Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Under the Moon So Bright ❯ Chapter 01: Windy Day ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Misty doesn't own any characters for Ranma 1/2. Those characters all belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

She looked toward a far wall at the clock.

8:42

She frowned.

They were suppossed to meet up at seven.

Akane shifted uneasily in her chair. She'd been waiting for a while now, and Ranma was still nowhere to be found. She glanced up at her surroundings, half expecting him to pop out of nowhere and startle her. The small coffee shop was becoming less and less crowded. People were returning to their homes for the night. Akane sat at a small table against a wall reading a book. She'd look up from time to time to see if he'd shown. She was actually beginning to get a little worried. Sure Ranma was a little too carefree for his own good sometimes, but when he said he would meet her that morning he assured her he wouldn't forget.

"Ranma... Where the heck are you?" she whispered to herself.

With a small sigh, she reached for her jacket on a nearby seat. She stood up and began walking toward the door, pulling her arms through the sleeves of the coat one at a time. She tucked the book she'd been reading into her pocket and, with one more look around, she stepped out into the cold winter air.

"Damn," Ranma cursed to himself.

'Akane's gonna be pissed.'

He pushed past a few people on the sidewalk. He was walking quickly, toward the place where Akane had asked to see him. The streets were almost deserted, save a few stragglers wandering here or there. He shivered. He'd left the dojo in such a hurry that he'd forgotten about the weather until after he'd sprinted a few blocks. He wore a red long-sleeved Chinese-style shirt with a black sash around his waist, and loose dark green pants.

'I'll freeze to death before I get to her,' he thought to himself.

He turned a corner and saw Akane leaving the coffee shop.

She was looking to the ground.

She looked a little sad.

'Could she be upset that I didn't show?'

'No,' Ranma sighed.

'I'm just someone to be tolerated.'

He broke away from his thoughts as he began to run in her direction.

"Akane!" he shouted.

She looked up, and gave Ranma a sweet smile.

'She really is cute,' he thought.

"Ranma!" she said in a cheerful voice.

She stared up at him with a look of genuine happiness.

'Thank goodness he's okay,' she thought.

Ranma placed a hand behind his head and smiled uneasily.

'She's not mad? What's with her today?'

A breeze swept through the air and Ranma once again noticed the biting cold. He shivered a bit and folded his arms in front of his stomach. Akane saw Ranma shiver and realized that he was only wearing his usual thin red chinese-style shirt.

"Baka." Akane started in a more caring than scolding tone. "You shouldn't have left the dojo without a coat. You'll get sick if you don't stay warm."

'And I don't want to see you sick again...' she thought.

"I know I know..."

Akane took of her coat and held it out to Ranma.

"I'm fine," he replied.

"Ranma..."

"I said, I'm fine," he repeated, trying his best to reassure her with a smile.

"If you say so..." she put her arms through her sleeves once again.

'It really isn't too cold,' she thought. 'Just a little chilly... He's okay.'

The pair began to walk the half-mile back to the dojo in silence.

Ranma bit his lip to stop it from trembling.

He really was beginning to become cold now. He could no longer feel his hands and he felt the start of a headache. His legs were also beginning to go numb.

"Gomen nasai, Akane. I should have been here earlier. It was a longer walk than I thought..." he trailed off. He could barely form the words without shivering uncontrollably. He managed to, though.

Akane began to lecture Ranma on the importance of punctuality when she noticed that his face was beginning to flush. He was also rubbing his hands together and shivering softly.

Her heart caught in her throat.

"Are you alright, Ranma?"

Ranma's vision was beginning to blur. He found himself struggling to take in the cold air that filled his lungs.

'I'm stronger than this,' he thought to himself. 'The cold shouldn't be affecting me this much.'

But it was affecting him.

He felt himself losing consciousness.

"Ranma!" Akane shouted as she rushed forward to catch the falling Ranma before he hit the pavement. His head rested on her shoulder were she kneeled, arms around his shaking form. Tears filled her eyes as she felt him shivering violently. She turned him over and craddled his head on her lap, tears clouding her vision.

'Ranma... Oh Ranma not again...'

She pulled up his sleeve and brushed her hand against his skin.

Ice cold.

She reached for his wrist and felt for a pulse.

She let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

'He's alive,' she thought.

Akane remembered at time two weeks ago when something similar had happened.

-----------

It was a normal day. She and Ranma were walking home from school as usual, she on the ground and Ranma walking along the fence behind her. The day turned out to be much less normal than anticipated, though.

Akane began to contemplate their relationship. Over the past week Ranma had been distant and callous toward her. He seemed so depressed.

'What could have gotten him so down?' she wondered.

She looked back at Ranma and saw him staring at the ground from his spot on the fence. His eyes were half-open and he looked as if he might cry at any moment.

'What's happened to him?' Akane thought. She wasn't used to seeing the carefree boy in such a state.

As they were walking in silence, Ranma lost his balance and fell.

Ranma never lost his balance.

He fell onto the sidewalk with a thud, his body colliding with the ground.

Akane turned and saw Ranma on his side looking very hurt.

"Ranma!" she screamed.

Akane rushed over to him with worry evident on her face. He was dazed and barely conscious. He kept his eyes closed. His face and shoulder had made contact with the ground first. His shoulder appeared to be fractured. She sat him up and was startled to find bruises beginning to form on his arm.

Ranma never got bruises.

"It's better..." Ranma whispered, "If I just die...."

Akane's eyes widened at the statement.

"What?" she asked, leaning over Ranma to look at his face.

He had tears streaming down his face.

Ranma never cried.

She hadn't noticed until now, but his eyes seemed sunken-in, as if he hadn't gotten enough sleep. His face was thinner, too. Now that she took a closer look, he himself was thinner.

Ranma coughed violently. As Ranma took his hand from across his face, Akane could see red on his lips.

'Oh no....'

She was reluctant to leave, she wanted to stay with Ranma, but he needed help.

She squeezed Ranma's hand a said, "I'll be right back." She had ran off to get help.

She reached the doctor in tears.

She explained to him what had happend to Ranma and he agreed to tend to his wounds.

When she and Dr. Tofu got back to Ranma they were stunned to find him bent over his arm.

Ranma had a jagged rock in his right hand and was scraping it down his left wrist.

Akane ran to Ranma when he was in sight.

She took the rock from his hands, tears streaming down her face, and stared in shock at the deep marks from Ranma's wrist to his fore-arm.

Ranma's eyes were closed and tears were streaming down his face.

'Ranma...' she thought, looking at his broken-down form. 'What's wrong?'