|
|
Home Again
Ranma stared out the window tiredly. After a year of school in America, he
was finally coming home. He had carefully avoided telling anyone but his father
and the Tendos what day he would be back, so he was hoping there wouldn't be
any surprises waiting for him at the airport in Tokyo. Right now, he just wanted
to sleep. It was late. Well, actually it was really early, but still no time
to be awake. Ranma settled down and tried to get comfortable.
Akane picked up a bottle of soy sauce to look at the price. She placed it in her shopping basket then, humming to herself as she continued down the aisles of the store. Kasumi had a bad cold, so Akane had offered to do the shopping for her.
As she walked past a display of dried mushrooms, Akane caught sight of a dark-haired young man restocking some canned products. 'He looks kind of like Ranma,' Akane thought to herself. She shook her head then. 'Nah. Ranma's much better looking.' Suddenly catching herself with that thought, Akane blushed. 'Cut it out, Akane. Ranma's been gone so long you're starting to forget what a pain he is.' Akane started towards the front of the store to pay for her groceries. As she set her bag on the counter, Akane glanced behind the clerk at the wall calendar that displayed the date in large numerals. Suddenly, Akane gasped. "Oh, no! Oh, NO! What time is it?" she asked the clerk frantically.
"It's nearly two-thirty, miss."
"Oh no! I've gotta go!" Akane spun around and ran off, leaving her bag on the counter.
"Uh, miss? Miss!"
Akane ran with all her might. 'I can't believe it! I can't believe I forgot about Ranma!' Panting, Akane squinted up at the sun. 'Almost two-thirty. If I run the whole way to the airport...' She frowned. 'This is crazy. I'm sure our dads will be there to pick him up. It's just...' Akane felt her heart speed up, probably from the exercise. 'It's just, I wanted to be there when he got back!'
Ranma stood, idly watching the people walking by. It was good to be back in Japan, but Ranma was really too tired to appreciate it much. Flying back on the redeye was cheaper, but did it ever kill a guy. Ranma looked up at the clock. His flight had been a little late. It didn't really surprise him that his father wasn't here. Genma had promised to be there at two 'o clock to wait for him, but it was no shock to Ranma that his father had forgotten him. And Ranma didn't really care either. With a sigh, he decided to go pick up his backpack and come back for a few minutes, just in case.
Akane finally reached the airport. Bracing her hands on her knees, she leaned
over, panting. Then she tried to remember what flight Ranma had been on. Of
course she couldn't. At least she knew what airline it was. Akane headed for
that side of the terminal.
Ranma glanced up a the large digital clock on the wall again. Three-fifteen. Yup, they had forgotten about him. It was a little surprising that *everyone* had forgotten him; not even one of his fiancees had shown up. Not that Ranma cared. Right now, all he wanted to do was go home. He reached for his backpack.
"Ranma!" Ranma stood back up then, searching the crowded airport for the person who had called his name. Then he saw her. Ranma froze, catching his breath. Akane rushed up to him, panting. "Ranma!" Before he had time to react, Akane had reached him and she hugged him tightly.
"A-Akane!" Ranma blinked. But he smiled then and returned her hug, resting his cheek against the top of her head. After a few moments, Akane pulled away, blushing.
"Welcome home," she whispered. Ranma gently brushed a hand through her hair.
"I missed you, Akane," he said seriously. Akane blushed deeper, turning her gaze to look idly about the airport.
"Um...where's your dad?"
She felt Ranma shrug and she turned back to him. "He forgot I was comin' back today." He laughed then. "I guess everyone kinda did."
"I'm sorry, Ranma..."
"Why? You remembered."
Akane sighed. "Yeah, but I almost didn't."
"You did." Ranma put his hands on her shoulders. "You're the only person I cared about anyway." Akane blushed.
"Um...w-we should probably start home..."
"K." Ranma picked up his backpack. "Let's go."
"Ranma?"
"Yeah?"
"...I'm glad you're back."
Ranma reached out and took her hand. Giving it a squeeze, he smiled at her. "Me too."
The End