Unforgettable
Written by Remi
~Prologue~
Ranma sat on the bench with an anxious look on his face. Within a few seconds, he got up from his seat and started to pace back and forth before the bench. Every once in a while, he would look eagerly at the walkways that lead into the secluded area of the park he was in. Disappointed that the person he waited for still hasn't show up, he glanced at his wristwatch again.
"Where is she?" His muttered impatiently as his eyes fell back once more on the walkways. She was late. Thirty-six minutes late to be precise.
"Damn it!" He cursed in frustration. "I better go find her."
As soon as he uttered that thought, a voice stated, "I was wondering when you would finally catch on."
He turned in surprise toward the speaker. "Nabiki?"
Smiling, Nabiki stepped out from behind one of the trees in the park. She frowned as she looked at her wristwatch. "Darn, I guess I lost that bet with Mousse." With a shrug of her shoulders, she mocked, "But then, it's a bet I don't mind losing. For it's going to be the last one I'll be making on you, Saotome."
He noted the look of antipathy on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you doing here, Nabiki?"
She eyed him with a look of arrogance. "Saotome, you can really be as dense as a rock."
He ignored her jeer and demanded again. "Why are you here?"
"Can't you figure it out by now that Akane doesn't want to see you? Rather, she doesn't want to have anything to do with you." With a smirk on her face, Nabiki added, "And Saotome, she isn't the only Tendou that wants this."
His heart constricted painfully at her statement. This was exactly what he had feared all day. He shook his head in denial. "You're lying. She said she would-"
"Why should she promise you anything when all you ever did is break yours?"
"I didn't! It just-"
"Happen?" Nabiki snorted. "You and your pathetic excuses. I don't even know why she put up with you for so long, when all you ever did is hurt her. Besides . . . half of the time, you're not even man enough for her."
Gritting his teeth, he tried to keep his anger in check. He wouldn't mind one bit if that comment have come directly from Akane. She has every right to be angry with him. He deserved it. But only Akane could say that. "I don't give a damn about what you think, Nabiki." He snarled.
"Oh? Well, you better start caring, Saotome. You see, my family means a lot to my little sister and our opinions matter a lot. Especially, my opinions . . . " Nabiki said haughtily as she pulled out a white envelope from her pocket.
"That's . . . " He said in a bare whisper. His eyes never left the envelope.
"What do you think?" She remarked dryly with a smirk on her face.
He extended his hand and demanded. "Give me that envelope."
"Always so rude and thoughtless. After all this time, you still haven't learned a bit of manners. Well, today is going to be different, Saotome, because . . . you're going to learn how to ask." With a dark gleam in her eyes, slowly Nabiki made a tear from the edge of the envelope to the center.
"Nabiki . . . " He growled in warning.
"Or should I have said beg?" She sneered, taking great pleasure in drawling out the correction.
The muscles of his jaws clenched tightly in strain as he glared at her. The urge to hit her suddenly crossed his mind. He had never purposely hit a girl before. He only held back in the past, simply because he don't fight girls. The second being, they haven't done anything so far to push him over the edge to a point of violence.
Yet at the moment, he had never felt such a desire and need to strike a girl. Especially, this conniving and swindling bitch in front of him that had made both his and Akane's lives like hell with her constant schemes. Not to mention, she was also about to destroy what chances he has left with Akane. The thought of hitting her was getting ever tempting and sounded even more justifiable with each passing second.
Unconsciously, he flexed his hands.
Glancing at his hands knowingly, she taunted. "What are you going to do, Saotome? Hit me?"
It took all of his willpower to bring one of his hands up. Palm up that is. He was not about to let Nabiki have the satisfaction of being able to provoke him to lose control. Tersely, he forced out his words. "Hand me the envelope now."
She snickered and slowly continued to rip the envelope almost into halves.
With a flare in his eyes, he growled, "I don't care even if you're Akane's sister. If you come between us . . . I will hurt you."
She shrugged off the threat as if nothing and laughed. "Oh, now the great and honorable Saotome is going to harm little old me, a girl no less? No, no, wait . . . How can I forget? You certainly don't have an honest bone left in your body after what you done to my baby sister."
He closed his eyes, trying hard to push away the excruciating memory--the day when his life became a nightmare.
"You know, I really have to give it to you, Saotome. You are even better at acting than Akane, especially with that 'honorable' act you put up. Like how you don't want to hurt any girls' feelings because telling them off and pushing them away from you would do that? And you have used that same trick too, to drag on the fiancée business as long as you can. That was rather an ingenious idea. I didn't even know you had it in you, Saotome. That was simply, amazing . . ." She clapped her hands in mockery.
