"WASURERARENAI"(Unforgettable)
An alternative reality fanfic written by MmeFleiss.
All characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.
< > are thoughts
**********************************************************************
Chapter 11
**********
Shinnosuke walked toward the Tendos' with Akane, the events from
the night before a long forgotten memory. He was glad that Akane was
cheerful once again, although the reason for the change in behavior
eluded him.
They were making their way towards the backyard when they noticed
Kasumi hanging the day's laundry.
With a wave, Akane and Shinnosuke made their way towards the
Tendo girl and were a bit surprised to find her hanging her laundry
at a speed much faster than normal.
"Speed training," Kasumi informed them before they could ask.
"I see," Akane answered, even though she didn't. "Um, where's
Ranma?"
"He's somewhere inside, but I'm afraid I've been outside all
day..."
"That's all right. We'll wait for him out here," Akane answered,
looking up a bit worriedly at the storm clouds on the edge of the
horizon. She relaxed a few seconds later when she realized that it
wasn't going to rain until much later, meaning the cookies she had
baked for Ranma were in no danger of getting soaked.
The two spent the next couple of minutes talking amiably with
Kasumi. Akane dominated most of the conversation as she told them of
the latest move Ranma had been trying to teach her.
Unknown to Akane, Shinnosuke had started to eat some of the food
during the conversation and was starting to feel quite sick. "Excuse
me," Shinnosuke suddenly blurted out before running towards the
lavatory.
Getting over her surprise from the sudden outburst, Akane
followed him but went through the wrong door, ending up in the bath
instead.
She was about to leave and go through the other door when she
noticed that the furo was occupied. Inside sat a naked Shampoo with
a nervous Ranma who was in a similar state of undress.
Akane leaned against the door, too shocked to speak.
"I can explain..." Ranma started to say, pushing a surprised
Shampoo away from him and wrapping a towel around his waist as he
got out of the bath.
By the time he had managed to walk across the room, Akane had
gathered enough of her wits to snap out of her stupor. "You... You
pervert!" she yelled, slapping him hard on the face.
Holding his stinging cheek, he tried to follow her as she ran out
of the room. "A-Akane..."
* * *
Shinnosuke had just opened the door when he saw Akane run past.
"Hey, where are you going?"
When she didn't answer him, he looked at the towel clad Ranma who
wasn't too far behind. The reason for her upset behavior suddenly
became startlingly clear. "You bastard!" he growled, pushing Ranma
away from the door.
"What are you...?"
"Don't you _ever_ go near her again," Shinnosuke interrupted,
glaring at the pig-tailed martial artist. "If you do, I swear I'll kill
you!"
* * *
When Akane finally looked up from her short run around town, she
found herself standing on her favorite spot, the grassy river bank at
the edge of town.
"The last place I wanted to be in," she muttered. The place no
longer had a calming effect. It had too many memories of the time she
had spent there with Ranma.
"That jerk," she whispered, taking out the severed blue locks
from her pocket. It was the only thing she had left that made her
feel close to her family.
She brought it closer to her, desperately needing the little
comfort it gave her while she turned her head to look out at the
azure water, the color bringing forth a memory she now wanted to
forget.
* * *
"The color is almost as pretty as your hair," Ranma commented as
he glanced at her direction.
"Stop lying!" Akane could feel her blood rushing to her face,
turning it the same shade of red as the leaves from the tree they were
sitting under.
She wasn't used to receiving compliments. It made her feel a bit
uncomfortable, although the feeling was in no way unpleasant.
She playfully punched him in the arm, thinking that he really
didn't mean it, judging from the sly grin he had on his face.
"It's true..."
* * *
Akane's train of thought was broken by a rustling of nearby
branches. "Go away!"
Unfortunately, Shampoo wasn't in any mood to comply with her
request.
"You made husband sad. Shampoo here to make sure that no
happen again."
Akane backed away from the slowly advancing girl, her
expression one of panic as she realized she was trapped.
The last thing she saw was Shampoo's hands zooming towards her
head before she blacked out.
* * *
It had started to rain sometime during
his search for her, but for once, Ranma Saotome was glad to feel the
cold November rain against her skin.
She made no effort to wipe away her tears, knowing that the
downpour helped conceal her distress.
It had been a while since somebody had spotted Akane, and she was
worried that something horrible might have happened to her.
Ranma-chan thought as
she looked into the school yard, in hopes of finding Akane there. She
let out a small growl of frustration when she saw that it was empty.
With a sigh, she walked away and headed to the last place she
could think of that the blue haired girl would go to.
* * *
Shampoo let out the a disgusted snort. The weakling in front of
her hadn't put up much of a struggle.
She almost felt guilty for what she had done, but knew that it
was necessary to make her husband happy.
Her mind was so preoccupied on how grateful Ranma would be,
that she ran out of the clearing, her weapons from her fight,
forgotten.
* * *
Feeling something light settling on her face, Akane decided it
was time to open her eyes and wake up. She was a bit surprised to
find that it was a red leaf. Now, what was it doing in her... room?
She blinked a couple of times and rubbed her eyes to make sure
she was awake. She was lying next to the river, fortunately not too
wet from the rain due to the big oak tree beside her.
"There you are," a relieved-sounding female voice yelled out,
getting Akane's attention before she had time to wonder why she had
slept outside.
