[FANFIC] Ranma - Shock

[Stoner]

Ranma 1/2 - Shock
by James Stone
sto...@elycion.geology.ualberta.ca
(c) 1995 Stone Age Productions All Rights Reserved
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Darkness.

Thunder rolled in the skies over Nerima, thick black clouds
penetrated and lit by flashes of lightning, explosive bolts of
destructive energy. The storm was unusually large for this time of
year, all the moreso because it wasn't bringing the expected
concentration of rain along with it. While black and menacing with
moisture, the clouds held it in, and merely buffeted the streets and
houses below with hurricain force winds.

A meterologist in a faceless building somewhere away from the
storm noted the phenomenon with some surprise. It was, he would mark on
his little notepad later, an 'extraordinaliry discliplined weather
pattern', confining itself to only a small part of the massive
Tokyo-Yokohama metropolis. In fact, the meterologist noted, 90% of the
storms fury was concentrated a short distance from the main airport, in
the Nerima Ward. It was, he went on to note, unusually violent for the
time of year, and exhibited an unusual degree of electrical activity.
Beyond that, he made no note. Weather is a strange beast at the best of
times, and meterologists see many strange things.

In the Nerima Ward itself, the lightning continued to flash,
ear-splitting waves of thunder wracking senses already deafened by
howling winds. A lot lay at the very center, larger and older than its
neighbours. The main building in the lot was a two-story
house of traditional design, its wide-flaring roof designed to withstand
the force of a typhoon. Beside it was a building of similar design, but
only one story. The storm shifted slightly, almost imperceptably,
sliding its center over this second building, as if sensing prey.

In the second building, were two people. One was a young man, a
boy still, really, although his size and fitness would throw some. His
hair was long and black, and tied off into a single braided pigtail. He
was wearing a red shirt, with the sleeves removed, and loose black
pants. Black slippers clad his feet. He stood in a combat crouch,
facing his opponent, wary for an attack.

His opponent was a girl. She was a great deal short than he
was, with her black hair cut off short in the back. She was in a
traditional martial arts 'gi', yellow-white in color, and tied off with a
red belt. Her feet were bare. She too, stood in a combat crouch, tense,
waiting.

With a sudden battle cry, the girl launched herself through the
air at the boy. The boy's arms went up in a shielding gesture,
protecting his head from the onrushing attack. A shattering explosion
ripped through the air, and, to the boy, the world went white.

It was some moments before the boy stirred again. He shook his
head dazedly, trying to restore sight back to his sense. Hazily, the
world came back into focus. One thing he realized almost instantly.
Perspective was wrong. He was too short. Sitting up, he noticed his balance
was off, there seemed to be new weights on his chest. And without opening his
mouth, he knew his voice would have shifted, becoming higher in pitch.

"Che," Ranma grumbled..."Why'd the roof have to go like that all
of a sudden?" Her thoughts froze. The roof _shouldn't_ have gone like
that. There had been many, much worse storms than this. Cautiously,
Ranma looked up at the roof, and saw clouds. A gaping hole had been torn
in the roof, through with the rain, suddenly unleashed, poured down.
Ranma was soaked to the bone, but didn't notice. She was studying the
edges of the hole...blackened, singed....her eyes widening in horror, her
head snapped down to look at the limp body lying on the floor of the
dojo. "Akane!"

It didn't even seem like she moved, Ranma was at Akane's side so
quickly. "Akane, answer me!" Ranma shook the other girl frantically,
half-blinded by tears and rain. Ranma was glad she couldn't see. The
smell was enough, the smell of burnt cotton, and the horrid stench of
burnt flesh. She shook the girl over and over, trying against hope to
revive her. "Akane! Wake up! This isn't funny, Akane!!"

A pounding of feet announced the arrival of others. Souns bellow
cut through Ranma's panic, causing her to stumble away from Akane in
horror as Soun went to his daughters side. Kasumi's gasp of dismay,
almost lost in the shrieking of the storm, was still no less peircing.
More footsteps followed, voices, Soun sobbing hysterically, the sound of
Ranma's own father, sounding gentler than she could have imagined, a
flash of seeing Kasumi lifting her head from her sisters chest, and
nodding once to her father, Nabiki's usually confident smirk replaced by
a grey mask of shock, and Ranma's own scream, lost in her ears as the
world faded away from her...

