Tempest

It took Ryouga two full days to find Ucchan's, and when he got there he discovered that the shop was closed. He was about to walk away when he heard Ukyou call out to him.

"Don't leave, please." Her voice was soft and tentative, and hollow, and the confidence that usually underlay her words was absent entirely. Turning, he saw her leaning wearily on the doorframe; she looked very much like she sounded. She was a bit disheveled, with her normally well-managed hair falling loose and unkempt into her face, and she had clearly been crying very recently.

She looks as bad as I do, he thought, and decided to stay and talk.

Ukyou poured each of them some tea and sat across the table from him. For several moments they sat in silence, until she finally asked, "So, how are you holding up?"

Ryouga shook his head, eyes downcast.

"Still blaming yourself?"

Ryouga's eyes jerked up, meeting her gaze. "How... ?"

"I heard you at the funeral," she answered dryly. "It showed."

"I don't understand," he answered, a puzzled look on his face.

"All that poetry you spouted about Ranchan's honor," she rolled her eyes. "That last line especially. I don't buy it... not from you."

Ryouga turned red with mixed anger and embarrassment, "You don't know the things I've done."

"Then tell me. Nobody's perfect, and locking it up inside never helps."

"I... I can't," he protested, sitting farther back in his chair.

"Sure you can, sugar," she urged, her voice soothing.

"I...." he hung his head. "I've been taking advantage of Akane. I... used my curse--"

"Curse?" she cut him off, suddenly curious. "What curse?"

Ryouga sighed. "I... used to turn into a little black pig."

Ukyou's jaw dropped, and Ryouga could feel her stare burning into him. It made him angry. "That's why I couldn't say it!" he shouted at her, pushing away from the table and turning to leave. "Now you think I'm--"

"Nobody's thinking anything about you, Ryouga," she answered him calmly. Except you, she added mentally.

He turned, still a little angry. "Then why did you gape at me like that?"

"I just...." she searched for the most inoffensive explanation, "it surprised me, okay? I mean, I probably should have figured it out, but it caught me off guard."

Ryouga was still angry, but he accepted the explanation. After all, his curse had provoked far worse reactions. Begrudgingly, he slumped back into his chair.

"Now I know why you said all that," Ukyou sighed, collecting herself for another try at cheering him up. "Still, you went on the trip with Ranchan. Why?"

"I wanted a cure," he answered automatically.

"So you didn't want to be P-chan anymore, right?"

"Right...." his voice trailed off.

Ukyou persisted. "We've all done some bad things, Ryouga. You have, I sure have... even Ranchan wasn't perfect."

"But I...."

She cut him off, talking very quickly now, trying to be persuasive. "Honor isn't perfection. Honor is admitting our mistakes, and doing what we can to make them right. You said something like that yourself, yesterday."

Ryouga started to protest again, but stopped himself. Ukyou had the answer, he realized. He had to make things right. "I have to tell Akane, don't I?" he asked, suddenly looking twice as miserable.

Ukyou nodded sympathetically. "Yes... you probably should. I know it won't be easy, though."

"I can't do it."

"You can," Ukyou lightly placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him. "Maybe not now, but sometime, you can. And you will, because you ARE an honorable person, Ryouga."

"No. Not yet I'm not," was his whispered response.

CRACK! Another block splintered under Akane's attack, bringing the count to fifteen, but she still didn't feel any better. Sighing, she moved to pick up yet another. Mechanically, she took it from the pile, carried it over, and set it in place. Preparing to strike, she let the anger and sadness flow through her, driving her--

"Akane, don't," a quiet voice interrupted her ritual, and shefroze. The pent-up anger seethed inside her, ready to unleash itself upon the intruder, and she spun quickly to face ...

...Nabiki. The middle sister of the Tendou clan stood in the doorway. Her usual predatory appearance had evaporated, replaced by compassion , caution... and fear. Am I so frightening, Akane asked herself, that even my own sister is afraid to approach me?

Nabiki's voice, hesitant and quiet, interrupted that thought. "Akane, don't do this to yourself."

Akane bowed her head, her anger fleeing her. "Sister," she whispered.

"Listen, Akane... you can't hide from the pain, you can't run from it, and you can't lock it up inside." She paused, as if reluctant to say the next words. "Not unless you want to end up like me."

Akane's head snapped back up, and she started to protest, but Nabiki reached out and touched a finger to her lips. "Shhh... I'm not finished yet. You see... when mother died, I couldn't take it. It just... it hurt too much, so I tried to ignore it. I tried to pretend it wasn't there. I got used to hiding my feelings, to being cold. Now look at me; the facade has taken over. Don't do what I did," she finished pleadingly, "please."

Akane was too stunned to speak, and her gaze fell to the floor again. "Sister," she finally whispered. "I... don't know what to say." Nabiki had never opened up like this before, never let her guard down. Akane wanted to help her, but had no idea how.

"Then don't. Just remember."

"Thank you."

Nabiki nodded, then turned to go. At the doorway, she stopped. "Don't tell anyone about this, okay? Especially not Kasumi." Something changed in her eyes; the mask was back on.

