It is a truth universally acknowledged that, if you piss a young woman off enough, her strength and speed will be multiplied a thousandfold so that none may defend against it.
Which is why when Connie's hand goes to slap Akane's cheek, it is much faster and more accurate than any of her strikes in their regular sparring matches, which is saying something.
"Say that again." Connie's fists are balled her sides as tears stream down her face. "Look me in the eyes and say that again. Say that all of my friends and family here are- are perverted sickos or immature schoolgirls or whatever!
"Look me in the eyes and say that I'm- that I'm-" The tears are flowing freely now. "You know what? Forget it. Take the Ubird to the prom, I don't care." Covering her eyes with her arm, Connie runs off, storming into the woods without looking behind her for a second.
It's at this moment that the Ubird... flyer finally shows up.
"I'm sorry," Akane says to them numbly, touching her stinging cheek like she can hardly believe this just happened. Only it really did. "Can you... come back in a couple hours?"
"I'm charging you twice," the Ubird trainer informs her.
She watches them walk away. Why are her cheeks wet and not just sore?
Oh. She's been crying. Crap. What is she going to do? Connie was her only friend here and she messed it all up. She turns around and punches the telephone pole from before. The dent is definitely wider now. More splinters in her knuckles.
Crap.
After a very long moment, it occurs to Akane that even if she doesn't have any other friends here, Connie does. And she even knows the names of some of them. So, hands shaking, she draws her pokegear out of her bag and attempts to textthem. Maybe one of them will know what to do.
The better part of the hour passes before Akane follows Connie into the woods, calling her friend's name.
"Connie! Connie, I'm sorry! I-- I just-- I don't-- I'm sorry."
Ugh. Maybe Connie's not even there anymore. Maybe Akane really is all alone without her--and it's all her own damn fault for driving her only friend in this world away.
All Akane will have to do is follow the sound of trees being cleaved in half. What was that about violence being a healthy mechanism through which to vent your anger and/or disappointment and/or sadness?
When Akane reaches Connie, she's in the middle of a recently-cleared clearing. Connie holds Chandrahas and her shield, turned away from Akane. "What do you want? I thought you didn't want to associate with perverts."
"You said you didn't want to!" Akane snaps back. "And-- why would I want people to hurt me? Or other people? Especially not like that." Crap. She's crying again, isn't she? So much for calming down.
"I just... you're my best friend," she says miserably. "And you told me all those things I don't understand and don't make sense and-- and-- you're not a pervert, anyway, you said you didn't want to do those things, but boys like that have to be, because they're boys, so there's only one thing they want, and I don't think it changes when it's boys they're going after instead of girls."
"Akane, literally all I wanted was for you to be able to accept me and my family here as who we are. That was all. I know something really bad happened to you in the past and honestly I just wish that I could've stopped whatever it was so you wouldn't have been hurt; and I'm not going to ask you to put aside your scars from that just for me, so...
"I guess if you're still scared of boys—which I don't blame you for—all I can say to comfort you is that these are adult men who are dating. Like. Late thirties to early fifties, in Steven and Jack's case. And Carly and Jolyne aren't girls, they're grown women. This isn't a thing you just grow out of or whatever. It's part of your life for good.
"And if you still can't deal with two people of the same gender being romantically involved... I'm sorry, but we can't be friends."
The words echo in Akane's mind, going around in circles. Without even thinking about it, she's clutching her head, eyes squeezed shut.
Not that. Anything but that. Connie was the best friend she'd ever had. Connie was everything she'd thought Ranma was going to be, for that brief, short, wonderful time when she thought Ranma was a girl and not really a boy after all.
"I just. Don't understand," she mumbles. "If there's nothing perverted involved, then how is it different than-- you and me?"
"Well. I don't want to gently kiss you beneath the moonlight, so there's that."
(Later, those words would bite Connie in the ass.)
Connie finally turns to face Akane. She's smiling through her tearstained face, albeit lopsidedly. "There comes a moment when you're looking at someone, someone you love and trust with all your heart, and then it'll just... click that you love them that way too."
"I don't-- I don't think that's ever happened to me," Akane says, sniffling. "I don't. There's nobody I do trust that much back home besides my sister Kasumi and P-chan. Maybe Dr Tofu. I can't even trust Ranma that much, not about everything. It was just-- I started wanting him around instead of wanting him to go away."
She opens her eyes again. Looks up to see Connie smiling at her. Maybe she didn't destroy this completely somehow.
"Do you promise that your friends aren't-- hurting people?" she asks, biting her lip.
"Okay," she says. "Okay. I still— I don't really get it. But. I'm going to try to accept it. And I do... I do trust you, Connie. More than anybody. So if you say they're okay, I'm going to believe you."
Connie just stands there for a moment, frozen. In what, exactly? Even she can't tell.