"AKANE!!!!!!!!!!"

The storm passed, as all storms do, eventually. By mid-afternoon
the next day, the residents of the city were cleaning up, a weary and
all-too familiar task. A few of the residents spared glances at the roof
of the Dojo, charred hole clearly visible above the walls of the lot. A
few shook their heads in sympathy, wondering how the owner, such a nice
man, could be cursed with such bad luck, and went on their way. A few
however, mostly young, looked at the dojo a bit longer, senseing,
somehow, that something was far more seriously wrong, that, somehow, one
of their number was hurt.

In the walls of the household itself, the residents were also
trying to clean up the damage left by the storm. In the ruined Dojo, the
two girls picked up pieces of charred lumber, and swept the debris up,
but left the charred spot near the center of the building curiously
alone, as if they didn't see it. Around the house, Soun, the owner of
the lot and head of the household, checked the roofing tiles and the
trimmings of the house, making notes of what needed to be fixed. With
his was his longtime friend, and guest Genma, inspecting the trees and
the pond, noting what would have to be replaced or regrown.

Only one person in the house was idle, and he sat alone, in his
room. Ranma stared at the wall, shivering from an unseen chill. After
the...accident, his father had brought him in, changed him, returned him
to manhood, and put him to bed, murmering sympathetically. Ranma had
barely noticed. His mind kept playing what it had tried to block out
over, and over again, instant-reply of his failure.

He had seen Akane begin her jump, had raised his arms to block,
and to grab her leg as it was deflected...through his crossed arms he had
seen her flying towards him. Then...he had known. He didn't know how
his sixth sense of danger worked, but he had known that danger was
coming. He had started to lower his arms, when Akane, the whole world,
was backlit by white light. He had seen the expression of fear, replaced
by agony, suddenly fill her face as blue-white stream of light struck her
shoulder, had watched her body spasm and try to free itself from the
bolt, watched the gi literally explode away from her side in black
tatters as the bolt coursed down her body, erupting out of her calf and
striking the floor. He had looked into her eyes, had seen the plea
there, and had been powerless to help her, raising his arms again to
shield himself from the explosion.

And he got to see it over and over again, in slow-motion.

He could have saved her. He knew that, instinctively. If there
was danger threatening Akane, he could prevent it. That was his duty,
self-imposed. Even if he couldn't save himself, he could always save
her. But last night he had failed. Hadn't even been scratched by a
piece of debris while her body was seared by unimaginable power. He had
failed her, her family, and himself.

Quietly, the door slid open. Ranma didn't even look up to see
his father standing there. Instead he muttered for him to go away, to
leave him alone. His father ignored the command, but didn't come any
further into the room.

"Ranma," his father began, "listen to me. Akane-kun is going to
be alright. She...she's very badly injured, but she's in the best
hospital in Nerima. She's going to be okay."

Ranma almost sneered. He knew better. He knew Akane lived
still, and that she was in the best hospital available. But he also knew
that she would never leave it. He had overheard his father and Akane's
father talking, and had heard the word 'coma.' He knew what a coma was.
He knew it was serious. And he knew that Akane wasn't going to come out
of it. Ever.

"Ranma? Did you hear me? Ranma!" His father was beginning to
sound angry. Good. If he was angry at Ranma, then he wouldn't have to
think about Akane. Ranma didn't want anyone to think about Akane, didn't
want anyone else to have to think about the pain she was in, was still
in. Noone should have had to bear that pain, noone except him.

"Ranma, would you listen to me? She's going to be alright! It's
just going to take time! You can't sit like that forever, you have to
get on with your life! Ranma!" This time, the cry held a note of
desperation, and Ranma wavered, just slightly. Anger was good,
desperation was not. He couldn't have his father desperate...but at the
same time, he couldn't face the old man. He didn't intend to stay like
this forever, just...just long enough to say goodbye to her. No matter
how long it took.

