Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Shadows are Stirring ❯ Hanashidasu ( Chapter 2 )
Chapter Two: To Tell the Truth
Two days passed with absolutely no sign of Ranma at the Tendo Dojo. Akane had even taken to walking through the town to try and to find him, but she never saw him at all. Ukyo was equally as worried when Akane asked her. So worried, in fact, that she closed down Ucchan's to try and help find him. Neither really wanted to ask Shampoo, but after failing to find him on their own, they really had no choice. When they arrived at the Cat's Cafe, though, there was no sign on Shampoo, either.
Dejected, Akane left Ukyo to find her own way back home, and just walked through the streets. Is he with Shampoo right now? she wondered. She cursed to herself. Damn pervert.
"Ranma you jerk!" she yelled from the bridge.
Before she knew what was going on, she was suddenly under the bridge, being held up by two strong arms. Looking up, she found herself closer to Ranma than she could ever remember being before. She didn't have a chance to say anything, though, as he leapt from the perch and landed on the sands next to the river and set her down.
"What did I do this time?" he asked, watching her with more than a little bit of caution.
"Where have you been?" Akane countered.
"Around," he said nonchalantly. "Does it really matter?"
"It does to me. I was... well never mind. Since you don't seem to care, I'll just go home," she said, turning around and taking a few steps in the sand away from him.
"Wait a minute, Akane..." Ranma said, a bit of humour in his voice, and she stopped. "Were you... worried about me?"
"As if, baka!"
"Well then, why were ya..." Ranma stopped and looked up. "Damn. Come on!" he said, scooping her into his arms again and leaping off. She could sense a powerful, warm energy surrounding them, and could hear his heart beating in his chest. She didn't dare struggle, for she knew they were quite high up suddenly. Just as suddenly, though, they landed again, and she found herself set down again.
"What was that all about?" Akane demanded.
"Shampoo. She hasn't left me alone since I left the Dojo a couple of days ago."
"So you've been running around with Shampoo, have you?" Akane demanded. "I'm sorry I was worried about you, then. Good bye, Ranma," she said, turning away from him and starting to walk. Rather, she started to fall. She hadn't realized that they were on a roof.
Before she could fall, though, there was the same warm glow that she had felt earlier while Ranma had carried her, and then she was upright on the roof again. Turning back, she saw that Ranma had a hand outstretched. "I wish ya'd hear me out for once, rather than jumping to conclusions!"
"What?"
"She was chasing me, Akane. I wasn't with her, thank the kami above..."
"Oh," Akane said softly, not sure what else to say.
"Well, I should get you home," Ranma replied.
"I can walk, you know," she replied with a bit of heat.
Ranma's face reddened. "Sorry. I didn't think ya minded..." He picked her up, and before she knew it, they were on the ground again, and she was standing on the road, while he was on the fence beside her. "Let's go, then."
"Why do we have to get home now?" Akane asked.
"I still owe you, remember? Gotta make sure Kasumi doesn't cook for us tonight."
Neither spoke on the way home, and Ranma was upstairs in his room the moment they arrived. Akane sighed and walked into the kitchen, where she found Kasumi, as she expected.
"Please don't cook for Ranma or I tonight, Kasumi," Akane said after a moment.
"Something wrong, Akane?" Kasumi asked, turning with her frying pan still in hand.
"Nope!" she replied, a huge smile on her face as she whirled out of the kitchen before her sister could notice the red in her cheeks.
"Bull," Nabiki said, standing in front of Akane as she tried to go up the stairs. "What's going on between you two? He hasn't been around in a couple of days, and you aren't even mad at him!"
"Well, we're about to go out for the evening. So I'll find out what's going on then."
Dollar signs appeared in Nabiki's eyes as her sister climbed the stairs. She ran to the phone hurriedly, and started dialing a set of numbers quickly.
Akane hesitated next to her door, and then walked further down the hall to knock on Ranma's door. He answered quickly. "Where are we going, anyway?"
"Not gonna say here, stupid," he said. "Not with that sister of yours around, anyway," he said with a smile as he started to shut the door.
Akane's hand flew to her mouth as a small, "Oh," escaped.
"You didn't..." Ranma said, opening the door quickly.
"I told her we were going out for the evening, that's all," she replied.
"We had better get going quickly, then. I think you're fine in that," he said, looking over her yellow dress with flowers on it quickly.
