Akane rocketed off the couch as the front door of her apartment opened, not bothering to shut off the movie that was playing on their little television. Neither she nor Izumi, who still sat on the couch to her right, had been paying much attention to it, anyway. “Ranko! Thank the gods! We’ve been worried sick! You were supposed to meet us at Izzi’s hours ago!”
“Yeah, I must’ve forgot,” Ranko replied hollowly as she dropped her school satchel on the floor by the front door, kicking off her shoes and flinging them both forcefully off her feet against the wall.
Not so much as an apology? She’s even worse off than I thought. “Where have you been?”
“Walkin’.” Ranko sighed, dissatisfied with her answer, but in the presence of her sister, she didn’t want to admit that she’d been scouting out the area in her paranoia, expecting her father to leap out behind every bush and rock she passed at any moment. She wanted to be alone when he did.
I can’t bear to have them see what he’s going to do to me. What he’s gonna say. How worthless he’s going to make me feel. How hard he’s going to try to ruin me. Her mind had been taunting her with her own terror on repeat all afternoon since pummeling that grabby boy in the corridor at school, probably before.
Izumi stood, smoothing out her ivory-colored dress. “Ranko, honey, what can we do for you? Akane told me a little bit about what’s going on.”
The redhead whirled to face her fiancee, the skirt of her red school uniform pinafore wrapping around her knees as she bellowed her retort. “Why would you do that, Akane?! You knew I didn’t want to get them involved!”
“Don’t be mad at her, Ranko. I pressed.” Izumi stepped closer to her sister. “You don’t have to keep us at arm’s length, little sister. Whatever you have to go through, we can do it together like we always do.”
“No. We can’t. Not this time, Izumi. This… you don’t understand. None of you do, and I don’t want you to! I don’t want you getting hurt, and I don’t want you seeing me get hurt. It’s my problem. I’ll deal with it!” Somehow. “Save your pity for someone who wants it!” Ranko sighed, walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.
Izumi turned to look at Akane, who was staring nervously at the bathroom door. “Would it be best if I just left for now?”
Akane cringed. “I’m sorry, but… maybe? I really don’t know what she needs right now.”
With a nod, Izumi walked over to Akane, giving her a tight squeeze and speaking under her breath. “Call me if you need me. I can be back here in fifteen minutes.” Picking up her purse, she called out loudly over the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. “Ranko, honey, I’m heading home! I love you!”
“Night,” came the dejected reply from behind the bathroom door as the water stopped. By the time Ranko exited the restroom, Izumi had departed, but Akane was standing at the door ready to receive her.
“So, I was thinking,” Akane said gently, following her lover into the bedroom. “How do you feel about Chinese delivery tonight? It’s kinda late, and I figured you might not want to cook.”
Ranko strode to their bedroom window, staring out into the dark and starting to open the window to climb out onto the fire escape. “I don’t care. Whatever you want. I’m not hungry.” Her voice was as empty as her eyes had been.
“Did you eat before you came home? You’re always starving when you get off of school.” Akane stepped closer, watching her closely for any opening, any way to reach her.
“No.”
“Baby, talk to me. Did something happen at school? Or is it just… everything else?” Akane approached closer as Ranko stood looking out the window, placing her hand on her lover’s back.
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Ranko whirled, her eyes aflame. “Why can’t you just leave me the fuck alone?!”
Akane gasped, retreating a few steps. “Ranko… I… because I love you! I’m worried about you! We all are!”
The redhead stomped forward, growling. “Well, I’ll worry about me. I’ll deal with it. I always do!” She turned back to the window, her back turning to Akane, and slammed both of her palms hard against the wooden frame on either side of the window. The glass rumbled lowly in its metal groove.
Akane shook her head. “No. We will deal with it, together! Please, talk to me! Baby, you’re really scaring me!” She rushed forward, reaching out for Ranko’s shoulder.
As Akane’s hand made contact, Ranko roared furiously, exploding off the wall to face the older girl and, throwing her left fist forward at her in a wild punch. “I SAID BACK OFF!”
Akane’s hand flew up on instinct, catching her lover’s fist a few centimeters before it struck her face. “And I said NO!”
Ranko tried to pull away, but Akane took a firm grip on her left wrist. With her right hand, Ranko swung wild again, and Akane needed but tilt her head to avoid the blow. The momentum of it carried Ranko’s body forward until her shoulder slammed into Akane’s chest, and Akane threw her left arm around her fiancee’s back, holding the redhead tight against her body.
“Let me go! LET ME GO!” Ranko tried to swing her fist downward onto Akane’s right breast, but Akane had her arm pinned down at the elbow, so she could get no real force behind it.
“Why won’t you let me go?!” Ranko tried to pound on Akane’s chest again, but her arms were still mostly immobilized. Akane could feel the slight girl in her grasp shaking, her voice quavering.
“Because I made you a promise. I’m never going to let you go. Never. Never.”
With a primal scream, Ranko summoned all the strength she had left to pound at Akane’s sternum once more, but months of holding microphones while Akane trained a park-turned-dojo full of students had left Akane with a distinct strength advantage, and Ranko could barely fight her grasp enough to make contact with her chest. As the echo of her roar died from the air, though, her hand clutched a fistful of Akane’s pink tee shirt, and Akane could feel the rage in her breath changing to something else.
Akane released Ranko’s wrist, wrapping both of her arms tightly around the smaller girl instead. “I’m not ever going to let you go, Ranko. You’re my everything. Forever. No matter what. You don’t have to do this alone, my love. You don’t have to do anything alone ever again. When it comes to problems, baby, there is no you, and there is no me. There’s only us, Ranko. Only us.”
Finally, the dam broke, and as Ranko quaked in Akane’s arms, her screaming gave way to a furious, anguished wail that she largely muffled against Akane’s shoulder. Her legs started to buckle, and Akane held her tightly and slowly lowered with her until both girls were on their knees. Akane could barely maintain her grasp on her fiancee’s body with how forcefully Ranko convulsed with her racking sobs.
“I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you. I’m here. I love you. I always will. Let it out, baby girl.”
“He’s going to dest…roy everything… again… every time I… have someth… he…”
Akane rubbed her lover’s back, shaking her head. “No, baby. He’s not going to destroy anything.” Akane let her go long enough to cradle Ranko’s chin in both of her hands and force her to make eye contact. “Look at me. Listen to me. We’re going to fight, together, for what’s ours. He can’t stop us. He can’t stop you. He can’t take away everything you’ve learned. Everything you’ve become.”
“He always… ruins… why can’t he just… let me…”
Akane leaned forward, kissing Ranko’s cheek, the taste of salty tears on her lips. She pulled Ranko back into a hug, gripping the straps of Ranko’s red school uniform pinafore with both hands behind her back so she could not pull away. “You don’t belong to him. His son is dead. His family is dead. His school is dead. You’re not Ranma anymore. You are Ranko Tendo. You’re the woman I love. You are strong and brave and beautiful and formidable and loved and there is nothing he can do that’s going to take any of that away from you. You are going to be my wife in a few months, and not a damned thing on earth is going to stop us from making that happen. Do you understand me, Ranko? Nothing. He’s not going to get to tear your life down, honey. We won’t let him. I won’t let him. I swear it.”
“Akane, what am I go… gonna d… do?” Ranko sputtered, her breathing having become so erratic from crying that the drip from her sinuses had been sniffled back until it pooled at the back of her throat.
Akane frowned as her chin rested on Ranko’s shoulder, grateful that her beloved could not see it. “We are going to come up with a plan. But first, you are gonna talk to somebody.”