A new sound, soft footsteps advancing down the hall and leading
his father away. That was good. That had to be Kasumi. Kasumi, who
really was his older sister now, in spirit and fact, if not name. A
surrogate mother for him, just like for Akane...she understood him,
understood that he needed to be alone. But when the soft footsteps
returned, alone, his self-pity vanished for a moment, in a wave of
resentment. Coming back? Going to try the same trick oyaji did?

This time the footsteps didn't stop at the door. They walked
right up beside his. Ranma risked a glance out of the corner of his
eye. Kasumi after all. He shifted his eyes back hastily, as if she
could see them, curled up as he was.

She kneeled beside him. "Ranma..." she began softly, hesitantly,
as if not knowing what to day. "You...you can't go on punishing yourself
over this." He jerked away, as if denying that's what he was doing.
"No!" she cried, startled. "You musn't! It wasn't your fault!"

An easy thing for her to say, Ranma thought bitterly to himself.
She doesn't know...has never known what protecting Akane means. Noone
ever has, not the way I do. He hunched over further, the moment of his
failure playing once again in his mind, losing himself in that sickening
blast, the fear, the pain, the plea...

He jerked violently when the hand rested on his shoulder. He
uncoiled, a lethal spring, needing to lash out, needing to take the pain
of his frustrations out. He spun, fist cocked back for a strike, only to
see Kasumi, her eyes wide in fear, recoiling back from the blow not yet
landed. He stopped his hand, shuddering as all the energy in that punch
flowed back into his heart. "Go," he sobbed through tightly clentched
teeth. "Get away from me!!"

Kasumi didn't flee in terror as he expected, but instead composed
herself, spending a minute smoothing her skirt before she rose.
"Ha..hai." she said quietly, the understanding in that simple word
crushing Ranma beneath it. He felt so low. Striking Kasumi! The woman
who would never harm the smallest ant, and he had wanted to...to punch
her, to take all his self-loathing on her. A truly honorable act
indeed. He swallowed hard against the acid taste in his throat as Kasumi
stood and left the room without another word.

He had no idea how long he sat like that, the new mental video of
his about to strike Kasumi mingling with the footage of Akane being
struck by the lightning bolt. An hour, two, fifteen minutes? It didn't
matter. Ranma was completely lost in his own world, the memory of
Akane's strike now being broken with an image he couldn't have seen, but
knew was the truth...Akane, lying alone in a hospital wardroom, the walls
as clean and dry and white as her sheets, her body naked, defenseless
beneath them, oxygen mask covering the lines of her face, IV needles
stabbed into the fighter's muscles of her arms, the bandages
wrapped over the vivid scar on her shoulder...alone, her breath slowing
imperceptably, heart with it, slipping away, fading...

The voice that broke his thoughts was insultingly cheerful and
happy. "Hey, Ranma, heard you're all depressed over Akane getting
zapped. Well, don't worry, I'm here to cheer you up." Bile rose like
acid in his throat. Nabiki! Her own little sister was dying, and she
didn't care!

"See here, Ranma-kun. I've got all the odds figured out. Now,
y'see, the odds of being struck by lightning are about 1/300,000, see?
Now, that's a worldwide figure, so that's why the numbers so high.
Preventable, surely, with the numbers that high." Ranma's mind had gone
numb. She was treating her sisters death as a numbers game? Was she
_that_ heartless?

"Now, first you take Japan into account. We're a small, dense
contry, so the odds should be higher, right? But they're actually
_lower_ because we get fewer thunderstorms on average here than in a lot
of the world. Typhoons, yeah, and big rainstorms, but rarely lightning.
It's about 1/500,000 through all Japan. Next, you take Tokyo-Yokohama.
Lots of people, hai, but lots more buildings. Lightning likes buildings,
not people, so you gotta take that in. Plus, a lot of the big buildings
downtown is where the lightning goes. So once all the buildings are added
in, that drops the average _way_ down, to 1/5,000,000"

Through this whole speil, Ranma felt his rage growing, mingling
wiht his grief and self-pity, and boiling over. Soon, he told himself,
keeping himself in check. I won't hold back against her. Not against
this....demon!

