[ranma][fanfic] Between a Rock & a Hard Place

[Databank]

Ranma 1/2 - Between a Rock and a Hard Place

by Zen

Based on characters and situations created by Takahashi Rumiko
Ranma 1/2 and characters copyright Shogakukan, Kitty Animation
Circle, and Takahashi Rumiko.
This story copyright 1996 - James A Bateman

PART ONE OF SIX

*** ### ***

"RANMA no baka!" The chant was becoming almost a litany for
Tendou Akane as she trained at the dojo. Every kick, every blow,
was punctuated with a syllable from her mantra. "Ran-" [[whudd]]
"Ma-" [[whudd]] "No-" [[whudd]] "Baka!" [[whudd][whudd]]...

Akane was in the courtyard of the dojo proper, using a practice post.
The post was simplicity itself - a wooden timber driven into the
ground. At any normal dojo, they used four by four timbers for
training posts. But this was the Tendou Dojo, and four by fours
would have been shattered like match sticks. Fortunately, Nabiki
had managed to get her Dad a good deal on a large load of surplus
railroad ties - they lasted a little longer than the four by's would
have - but not by much.

The top half of the post was wound with thick rope to provide a
defined target area, and to keep the trainee from injuring her hands
on the wood of the post. Sometimes training posts were fitted with
dummies stuffed with straw or cotton batting, which made for a
more lifelike target, and even allowed for a modicum of
personalization. The stuffed dummy that Akane had on hers was
sporting a shock of black hair tied into a distinctive ponytail - it
seemed somehow appropriate, and it certainly helped her to focus
her energy in her attacks.

She had worked up a steady rhythm of kicks and punches, and the
post was starting to show signs of the strain. With Akane's last
attack, the post snapped and flew over the roof of the dojo, carrying
her effigy of Ranma with it. She stood for a moment, catching her
breath, looking sadly at the splintered stump of the post. Finally,
Akane sighed and headed for the house and a warm, relaxing bath.

*** ### ***

On the veranda opposite the Dojo, Soun and Genma were playing
their usual game of Shogi. Except for the earlier sounds of Akane's
training, and the subsequent immersion of her training dummy in
the fish-pond, the day had been abnormally quiet. Happousai hadn't
been seen in days. Nabiki was off somewhere, probably separating
some poor fool from as substantial a portion of his money as she
could manage, and Kasumi was in the kitchen humming quietly to
herself as she prepared the evening meal. Even better, tonight
dinner was going to be Kasumi's sukiyaki - All in all, it had been a
very pleasant day.

"Your move, Saotome-kun"

Genma made a show of studying the board, but his mind was really
not on the game. On a day like today, he was content just to relax
and go through the motions. Everything seemed to be going so well.
Ranma and Akane had not fought for more than a week now.
Granted, their last fight had been one of the worst in recent memory,
but since then Ranma had gone out of his way to avoid starting any
arguments with his iinazuke. At least, he had been keeping out of
her way lately. Perhaps he was trying to give her time to cool off.
Genma saw an opening and moved a piece.

Soun looked hard at the board - He and Genma were more or less
evenly matched - but both of them were better at cheating than
actually playing. Sometimes the games were more to see who could
get away with what, rather than a real match. It was a good way to
spend quality time. Soun sighed and moved a piece of his own.

*** ### ***

After a thorough scrubbing, Akane was relaxing in the tub, letting
the warmth of the water melt the tension from her. After a while,
her thoughts wandered (as they often did, though she would sooner
die than admit it) back to her iinazuke.

Their last fight had kept her beating up boards and bricks for days.
There were times when she wanted nothing more than to knock
some sense into that pointed head of his, or some basic courtesy at
the very least. The nerve of him!

It had started as many of them had, while they were sparring in the
dojo. Akane had actually been in a good mood for a change - Kasumi
had agreed to help her work through another chapter of their
mother's notebook, and Akane was looking forward to it. Where she
had made her mistake was in sharing that news with Ranma.

Ranma had adopted a horrified expression, and made several rude
remarks to the effect that a 'true martial artist' would not resort to
bio-toxic weapons. He had then proceeded to tell her in exacting
detail what he thought her husband's chances of surviving her
cooking were, assuming, of course, that she could find anyone willing
to marry someone as kawaikunee as she was.

In retrospect, Ranma's reaction had been predictable. He was always
making fun of her cooking, always making fun of her attempts to
behave like a girl, and then criticizing her for not being more
feminine. Akane felt that there was no way for her to win. No
matter what she did, Ranma would always make fun of her.

Akane knew that her cooking needed work, and she tried so hard.
How did he expect her to improve if she didn't try to learn? But no,
he wouldn't even give her a chance. It infuriated her - and it was
even worse when she found out that he could cook better than she
could. Yes, in retrospect, Ranma's reaction had been perfectly
predictable. At the time though, it had been more than Akane could
stand.

"Ranma no Baka!" she had cried, falling back into an all too familiar
pattern. She had advanced on him, her attacks driven more by rage
than intelligence, she was so angry. Ranma avoided her attacks
fairly easily, which did little to improve Akane's temper.

"Stand still and take your lumps!" she had shouted.

"Akane, don't you get tired of always being so angry?"

"Of COURSE I do!" she had replied. "But you never seem to get tired
of MAKING me angry! Don't you ever get tired of being such an
insensitive jerk?" By now Akane had backed Ranma into a corner of
the dojo.

Ranma hopped lightly over her as she charged him. "Kawaikunee,"
he retorted, "You'll have to be a lot faster than that!" He landed
behind her with a snicker. Akane whirled to face him once more.

"Damned showoff..." she muttered. "I'll show you..."

But Ranma didn't even seem to be listening. In fact, he turned his
back on her, as if he didn't even consider her to be a threat. That
was the last straw. "Oooh, I HATE you!" The brick she threw
bounced squarely off the back of his head. Ranma started to pitch
forward, dazed. "You can be..." Akane's kick caught him before he
could hit the floor, bringing his head back into striking range; "...such
an arrogant..." her first backhanded blow rattled Ranma's teeth;
"...*bastard*!" she screamed as her second hay maker struck home.
Ranma dropped to the floor of the dojo like a sack of rice. "Why
don't you just go off and DIE, Ranma!" He never saw the kick coming
as she punted him through the doorway and out into the garden.
Ranma-chan hadn't regained consciousness until an adventurous koi
had tried to swim up her shirt.

Akane shifted in the tub. "Ranma," she sighed to herself... "You can
be *such* a jerk..."

*** ### ***

Ranma was sitting at the Uuchan, idly poking at an okonomiyaki. He
had eaten a few bites, but for some reason he really wasn't hungry.
Finally he just sighed and pushed the plate away.

Ukyou noticed the motion from the corner of her eye, and glanced in
Ranma's direction. Then she noticed that he had hardly touched his
okonomiyaki. That worried her - it was not like Ranma to pass up
food, and she had reason to know that okonomiyaki was one of his
favourites. She headed over to Ranma's table and took the seat
opposite him.

Ranma was resting his head in his hands, staring off into space.
Ukyou shivered when she saw the expression on his face - it wasn't
like him to be this depressed.

"Ran-chan?" she asked. "Ran-chan? What's wrong?"

Ranma didn't even seem to hear her.

"Ran-chan? - You're not still upset about that fight with Akane, are
you? That was days ago - I'm sure she's forgotten about it by now..."

For a moment the fire was back in Ranma's eyes. "Upset over that
Kawaikunee..." he began. "of course not!" - but as he said it, Ukyou
watched the fire die and the life just seemed to drain out of him.

Ukyou had no idea what to say. For a moment, she felt a flare of
anger of her own. Why couldn't Ran-chan see how she felt about
him? Why did Akane always have to hurt him so? It just wasn't
fair! Another look at Ranma's face, though, and the anger in her
faded to be replaced with sympathy. She couldn't stand to see him
in such pain.

Ukyou looked around the shop. It was the slow part of the
afternoon, so she and Ranma had the place to themselves. She got
up, walked over to the door, flipped up the 'closed' sign, and turned
the lock. She didn't want to be disturbed right now; not when Ranma
needed help so badly. She went back to the table and sat down
again.

"Ranma," she said, "C'mon, Ran-chan - talk to me. You'll feel better, I
promise."

Ranma did not answer immediately. For a while, she didn't think he
was going to say anything, and when he did, it was so softly that she
almost missed it. "I'm fine, Ucchan," he sighed... "Just tired, that's all."

"Ran-chan - you've never lied to me before; don't start now," said
Ukyou. "I know you too well for you to get away with that."

Ranma managed a wan smile. "Yes, I guess you do at that," he said.
The smiled faded, but did not disappear completely. Ranma looked
down at the table for a moment, marshaling his thoughts. "I dunno,
I'm just tired of all the mess," he managed at last. "Always fighting
with Akane... Things have gotten so confusing. I don't even know
who I am anymore at times."

Ukyou blinked. "Ran-chan, I know your curse is hard on you, but it
really doesn't matter you know. You're still the same person, no
matter what gender you happen to be at the time."

Ranma smiled weakly again. "Thanks, Ucchan, but that's not really
what I meant. Life has just gotten so... *complicated* lately. I have
three iinazuke, and if that's not trouble enough, half of the guys in
town are out for my blood, and half want to ask me out. Some of
these clowns are in *both* groups. I have that psychotic gymnast
chasing after me, and if Mom ever finds out why I can't join the
swim team, I'll have to commit seppuku."

"Complicated begins to sound like an understatement."

Ranma nodded miserably. "And I just don't know what to do about
it. No matter which way I turn, it seems that someone is mad at me,
and I have no idea just how I got into this mess, let alone how I can
get out of it."

"I think I see," said Ukyou. "Was that what started this last fight
with Akane? You've been in the dumps ever since."

"To tell you the truth, I don't know." said Ranma. "Whenever Akane
and I are together, we're at each other's throats - even when things
start off okay, they usually end up with us fighting." He sighed. "I
just can't figure her out."

Ukyou sighed heavily. "Do you love her, Ran-chan?"

"What?!" Sparks flew from Ranma's eyes. "Love HER?" Again, the
sparks faded as quickly as they had come. "Honestly? I don't have
any idea how I feel about her - I've never really had the chance to
find out. Sometimes I think that I'm starting to like her, and then...
well, then it all goes to hell and we're fighting again."

"But you've fought for her - several times." Ukyou said. "Would you
have done that if you didn't care?"

"I dunno. In a way, I owe her. When Pop and I first came to the
dojo, she was the only one who was nice to me - the only one who
didn't seem somehow disappointed."

"Really?" asked Ukyou. "Somehow I find that hard to visualize."

"I thought that I had told you that story," Ranma said. "When Pop
and I first showed up here in Nerima, it was raining. Pop had sent
Mr. Tendou a postcard telling him to expect us, and we sort of got
caught in the downpour on the way."

"So you were a girl at the time."

"Yeah, and not too happy about it, either. Y'see this was the first I
had ever heard of this whole iinazuke thing. The first I'd heard of
*any* of it, if you follow."

Ukyou nodded. "I think that I'm starting to, Ran-chan."

"Anyway, when we got to the dojo, Mr. Tendou and the girls were
waiting for us. At first, Mr. Tendou didn't notice that I was a girl, but
it didn't take long for Nabiki to point it out. He fainted."

"He certainly seems to be high strung for a martial artist at times,"
observed Ukyou.

"He does at that," agreed Ranma. "It certainly was embarrassing -
sitting there as a girl listening to Kasumi trying to console her father,
and Nabiki complaining to anyone who would listen that I wasn't
what she had hoped for. Akane's was the only friendly face in the
whole room."

"So what happened?" asked Ukyou.

"Well, Akane and I went in to the dojo to spar a bit, while Pop was
going to explain things to Mr. Tendou. At the time, Akane was not
nearly as good as she is now. She was telegraphing her moves like
she was Western Union. After the match, she told me that she was
glad that I was a girl. She said that she would have hated to lose to a
boy."

"Ah. I see. So she didn't take it well when your father explained it,
right?"

"Sort of. As it happened, she found out about it before any of the
others. After Kasumi showed me our room at the dojo, she suggested
that I take a bath - at the time, it seemed like a good idea. Akane
decided to take a bath too, and since I had been a girl, well, I guess
she decided that she didn't need to knock. She walked in on me just
as I was getting out of the tub."

"Hot water..." giggled Ukyou.

Ranma nodded. "Hai. She just backed out and then ran off
screaming. By the time I got dressed and came back out, she was
threatening to come back and bash me with the table." Ranma
shuddered at the memory. "Then Pop explained the curse, and at
least Mr. Tendou felt better. After that, all Akane would do was look
at me and growl. Like it was my fault or something. It just went
down hill from there. Kasumi and Nabiki volunteered Akane as my
iinazuke, and *she* accused *me* of peeping on *her* - and it was
more than I could stand - that was the moment the whole
'kawaii/kawaikunee' thing came up, and it's been a sticking point
ever since."

"So what happened then?"

"She bashed me with the table after all - after which I accidentally
walked in on *her* in the bath - so she slapped me. Since then, it's
been fight, fight, fight... and it never seems to end."

"I see," said Ukyou. "So you feel obligated to her because she was
nice to you when she thought you were a girl. Never mind that she
hasn't been very nice to you since."

"Basically," agreed Ranma, "But there's more to it than that, I think.
Dr. Tofu once told me that Akane was a very sweet and caring girl.
At the time, well, let's just say that I wasn't exactly convinced. But
there are times, rare times, when I think I see a little of what he
meant - little flashes of kindness, and in those instants, she really is
cute."

"So you *do* love her then."

"No! ... I mean yes! ... I mean no! ... Oh, hell, I don't know. I'm not
even sure I know what love is - or if it matters." Ranma sighed.

"If it matters?" asked Ukyou, "What do you mean by that? Don't you
think you ought to love the person you're going to marry?"

"Yeah, I guess so, but who am I going to marry? Akane is only *one*
of the iinazuke Pop set me up with! There's Shampoo, and also..."
Ranma's voice died away as he turned red.

"...and there's also me." Ukyou finished for him. "I'm afraid that I
won't be able to give you any objective advice on that one, Ran-
chan." She smiled at him a little sadly.

"I'm sorry, Ucchan... I... I never wanted to hurt you. You're the one
person that I *know* I can count on." Ranma looked down at the
table. "I guess I'd better go..." Ranma stood and headed for the door.
As he turned the lock to open it, he paused, and turned back to
Ukyou. "Ucchan... Thanks. I'm glad you're here." And he was gone.

Ukyou sat staring after him for a long time, trying very hard not to
cry. Finally she stood up. "You're welcome, my love." she said
softly.

*** ### ***

Ranma wandered slowly along the streets of Nerima, not really
caring where he was going. <Damn,> he thought to himself. <Why
can't I just keep my mouth shut? Now I've hurt Ucchan's feelings
too. How do I get into these messes?>

A short distance away, Kunou Tatewaki watched as his hated rival
(for the affections of *both* of his beloved, no less) walked by, as if
in a daze. He smiled to himself. "Saotome, your inattention will be
your downfall. The time for divine retribution has come!" With that,
Kunou charged towards Ranma, his bokken swinging to attack.

Ranma, for his part, never even really noticed Kunou's attack above a
sub-conscious level. As Kunou got close enough, Ranma absently
grabbed the end of his bokken, and with a deft twist, pulled Kunou
forward - launching him into an arc that terminated - quite solidly -
against the wall of a nearby building. Kunou slid quietly to the
ground.

"Bug off, Kunou," Ranma muttered to his unconscious attacker, "I
have a lot on my mind right now..."

*** ### ***

Back at the Tendou Dojo, it was approaching the dinner hour. Nabiki
had come in an hour or so earlier, counting a wad of bills. She had
been in her room since, the only evidence of her presence being the
occasional volley of clicking from the keyboard of her computer.
Soun and Genma were in the midst of yet another game of Shogi
while Kasumi set the table and made her final dinner preparations.

Akane had finished her bath and was relaxing with one of her
favourite manga - a story about a young college student who falls in
love with his apartment manager, and all of their peculiar friends
and acquaintances. The college student and the manager were
forever victims of silly misunderstandings, but there seemed to be
hope that it might all work out in the end. Perhaps that was why she
liked it - as bad as things got, there still seemed to be a light at the
end of the tunnel.

<Too bad the real world can't be like that,> Akane thought to herself.
<Nothing around here ever changes.>

*** ### ***

Ranma was still wandering on a course that would eventually take
him back by the dojo, but he was in no particular hurry. Dinner
would not be for another hour or so, and he had no desire to run into
Akane just yet. The last thing he felt like doing was getting involved
in another fight with that kawaikunee tomboy. His head still
throbbed a bit when he thought about that *last* fight they'd had.

Besides, Akane had been getting more and more upset with him over
things that just weren't his fault. HE wasn't to blame for some stupid
Amazon law. It wasn't HIS fault that his father kept selling him for a
meal... It wasn't his fault that some psychotic bimbo had taken a
liking to him. Ranma shuddered at the thought of Kodachi.

Ranma kicked at a pebble on the sidewalk. "Stupid Akane. Why
does she have to be so violent?" he asked of no one in particular.
"She never seems interested in hearing my side of it. Whatever's
going on, it just has to be my fault. Why does she always blame
ME?"

In fairness, Ranma had to admit that he needed to be a lot nicer to
Akane. He knew that he teased her too much. He knew that she was
trying to improve her domestic skills, but he just could not resist the
openings she left him. Akane could be such a contradiction at times -
tough but vulnerable, graceful and clumsy, self-confident yet
plagued by self-doubt. It made her so difficult to understand.

Somehow, he always managed to say just the wrong thing. Just when
he thought they might actually have a chance of getting along, he
said or did something that set her off again, and her smile would
disappear in a shower of sparks. It really was too bad. She was so
cute when she smiled - Ranma wished that she'd smile more often.

Down the street, a little black piglet wandered into the middle of the
road, looking lost. Ranma sighed to himself thinking about Akane.

A car screeched to a halt as its driver slammed on his brakes in an
effort to miss the pig. Ranma, hearing the noise, looked down the
street.

