[Ranma][Fanfic] Awakening

[Ken Arromdee]

Ranma 1/2: Awakening
by Ken Arromdee

Ranma was at a strange shrine. There was someone with him, whose face
he couldn't see. He felt the sudden urge to run away, but he had lost control
of his body, and he could feel his limbs moving as if he was just a spectator.
He saw himself stepping up to the shrine, where a sword lay stuck in a rock.
He grasped the hilt, and it came out of the stone like a knife passing through
butter, and then he pulled an old piece of parchment from his pocket and read
unfamiliar words off it. His companion leapt to grab the parchment away and
shouted "No, Ranma!" but it was too late. A feeling of dread enveloped
Ranma as he awaited what was to come next, but he woke up in a cold sweat....

It was only a dream. But it was the same dream that he'd been having
night after night. He sat up in his futon and tried to calm down. The door
opened while he was sitting, and Akane walked in, stepping over the sleeping
bundle of black and white sprawled next to him.
"Ranma... it happened again?"
"Yeah, Akane..."
Akane looked concerned. "Any more sweating and you could have changed
just
from the moisture! Are you really sure you're okay?"
Ranma nodded. "I'm _fine_. It was just a dream."
"Dreams like that are trying to tell you something, Ranma. Maybe it has
to do with Kunou. Remember? He got that sword from a stone in a shrine like
that. He got three wishes from that! What if somehow he got another
three?"
"Come on", answered Ranma. "I've had bad dreams lots of times, like when
I first met Kunou and I dreamed I couldn't get away from him. That didn't
mean anything about Kunou except that I was going to beat him up the next
day."
"Ranma, you only had that dream once! How many times have you had this
one?"
"I told you I'll be okay, Akane. The dream can't last forever."
"Hey, I have an idea. Maybe you have to stay asleep all the way until the
end. You've been having the same dream over and over because you never
finished it...".
"What does an uncute tomboy know about dreams?"
"Ranma! I'm trying to help! But if that's how you're going to be..."
Akane stormed out the door, slamming it. The panda finally woke up, raising
a sign "We're trying to get some sleep in here! Stop slamming the door!" and
hit Ranma with it.

Maybe Akane _did_ have a good idea, thought Ranma as he considered the
situation during class. If only he could finish the dream. Best not tell
Akane that he was trying to do that, though. She would sympathize with him
as he tried it, and then rub it in his face if it worked--maybe Akane
did care about him, but they never could get along. Admittedly, it was
partly his fault this time, as he should have been nicer, but something in
him said that it was too late to apologize anyway. He yawned and began to
doze off.

"Ranma, are you feeling well?"
Ranma yawned again, raised his head from his desk, and turned. It was
Ucchan, his other fiancee. "Oh, hi, Ucchan."
"Ranma, class is already over! You were falling asleep at your desk. I
know you're not fond of school, but you've never been _this_ bad."
"I... I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, Ucchan."
Ukyou smiled. "It must be all the noise and fighting at the dojo. Why
don't you come and sleep at the restaurant for a while?" She saw the
grimace on Ranma's face and added "I promise I won't take advantage of you.
Just a gesture of help from a friend. Okay?"
"If I did that, Ucchan, Akane would kill me. And it wasn't fighting
that's making me lose sleep anyway. I've been having this really bad dream.
I keep waking up scared stiff."
Ukyou giggled. "I thought martial artists like you weren't afraid of
anything."
"It's not like I'm eaten by a monster or married to Kunou or something,
it's just... the feeling I get. That I've made a big mistake, and that I'm
missing something. Here's how the whole thing goes...."
Ukyou listened patiently as Ranma described the dream. When he was
finished, she offered a suggestion. "Ranma, maybe you'll know what it means
when it lasts all the way until the end."
"You know, Akane told me the same thing", answered Ranma.
"Well, maybe she does know something. Why don't you try it?"

The door creaked slightly the next night as Akane opened it, trying not
to wake Ranma or his father. She kneeled by his prone form and waited. He
muttered "No!" in his sleep and broke out in a sweat, but then relaxed a bit,
soon sleeping soundly once again. Akane poked him. "Ranma?" No response.
She leaned over to hug him, which she knew would get a response.
It got a response. Ranma awoke, eyes bleary, and got up and backed off
several feet before he even realized what he was doing. "Oh, it's you." he
said as he began to consciously notice Akane.
"Ranma, you were having that dream again! Did you try to stay asleep
until
the end to see what happens?"
"Yeah... it didn't work."
"Didn't work?"
"It ended right where I told you. Then it was just a normal day again...
getting a bento from you, walking to school, taking notes, having lunch at
Ucchan's...."
Akane's concern abruptly diminished. "Having lunch at Ucchan's?"
"Yeah, the one you made sprouted legs and ran away."
"How dare you!" Akane malleted Ranma, hard.
Eyes spinning, Ranma could only say "It was a dream... don't act so
uncute about it."