Nabiki went on, not noticing Ranma's slight change in position,
as if recoiling himself. "Now, when you're in Nerima, things just go off
the scale. You have to take so many factors into account. First of all,
it rains here more than anywheres else in Tokyo, almost more than
anywheres in Japan! But there's almost no lightning, unless you add in
the Kunou-chan factor. But Kunou-chan wasn't there last night..in fact,
he was off in Tomobiki visiting family friends. So that equation's right
out the window, and when you add it all up, the odds are 1/30,000,000.
So you don't have anything to worry about!"

The smile on the end of her words was the final insult. With a
cry of rage, Ranma lifted his head, wanting to see this sick woman suffer
at his hands. If she couldn't grieve for her sister, then she could
grieve for herself, in the short time Ranma intended to give her.
Mocking her sister in this way, he wouldn't have it! His head snapped
up, eyes brewing with fire, and locked on her own, steady, no trace of
smile, nor trace of waver.

"Trying to prove to yourself you could have saved her won't save
her now, Ranma," Nabiki said quietly, steadily, no trace of her previous
levity in her voice. "There isn't time for games anymore. She needs you
and you need her."

Ranma's body quivered, locked under her gaze. He didn't
understand, didn't _want_ to understand, just wanted to hurt this girl
and get her away from him, to show her what he really was, how inhuman,
undeserving he was of love or attention...

"No you're not, Ranma-kun," the older girl said steadily. "You
couldn't have saved her. You _couldn't_ have. But you can _now_. You
have to. As long as you're locked away like this, she'll know it, and
will slip away...you have to come out and _show_ her that you need her
for her to admit it to you."

Ranma recoiled...he didn't...couldn't show her first....he was
the man, she was supposed to come to him first, wasn't she...but...

"She's hurt Ranma...are you going to let your pride kill you
both? Be a man and _go_ to her Ranma, she _needs_ you."

As Nabiki's voice stressed _needs_, the image of Akane in her
hospital bed suddenly burst into Ranma's mind. More than an image, he
_was_ there, standing unseen over her bed, looking down at her, seeing
her vital signs slowly fading away, implacably...and understanding broke
over him.

Nabiki's breath gasped out of her as the boy's body landed limply
on top of hers. Within moments, the thin fabric of her blouse was soaked
through as Ranma cried on her shoulder, helplessly. She patted his back
gently, relief standing clear on her face. It had been a gamble, like
everything else. She and Akane were as close as sisters could be to each
other, and in times of need, Nabiki has always been able to virtually
read her younger sisters mind. Now, with Ranma and Akane so close, she
had sensed both of their needs, and had done what had to be done...but
barely. If Ranma had attacked her...if she hadn't held him...Nabiki
closed those thoughts off. Ranma would never attack her. Despite his
flaws, he was smart enough to see what had to be done. And she knew that
he would do anything for the girl he loved, her sister.

After long moments, Ranma's tears tapered off. Nabiki pushed the
boy off her shoulders, and looked him in the eyes. "Go now," she said.
"The hospital will still be open for visitors. Go be her Prince."

Dumbly, Ranma nodded, and stood. As if on autopilot, he walked
out the door, Nabiki watching his back with a smile. Everything will be
okay now, I think, she thought to herself...

In the yard of the Tendo Dojo, Ranma passed Soun, and paused.
Father and surrogate son looked at each other for a long moment, unseen
words passing between them. With a single nod, Soun approved. It was
about time, he thought to himself, that one of them got over their
pride. Oh, Saotome-kun...our families will be united at last!
Akane...Ranma's coming...be awake for him.

His mind blank, Ranma continued out of the yard, and onto the
street. Even though he had never been to the hospital where Akane was,
his feet knew the way automatically, taking him to her side. He didn't
want anything to stop him, not now. Nabiki was right, and Akane was
fading. He didn't know how much time he had left, knew that it wasn't
going to be enough. But he was forced to pause before he had gone a block.

Ryouga was waiting for him. Waiting? Ranma asked himself? That
was impossible. Ryouga wasn't even in the area, and besides, there was
no way he could have found his way here. Ranma was about to go on,
convinced it was another vision, when the other boy spoke.