A Mishima Heavy Industries delivery van, moving at a high rate of
speed, swerved to miss the stalled car ahead of it. Ranma looked up
and saw Akane, as if she were smiling at him; eyes as bright as head
lamps, forehead smooth as a windscreen, a flashing smile like the
glint of the setting sun from the polished chrome of a bumper. A sad
little smile crossed his face as the delivery truck slammed into him,
still doing well over 125 kph.

The truck did not carry Ranma far; a building brought both of them
to a complete and abrupt stop. As the smoke cleared, people could
see the body of a young man pinned between the wreckage of the
truck and the remains of the wall. The bright red of his Chinese style
shirt was awash with the darker red of his blood.

Within moments, an emergency crew had arrived and paramedics
were fighting desperately to free Ranma or his remains from the
wreckage. As the truck was pulled away from the shattered
remnants of the wall, rescue workers were astonished to hear a still
semi-conscious Ranma muttering weakly...

"No... Akane... Don't..." Ranma coughed, and blood welled up. "A...
ka... ne..." Ranma's awareness faded completely and his breathing
came to a stop.

"Medic! - Stat!" one of the workers called.

*** ### ***

Kasumi was just clearing the dishes from dinner at the Tendou Dojo.
The rest of the family was still sitting around the table thinking
contented thoughts.

"Ahh, Kasumi, your sukiyaki is without equal," Genma enthused.
"Truly a delight for the palate."

Kasumi smiled. "Why thank you Mr. Saotome," she said. "I'm glad
that you enjoyed it. I hope that you all saved some for Ranma."

"Ranma?" Genma looked startled.

"Why, yes." Kasumi said, gesturing at the clean bowls sitting at
Ranma's place on the table. "He hasn't gotten home yet."

Akane looked at the empty place at the table. Kasumi was right,
Ranma had not been there - his bowl was as clean as it had been
when it had come from the cupboard.

"That's odd," Genma said. "It's not like Ranma to miss a meal."

"Maybe he's at the Nekohanten, or the Uuchan," said Akane, her voice
acid.

Genma considered this. "Possible, but I don't think that he would
pass up Kasumi's sukiyaki for that," he said.

"He'll turn up, Saotome-kun," said Soun. "After all, Akane's here,
right?"

"Right you are, Tendou-kun." Genma agreed. Akane just glowered.

*** ### ***

By ten o'clock that night, Ranma still had not returned to the dojo,
and people were starting to get concerned. Kasumi called Ranma's
friends to see if any of them had seen him lately. The only
affirmative answers she got were from Ukyou, who said that he had
left her shop a little after four that afternoon, and Kunou, who could
not say when he had seen him last, just that the foul cur Saotome
must surely have fled to avoid his (Kunou's) wrath. No one answered
at the Nekohanten.

When Akane heard her sister's report, she was furious. "That jerk!"
she said. "I'll bet he's out with Shampoo! And here we were
worrying about him!"

Nabiki came into the room in time to hear Akane's comment. "I don't
think so, sis." She said. "Shampoo was by here a couple of hours ago
looking for Ranma. I told her that we hadn't seen him since before
breakfast."

Akane cooled a bit when she heard that, but she was still miffed. "So
where would he be, then?" she asked.

About that time, there was a knock on the door. Nabiki went to greet
their visitor, while Akane sat fuming. A moment later Nabiki came
back, followed by Dr. Tofu. Kasumi came in from the kitchen with a
tray of things for tea.

"Konbonwa, Dr. Tofu!" she said cheerfully. "How nice of you to drop
by!"

Warning bells began ringing in the back of Akane's mind. There was
something very wrong here. Kasumi had just walked in, and Dr. Tofu
had barely noticed.

"Konbonwa, Kasumi-san," Tofu answered. "Is Mr. Saotome here?"

Kasumi looked mildly puzzled. "I think he's on the veranda with
Father. Shall I go see?"

"Please," said Dr. Tofu. Kasumi set down her tray, and left to find
Genma and Soun.

Akane felt herself going cold. Her subconscious put two and two
together, and got a very messy four. "Tofu-sensei," she said. Dr. Tofu
looked toward her, and Akane saw the pain in his eyes. "What's
happened?" she asked. "Where's Ranma?"

Dr. Tofu looked at the floor, and Akane felt her heart in her throat.
"Oh no... - he's all right, isn't he? Something terrible has happened,
hasn't it?"

Kasumi returned followed by Genma and Soun. "Here they are, Dr.
Tofu," she said. Then she noticed the doctor's expression, and that
her sister was white as a sheet and shaking like a leaf. "Oh, my," she
said. "Is there something wrong?"

Dr. Tofu took a deep breath and looked at the members of the
Tendou family, and finally at Genma and Akane. "Some..." he started,
"Sometime this afternoon, Ranma was struck by a speeding delivery
truck a few kilometers from here. He was crushed between the
truck and a building. He's still in surgery at Nerima Medical Centre.
The outlook..." his voice started to break, "the outlook is not good."

The others stared at Dr. Tofu in shock. "My son..." said Genma, and
sat down heavily.

"Oh, dear," said Kasumi. She looked stricken.

Akane just stood there, staring at Dr. Tofu, willing the nightmare to
end, wanting to wake up and find that it was all a bad dream, but
knowing better. Dr. Tofu was not given to cruel jokes, and only the
gravest of emergencies could keep him sober when Kasumi was
around.

Soun was in tears, babbling incoherently. Genma looked up at Dr.
Tofu. "My son..." he said again. "Will... will he live?"

"They don't know," said Dr. Tofu quietly. "He's been in surgery for
over four hours now. That he has lived this long is no minor
miracle."

*** ### ***

The door to Akane's room exploded off its hinges as Akane ran to her
bed, blinded by tears. She buried her face in her pillow as great sobs
wracked her, making her shake uncontrollably. She didn't know how
long she lay there, but she cried until the shaking lessened, and she
was able to regain some minor amount of control. She sat there,
alone in the dark, crying quietly into her pillow.

"Oh, Ranma," she sobbed. "You jerk! Why'd you have to go and get
hurt? Why?"

It was some time before Akane noticed the silhouette in what
remained of her doorway. When she did, Kasumi came the rest of
the way into the room, and sat down on the bed next to her. Kasumi
put her arms around her sobbing sister and held her, making soft
shushing noises.

"Why, Kasumi? How could Ranma get hit by a truck, of all things?"
Akane cried.

"They don't know the whole story yet," Kasumi said. "Apparently, a
car stopped suddenly, and the truck swerved to avoid the car. Then
it hit Ranma, and the building."

"I still can't believe it." Akane sniffled loudly. "I keep hoping that I'll
wake up and this will all have been some kind of terrible dream. Oh,
Kasumi, what'll I do if... if... what'll I do if he *dies*?"

Kasumi held her sister as she cried, rocking gently. Finally, Akane's
shaking stopped, and, after a time, sleep claimed her. Once she had
been asleep for a while, Kasumi tucked her into her bed and quietly
left the room.

*** ### ***

Downstairs, a tense group of people was growing ever larger as more
people learned of Ranma's fate. Ukyou had been the first to arrive.
She had called to find out if Ranma had gotten home yet, and had
gotten Dr. Tofu. Once she had the story, she was there within
minutes. She looked as if she had been crying, and was trying hard
to stay in control.

Shampoo sat in a corner weeping quietly, while Mousse sat nearby,
longing to be able to comfort her. As much as he hated Ranma for
stealing his darling Shampoo, he too hoped that Ranma would live, if
only so he could see Shampoo smile again. Cologne sat quietly, still
as a statue, lost in thought. Finally, she stood up and went to spell...
err... relieve Kasumi in the kitchen.

Kasumi then joined Dr. Tofu in his vigil by the phone, talking quietly
to him, and occasionally crying softly. For once, Tofu found that he
was able to just hold her, and offer her the comfort she needed. He
just wished that the price for his sanity wasn't so high.

*** ### ***

News of Ranma's accident spread quickly as Nabiki made sure that
everyone in the Nerima district knew the latest developments.
Naturally these bulletins did not come free. Even as she worried
about Ranma, as deep in her heart she did, Nabiki retained enough
presence of mind to milk the situation for every single yen that the
market would bear.

Kunou's first reaction to the news had been a surge of elation. "The
vengeance of heaven is slow, but sure," he told himself. "Surely the
Gods themselves have struck down the evil Saotome." Immediately
he began to plan his campaign to console the grieving Tendou Akane,
and his beloved Pig-tailed Girl.

Kunou Kodachi, on the other hand, had taken the news with
somewhat less aplomb. To put it more succinctly, she freaked.
Within hours, the Tendou Dojo, Furinkan High, and the Nerima
Medical Centre were hip deep in bouquets of black roses. When the
doctors refused her admittance to the OR where Ranma was still in
surgery, she took it ill, and they threatened to lock her in the Saeko
Ward.

Upon hearing of Ranma's accident, Gosunkugi Hikaru found himself in
something of a quandary. Here he had been granted one of his most
ardent wishes, the seeming removal of Saotome Ranma, which meant
he had one less rival for Tendou Akane. Not that it really mattered,
he thought glumly. Akane would never look twice at him no matter
how many of her suitors were eliminated. When he heard about
Akane's reaction to the accident, Hikaru decided that he had a lot of
thinking to do. He was not a fundamentally unkind person; he
genuinely cared for Akane and did not like to think of her being
unhappy. When he realized how much Ranma's death would hurt
her, he was deeply ashamed of a lot of the things he had wished for.
For the first time in his life, Hikaru found himself praying just as
ardently for his hated rival's recovery. Hours later, had anyone
thought to look through the ashcans behind the Gosunkugi household,
they might have found a number of small dolls with black pigtails,
various sharp implements, and a toy truck.

*** ### ***

END PART ONE OF SIX

PART TWO OF SIX
*** ### ***

The next morning, would-be customers found there was a sign on the
Uuchan that read "Closed until Further Notice." The proprietor of
that establishment was still at the Tendou Dojo, waiting for further
news of Ranma's condition.

Akane, after a troubled night's sleep, was coming down the stairs
when the silence of the morning was shattered by the strident ring
of the telephone. Akane was over the rail and had the receiver to
her ear before there was time for a second ring. "Moshi moshi," she
said, "Tendou Dojo." There was a brief pause while she listened to
the person on the other end of the line. "Hai. I'll get him for you -
please hold on for a second." Akane found Dr. Tofu dozing by the
extension phone, and Kasumi cuddled beside him, her head pillowed
on his lap. She smiled sadly to herself, wishing that she didn't have
to awaken them.

By the time Dr. Tofu was off the phone, Akane had everyone else
gathered, waiting to hear the latest news. Dr. Tofu looked around the
sea of anxious faces. He took a deep breath and told them what he
had learned. "Ranma... Ranma is out of surgery..." he began. A wave
of relieved sighs greeted this pronouncement, but Tofu held up his
hand. "However," he continued, "he has not regained consciousness;
he is in a deep coma."

"But he made it, he's going to be OK, right?" Akane looked so hopeful,
Dr. Tofu hated what he had to say next.

"They don't know. Several of his ribs were broken and the internal
damage was very bad. Only Ranma's superb physical condition and
his innate tenacity kept him alive long enough for them to get him
into surgery. He has made it past the first hurdle, but that is all they
can say."

Akane was crestfallen. "What does that mean?"

"Akane," said Dr. Tofu gently, "I'm sorry. They just don't know. He
could wake up tomorrow, he could wake up in a month, or he might
never wake up at all. There is just no way to tell."

"I see," said Akane quietly.

Dr. Tofu continued, "They will be moving Ranma to a private room in
the Post Op later this morning. He'll be allowed visitors in a couple of
days. At this point, it is as much a matter of time as anything else."

*** ### ***

When the orderlies wheeled Ranma into his room in the hospital,
Kuonji Ukyou was there waiting for them. At first, the nurse in
charge seemed reluctant to allow her presence, but she explained
patiently that she was Ran-chan's iinazuke and that there was no
force they could muster that could keep her away from his side.
Between her persuasive charm, her bandoleer of rather sharp
throwing spatulas, and the obvious pain in her eyes, she convinced
the nurse that it would be better if she were allowed to stay.

Once she was convinced that Ukyou's driving interest was in the
patient's swift recovery, the Head Nurse of the Post Op Ward did
everything she could to help make Ukyou more comfortable. She
even went so far as to have a couple of well padded chairs placed in
the room, and a small futon in the closet, so Ukyou would have a
place to catch a nap when she needed it. She commented several
times on how fortunate the patient was to have such a devoted
iinazuke. Ukyou's only response to that remark was to nod her
thanks and smile a little sadly.

Before long, Ranma and all of his support monitors were installed in
the room, and a kind orderly had taken the time to explain to Ukyou
what each instrument did, and what to watch out for, so she could
call the doctors, if needed. The array of equipment was impressive,
and reminded Ukyou of all of the blinking lights and instruments
from the sickbay aboard the starship from that American SF show
that had such a following. She wished that they really did have that
level of medical technology.

Ukyou pulled one of the chairs closer to Ran-chan's bed, and eased
into it. It was going to be a long wait. Fortunately, she had *lots* of
books.

*** ### ***

Two days later, Genma was downstairs talking to the Doctors. They
had little more to tell him than Dr. Tofu had, which, all in all, was not
much.

"Rest assured, Mr. Saotome," the Doctor was saying, "Ranma is in the
best of hands. This is one of the most advanced facilities in the
world today, and the staff is all first rate."

"You said 'one of the most advanced'," Genma said. "Is there a better
place for Ranma to be?"

"Mr. Saotome, the only facility more advanced than this one is in
Graviton City, and they can do nothing for this type on injury that we
cannot. Your son is receiving the very best of care."

Genma nodded. "Arigatou, sensei. Tell me, how is my son doing?
When will he wake up?"

The doctor looked uncomfortable. "Saotome-san... Genma... your son
is one of the finest physical specimens that I have ever seen. He has
made it through the surgery, and that is a good sign - it was no small
feat. But the bottom line is that all we can do now is wait, and pray.
It is up to Ranma. We've repaired the physical damage. If he has
the strength; if he has the will, then he will probably live. If he does
not, then no force on Earth can save him."

Genma nodded his thanks again, and walked over to where Soun was
sitting and sobbing. He sat down next to his longtime friend.

"Saotome-kun, what are we going to do?" Soun wailed. "If Ranma
dies, who will carry on our legacy? Who will care for Akane?"

Genma shook his head. "I don't know, Tendou-kun. I don't know."

"And," continued Soun, "Who will tell Nodoka-san?"

While Genma and her father renewed their prayers for Ranma's
recovery, Akane approached the doctor.

"Sensei," she asked, "When can I see Ranma?"

The doctor looked at Akane and smiled. "I suppose you can see him
just about any time. Just knock on the door to his room, and his
iinazuke will let you in."

Whatever reaction the doctor had expected from Akane, the
explosion he got was *not* it. "Iinazuke?" she shrieked. "WHAT are
you *talking* about? I'M his iinazuke!"

"You are? But I thought that... Miss Kuonji said... She's been with
him for the last two days. She's never left his side."

Akane's shout had brought Genma running. The badly flustered
doctor turned to him for some measure of sanity. Big mistake. "Mr.
Saotome," he asked, "can you explain this?"

"Uncle Saotome," Akane began, "Tell him! Tell him that Ranma is MY
iinazuke! Not Ukyou's!"

Genma looked from the doctor to Akane and back again. "Well, it's
like this..." he started.

The doctor held up his hand. "Please," he said, "Just tell me which of
these young ladies is iinazuke to my patient."

Genma looked uncomfortable. "Well, actually..." he cringed at
Akane's expression, "actually, both of them are." he finished with a
sigh.

The doctor was incredulous. "Are you telling me that Ranma has
TWO iinazuke?"

"Of course not!" said Genma. "That would be silly."

"It would." agreed the doctor, waiting.

"Ahh... umm... actually... he has three," said Genma, staring at the
floor once more.

"Three!?! Mr. Saotome, tell me. Had Ranma's behaviour prior to the
accident been in any way... unusual?"

The question caught Genma off guard. "I don't think so; why do you
ask?"

The doctor glanced at Akane, who had been following the exchange
with interest, and a worried expression. "Mr. Saotome, there is
someone that I would like for you to talk to." He turned to Akane.
"You may go up to Ranma's room, if you wish. Just remember, he
needs the support of all the people who love him."

"Hai, sensei. Arigatou." said Akane. She watched as the doctor led a
confused looking Genma off toward the office wing.

*** ### ***

Tendou Akane hesitated outside the door to Ranma's room. Ukyou
was in there, and it made Akane mad. What gave her the right to
have been with him while the rest of them had to wait for two days?
They had just let her in because she had claimed to be his iinazuke.
<It should have been *me* they let in,> she thought angrily. Then
another thought struck her. <It *could* have been me. All I had to
do was what she did. Why didn't I? What was I waiting for?> She
shook her head and sighed.

Akane entered the room as quietly as she could. Ranma lay in his
bed, tubes and wires running from his battered body to the complex
of medical equipment humming efficiently behind it. Kuonji Ukyou
was curled up in a chair with a copy of "Tsuki Aijin Kibishii Desu."
She had been reading it to Ranma. She looked up as Akane closed
the door behind her.

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence as the two girls
looked at each other. Finally, Akane's gaze dropped to the floor.
"How is he doing?" she managed to ask.

"His condition hasn't changed since he was brought in," replied
Ukyou.

Akane flinched at that remark, then she let her temper get the better
of her. "Speaking of that, just what are you doing in here, anyway?

Ukyou looked at Akane coldly. "I'm Ran-chan's iinazuke," she said
simply. "It is my duty, and my right to be here."

Akane bristled. "I'M his iinazuke," she spat. "Not you."

Ukyou raised an eyebrow. "Really? This is the first time I've heard
*you* make that claim. Do you love him then?"

"You know perfectly well that Ranma's dad and mine had..."

"I don't give a *damn* about that," Ukyou hissed. "I'm the one who
loves him. YOU... *you* are the one who told him to go off and die.
Are you happy now? Are you?!"

Akane felt as if she had just been slammed in the gut. The fragile
control she held over her emotions was shattered, and she fell to her
knees with a sob.