"But... I wanted to..." she started to say.
Ranma looked to her face suddenly, and she found herself looking into his grey blue eyes. He saw the urgent look in his features. But she also saw something else, something she couldn't identify. "Get changed quickly then. We'll leave through your window."
He ushered her down the hall and shut the door to her room behind him. "I am not changing with you standing there!" she cried, surprised that he had followed her in. "And just what makes you think you can just walk into my room, anyway?"
"Look, I don't intend to peek at an uncute tomboy like you, so don't worry. I'll stand in front of the open window, looking out. Kay?"
Akane swallowed hard. Why did he have to insult me just before we go out together on our first real date? Doesn't he care at all? She felt the tears well up in her eyes, and she turned away before he could have noticed.
She quickly went over to her closet and found a light blue dress with little swirls on it in black. She pulled off her other dress quickly and slipped on her blue dress with equal speed. She then stopped for a moment, a strange, though a little perverted thought crossing through her mind. She reached down her back and unclasped her bra deftly and threw it into the closet. Sure that Ranma hadn't noticed, she turned around and found him to be true to his word.
I'll show him just how uncute I can be... she thought with a smile.
"Ready, then?" Ranma asked, turning at her touch. When she nodded, he looked outside again. "I know ya said ya don't like it, but to get away from the house quickly..."
"Just keep my dress down, then..." she sighed, exasperated.
Her heart skipped a beat when he picked her up, and she nuzzled into his chest. Surprised, he looked down to her, but she only smiled. "I don't want to feel like I'm falling," she explained. He nodded and then shot out of the window.
Rooftops fell beneath them as Ranma ran, and Akane had no idea where they were when they stopped. She did not even recognize the district of the town he had stopped in. He then opened the door to the building they stopped by, and Akane looked up. "Chez Gemini."
Although she had never heard of the restaurant before, as they entered, it took her breath away. There was only dim lighting, and all the tables were for two. The tablecloths all appeared to be rich red hues, while the walls themselves were soft blues. Most of the tables were occupied by couples who were sitting very close to one another. There was also a very long line of couples waiting to be served.
"Do you think we'll be able to get in tonight?" Akane asked, looking up at Ranma. She suddenly realized that she was clinging to his arm and released him at once.
He looked to her and smiled his smug smile. "Not a problem." He walked to the front of the line, and the waiter looked up. "Reservation for two."
"Name, please?"
"Saotome."
"Saotome, hmm..." the waiter paused as he went down the list. "Here you are, as usual. Let me show you to your seat."
Ranma motioned for Akane to follow, and the two were shown to a table in the corner, almost completely secluded from all eyes.
As soon as they sat down, she looked to him angrily. "What did he mean by `as usual'?" she demanded.
"I... uh..." Ranma stuttered, but was interrupted by a voice beside them.
"There has been a booking for two months, each and every night, for Saotome. He paid for the reservations back then, but this is the first time he has actually come. A pleasure to meet you at last, sir," the waiter said, bowing to him. "Here are the menus. Just signal to me when you are ready to order." He then bowed himself out.
Ranma looked to Akane sheepishly. "I told you I couldn't do it..."
There was a silence between the two of them for quite some time, and then Akane reached out to pick up a menu. "How is the food here?"
"No idea," he replied. "Never actually eaten here, really."
"Then why here?"
"I heard it was a good place to bring someone you... ah, never mind." He trailed off a looked away from Akane.
"You what?" she asked him.
"You... uh... care about," he replied. "I wanted our first time out together to be special. You look nice in that dress, you know."
Akane sat back in her seat quickly, a deep blush covering her face suddenly. "What?" she asked, not entirely sure what had gotten into Ranma.
"That dress. Looks nice on you," he said it slower this time.
"What gives, Ranma?" she asked. "First you throw a match to take me on a date, and now you're complimenting me... what's wrong?"
"Nothing," he said, looking away from her. There was a haunted look in his eye.
"Ranma," she said softly in a sweet, gentle voice. He looked back slowly, and she smiled. "There is something wrong. You've barely even taken the effort of insulting me. You've been this way for a while now, ever since..." she stopped. She couldn't mention it. It was still too cold. Death had almost taken her, and she couldn't look at that feeling again. Not yet.
