[Ranma][Fanfic] Transitions: Lost and Found

[drew]

Transitions: Lost and Found
an original fanfic by
Andrew Eoff

Author's intro: Well, I've decided to pick this up again. We'll see
where it leads. This is meant to be a continuing story. It started with
"You Say It's Her Birthday" and then picked up with "Transitions:
Lightning Strike Twice". If you haven't read them, you'll probably be
lost from this point on. You can find both of those stories at:
http://www.itsnet.com/~eoff/ranmafics.html Thanks for the support.
Again, these are Takahashi's characters, not mine...
***

It always started the same. A pair of eyes, that looked oh so
familiar, which would at first grow larger as if in shock, and then shrink
to a pair of burning pits. The dream from that point would only get
worse. Ryouga often woke in sweat, a small yell barely stifled. After
this repetition, Ryouga hung his head and wondered if he'd ever be free
again. The eyes, he realized now that he was awake, were Akane's of
course. He had somehow managed to burn only that part of her face into
his brain after he'd been forced to reveal his secret.
Oh Akane, he thought, will you ever find it in your heart to forgive
me? I always loved you and never meant to hurt you. Unfortunately the
length of my deception only served to drive us apart. He looked through
his mind, searching for some way he could blame this on Ranma. Ranma, of
course, had been the one that had forced his secret out, but he had been
right. If he was going to declare his love for Akane, he needed to come
clean. Try as he might, he just couldn't bring himself to blame Ranma
this time. He wondered how things might have been different if he had
told Akane earlier, or not at all. Would he have been the one to free
Akane from the cage that trapped her? He had no doubt that she was free
by now.
After he had failed in his attempt, he awoke to find himself in another
part of the house. Kuno was moaning beside him. After looking around for
a bit, he decided it would be best for him to leave. Akane's reaction to
his disclosure had not been the one he hoped for. Not sure what to do or
where to go, he merely allowed his feet to lead him. For once, he
actually found his way home. He was surprised that that had happened, but
he enjoyed the brief moment he found there. He had not stayed long, only
long enough to sleep some and rest, but then the dreams began. From there
he had begun wandering again. Unfortunately, he kept running into places
that he could tie to memories of Akane. Curse this lousy sense of
direction he thought to himself. Will I be constantly reminded of the
things I've lost? The thought made him shudder. The weird part was that
his normal depression was gone. Instead, a deep sadness had come upon
him. The constantly warring emotions that often welled up in him-anger,
revenge, and depression-had left. He was simply aware for the first time
in his life what it was like to truly lose something he cared deeply for.
When he had left Akari's, before once again finding his way to the Tendo
Dojo, he had still been confused. He had vowed to always love Akane. How
could he stay with Akari with that weight upon his shoulders?
He stopped walking and found himself in the park where he had tried to
go on a date with Akane at Ukyou's urging. A grim smile found its way to
his face as he stopped, and sat on a nearby bench. Oh Akane, he sighed,
I truly did love you, but it seems I wasn't able to show it correctly. If
only you'd known me instead of your pet. I could have provided the same
comfort, the same friendship. Curse my inability to share my emotions
with you. True, there had been times that he had almost declared his
feelings; he had certainly come closer than Saotome. And yet, it seems
that he had still lost. Akane was with Ranma now. After he had left his
house, he had accidentally seen the two of them walking one night. She
had been freed and it appeared Ranma had been able to declare his love
after all.
Ryouga kicked a small stone at his feet. He wondered what he should do
now. Akari was still in the back of his mind, but so was Akane. He felt
the need to try and explain, or at least make amends. His sense of honor
kept nibbling at him. It didn't seem like leaving would be the right
thing to do. He sighed again and looked up at the stars.
***