Ukyou watched Akane, and immediately regretted her words. She
dropped her book and went to kneel by Akane's side.

"Gomen nasai, Akane-san," she said softly. "I shouldn't have said
those things. Please, come over here and sit down." She led Akane
gently over towards the other chair, and eased her down into it.

She reached out to comfort the sobbing girl. <I should hate you> she
thought to herself. <For what you do to Ran-chan; for what you do to
*me*> Ukyou smiled sadly. <But I can't. I just can't bring myself to
hate someone that Ran-chan loves.>

Ukyou procured a cup, and poured some hot tea from a thermos
bottle. She passed the cup to Akane, who took it gratefully. Akane
took a sip and let the tea chase the chill from her body. She looked
at Ukyou from tear swollen eyes. "How..." she faltered as another sob
threatened to overwhelm her. She fought for control. "Who... who
told you that I said that?"

"Ran-chan did, of course. We talk all the time. There are very few
secrets between us."

"It's true, you know. I *did* say that, but... he... you have to know
that... I never meant it like this!"

Ukyou's expression softened. "I know," she said. "And Ranma does
too."

Akane sighed. "I wish he would talk to *me* more."

"Funny," said Ukyou, as she poured herself a cup of tea, "He was
saying the same thing about you just the other day."

*** ### ***

Ranma-chan came to in a blinding flash of pain. Every part of her
body hurt, and her chest felt like it was on fire. She shook her head
to get rid of the haze and immediately wished she hadn't.

<Ouch> she thought to herself. <Did anyone get the number of that
truck?>

(As it happens, someone *did*, but Ranma's question at this point
was of a more rhetorical nature.)

"Where am I?" she asked as the world around her slowly started to
come into focus. As she looked around, the short answer appeared to
be "in deep trouble."

Ranma-chan was sitting on a ledge that jutted between three and
five meters out from a sheer cliff. The cliff face itself was fairly
smooth, with occasional breaks or protrusions but little other surface
detail. She looked up. The ledge she was on seemed to be around a
hundred meters from the top of the cliff. On the downside was a
drop that appeared bottomless - it had to be well over a thousand
meters; it may have been ten times that. In either direction was the
occasional line that might, or might not, be another ledge.
Experimentally, she tossed a stone over the edge, and watched as it
fell. It vanished into the distance far below. She never did hear it
strike bottom.

"This is cute," Ranma-chan said to herself. "I wonder how I got here?
Come to that, I wonder where *here* is." She looked down at herself.
"And when did I get wet?"

Ranma-chan slid painfully across the ledge until her back was
against the cliff face. It hurt like hell, but nothing seemed to be
broken. She turned her attention once more to the landscape. There
was plenty of light, but she could not see the sun. The sky was a
peculiar shade of dark blue, and there were no stars to be seen.
Occasional flashes of colour rippled through the sky in the distance,
like some hentai aurora. Below was just inky blackness. She couldn't
even make out the horizon with any degree of reliability.

<Okay. I don't know where I am, but I can't stay here. There's no
food, or water. Not even cold water,> she thought glumly. <Better get
moving, then.>

Ranma-chan got slowly and painfully to her feet. She peered along
the ledge to either side, but could see nothing. Picking a direction at
random, she started walking, hugging the cliff face. Before long, she
came to the end of the line - the ledge disappeared into the rock face
once more, leaving just the kilometer-plus drop.

"Well, *that* won't work," she muttered. She turned and went back
the way she had come.

*** ### ***

It was late that night when Akane got back to the Dojo. She really
felt guilty for coming home at all; Ukyou was still with Ranma, and
she felt that she should have been there too. However, she had not
gone to the Medical Centre with a long stay in mind, so if nothing
else, she would have had to come home for clothes and things. She
planned to go back the next morning with a view toward staying for
days at a time.

Akane wished that she could be more like Ukyou. She envied Ukyou
her confidence. Ukyou was not afraid to let a person know how she
really felt. Hell, she just envied Ukyou her certainty about her
feelings towards Ranma. If only she could be as sure how she felt.
One way or another, anything would be better than the confusion
that had ruled her life since Ranma's arrival. <Anything but this,>
she corrected herself.

Despite the lateness of the hour, Akane did not feel like going to
sleep. She was still keyed up from the events of the afternoon, and
the emotional roller coaster ride she had been on for the past few
hours. Instead of her pajamas, she changed her clothes for her gi
and headed for the dojo to partake of her favourite form of
relaxation - reducing perfectly usable building materials to piles of
rubble.

Upon entering the training hall, however, Akane found that she was
not alone. Saotome Genma was sitting quietly against one wall,
apparently lost in meditation. Akane, not wishing to disturb him,
began to back out of the hall as quietly as possible. Before she could
leave, Genma spoke.

"Please, Akane. Do not leave."

Akane froze in her tracks. "Gomen nasai, Mr. Saotome. I didn't wish
to intrude..."

"You are not intruding, Akane. Please, come in. I would like to talk
to you, if you don't mind."

Akane walked in and sat down next to Ranma's father. There was a
long moment of silence which Genma finally broke.

"Akane, please tell me. Had you noticed anything unusual in Ranma's
behaviour prior to the accident?"

"Unusual?" Akane asked. "I'm not really sure..."

"Please. Think hard."

Akane wasn't sure what to think. "Nothing really unusual, no, unless
you count a whole week with no real fights. But then, I hardly saw
him during that week, so I don't suppose that counts. Why are you
asking?"

Genma sighed heavily. He hated to add to Akane's misery, but for
once in his life, he decided that honesty was the best approach. "The
doctors are concerned - if the accident report was accurate, then
Ranma should have been able to avoid it. He didn't."

"What are you trying to say, Mr. Saotome?"

"The woman who was driving the truck said that Ranma was looking
right at her, and he made no effort to avoid being struck. She does
not think that Ranma *wanted* to get out of the way. The doctors
are worried that if that is true, then Ranma may not have the will to
come out of his coma. If that is the case, then Ranma will die."

Akane was shocked. "You mean... you mean that they think Ranma
*wanted* to die? That he... NO! I can't believe that Ranma would
want to... I can't accept that! It's not true!"

Genma looked stricken. "I only pray that you are right, Akane-chan.
I only pray that you are right."

*** ### ***

Ranma-chan sat down, and tried to come up with a plan of action.
The other direction had been no more help than the first. Instead of
petering out this time, the ledge had ended abruptly, again leaving
nothing but a drop of more than a klick.

Furthermore, she had started to notice a number of things about the
environment that just didn't add up. For example, there was no
wind. On a ledge like this there ought to have been one hellaceous
crosswind - at least there had been in every movie she had ever
seen. Here, there wasn't even a breeze. In fact, aside from her own
voice and footsteps, there was no sound at all. The stillness was
eerie. Ranma-chan shuddered. Where *was* she? This looked like
no place on Earth.

<Maybe I'm not *on* Earth> she thought. She discarded that idea in
short order. It wasn't that she had trouble with the idea of alien
abductions, or space travel (her favourite manga were full of such
things), it was just that her surroundings were more surreal than
real. Yes, that was it. Nothing around her seemed to be real.

"Computer," she said. "Exit." Nothing happened. "Computer... end
program." Still nothing. Ranma-chan shrugged. It had been worth a
try.

She looked down again. The drop looked real enough; real enough
that she felt disinclined to test it. She had the definite impression
that Down was a Bad Thing.

<Right. If it's not real, then it's a dream. But if it's a dream, then how
come I can't wake up? More of a nightmare, surely.>

Another thought drifted across her mind. <Maybe I'm dead.> Again
the idea was discarded after brief consideration. <If I were dead,>
she thought, <then I wouldn't be nowhere, I'd be somewhere, or I
wouldn't be at all.> She was by no means absolutely sure of her
reasoning, but it felt right. She didn't feel dead. <Besides... I hurt too
much to be dead.>

Having resolved that to her satisfaction, she was still left with the
mystery of where she was, and how she was going to go about not
being there anymore. She couldn't go to either side, and Down was a
Bad Thing. That left Up. She looked toward the top of the cliff and
swallowed hard. <oboy> she thought. She sighed and started looking
for handholds.

*** ### ***

Akane sat on her bed, her knees drawn up under her chin, thinking.
The very idea of Ranma's wanting to die was ridiculous. Wasn't it?
She simply couldn't imagine it.

But Ranma's ability to sense and avoid danger was almost legendary.
Surely if he could avoid all the sneak attacks, he could have avoided
something like a delivery truck. Was it true? Had Ranma really
wanted to get hit?

Ranma *had* been acting a little strangely lately... He had been
unusually quiet - oddly distracted. In retrospect, it seemed like he
had been going out of his way not to say anything mean to her. In
fact, it was like he had been trying to avoid saying anything at all to
her. Whenever a fight had appeared imminent, *Ranma* had
actually paused, in mid-insult, and just walked away. At the time, it
had infuriated her. Now, it terrified her.

Not only that, he had been avoiding fights with everyone else, too.
When a fight could not be avoided, he ended it uncommonly quickly
- as if he had no interest in what was going on. It was as if he were
a million miles away, his body fighting on remote control.

All in all, it was behaviour that was certainly unlike what she had
come to expect from the Ranma she knew, and in light of Mr.
Saotome's questions, it was starting to scare her. She got a cold
feeling in the pit of her stomach every time she thought about it.
She remembered enough from her psychology class at school to know
that sudden changes in behaviour could mean trouble, but she still
had a hard time with the concept of Ranma taking his own life. <Of
course,> she thought, <it may not have been so much taking his own,
as not saving it. That could be a significant difference.>

He had been that way ever since their last fight. Ever since the
afternoon that she had shouted for what must have been the ten
thousandth time that he ought to just go off and die. <Oh, my God,>
she thought miserably. <It really *is* my fault...> Once more, Akane
cried herself to sleep.

*** ### ***

Ranma-chan was about twenty meters above the ledge where she
had wakened. Twice already she had made this climb, only to have
one of her handholds give way and send her crashing back down
onto the ledge from which she had come. The second time, she had
almost kept going.

Ranma-chan paused to catch her breath as she studied the cliff face.
Another five meters or so above her was a line that she was pretty
sure meant another ledge. Once she got there, she could rest a bit
before the next leg of her climb. But it was not going to be easy.
Real or not, in this place the laws of physics still seemed to apply.
Her bruised posterior was ample evidence of that. The damned ledge
was *hard*.

*** ### ***

Ukyou had spent a restless night after Akane left. She knew that
deep down, Akane cared for Ranma, and vice versa. She could
appreciate the irony of a relationship where two people cared about
each other but would admit it to no one, least of all themselves. It
made her so mad sometimes to see the way that Akane treated Ran-
chan. Why couldn't she just be a little more patient with him?

She was under no illusions about Ranma - she knew that he made it
hard on Akane. She knew that he could be stubborn beyond belief.
She knew that he could be thoughtless, even cruel when he was
angry. After all, she *had* known him longer that just about anyone
else; and certainly longer than either of his other two iinazuke.

But she also knew him for what he was - a loving person who valued
his friends, and would do anything to help them, anything to protect
them. She knew how it tore at him when he knew that he had said
something to hurt Akane, or Shampoo, or her, and how he struggled
to swallow his pride and apologize; a struggle he all too often lost.

She had seen the hurt in his eyes after a fight with Akane, and she
knew how deep that hurt could go, though Ranma would sooner die
<ouch> than admit it. She just loved him all the more for it. Ever
since she and Ranma had been little, his wife was what she had most
wanted to be.

Ukyou smiled tenderly at Ranma, and thought back to happier,
simpler times, when she and Ranma had been small children, and
Ranma had come every day for the special okonomiyaki that she
would always prepare for him. She basked briefly in the warmth of
the memory.

Of course, those times had not stayed happy. Her father had known
how she felt about Ranma, and had taken steps to see that her wish
was granted. She remembered the day that her father had offered
his yattai as bridegift for the marriage. She remembered how happy
she had been when her father had told her that Mr. Saotome had
accepted his offer. It seemed as if all her dreams were to come true
after all.

She remembered too, the crushing agony of the day that she awoke
to find Mr. Saotome and Ranma leaving with her father's yattai, but
without her. She had felt so betrayed that she had resolved never to
love another person, and for years, she had not. She had even given
up on being a girl. Instead, she had honed her martial arts skills in
the hope that one day, she might have her revenge on those who had
betrayed and abandoned her.

Finally, after ten years, she had tracked them down - Tracked them
down only to find that Ranma had had no part in abandoning her -
that Ranma had never been told that she was to have been his wife -
that Ranma had never even known that she was a girl, and that his
only memories of her were memories of his best friend, whom he
had been so sad to leave.

She chuckled when she thought about that day - She had been so
sure that Ranma had thrown her away, just as his father had. She
had seen Ranma's horrified reactions to his father's confession, and at
first, she had thought it was an act. She would have her revenge.
She had challenged him to a duel, a duel that she probably would
have lost, had it come to that. When the fight had begun, there were
a couple of times she was sure she was going to win, but Ranma was
just too slippery.

To make matters more confusing, he hadn't seemed to be able to take
her challenge seriously. It had puzzled her at the time - how could
he act as though they were still friends? It had hit her then, that he
had never stopped caring for her. And when he had called her cute,
the hard lump in her heart had melted, and she knew that she still
loved him, now more than ever.

She remembered his shock when her shirt had been ripped during
the fight, and he had realized that she was a girl. She remembered
being puzzled at his reaction - why had he dumped hot water on
her? The answer to *that* question had come later, along with
stories of how he had been engaged to Akane, and how he had gotten
mixed up with the princess of the Joketsuzoku Amazons. Ran-chan
had been right, his life *had* gotten awfully complicated.

But the things that had made Ranma the person she had loved had
only grown stronger over the years. He had his flaws, to be sure, but
they were minor by comparison. And now it looked like she might
lose him again. But this time, she would fight. She was not going to
let Ranma be taken from her easily.

When sleep finally came, Ukyou's dreams were filled with images of
Ran-chan, alive and well. Right now that dream was more important
to her than any other.

*** ### ***
END PART TWO OF SIX

PART THREE OF SIX
*** ### ***

When Akane awoke the next morning, the sun was bright in the sky,
the birds were singing, and the air was fresh and crisp. Akane had
no appreciation for any of it. Her mood was as black as it had been
the night before.

She still could not make herself believe that there was anything
deliberate about Ranma's accident. Despite his odd behaviour, it was
just too unlike him to take the coward's way out. Ranma was a jerk a
lot of the time, her friend some of the time, her confidant on rare
occasions, and her protector always. Never a coward. Still, there
existed that nagging little doubt - just enough to be unsettling.

Akane got up and started to pack her things for a protracted stay at
the Nerima Medical Centre. As she turned back to her pack with an
armload of clothes, she found Happousai sitting in the pack, fondling
her undergarments. Something snapped, and a deadly silence
descended upon the room.

When he saw that he had been caught in the act, as it were,
Happousai leapt for Akane, intent on grabbing a quick grope. As
usual, Akane blocked his approach and slammed the old lecher to the
floor. This time, however, she followed up with a rabbit punch to the
throat that left Happousai gasping for breath, and a warning.

"Touch me again, you diseased little toad, and I will *kill* you." she
hissed.

Happousai was shocked at the icy fury in Akane's voice. There was
no doubt in his mind that she meant every word. He just couldn't
understand what had come over the normally angry but basically
sweet baby of the Tendou clan. Seeing the expression on her face, he
wasn't inclined to argue, either. Instead, he invoked the Saotome
Ultimate Technique - he ran away.

After Happousai was gone, it took Akane a few moments to cool
down to the point where she trusted herself to be around other
people. The old man had just picked the *wrong* time to mess with
her. Once she had calmed a bit, she finished her packing, and took
her bag downstairs. Kasumi had breakfast just about ready.

*** ### ***

Akane was on her way back to the Medical Centre when she heard
someone calling her name.

"Tendou Akane," said the voice. "A moment if you please. Wilst thou
hold?"

Even if she hadn't recognized the voice, there was only one person in
all of Nerima, perhaps even all of Japan, that talked that way. Akane
rolled her eyes, and replied in an exasperated tone. "What do you
want, Kunou? I really don't have time for this right now."

"I shall take but a moment of your time, dear Akane," said Kunou. "I
come to offer my condolences in your time of sorrow..."

That caught Akane by surprise. "Condolences," she said. "Are you
feeling all right?" She turned to face him.

Kunou stood there, his expression somber, his bokken at his side, and
two large bouquets of red roses in his hands. He handed one of the
bouquets to Akane. "Please accept this simple token of my sympathy
for your loss," he said.

Akane's expression darkened. "What do you mean, my loss? Ranma
isn't dead yet, you know." (She fervently hoped that this was true)

Kunou shook his head and sighed. "The net of heaven is a coarse
mesh, but none escape its grasp. It is but a matter of time. Now tell
me, whither the Pig-tailed Girl? I would deliver these (he indicated
the remaining bouquet) unto her."

"So sure of Ranma's fate, are you?" Akane smirked. "Well, Kunou, I
hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if I were you, I'd start praying
very hard for Ranma to recover."

"And why should I do that, pray tell..."

"Because, if Ranma dies, then your pig-tailed goddess will surely
follow."

"Nani?! Is that foul sorcerer's spell over her so strong? I cannot
accept such a pronouncement! Tell me, Tendou Akane, tell me where
I might find her. I must go at once to her aid."

There was a cold glint in Akane's eye. "I'm sorry Kunou, but no one
has seen her since Ranma's accident. I know her pretty well, though,
and I can assure you that their lives are linked. If Ranma dies, she
will die, and there is nothing you or anyone else can do about it.
Now if you will excuse me..." She turned to go. Behind her, she could
hear Kunou's lamentations over the fate of his beloved pig tailed girl
- in fact, she was sure that the whole city could hear him. She sighed
to herself as she walked on toward the Medical Centre, and her own
thoughts returned to Ranma's fate. <Please, Ranma, you've got to get
better. I'm not ready to lose you. Not like this.>

*** ### ***

Ranma-chan lay on her back panting. She had finally made it up to
the next ledge, but the climb had been hard. Every muscle in her
body ached, and she was exhausted.