Grinding his teeth in anger, he spitted out. "You know very well that I never lead them on."
"Right . . . And all those girls felt for your pathetic 'innocent' look, thinking that you are actually sincere. And time again and again, they would come back and throw themselves into your arms because you do not care about them. Even Akane was dumb enough to start to believe that you are only interested in her. She probably would never have figured it out if it weren't for me. She certainly owed her big sister a huge favor. Don't you think, Saotome?" Nabiki chuckled.
So, she had a part in it. It was all beginning to make sense now . . . And it was also starting to get very difficult. So very hard to suppress the urge . . . to reach out, grab her by the neck, and . . . snap it. He could almost imagine the feeling of her skin meshed against his fingers and the sound of bones cracking, as he squeezed the life out from her. That would certainly shut the bitch up.
Shakily, he swallowed. Taking a deep breath, he tried to wash away the sinful fantasy in his mind. "Nabiki . . . I'm sure you have your future planned, a life full of money and success, no doubt? I don't think you would want that to end anytime soon. Now, do you?"
She looked fiercely at him as if daring him to carry out his threat. It was a moment before she finally backed away from the staring match. Although, she had façade a smirk of triumph on her face, he could tell that he was the victor. The slight step she took back in caution was enough of an indication. He took no pleasure in the victory though. As a matter of fact, his heart felt rather hollow, unlike the joy and the feeling of accomplishment that he normally got when he won in fights. And he knew all too well why . . .
"You know, if I haven't promised my baby sister that I would deliver this letter to you, I would have just tore this up so I could just see the look on your face. But then, I always keep my promises, Saotome." With a snort of contempt, she threw the envelope carelessly onto the floor.
He quickly dived for the envelope. He was quite relief to find that it was still hanging in one piece.
"Oh, by the way . . . " Nabiki threw over her shoulder as she walked away. "Don't you ever again set a foot near the Tendou Dojo."
He didn't give Nabiki so much as a second glance as she disappeared into the distant. Clasping the envelope tightly in his hands, his fingers shook as he opened it. As he pulled out the papers, he immediately recognized Akane's fine handwriting on them. His eyes hungrily went over each word. As he further read on, the strength left his legs and he fell back onto the bench . . .
Ranma,
I guess by now, you know I will not come to see you. I got Nabiki to give you this letter instead because if I have met you in person, I doubted I would have been able to say all that I wanted to say to you. I would have break down and cry. And perhaps, you would have been able to persuade me to change my mind. I can't allow that to happen. I can't let myself fall for you again and that's why I am writing you this letter.
Ranma, it had been more than two years since you first came to the Dojo. During these past two years, both good and bad things happened. Although, the craziness around us, and the fiancées business are ever present and never seem to change, I like to believe that somehow we did in our own way. I thought we had grown up a bit and gotten closer. At least, I had felt that way about us. Until now, I haven't realized I had been wrong all along.
What happened hurts me a lot, Ranma. Even, if you said it wasn't your fault, we both can't deny that it didn't happen. And I can't help but to feel resentment toward you. This wouldn't have hurt me so much, if I didn't have feelings for you. Yes Ranma, I love you. I can honestly admit this now. I don't know how this happen because you are not an easy person to like, especially with you constantly being such a jerk. Not that I am any better myself. And we practically argue all the time, but somehow I fallen in love with you.
Here I am, Akane, the uncute tomboy in love with the Great Ranma. I should have known this would never work. For how could I ever compete with the other girls, whom you so favored above me in beauty and companionship? And you told me numerous times, more than I could ever count mind you, how I could never measure up to your expectations and possess what you found so desirable, 'feminine' qualities. I should have realized than that I never stood a chance.
Yet, you had to give me hope. Like a knight in shining armor, you came to my rescue whenever I was in danger, and you were always protecting me. With your heroic acts, you have made me believe that you cared. When in fact, you would have willingly risked your life for just about any stranger that you happen to come upon that needed your help.
I guess you can't help being what you are. It's in your nature, Ranma, to defend the weak. But you should have let me fall. If I fell, I would have learned to get back on my feet again. And each time I do, I would have become stronger in body, heart, and mind. Nevertheless, you have to give me false hope that I could be 'the one' for you, when in fact I was just one of your girls. Now, I have fallen into a pit so deep that I fear I won't have the strength to crawl out of again.