Then Chandrahas floats away to give her space, and that breaks the spell. She runs up towards Akane and hugs her closely, Japanese cultural norms be damned. "ThankYouIDon'tThinkI'dBeAbleToTakeItIfILostYouWe'veOnlyBeenFriendsForAFewWeeksButIFeelCloserToYouThanAnyone"
Akane's stiff for the first moment or two--it's not Connie's fault, it's just that she doesn't completely have good associations for being hugged out of nowhere--and then she relaxes into the hug, squeezing Connie tightly enough that it might partially knock the air out of her lungs.
"I really am sorry," she whispers. "I know-- I know it's important to you that I get this stuff and I just-- It's so confusing. And stupid. Your friend Carly tried to explain stuff to me and even your uncle said I should think about if it matters if people are perverts if they're not hurting anyone and they both said I should apologize to you. And I know-- I know I was the awful one. I never really thought you were a pervert, not after you said you didn't want to do that stuff, but I just-- None of this makes sense, you know? But I don't want to drive you away. I can't lose you, Connie. Not just because you're my only friend, but you're the best friend I've ever had."
She sniffles a bit. "I wish Mr Saotome had brought you home with him. Except not, because then he'd have been your dad and I don't think he takes training girls as seriously as he does boys."
Considering what Genma Saotome considers to be appropriate training, this is probably a good thing.
how many "are you gay" quizzes is akane gonna take after prom
It's been a good, long while since Connie has had a proper bearhug; so if anything, she welcomes getting the air squeezed out of her lungs. She gives as good as she gets, at least—while Connie isn't nearly as strong as Akane, she's still a damn good hugger. Learned from the best, after all.
(It's also been a good, long while since a hug has felt this nice, but she's never going to dwell on that.)
"I... I feel the same way. About you, I mean. I just... gah." It's hard, learning how other people tick when you can't cheat your way through it with fusion, but... it's worth it, somehow. "I got so angry at myself for pushing you away that I cut down a bunch of trees." She sniffs. "We should probably go to the prom before somebody finds us and gets mad."
"I told the Ubird person to come back," Akane says, not letting go yet. "They came after you left. They said we have to pay twice. Sorry about that."
She leans her cheek against Connie's shoulder. "If it had been me," she says, "I'd have probably punched holes in all of them. You're not nearly as destructive as Ryoga is when he gets depressed, even before he learned the Breaking Point. Trust me."
Another squeeze, before she lets go.
"I'm sorry," she says one more time. "And-- I'll be thinking a lot about the stuff that Carly talked to me about? She's... she's really nice. Even if you hadn't promised me about your friends, I'd know she wasn't a pervert. Or--" she says hesitantly, trying a new word on for size, "an assaulter?"
"...oh my stars, you actually used the correct term, Carly must've really gotten through to you."
Connie smiles at Akane. She could go on a long diatribe about how she feels so close to Akane despite and/or because of her flaws, but none of that matters. She just loves her so damn much.
(Later, she would look upon this moment and despair at her own stupidity.)
"We should probably head back. Don't want to keep everyone waiting, neh?"
Akane giggles. Connie still says ne with such a funny accent—but on her it's cute.
"I meant it that I'm going to have to think a lot about the stuff she said. It... might take a while. But I promise I'm going to think hard about it. And I'll keep trusting you."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
i really need to get some properly angry/horrified icons for her orz
Which is why when Connie's hand goes to slap Akane's cheek, it is much faster and more accurate than any of her strikes in their regular sparring matches, which is saying something.
"Say that again." Connie's fists are balled her sides as tears stream down her face. "Look me in the eyes and say that again. Say that all of my friends and family here are- are perverted sickos or immature schoolgirls or whatever!
"Look me in the eyes and say that I'm- that I'm-" The tears are flowing freely now. "You know what? Forget it. Take the Ubird to the prom, I don't care." Covering her eyes with her arm, Connie runs off, storming into the woods without looking behind her for a second.
1/2
"I'm sorry," Akane says to them numbly, touching her stinging cheek like she can hardly believe this just happened. Only it really did. "Can you... come back in a couple hours?"
"I'm charging you twice," the Ubird trainer informs her.
She watches them walk away. Why are her cheeks wet and not just sore?
Oh. She's been crying. Crap. What is she going to do? Connie was her only friend here and she messed it all up. She turns around and punches the telephone pole from before. The dent is definitely wider now. More splinters in her knuckles.
Crap.
After a very long moment, it occurs to Akane that even if she doesn't have any other friends here, Connie does. And she even knows the names of some of them. So, hands shaking, she draws her pokegear out of her bag and attempts to text them. Maybe one of them will know what to do.
2/2
"Connie! Connie, I'm sorry! I-- I just-- I don't-- I'm sorry."
Ugh. Maybe Connie's not even there anymore. Maybe Akane really is all alone without her--and it's all her own damn fault for driving her only friend in this world away.
no subject
All Akane will have to do is follow the sound of trees being cleaved in half. What was that about violence being a healthy mechanism through which to vent your anger and/or disappointment and/or sadness?