Wherever she was, she did not approve of the inferior quality of the
rock. Several handholds had broken under her weight, and she
almost hadn't made it as a result. For once she was glad to be a girl -
with the added weight she carried in her male form, she might not
have been so lucky. If nothing else, Ranma had learned the value of
a tradeoff from the curse.

As she was too tired to resume climbing right away, there was little
else to do but think. She still could not remember how she had
gotten to this strange place. Her memories in general seemed a tad
hazy, not so much out of reach as out of focus. The last thing that she
thought she remembered had been walking back toward the dojo
from Ucchan's. But she was also pretty sure that she had been a guy
at the time. She (he) had been thinking about Akane, - there had
been a flash of light, and then nothing. The next thing Ranma-chan
remembered was waking up on the ledge below.

The silence was really starting to get on her nerves. It was so quiet
that she could hear her own heart beating... it was spooky. Ranma-
chan sat up, slowly this time, and turned her attention once more to
the cliff face before her. She thought that she could see another
ledge about fifteen meters above her. <At least,> she thought to
herself, <this climb will be shorter than the last one.>

*** ### ***

Ukyou and Akane sat in Ranma's room, maintaining their silent
vigils. Ukyou was reading another book, "Sakyu", but she could not
keep her mind on the story. For her part, Akane was struggling with
a pair of knitting needles, and a ball of yarn that was getting more
and more tangled by the second. Finally, Akane tossed the mass
away from her in frustration.

Ukyou looked up from her book, glad of the distraction. "Akane-
chan?" she asked.

Akane sighed heavily. "Gomen nasai, Ukyou... I didn't mean to
disturb you."

"You're not, Akane-chan. I don't really feel like reading right now
anyway." She put the book down on the table next to her chair.
"What are you working on?"

"Nothing, really. I can't seem to get those damn things (she indicated
the discarded knitting needles) to work. Onee-chan makes it look so
simple, but all I get is a tangled mess."

Ukyou eyed the mass of green and blue yarn dubiously. "Maybe
you're just trying too hard." She said. "Why don't you take a break,
and try again once you've had a chance to relax a little?"

"It's no use, Ukyou," said Akane. "I'll never get it right." She looked
over at Ranma lying in his bed, and sniffed. "Even Ranma is better at
this than I am. I guess that's one of the things that bugs me most
about him. He's a *boy* and he makes a better girl than I do. He's a
better cook, he knows more about crafts, he's better looking as a girl
than I am... It's not fair!" Akane was practically in tears.

"You're being too hard on yourself Akane-chan. After all, which one
of you is it that all the guys are fighting over at school? There is
nothing he can do that you can't learn - you just have to have the
patience."

"HE never seems to have any trouble" sighed Akane.

"That's because he's an eidetic. Show him a technique, for anything,
and give him a reason, and he'll learn it. He rarely has to be shown
twice. It's one of the things that makes him such a good martial
artist."

"What has that got to do with cooking?" asked Akane. "What reason
would he have had to learn that?"

"If I had to guess, knowing Ran-chan, either some fool told him that
he couldn't do it, or else they told him that he couldn't beat them at
it. I'm willing to bet that if you could convince him that quantum
mechanics was a martial art, Stephen Hawking would be out of a job.
You know how competitive Ran-chan can be..."

Akane managed a smile at that. Everyone who knew Ranma knew
how he hated to lose. At anything. And in this case, she had a pretty
good idea just who that fool had been. Then she sobered. "Ukyou..."

"Yes, Akane-chan?"

"Why are you being so nice to me? I mean... After all, we're..."

"Rivals?"

Akane nodded.

Ukyou thought about the question for a moment. "I suppose it's
because Ran-chan cares about you so much."

The answer caught Akane off guard. "Nani?? He does?!?"

"Didn't you know?"

"No... I mean... He never said anything to me..."

Ukyou smiled a little sadly. "No, I guess he wouldn't have. But he
*does* like you. A lot."

"He sure has a funny way of showing it," muttered Akane.

Ukyou scowled. "You really have no room to talk there, you know.
You don't treat Ran-chan very well either."

Akane's voice was tight. "Just what do you mean by that?"

"Well, you're always fighting with him. You always assume that
whatever is going on is *his* fault, even if it isn't. You never give
him a chance to explain, and you don't listen to him when he tries..."

"But..." began Akane, but Ukyou wasn't finished.

"Look, I know he can be difficult, but you never give him a chance,
do you? On those occasions when he *is* nice to you, you treat him
like he's sick, or lost his mind. You say you never want him around
but you get mad at him when he spends time with anyone else.
You're always telling him to go off and die..."

Akane paled. "Are you quite finished?" she growled.

"You *did* ask."

Akane took a deep breath, but bit off her angry reply. Everything
Ukyou had said was true... She did have a tendency to assume the
worst where Ranma was involved. Maybe she should have given
him the benefit of the doubt; been more patient. Maybe. "Yes, but...
he... he can just be so irritating at times..." she answered lamely.

Ukyou's expression softened slightly. "I know he can... Akane-chan;
it's my turn to ask you a question." She paused. "Why are you
here?"

Akane stiffened. "What do you mean?"

"Do you love Ran-chan?"

Akane started to reply automatically in the negative, but thought
better of it. "I... I... I don't know," she admitted miserably. She
slumped in her chair and looked over at Ranma's bed forlornly. She
tried to imagine what her life would be like without Ranma, but the
image repelled her - it was cold and dark and lonely. She shivered.
"I just can't imagine not having him around anymore..."

"That sounds like a 'yes' to me," said Ukyou.

Akane's temper flared, but burnt itself out almost immediately. "I
guess... I guess maybe it is..."

"That's good. I would hate to see Ran-chan marry someone who
didn't love him."

Akane looked at Ukyou in surprise. "Nanda?! Giving up? You?!" she
stammered.

"Certainly Not!" said Ukyou. "I'll fight to my last breath for Ran-chan
- As long as he is happy, I win. And I still think that I'm the one
that can make him the happiest."

Akane didn't know whether to be relieved, or disappointed. She
looked over at Ranma's bed once more and sighed. "We'll see..." she
whispered. "We'll see..."

*** ### ***

Ranma-chan had almost reached the next ledge. This leg of the climb
may have been shorter than the first one, but it sure hadn't been any
easier. The rock that made up the cliff face was worse than shale - it
tended to break under the slightest pressure or strain. It was like
trying to climb a ladder where the rungs had all but rotted out. It
made progress difficult at best. At least this time she hadn't fallen.
Yet.

Just now, she was stretching her sensitivity to the limit, in an effort
to avoid the near disasters that had almost claimed her on the first
climb. Each new handhold was carefully scrutinized before she
trusted it with her weight - she was *not* going to fall again if there
was any way to avoid it. She shuddered at the memory - the
sickening instant of weightlessness as a handhold broke and gravity
took hold, the moment of free fall, and the bone jarring impact on the
ledge below.

She was also increasingly certain that she was going in the right
direction. It was vitally important that she reach the top of the cliff.
She had no idea how she knew this, or why it was so, but she was
very sure of it. It didn't make a whole lot of sense, but Ranma-chan
was used to trusting her instincts.

Finally, Ranma-chan dragged herself over the lip of the next ledge,
and lay for several moments, the only sounds being the pounding of
her heart, and the rasp of her laboured breathing. As she got her
wind back, even these sounds faded into the stillness.

The first attack came as Ranma-chan got to her feet to begin the next
leg of her climb. As she reached for the first handhold, several small,
hard objects struck the rock near her hand, sending sharp chips
flying. Ranma-chan turned to face her attacker, dropping effortlessly
into combat readiness.

At first, she could see no one, but a moment later, Ryouga dropped
onto the ledge in front of her, readying another attack. Ranma-chan
was so surprised, she almost didn't evade as Ryouga rushed her,
screaming in soundless rage. Ranma-chan did manage to dodge the
attack, but just barely. She turned once more to face her nemesis.

Ranma-chan was of two minds. One part of her was glad to find that
she was not, after all, alone in this place. The other part of her, the
largest part, was cursing whatever god thought it would be funny to
strand her with Ryouga, of all people. Even if Ryouga knew where
they were, there was no way that he could find his way out.

Ryouga stood a few meters away, his face twisted in anger, his eyes
blazing. Ranma-chan didn't think she had ever seen him this angry
before, and Ryouga was usually angry. She wondered what had set
him off this time. Once more, Ryouga charged, and Ranma-chan
evaded by the skin of her teeth. Ranma-chan didn't mind fighting
Ryouga, but she usually liked to know what she was fighting about.
Here, there were just too many unknowns.

"Yo! Ryouga! What do you think you're doing?" she called.

Ryouga said nothing. He just glared at her and continued to circle,
probing her defenses for a weakness he could exploit.

Ranma-chan tried another approach. "Ryouga! Where are we,
anyway? How did you get here?"

Still Ryouga was silent. He acted like he hadn't even heard her.

Now Ranma-chan was getting mad as well. "All right. If that's the
way you want it!" She charged. Ryouga sidestepped her attack and
tripped her, sending her crashing into the cliff face. Ranma-chan
dropped and rolled, narrowly evading Ryouga's follow up attack, and
got slowly to her feet. Again, she moved to attack.

As before, when she reached for him, he was not there. It was like
trying to grasp at quicksilver - he seemed to flow just out of her
reach before countering with a blow of his own. Ranma-chan wiped
the sweat out of her eyes and glared at her opponent. She had never
seen him move this gracefully before; never seen him this good.
<The old ghoul's probably been giving him lessons again,> she thought
to herself darkly. Still, she wondered what had made him so angry...

The more Ranma-chan attacked, and the madder she got, the more
easily Ryouga evaded her attacks. He had not yet managed to land a
blow on her, but she was taking a beating from all of her own near
misses. She was getting tired as well.

She looked hard at Ryouga. He wasn't even breathing hard - and
there was not so much as a scratch on him. Ranma-chan felt the
anger welling up in her again, as she prepared to attack, but before
she could, a thought struck her. All the damage that she had taken
so far, she had done to herself. Ryouga had never really touched her.
She was getting angry, and her anger was making her careless. With
an effort, Ranma-chan managed to control her urge to tear Ryouga's
head off and instead dropped into a defensive crouch. <Let *him*
take a beating for a while,> she thought.

Ryouga circled warily, once more on the offensive, looking for an
opening. Ranma-chan smiled to herself. That was it - she couldn't
let her anger get the best of her. Finally, Ryouga made his move, but
this time, Ranma-chan was ready. As he charged, she dropped onto
her back and brought her legs up into Ryouga's chest, launching him
into the air, and sending him flying. Too late, she realized that his
trajectory would carry him over the edge and into empty space. She
lunged and tried to grab for Ryouga, but there was nothing she could
do. She almost fell herself. "Ryouga!" she cried.

But Ryouga did not fall. As he sailed out over the void, he simply...
dissolved. He vanished as if he had never been, leaving Ranma-chan
staring after him with her jaw hanging open. "Ryouga..." she said
again.

Ranma-chan fell to her knees, exhausted and confused. She stared
out into the emptiness for a long moment. Turning her eyes
upwards, towards whatever gods might be listening, she cried, "What
*IS* this place?!"

*** ### ***

Akane and Ukyou were sitting in Ranma's room conversing quietly.
There had been no change in Ranma's condition, but the Doctors had
assured them, not to sound cliche, that while there was life there was
hope, and that no news was good news. The attitude of the staff at
the Medical Centre was one of guarded optimism, and Akane and
Ukyou both took some small measure of comfort from that.

There was a knock at the door, and Akane got up to answer it. As
she opened the door, a voice could be heard asking, "Pardon me, but
could you direct me to... Akane-san?! At last, I've found the right
place!"

"Ryouga! Hi!" said Akane. "Please, come in. It's so nice of you to
come to visit Ranma."

Ryouga entered and Akane closed the door. "Actually, I... I didn't
come to visit Ranma," Ryouga stammered. "I... I... I came to see if
*you* were all right..."

Akane blushed. "I'm fine, thanks. I'm just worried about him." She
turned sadly towards the bed.

Ryouga turned to study the bed's occupant. He'd never seen Ranma
this badly torn up before - not in all of the years that they had been
rivals. Five years? Six? Ryouga couldn't even remember. "He looks
bad," he said quietly.

Akane nodded miserably. "He almost died already. There's a good
chance that he still might."

"That would be... unfortunate." Ryouga agreed somberly.

Akane reached out, intending to comfort her iinazuke's friend.

"I wanted to be the one to kill him."

Akane froze. She couldn't believe her ears. "What? You... you can't
really mean that!"

"Hmm?" Ryouga seemed distracted for a second. "Sure I can. Why
wouldn't I?"

"But... he's your friend! I don't see how you can stand there and tell
me that you would actually want to kill him!"

That startled Ryouga - Ranma was his friend? It was news to him.
<No.> His expression darkened once more. "You wouldn't understand.
And he's NOT my friend."

Akane's temper flared. "You're right. I *don't* understand it. I've
never understood it. I just know that I don't like it. What is it
between you two? Why would you hate Ranma so much? And why
will neither of you ever tell me what it's all about?"

Ryouga tensed, exasperated. "Ranma is the demon responsible for all
of my suffering!"

"Suffering?" Akane was incredulous. "What suffering? Just what
did he *do* to you that would make you want to kill him?"

Ryouga started to answer, and then realized that he could not - not
without revealing to Akane the identity of her beloved P-chan.
"Nothing," he said, a little sullenly.

"That doesn't make any sense," Akane said. "If he didn't do anything,
why are you two fighting all of the time?"

"He ran out on a fight. If he had been there, I would not have... I
would not have been through hell!" Ryouga was getting angry.

"He was there for your stupid fight. He waited for you for THREE
DAYS. What more did you want?" asked Akane indignantly.

"I wanted him there on the fourth day! Why are you defending him?
I thought you hated him too! Aren't you always crying yourself to
sleep because of the way he hurts you?"

Akane was shocked. "No! I don't hate him! I lo..." No... she wasn't
quite ready to make that admission yet - not publicly. "What would
*you* know about what I do when I go to sleep anyway?"

Ryouga realized that he'd said a little too much so he ignored Akane's
question in favour of asking one of his own. "How can you not hate
him? All he does is torment you. Would he do that if he loved you?"

Akane flinched. <would he?> she thought. But Ukyou's words came
back to reassure her... <"...I suppose it's because Ran-chan cares about
you so much... - ...he *does* like you. A lot..."> She looked at Ryouga.
"He might," she said simply. She tried another tack. "How can you be
so pig headed?!" Another piece of a memory came back to her.
"Ranma doesn't hate you, you know."

Ryouga blanched at the term 'pig headed'. "Who... who told you that?"

"Any fool could see it the first day you came to Furinkan looking for
him," Akane replied testily. "Ranma wasn't even angry at you. Good
grief, he didn't even remember your name! He just wanted to be
friends. You're the one who can't seem to handle that! If it was you
that was sick, Ranma would be hoping that you got well."

"Ranma's an idiot. You've said it yourself countless times." Ryouga
knew that he kept saying the wrong things, but he just couldn't stop
himself.

Akane smiled coldly. "Yes, Ranma can be an idiot. But he's not a
malicious idiot. You know, I used to think that it was Ranma picking
on you all this time. I'm beginning to see how that might have been
a mistake."

Ryouga clenched his fists in frustration. "How can I make you see
what a coward Saotome Ranma really is!?" he cried.

Akane's slap caught Ryouga hard across the face. "Ranma is NOT a
coward! NEVER say that again!" she said, her tone icy. "I really think
you ought to leave."

Ryouga held the side of his face, his eyes wide in shocked surprise.
"But... but Akane-san..."

"Good BYE, Ryouga. Don't come back until you can grow up!" Akane
escorted Ryouga firmly through the door, and closed it tightly behind
him. When she heard the click of the latch, she leaned against the
door and sighed. "Kuso!" she said.

Ukyou had watched the whole exchange in silence. "I thought you
handled that rather well," she said. "You should try that rational
approach more often with Ran-chan. He might even listen to it."

Akane scowled for a moment at the implied rebuke, and sighed.
Ukyou was right, after all. "I just don't get it," she said. "I always
thought that Ryouga was such a nice guy."

"There are probably a lot of things about him that you don't know,"
said Ukyou wisely.

*** ### ***

Ranma-chan was almost halfway to the next ledge. She was having
to be extra careful in testing her handholds - she was still jittery
from Ryouga's attack. <If that really was Ryouga,> she thought. The
whole thing had been so weird.

It lent some hope to the theory that this might be some sort of bad
dream, but not much. It was just too intense. Barring alien
abduction or being dead left few options. The most reasonable
theory that Ranma-chan could come up with was that she was
delirious. Not hallucinating exactly, but trapped in a landscape that
existed only in her mind. Ranma-chan looked around again at her
desolate surroundings. <I have *got* to work on being more creative>
she thought to herself.

The only problem with that theory was that it created as many
problems as it solved. For example, why on Earth would she dream
up a place like this in the first place? <Maybe it's one of those Meta-
whatsis that Hinako-Sensei is always going on about,> she thought.
<But if that were true, it would have to mean something, and I have
no idea what that could be.>

Ranma-chan felt one of her handholds start to shift and hastily
transferred her grip to an alternate. <It means,> she thought to
herself angrily, <that you're getting careless. This place is real
enough to hurt when you fall. That's all you need to know right now.
Now get your butt in gear!> With a low growl Ranma-chan resumed
her climb. For all intents and purposes she had determined her
location. <I am,> she thought as she glanced downward, <definitely
caught between a rock and a hard place.>

*** ### ***
END PART THREE OF SIX

PART FOUR OF SIX
*** ### ***

It was dark in Ranma's room at the Medical Centre. Ukyou had gone
to get provisions, and Akane was napping fitfully in one of the chairs.
Akane did not look like she had been sleeping well, or often - her
hair was mussed, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Even
now she was tossing uneasily, caught in the throes of a nightmare.
"Ranma..." she mumbled, "no baka..."

Akane was in the dojo, venting her frustrations on innocent cinder
blocks. The play had been a disaster. It was true that they had won
the competition, and the prize of "getting to see China", but 'Romeo
and Juliet' was supposed to have been a tragedy, not a comedy!