She sat up and found herself face to face with a concerned
looking redhead.
"I want you to know that Shampoo sneaked up on me..."
Ranma-chan babbled, helping the other girl up.
"T-Thank you."
"So you see, it really wasn't my... Huh?"
"I said, thanks."
"But, but you, I thought..."
"Akane couldn't help but laugh as the shorter girl continued to
mutter incoherently. Regaining her composure after a lot of effort,
she held out her hand. "I'm Akane. Want to be friends?"
"Akane, stop joking around," Ranma-chan said, laughing. She was
relieved to see that her friend had decided to forget the whole
incident.
"Do I know you?"
Ranma-chan's smile ceased when she saw the genuine look of
puzzlement on the blue-haired girl. "Akane, don't you remember me?"
* * *
Ryoga Hibiki looked up from the flower stand where he was buying
flowers for Akane. He sighed in relief when he noticed that the rain
was finally starting to ease up. He certainly couldn't confess his
feelings while in pig form.
He decided after their talk during her birthday party that it was
time to confess to Akane how he felt about her. He would have done it
yesterday, but he had lost his nerve.
But today would be different. He would tell her how he felt even
if it took all day.
* * *
Ranma-chan was out of breath as she reached the clinic, Akane
nestled safely in her arms.
Of course, if anyone had bothered to ask Akane, her opinion of
the situation would have vastly differed.
"Let me go," she howled, confused and more than a little annoyed
that this strange girl had picked her up and told her she needed to
get her head examined.
Akane thought it was pretty obvious that one of them needed that
examination, though it certainly wasn't her.
Ranma-chan just ignored her and went straight to Dr. Tofu,
quickly informing him on the situation.
"How are you feeling, Akane?" the young doctor asked while he
ran his hand over her head to check for suspicious bumps.
"I'm fine, Dr. Tofu."
He and Ranma-chan looked surprised after hearing this.
"I thought you said she had amnesia?" Dr. Tofu asked the shorter
girl.
"She does! Listen." She turned around to face Akane who was
frowning at her. "Akane, who am I?"
"How should I know."
"I'm Ranma. We're friends, remember?"
Akane's face lit up as she
finally remembered. "I know! You're disagreeable and nasty!"
"Hey! You have no right to insult..."
"Akane," Dr. Tofu interrupted, "that's 'rancid'."
Ranma-chan thought,
sinking down to the ground in despair.
"I'm sorry, Ranma. I don't have enough clues to tell what could
be causing her memory loss."
"Maybe this would help," Akane volunteered, taking out an empty
bottle of formula #411. She was still a bit confused why they thought
something was wrong with her, but if Dr. Tofu was worried...
"Where did you get that?"
"It was near me when I woke up. Is it important?"
"Very. Now I'll be able to cure you in a couple of weeks."
"Why are you going to wait so long?" Ranma-chan inquired, her
face etched with worry.
"I'm afraid I don't have the antidote for this. I'm going to have
to order formula #911 from a drugstore in China."
"But that's going to take forever!"
"There's nothing more I can do."
"Then I'm going to China and get that antidote myself. I'll do
anything to make Akane remember me."
* * *
Akane sighed as she made her way home. She got tired of
listening to the two talk about finding a cure for her so she decided
to leave. They probably didn't even notice she was gone.
She rounded a corner and bumped into someone, sending her flying
a couple of feet from the impact. The incident gave her a feeling of
deja vu, though she couldn't think of a reason why it should.
She was about to stand up when she noticed a hand reaching for
hers to help her. With a grateful smile, she accepted the offer.
"Shinnosuke, what are you doing out here?"
* * *
Ranma-chan was making her way home when she bumped into the lost
boy. She quickly got into a defensive stance, eyeing her adversary
warily. "Look, Ryoga, I don't have time to fight right now."
"What makes you think I came all the way here just to see you?"
"Well, what other reason do you have?" she asked arrogantly.
"Your whole life revolves around killing me."
Ryoga just glared at her, his mind on more important things. he mused, nervously glancing at the
flowers in his hand to make sure it hadn't wilted since he had last
checked it 2 minutes and four seconds ago.
Not getting the retort she was expecting, Ranma-chan let her
guard down. "Are you sick or somethin'?"
Ryoga tightened his hold on the flowers until his knuckles
turned white.
"Or maybe you've finally realized that I'm a better martial
artist than you are and you have no chance of defeating..."
Ranma-chan's voice trailed off, although it wasn't because Ryoga had
finally lost his temper and slugged her in the gut. No, the reason
was much, much worse.
In front of the dojo stood Akane, with Shinnosuke in her arms.
Ranma-chan let out a strangled cry before heading towards the
opposite direction. She ran as fast as she could, not wanting to see
the cozy scene any longer.
Part 12
*******
"Akane, you dummy," Ranma-chan muttered as she gazed at the train
tickets she had bought her earlier. "You never even gave me the chance
to show you the ocean."
Ryoga, who had been watching her from behind a grove of trees,
cleared his throat, making her sit up with a start and wipe away
her tears.
"Are you all right?" the bandanna clad boy asked quietly once
Ranma-chan had regained her composure.
She just nodded, not quite trusting her voice yet.
The two sat together in uncomfortable silence, both a bit unsure
how to proceed. Ryoga almost sighed in relief when he heard Ranma-chan
speak, glad to not be the one starting what promised to be an
unpleasant conversation.