Ranma was standing on the balcony. It was a nice night for once.
After the rain they'd had for the last few days, this made a nice change.
He was thinking about Akane and their relationship. Things were still
awkward between them. He sighed as he thought about how he wanted things
to be and how things actually were. It seemed no matter how hard he
tried, he couldn't keep from insulting Akane one way or another. True, it
was much better than before. He was getting better at the think first,
speak second game, but there were still enough ingrained attitudes that
his foot ended up in his mouth at least once a day, if not more. Why
couldn't he be nicer to her? What was keeping him from treating her with
the love he felt for her? Since her birthday and the subsequent events,
they had begun some sort of dance. They would occasionally get close and
then one of them would stumble and they'd temporarily back off, then
they'd get close again and it would all start over. It was really
frustrating. To top it off he'd begun having strange dreams.
He would wake up in the morning feeling that things were back to the
way they'd been before Akane's birthday. They wouldn't be speaking to
each other, they hadn't let the other know what they felt, there was
nothing tying them together except that vague sense of a need to protect
he always felt around her. After he got up and began the morning, the
feeling would wear off. When he tried to recall his dreams all he got
were vague impressions of unease and images of the night he told Akane he
loved her. It seemed as if something was missing. True, things had been
awfully quiet lately, but that was to be expected with Shampoo and
Mousse's leaving and Ryouga being who knows where. Surely something would
happen, he mused. Maybe he should talk to Akane some more. That always
seemed to help.
As if on cue, Akane actually stepped onto the balcony at that moment.
She had a tentative look on her face as she walked up to her iinazuke.
"Ranma..." she began, "you ok?" She waited for a moment as Ranma tugged
at his ponytail. "I'm sorry about yelling at you at dinner. I realize
the things I make don't always turn out..."
Ranma smiled at Akane's understatement. Still, it was a bit of a shock
hearing her apologizing for her food. He thought about what he should say
and, for once, came up with the right thing. "It's ok Akane. I mean, I
know you're just trying to be nice and stuff." He looked down at the girl
in front of him. She really was cute. He wondered how he had deluded
himself for so long about that fact. "Maybe we should work on it
together. If you make the progress in the kitchen that you make in the
dojo, you'll be a pro in no time."
Akane looked up at him, a look of wonder mixed with shock and surprise
and emotion on her face. "Y-you really mean that? You'd do that for
me?" She couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Not only had Ranma not
insulted her, but he'd offered to help and complimented her in one
moment. This was unheard of. She wondered if she was dreaming. She'd
been having the nicest dreams lately with a few exceptions. "Thanks
Ranma." she stammered as she drew a little closer to him. Ranma put his
arm around her and the two of them gazed up at the stars together.
***

Ryouga looked around in confusion. He had no idea where he'd gotten
himself to this time. All he'd tried to do was get back to the Tendo
Dojo, but of course, his sense of direction had been playing tricks with
him. He had decided to try and explain things to Akane. Maybe she wasn't
angry any more. Maybe they could get along again. He sighed and looked
up once again, trying to find some sort of landmark. As he glanced around
he noticed a restaurant that looked vaguely familiar. The curtain read
Ucchan's. Ah, Ryouga smiled to himself, a familiar sight at last. Ukyou
can certainly give me directions.
---