It was all Ranma's fault, thought Akane. If he hadn't been so
wrapped up in getting back to China and that damned training
ground, her first chance to play Juliet would not have been ruined.

Instead, the entire production had dissolved into chaos. Between
Ranma, Kunou, Gosunkugi and Happousai of all people, there had
been *four* Romeos - rather more than the script had called for. If
that hadn't been bad enough, Ranma had taken her part as Juliet
opposite Kunou! The selfish jerk hadn't cared how important this
had been to her - all he had been interested in was seeing China.

Akane smiled to herself. That, at least, had been a touch of poetic
justice. Ranma had not been happy when he had learned that 'seeing
China' had referred to an actor, not a trip to the mainland. "Serves
him right," Akane muttered to herself.

"What serves who right?" asked Ranma as he walked into the dojo.

Akane's temper flared. "It serves *you* right, baka! How could you
*do* that to me? Don't you know how much that part meant to me?
Didn't you care at all?"

"Hey, what'd *I* do? We won, didn't we? - Not that it did any good,"
he added darkly.

"That's not the point! 'Romeo and Juliet' is supposed to be a love
story, not an episode of Urusei Yatsura!"

"I thought Urusei Yatsura *was* a love story!"

"We're talking about Shakespearian tragedy, for God's sake! NOT
slapstick comedy!"

"Huh! In that case it's too bad we didn't do 'Taming of the Shrew!' -
Now *there's* a part that was written for you!" Ranma retorted.

"BAKA!" roared Akane.

"Kawaikunee!"

"Pervert!"

"That's *Per-VECT*!"

Akane was livid. How could he be such a total jerk? She pulled back
her fist, ready to knock him into the middle of the next week. "Die,
Ranma!" she yelled.

Before she could move to strike, Ranma looked at her and said, "Okay
- if that's what you want," and with that, his eyes rolled up, his
breathing stopped, and Saotome Ranma dropped bonelessly to the
floor of the dojo.

Akane stood staring, too shocked to even move. Minutes passed, and
nothing stirred. Akane grew angry again. "Ranma! Ranma, this is no
time for sick jokes!" Ranma didn't move. "Ranma, stop playing
around! I mean it!" Still there was no sign of life from the crumpled
body before her. She approached his still form, and reached out to
shake him.

"Ranma, cut it out..." Her voice died in her throat as she touched him.
He was cold; cold as ice. A frantic search couldn't find a pulse. She
turned him over, and sightless eyes stared up at her. He was
absolutely still - no sign of life remained. Akane screamed.

"Ranma! No! I didn't mean it like that!"

She heard Ranma's voice from behind her. "It's what you said you
wanted."

Anger flared in Akane - "Ranma, how dare you..." She turned to face
her tormentor and her words again died unspoken. Ranma's body
was still lying inert in her arms, his head pillowed on her lap. The
figure that stood behind her was Ranma, but she could see right
through him. The figure looked down at her, a deep sadness visible
in its eyes.

"But... But..." began Akane, "It was a figure of speech! An
expression!"

Ranma's ghost stood over Akane, and his own lifeless body. "Be
careful what you wish for, Akane..." The figure started to fade away.
"Good-bye..."

"Ranma!" Akane cried, "Don't leave me! Not like this!"

The fading ghost's voice was no more than a whisper. "I loved you,
you know..." and then it was gone. A chill wind blew across Akane,
and she was alone.

"Ranma! NOOOoooo!" Akane sobbed. "Nooooo..."

Akane woke with a start, her breath coming in short gasps, her pulse
thundering in her ears. She was surprised for a moment to find
herself in a chair in an unfamiliar room. "Ranma..." She looked down
at Ranma's still form in its hospital bed, and was relieved to see that
he was still breathing.

"Ranma... Thank god, it was only a dream. Please, Ranma, don't die.
You can't leave me that way..."

Footsteps sounded in the corridor, and stopped outside the door. The
door opened and Ukyou walked in carrying a number of small bags
from a local restaurant. She froze when she saw the expression on
Akane's face.

"Omygod," she cried. "What happened? Ran-chan!" She rushed
forward, her armload of parcels forgotten.

Akane looked up at Ukyou, tears still streaming down her face. "It...
It's okay, Ukyou... I... I just had a really bad dream, that's all."

Ukyou looked at Akane, and then at the monitors on the console
behind Ranma's bed. She was relieved to see them chirping quietly
to themselves, and the quiet, albeit painfully slow, rise and fall of
Ranma's chest. She sat down heavily. "God, you scared me," she said.

Akane just looked miserable. Remembering where she had been,
Ukyou passed one of the nearly forgotten parcels to Akane.

"Here, Akane. You really should try to eat something."

Akane took the bag, and smiled wanly at Ukyou. "Thanks," she said.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Ukyou.

*** ### ***

Ranma-chan hauled herself painfully onto the next ledge. This one
was narrower than the others had been, topping out at about two
meters.

There was a large boulder a little ways down the ledge, that left a
narrow passage between it and the cliff face. In the shadow of the
boulder there was what looked like the entrance to a shallow cave.
Ranma-chan headed for the boulder - the cave seemed like it would
be worth a closer look.

As it happened, the cave was something of a disappointment. It was
little more than a hollow in the cliff face, no more than two and a
half meters deep. As Ranma-chan turned to leave the cave, a
shadow blocked the entrance.

Ranma-chan fell back into a defensive crouch as she looked toward
the cave mouth. A figure stood silhouetted against the entrance, tall
and imposing. From the stance and the bokken it held, she assumed
that it could only be Kunou. She groaned to herself.

Ranma-chan started to stalk out of the cave, but Kunou blocked her
way with his bokken. She stepped back and moved to go around the
other way. Again, she was blocked. She glared at him.

Kunou smiled and lifted the tip of his bokken to Ranma-chan's chin.
She stared back at him defiantly. Like Ryouga on the ledge before,
he was absolutely silent - <Probably the first time in his life,> she
thought to herself. <At least I don't have to listen to the pompous
fool too.>

Once more she tried to move around him, and as he moved to block
her passage, her leg shot out in a sharp kick. Kunou's smile widened
as he parried the kick with the flat of his sword.

Ranma-chan fell back into her defensive crouch as she considered
her options. This was not a good place to be trying to fight. Her
movements were too restricted in the cave - she had very little room
to manoeuvre. Kunou would be limited too, but with his bokken, he
had the advantage of reach. He also had her pinned in this stupid
cave.

Kunou launched into an attack, his bokken stabbing in almost too fast
to see. Ranma-chan was hard pressed to evade, having so little room
to move. Normally, she would just have kicked him into low Earth
orbit as he was pontificating, but a silent Kunou was actually proving
to be a bit more of a challenge.

The force of Kunou's strikes was also having an unfortunate effect on
the cave. Rocks were beginning to fall from the walls and roof of the
cave, which were already brittle, and as the debris accumulated on
the floor of the alcove, it was making it more difficult for Ranma-
chan to move. Finally, she hit a stone wrong, and went down on her
side. Kunou moved in for the kill.

<Damn...> thought Ranma-chan, as she noticed the hate and fury in
her attacker's expression. <I guess he finally caught on about the
curse...> As Kunou rushed forward, Ranma-chan rolled toward him,
under his blade. She slammed into his shins, and he came down on
top of her. The trouble was, so did most of the roof of the cave.

When the dust cleared, there was a bigger hole in the cliff face,
largely clogged with a pile of rock and debris. The silence was
deafening, and the stillness absolute. After a time, something
shifted, and a rock rolled down the side of the pile to the ledge.
After another moment of stillness, a second rock joined the first,
followed by an increasing number of its companions as the whole
pile started to swell upward.

A battered and bruised Ranma-chan burst out of the pile, tossing
Kunou's still form aside as she gasped for breath. She hauled herself
shakily to her feet and dusted herself off. <Great...> she thought as
she surveyed the cliff face, <Just great...> The cliff had sustained
considerable damage from the rockfall. Cracks spidered the rock,
and all the potential handholds that Ranma-chan could see looked
loose or weak.

Kunou was beginning to stir. Ranma-chan spared him a withering
look. "Are you happy now, you moron?" she asked testily. "How the
hell am I supposed to make the next ledge now?"

Kunou did not answer, but she hadn't really expected him to. Neither
did she expect him to jump up and attack her again, but he *did* do
that. Once more, Ranma-chan found herself dodging a flurry of
blows, but this time, she had room to manoeuvre - and room to fight
back.

Ranma-chan was running out of patience - not that she ever had that
much to begin with; and Kunou's continued silence was beginning to
unnerve her. "Won't you give it a *rest*?" she called out to him. "I
always *told* you that I could never go out with you! You can't
blame me if you're too dense to listen!"

Kunou's only reply was to increase the savagery of his attack.
Ranma-chan ducked up under his outstretched arms and cut loose
with a flurry of punches of her own. Faster than the eye could
follow, she punched him repeatedly until he dropped to his knees.
Hopping lightly over her stunned opponent, she grabbed his collar
and tossed him away from her once more.

Kunou landed badly, bouncing once and sliding toward the edge.
<Shit...> thought Ranma-chan. She dove for the edge herself, and got
a firm grip on Kunou's tunic as he slid out into space. Ranma-chan
just managed to halt her own slide toward oblivion and still keep her
grip on Kunou. Her hold on his collar was the only thing between
Kunou and eternity.

Kunou thanked Ranma-chan for her efforts with a snarl and a thwack
on the arm with his bokken. Reflexively, she snatched back her
injured limb, but in doing so, was forced to relinquish her grip on
Kunou.

Kunou started to fall, but never finished. He, like Ryouga again,
dissolved into nothingness as if he had never existed. Perhaps he
hadn't. Ranma-chan wasn't certain of anything anymore - except
that she was very tired, and very sore, and not at all sure that she
had the will or the energy to continue. She just really didn't see
where she had a choice.

After taking a moment to try and catch her breath, Ranma-chan
picked the most stable hand holds that she could find and once more
started the agonizing climb toward the top of the cliff.

*** ### ***

The Nekohanten was unusually quiet. A somber air hung over the
little restaurant like a pall on a casket. Cologne was in the kitchen,
Mousse was bussing tables, and Shampoo was taking orders and
watching the register. They conversed little, or not at all.

Shampoo went about her work listlessly; with none of her usual
bounce or enthusiasm. She was polite to the customers, taking their
orders, and bringing their food as efficiently as ever, but her smile
never reached her eyes. To anyone that knew her, it was obvious
that she was in pain.

Mousse too, worked more quietly than usual, often stealing glances at
Shampoo as she walked past. It broke his heart to see her this way -
so desperately unhappy - and to know that there was nothing he
could do about it.

He had tried to comfort her on the night they had found out about
Ranma's accident, but she had been inconsolable. He hadn't heard
her laugh or seen her really smile since then. She wasn't eating, she
spoke only when someone spoke to her, and she spent most of her
off time in her room crying softly. She hadn't even insulted him
lately.

The only times she seemed to regain a spark of her former energy
were those times that she caught sight of a delivery truck, and that
had been hard on the delivery trucks. As word spread, it was
becoming increasingly difficult to get anything trucked into Nerima.
The drivers and the insurance companies were simply unwilling to
risk it.

Mousse watched Shampoo for another moment before turning back
to his own work with a long sigh. Even losing her to Ranma would be
better than this. Not for the first time, Mousse wondered what
power Saotome had that inspired such devotion.

*** ### ***

At one of the more secluded tables in the Nekohanten, Happousai sat
staring morosely into his ramen. He had hardly touched his food.

After he had fled from Akane, he had come here in search of a meal
and maybe a chance to grope Shampoo. That hadn't worked either -
Shampoo had deflected his approach without even seeming to notice
him. It was then that Cologne had told him about Ranma. At least
now he understood why Akane had been so upset.

He found the potential loss of his best student to be a sobering
thought. If Ranma died, there would be no more Ranma-chan, either.
While he knew a great deal of magic, none of his spells were the type
that could help Ranma now. He was not used to feeling helpless, and
he had just about decided that he didn't like it. He didn't like it one
bit.

*** ### ***

Ranma-chan was nervous. The last two ledges had been booby
trapped, and with real boobs no less. She didn't know where they
were coming from or why they were attacking her, but instinct told
her that the worst was yet to come. She strained her senses to the
limit, but they told her nothing. The effort was beginning to wear on
her. She was about ready to begin the next part of her ascent, but
was reluctant to leave the relative safety of the ledge until she was
sure that there were no more nasty surprises waiting for her.

As it happened, her caution served her well. A flicker caught her
eye, and she whirled to face the new threat, whoever (or whatever)
it might turn out to be. She put her back against the rock face and
scanned the area for more signs of movement. Something flashed
and Ranma-chan ducked. A mace attached to a chain impacted the
rock wall where her head had been and bounced to the ground. Her
gaze followed the chain back to its source, and she groaned softly. It
was Mousse.

Ranma-chan felt sorry for Mousse - even if the boy had no dignity
left, it was impossible not to admire his persistence. There was no
questioning his devotion to Shampoo, but Ranma-chan could not help
feeling a bit put upon. She could understand fighting for something
or someone that was important to her, but it seemed to her that
Mousse carried things too far. After all, she had never intended to
"take away" his beloved Shampoo - she had never intended to get
involved with her at all. It just didn't seem fair somehow. People
were always trying to kill her for things that just weren't her fault.
It was enough to give anyone a persecution complex. Ranma-chan
was beginning to despair of ever getting her life straightened out.

Ranma-chan returned her attention to her attacker. This Mousse, or
whatever he was, had eyesight no better than that of his real-world
counterpart. He was still dangerous, to be sure, but he was only a
real threat when he remembered to wear his glasses. Idly Ranma-
chan wondered why Mousse never looked into contact lenses.

Mousse swung around to attack again. While she knew that he could
not see her as more than a blur, she was acutely aware of every
sound she made. Mousse was homing his attacks on her that way,
and he was darned good at it. Mousse's own movements made no
sound whatever. She dove for the cliff face as another barrage of
weapons whirled through the space she had occupied only fractions
of a second before. Where on earth did he keep all of those things?

Ranma considered her options. Close quarters combat was ill advised
- in her present form, Mousse had the advantages of reach and sheer
power. Besides, all the weaponry he was tossing around would have
made it difficult to get that close. By the same token, she really
couldn't take him at a distance, either. She had no weapons capable
of reaching him, while he seemed to have a limitless arsenal. The
situation appeared hopeless - sooner or later she would get tired, or
slip, and he would finish her.

Mousse paused for a moment to recover some of his weapons - they
were still connected to him by lengths of chain. Ranma-chan noted
that there were a hell of a lot of chains hanging out of his sleeves.
<All that iron mongery must weigh a ton,> she thought to herself. At
last a strategy began to take form in her mind. All she had to do
now was keep Mousse attacking as fast as he could.

Ranma-chan did an end run around Mousse's position on the ledge.
He attacked as she passed, just as she hoped that he might. She
swung to the side and prepared to dodge the next wave. Mousse did
not disappoint her - barrage after barrage of blades, maces and other
assorted implements of destruction hurled past her as she tried
frantically to avoid getting hit. But this time, there was one critical
difference.

Instead of keeping her back to the rock face, Ranma-chan was now
between Mousse and the drop. It was inherently more dangerous,
but this way she had one advantage. Instead of landing on the ledge,
Mousse's weapons were all sailing out over the edge of the cliff. As
more and more weaponry sailed past her, and the number of chains
hanging out of Mousse's sleeves grew, every bit of that weight was
now hanging out over the drop.

Even as Ranma-chan watched, Mousse was starting to slide forward
as the weight of all that accumulated weaponry overcame the force
of friction. Mousse did not seem to notice. He maintained his attack
with a single mindedness that could only be described as suicidal.
Ranma-chan vaulted over Mousse as he slid past her position on his
way toward the edge. He turned toward her as he passed, his hand
outstretched.

Without even stopping to think about it, Ranma-chan made a grab
for Mousse's arm in an effort to halt his slide toward oblivion. As
she reached toward him, Mousse rewarded her actions with one last
attack - the mace caught Ranma-chan hard on the shoulder and she
went down. As she fell, she saw Mousse go over the edge. To the
last second he looked as if he were trying to attack - his own fate
had been of no importance. Ranma-chan shuddered.

When she managed to stand up again, she approached the edge
cautiously, and peered over. There was no trace of Mousse - she was
alone again.

Ranma-chan backed up until she was leaning against the rock face
once more, as far away from the edge as she could get. She slid
down to sit on the ledge, exhausted. Nothing made any sense any
more. If she was indeed in a world of her own creation, who was
trying to keep her from reaching the top of the cliff? Why were all
of these people attacking her, where were they coming from, and
where were they going? The whole thing was starting to make her
head hurt.

After catching her breath, Ranma-chan returned her attention to the
cliff face before her. The next ledge wasn't getting any closer by
itself. She sighed and once more resumed her climb.

*** ### ***

It was early morning at the Medical Centre. Ukyou and Akane had
just finished breakfast, and were talking quietly when they were
interrupted by a gentle tap on the door. Before either of them could
get up to answer it, the door opened and Shampoo walked into the
room. She set her pack and her bonbori on the floor, near the door
and nodded at the girls before turning her attention to Ranma.

She stared at him for a long time, her expression a peculiar mixture
of hope, and of dread. It was as if she were willing him to wake up
and talk to her, but not daring to believe that it would work. It
didn't - continued silence was her only answer. With a sigh, her
shoulders sagged, and Shampoo sat heavily on the floor and buried
her face in her hands.

Shampoo felt a touch on her shoulder. Blinking back tears, she
looked up to see Akane leaning over her. She stiffened defensively
for a moment, but relaxed after looking into Akane's eyes. She had
come prepared to defend her right to be there, but it did not look
like Akane was inclined to make an issue of it. That seemed a little
odd to Shampoo, but she was unwilling to look for trouble under the
circumstances. It was a moment before she felt she could trust her
voice.

"Ranma still no better?" Akane's expression told her all she needed
to know.