She explained to him Akane's most recent amnesia, adding, "It
would never have happened if she could remember me."
Ryoga gave her a disgusted look. "You're really full of yourself,
aren't you? What makes you so sure? Didn't it ever cross your mind
that she... that she might love him?"
"But..."
"She was holding him in her arms, Ranma. You know Akane would
never have done what she did if it wasn't the case."
"And what if she's doesn't? Is it that hard to believe that she
might love me? Until she can be whole again and tell me just the
opposite... I-I can't give up."
* * *
Akane paced up and down the stark white hallway. She had called
the town in Ryugenzawa an hour ago. Surely, grandpa got her message by
now.
Her mind wandered back to what had happened in front of the Tendo
Dojo. The start of what was turning out to be the most horrible hour
of her life.
She had just left the clinic, her thoughts on why the doctor had
been so worried, when she bumped into Shinnosuke.
* * *
"Shinnosuke, what are you doing here?" she asked as she grabbed
his outstretched hand.
"I was looking for you," he answered while helping her up.
Akane blushed, feeling flattered that he was worried about her.
Shinnosuke constantly did these small things for her, which was
probably why she cared for him so much.
He had been looking after her for as long as she could remember.
Ever since they were little, he was always around to share jokes or
be a shoulder to cry on.
"There really wasn't any need to..." Her voice trailed off when
Shinnosuke fainted into her arms.
* * *
Akane's reverie was broken by the sound of the phone ringing.
She looked up to find the nurse behind the desk looking at her
expectantly, pink telephone in hand.
"Grandpa?"
\\Akane, thank goodness you called. I'm...\\
"He's fine grandpa. You just need to send us more of the water."
\\I-I can't do that.\\
"What do you mean you can't?! Shinnosuke's life is..."
\\It's all gone, Akane. The 'water of life' is gone.\\
* * *
Ranma-chan was understandably preoccupied as she made her way
home. The image of Akane and Shinnosuke was giving her second thoughts
about her earlier statement.
she wondered
before she was mobbed by all the occupants of the Tendo home, who were
all trying to talk to her at the same time.
"Ranma, Tendo-kun and I decided that it was time that you choose
which one of his daughters should be your fiancee," his father barked.
"Ranma! Shampoo make sure you no sad anymore."
"Yes, it would be nice to see you settle down with one of my
daughters."
"Man, the guys are gonna love this," Nabiki muttered as she took
photos of the soaking wet redhead from a corner of the room. "If you
change to your male side now, I can get some photos for your fan club,
too."
Even the sound of the phone ringing didn't deter any of them from
their goal to catch Ranma-chan's full attention. Only Kasumi, who had
just gotten home from the market, noticed.
"Hello?"
//K... K... Kasumi!//
"Dr. Tofu, what a pleasant surprise."
Hearing the doctor's name, Ranma-chan quickly snagged the phone
away from the oldest Tendo girl. After all, he wouldn't be of any use
while he was incoherent.
"Dr. Tofu?" Ranma-chan asked breathlessly, her heart thumping
loudly in her ears. Why did he call? Could it be that he had found a
cure for Akane already?
//I..... news.... memory....//
"What?!" she asked irritably, not able to hear the doctor clearly
due to all the noise around her.
//I... Akane...//
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Ranma-chan yelled at the four, effectively
stopping them in mid-chatter. None of them had ever seen her so mad
before.
She had done her best to ignore them at first, but this was going
too far. Couldn't they tell that she was in the middle of a very
important phone call?
She gave them one last disgusted snort before going back to
her conversation. "I'm sorry doctor. Could you repeat that, please?"
//I said, I have bad news. While I was doing some research this
afternoon, I came across an old book which talked about the cause of
Akane's amnesia in detail, and...//
"But that's great!"
"I'm afraid not. I just read that, if she doesn't get cured
within the week, the effect becomes permanent.//
* * *
Akane was in her room, quickly packing up her things to go to
Ryugenzawa.
Grandpa had been vague earlier when she had asked why all the
springs had dried up. All he would tell her was that it was dangerous
and that she should let him handle it.
As if! There was no way she would to let him put himself in
danger like that. No matter how much he denies his old age, time is
taking its toll on him. She wasn't about to let him do this on his
own, especially with Shinnosuke's life on the balance.
Akane was about to close her suitcase when a flash of white from
a nearby pile caught her eye. The hospital had insisted that she bring
home Shinnosuke's things so they wouldn't get lost.
She picked up the string with the odd shaped whistle she had
given him when they were younger. She couldn't believe that she had
almost forgotten about it.
* * *
Akane was at the lake, watching the usually calm water warily.
If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn the water was
acting strangely this morning. Every so often, bubbles would appear on
the surface, almost as if something was underneath the surface,
waiting.
It didn't help that she could sense this almost tangible feeling
of malevolence in the air around her. She shivered, all the while
telling herself not to be ridiculous. A girl at the ripe age of eight
should know better than to start believing in silly superstitions.
Despite her best of efforts to stay calm, she still couldn't stop
shaking. She took out her whistle and started to play, knowing that it
would help calm her down like always.
Was it just her, or did the lake become serene again? Akane was
about to start playing again when she felt a hand rest on her
shoulder.
"AHHH!" she screamed in surprise almost dropping the whistle into
the lake. "Don't scare me like that!"