It didn't work, thought Ranma. Suddenly he realized what was wrong. It
wasn't the _end_ of the dream that was missing, it was the _beginning_. If
he was able to figure out how the dream started, to remember what was missing,
then he'd really understand its true meaning. Ranma excused himself from
dinner and went up to the guest room, closing the door and darkening the
lights
to avoid all distractions. Would it work?, he wondered as he sat down to
meditate in his usual legs-crossed martial artist pose.
But it didn't. All he could recall, try as he might, was a vague feeling
of losing something very precious to him....

What could it be? Was the dream a warning about Kunou's magic sword?
Could it start working again, could Kunou use it to hurt Akane or someone
else? Well, there was one way to find out.

Ranma, in female form, left class through the window and waited for Kunou
to pass by with the rest of the crowd of students. She spotted him and smiled
at him. "Hey, Kunou-sempai!"
"Pig-tailed girl!" Kunou ran to embrace her, which only a sharp kick to
his chest prevented.
"Kunou-sempai, how's your magic sword doing?"
"You puzzle me, pig-tailed girl. My sword is indeed great and powerful,
but it is wielded through the skill of the Blue Thunder of Furinkan alone."
Ranma drew her arms together and put her hands on her chin, trying to look
cute. "Not that sword, Kunou-sempai! The mangan maru sword! Do you have any
other wishes on it?"
"That sword? I do recall it. The last wish was a monument to our first
date, pig-tailed girl. Do you desire a second date? There is no need for a
wish for that, for I would be most glad to comply."
"Never mind that, Kunou, let me see the sword."
"Such rudeness, pig-tailed girl!" Oops, shouldn't have talked that way,
thought Ranma. Oh well, Kunou would forget it in a minute anyway. He always
does.
"Kunou-sempai, I would like to have it as a further monument!"
"Oh, that is different! It is in my locker and I shall go get it now."
Kunou disappeared and returned a minute later with the sword.
Ranma gushed over it. "I shall treasure it always!" She ran off. Kunou
chased her, asking for a date, until Ranma tripped him and tossed him away.
Far above, the tinkle of glass from a breaking window sounded. Hmm, thought
Ranma, that was the chemistry club window.

Akane asked Ranma about the incident as she and Ranma walked home. "You
mean that the dream was telling you to get that sword?"
"No, I'm just testing that. If I don't have the dream tonight, I'll know
it worked. But I don't know. It was too easy... Kunou didn't care about
that
sword at all. Even an unappealing tomboy like you could have gotten it from
him like I did."
Akane growled and lunged at him. "Why can't you ever be _nice_?" She
hammered him, sending him flying several blocks and into the chemistry club
window.

Ranma lay down on his futon that night, wondering if the dreams that
haunted him were finally going to stop. The more he thought about them, the
more vivid they seemed. Ranma took a long time falling asleep, and when he
finally did, the same dream returned in full force. "Ranma, no!" He turned
to look at the face of the person who shouted the warning, but it faded away
as
he turned. Then it was a normal day again, a slightly different normal day
from the last time. This one was a replay of Akane's first fight with
Shampoo....
Ranma awoke with a start. _That_ was his way out of his problem. He felt
he couldn't sleep properly until he could remember the start of his dream.
The solution was simple: find something which helps people remember. Luckily,
the normal part had reminded him that Shampoo had just the thing he was
looking
for, and all he had to do was go and get it.

Shampoo shouted as she answered the door. "We sorry. Restaurant not
open yet. Must come later...". After lifting the small "closed" sign to see
who was outside, she recognized her visitor. It was the first time ever that
Ranma had come this early in the morning. Maybe he wants to ask her on a
date?
No, he was all dirty, even brused in one place. She'd have to save him from
whatever his trouble was. And he'd certainly fall for the woman who nursed
him back to health. "Forget that, Ranma. Husband welcome any time."
This just might work, thought Ranma. He looked like a man that had lost
a fight. He'd usually never pretend to have lost a fight just to try
something
that might or might not solve a little problem like a dream, but something was
different this time, something which drove him to seek any solution he could.
But he wouldn't even _know_ what it was until he could remember the rest of
his dream. Ranma felt more desperate than he did when cures to his curse were
at hand, and he'd do anything he had to do, no matter how much it humiliated
him.
Ranma gasped out "I need your help! I got hit on the head and I lost all
memory of my martial arts skill. I need you to use your shampoo to help me
gain my memory back! I just got beat up by Ryouga when I couldn't even block
any blows from him... You've gotta help me!"
Shampoo nodded. "Shampoo help husband any way she can! Just come right
in and go to bathroom sink where Shampoo do it."

Ranma never reached the bathroom. He heard something behind him and, in
order to keep up the sham, had to force himself not to protect himself or to
turn around to see who it was. But he knew; it was Shampoo's
great-grandmother.
The wrinkled woman hopped in front of Ranma. "Not so fast. This sounds
suspicious to me. Shampoo, why don't you..." Cologne switched to Cantonese
and whispered something in Shampoo's ear; Shampoo's eyes lit up with joy.
"That good idea, great-grandmother!"
Shampoo explained to Ranma. "Shampoo not give you shampoo treatment until
agree to go on date with Shampoo."