Akane helped Shampoo up, led her over to one of the chairs and
eased her into it. Akane retrieved Shampoo's pack from its place by
the door and put it in the closet alongside her own and Ukyou's.

Shampoo looked at Akane curiously. "You no try to make Shampoo
leave?" she asked.

Akane smiled sadly. "This isn't the time for us to be fighting,
Shampoo. I've already learned that lesson." She looked at Ukyou
meaningfully. "Ranma is going to need all the help and caring he can
get... from all of us. Even you."

Shampoo looked relieved. "Shampoo glad to hear that - not look
forward to fight right now."

"We have a truce for now," agreed Ukyou. "I've been wondering
when you would get here. To be honest, I thought you'd have been
here days ago."

Shampoo glared at Ukyou, but there was no heat in it. "Shampoo
have... business to take care of."

Ukyou nodded. She had been listening to the radio from time to
time, and had heard the reports about attacks on delivery vans in
the Nerima sector. It hadn't required any great amount of insight to
guess who might have been responsible.

In a way, Ukyou had taken some satisfaction from the reports - It
was not the sort of thing that she would have done herself, but it
made her feel a little better to know that even if pedestrians had to
watch out for speeding lorries, the speeding lorries also had to
beware certain pedestrians. It had a certain balance - a symmetry to
it that appealed to her.

"Besides," Shampoo continued, "Great Grandmother say husband no
need Shampoo's help. She no let Shampoo come until today.
Shampoo no like it, but Great Grandmother very... insistent."

Ukyou and Akane shared a knowing look at that. They both knew
well that Cologne was a force to be reckoned with. Neither of them
would have been inclined to ignore her instructions either, had they
been in Shampoo's place.

"What changed her mind?" asked Akane.

Shampoo looked sheepish. "Is only way she get Shampoo to eat." she
said.

While Akane helped Shampoo settle in, Ukyou arranged for a third
chair. The charge nurse just shook her head and sighed.

*** ### ***

The Head Nurse shook her head as Ukyou left the desk at the nurse's
station. "Another one?" she muttered to herself. "How does he do it?
*Why* does he do it?"

Ranma was already a main topic of conversation on the floor. As
word spread, whispered conversations among nurses often carried
remarks about the odd young man ranging from mere incredulity to
rather graphic speculation.

"*Two* iinazuke?" "Sure, he's cute and all, but really!" "That's gonna
be one wedding I'd like to see..." "Why do they both stay with him?
I'd never stand for it..." "Ranma - Wild Horse... I wonder if that
means anything..." "He seems a little young to be that well versed..."
"You say he's a *martial* artist? I thought it was *marital* artist..."
"I wonder if he'd be interested in a third?"

Things had just begun to quiet down and now a third actually had
shown up. The Head Nurse sighed. Three iinazuke! The rest of the
staff was going to have a field day with this one. At least most of her
staff had the tact not to say anything where any of the young ladies
could hear it. From the assortment of weaponry she had seen Ukyou
and this new one carry, she was quite willing to believe that any
nurse foolish enough to be overheard would rapidly switch from
"hospital employee" to "hospital patient".

*** ### ***

As Ranma-chan hauled herself over the top of the next ledge, she
was only mildly surprised to find that she was not alone. The ledge
was like most of the others, ranging between two and five meters
wide from the narrowest to the widest points. About eight meters
along the ledge, a large figure sat hunched over a campfire, staring
intently at a kettle of water set over the fire to boil. It was a giant
panda.

Ranma-chan got slowly to her feet and dusted herself off. The panda
appeared to take no notice of her at all. Ranma-chan approached
cautiously. "Oi, Oyaji!" she said.

Still, the panda ignored her. Again, Ranma-chan felt herself getting
angry, but this time, she was not going to let it get the better of her.
Since her father had elected not to answer her, she decided to take
matters into her own hands, and stepped forward to reach for the
kettle.

Before she could get a grip on the handle, the panda dissolved into a
blur of motion, and with a soundless snarl it swatted her hard into
the side of the mountain. As Ranma-chan peeled herself off the rock
face, she turned to glare at the panda. Somewhere deep down, a part
of her wondered when her old man had learned to move so fast.

"Oyaji!" Ranma-chan said accusingly, "Don't be so selfish! That kettle
holds enough water for both of us!" Again the panda waited until
she was all but touching the handle of the kettle before it reacted
with inhuman speed. Ranma-chan managed to avoid most of the
blow, but she still took a glancing hit to the side. The panda acted as
if she weren't even there as she picked herself up off the ledge.

Ranma-chan elected to change her strategy, just a bit. More than the
hot water, she wanted information. She felt that her father owed her
that much, at least - at the *very* least. Besides, being a girl had
largely been working to her advantage since she had been here.
Upon reflection, it seemed unwise to tempt fate more than she
already had. There would be time for hot water later. She hoped.

"What'd you do that for?!" she cried indignantly. "Just what *is* it
with all of you?! Where in the *hell* are we?"

Rather that allowing her anger to make her careless, Ranma-chan
drew strength from it, using it to sharpen her focus. She advanced
on the panda until she was standing right in front of him. "Answer
me, damn you!" No response.

"Fine! Ignore *this* old man!" Ranma-chan popped the panda in the
nose. The panda didn't even flinch.

Ranma-chan spun toward the kettle once more, but she made no
move to take it. Since she was between the panda and the kettle, she
had one clean shot. Her leg lashed out, and the kettle went flying
into space. Now maybe she could get her father's attention.

Get his attention she did. As the kettle cleared the ledge, the panda
swatted Ranma-chan from behind, knocking her into the coals of the
campfire. She screamed in agony as she rolled through the embers.

As Ranma-chan got painfully to her feet, the panda pressed his
attack. The panda was faster than he had any right to be. Ranma-
chan was hard pressed to evade his attacks, and was having trouble
landing any blows herself. Even her chestnut fist technique was
proving to be totally ineffective.

"What are you so mad at me for?" she asked the panda. "If you
hadn't been so damned selfish or so damned stubborn..." She paused
to duck a paw. "But no... it *always* has to be this way, doesn't it?
Always thinking of yourself, and no one else!" Ranma-chan managed
to land a kick on the panda's belly.

A fragment of a memory drifted through Ranma-chan's mind. It was
a comment Akane had made during one of their fights. "Like father,
like son," she had said. Ranma-chan could almost imagine that she
was hearing Akane's voice at that instant.

Ranma-chan faltered as the cold realization hit her. <If that's the
way Akane sees me, then it's no wonder she hates me...> thought
Ranma-chan. Her anger intensified as she turned once more toward
the panda. "And I'm turning out just LIKE you!" she shouted as she
renewed her attack.

"No! No more!" The tide of the battle was definitely turning. As her
rage burned hotter, Ranma-chan focused on her attacks, and started
to drive the panda back. "You're to blame for this! It's your fault!"
She grabbed a paw and slammed the panda into the cliff face. "And
the *worst* part of it is..." she said as she drove the dazed bear back
toward the edge, "you're not even *real*!"

With that, Ranma-chan kicked the panda solidly in the chest. The
panda staggered back, and over the edge. This time, Ranma-chan
just watched. She was through risking her neck for shadows that
faded into the aether.

The panda fell.

"Nooooo!" screamed Ranma-chan as she ran forward. She watched,
horrified, as the panda struck a boulder on the ledge below, and
rolled limply over that edge as well. When the body bounced off of
the next ledge and into the void, it was human... and badly broken.

Ranma-chan fell to her knees, almost toppling herself. "Nooo..." she
cried again, "You're not real... You *can't* be real..." She buried her
face in her hands and sobbed. Her father. She had just killed her
own father. Hadn't she?

After what seemed like an eternity Ranma-chan stood and shuffled
back towards the rock face. She had been so sure that nothing here
was real - that they were all shadows in her mind. Now, she was
sure of only one thing. If she was going to get any of the answers
that she needed, she had to get to the top of the cliff.

Ranma-chan sighed to herself and turned once more toward her
climb. She was close to total exhaustion, but she was almost there.
The top was so close, she felt like she could all but reach out and
touch it. One more ledge, one more stop, and then the top would be
hers.

*** ### ***
END PART FOUR OF SIX

PART FIVE OF SIX
*** ### ***

In Ranma's room at the Medical Centre, the three girls sat around a
small table. Ukyou was wearing a gambler's visor, and had a
peppermint stick hanging out of her mouth like some caricature of a
cigarette. She had a pile of candy drops beside her, and an intense
expression as she stared at her cards. To her right sat Akane, who
was scowling at her own hand. Akane's pile of candies was
significantly smaller than Ukyou's.

Shampoo sat to Ukyou's left. She too was sucking on a candy stick as
she studied her cards. In lieu of a hat, she wore a bedpan canted at a
rakish angle. Her own pile of 'chips' was by far the largest of the
three. It was apparent that she had been winning.

"I'll take one." said Ukyou. She slid a card face downward across the
tabletop. Without a word, Shampoo dealt her another card.

Akane studied her hand. She'd never been any good at cards, either,
but at least she was better than Ranma. Right now, she had three
deuces, a four and a five. She opted to try for the full house. "One,"
she said, discarding the four.

"Dealer take two." said Shampoo as she dropped two cards in favour
of two new ones from the top of the deck.

"Three," said Ukyou, dropping a like number of candy drops in the
center of the table.

Akane picked up the card she'd been dealt and considered her bet.
A seven. She could read nothing from either Ukyou or Shampoo.
After a moment's consideration, she pushed three candies from her
own diminishing pile towards the center of the table.

Shampoo looked thoughtfully at her cards for a few seconds, and
dropped three candies into the pot, and added two more.

Ukyou sighed and tossed her cards down. "Fold."

Akane looked at Shampoo appraisingly. <She could be bluffing,> she
thought. <It would certainly be in character... Oh, hell.> Akane
pushed two more candies into the pot. "Call."

Shampoo smirked and laid out her cards, one by one. "Shampoo have
two pair."

Akane grinned. <Yatta!> she thought. <Three of a kind beats two
pair!>

"Pair of red threes," said Shampoo, "and pair of black threes."

Akane's face fell as she dropped her cards onto the table. She really
should have known better. She sighed as she watched Shampoo rake
in the latest pot, adding it to the enormous pile beside her. At least
Akane could console herself with the thought that if Shampoo
actually *ate* her winnings she would be too fat to chase after
Ranma anymore.

Shampoo gathered the cards and passed the deck to Akane. "Mallet
Girl deal now," she said.

Akane shot her a dark look, but took the cards and shuffled. She
held the deck out for Ukyou to cut, and then she started to deal three
hands. "Another round of the same," she said, "Jack of Hearts is
wild."

Ukyou raised an eyebrow at that, but said nothing. She just tossed in
her ante with the other two.

After sorting her cards, Shampoo dropped two candies onto the
center of the table. Ukyou hesitated for a second and matched them.

Akane looked at her cards. She had the ten, the jack, and the king of
hearts, the two of diamonds, and the four of clubs. Possible straight.
She dropped two candies into the pot, and then two more.

"Akane reckless tonight," said Shampoo, but she matched the bet.
Ukyou shrugged and added her two candies.

Shampoo dropped two cards face down on the table. Akane passed
her new ones. Ukyou dropped three, and again, Akane passed out
cards. After a moments consideration, Akane discarded the two and
the four and took two cards for herself.

Akane fought hard to keep her expression neutral. She had picked
up the queen and the ace of hearts. Not daring to speak, she looked
over toward Shampoo.

Shampoo smiled and dropped four candies into the pot. "Shampoo
hope husband like candy drops," she said. "Shampoo have too many
for just her."

Ukyou and Akane both glowered at the Amazon. Without a word,
Ukyou dropped in four to match, and four to raise.

Trying to appear nonchalant, Akane pushed eight candies to the
middle of the table. Shampoo cocked and eyebrow at her. "Akane
sure she want to do that? Not have much left to share with Ranma
when she lose..."

Akane turned bright red, and pushed another fistful of candies into
the pot. "Oh, yeah?" she retorted. "Put your money where your
mouth is, China Girl."

"Hmph." the Amazon responded as she matched the bet, "If Akane
was species of fish, she be extinct!"

Ukyou looked at the other girls and quietly folded.

"And just what do you mean by that?" Akane asked tightly.

Shampoo grinned evilly. "Simple. Always take bait!" She dropped
the cards she was holding. She had a full house, aces high. Ukyou
started laughing.

Akane glared at her. "And what are *you* laughing at?" she asked
heatedly.

"Shampoo," chortled Ukyou, "just played a full house when you have
a royal flush!"

Akane bit off her retort as she looked at her cards. Numbly, she
placed them on the surface in front of her.

Ukyou looked at her curiously. "Akane-chan? Are you okay?" Then
she saw the cards that Akane had played. Her jaw dropped.

"How... how did you know?" Akane managed to ask.

Ukyou replied quietly. "Actually, I was referring to the way you
were blushing."

Akane's blush returned with a vengeance as she drew in her
winnings.

*** ### ***

Ranma-chan was making her initial survey of what appeared to be
the last leg of her climb when the final attack came. As she studied
the cliff face she felt that familiar itch between her shoulder blades -
the feeling that she was being watched. She closed her eyes and
tried to listen for signs of the watcher's whereabouts, but of course,
she could hear nothing. Which of her tormentors had the Gods
selected to send against her this time? She turned as the first blow
was struck, and only just managed to evade it.

As she realized who it was attacking her this time, Ranma-chan froze.
That proved to be a mistake; Akane's next blow just about took her
head off. Ranma-chan fell back, dazed. For the first time since her
arrival in this strange place, she saw stars.

Like those that had attacked before her, Akane was silent; silent and
full of fury. Ranma-chan watched in horror as Akane moved
towards her, eyes cold and hard as diamonds. At least this time, she
had enough of her wits about her to dodge the punch.

Akane's attack was ferocious - it took all of Ranma-chan's speed and
skill to avoid her punches. Within moments, however, Ranma-chan
had been backed up against the cliff face - there was nowhere for
her to go. As Akane charged forward, she dropped and rolled to the
right. Akane turned to pursue, murder in her eyes.

Ranma-chan scuttled backwards trying desperately to avoid letting
Akane get close enough to do any real damage, but that was not so
easy to do. Akane charged and Ranma-chan sideslipped. The
manoeuvre was successful, but she was horrified to see that Akane
had come within centimeters of the drop before managing to halt her
charge. Another move like that and Akane too would go sailing off
into space.

Ranma-chan had been reasonably sure that none of her attackers
were really the people that they appeared to be, but after what had
happened on the last ledge, she was taking no chances. Under no
circumstances was she willing to risk sending Akane into oblivion.
She adapted her evasive strategy to try and keep Akane always
rushing toward the cliff face when she attacked, rather than toward
the edge. It was working, but she knew she couldn't keep this up
forever. This had to be stopped, and stopped quickly.

"Akane," she cried. "What are you doing?" Not surprisingly, she
received no answer.

"Why? Why are you so angry? Won't you at least tell me that?"
Ranma-chan was still managing to evade Akane's attack, but she was
tiring rapidly. She could not stay ahead of Akane for much longer.

"Akane, Please! - I don't want to fight you!" She dodged as Akane
lunged toward her. Akane might have gone over the edge at that
point, but Ranma-chan managed to grab her arm and swing her back
toward the side of the mountain. Ranma-chan lost her balance and
fell hard, nearly sliding off the ledge herself. She got slowly to her
feet as Akane prepared for another attack. There was no hesitation
in Akane's manner, and Ranma-chan could see no hope for
reconciliation in her eyes.

Ranma-chan looked sadly at the girl she might have married. <In a
different reality,> she thought, <we might have been friends. I'm
sorry, Akane.> Ranma-chan sighed as she reached a decision. She
was tired; tired of always fighting with Akane; tired of all the anger
and the hurt. There were just some fights that you could never win.
She stood up and dusted herself off. She looked briefly at the drop
behind her, and then turned to face her attacker.

"I will not fight you." she said simply. She spread her arms in a
gesture of surrender. "If you hate me that much, go ahead. Finish
it." Akane did not appear to notice. As Akane began her charge,
Ranma-chan closed her eyes and waited for a final impact, and the
free fall that would follow. She shuddered as the image of her
father's broken body bouncing off the mountainside ran once more
through her mind. <It won't hurt for long,> she thought to herself.

The final blow never came. A full minute passed before Ranma-chan
could bring herself to open her eyes again. When she did, she was
alone. The phantom Akane had vanished. "Akane..." she whispered.

The tears in her eyes made things more difficult as Ranma-chan
began the last leg of her climb, but for once, she didn't even try to
stop them.

*** ### ***

It was quiet once more in Ranma's room. Ukyou was reading another
one of her novels, Akane was fiddling with her knitting, and actually
getting it right for a change, and Shampoo was poring over a massive
tome, busily taking notes.

Akane reached the end of the row that she was working on and set
her knitting aside. She thought that she was finally getting the hang
of it, but she was getting tired, and was not in a mood to press her
luck. She sighed and looked over to see what Shampoo was studying.

Akane was sure that she'd read the title incorrectly. "Modern
Neurochemistry?" she asked in a surprised voice.

The Amazon looked annoyed. "Nanda?" she asked testily.

"Gomen ne," said Akane. "I was just surprised, that's all."

Shampoo put her notes down and closed her book. "Why surprised?
Akane no think Shampoo can read?"

"Hey, take it easy," said Ukyou in a calming voice. "She didn't mean
anything by it. What's got you in such a snit?"

Shampoo glared at the two of them, but relented. "Shampoo sorry.
Shampoo just tired of people thinking that because she come from
Amazon village, or her Japanese not so good, that she stupid. She
NOT stupid."

"Gomen, Shampoo. I didn't mean to imply anything..." said Akane. "I
just didn't know that you were interested in things besides martial
arts and cooking."

"And Ranma?" Shampoo asked innocently.

"She got you with that one, Akane-chan."

"That's just because of that stupid Amazon Law," Akane shot back.

Shampoo bristled. "Why Akane care? She no want Ranma. Say so
many times!"

Before Akane could reply to that sting, Ukyou jumped in to calm
things down a bit. "So if it's not just the law, Shampoo, why *are*
you interested in Ranma?" she asked.