"But didn't you see the water earlier?" Shinnosuke inquired, his
eyes mere slits as they roamed over the lake's surface. "It looked so
dangerous..."
Akane let out a small sigh of relief, glad to know that she
hadn't been seeing things. "Well, whatever it is, it's gone now."
She started to play her whistle again, waiting for his reply.
When none came, she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes and
noticed that he was still looking worriedly at the body of water.
Akane looked at the odd shaped instrument in
her hand and back up at her friend. "Hey, Shinnosuke,
why don't you hold on to this for me?"
"I can't take that. It means so much to you."
"But you need it more than I do. You're going to be taking care
of the forest someday, aren't you?"
"Don't be stupid. Of course I am."
"Well, it just so happens that this is what drove the monster
away."
"Really?" the wide eyed Shinnosuke asked her, looking at the
whistle with a greater degree of respect than before.
"Mm-hmm."
"I'll take it then, but only if you swear to stay here with me as
long as I have it."
"Why?"
"You want it back, don't you? So, do you promise?"
Extending her right pinky, Akane smiled as she answered, "Yes,
I promise."
* * *
Akane gave it one final glance before carefully placing it in her
pocket. Just because she didn't believe in monsters anymore didn't
mean she couldn't bring it with her.
After checking to make sure she hadn't forgotten to bring
anything important, Akane took one final glance at the cloud filled
sky before closing her suitcase with a bang.
* * *
Coincidentally, in a room next door, Ranma was also looking out
at the sky. The change back to his original gender had done nothing to
improve his mood.
he grumbled mentally as he tried to
stuff half of his wardrobe into his backpack.
The call from Dr. Tofu earlier had squelched all of his doubts
and convinced him to at least try. Maybe he really was being selfish,
but...
He wanted, no, needed her to tell him how she felt about him. He
refused to believe that all those times they had almost kissed meant
nothing to her.
Ranma was about to run out of the house when the phone rang once
again. He ignored it and was halfway through the door when one word
caught his attention.
"Akane, I hope you find what you're looking for in Ryugenzawa."
Kasumi said while dusting the figurines before her.
Ranma, upon hearing her utter Akane's name, quickly backpedaled
and grabbed the phone away from her. Anyone else would have been
annoyed that he had done this twice, but this was _Kasumi_.
"What do you mean you're going back to Ryugenzawa?!" Ranma
demanded as soon as he got ahold of the telephone.
Hearing only the dial tone, he turned around to interrogate the
only person in the house who knew. His heart pounded loudly in his
ears as he looked at her pleadingly, unsure whether he wanted to hear
Akane's reasons for going back to the forest.
Was she leaving so she could marry Shinnosuke? Did he scare
her off? Or maybe it was because she...
"Shinnosuke collapsed in front of the house earlier," Kasumi
informed him, interrupting any further thoughts. "She's going back
home to find a cure for him."
The backpack on Ranma's shoulder fell on the ground with a loud
clatter. He stood on the hallway, motionless as he tried the resolve
his inner conflict.
A part of him wanted to go to China now so Akane could remember
him again, hopefully leading to a happy life together. Another part,
most likely his conscience, demanded that he look after her in
Ryugenzawa. But... if he helped her cure Shinnosuke, she was certain
to find happiness with the forgetful boy, and he would be nothing more
than a long forgotten memory.
Which happiness was more important?
Part 13
*******
[The next day, Ryugenzawa.]
Akane took a deep breath as she made her way to the pinnacle of
the hill, oblivious to the brilliant reds and oranges of late autumn.
"It's too quiet," she muttered, watching a three inch lizard crawl up
a nearby tree. "All the animals have shrunk because their supply of
the water was cut."
She continued walking towards the cabin, her mind filled with
images of Shinnosuke's smiling face. "And if I don't hurry, his life
might end."
* * *
Ranma pounded his hand against the vending machine, waiting for
his cup of hot chocolate to come out. He was standing right outside
the Ryugenzawa Youth Group Hostel, hoping they could help him find
Akane. Unfortunately, they didn't know where she lived, any more than
he did.
Ranma looked down as he felt his shirt soak up some of the
scaldingly hot liquid from the machine. "Shit." He quickly wrung the
hot chocolate off his shirt, trying as best he could to ignore the big
stain. "At least it was hot."
Satisfied that all the excess liquid was gone, he looked back up
at the machine, then to his still empty cup with a scowl. "Stupid!
After you got me wet like that, I should at least get a drink."
He walked away in a huff, every step making a crunching sound as
he crushed the dried leaves beneath his feet. He made his way into the
forest despite all the warnings he received about giant animals. Ranma
didn't believe a word of that nonsense, and should it turn out to be
true, well, he was a martial artist so there should be no problem,
right?
* * *
"Where in the world am I now?" Ryoga yelled somewhere in the
forest, or at least tried to. It was hard to yell something like that
when he was in his cursed form. The question, therefore, came out as
one loud, frustrated sounding bwee.
* * *
Ranma grumbled as he tried to find his way to wherever Akane was.
He had been walking in the forest for hours and he felt no closer to
her than when he started.
He was about to stop for a little rest when he felt something
bite his ankle. He looked down and saw a koala who had decided that he
would make a perfect lunch.