When Akane reaches Connie, she's in the middle of a recently-cleared clearing. Connie holds Chandrahas and her shield, turned away from Akane. "What do you want? I thought you didn't want to associate with perverts."
no subject
"I just... you're my best friend," she says miserably. "And you told me all those things I don't understand and don't make sense and-- and-- you're not a pervert, anyway, you said you didn't want to do those things, but boys like that have to be, because they're boys, so there's only one thing they want, and I don't think it changes when it's boys they're going after instead of girls."
no subject
Connie has no idea what to say.
"Akane, literally all I wanted was for you to be able to accept me and my family here as who we are. That was all. I know something really bad happened to you in the past and honestly I just wish that I could've stopped whatever it was so you wouldn't have been hurt; and I'm not going to ask you to put aside your scars from that just for me, so...
"I guess if you're still scared of boys—which I don't blame you for—all I can say to comfort you is that these are adult men who are dating. Like. Late thirties to early fifties, in Steven and Jack's case. And Carly and Jolyne aren't girls, they're grown women. This isn't a thing you just grow out of or whatever. It's part of your life for good.
"And if you still can't deal with two people of the same gender being romantically involved... I'm sorry, but we can't be friends."
no subject
wecan'tbefriendswecan'tbefriendswecan'tbefriends
The words echo in Akane's mind, going around in circles. Without even thinking about it, she's clutching her head, eyes squeezed shut.
Not that. Anything but that. Connie was the best friend she'd ever had. Connie was everything she'd thought Ranma was going to be, for that brief, short, wonderful time when she thought Ranma was a girl and not really a boy after all.
"I just. Don't understand," she mumbles. "If there's nothing perverted involved, then how is it different than-- you and me?"
no subject
(Later, those words would bite Connie in the ass.)
Connie finally turns to face Akane. She's smiling through her tearstained face, albeit lopsidedly. "There comes a moment when you're looking at someone, someone you love and trust with all your heart, and then it'll just... click that you love them that way too."
(She would also regret those words.)
no subject
She opens her eyes again. Looks up to see Connie smiling at her. Maybe she didn't destroy this completely somehow.
"Do you promise that your friends aren't-- hurting people?" she asks, biting her lip.
no subject
And then Akane asks her question, and it's a good thing Connie has an excellent poker face because she's internally screaming.
The mental math she runs before her next statement is some seriously graduate-level stuff.
"Not in that way, I can guarantee you."
no subject
"Okay," she says. "Okay. I still— I don't really get it. But. I'm going to try to accept it. And I do... I do trust you, Connie. More than anybody. So if you say they're okay, I'm going to believe you."
no subject
Then Chandrahas floats away to give her space, and that breaks the spell. She runs up towards Akane and hugs her closely, Japanese cultural norms be damned. "ThankYouIDon'tThinkI'dBeAbleToTakeItIfILostYouWe'veOnlyBeenFriendsForAFewWeeksButIFeelCloserToYouThanAnyone"
no subject
"I really am sorry," she whispers. "I know-- I know it's important to you that I get this stuff and I just-- It's so confusing. And stupid. Your friend Carly tried to explain stuff to me and even your uncle said I should think about if it matters if people are perverts if they're not hurting anyone and they both said I should apologize to you. And I know-- I know I was the awful one. I never really thought you were a pervert, not after you said you didn't want to do that stuff, but I just-- None of this makes sense, you know? But I don't want to drive you away. I can't lose you, Connie. Not just because you're my only friend, but you're the best friend I've ever had."
She sniffles a bit. "I wish Mr Saotome had brought you home with him. Except not, because then he'd have been your dad and I don't think he takes training girls as seriously as he does boys."
Considering what Genma Saotome considers to be appropriate training, this is probably a good thing.
how many "are you gay" quizzes is akane gonna take after prom
(It's also been a good, long while since a hug has felt this nice, but she's never going to dwell on that.)
"I... I feel the same way. About you, I mean. I just... gah." It's hard, learning how other people tick when you can't cheat your way through it with fusion, but... it's worth it, somehow. "I got so angry at myself for pushing you away that I cut down a bunch of trees." She sniffs. "We should probably go to the prom before somebody finds us and gets mad."
ALL OF THEM
She leans her cheek against Connie's shoulder. "If it had been me," she says, "I'd have probably punched holes in all of them. You're not nearly as destructive as Ryoga is when he gets depressed, even before he learned the Breaking Point. Trust me."
Another squeeze, before she lets go.
"I'm sorry," she says one more time. "And-- I'll be thinking a lot about the stuff that Carly talked to me about? She's... she's really nice. Even if you hadn't promised me about your friends, I'd know she wasn't a pervert. Or--" she says hesitantly, trying a new word on for size, "an assaulter?"
wrap?
Connie smiles at Akane. She could go on a long diatribe about how she feels so close to Akane despite and/or because of her flaws, but none of that matters. She just loves her so damn much.
(Later, she would look upon this moment and despair at her own stupidity.)
"We should probably head back. Don't want to keep everyone waiting, neh?"
Re: wrap?
"I meant it that I'm going to have to think a lot about the stuff she said. It... might take a while. But I promise I'm going to think hard about it. And I'll keep trusting you."
She smiles. "Let's go back."