"I killed him, Akane," he said softly, not looking up to meet her gaze. "I killed him. I thought he killed you, so I killed him. Saffron is dead because of me. Because I thought he killed you. And the real thing is… if I had to do it all over again, I would."
"What choice did you have, Ranma?" she asked quietly.
"There had to be another choice! I used the Art to kill someone, Akane. You don't understand! I'm afraid that I might do it again! How can I stop myself? If I lose control... then everyone might... you might..."
"Baka!" she said harshly, causing him to look up quickly. "If you believe that then you are the biggest baka I have ever laid eyes on!" She snorted. "The Art is meant to protect and defend, remember? My Ranma, killing everyone he knows? Right..."
"Akane, I'm being serious!" Ranma objected.
"So am I!" she replied. "Why did you kill him, Ranma?"
"He was trying to kill you, you clumsy tomboy. He wouldn't stop trying, even if I stopped him for the time being..." he replied.
"Do you really think dad would try to kill me? Or your father? Or Ryoga?" she asked.
"Like he would try that..." Ranma muttered. "What about Shampoo? Or Ukyo? Or Kodachi? She's crazy enough to try, isn't she?"
"She's crazy enough to love you, that's for sure," Akane replied without thinking.
Ranma stood up quickly. "Ok. I just wanted to know how you felt, that's all. Thanks Akane," he said, his voice devoid of emotion, his face pale. He was out the door before she could stop him, and she cursed the fact that his reflexes were so much better than her own.
"Baka!" she muttered under her breath. Leaping up from the table, she chased after him. Out on the streets, she couldn't see him anywhere. Dejected but not beaten, she started to walk along the street, hoping to recognize her surroundings. Shortly, she found herself in the park close to their school. She could see a solitary figure sitting on the bench next to the water fountain.
"Ranma?" she called softly as she approached. The figure looked up and stood to leave. "Wait, please?" she called again. The figure stopped, and Akane ran over to him. "Ranma, I didn't mean it the way it sounded, really!"
"You said she was crazy enough to love me. That makes it pretty clear to me what you think of me, doesn't it?" he replied, turning away. She grasped his shoulder and spun him around.
She was shocked to see tears running down his face - actual, real tears. Ranma had never cried, not really, in all the time that she had known him. "Ranma..." she breathed softly. Before she could stop herself, she flung her arms around him and held him tightly. "You think I'm normal?" she asked without letting go.
"No, I think you're an uncute tomboy," he replied. She swallowed hard. Did he mean that? He couldn't not really... "I'm sorry, Akane. Your life would have been so much easier if I hadn't ever showed up..." he said sadly, removing her arms from around him. "I just messed everything up for you."
"You stopped all the boys from attacking me every morning, didn't you?" she asked him pointedly.
"Yeah, but look at everything else. Your hair was the first casualty, right? And things went downhill from there. And my damned curse doesn't help matters any, now does it?" he said harshly, turning away.
"Baka!" she cried, pulling her mallet out of the air and knocking him to the ground before he could get more than a few feet away. He was up in an instant, facing her again, but not meeting her gaze. "Without you, I would have been stuck with some idiot by now! Like that stupid 7 lucky gods guy, or Toma from that cursed island, right? But you rescued me both times. Without you, I would have been stuck there forever..."
"Yeah, but..."
"No buts, Ranma. My life is much better with you..." she sat down on the bench and waited for him to sit next to her. "But I must say I could do without all the other fiancées..."
"Hey, those ain't my fault!" he said, backing up and raising his hands in defense, knowing what usually followed such a statement from her.
"I know that, baka!" she replied harshly. "But I have to know... do you think they are better than me?" she asked.
"What? Why would you ask that?" he asked softly.
"Well, do you think Ukyo is a better cook than me?" she asked in a hoarse voice.
"Um... yeah! I think a four year old is a better cook than you, Akane!" he replied.
"Well, is Shampoo better looking than me? Better built?" she asked.
"Shampoo is a looker, that's for sure..." he replied slowly, though even as he said it he knew he should have just lied to her. He just couldn't bring himself to do so when she was being so direct with him.
"And I'm just an uncute tomboy who can't cook!" she shouted, standing up and turning to leave. "And here I thought you might have actually cared!"
"Would ya just let me finish for once?" he asked her in a quiet voice. She turned. He never spoke in such gentle tones before. Ever.