"Argh! Get off me!" he cried out, trying to shake the thing off
his leg. He tried doing a couple of kicks, in hopes that it would get
dizzy and slide off.
The koala was _not_ amused.
"Ahh!" Ranma yelled out as it bit his leg even harder.
* * *
Akane's head quickly snapped up, her eyes mere slits as she gazed
outside through the kitchen window.
"What's the matter?" Grandpa asked from the dining table, eagerly
awaiting his meal.
"I thought I heard someone cry out in pain."
"Don't be ridiculous. No one in their right mind would come out
here in the forest."
Akane reluctantly nodded as she took the unrecognizable slop that
was to be their lunch off the stove and placed it in between them.
Grandpa took one look at what was supposed to be seaweed stew and
blinked in surprise. Was it supposed to be glowing like that? He took
another look and quickly ran to the other end of the room, plastic bag
in hand.
"I, uh, just realized I wasn't that hungry. I think I'll just eat
some of those rice crackers you've brought with you from Tokyo."
* * *
P-chan sighed in relief as he spotted a puddle of hot chocolate.
He eagerly dived in, not caring that he was going to be a sticky mess.
Why should he? It was a small price to pay for regaining his humanity.
Ryoga was about to praise whoever had spilled the warm liquid
when he heard a scream behind him.
Standing near the door of the hostel stood a terrified girl
pointing at his bare body.
He looked down and remembered that his state of dress, or lack
thereof, was inappropriate and quickly ran into the woods where he had
left his stuff.
* * *
Ranma was about to give up at twilight, when he spotted a
familiar head of dark blue hair. Using his remaining energy, he ran
towards the clearing yelling out her name.
"Akane! Hey Akane!"
She didn't even look once at his direction. He was willing to
bet that she hadn't heard him; his voice was barely audible, thanks to
all the yelling he had done earlier.
Once he was only a couple of feet away, Ranma became confident
that he was close enough to be heard and, therefore, started to speak
to her again. "I'm so glad I found..." His voice trailed off as he got
a full view of her.
Sitting inside a metal tub, Akane blinked in surprise at having
her bath interrupted by a complete and total stranger.
Ranma's face turned a bright crimson while he tried his best to
make sure that his eyes never strayed from her face. Once he gathered
enough of his wits, he quickly did an about face with the intent of
running out of the clearing as fast as he could.
Akane, shaken out of her stupor at this point, hurled everything
she could get her hands on at his retreating figure while yelling,
"Pervert!"
One of the projectiles, unfortunately, connected with Ranma's
head with a hollow thud, knocking him into oblivion.
"What's with all the noise?!" Grandpa hollered as he rushed
towards the clearing.
Akane didn't hear him. She was too busy being concerned about the
well-being of the unconscious boy near her.
What was he doing there? And most importantly, why was he
unconscious?
* * *
When Ranma opened his eyes, he found himself staring at a stark
white ceiling.
Where was he? The last thing he remembered was a feeling of
relief after he finally spotted Akane in the distance. He tried to
clear his head a bit, convinced that more had happened. He wished the
room wouldn't spin so, further aggravating his headache. He cleared
away the mental cobwebs as best he could, and thought more about what
had happened. Oh yes, she had thrown some objects at him for walking
in on her in the middle of her bath.
Ranma was about to pat himself on the back for solving the mind
numbing puzzle when he realized that he still didn't have a clue where
he was. He let out a groan and was about to stand up to explore when
he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Ranma quickly closed his
eyes and pretended to be asleep.
"So, you're saying, that the reason that the springs have dried
up is because the yamato-no-orochi has awakened?" Akane asked Grandpa
skeptically as she quietly closed the door behind them.
"Yes, its head is blocking the source of the springs."
"Oh c'mon, Grandpa. That's only a monster of legends. You're old
enough to know that those stories aren't true."
"But they are. The legend of Susa-no-oh fighting the
yamato-no-orochi is an accurate tale of long ago. A tale which we need
to know to be able to beat the sleeping monster once more."
Grandpa looked out the window dramatically for a couple of
minutes before he started to tell Akane the wondrous legend. "After
Susa-no-oh..."
*Crash*
Akane looked annoyed as she picked up the bowls that she was
carrying towards the dinner table. "Jeez, Grandpa, don't scare me like
that."
"Why are you setting the table when you should be listening to me
tell you how to beat the orochi?"
"I thought you were asleep."
"It was a dramatic pause!" he yelled.
"How was I supposed to know that?"
Grandpa sighed and started the story all over again.
* * *
After Susa-no-oh had been banished from heaven, he descended to
Tori-kami, beside the river Hi, in the province of Izumo...
* * *
"If this happened in Izumo, what is the Orochi doing sleeping
over here?" Akane interrupted.
"It doesn't matter. Can you please just let me tell the rest of
the story?"
"Sorry."
* * *
Anyway, he met an old man and woman who were weeping bitterly;
between them walked a lovely maiden.
They told him that they had eight daughters, and each year the
yamato-no-orochi devoured them one after the other. They were crying
because it was time to feed it again with their daughter, the
Kushinada-hime.
Susa-no-oh told them that he was the brother of the sun-goddess,
and promised to help them in exchange for their daughter.
He changed the girl into a comb which he placed in his hair. He
told the couple to build eight vats for the sake they were going to
brew.