Inside the store, Ukyou was busily preparing food for the lunch crowd.
She was in a quiet mood and was doing her best to lose herself in her
work. The recent events surrounding Akane and Ranma hadn't done wonders
for her emotional well-being. In fact, seeing the two of them trying to
get along had somewhat unnerved her. While she knew things between
Ranchan and herself would never go the places she had hoped, she had still
kept some small spark of hope alive. They were, after all, Ranma and
Akane. All anyone had ever seen them do was fight. But after that
incident with the ring, it looked as if maybe something new was happening
between them.
As she heard the door open, she looked up to see her next customer.
She was a bit surprised to see Ryouga standing there. He looked a little
sheepish and yet somewhat hopeful. He was tugging at one of his many
bandanas. She briefly wondered just how many of those things he did have
on. "Irrashai Ryouga, " Ukyou began "What can I do for you?"
Ryouga walked up to Ukyou's counter and decided he was a little
hungry. "Umm, I guess I'll have some okonomiyaki Ukyou. Thanks." He
briefly glanced around taking in his surroundings.
"Where have you been this time? I hear you've kept quite the secret
from us." Ukyou said, a bit of a mischievous smile on her face. Ranma had
stopped in shortly after freeing Akane to relate the events and let her
know Akane was ok. She had been in a little bit of shock at the
announcement that Ryouga had also been cursed.
Ryouga looked up in shock and then quickly lowered his head. "So you
know too?" he asked in a sad voice.
Ukyou felt a little guilty and tried to console him. "Hey sugar, I
didn't mean anything by it. I was just wondering how things were going.
Don't worry, your secret hasn't been shouted from any rooftops. Ranma
just came in and told me how things had gone with the ring." She looked
at Ryouga as she dished up his okonomiyaki. "Here, this one's on the
house."
Ryouga sighed, looked up and nodded his thanks. He wondered if he
could get mad at Ranma over this one. Somehow, it too seemed a little
deficient in the worthy cause category. He poked at the food for a bit
before Ukyou once again tried to get him to open up. As he thoughtfully
chewed his lunch, he decided a friend was exactly what he needed right
now. "Ukyou," he began "what was it like when Ranma told you that he just
wanted to be friends?"
Ukyou grimaced briefly and then decided that maybe she too needed
someone to talk to. "It was pretty rough. I remember thinking that this
just couldn't be happening. I felt that Ranma had to be blind or
something. I mean, couldn't he see how much I cared for him and how
little Akane cared. Of course, I was kidding myself there a little. I
knew that Akane did care, but I also knew it was impossible for her to
show it. Just as impossible as it was for him to open up to her. I found
it hard to believe that he actually told her he loved her after she'd
become trapped." she paused for a moment her eyes tearing a little. "I
just loved him so much, but he never seemed to realize. I was always
Ucchan his childhood friend. And while that bond indeed meant just as
much to me, I always hoped for more. Why did you want to know?"
It was Ryouga's turn to look a little uncomfortable. He decided that
if she could open up, he could as well. "I guess you know about the
recent...events." Ukyou nodded. "I have a feeling that I may never be
able to salvage my relationship with Akane and it's tearing me up inside.
She was the first girl who ever showed me any affection. Of course, at
the time I was little more than her pet." His voice grew quieter as he
finished his sentence. It was really hard to talk about these things. He
wondered how he'd ever be able to face Akane. "I just don't want her to
think of me as some monster. I want to be her friend, but I'm not sure
how to show her that. What do you think?"
Ukyou sympathized with Ryouga. She did indeed know how it felt to lose
someone like that as she'd just explained. She thought for a moment and
then spoke. "I think you need to talk to her Ryouga. I know she has
quite a temper, but she also has a good heart. Lord knows putting up with
Ranma has proved that. She's never able to stay mad at anyone for long.
Not even Ranma. Of course, he usually encourages her to get mad all
over." She chuckled a bit as she said that last bit. "Just let her know
what you feel and what's in your heart. I'm sure somehow it'll work out."
"You really think so Ukyou?" He finished his meal and sat in silence
as Ukyou waited on some more customers.
***