"Ranma. Take me to Akane." It was a command, not yelled, just
spoken at normal volume. But it had an air of finality to it all the
same.

Ranma looked at Ryouga, trying to put a scornful mask up. "What
are you talking about, pig-boy?" But his heart wasn't in it. He knew
before he had finished speaking that his mask had broken away.

"Don't deny it Ranma. I...I know what happened last night. And
I found my way here."

"You found your way here? On your own? Intentionally?" Ranma's
eyes widened in surprise despite himself.

Ryouga nodded. "Yes. Because I had to come. But I can't find
my way from here."

Ranma nodded assent. There was something at work beyond his
control now, he knew it. So he would go to Akane, and bring Ryouga with
him. She needed everyone, he thought. We'll all be there by the time we
make it to the hospital.

He was almost right. Shampoo and Mousse were waiting for them on
the intersection with the Nekohanten's street. Ukyou, alone, was a block
further down. Ranma saw Gosunkugi try to stumble in with them as well,
unnoticed, but he didn't say anything, and neither did the others. It
was alright, Ranma thought. Everyone had to be there. Together. But by
the time they reached the hospital gates, neither of the Kunou's had been
seen.

Relief mixed with fear tingled Ranma's senses. Kunou and Kodachi
were as much a part of this as any of the others, but they weren't
there. The others too, he noticed, seemed a bit distracted, as if
looking for someone, and not finding them. But perhaps that was for the
best, he thought. Those two were, unstable. Mabye they weren't part of
it after all.

Still, Ranma hesitated at the gates, waiting. The others waited
too, for a few moments. The silence drew out, only the slightl rustle of
storm-debris and wind to break it. Until, Ukyou opened her mouth.
"They're not coming. We have to go in now."

Ranma jumped, as did all the others, turning to look at Ukyou.
She shrugged, her cheeks red with embarassment, and her eyes wide with
wonder and fear. "You know what I mean. Come on. We don't have much
time left."

Ranma nodded numbly. "Hai, Ucchan. Lets go." He turned before
he could see the flinch that went across her at thoe words, knowing she
did all the same, knowing he would never call her that again. Without a
word, the six walked into the waiting room of the hospital.

Kunou stood, his sister rising beside him. "So, Saotome Ranma.
You come at last." His 'you' indicated the whole group. Kodachi smiled
a welcoming smile, a far cry from her usual insane grin.

Ranma blinked in surprise, nodding brusquely. I should have
known, he thought to himself. All the others were waiting for me too.
Clearing his throat hastily, before he let his thoughts overwhelm him, he
asked gruffly, "Shall we go?"

As one, the other seven nodded. The group of eight walked in
unison down the hall, despite their different ways. Kunou strode as a
nobleman might have, Kodachi gliding along like an Empress. Shampoo and
Mousse walked together, her pace light and cat-quick, his silent, like a
hawk in flight. Ukyou's step was slow, slightly forced, but matching
with the others, while Ryouga seemed ready to charge into the room ahead
of them all, unable to restrain himself any longer. Gosunkugi came
behind Ryouga, unnoticed as always, a shadow to the rest of the
gathering. And behind them all Ranma, fearful, anticipating...his
visions gone, now with only the pounding of his heart to sustain him.

At the door, they all paused, forming an open semi-circle around
it. Ranma swallowed his breath hard. Here it was. Behind that door was
Akane...dying. His mind flinched away from that word. She's not dying he
screamed silently to himself. She's...she's going to be _fine!_ Just
_fine_.

A pressure on his hand caused him to open his eyes. It was
Shampoo, squeezing his hand gently between her own. "Come," she
whispered softly. "Akane no getting better standing out here, airen."
Her eyes flinched away from his on the final word; just like Ukyou, she
knew she would never say that to him again.

Ranma nodded, his head swimming. "You...you guys go first," he
motioned weakly. Silently, Ryouga studied him for a moment, and then
nodded. "Of course." Mousse also nodded silently, as did Kunou, and the
girls. Lastly, Gosunkugi nodded, and swallowed loudly.