When the yamato-no-orochi came, it drank all the sake and passed
out. Susa-no-oh drew his katana and cut the serpent in pieces, turning
the Hi river red with its blood.
* * *
"Er..."
"What now?" Grandpa asked, slightly annoyed.
"If he killed it, what is it doing sleeping in this forest?"
"It's just a stupid story. What happened to him there isn't
important."
"But you said..."
"Look, you're missing the point. By telling you that story, you
now possess the knowledge to beat the orochi."
"I do?"
"It's simple," he answered before standing up and running out the
door excitedly. "We have to brew sake so we can get it drunk!"
"Grandpa!" Akane yelled out at his quickly receding form.
Unfortunately, he was too far to hear her by then, and he continued on
his way without a backward glance.
Akane grumbled as she grabbed her coat and ran after him. There
was no telling what could happen at this hour.
After Ranma was sure that Akane was no longer within hearing
range, he too ran out of the house so he could watch over them.
* * *
Akane stifled a yawn as she watched Grandpa from behind a thick
maple tree. She was convinced that the old man had lost it for sure,
brewing sake for a nonexistent dragon.
She would have stopped him a long time ago if not for a small
part of her mind that believed him, giving her hope...
* * *
Ranma sighed as he watched her from a spot not too far away. He
was contemplating whether he should walk up to her and keep her
company. She looked lonely, and it wasn't like she could remember what
had happened earlier.
Ranma was unsure whether he should be happy or not that she
couldn't remember that little incident earlier.
Sure, he didn't have to worry about her being angry with him, but
that was only because she couldn't remember who he was.
When his eyes refocused to the task at hand, he was surprised to
find Akane leaning against the tree trunk, fast asleep.
Ranma walked to her as quietly as possible and picked her up in
his arms, just like he did at school when their friendship had just
started. Was that really just a couple of weeks ago? It felt like a
whole other lifetime to him.
He slowly walked towards the cabin, careful not to wake her from
her deep slumber. Her warm body was comfortingly close as they were
assaulted by a chilly wind from the north. The mist that hung low,
putting a slight sheen of moisture to their skin, wasn't exactly
helping matters either.
Ranma was almost disappointed as he placed Akane on the futon.
Having her in his arms like that, even for a couple of minutes felt
so right.
He brushed away a stray lock of hair, the heady smell of
wildflowers from her shampoo overwhelming him even now. He continued
to caress her hair, marveling at its silky texture as he quietly
whispered to her everything he had wanted to tell her, but was afraid
to until now. "I... I love you, Akane. I just wish I could have told
you when it still made a difference."
Chapter 14
**********
"Wait up," Ranma yelled as he ran up the hill towards Akane. He
had almost missed her in her hurry to save Shinnosuke. Fortunately,
Ranma caught a glimpse of her as he was leaving his tent.
Akane gave the stranger an odd look and answered, "Do I know
you?"
"I'm Ranma."
she wondered. "You
wouldn't happen to be a noodle, would you?"
"That's _ramen_."
"Oh." They stood together, unsure of what to say next. Only the
sight of something big rising out of the nearby lake broke the
uncomfortable silence between them.
"I- It can't be," Akane whispered as seven dragon heads rose from
the water. Whatever she was going to say next was cut off when Ranma
dragged her into a nearby cave to keep her safe.
"What are you doing?!" she demanded. "That's the monster I have
to fight!"
"No way! It's too dangerous!" Ranma yelled back while he tried to
protect her from the falling debris.
"But it's to save Shinnosuke's life!" Receiving no answer, she
looked up at his impassive face and snarled. "You bastard! You want
him dead, don't you?!"
Akane pried herself away from him and glared before she stalked
outside. "I hate you."
* * *
Ranma woke up from his nightmare with a start, sweat trickling
down his face while he tried to catch his breath.
That dream... it had been so real. His heart still ached from
those three words she had uttered at the end of it. Three cruel words
escaping her beautiful red lips so easily.
And the worst part was, she was right. A part of him still wanted
her for himself, no matter what the cost.
It had seemed so simple when he had left Nerima yesterday. He had
decided to help her. Because it was the honorable thing to do. Because
he wanted to protect her. And because her happiness was more important
than his.
But... didn't he deserve to be happy, too?
* * *
Akane sat on a cliff, impatiently waiting for the "monster"
Grandpa insisted was going to appear. Yeah, right. She couldn't
believe the old man was convinced that it's real.
She wouldn't even have been here if not for the small hope that
there was a cure for Shinnosuke somewhere.
She was about to rant again about the absurdity of this whole
plan when bubbles appeared on the usually placid lake. She quickly
stood up, giving the body of water a nervous glance.
"I-It can't be!" She leaned against the edge of the cliff and
waited. After a couple of minutes, she was starting to think that her
mind was playing tricks on her. Then, all of a sudden, eight dragon
heads emerged from the lake, the water splashing on her skin
convincing her that this was no trick.
* * *
Ranma was making his way towards the cabin when he bumped into a
boy clad in yellow and black.
"Ranma, what are you doing in Osaka?" Ryoga inquired.
"We're in Hokkaido."
"I see."
The two boys continued to walk up the hill, strangely silent.
Anyone who knew them would have surely been shocked at the
companionable air between them.
Halfway there, they bumped into Grandpa, who was sitting in a
clearing drinking sake and rejoicing at the amount of concern Akane
had shown for his grandson. He wouldn't be surprised if the two ended
up getting married and bearing him many healthy great-grandchildren.