That day, you have asked me if I could forgive you, and I walked away not knowing what to say. I couldn't give you an answer then, but I will give you an answer now.
I can't.
You have hurt me more than you ever know. It's strange, how I now want to believe most of the things that you told me. You know how you always called me a Tomboy and said that I was as strong as an ox? Or was that a gorilla? Regardless, I guess I have you to thank. For you see Ranma, I will be strong cause I won't let myself be hurt by you forever. Nor will I allow myself to hate you for long, because hating you will only keep the memories of you alive. And I need to learn to let you go.
Time will heal everything they say. And with time, you either learn to forgive or forget. Someday, I will learn to forgive you Ranma. Since I can't do that now, I opted to forget what happen instead. But seeing you each day makes it very hard to do. It finally came to me that in order to forget what happen, I would have to forget you as well. It pains me to see that we would end up this way. Perhaps, it's fate and this conclusion is inevitable.
Ranma, this will be the last time you will hear from me because by the time you read this, I will be long gone. Do not think of coming after me, for you will not find me. In time, I will forget you. I hope you will learn to forget me as well. I think we will both be better of that way. Goodbye Ranma.Your Uncute Ex-fiancée,
AkaneRanma glanced at the endearment near the end.
Your uncute ex-fiancé . . .
Akane had acknowledged and accepted him as her fiancé before she . . .
No! He brutally corrected himself. He had known all along that she belonged to him. The blushes on her face as he caught her looking at him, the shy smiles she gave him, and the way how her breathings quickened as he got close to her. It was all there! He just had been too stupid, too stubborn to realize them. Hell, he didn't even admit his feelings to her until that faithful day that brought them to this point.
"Damn it Akane! Why? Why did you leave me?" He shook his head in disbelief and dropped to his hands and knees, as his heart grew heavier by the second. "It's not my fault. The only girl that I ever want is you . . ."
Her words kept coming back to him, as if she had spoken to him directly.
I love you.
You have hurt me more than you ever know.
Someday, I will learn to forgive you.
Since I can't do that now.
I will forget you.
I hope you will learn to forget me as well.
We will both be better off that way . . ."Forget you?" He growled angrily as he crushed the letter in his hand. If she had been here at the moment, he would have put her across his knees and give her a good spanking! The tomboy wouldn't have been able to sit on her cute butt for days, much less to even dare to think about leaving him.
And how could she even begin to believe that he could so easily forget her? Forget how he loves her. Forget how many times he had risked his life for her. Forget how jealous he had been whenever another guy got too close to her. And forget how frighten and worried he was whenever she was in harms way. The thought of living his life without her was just unimaginable . . .
Those are the things he could never forget. He could never forget her beautiful eyes, her pretty smile, her appealing laughter, and her husky voice . . . Every memory of her and their time together were soldered into his brain. He never could forget nor will he allow himself to even begin to forget. And to think she would even dare ask him to do the impossible!
"You stupid. Stubborn. Mule-headed . . .Dumb tomboy!" He roared as he got up angrily from ground. "I will remember you! And I'm going to make damn sure you will remember me as well. For as long as I live Akane, I'm not going to let you forget about me!"
This, to himself, he swore. He even swore to Mother Earth, to the Heavens, and to all those that could hear him. His eyes followed an airplane in the distance sky, which apparently had just departed from Nerima Airport and was heading for some far of continent. And instinctively, he knew . . . that she may not have heard his pledge on that airplane, but one day . . . One day, she will surely know.
Author's Notes:
The steaming confrontation between Ranma and Nabiki in this prologue may be a bit unexpected due to the title. And some of you may already guess what might have happen. I leave that to your opinion. All I can say is, it's not as it seems and time will tell. It wouldn't be fun if I give away all the surprises, would it? ^_^.
Originally, there wasn't a prologue for this story. I have written chapter one before I even did this prologue. I was thinking of using that for the beginning. However, after having listened to a certain song, I have a change of mind and decided to begin with Ranma's perspective. No, that song isn't "Unforgettable". The song that had inspired this prologue was none other than, "I Will Remember You", sung by Sarah Mclachlan. I have also considered naming the story after that song. That's why it's tentatively titled. Anyway, "I Will Remember You" is a very nice mellow song. It's actually more of a 'saying goodbye' song. However, since I am a hopeless romantic, this will be a 'getting back together' story ^_^. And yes, chapter 1 will be put up shortly after this.vers: 12/6/01