Akane concentrated on her target. Ranma merely looked at her with a
bit of a smile. In all the months that they had sparred together, she had
yet to get through his defenses. While this was somewhat frustrating, she
also looked at it as a great challenge. Recent events had caused their
normal workouts to take on a slightly different cast. After Ranma had
freed her form the cage, he had subtly begun training her in different
things. He seemed to want her to be the best she could, and since he knew
things she didn't, he began to show her some of the things he had
learned. At first Akane didn't know how to react to the new situation,
but slowly she began to open up and now she enjoyed these moments more
than their old workouts.
Ranma, sensing Akane was lost in thought decided to give her a bit if a
shock. While she was lost in thought he had begun circling around her.
Sure enough, she wasn't really paying attention to him. He slowly glided
up behind her and placed his head close to hers. He then spoke just above
a whisper in her ears as he tapped her on the head, "Whatcha thinkin
about?"
Akane reacted as if slapped. "Wha-, who-, hey! What's going on? How
did you do that?" She removed her fist from Ranma's face and blushed as
she realized she had accidentally just lashed out at her iinazuke, not
some attacker.
"Hey! You didn't need to hit me. Sheesh." Ranma said as he
absentmindedly rubbed his jaw. "I was just wondering what was causing you
to lose concentration like that. Although, it seems you weren't as
unprepared as I thought" He was smiling as he said this last bit.
Akane blushed some more at the compliment and where her thoughts had
been. "I was just thinking about how it was nice that you were actually
training me now. I, umm, well, I like it. It's nice to see that you
care." her voice got quieter as she finished. She looked up to see if she
could tell what Ranma was thinking. He looked slightly embarrassed as
well as happy. It was nice seeing him smile. I'm not the only one with a
cute smile she thought to herself. She too started to smile at the
thought.
"Oh, well, uh, don't mention it. I just figured you could use the
help. Besides, it's not like you're gonna ever be able to touch me
without it." he was openly smirking at that last comment. He noticed
Akane's face take on a serious look, and for a second he thought maybe
she'd gotten mad instead of taking the joke like it was meant. However,
when she failed to pull out her mallet, he knew he was ok.
"Oh yeah? You wanna say that again? I'll show you!" she yelled as
once again the two of them began moving around the room, Ranma barely
staying out of Akane's reach.
---

Ryouga looked around once again as he tried to figure out where he
was. After finishing lunch, Ukyou had drawn him a map, knowing that
simply pointing him in a direction would accomplish nothing. Detailed as
the map had been, he had still wandered a little off course. But as luck
would have it, he found himself near the back of the Tendo Dojo, as
opposed to the front. He could hear the sounds of Akane and Ranma working
out in the dojo, and for a moment his determination wavered. It sounded
almost as if they were having a good time...together. He shook his head
slightly, not sure how such a thing was possible. His emotions struggled
with each other as he strived to figure out what he should do. Finally
his sense of honor won, and he once again began making his way into the
Tendo yard.
---

As luck would have it, Ryouga happened to enter the dojo at a moment
when Akane had her back to the door and Ranma was facing it. Upon seeing
Ryouga, Ranma's face froze in surprise. Ryouga was one of the last people
he had expected to see. He wasn't sure what to do and he was also unsure
what Akane would do.
Akane, sensing the change in Ranma, wondered what had stopped him in
the middle of the workout. Few things would break his concentration. In
an attempt to figure out what it was, she turned around.
Just as Akane turned around Ryouga began to speak. "Ah, umm,
Akane..."was all he got out before the look on Akane's face stopped him.
"You!" she hissed. "What are you doing here?" Akane asked, shock,
anger and wonder all fighting for a position on her face. "Well, Ryouga?
Or should I call you P-chan?" Her voice dripped a bit of acid at that
last comment. For once Ranma merely stood still. He was used to fighting
with Ryouga, but he also knew that this wasn't his battle. He decided to
wait things out a bit and see what was up, his trick of thinking first and
acting second once again winning a battle.
"I, well, um, I came to apologize." Ryouga said, his voice growing
quieter as he spoke, his eyes facing the floor. He looked the picture of
abject sorrow and misery. He once again began to speak. "I realize that
you're angry with me, and I can understand that, but I did come to try and
make things right."
Ranma looked on in wonder. He was a little surprised that Ryouga had
shown up, but now that he knew why, the surprise vanished. Ryouga was an
honorable sort, and Ranma knew that he did indeed care for Akane. Inside,
some desire surfaced that told him he should try and help smooth things
out between him and Akane.
Akane, for her part, looked a little confused. She was all set to
pound Ryouga, and she still felt that that would be a perfectly legitimate
option, but she was touched by his desire to atone. She hovered on the
brink, unsure what to do. She was still unbelievably angry at the
deception, but she remembered all the times he had been there and helped.
It was at that moment that Ranma touched her arm. She looked up in
surprise, not sure what he was doing. She saw a look of concern on his
face and wondered what had brought it on. All she had ever seen of the
two of them were the constant fights. Of course, certain recent events
had shed vast amounts of light on that subject.
Ranma spoke to Akane softly, "Akane, I think you should give him a
chance. Hear him out."
"Why Ranma? Why are you asking me to? I've only ever seen you two
fight and argue."
Ranma grimaced, aware of how true that was. "Well, I know, but I also
know that Ryouga did indeed care for you. He always wanted what was best
for you. He didn't try and stop our wedding attempt you know. Just hear
what he has to say, ok?" As he finished he tried to put on his most
sincere face. Akane seemed to waver a bit more, but finally answered.
"Ok Ryouga, I'm willing to give you one chance. I'll hear what you have
to say." At that comment Ranma silently made his way past Ryouga opting
to give the two of them some alone time for once.
Ryouga looked at Ranma in wonder as he walked past, but quickly turned
his attention back to Akane. "Thank you Akane, you have no idea how much
this means to me."
***