His reverie was broken as the Ranma stomped in front of him and
demanded to know where Akane was.
"Why, she's off fighting that monster, of course."
"What?!" The two boys demanded in unison. The old man wasn't
stupid enough to think that Akane could fight a monster by herself,
was he?
"Don't look so worried," Grandpa told them while pouring himself
another cup of alcohol. "I gave her a bottle of sake so she should be
all right."
Ryoga at this point looked mad enough to kill. He grabbed Grandpa
by the front of his shirt and started to shake the old man violently.
"I don't know what's going on, but I still care for Akane and I'll be
damned if I see her get hurt."
"Where is she?" Ranma demanded, a heavy feeling forming at the
pit of his stomach.
"She's near the lake."
Ranma thought, remembering that the
monster in his dream had also come from the same place.
The three ran towards the middle of the forest. The two boys'
expression filled with worry, while the old man was too drunk to feel
much of anything.
"Oh no, we're too late!" Ranma yelled as he watched Akane beating
the dragon over the head with the broom she was carrying. She was so
intent on the fight that she failed to notice two more monsters coming
up behind her, their mouths opened wide.
Ranma ran up to her and tackled her to the ground, the dragon's
sharp fangs ripping the back of his shirt to shreds. Ignoring the
pain, he stood up, Akane still in his arms, and ran towards a nearby
cave. He tried to shake away the sense of deja vu and rushed inside as
fast as he could.
From a distance, he could hear Ryouga's battle cry as his friend
started his attack.
Ranma could also hear Akane's angry voice nearby asking him,
"What do you think you're doing?"
"It's too dangerous!" he yelled, ignoring the little voice in his
head which was telling him that it was just like that dream.
"But it's to save Shinnosuke's life!"
Ranma looked at Akane straight in the eye for a couple of
seconds, though it felt like an eternity before he made his decision.
"Let's go, then."
* * *
The two ran out just in time to see the slightly winded Ryoga
take another shot at one of the monster's heads before him.
Akane hurriedly joined him to watch his back before Ranma could
protest.
He shrugged, figuring she would be safe with Ryoga and started to
fight another part of the dragon, being careful not to go too far from
the other teenagers.
After a while, Ranma noticed that Akane was having a little
trouble fighting the two monster's heads, so he delivered a usually
lethal crescent kick, knocking his current opponent unconscious before
running to her aid.
"I don't need your help," she yelled while barely avoiding one of
the monster's sharp claws. She took another swipe at it, this time
looking quite pleased with herself as some of the green moss on its
forehead became imbedded to her broom.
"This is no time for you to be stubborn," he answered as he put
his body between Akane and the two dragon heads to receive the blow
meant for her. She noticed for the first time the damage he had
received earlier when he fought back.
she thought as she watched him take another hit.
Having knocked the monster unconscious, Ranma turned around and
gave her a weary smile. "Shit, Akane. Why did you have to forget me
for? Didn't I promise to protect you?"
The smile disappeared as a battered and pissed off dragon wrapped
its tongue around Ranma with the intent of eating him.
In that instant, Akane felt the fuzzy air that had surrounded her
during the trip disappear. She let out a gasp as images of her first
meeting with Ranma, right up to the faint smile he had given her only
minutes before flooded her mind. Akane then saw the emotions that the
memories had brought along converge to form a vision of him, slowly
dying in front of her eyes.
She snapped out of her trance, and to her dismay realized that
the image wasn't just a figment of her imagination. "RANMA!"
Hoping that Grandpa knew what he was talking about, Akane grabbed
the bottle of sake from his hand and threw it in the opposite
direction, in hopes of distracting the monster.
Unfortunately, it was too intent on slowly torturing Ranma to
notice. Akane felt some movement behind her and saw an exhausted Ryoga
sit against a tree. The bottle she had thrown earlier had distracted
his opponent, giving him the much needed time to catch his breath.
Akane had enough and started to run towards Ranma, only to be
caught by the collar of her jacket.
"Are you crazy?!" Ryoga demanded.
Akane ignored him and kept struggling until the jacket finally
ripped open, revealing a bright blue shirt and a strangely shaped
white object.
"The whistle!" a now sober Grandpa exclaimed. "Akane, blow into
it!"
"What?!" Akane asked as she reached the opposite end of the
ravine and tried to pull Ranma away from the dragon.
"Just do it!"
Akane, who was by now hanging onto Ranma's leg in midair, shakily
brought the whistle to her mouth and blew as hard as she could.
Akane felt herself start to fall as the horrible monster was put
to sleep. The sudden movement caused her to drop the whistle into the
deep blue lake below.
The dire situation she was in was only starting to sink in.
Fortunately, she was caught by Ranma before panic overtook her. She
let out a shaky breath as they landed safely into the ground, not even
realizing that she had held it in.
"Stupid," Ranma whispered in an angry tone, but his eyes betrayed
tenderness.
* * *
"You mean that moss is what's going to save Shinnosuke's life?"
Ranma inquired as they finished packing.
"Mm-hmm. Its magic," Akane answered while she tried to figure out
what other things she should bring with her on the trip back to Tokyo.
"Didn't you notice how big the animals have gotten since the springs
filled back up?"