"What?" she demanded. Her anger was fading a bit, but not much.
"First, I'm here with you, aren't I? Shouldn't that say something?" he asked. Not sure what to say, Akane sat down again and just looked at him. "And do you think I really care about what Shampoo looks like? Do I really have to remind you that she was the one who stalked me for 2 weeks across China trying to kill me? If I cared about looks alone, then sure, Shampoo could possibly win, if you were having a bad day."
"You're not digging yourself out very well, you know?" Akane said through clenched teeth.
"Please, Akane?" he said, and she remained silent, but did not stand to leave. "Ukyo is a better cook than you. So is Shampoo. But do I care? Honestly..."
"Ranma?" Akane said softly. He stopped talking and waited for her to continue. "Do you really think I'm uncute?" she asked, a quiver in her voice.
"You really haven't been listening to me, have you?" he asked. "No, I don't. I told you that you look nice in that dress, right?" he asked.
"Yeah..."
"If I thought that calling you uncute was hurting you, do you really think I would have done it all this time?" Ranma then smiled. "Well, probably when you were trying to hurt me, then yeah... but otherwise, no way. Though I don't think you are really just cute."
"What?" she demanded, standing.
"You've really got to start hearing me out. Have I ever lied to you about anything after you've heard the whole story?" he asked.
"You've got about five seconds to finish that thought, then!"
"I think cute is not always strong enough. Cute is for little girls. I think you are beautiful, Akane." She stopped and stared at him, not sure what he was playing at. "You really are." He looked into her eyes for a moment, and smiled. "I would have nothing in life that was good without you."
"Ran... ma?" she said softly.
"Uh oh," he said, standing.
"What's wrong?"
"Company's coming," he replied. "Come here," he added, holding out a hand to her. "I have an idea that might work..."
She took his outstretched hand and immediately felt the warm glow again. She knew that it was his ki energy, but she didn't know what was going on. She could feel it all around her, and thought that it may even have been a part of her, too. She could feel his fear, his kindness, and something she didn't understand.
"Airen!" a high voice cried out. Akane turned to see Shampoo on her bike speeding through the park, looking for Ranma.
"Stay quiet," Ranma urged softly. Akane nodded, and then froze, not wanting to move a muscle. Thinking better of it, she moved closer to him, and leaned up against him as he concentrated.
"Any easier like this?" she asked.
"In some ways, yeah," he said with a grin.
Shampoo paused next to them, and looked at the fountain. "Airen no stay near the water. Must be somewhere else. Must stop stupid pervert girl from doing anything with him..." she said softly before speeding off into the distance again.
Akane felt cold suddenly as she was no longer wrapped in Ranma's ki energy. She looked up, and he smiled to her. "In other ways, it's a lot harder to do when you are that close..."
"Airen!" Shampoo cried suddenly.
"Damn!" Ranma cursed, grabbing Akane's hand and starting to run. There was a loud splash behind them, and a wave of water hit them. "No time to stop now!" Ranma-chan's higher female voice said as she ran with Akane.
They stopped a short while later, sitting under a bridge. "And I so hoped to stay a boy for tonight..." she sighed, looking to Akane.
"Why?" Akane asked. "How is tonight different from usual? You always want to stay a boy, remember?"
"Well, I was supposed to be showing you a good time tonight, and as usual I've messed everything up..."
"Baka," she said, swatting him gently. "It's been a fun time. But I have to ask, how do you do that ki thing?" she asked, looking to the much shorter female Ranma.
"Just a moment," Ranma-chan replied as she started digging through one of her pockets hurriedly. She hadn't seemed to even hear her question. Akane stopped her as she pulled out a thermos of hot water.
"Ranma?" she called, getting her attention again. When the smaller girl looked up, Akane gulped. There was something in her eyes that she didn't think she had ever seen before... something scared and vulnerable. Ranma wasn't usually scared, or vulnerable. "Do you... do you love me?" she asked in a rush before she could think better of it. She wasn't entirely sure where the question had come from all of a sudden, but having asked it, she couldn't help but hold her breath and wait for an answer.
Her question apparently caught Ranma-chan completely off guard, as she fumbled with the thermos in her hands, and it rolled down the embankment and into the water. She started to go after it, but froze when she saw Akane, and the blush that had crept across her face. Although maybe `crept' simply wasn't strong enough. "What's with ya tonight?" Ranma-chan asked.