Shampoo looked hard at Ukyou, but could see no threat in her
expression. She looked genuinely curious. "You really want to
know?" she asked.

Ukyou and Akane both nodded.

Shampoo looked longingly at the unconscious figure in the bed. "At
first, Shampoo just happy to find strong husband. In Joketsuzoku,
most skilled warriors have trouble finding husbands."

"It's lonely at the top," quipped Akane.

Shampoo thought about that. "Is so," she said soberly. "Can be very
lonely for best fighter, and no one of her generation better than
Shampoo. No one want to spend life alone."

"What about Mousse?" asked Ukyou quietly.

Shampoo snorted. "Mousse... Mousse is child. Will always be child.
Even if Shampoo wanted Mousse, Mousse no can beat Shampoo. No
can marry. Is law."

"But he loves you," said Akane. "Is the law really that strict?"

"Shampoo no love him. But law is good law! Make Amazons strong!
Because of law, Shampoo find Ranma! Now Shampoo no have to be
alone!"

"But what if Ranma can't marry you?" asked Akane. "He does have..."
she looked at Ukyou, "...other obligations."

"Ranma *must* marry Shampoo. If not, Shampoo can never go back
to village. Can never go home."

Akane and Ukyou exchanged glances. "But why Ranma? What if
someone else were to beat you in combat?"

"Shampoo no want anyone else." She paused. "Ranma... Ranma have
everything Shampoo want in husband. He strong, brave, have good
heart. He even stand up to great grandmother. He be father of many
strong children."

Akane sighed. "If Ranma... No, *when* Ranma gets better, he may
not agree with you. There are other choices he could make."

"Shampoo just have to make sure that she *best* choice, then, ne?"

Akane looked like she wanted to argue the point, but Ukyou spoke
up, tempted as she was to let the other two kill each other. "We can
all fight over him later, if you want. But *not* here." she said softly.
"For now, he needs us - all of us - to be there for him. After all, if he
dies, then none of this matters."

The tension that had been building between Akane and Shampoo
melted away with that warning. Ukyou was right; there would be
time for fighting later. Right now, they just had to hope that there
would still be someone to fight over.

*** ### ***

The world around her, such as it was, was beginning to break apart.
Ranma-chan first noticed a fuzziness in the distance, as details
blurred and faded into the void. Though silent, Ranma-chan could
almost believe that the landscape was breaking up into large, angry
swarms of bees, buzzing madly about. Whatever it was, it did not
look good, and it was coming closer.

"Oh shit," said Ranma-chan - "Gotta get to the top, NOW." She looked
sadly toward the top of the cliff, just sixteen or so meters above her.
"But I'm so tired... ...so very tired." Sighing, she reached for the next
handhold.

Ranma-chan looked down, towards the bottom of the cliff. Once
bottomless, the cliff now disappeared into a roiling grey vortex -
Ranma-chan almost fell as a chunk of the cliff came away in her
hand. The stone fell noiselessly to be swallowed by the vortex. <At
least it looks soft> Ranma-chan thought to herself. <It would be so
easy - just let go, and all my problems would be solved. No more
curse. No more fights with Akane. No more tricks from Shampoo.
No more fights with Kunou, or Ryouga, or any of the others. No more
messes caused by Dad...> To sleep, perchance to dream...

"To be, or not to be..." <Boy, Hinako Sensei was right. That
Shakespeare had a quote for everything,> Ranma-chan thought.

The more Ranma-chan thought about it, the less attractive that
option sounded. Never again to see one of Akane's all too rare
smiles; never again to taste Shampoo's special ramen, or Ucchan's
okonomiyaki; never again to hear any of them laugh, or cry; never
again to know the simple pleasure of a good workout...

"To be, I think," said Ranma-chan, as she resumed her climb with
added intensity.

If she had to be stuck with three iinazuke, she would have to deal
with that. As bad as her problems sometimes seemed, they could
certainly be worse. Even with the curse, she had just about
everything she truly wanted. Indeed, her real problem was not what
she *didn't* have, but that she had too much. Looking at it that way,
it seemed silly to complain.

When Ranma-chan had made it up almost eight meters, she looked
back down the cliff. She was no further from the all consuming
vortex - in fact, it looked like the vortex was gaining on her. Ranma-
chan swallowed hard and redoubled her efforts. Where there were
no hand holds, she made them, punching holes in the rock where
necessary to obtain purchase. Using the last of her strength, Ranma-
chan fairly shot up the cliff face.

*** ### ***

In Ranma's room at the Nerima Medical Centre - Ukyou, Shampoo
and Akane were sitting quietly, maintaining their vigil. Ukyou was
reading a copy of "Kinen Hi". Akane was knitting (trying to knit)
something, producing a shapeless but relatively tangle-less mass, and
Shampoo was reading an ancient Chinese alchemical text. Ukyou was
the first to notice that the rhythm of Ran-chan's cardiac monitor was
starting to fluctuate. She was by Ranma's bedside in a flash, holding
his hand and slapping the comswitch to summon the nurses.

Akane and Shampoo joined her in short order. The three of them
were hovering anxiously over Ranma as they waited for the nurses
to arrive. Was this it? The doctors had told them that when a
change came, that would be the critical time. Would Ranma live, or
was this the end? Each of them wanted very badly for him to get
better, and an almost tangible expectation filled the air, like a charge
of static electricity.

The cardiac monitor's rhythm was no longer regular, but seemed to
come in fits and starts. Somewhere on the console behind the bed,
an alarm began to shrill. Ranma's breathing started to get faster and
shallower, echoing the increase in pace from the cardiac monitor. A
low moan escaped him, and the hand that Ukyou held twitched
briefly.

On the monitor panel, a number of lights went from green, to amber
to red. Ranma took one more deep, shuddering breath, and was still.
A second alarm rang out as the cardiac monitor stopped registering,
displaying only a flat line.

*** ### ***

Time was running out. Ranma-chan had made it to the top of the
cliff ahead of the vortex, but not by more than a few minutes. If she
didn't get out of here soon, she was lost. When she clambered over
the lip of the cliff, she almost fell back again at the sight that greeted
her.

The landscape that stretched before her now was one that she knew
well. She had visited it often enough in her dreams - and in her
nightmares. She had even visited it once in person, and on that
fateful day, her entire world had been ripped inside out.

The plateau was covered with small ponds, hundreds of them,
stretching as far as the eye could see. Bamboo poles rose seemingly
at random from the ponds, and the ground in between. To one side,
she could see the remains of a thatch hut that had long since fallen to
the vagaries of time.

Jyusenkyou.

"No..." she said softly. "Not this... not again..."

Numbly, she advanced to the first of the cursed springs. Looking into
the water, ahe could just see her own reflection. However, it was
partially obscured by another reflection, superimposed over her own.
A duck stared back at her. Yahzu niichuan.

One by one, Ranma-chan began to check the pools, looking for some
clue, some inspiration to tell her what she had to do next. Pool after
pool showed her a reflection, but none of them gave her any ideas.
She found the spring of drowned wombat, the spring of drowned
monkey and the spring of drowned bandicoot. She even found the
spring of drowned pig.

Another spring showed her the reflection of a nameless tentacled
horror that she was sure would be haunting her nightmares for years
to come. The sheer, malignant evil that radiated from the spring was
all but tangible.

She looked into another spring, and jumped back instinctively from
the reflection staring back at her. Mao niichuan. Spring of drowned
cat. She was so startled that she came within a hairsbreadth of
falling into the spring behind her. When she turned to look into it,
her father was staring back at her. Of course, it wasn't really her
father; it was Shon-mao niichuan, the spring of drowned panda. Still,
Ranma-chan could not shake the sense that there was accusation in
the panda's stare.

A breeze ruffled the sleeves of Ranma-chan's shirt as she stared
morosely at the panda's image. There was still no sound, just the
sense of moving air, and the realization that she was running out of
time. Looking up, she saw that the horizon was starting to blur and
melt, like a water-colour picture left out in the rain. Before long, this
world would be gone, and unless she managed to escape, she would
be gone with it. But how?

An answer came in a flash of intuition. She just had to find the right
pool before it was too late. Frantically, she renewed her search. It
had to be around here somewhere! She just hoped that it was
nearby, and not among the pools that were dissolving in the distance,
even as she watched.

Finally she reached a pool whose reflection stopped her dead in her
tracks. The face that stared out of the pool at her was her own. Not
the one that she was wearing now, but her *real* face; the face of
Ranma the boy. She had found it. At long last, she had found the
Nan niichuan, spring of drowned boy.

<This is it!> Ranma-chan exulted. <This is the one! Now I can be
normal again, and get on with my life!> Ranma-chan readied herself,
and, taking a deep breath, leapt into the pool.

Before she hit the surface, she knew that she had made the wrong
choice. In a panic, she grabbed for the bamboo pole that rose from
the waters of the Nan niichuan and swung herself back toward the
ground. For a second, she didn't think that she was going to make it,
but, to her immense relief, she came down on dry ground. It was
hard, but dry.

Ranma-chan would have been hard pressed to say exactly how she
had known that this was the wrong pool. A wave of sensations had
washed over her as she dove - a combination of images that her
mind was still trying to sort out. There had been a sense of peace,
and quiet, the likes of which she had never known, and the warm,
rich scent of freshly dug earth. But there had been a cold - a bone
chilling cold that had pierced her to the very core. Instinct had
taken over from there.

Ranma-chan got wearily to her feet. She knew now, or thought she
did anyway, which pool she had to find. If it still existed here. She
began to search again.

She headed back the way she had come - the one she wanted had
been near the panda's spring, but there had been so many, and she
had been in such a hurry, that she could no longer remember where
it was. Just as she was beginning to lose hope, inspiration struck.

On a hunch, she stopped and looked around at the fading landscape.
All around her, the nothingness was advancing, closing in on her
even as she watched. Except... no, it was not closing on *her*, but a
point just over... THERE. Ranma-chan ran for the center of the safe
zone as fast as she could. She had to be right. There was no more
time, if she was not.

Ranma-chan stopped at the pool in the centre of a rapidly shrinking
oasis in the chaos. Looking into its depths, she was relieved to see
that it showed her only one reflection. Her own. HER own. <Time's
up. It's this... or nothing.> she thought to herself. For the second
time, Ranma plunged into the Nyan niichuan, spring of drowned girl.

The pain was incredible. Ranma-chan could feel herself stiffening as
if paralysed, a searing agony burning its way across her chest as she
sank, and darkness claimed her. <Damn.> she thought. <and I was so
sure...> And there was nothing.

*** ### ***

Ukyou felt helpless - Ranma was dying before her eyes, and she
could do nothing to stop it. It wasn't fair! He had made it through so
much! By whatever miracles, he had survived the accident, the
surgery, ten days in a coma - Dammit, it just couldn't end like this!
She couldn't lose him again! Not like this!

Shampoo just stood in shocked silence, staring at Ranma's still form.
The shrilling of the alarms, the choked sobs from Akane and Ukyou,
she heard none of them. With every fiber of her being she prayed to
whatever gods might be listening; Let Ranma Live.

Akane saw the look in Ukyou's eyes and felt her heart in her throat.
Ranma was dead. It didn't seem real. This couldn't be happening!
This wasn't the way the story was supposed to end! Akane did what
she did best when feeling helpless. She got angry. "Damn you,
Ranma," she sobbed, "If you die now, I'll... I'll... I'll never speak to
you again!"

Ukyou and Shampoo turned to stare at Akane, who was staring at the
floor in acute embarrassment. It wasn't until Ukyou felt Ranma
squeeze her hand that any of them noticed the cardiac monitor was
once more reading a pulse.

*** ### ***

Ranma drifted back into consciousness feeling uncomfortably like a
pin-cushion. Attempts to move met with little or no success, and his
whole body felt like it was under a couple of tons of stone. <Damn
cliff must've collapsed on me after all.> he thought to himself.
Finally, Ranma managed to open his eyes, just a bit. He was greeted
with a blur of light, partially masked by the three darker blurs
hovering over him. After a moment, he blinked, and the world
slowly began to come into focus.

The first sounds that he was conscious of hearing were ragged gasps,
as if someone had been holding their breath for too long. There were
voices, but he was having trouble getting a lock on what was being
said, and he had no idea who was saying it. As time passed and
more of his surroundings began to register on his consciousness, the
voices resolved into recognizable patterns.

Ukyou Voice: "Ran-chan! Ran-chan! Oh, thank god!"

Shampoo Voice: "Haiyaah! Shampoo so happy!"

Akane Voice: "Ranma!" then more softly, "Ranma... I'm sorry."

Gradually, as his vision cleared, Ranma could make out three very
worried looking faces staring back down at him.

"Where... where am I...?" he managed at last. His voice was little
more than a whisper.

The only answer he got right away was the relieved sobbing of three
very tired girls, as a week's worth of pent-up emotions broke free.
Before Ranma could work up to another question, a small army of
doctors and nurses came in, and moving the girls gently out of the
way, began to make checks on their newly awakened patient.

*** ### ***
END PART FIVE OF SIX

PART SIX OF SIX
*** ### ***

Ukyou, Akane and Shampoo stood watching anxiously as the phalanx
of doctors poked and prodded at Ranma, eliciting occasional pained
squawks and an odd yelp or two. The doctors were muttering
quietly among themselves, and issuing instructions to various nurse
type persons who were standing ready to assist. None of the girls
could make out a word of what was being said. Finally, one of the
doctors took pity on them and came over to explain what was going
on. As he approached, the others gathered their tools and left, with
the exception of one nurse who was wielding a couple of wicked
looking hypodermics.

Before the doctor could even open his mouth, he was met with a
torrent of questions from the anxious girls. Finally, he held up his
hands in surrender. "Please, please..." he said. "Let me talk, then I'll
try to answer your questions... ...one at a time," he added.

Chastened, the girls waited to hear what the doctor had to say.

"First of all," he began, "As you have already noticed, Ranma is out of
his coma. Unless there is a drastic change in the next twenty four
hours or so, I feel safe in saying that he is out of immediate danger."

The relieved sighs that greeted that news made the doctor smile.
"Furthermore, while we will have to do some tests to be sure, there
does not appear to be any brain damage or memory loss. At this
point, we expect Ranma to make a full recovery just as fast as his
body can heal itself. He is a remarkable young man. Now, are there
any questions?"

Ukyou was first. "Sensei," she asked, "We will be allowed to stay
with him, won't we?"

"I don't see any reason why not. As long as the patient doesn't
object."

Akane was next. "When will Ranma be able to come home?" she
asked.

"Well, we will want to keep him under observation for a while, but
he can probably go by the end of a week or ten days. Will that be
soon enough for you?"

"Hai!" answered Akane. "Arigatou!"

Not to be left out, Shampoo also had a question. "When you let
Ranma have real foods again? Shampoo want make special ramen
for him! No can feel better eating hospital food. Yuck!"

The doctor had to smile again at that. "He should be on solid food
again after three or four days. Talk to me then, and I'll outline his
dietary restrictions, until he is well, ne?"

"Haiyaah!" said Shampoo.

"One last thing. Don't be surprised if Ranma sleeps a lot during the
next few days. His body has been through a lot, and it will take most
of his energy to heal. It's perfectly normal in cases like this. I'll go
now, but I'll be back to check on all of you later."

As the doctor left the room, Ukyou, Shampoo and Akane gathered
around Ranma's bed. Ranma looked up at them and grinned
drowsily. "What happened? Did we win? You girls look terrible."

"You don't look so hot yourself, Ran-chan." sniffed Ukyou happily.

Ranma looked at Akane, and his expression sobered. "Akane," he
said, "I'm sorry... I never meant to hurt you..." Ranma's eyes started
to close despite his best efforts to keep them open. He was trying to
stay awake, but he simply didn't have the energy. "Never... never
wanted to hurt... hurt any of you..." and then Ranma fell silent.

"I know, Ranma..." said Akane softly, "We know."

*** ### ***

Ranma's recovery was incredibly rapid. The doctors were
continually amazed at the rate at which his body healed itself.
Bruises which would have remained on any normal person for weeks
were already starting to fade. Surgical scars were changing to
become little more than angry pink lines. Swelling and inflammation
would go down almost fast enough to watch. All in all, the doctors
were highly pleased with the results. One or two of them were even
muttering things about blood tests, and patentable serums from time
to time.

When Akane and Ukyou told them some of the things that Ranma
had been through in the course of his training, they almost wouldn't
believe them. One of the doctors expressed the opinion that Ranma
just could not be human.

*** ### ***

Once news of Ranma's improving condition got around, the visits
started.

Genma came by to visit his son with a teary eyed Soun in tow. For
some reason that he could no put his finger on, Ranma was intensely
relieved to see his father. Soun looked like he might say something
when he saw that Ukyou and Shampoo were there, but a glare from
Akane silenced him. Neither of them would shut up about how
happy they were to see that the Saotome/Tendou alliance was
secure.

Dr. Tofu dropped in to see his most regular patient, and to check on
his progress. He was quite pleased with Ranma's rate of recovery.
Fortunately for Ranma, Tofu had already left when Kasumi stopped
in.

Even Nabiki managed to drop by... "After all," she said. "I'd hate to
lose my primary source of income! In fact, I'd go so far as to say that
I couldn't afford it." She paused and looked briefly at her younger
sister, working on her knitting. She lowered her voice. "I really
wouldn't want to see anything happen to you, Ranma."

Nabiki's point was made when Kunou came by for a visit. Ranma
didn't really feel like dealing with him just yet, but Kunou was
insistent. He had a ticket, he claimed, sold to him by Tendou Nabiki.
He had paid dearly for it, and he meant to use it. Ranma finally
decided that the fastest way to get rid of him was to let him in.

Kunou swept into the room with his usual egotistical flair. Once
more, Ranma wondered how he got his head through the doors.
Kunou glared down at his rival for a long moment before speaking.

"So... you will live after all. Truly, Saotome, the Gods have been
merciful with you." Kunou paused for a beat, staring out into space.
"Akane said that if you were to die, the pig-tailed one would also
wither..." Ranma looked meaningfully at Akane, who grinned back at
him. Ranma scowled. Kunou looked grave. "I know not what your
hold on her might be, Saotome, but know ye this; I Kunou Tatewaki
vow that it shall be broken! I shall free her from your evil magic if
it is the last thing that I do!"