Ranma watched as a giant pelican flew overhead, causing the walls
to shake slightly. "Well, now that you mention it..."
"Hey, you better eat some of the curry I just cooked. We're not
going to have anything decent to eat until we get back to Nerima."
"Um... no thanks." Ranma gave a puzzled frown as he watched
Grandpa and Ryoga shovel the food down their throats. His stomach
grumbled in response to the appetizing aroma the food was giving off.
"Are you sure about that?" Akane asked, amused.
"Well, maybe just a little."
"I hope you like it. I put some of the 'water of life' in it to
make it tastier."
"It's delicious!" Ranma exclaimed as he took a small bite. "Wow,
that water _is_ magic."
"Ranma!"
* * *
[Nerima General Hospital.]
"Shinnosuke!" Akane yelled as she ran up to his motionless form.
The days without the magic water had not been kind to him. He had lost
a lot of weight since they had last seen him and his body emitted
little warmth.
Akane quickly turned him over, grateful that the hospital gowns
opened at the back. She carefully placed some of the moss over
Shinnosuke's body, the deep scars disappearing within seconds.
She let out a cry of joy as his eyes started to flutter open, his
deathly color having gone along with the wounds.
Ranma, having watched all of this quietly from the doorway,
walked towards the elevator, painfully aware that he didn't belong in
that happy scene.
He watched the joyous twosome for the final time as the metal
door closed in front of him. His visage sorrowful while he watched
Shinnosuke and Akane hug once again.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the hospital room, Akane was too ecstatic to notice
Ranma's disappearance. Her mind was only focused on the fact that her
oldest friend was still alive.
She released herself from the hug, trying her best not to cry.
She sat down next to Shinnosuke and held his hand, in an attempt to
reassure herself that he was now safe.
"Oh Shinnosuke," she whispered, tears appearing in her eyes
despite her best effort. "I... I was so scared."
He patted her hand affectionately and kissed her on top of the
head. "But I'm okay now. I don't want you to be afraid anymore. In
fact, if you'd let me, I want to keep you happy for the rest of your
life."
"What?!" a shocked Akane asked, raising her tear stained face to
look into his eyes, convinced that she didn't hear him right.
"I want you to marry me."
Akane abruptly stood up, the necklace that had almost been sliced
by the orochi's claws falling on Shinnosuke's lap, and forcing him to
release her hand.
"I... I'm sorry," she whispered before she ran off, no longer
trying to hold back her tears.
Shinnosuke watched her retreating form for a couple of seconds
before he looked down at the delicate gold necklace in his lap. He
stared at the opened locket for a little while before he threw it
against the wall, no longer able to stand the sight of Ranma and
Akane's smiling faces.
* * *
Ranma thought to himself as he slowly made his way towards the train
station. His line of thought was cut
off when he noticed a familiar blue haired girl run by.
He grabbed Akane's arm, turning her around to face him. Her eyes
sparkled from the unshed tears, and her faced was flushed from her
brief run. Even in the midst of despair, to him, she was beautiful.
Akane stared at his face, her bottom lip quivering before she
flung herself into his arms. Ranma, through it all, stood stiffly,
patting her back awkwardly while her hot tears turned his silk shirt a
darker shade of crimson.
After a couple of minutes, her crying had been reduced to the
occasional sniffle, and Akane felt composed enough to speak.
"H-He asked me to marry him, but I couldn't..."
Epilogue
********
[6 months later.]
Akane stood near the edge of a cliff, pondering the events of
the past couple of months.
After Shinnosuke had left without saying a word--most likely having
forgotten she even existed--she had been invited to live with the
Tendos. They had been kind to her, treating her like one of their
own.
Akane smiled as she remembered how they had made a fuss that
morning before she and Ranma had left the house. Kasumi had insisted
that they bring lunch while Soun had cried his heart out.
It was nice to feel like she belonged.
Akane felt a tap on her shoulder, turning around even though she
couldn't see Ranma standing behind her. She tugged the corners of the
slightly uncomfortable blindfold, curious on why he had insisted
that she wear it.
"Are you ready?" he asked, biting back his tongue to stop the
thousand other questions that he had built up the courage to ask.
Did she still think about Shinnosuke? What about him? Did she
think that they could be happy... together?
However, they had been through so much already, making many
enemies and friends over the past couple of months. He was sure that
there were many more experiences that they would share, and for now,
her friendship was enough.
"Yes."
He slowly took the blindfold off, causing Akane to gasp in wonder
as she got her first glimpse of the glittering blue jewel before her.
She let out a cry of delight as a dolphin emerged nearby, marring the
calm blue ocean water.
After a couple of minutes, Akane pried her eyes away long enough
to give Ranma a smile so bright that it rivaled the midday sun above
them. "I-It's beautiful."
THE END
**********************************************************************
AUTHORS NOTES: Yay! I'm finished! Hope most of you were happy with the
ending. After numerous threats from my best friend, I finally decided
to make it a Ranma ends up with Akane fic. Now all of you who wanted
her to end up with Shinnosuke know who to blame ^_^
I'd like to thank Scott Schimmel, my prereader for pointing out the
parts that didn't make too much sense(Writing most of the fic at two
a.m. can do that).
Please send c&c to or I'll be forced to drown my
sorrows by eating ice cream! How's that for a guilt trip ^_^ (
geocities.com/area51/keep) (
geocities.com/area51)