"Okay, I'll agree." Ranma had a sudden hunch that it would never matter
anyway.
"It would seem Ranma is sincere." said Cologne. Shampoo hugged her and
then led Ranma into the bathroom. "Ranma, put head down in sink."
Ranma obeyed and Shampoo started the treatment. As the special shampoo
sunk down into Ranma's roots, he could indeed feel his memory clearing. He
now saw who it was in the dream, remembered the start... and a _lot_ more.
Finally he understood what he had to do. There was no logical way he could
remember it, but the magic of the shampoo overruled logic. And he now
recognized the source of the problem.
"Cologne, you bastard." whispered Ranma.

"Shampoo not understand. Date with Shampoo not bad thing. Why angry?"
"It has nothing to do with a date! Goodbye, Shampoo. See you later. Or
not." Ranma ran out, with lightning speed.
"Then what great-grandmother do?" asked Shampoo uselessly to Ranma's
blurred afterimage. She gave up and turned to her great-grandmother, asking
<Should I chase him, great-grandmother?> in Cantonese.
Cologne replied <No, don't. I have no idea what he's talking about.
Besides, he'll be back. He always comes back.>

Ranma rushed home. Halfway back, Akane joined him, but her expression
betrayed her anger at what Ranma did. "I followed you, Ranma. And I heard
it all! _What_ was that about? Agreeing to go on a date with _Shampoo_?
Don't tell me that she provoked _this_ one, Ranma. I know better."
"I'm sorry, Akane. It'll never matter. Please, go away. You're making
this more difficult for both of us. Goodbye...."
Akane was puzzled, and now a bit worried. Was Ranma going to kill
himself?
But nothing had happened to him, nothing to even depress him. Still, she
had heard that people sometimes hide depression. She had to stop Ranma.
Maybe it was even something she could help with.

Ranma sped away from Akane despite her complaints, and went home to
retrieve the mangan maru sword. He snatched up the sword, grabbed a backpack
and sleeping bag, leapt out into the back yard, and ran off.

That night, both Ranma and Akane were missing. Ranma had a big head
start,
but Akane caught him in the middle of the night, poking his sleeping bag and
peeling the front aside to see that he was still there. Ranma gave her a look
of sorrow that she had never seen before, then got out, threw the sleeping
bag over her head, and ran.

Ranma ran and ran as the stars turned in the sky, checking behind himself
every so often to make sure that nobody was tailing him. Finally, he could
make out a light in the distance: the entrance to the shrine where the mangan
maru sword had rested. He broke down the door and knocked aside the
attendants, stuck the sword back into the stone, and shouted "Kachuu Tenshi
Amaguriken!", hitting the rock and metal until his fists hurt... it must have
been at least ten thousand times. The rock broke into fragments under this
pounding, and even the sword lay twisted and ruined. Ranma's head spun from
the exertion, and he finally fainted, the world going white around him....

Ranma woke up again. It was daytime, around late afternoon, and he was
on a futon. For a brief moment he thought it had been a dream, but he
realized
he was in a back room in the shrine. His fiancee was by his side, trying to
wake him up. "Speak to me, Ranma! Oh, Ranma...."
"How long was I out?" he asked.
Tenko brushed aside her long green hair and answered. "Almost an hour.
What happened? All I saw was you making the wish, and then the stone and the
sword both exploded. Are you okay?"
Ranma hugged and consoled her. "You don't have to worry about me. I can
survive anything. But Cologne nearly got you. No, she _did_ get you, and me,
and we only escaped it because of my love for you...."
"I tried to warn you! The phrase on that paper she gave you wasn't an
ancient Chinese wish for prosperity."
Ranma nodded. "It was a trick... in Chinese it must have meant something
like 'I wish that my fiancee never existed'. When I said it and made the
wish without knowing it, everything changed. I had never been to the shrine;
Kunou had gotten there first and made the wishes instead. I had two fiancees,
three counting Shampoo, and neither of them were you. But somehow, whenever I
was going to get close to one of them, I felt something which made me keep it
from going any farther. I'd like to think you were there with me, somehow,
helping me remember."
Ranma continued "And now the sword and stone are gone. Destroying it
cancelled the wish. I thought I had the chance for a cure to my curse, but I
guess I'm going to have to keep looking."
Tenko hugged Ranma tighter. "Ranma... don't ever do that again, okay?
Promise to get my opinion next time you try some stupid stunt like trusting
Cologne? I do know a _little_ Chinese, after all."
"Yeah." Ranma could never resist Tenko, after all. He added "Oh, sorry
about the time. I've never been late for a date with you before, and this is
the anniversary of the day we beat Happosai, too."
"Don't worry, unconsciousness is a good excuse. Especially if you knocked
yourself out saving me. And if you missed the restaurant, I'll treat you to
some delicious home cooking...."
Ranma grinned. "I'm glad you're so understanding. Let's go!"

END.
--
Ken Arromdee (arro...@randomc.com, karr...@nyx.nyx.net,
http://www.randomc.com/~arromdee)

"2000 members of the vegetable kingdom and I have to work with _tomatoes_!"