The End of What Was

Mei stood, walking the three steps from the foot of the bed to the door of the little apartment above the Phoenix and pulling it open a crack to see who was knocking.Akane frowned. This was already even worse than she'd thought, and she thought it was pretty bad. Mei hadn't even acknowledged that Ranko was in the little upstairs apartment behind her, but Akane could clearly hear someone sobbing behind the door. She spoke softly, pleading with Mei with her eyes. "Can I see her, Mei? Please?"Mei said nothing, but turned her head inward to look at the crying girl on the bed, before turning back to Akane. "Alright. But be nice." Her face dripped with worry, fearful of what she had just allowed into the room with her hysterical little sister as she stepped out of the path of the door.Ranko lay in the fetal position atop the purple duvet, curled up around the giant pink teddy bear she'd left in the apartment when she moved out. It was hard to tell where the bear's fur ended and her pink minidress began. As Akane entered the room, Ranko started to sit up, her face absolutely melting with her ruined makeup."Please don't s…say it, Akane. I al… ready know." Ranko sniffled, trying to quell her crying enough to speak.Mei lingered in the open doorway. She knew the right thing to do was to give them space, but she wanted to make sure she wasn't needed, as she and her sister both expected she would be."Say what, Ranko?" Akane sat on the edge of the bed, resting her hand on Ranko's thigh. She spoke far more softly than either of the sisters expected her to."I'll come get my stuff in the morning." Ranko pulled the bear into her lap, squeezing it tightly around its chest, getting a bit of liquefied foundation smudged into the soft fur on its back.Akane bit her lip. No wonder the poor thing was like this. "Ranko, you don't have to do that.""I killed us. I hurt you and I embarrassed you and I hid things from you and I'm s… so sorry." Crash had been right; the second the song ended, she had wished she could snatch the notes out of the air before they reached Akane's ears. Everything about the song, from the lyrics to the performance itself, was designed to cut deep. She had weaponized her art against the person she loved, and she doubted she'd ever forgive herself for it. "I never wanted to hurt you, Akane. I just wanted to make you understand how I felt, the only way I knew how. I ruined everything.""Is that what you think?" Akane rubbed Ranko's bare thigh gently in the space between the hem of her girlfriend's dress and her knee. "Maybe you should hear me out before you jump to conclusions, huh?" Even with everything going on, Akane felt underdressed. She was still in the gray Minato University Athletics tee shirt and black jeans she'd been wearing when the argument started in their apartment, and Ranko, her destroyed makeup notwithstanding, looked ready for a date in high society. She always was the pretty one, Akane thought to herself with only the slightest twinge of jealousy.Ranko sniffled, trying to calm down enough to listen, her nose dripping onto the back of the poor soiled stuffed bear. "I'm so sorry. I'll never sing it again, I swear. Never."Akane forced a little smile. Ranko wasn't wrong that the performance had been a knife in her heart, but Akane knew she'd deserved it. Ranko had tried to tell her so many times, given so many hints that she was unhappy, and Akane had ignored her pleas because they hadn't been what she wanted to hear. She'd left Ranko no choice but to use the only method of communication that was uniquely hers in the relationship - the only one Akane couldn't run from, dismiss or shout down - and the songstress had done so with incredible efficacy. Besides, even Akane had to admit, as much as the lyrics and the feelings that inspired them had broken her heart, the song itself was catchy as hell. Had it been written by anyone else, about anyone else, she would have been singing it the whole walk home."Ranko, shhh…" Akane said nothing else for a moment, not wanting to give the songstress fuel to continue backpedaling until she was calmer. Only once she had gone a few seconds without sniffling did Akane continue."I didn't come up here to ask you to leave, Ranko. I came up here to beg you to stay. And to say I'm sorry."Mei, smiling a bit, stepped quietly out the door and closed it behind herself, satisfied she no longer needed to be at the ready to protect her sister from further emotional harm.Ranko turned her head, surprise in her eyes. The rest of her facial expression was largely unreadable, as she looked not unlike a melted wax figure under all of her ruined makeup. "But I… you didn't want anyone to know, and I…"Akane moved her hand from Ranko's thigh, taking Ranko's hand instead. "I know. And I was wrong. Gods, was I wrong. I knew it was hard for you, but I had no idea it was hurting you this much. I wish you'd have said something sooner. Baby, I'm so, so sorry."With a slow nod, Ranko wiped her eyes. "I tried so many times. I wanted to tell you, but I knew how important it was to you, and I wanted to put you first."Shaking her head with an half-amused smile forming in just the corner of her mouth, Akane squeezed the singer's manicured hand. "Silly girl. You knew I wanted to keep us a secret, but you never asked why. I was trying to put you first. To keep you safe from people judging you. I mean, yeah, I didn't want to face the negativity either, it's true. It's gonna be hard, if we decide to let people know about us. But I could walk through hell itself unafraid if you're holding my hand."Not to mention, if it weren't for that damned Cat's Tongue thing, in a fight between Ranko and any ancient demon of the underworld, she'd bet on her lover every time. She still felt it silly that officially, she and not Ranko bore the title of master of the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts. She'd offered it to Ranko more than once, and had always been refused. You earned it, Ranko would always say. Something told her Ranko did sometimes want it, but not badly enough to out herself as the true master she was, or to have anything to do with the name Saotome again."Then… you're not ashamed of me?"Akane shook her head, giving her a reassuring smile. "I love you, Ranko. I was so focused on avoiding drama with my family, my friends, your dad, and everybody else back home that had a thing for you. I thought it was better to hide things from them. But you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. How could I ever be ashamed of someone so amazing, who has done so much, come so far, and touched so many people? Someone so talented, and so beautiful, as you? Who is working so hard to be everything she wants to be?"Looking up at her again, Ranko's eyes sparkled a bit, and not just from her tears. Her cheeks burned under the remnants of her foundation. "The only thing I've wanted to be all this time is yours."Akane smiled happily, remembering what she had found hidden in Ranko's dresser drawer. She knew now exactly what Ranko hoped for their relationship, but thought it best not to bring it, or the money spent on it, up at the moment. Ranko would make it known when she was ready, and Akane committed herself to feigning surprise when she did.She squeezed Ranko's hand tightly, speaking softly. "You already are, silly girl. You always will be, as long as you'll have me. And as long as we think it all through and you're sure it's what you want, I don't give a damn who knows it anymore.""Do you mean it, Akane? Really?" Ranko sat up a bit more, as if Akane was physically watching the girl's spirit returning to her body after a long absence.Akane stood, turning to face her girlfriend with a smile of pride. She leaned down, kissing Ranko on the top of her head, tucking a wisp of her lover's hair behind her ear for her before retaking the smaller girl's hand. "You bet I do. No more sneaking." Akane tittered lightly. "Besides, I couldn't keep you a secret much longer even if I wanted to. You're getting to be too damned famous."Ranko could only blush, simpering coyly. She'd never considered that, and it made her even more self-conscious to realize that Akane was right.Pulling her hand to encourage her to stand, Akane smiled in relief. She was nervous as hell, but there were more important feelings to consider. "Come on, princess. Let's go wash your face. I want to introduce my friends to the incredible woman I love."