"Do you?" Akane pressed on, trying hard to ignore the sting from her last words. "I know you said it before... or maybe you didn't. Maybe, like you said at the wedding, you just don't care! What is it, Ranma? Don't I have a right to know?" She choked back a sob as it tried to eek it's way forward, and she closed her eyes against the tears. "I have to know... do you love me?"
She felt a warm hand on her cheek wiping away her tears, and she opened her eyes to find Ranma-chan sitting a lot closer than she had been a moment ago. "How can I?" Ranma-chan asked quietly. "How can I ask for anything from ya when I'm cursed with... with this?" she asked, sitting back and gesturing to her female body. "How can I ask for anything like that from someone like ya? How could I want to get close to ya when I could get like this at any time?"
"Baka!" Akane whispered fiercely. "Do you really think I care about that?" she asked, wiping away her tears as they came this time before Ranma-chan could. "Haven't you been listening to me? You may be a girl right now, and you may be a guy in a few minutes, but I don't really care. Maybe you just suck with emotions in general. I don't really care about that right now either. So long as... so long as you don't deny your feelings for me now."
Ranma-chan sighed and looked away from Akane. It broke her heart to see the taller girl crying, it really did. "Akane..." he trailed off, looking away from her. "I... I just didn't wanna tell ya like this."
"Tell me what, Ranma?" Akane asked quietly, making her look back quickly.
"I didn't wanna be a girl when I told you that I loved you for the first time," Ranma-chan said in a quick, quiet whisper, looking away again even before she finished as the blood rushed to her face. "I didn't wanna be a girl, that's all."
"Then go get that water bottle," Akane said, pointing down to where it had lodged itself in between two rocks. Ranma-chan looked to her quickly, and then down to the water, and then back. With a nod, she leapt down and, after a splash, she was back, holding onto the thermos. She was shivering, though, as the water in the river was quite cold. She waited until she had poured the hot water over herself before speaking again. "Can you tell me now?" she asked.
Ranma looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. "C'mon Akane," he said ruefully. "Ya know how much I suck at this..."
"Yeah, well sometimes a girl just has to hear things, okay?" she demanded, standing up quickly to turn to leave, despite the fact she had no idea how to get out from under the bridge without splashing into the waters below. She knew she couldn't do that... she still couldn't swim.
"I love you," Ranma said softly before she could even take a single step.
Akane sat down as she faced him again quickly, and she could see how much he was trembling. She hadn't thought he would ever actually say it to her... "I... I love you too, Ranma," she said fiercely as she leaned forward to hug him. "And I really wish you would believe me," she added as they separated again.
"With what?"
"When I tell you that I don't care about your curse!" Akane cried in frustration. "I just don't care. I've never known you without it, so what can I say?" she asked. "You are as Ranma as you can be, right?"
Before he could reply, the sound of a bike bell froze them both on the spot. "Now where Airen go?" Shampoo's voice called. Obviously she had reverted to her human form again, so she must have returned to the Cat Cafe at some point. Akane suddenly had a better idea where they were. "Thought I sensed him..." Neither dared to breathe until they heard her bicycle take off down the road again. They waited even longer before they said anything.
"Ranma..." Akane said softly. When he looked back to her, she took a deep breath to calm herself. "Could you... teach me how to use my ki energy?" she asked. "Could you teach me to be better with Anything Goes?"
Ranma looked puzzled. "What's wrong?"
"I don't want to be weaker than the others..." she stammered. Damn it, why do I have to spell it out for him... I thought he, of all people, would understand! "I don't want you to have to always protect me."
"I'll protect you anyway, Akane," he pointed out.
"But what if you need protection?" she asked. He snorted, and she hit him lightly on the shoulder. "No, I mean it. What if you get in trouble, and need help? I want to be the one to help you. I want to fight with you, like we've done a few times. The skating... the food races... the hot springs challenge..."
"I wouldn't want you to come along on some of my trips, though." He looked away from her, finding it too difficult to say while watching her. "It would be too dangerous."
"Damn it, Ranma, if it is so dangerous, shouldn't you have help? I don't want to be stuck at home again like I was when you went to Mt. Horai. Or when you went to Jusenkyo again? I was terrified that something had happened to you, and I couldn't do anything about it," she explained. She realized that she was crying again, but she didn't care. "Besides, if either of us are going to die, I want us to be together when it happens."
