[Episode 216861] [Episode 216861]Akane remained silent, her eyes clenched shut against the tears that threatened to pour out. Inhaling deeply, she opened her eyes, giving one last glance at the card in her hand...
...And promptly crushed it.
Fixing her gaze at her middle sister, Akane leveled a glare at Nabiki the likes of which none present had ever seen. The youngest Tendo's brown eyes took on a faint red glow as a breeze seemed to kick up around her. Taking two steps back from her younger sister, Nabiki suddenly found herself experiencing a most unusual sensation: genuine fear.
Not even blinking, Akane held her sister with that withering stare as she spoke but two words. Those two words would alter the course not only of her own life, but the lives of all those present (and then some) as well.
In a clear, powerful voice that resounded with a mixture of fury and sorrow that had never before been heard from her, Akane said simply, "I'm done."
Trying to regain her vital composure, Nabiki tried to ask, "Akane, do you real-"
"Realize what I'm saying? Yes, I do...but thank you for your 'concern,' onee-chan. I think you've already said enough for one night, don't you? In fact, I'd say it's my turn to speak. Is there a problem with that?" Akane asked, exuding fake sweetness even as her aura sprang into the visible spectrum, bathing her in the deepest of reds, bordering on black. Intermittently, swirls of sickly green arced around the girl, while the wind picked up to the point that her hair and clothing were blown about.
"I'm done," Akane declared, "I'm done with these games, with all this insanity! I just can't do it anymore! I'm tired of the fights, of the kidnappings, I- I'm tired of being angry and jealous and suspicious. I'm tired of being on guard every minute of every day! Of...not knowing where I stand.
"All I've ever wanted was a normal life...a life that would make Momma proud. But I don't have anything like that. And, and I'm not someone Momma would be proud of. I know I'm not. Do you think there's any way I couldn't know that!? Damn it, I know how much of a disappointment I am!" she wailed, tears finally spilling over. Green streaks of depression-fueled ki began to war for dominance with her (perhaps appropriately) crimson battle aura, as years of repressed pain and insecurity burst forth.
"I c- can't do anything right. I'm not clever. I'm a klutz. I can't even swim. I...I can't cook. There, I said it! I can't. I can't, I can't, I CAN'T!" she screamed. Much to the worry of those around her, a green glow engulfed Akane, almost totally drowning out the dark red of her rage.
Pausing to try to get her rapid breathing under control, she soon continued in little more than a whisper. "I can't do anything well. And I'm the worst fighter. Wh- why else would Ranma have to rescue me so many times? I'm not even pretty like the rest of you! I'm just the useless, sexless...uncute...tomboy," she said bitterly, reds surging through her aura once again. Her all-too-often misdirected anger had found a new target: herself.
"I know I don't measure up. I know I'm pathetic!" she sobbed, "Growing up with Kasumi, of course I know how much of a failure I am. And then all of you appeared and just made it even more obvious. A failure at the Art, a failure as a girl...a failure as a person. That's me!" she ranted. Everyone was still too stunned to dare interrupt, though Akane's eldest sister now had tears in her eyes as well.
"Bu- but...for some reason, he said he loved me," the Tendo girl said quietly, her eyes now downcast. She stared at her closed fists, the ruined remains of the card still in her hand. The briefest flicker of blue went skittering across her aura before she became fully suffused with that awful green.
"Even though, even though he tried to deny it later, he said it. I heard it, back when I was...dying. I felt it! And I thought maybe, maybe things might finally get better. But did they? No! Nothing's changed. The fights with the fiancées and rivals haven't changed. He hasn't changed...and, and I haven't changed. I'm just as angry as ever. Maybe even angrier, because I really thought things would be different now.
"I thought we could finally have a normal life. That we could maybe be like a 'normal' couple. But that'll never happen. There will always be more of...of THIS! This stupid fucking nonsense! I wanted to be a martial artist to help others, to protect people. Not to go through these ridiculous games over and over!
"And YOU!" she bellowed, pointing an accusing finger at Nabiki, "You're as much to blame for all of this as anyone, you heartless, soulless bitch. What the hell do you even care about in this world, other than yourself? Mother may be disappointed in me, but at least I'm not you!" Akane snarled, her glowing red eyes seeming to bore right through her sister, even as roiling green plumes churned around the youngest Tendo.
"As far as I'm concerned, Nabiki, we aren't sisters. Not after this sick stunt. I don't care if it was Aun- excuse me, Saotome-san's idea. You're the one who made it happen, so you can go straight to hell for all I care. Like I said, I'm done," she finished weakly, her scarlet rage finally sputtering out. All that was left of her aura was that putrid, septic green that spoke to the level of her despair.
Enveloped in the hopeless, sorrowful glow, Akane's whole body shuddered with her sobs. Even wrapping her arms tightly around herself couldn't stop the shaking. Kasumi began to approach her youngest sister in an attempt to offer some measure of comfort, but Akane's aura immediately roared back, brighter than ever. It was composed entirely of the vile green of depression, yet it was more intense than any that even Ryoga had ever managed to muster.
"Stay back!" Akane screamed, "Please. Everyone stay away from me! I, I have to leave. Now. I don't really know if I'll see any of you again, but maybe that's for the best. Um, enjoy the game, I guess. Goodbye...baka," she said plainly, the last under her breath (though still loud enough for everyone present to hear).
With that, the green-enshrouded girl dashed away, barreling through any walls her path. Her aura was so pronounced that it actually shattered barriers in her path before she even touched them. Were one to follow her, finding her location would be a fairly easy task.
In her wake, no one who witnessed Akane's departure was left unaffected. Kasumi was bawling openly, while the others stood stone-faced and silent. Nabiki, on the other hand, wondered why her hand was trembling.
"Akane..." whispered a certain pigtailed martial artist fraught with worry. He felt a tightness in his chest he'd only known once before, as he struggled to return a frail, dessicated doll to human life.
Paying little heed to her surroundings — including obstacles in her path — Akane kept running until her legs would no longer carry her. Collapsing from exhaustion, it was some minutes before she was able to discern through the haze of her tears where she had ended up.
With a snort, she realized she was under the bridge where Ranma was known to seclude himself when he needed time to think. Looking around, she spotted the ashen remnants of what was once a small campfire. No doubt a product of one of Ranma's previous visits. Nearby, she found something else: a small, thoroughly dented teakettle. Reaching out, she gingerly took hold of the kettle, perhaps fearful it would crumble to dust like everything else in her life.
Clutching the precious object to her chest, Tendo Akane, former fiancée of Saotome Ranma, let the last of her strength fail her and simply fell to her side in the dirt. Not moving at all from where she landed, she soon cried herself to sleep.
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Sun, 13 Mar 2011 19:14)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.