"I...I'll go first." His voice, normally so hestant, firmed as
he said it. He opened the door to the room and stepped inside. Mousse
and Shampoo followed, with Kunou and Kodachi on their heels. Ukyou
looked up at Ranma then, and shook her head brutally. "She's...my friend
too." Without another word or glance back, she walked inside, leaving
Ryouga and Ranma in the hall. Ryouga took a step towards the door, when
Ranma asked for him to stop.

Ryouga turned his head back in some surprise. Ranma spoke hesitantly,
"I, I know you love her Ryouga. I..if..."

Ryouga turned his back on Ranma, and stood studying the door for
a moment. "Th...thank you Ranma. But..." Ryouga fought with himself to
say it, to finally admit it to himself. "She's not for me." The boy
turned back to Ranma, and offered his hand to him. "Now come on. You
have to go to her."

Numbly, gratefully, Ranma took the proferred hand, and the two
entered the room side-by-side, or as well as the door allowed. But such
minor considersations as crowding were forgotten when Ranma saw the bed.

It was exactly as his vision had told him. Akane lay exactly in
the middle of the antispetic white field of the bed. The sheets were
drawn up to her shoulders, but not hide enough to hide her nakedness
beneath the sheets, nor the bandages ove the raw, ugly wound on her
shoulder. Her chest rose and fell in barely perceptable movement, movement
obviously caused more by the respirator attached to her face than by any
of her own will. IV needles stuck into both her arms, feeding her nutrients
and medicines, while other wires snaked under the sheets to measure other vital
signs. Which, just as the vision said, were slowly failing.

Ranma tried to tear his gaze away from the horrible sight, but
the faces of the others were no help. All of them were in shock, shock
at seeing that their vision was more than just that. The shock of seeing
one of their friends, a rival to some, yes, but still a friend, so close
to death, and the shock of knowing that only they could help her.

Ranma had never considered himself religious before, but he found
himself so now. Please Kami-sama, he thought, bring her back to us...we
need her. _I_ need her more than anyone else, but all of us need her in
some way. Please...please give us the chance to bring her back.

As the final echos of the prayer finished running through his
mind, he saw Gosukugi advance, again first. He walked to her bedside,
withdrawing two small items from his pocket. Ranma flinched, about to go
after Gosunkugi, expecting a hammer and nail. Another vision flashed
through his head, of Gosunkugi suddenly lifting his hammer high and
striking Akane through the heart with a wooden peg. A touch on his
shoulder dispelled the vision, Ryouga silently shaking his head to say no.

Gosunkugi had reached the bedside by now. In one hand was a
feather, in the other a candle. He studied the two for a moment, the
lifted them over Akane, and touched them together. Visibly, nothing
happened, but all the others in the room felt a brief surge of power as
the items touched. Akane's vital signs responded to the surge as well,
her heart rate jumping, then steadying at a higher rate then before.
Gosunkugi lowered his hands as if exhaused, opened his mouth as if to
speak, then closed it again, resuming his place in the line.

Shampoo was next. She merely went over to Akane's bedside, and
took her hand in hers. Eyes closed, she stood like that for several
minutes, while the room was perfectly quiet. Finally, she let her breath
out with a sigh, and bent over to kiss Akane on the cheek. Replacing the
wounded girls hand on the sheets, she went back to her place in line,
staring at Ranma the whole way back.

The boy closed his eyes to try to block out that gaze. She was
gone. Even if he hadn't loved her as much as she had wanted him to, he
had still loved her. But now she was going to move on. Still friends,
but what they had had was never to be back.

When Ranma opened his eyes again, Mousse was at the bedside.
Mousse simply withdraw a single water lily from the sleeves of is robes,
and, with his hand trembling, placed it on her chest. He spoke,
inaudible to all but himself and Akane, "Tendo Akane...this is not how I
would have asked for my lovely Shampoo. I should be there for her, not
you." He lifted his glasses from his eyes and went back to his place
beside Shampoo, careful to avoid touching her for the moment. But when
she reached out to take his hand, he didn't resist.