Ranma headed away from the dojo lost in thought. As he contemplated
the situation, he wondered why he'd left them alone. That had certainly
never happened before. Maybe he was actually beginning to trust Akane a
little bit...hmm...nah, had to be something else. He continued to think
about it and his mind suddenly recalled some of his dreams. Ryouga had
been in them. He wondered if Ryouga's sudden appearance was gonna drive
things back to the way they'd been before. As he thought about it, his
mind started to spin a bit. Surely that's what the dream had been about!
But, something didn't sit right. He didn't feel threatened by Ryouga in
the dream. He decided to once again think a bit before jumping to any
conclusions.
---

Akane stared at the person before her. Up until recently, she would
have considered Ryouga one of her closest friends. But his sudden
revelation that he was her beloved P-chan had changed that. While she no
longer felt the white-hot anger that she had, she was still plenty sore.
She wondered briefly why Ranma had stuck up for him. She decided to see
if any of what Ryouga said might shed some light on that subject.
For his part Ryouga stared at the floor trying to decide how best to
start. Finally he brought his eyes up so that they met Akane's. He
shrunk a bit from the force of her glare, but began anyway. "A-akane, I
understand why you'd be mad at me, but I just wanted to let you know that
I'm really sorry. I never meant to hurt you. You were one of the closest
things to a friend I had. I wanted to tell you about my curse, but things
just got confusing and hard. It seemed like every time I thought about it
something came up. And then it was too late. You loved me as your pet,
and I was afraid to let you know the truth. I realize some of what I did
wasn't honorable, but I still care for you. I'd like to still be friends
if you can find it in your heart to forgive me." He stood in silence for
a bit holding his breath, unsure how she'd react.
"Why, Ryouga? Why should I trust you now? I do remember how I thought
you were my friend, but I don't know if I can trust you..." Akane asked.
She looked at Ryouga. She'd once thought of him as someone who would do
anything for her. She thought of the times when she'd thought that he was
trying to help Ranma find a cure. She realized now that it was probably
as much for himself as for Ranma. "I did value our friendship and while I
don't really want it to end, I'm not sure how to salvage it."
Ryouga looked at her. This was pretty close to what he expected. He
knew it would be an uphill battle, he just hoped he would make the right
moves. "I'm not sure either Akane, I just know that I need to try. These
last few weeks have been so hard on me. I just knew that I needed to
salvage what I could of our friendship. Don't you think we could start
over or something? Isn't there something we can do?"
Akane looked hard at him. He appeared to be telling the truth. He did
look pretty miserable. It had never been in her nature to stay angry for
long. With Ranma around she had plenty of practice at getting into and
out of arguments. Surely Ryouga deserved another chance. She briefly
nodded her head and turned her eyes to him. "Ok Ryouga. I'm willing to
give you another chance. But I want you to promise that you won't get
between Ranma and me- that means no more fighting. I want the two of you
to get along. Understood?" Ryouga nodded. This had worked out much
better than he'd hoped. Still, it would take a little work to not fight
with his old rival. Especially since it seemed that Akane had given her
heart to him. As he thought about it, he remembered how Ranma had left
the two of them alone. Maybe there was some hope after all...
***

