier, but..."

     "What is it?"

     Silently, he handed her the small, brightly covered package
that he had been holding the whole night.

     He watched as Akane eagerly ripped open her present. "I hope
you like it."

     She let out a gasp of surprise while she took out the contents
of the cheery red and yellow box. "My necklace! H-how did you find
it?"

     "I didn't. I saw it at a store in town and..." He stopped
talking when he saw a tear fall into the pond, marring its smooth 
surface. "Why are you crying? I thought you'd be happy."

     "I am," Akane answered while turning around to face him, 
wrapping her arms around his torso and embracing him tightly. 
"Thank you."

     Slowly, seeing that no one else was there to interrupt, Ranma
hugged her back.

     In another corner of the yard, Shinnosuke silently watched the
exchange. His expression unreadable, he put back a small velvet box
in his pocket and walked away.

**********************************************************************
AUTHORS NOTES: Can anyone guess what Shinnosuke's other present is?
   Hope you liked the waffy parts of this chapter because I'm going to
put the characters through emotional hell in the next part.
   Why? I'm doing that because it's very important to the plot. Its
not like I _enjoy_ making them suffer 
   Anyway, don't forget to send c&c, 'kay?

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