Kodachi came next. Gliding softly, she merely stood beside the
hospital bed for awhile, without speaking, merely looking at the injured
girl. Ranma began to shift restlessly, wondering what the Kunou girl had
in store for his dying fiancee. She lifted her hand, covered
in its silk kimono to her lips, and laughed softly, her normally piercing
laugh softer, muted, beautiful in the still air of the room. Still,
Ranma found his anger building...laughing at Akane's bedside? As if
sensing the thought, Kodachi's laughter tapered off, and she lay a single
black rose on the covers, before turning back to the others.

Kunou was alrady at the bed, weeping. "Oh, Tendo
Akane! Stuck down by a heavenly bolt in the flower of your youth! How
the heavens themselves doth surely weep at their injustice!"

Ranma felt his anger rising again. Trust Kunou to be the
self-centered jerk again. He couldn't see that Akane was still living,
couldn't see that she still had a chance and was composing her eulogy!
Rage flooded Ranma, submerging his grief again. Ryouga wouldn't stop him
this time. He was sure of it. As it turned out, Ryouga wouldn't need to.

Kunou wasn't done yet. Reaching into the folds of his robe, he
withdrew a small figure. Ranma could tell from across the room that it
was clearly very ancient. Kunou placed it beside her head. "A gift,
Tendo Akane...from the Kunou clan when you awake." The confident way he
said when send Ranma's anger crashing down again. Kunou's arrogance
could do good as well.

Next it was Ukyou's turn. Like Shampoo, she took Akane's hand in
her own, but she spoke. "Akane-chan...listen to me. I know you can hear
me. You've got to come back to us, Akane-chan...we're your friends. We
all need you." A tear rolled down Ukyou's cheek. "And...And
Ranch...Ranma needs you more. Akane-chan...don't leave us. It hurts,
but it'll hurt more if you go." She squeezed the other girls hand
tight, and Akane squeezed back.

Ukyou's heart jumped. "She heard me!" With that, her tears
broke out in full. "Oh, Akane-chan, don't go! Come back to us!"
Frantically she squeezed the hand, trying to get some sort of response,
but there was no answering pressure this time. "Akane-chan!!"

With a sob, Ukyou collapsed to her knees at the side of the bed.
Ranma jumped forwards to catch her, but Ryouga moved quicker, and reached
her side first. He shook his head at Ranma, who stepped back. Ryouga
wrapped am arm about Ukyou's shoulders, and tried to console her.

"Shhh, shh," he whispered. "Akane-chan will be fine...she'll be
fine. She just...she just needs someone else. You knew that, right?"
Ukyou didn't respond. "Right?" Ryouga asked again, more insistently.
Almost imperceptably, the girl nodded. "Right. Then its my turn to talk
to her." Ukyou nodded again, and stood, bending to give Akane a kiss on
the oppsite cheek before she left.

Ryouga stood for a long time, fumbling, looking for the words to
say. "A...Akane...-ch...chan. I...I've...I've wanted to say something
to you for awhile...bu...but just couldn't." He paused, taking a long
breath to compose his thoughts again. "Wh...what I always want...wanted
to say to you was that...that I loved you."

Akane's vital signs all jumped at that. Ryouga flushed a deep
red, and began fumbling with his hands again. "Ah...yeah...I...I loved
you." It came out more steadily this time. "Bu..but I know you don't
love me now. I know that theres..." he looked around the room, his gaze
pausing on Ranma, where he seemed to get some strength. "That there's
someone else."

Ryouga took a final deep breath. "And there's someone else for
me too, Akane-chan. So....I must leave you now. I'm going to go on a
trip, but I'll find my way back soon enough...I'll be looking forward to
seeing you healthy again." With that, Ryouga bend over, and hesitantly,
placed a kiss on her cheek, near where Shampoo had done the same. His
face was flushed almost purple as he walked out of the room without a
backwards look.

Ranma heard a girls voice, mutedly greet Ryouga, and heard the big
man's sob in response. He smiled...Ryouga was in good hands now. And
now...it was his turn. He turned his attention back to the bed, and
began his walk towards it.