Ranma stared silently at the sky. He had made his way to the roof in
order to give Ryouga and Akane some time, as well as to give himself a
chance to think. The more he thought about Ryouga's sudden appearance and
his dreams, the more he became convinced that they were linked. But, he
also decided that Ryouga wasn't a cause for concern. It seemed to him
like he was a necessary part. Something that had been missing. He
briefly wondered if Ryouga hadn't shown up if things would have gone back
to the way they'd been before. Ranma certainly didn't want that. He
shook his head a bit as he realized he was a lot less afraid of
confronting his emotions now. True, there were still certain subjects
that were taboo, but he didn't find it hard anymore to admit to himself
that he did indeed care for Akane. He smiled briefly as he thought of
her. He wondered how things were going between her and Ryouga. He
figured that they'd go pretty well, actually. Akane had never been one to
hold a real grudge and Ryouga had been a close friend. As time wore on
and he didn't hear any sounds of destruction, he guessed things were
indeed going well. Finally, after more time had passed, he heard the two
of them enter the house. He got up and silently made his way in as well.
---

As Ranma made his way down the stairs he wondered what agreement or
reconciliation the two had found. He entered the living room to see the
two of them sitting at the table, drinking tea. He silently made his way
over and sat next to Akane in his usual place, also reaching for some
tea. "Hey Ryouga, what's up?" he asked.
"Hi Ranma. I, uh, want to thank you for giving me the chance to talk
to Akane." Ryouga began. "That meant a lot to me..." he finished, his
words slightly trailing off at the end.
"Ryouga has apologized and promised not to fight with you anymore, ok
Ranma?" Akane asked. "I want you to stop fighting with him as well. I
want the two of you to get along." her words carried an edge to them, so
Ranma would realize the seriousness of her statement.
Ranma nodded his head slowly and said, "Ok. I don't think there's too
much left to fight over anyway. Right Ryouga?"
Ryouga merely looked at his old rival briefly, wondering where the road
he was on now would lead. He'd considered Ranma a friend in some ways and
an enemy in many. Would they truly be able to put aside old differences?
He decided only time would tell, but that this indeed seem the moment to
start. He nodded his head and looked at Ranma while saying, "Yeah, I'm
not sure there is. Of course, we do still have that matter of Jusenkyou
to work out, but I'm sure we can come up with something." he smiled as he
made this last comment. After all, he couldn't give up all his old
grudges. Ranma face-faulted as Ryouga sat there smiling. Akane managed
to stifle a giggle. It was good seeing the two of them interact in a way
that seemed familiar.
***

As Ryouga walked away at the end of the evening, he felt something he
hadn't felt in a long time, hope. He realized he had done the right
thing, and it would be interesting to see where life would take him now.
It felt good to no longer be so lost.

The End

Author's notes: Well, it appears I've come to the end of another of these
stories. I'm sorry if you thought this story would focus solely on
Ryouga. I decided I wanted to paint a slightly larger picture, and it was
necessary to continue the Ranma/Akane relationship I started. What this
means is, if I continue these stories, things will progress along a
similar line. The characters will get their chance to express themselves,
but it will be a part of a larger story line. I have some ideas where I'd
like them to go, but at the moment I'm letting them take me where they
want to. I hope you've enjoyed this story. Thanks again go to my wife
and all who read these things and bother to say hi. (A hint that C&C are
welcomed and appreciated ^_^) I'm not sure what, when, or who the next
one will be about, but such is life. Thanks again and have a great day.

drew
gambatte ne