Akane smirked wryly, "Right."

Ryouga growled at himself; he was lost again. How was he supposed to protect Akane if he could never find her? On the other hand, perhaps it was better that way.

He turned over the things that Ukyou had told him in his mind. She was right, of course; he had to face what he had done, to apologize to Akane.

He couldn't. She would hate him forever, and he simply couldn't deal with that.

He had to. Honor demanded it. Cursing under his breath, he removed a crumpled map from his pack. By whatever tainted honor he had left, he would find her.

Several days later...
Akane was again in the dojo, working on forms this time, when Ryouga arrived. Entranced by the simple beauty of her movements, he slipped inside and sat down by the door, watching her silently. It was several minutes before he could bring himself to speak.

"Hello, Akane."

She stopped and turned to face him. "Hello. I didn't see you come in."

He smiled slightly. "You... you're so beautiful that I had to sit and watch you for a while."

"Why... thank you, Ryouga." She returned the smile, blushing slightly. For several moments, an awkward silence fell over them, neither knowing what to say.

Finally, Ryouga spoke. "I'm sorry I've been away. I'm afraid I got a little lost."

"That's all right," she responded. "I talked to Ukyou yesterday, and she said that you had been by her place."

He stiffened a little at that. "You talked to... ?"

She nodded, sadness in her eyes. "Yeah. Since Ranma... died... there's no reason for us to hate each other anymore, so we talk sometimes. It helps a little."

"I see. I wish I had someone to talk to like that," he lamented.

She sat down in front of him. "You can always talk to me, Ryouga."

He smiled slightly, then suddenly frowned.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned. "I know; you still feel like it's your fault that Ranma died."

He nodded slightly, though that really wasn't what was bothering him.

Akane closed her eyes, and when she opened them they glistened with tears, "Ryouga, it's not your fault. You didn't even have to go, and you can't blame yourself for what happened."

His heart fell through the floor, her proclamation of his innocence stinging more deeply than any outright accusation. She had such faith in him. If only you knew, Akane. Looking into her eyes, he said, "I... I just want you to be happy, Akane. If saving Ranma would have made you happy, I wish I...." His voice broke, and he could hold back the tears no longer.

Akane took his hands between hers, holding them, trying to comfort him. He was so kind to her, and yet she knew that there was something more that she wasn't seeing. Ryouga had some kind of pain bottled up inside that he wouldn't let out; it reminded her of her sister's words days ago. She wanted desperately to help him with it, but she could see that he wasn't going to tell her.

There was only one thing she could do, and that was to be there for him, as he had been there for her.

Ryouga sat beneath a tree in the front yard, head bowed, with thoughts he didn't want to think filling his head. He had resolved not to move until Akane returned, for fear of becoming lost again, but sitting and thinking was killing him. Silently he cursed his weakness, which had allowed him to do things he knew were dishonorable. He cursed Jusenkyo, for the pig-body which had made it possible. He scarcely restrained himself from cursing Ranma, for not telling Akane and ending the charade, but one does not curse the dead.

His thoughts were interrupted by a voice from above, and he looked up to see Nabiki standing over him.

"Hey, Ryouga, you're just the guy I wanted to see."

"Oh?" he answered dubiously. Being sought after by Nabiki was often not a good thing. Still, whatever she had in store for him couldn't be any worse than the ghosts in his head, he decided. "What do you need?"

"Well, I couldn't help but notice that you and Akane have been talking a lot lately. That's good... she needs that right now."

He nodded his agreement, wondering where this line of discussion was leading.

"So I thought I might be able to help you out a little."

Ryouga looked at her skeptically. "What *kind* of help did you have in mind?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer.

Nabiki felt a little insulted, but quickly put that feeling aside. She'd gotten used to this reaction, and she had to admit that her reputation was well-earned. That, in fact, was why she was doing this to begin with. "Well, you need a place to stay, right?"

He looked up at the tree he was sitting under, thought a second, then nodded. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was making a deal with the devil.

"Well, if you'd be willing to help out around here, I could probably talk Daddy into letting you use the extra room. I mean, I can convince him that you're good for Akane, and he'll do anything."

"I don't know...." he said reluctantly. Nabiki just didn't offer things like this. "What's the catch?"

Nabiki sighed. "No catch, and no charge; however, there is one thing you *will* do for me, whether you accept this offer or not."

He didn't like the way she ended that statement; her tone had bordered on command. When she continued, he liked it even less.

"You will tell Akane about your curse."

"Curse?" he verbally backpedaled, "What curse?"

"Don't play stupid with me, Ryouga," she said firmly, her eyes narrowing. "I *know* about you and P-chan. If you don't tell her, I will. You really don't want me to do that." A sudden chill came over him as he considered the implications of that, and she paused only a moment to let the thought sink in.

"I'll give you two weeks. Do consider that offer, though. The more you help her now, the more likely it is that she'll forgive you. Of course, if *I* have to tell her...." She let the sentence trail off as she turned and walked away, leaving him to consider the possibilities.