That walk seemed to be the longest he had ever taken, those few
meters. Each step took an eternity, and none seemed to draw her closer
to him. She was out of his reach always, just beyond the end of his
fingertips...evading him. With a stiffled cry of despair, Ranma lunged
forwards...

And was there, at the bed, holding her hand. His vision was
doubled with tears and he pressed the hand to his forehead, kneeling
beside her. "Akane don't leave me!" he screamed, a tortured cry.

The others, his friends, stepped closer for support, but didn't
touch him. He felt their strength, their love, however, and managed to
stand, too look down on the girl he had meant to always protect. The
girl he dreamt about, his best friend, the woman he loved. His fiancee.

His face crumbled as his pride finally crumbled away and he
pitched forwards, forcing his arms around and behind her, lifting her to
his chest, to rest his head on her shoulder. He sobbed, like he had only
an hour earlier at home, but this time it was he who was giving the
comfort, not taking it. He wanted Akane to feel it, feel him, wanted her
to respond to his love..."Akane, I love you," he gasped out through his
tears. "Love you...love you..." he whispered into her ear over, and over
again. Time once again seemed to stop...

And didn't start again until he felt two arms pressing nito his
back. He gasped in joy, hugging his girl even harder, laughing at her
surprised shout. "Ran...Ranma. Ranma!" Akane was crying too now, away,
her words muffled by the respirator, her tears spilling down its shiny
surface.

"Oh, Akane!" Ranma laughed and cried, tearing the oxygen mask off
her face. Akane didn't notice the pulls, didn't notice anything except
her man. "Akane...I love you!"

"I love you, Ranma," akane said quietly, and leaned up to kiss
him gently on the lips. "I always have." she whispered as her arms went
around him again.

Ranma held her close, mindful now of the not-healed burns. "I
know, tomboy...I know..."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aiya. This is not what I anticpated coming out when I sat down to write
this morning....

First off, lets get a couple of technical points out of the way. Now I'm
not _100%_ sure about this, but a friend of mine told me that the Nerima
ward was where the Tokyo Airport was located. I've heard from the same
source, and others, that Nerima is one of the larger wards in Tokyo, so I
suppose the airport could be there. Anyways, that's what the airport
line is. Next, all the stats Nabiki quotes are, obviously, bogus. I
don't care what the real odds are...she did it to get Ranma's attention
anyways.

Anyways, because I like to do these, a bit of explanation about where I
came from with this text. It started when I decided to start work on
Ranma - Final Exit, a fic supposed to coincide with the final chapter of
Ranma. A schlock-horror fanfic, it'll eventually have the entire cast of
Ranma dying in messy ways. But this fic didn't turn into it. I started
work on the lightning scene, and the way Ranma reacted to it...it just
wasn't schlock. But it was too good to pass up. Combine that with some
_heavy_ Ranma-based roleplaying I had done the previous night, and the
mood was still with me, and you've got what we've got here.

Thanks go to Jeffery Hosmer for the inspiration for this story..even if
he didn't realize it at the time.

(And for those of you asking (there are a few!) Fall of the Eagle is
still alive, and is trying to get past a mental block. I swear to finish
Part 6 before the end of the year though. ;> And don't even ask about
Lemons.)

--
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James Stone - sto...@elycion.geology.ualberta.ca / sto...@ren.gmcc.ab.ca
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| / \_/_______|-- / \-__ ||\|||/|| / | | | \
\_| O |_________|______| O ||__\ +-------+ | / / / |
\___/ \___/ \________________/
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tifosi, NINie, otaku, amateur author, wizzie, and a bunch of other titles.
Akane@Anime, Ukyou@Ranma, Stoner@Baka, Karin@Spirit, Nabiki@Furtoonia,
Geobaldi@Furry, Mendo@AMUSH, Kylania@Delusions, Mousse@Avalon,
Nanami@Fiction, Noa@DahlingMUCK
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GO d- s++:--- a--- C+++ ULSA+ P L++ E---- W+(++) N+ K w--- O- M-- V-- PS+
PE Y-- PGP-- t--- !5 !X R>+ !tv b+++ DI+(++) D++(-) G>++ e>+++ h- f+
r* !y**