"Akane..." Ranma breathed. He put his hands on both her shoulders. She blinked, and found herself lost in his eyes again as she tried to read his emotions. "It won't be easy. On either of us."
"I'm game if you are," she said pointedly.
He nodded. "I'll have to think about it for a bit. Figure out the best way to do this," he explained. She threw her arms around him suddenly, and snuggled in.
"Thank you, Ranma..." she whispered. When she pulled away, she found him looking at her again, as though waiting for a chance to say something. "What is it?"
"Well, if you want to start ki training right away, it won't happen. You don't have the skills needed yet. You simply aren't ready," he explained. "Not enough skill in other areas. Too slow, and still far too clumsy. You might learn quickly - from what I've seen you can learn sometimes when you really want to - but you need a lot of work."
Akane felt her anger rising, and then stopped herself. He was right, really. She had a lousy sense of balance, and he was more than three times her speed when he wanted to be. If he was going to be her teacher, then she would have to be willing to listen to him, even if she didn't like what he was saying. "Alright..." she sighed.
"Don't worry about it, Akane," he said softly. "Look, I'll help as much as I can, okay?"
Akane looked down to avoid his eye, and blushed when she saw just how much her wet dress was clinging to her. It was probably a mistake to take her bra off earlier. Looking back to Ranma, she saw that he was barely even looking at her, and when he did, his eyes never left her face. "What's wrong, Ranma?" she asked, causing him to look back suddenly. "Don't you want to look at me?"
"That's usually a bad idea, remember?" he said with a grin, looking over her shoulder now rather than at her. "You usually send me into orbit with that hammer of yours and call me a pervert just for making a mistake. Do you think I'd look at ya now with that chance hanging over me?" he asked.
Akane's heart froze. Had she really made it so he wouldn't ever look at her, really look at her? Had she trained him to be that way? Why was she suddenly wanting him to look at her so much? "Ranma," she said slowly. "Please look at me," she said. He glanced quickly into her eyes, and then looked away again. "Come here," she said, holding out a hand. Slowly he grasped it, and she pulled him into her arms. "Baka," she whispered. "I didn't mean for you to never be able to look at me that way..."
She felt him move to look down to her. She looked up and found him smiling into her eyes. "I..." he paused and licked his lips. "Akane, I love you," he whispered.
She could feel the breath being crushed out of her as he held her even tighter, and then he loosened his grip. "I love you too, Ranma," she whispered in return.
After the two sat in their quiet embrace for quite some time, she pulled apart. "Would you mind... carrying me home?" she asked quietly.
"You sure?" he asked. "I thought you didn't like me carrying you."
"Not all the time, cause it makes me feel helpless sometimes. But sometimes, just being in your arms is all I really want." When he nodded, she was swept into his arms and he started to move quickly and gently. She nuzzled into his arms, feeling safer than she ever had before.
Ranma...
It wasn't long before they were home, and Ranma set her down on her verandah. "Sleep well, Akane," he said softly. Before she could stop him, he leapt onto the roof, and she knew he was gone again. She just wished she knew where he had left to.
---------------------------------
I'd just like to take a moment to comment on Japanese culture and customs here. I see a lot of fics where the two characters are almost constantly saying that they love each other. And even in the Ranma manga, you see Ranma saying it - but just once.
Truth is, in Japanese culture, the phrase `I love you,' doesn't come up that often. It is considered better - more honourable, if you will - to prove through your actions that you love each other. Be considerate of feelings, help out when needed, etc… If the need to tell them that you love them arises, then it usually means that you don't feel your actions are up to the task. That doesn't mean there is never such interaction - just a lot less than most seem to believe. More common is `I like you,' or `I really like you.' In fact, those two phrases in Japanese are often mistranslated as `I love you.' Suki da / Suki yo means like, not love. Daisuki means to really like, but again, not love.
The best example of this fact is in the movie Princess Mononoke. Many people were upset by the ending of it - and yes, this is a spoiler of sorts. San tells Ashitaka either that she likes him a great deal (direct translation) or that he means so much to her (dubbed translation), rather than tell him that she loves him.
The phrase just doesn't come up as often as many seem to believe. In other words, when it is said in this fic, it will be meaningful - a lot more than you might expect.