Jeffrey "OneShot" Wong

Ranma 1/2: Lost and found  



     The leaves were gently rustling as the cold winds blew through the
park. In the far off distance, the setting sun was low in the sky, its light
shedding warmth one last time before it disappeared from the horizon. The
air was cold that evening. Even a mild gust of wind could chill a person
to their very soul. The park was quiet that evening, most of the people
having gone home to eat....at least most of them.
  Akane shivered as she continued to walk down the dirt path. She was
rubbing her hands together to generate some warmth, much to no avail. Her
warm breath could be seen every time she exhaled. Why did she have to take
that path? Why? She had no idea where she was, all because she was curious
of where that path would lead. She, not wanting to be with Ranma, had
decided to head home through the park after school. That was where she came
up to that fork in the road. She tried to backtrack when she realized she
was lost, but her efforts were futile. Now, she was lost, shivering cold,
and most of all, alone.
  The leaves of the surrounding trees rustled violently as a cold gust of
wind blew threw the path, causing Akane to shiver from its biting chill.
She was only clad in her school outfit, which left little to protect her
from the cold. Her feet ached with every step she took. Her fingers were
numb from holding her books and being exposed to the cold for so long. The
muscles in her legs were sore from the constant walking. She wasn't really
walking, but was more like limping, for her left ankle throbbed in pain
with every step, she having sprained it when she tripped over that branch.
  "What did I get myself into?" Akane said, tears forming in her eyes.
She wanted to be in her nice, comfortable home. She wanted that pain in her
left ankle to go away.
  Akane wiped the tears from her eyes. She had suffered through plenty of
hardships, but none of them was as bad as this.
  Her stomach growled. She was famished, not having eaten since lunch, which
was over eight hours ago. She felt tired and wanted to rest. But she knew
that if she stopped, she wouldn't want to get back up.
  Akane's head turned when she heard a voice in the far off distance. It
sounded like someone was calling for her. She listened intently, but she
never heard voice again. Sullenly, she turned back around and started off
down the path, slightly limping with every other step.
  Akane started crying, wishing she was home. She didn't want to be there.
  "Akane"
  Akane quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and turned around.
  It was Ranma.
  "Akane, are you all right?" he said, concern in his voice "I've been
lookin' for you for hours"
  Akane said nothing. All she did was regard Ranma as he stood before her.
  Ranma looked very handsome in the setting light but his visage showed that
of worry, worry for her. In his hand, he held a jacket. Akane realized he
was holding her jacket.
  "Here, I brought this for you" Ranma said, handing her her jacket.
  "Thanks" Akane said gratefully as she placed her jacket on. At that
moment, she felt one of life's anomalies, warmth where there is nothing but
cold. It wasn't the jacket that made her feel warm, but Ranma's concern.
  "C'mon, we better head on home" he said after a short moment of silence,
reaching out and taking hold of Akane's books so she wouldn't have so much
burden. Ranma realized she had a lot more burden than he realized when he
saw her limping.
  "What happened? Did you hurt yourself?" Ranma asked, stepping forward and
gently, taking hold of Akane's arm.
  Akane's heart skipped a beat when she felt Ranma's hand up on her arm.
She could feel his warmth seeping into her. She was so close to him that
she could smell the faint scent of perspiration. She realized that Ranma
must have been running for most of the time when he was looking for her.
  "I'm okay, Ranma" Akane said, feeling a bit embarrassed that she had
tripped over that branch.
  "No, you're not okay" Ranma said "Here, let me help"
  Ranma leaned forward to indicate he was willing to give Akane a piggieback
ride. Akane stood there for several moments, not knowing what to think. She
never been offered help like this. Most if the time, Ranma would tell her
to suck it in or make fun of her for being clumsy and hurting herself in the
first place. The guesture Ranma made was of great significence because he
was actually being nice, something he has never been since they first met.
  "C'mon, Akane. We better get going" Ranma said, his soft voice heard above
the gusting winds. For some reason, Akane felt warmth envelope her, a
feeling she could quite get used to. It was the feeling that someone
actually cared for her. Sure, her father and sisters cared deeply for her,
but this was different.
  Akane smiled as she got onto Ranma's back. For some odd reason, she didn't
feel ashamed of being helped. She actually liked the thought that Ranma was
helping her. She placed her arms around Ranma's shoulders, noticing how
muscular they felt against her touch. 
  "Arigato, Ranma" Akane said, smiling sweetly. She could smell the slight
scent of perspiration to him, a smell she found rather intoxicating. It was
the thought that Ranma must have been running around for quite some time to
be sweating in the least bit that made her feel light-headed. She felt tired
as she rested her head up against the nape of Ranma's neck. Her eyelids felt
like they weighed a ton. She had been walking for several hours straight
and now it was time to get some rest.
  "You can goto sleep of you'd like to" Ranma said in that soft voice of
his, meant for no one else but Akane.
  "Nah, I'll.....stay awake" Akane said, desperately trying to stay awake.
But after several minutes, she figured she souldn't fight the inevitable
and closed her eyes and fell right asleep.
  Ranma felt Akane's body relax as he held her. He sighed as he began his
ten mile trek back home, not once dreading the fact that Akane would be a
burden on him.

  The house was quiet when Ranma entered, Akane sound asleep on his back.
The moon was still high in the sky, its light shining through the windows,
guiding Ranma around in the dark.
  Ranma gently climbed the stairs, making not one bit of noise, not even a
creak in the floorboards. Quietly, he proceeded to Akane's bedroom, not
even worried about his father coming out of his room and getting the wrong
idea.
  He opened the door to Akane's room and entered.
  Inside, he gently placed Akane in her bed, careful not to wake her from
her peaceful slumber. He then placed some blankets on her.
  "Goodnight, Akane" Ranma said softly, smiling gently to himself as he
brushed one of Akane's bangs away from her forehead. He smiled once again
as he left her room for his, looking back one more time before he left.
  Ranma was happy that Akane was back in his life.



<End for now>


There...another fanfic. Hope you enjoyed it. Or course, I have to give
full credit to Rumiko Takahashi for creating such wondrous characters to
write about. Please send comments if you have any. I would reallly
appreciate it. Anyway, the story first started off as a thought in my head,
which happens to be the same way how 'I miss you' came about. The thought
stayed in my head for quite some time so I figured I should write about it.
And this fanfic is what I came up with. I'm sorry for any grammatical or
spelling mistakes. I can't stand reading my own stories.....that's why my
editing need some polishing.



PS- If you want any of my other works, just ask.


                                     
                                         Jeffrey "OneShot" Wong

<Bye>