Ranma rolled his eyes. The idiot still just didn't get it. After Kunou
stalked out of the room, he leaned over toward Akane and said,
"Akane, do me a favour, please?" Akane nodded expectantly. "Make
sure that Nabiki knows that if she sells a ticket to Kodachi... I will
strangle her."

Akane stuck her tongue out at him, but she was still grinning.

*** ### ***

Ranma was elated when the Doctor told him that he could have solid
food again. Then he remembered where he was, and his enthusiasm
for the idea waned considerably. He had never heard anything good
about hospital food. He imagined that it might even be almost as bad
as Akane's cooking, but for once he was smart enough not to say
anything.

When mealtime came, Ranma was a bit apprehensive, but the nurses
with dinner trays passed his room without so much as slowing down.
Ranma was a little confused. He distinctly remembered the doctor
saying that he was to have real food today. He was still pondering
this anomaly when a cart came trundling into the room, but this one
was being pushed by Shampoo. He looked up curiously.

Shampoo smiled and lifted the lid from the first tray on her cart.
The smell of hot ramen hit Ranma like one of Shampoo's bonbori -
his mouth began to water and his stomach growled. Shampoo set the
tray in front of him with a flourish, handed him a small towel and
some chopsticks, and stepped back looking rather smug.

Ranma looked at her in amazement. "You cooked this Shampoo?" he
asked.

Shampoo nodded. "Doctor say you no have to eat hospital food. Eat
Shampoo food instead. He say you strong enough for ramen today,
maybe more tomorrow."

Ranma's effusive thanks were somewhat muffled. It is difficult to
speak clearly with your mouth full. Shampoo just smiled and handed
the others their food.

*** ### ***

The next morning was to mark another milestone in Ranma's
recovery. For the first time since his mangled body had been rushed
to the medical centre, Ranma was going to be allowed to stand up
and try to walk. Akane had agreed to assist and was lecturing the
patient ("Now *there's* a misnomer," Ukyou had observed) on what
the doctors had told her to expect.

"Remember, Ranma," she was saying, "the doctor said that this is
going to be hard for you at first - you've been through a lot, and
you've been unconscious for a week - don't expect to jump right up,
okay?"

Ranma rolled his eyes and looked impatient. "Can we get on with
this please, *nurse*?" he asked.

Akane bristled. "Ranma, you're tough but you're not indestructible,
you know."

"Feh." said Ranma. "You spend a couple of weeks in bed and see how
patient *you* are." He tossed back the covers and sat up. A wave of
dizziness washed over him, but it passed quickly.

"See?" Akane said. "Please, be careful!"

"Feh." said Ranma again. He hopped gracefully to his feet and stood
there smirking at Akane. The smirk faded rapidly as Ranma went a
funny grey colour and started to waver. He flailed once and pitched
forward - right into Akane's outstretched arms. She held him until
he started to regain his balance.

"Baka." she said gently.

Ranma opened his mouth to issue his stock response, but bit it back.
There had been a warm tone to Akane's voice that he had quite
liked. He looked into her eyes and found himself growing dizzy
again. She held him until it passed and he was once more able to
stand on his own. His irritation dissolved and he smiled uncertainly.

"Arigatou, Akane..."

Akane grinned at him and took a step back. "C'mon, now!" she said,
laughter in her voice. "No slacking off!"

Ranma grinned back and stepped cautiously to follow.

*** ### ***

The day he walked again, there was Ucchan's okonomiyaki for
dinner. Ranma ate like a man possessed, much to Ukyou's delight.
There was certainly nothing wrong with Ranma's appetite, and the
doctors all agreed that this was further evidence that the patient was
making excellent progress. The mood had shifted in the past few
days from apprehensive to celebratory.

*** ### ***

Ranma was working hard to restore his system to a daily exercise
regimen, and the harder he pushed himself, the better he felt. He
was the only one who was not entirely satisfied with his progress,
even though it had only been a couple of days between those first
tentative steps and his current jogging regimen through the hospital
corridors and his workouts in the exercise rooms.

The evenings were a joy for Ranma. After a good day's workout, he
really enjoyed laying back and listening to Ukyou read him one of
her books, just talking quietly with one or more of the girls, or even
listening as the girls talked among themselves.

In fact, he had decided that this past week had been one of the most
pleasant in recent memory. It amazed him that all three of his
iinazuke had been together for so long with so little friction. <It
really is too bad that it can't be like all the time.> he thought to
himself. <If they always got along so well, my life would be
paradise.>

That was not to say that everything had gone smoothly all of the
time. At one point there had been an argument between Akane and
Shampoo that Ranma had been afraid might come to blows. Ranma
had groaned loudly and both girls had been instantly at his side,
their own disagreement forgotten.

Ranma made it a point to enjoy the calm while it lasted.

*** ### ***

Late in the afternoon on the day before Ranma was scheduled for
release, a nurse came into the room carrying a tray full of small
bottles, a bowl and sponge, and a large pitcher of water. She chased
the girls out. There were a few tests that she had instructions to
perform, she said, and some medications for Ranma to take. Besides,
it was time for the patient's bath. Iinazuke or not, it would not have
been proper for them to stay in the room. The girls agreed to wait
outside, but under mild protest.

As they left the room, Ranma was protesting loudly that he didn't
need to be tested, he didn't want any medicine, thankyou, that he
could *certainly* bathe himself, and would she please just leave him
the hell alone? They headed to the lounge opposite the nurses'
station to wait. Ukyou sat down with her book while Akane resumed
her knitting. She was working on a scarf this time, and so far, she
hadn't had one tangle, or dropped a single stitch. Shampoo decided
that she would go back to the Nekohanten and bring back dinner for
the lot of them. Ranma's appetite of late had been particularly good.

They had just been waiting for a few moments when a scream
echoed down the corridor from the direction of Ranma's room.
Akane and Ukyou looked at each other, and then looked down the
hall. As they watched, Ranma's door flew open, and a very pale
nurse went tearing down the hallway, still screaming at the top of
her lungs.

Ukyou blinked and leaned over to Akane. "What do you bet she
dumped that pitcher on him?" she asked in a stage whisper. Akane
could only nod.

Akane trotted off to find some hot water while Ukyou looked in on a
damp and angry Ranma-chan. "Looks like things are about back to
normal!" she said. Ranma-chan just glared.

*** ### ***

Finally, the day had come that Ranma would be going home. He was
glad to be leaving the Medical Centre, but in a way, he was sad to see
the week end. It had been so peaceful. Ranma was sure that he
could get used to peace like that. Still, the price as marked was way
too high. There would be no regrets. He just hoped that he could
manage to keep his relationships from backsliding into quite so deep
a mess as they had previously been. He knew that he was going to
have to work on being more patient, and more understanding. If
that was what it took to make Akane smile more often, then he was
going to give it a try.

Akane had been to the dojo and returned with some clothes for him
to wear home. She had brought slacks and shoes, and one of his
favourite shirts. She had been unable to find any of his shorts, so
she had actually stopped and bought him a pair of new boxers. It
had taken all of Ranma's self control to just smile and thank her
when he had seen them. Little hearts! Really! A guy just didn't
wear things like that! Still, it wasn't like anyone was going to see
them, and it had been a very nice gesture on her part. And for once,
he had managed not to spoil it. Things were definitely looking up.

Ranma lay in his bed and watched as his iinazuke packed their things
in preparation for their departure. After they were packed, he
would dress, and they would all walk back to the dojo together.
Rumor had it that there was a party planned that evening, and
Ranma was not sure whether to look forward to it, or to worry that it
might go nuclear.

Shampoo and Akane finished their packing first, and headed for the
lounge area across from the nurse's station to wait. Ukyou finished
packing the last of her things and flashed Ranma a grin as she too
headed for the lounge. Before she got to the door, though, Ranma
called her back.

"Ucchan, chotto matte, kudasai."

Ukyou set her pack down and sat down on the bed next to Ranma.
She looked at him curiously, waiting to see what he wanted.

Ranma dropped his voice, and looked furtively about - almost as if
he were afraid that someone else might hear what he had to say. Of
course, he just might have been afraid of that very thing.

"Ucchan, do you remember what we were talking about at your shop
just before I got hit? About whether or not I loved Akane?"

Ukyou nodded. She remembered that particular conversation *very*
well.

"I've been thinking about that alot over the past few days. I think...
I think that maybe I might... It doesn't make any sense. She can be
so... so frustrating at times, but when I see her smile it makes all of
that go away. She really is cute when she smiles, you know..."

Ukyou was trying hard to keep a neutral expression. There was a
great, hard knot forming in the pit of her stomach. Her dreams were
all coming crashing down around her ears, but at the same time, she
was here now, hearing these... these *terrible* secrets, because
Ranma *trusted* her. Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded for
Ranma to continue.

"Of course," said Ranma jokingly, "If you tell her any of this, I'll deny
it."

Ukyou managed a wan smile at that. "Don't worry, Ran-chan... your
secret is safe with me."

Ranma's expression sobered. "I know it is, Ucchan. You always have
been the friend that I could count on."

Ukyou started to get up. "I better go join the others, I guess..." she
began.

Ranma grabbed her wrist before she could really move. "Please,
Ucchan... wait. There's more that I want... no, more that I *need* to
say to you."

Ukyou looked mildly uncomfortable, but nodded, and made no
further move to leave.

Ranma paused for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. "You of
all people know just how much grief Pop has caused me with this
whole marriage business..."

Ukyou nodded again. She did indeed.

"Well, the problem is more complicated than that... Y'see, I've also
been thinking a lot about the other question that you asked me... If I
thought it was *important* that I love the person that I was going to
marry."

<Oh God, here it comes,> thought Ukyou. <Dammit, Ranma, *I* love
you too! More than Akane does!>

"Just suppose for a minute that I *did* love Akane enough to marry
her... Pop would be happy, Mr. Tendou would be happy, Akane might
be happy, or she might not. She would have to love me too, wouldn't
she? I mean isn't it just as important that the person I marry loves
me too?"

"Well, yes... I suppose so..." Ukyou conceded...

"But you see? I don't know if Akane loves me or not. Heck, most of
the time I don't think she even likes me - let alone loves me. Then if
I married her, I'd be making her miserable... and I don't want to do
that..."

Ukyou thought about telling Ranma about the conversations that she
had held with Akane while he was still in his coma - but decided that
it was not her place to betray Akane's confidence anymore than she
would betray Ranma's. Besides - Akane had been no more definite
in her feelings than Ranma had. Best not to meddle.

"On the other hand, there's the matter of honour." Ranma continued.
"All three of you are each sure that your own claim is the most valid,
and I don't know who's right! The Tendou claim is the oldest, so old
man Tendou is sure that Akane's is the true engagement."

Ranma paused to catch his breath and take a very *careful* sip of
water. "Then there's Shampoo... According to the laws of her tribe,
she and I are already married. The only thing saving me there is
that we're in Japan, not China."

Ukyou nodded again, still not trusting herself to speak, or knowing
what she would say if she did.

"That leaves you, Ucchan." Ranma paused for a moment, choosing his
words with care. "When your dad made that deal with Pop for us to
marry, he put up his yattai as the dowry... and Pop *took* it. For
honour to be satisfied, I *have* to marry you, too!"

<So... this is what tachycardia feels like,> thought Ukyou in a detached
fashion.

"You see, Ucchan? Without even considering love, I can't win. If I
marry one to satisfy honour, then honour is lost on the other two.
Love just makes it worse. I mean I think that I might love Akane,
but what really, is love?"

"What do you mean?" Love is... well... love."

"Uh huh," said Ranma. "Now you see. I've heard all the things that
love is supposed to be... You know, if you love someone then you
want to be near them, you want to protect them, you want them to
be happy and all of that. And of course, when they are happy, you're
supposed to feel good, and if they're hurt, you feel bad."

"So? That seems pretty straight forward to me." said Ukyou.

"Does it?" asked Ranma. "Where does friendship end, and love
begin? Ucchan, when I was six, you were my best friend. Back then
I didn't even know that you were a girl! But I felt that way about
you then, and I do now."

Ukyou's head snapped up. "Na... nani?!"

"Y'see? No matter who I marry, someone that I care about gets hurt.
And I don't have any idea what to do about it." Ranma looked off
into the distance for a moment.

"What are you saying, Ran-chan?"

Ranma sighed. "You know, I was talking to the head nurse the other
day."

The change in topic caught Ukyou off guard. "You were?"

"Yep. She told me that when they first brought me in here, you were
here waiting. That you've stayed with me the whole time I've been
here."

Ukyou looked embarrassed. "Well..."

"I'm not very good at this sort of thing, you know. I don't talk much
about how I feel because, well... it's just not something guys do.
Besides that, a lot of the time I'm not even sure what my feelings
*are*. But it meant a lot to me, Ucchan. It means a lot to know that
you were here for me - when I needed you most."

"Sometimes, I think that I'm worse than Kunou. He tears himself
apart, not being able to choose between Akane and his 'pig-tailed
girl'... Am I any different?"

"Well, for one thing, Ran-chan, all of us *want* you. Can Kunou say
that?"

"That's supposed to make it easier, is it?" Ranma smiled sadly and
squeezed Ukyou's hand. "If I choose, I hurt people that I care about.
If I *don't* choose, I hurt people that I care about. That's a tough
game to win. The only safe move right now, is not to play."

"I can wait." said Ukyou.

Ranma looked hard at her. "For how long? This is one decision that
I'm in no hurry to make, for many obvious reasons. If you girls were
smart, you'd find someone else. You'd all be a lot happier."

"I guess that none of us are too bright, ne?" Ranma winced, but
Ukyou had been smiling as she said it.

"Someday... someday I'll *have* to decide. That day is a long way
off, I hope, but it *will* come. When it does..." Ranma glanced
meaningfully in the direction that Akane and Shampoo had taken a
few minutes earlier, "When it does, there is likely to be one major
Dirty Pair event."

He sighed and looked up at Ukyou. "Ucchan, please. Try... try to find
someone else. Someone that can be fair to you."

Ukyou's expression was unreadable. "Is that... is that what you really
want, Ran-chan?" she asked in a small voice.

"What I want," Ranma said gently, "is for you to be happy. I can't
promise that I'll be able to give you what you want."

"I'm willing to take my chances."

"Is that your final word?"

Ukyou nodded.

"I was afraid of that. Now I'm stuck for sure," sighed Ranma.

"Is that really so bad, Ran-chan?"

Ranma gave her a small smile. "I suppose it could be worse."

"So what are you going to do now?"

"Do? What *can* I do? I still don't have any answers. I still don't
really know how I feel about Akane or what will happen tomorrow.
What I *do* know is that you were here for me, and that you always
have been. I know that you're my best friend; perhaps the only real
friend I've ever had."

"No matter what the future holds, no matter who I marry, I just want
you to know..." Ranma paused and took a deep breath. "I just want
you to know that I... that I... that if I were to marry you, I know at
least that I would be marrying someone I loved. God help you."

As Ranma fell back onto his pillow, Ukyou let out the breath that she
didn't realize she had been holding. A smile as bright as the sun lit
her face. At last she knew - knew that Ranma knew how she felt,
and that he loved her too. She knew that it didn't mean that they
would marry, but it was a good start. After a moment, she sobered a
bit, and looked down at him.

"You realize, of course, that nothing has changed. You still have three
iinazuke. You still have your curse, and you still have to deal with
the likes of Kunou and Happousai. Your life is still a mess. Once you
leave this room, it's going to be business as usual."

Ranma smiled back tiredly. "I know. Just do me one favour, okay?"

"Name it."

"Don't let Akane see you grinning like that... This is a nice place and
all, but I have no desire to return any time soon."

Ukyou's smile widened for a moment before she adopted a more
serious expression. The smile didn't leave her eyes, though. She
hugged him. "Welcome home, Ran-chan. Welcome home."

EOF

Please send any comments, suggestions, etc to one of the following
addresses:

-E-mail-
data...@mindspring.com

-Snail Mail-
c/o Anime-Niacs
PO Box 158392
Nashville, TN 37215-8392
USA

*** ### ***

Author's Notes:

This is the first fanfic that Zen actually started, and the first that he
has actually finished. The next one is already half done, but there is
no telling how long it will take. In fact, there are no fewer than half
a dozen in process... >_<

Zen hopes that you enjoyed it. Zen found writing it... entertaining.

A few notes for you continuity cops out there:

The story takes place sometime before volume 36 of the manga,
where Nodoka finds out about Ranma's curse. In Zen's fics, Nodoka
still does not know.

In fact, as far as Zen is concerned, the last four volumes of the manga
*never happened*. (Zen has them, Zen enjoyed reading them, but
then, Zen also has a copy of Star Trek V)

"Ranma-chan" is used in the narrative to refer to Ranma's female
form. NO ONE in Zen's fics uses it as a means of addressing Ranma
except for Happousai. When another character refers to Ranma, they
always say Ranma, they always address her as Ranma, Ranma refers
to herself as Ranma. Only the narrator uses Ranma-chan. If you
catch Zen in an error here, please point it out. Thanks.

Zen would also like to apologize formally to Shimazu Saeko, the
Seiyuu that gives Kodachi her ahh... *distinctive* voice. Zen never
has been able to pass up a straight line. (Zen has never been able to
forget that laugh, either.)

Zen wishes to thank Richard Lawson and Sebastian Weinberg, who
graciously volunteered to wade through this muck first, and pointed
out a number of pits that needed to be filled before opening the fic to
the general public. They were also responsible for the elimination of
a few bits that *never* should have seen the light of a computer
monitor. It would have been a LOT worse without their help and
encouragement. ^_^

Zen suggests that you read their fics, if you haven't already. They
are both much better writers than Zen.

Richard's can be found at:
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/sterman

and Sebastian's can be found at:
http://enterprise.mathematik.uni-essen.de/~bastian/

Please forgive Zen for his pro-Ukyou bias. Akane fans can console
themselves with the knowledge that after this story, her chances are
still pretty good. She may not fare so well in the next one. ^_^

END PART SIX OF SIX
END OF FILE