Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They belong to
the wonderful Romiko Takahashi and her licensees (Viz
Communications in North America). This work is strictly for
the non-profit enjoyment of fans. No copyright infringement
is intended.

Story type/continuity: Continuation (after volume 38).

< ... > are thoughts.


Taling to Myself
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic by Tom Wrensch
Completed: 1998-06-30
=====================================

Akane stirred as the light level in her room gradually
increased. She grumbled slightly at the short night and
squinted at her clock. 1:00 am.  she thought  She closed her eyes against the
light and... .

Opening her eyes fully she saw a small glowing circle
floating in the center of her room. As she watched in
surprise the circle suddenly expanded into the outline of a
woman and went out. Though blinded by the sudden darkness,
Akane could hear someone land softly on the floor and the
sound of breathing.

"Who's there?" Akane meant it to sound firm and demanding,
but it sounded weak and scared to her.

"Won't you be surprised when I tell you." replied an amused
woman's voice. Akane could almost hear the smirk, and she
didn't like it.

"Get out of here or I'll..."

"There's nothing you can do Akane. I'm *much* better than
you. Even your Ranma couldn't beat me without using the
Neko-ken." The woman sound calm and confident. "Fortunately
for you I'm not here to hurt anyone."

"So why are you here?" Akane asked quietly, and - she hoped
- calmly. She was tempted to call for Ranma, but the
woman's quiet confidence convinced her it wouldn't help.

"I have a proposition for you, though you might call it a
threat." The woman said.

"What is it."

"Give me your word, on your *families* honor, that you will
not mallet, hit, kick or otherwise strike Ranma in anger in
his normal or cat personality." The woman said. The words
rolled out as if they had been rehearsed or often repeated.

"Huh?"

"You heard me."

"Why should I make a promise like that?" Akane asked
angrily. "And why on my *families* honor?"

"On your families honor because you wont break that like
you did your promise to your sister not to strike anyone in
anger." The woman said, also sounding angry now. "And
because if you don't I'll send you back where I came from."

"Great." Akane said sarcastically. "Another kidnapping."
They'll all come and get me you know."

"No, they wont, because I'll take your place." The woman
said as she clicked on the desk lamp.

Akane blinked, then stared at... herself. The other woman
was wearing a dark silk pant suit that hugged her form,
pulled tight at the waist by a sash like the one Ranma
used. But other than her dress she looked *just* like
Akane. Except... not quite, there were a few minor
differences.

"It won't work." Akane said after looking the woman over.
"You look a lot like me, but your face is more angular and
your figure is a little... bigger. They'll notice. Besides,
no matter how much you know about me you can't know
everything. You'll mess up."

The other woman smiled. "But I do know everything about you
Akane Tendo, because I am you."

Akane sputtered in anger. "Give it up! You don't look
enough like me."

The other Akane laughed, it wasn't a happy sound. "I'm
three years older baka! Of course I look different."

"Y-Your from the future?"

"Yes."

"I don't believe it!"

"Find. Would anyone but you know about..." A few very
embarrassing minutes later Akane was convinced.

"So why are you here?" Akane asked her older self.

"I already told you. And you have to decide fast, that damn
Nanban mirror hasn't worked right since Happosai broke it.
I've only got a few more minutes."

"Tell me why you want me to make that promise."

The older Akane sighed. "I forgot how stubborn I was.
Fine."

The older Akane took a deep breath. "In less than an hour
Ranma will come to my... your door. He had a *very* bad
nightmare and needed to talk to someone. I... you... *we*
booted him into next week for bothering us at night."

The woman closed her eyes and a pained expression crossed
her face. Her voice broke as she continued. "I think that
was the turning point. It was never the same between us
again. He gave me... us a few more chances, but I screwed
those up too. A few months from now he left the dojo and
moved in with Ukyou."

"Oh." Akane answered with a tight voice. "Is-Is he happy
with her?"

Tears started leaking out of the older Akane's closed eyes.
"That's the worst part." she whispered. "He isn't happy.
They're married, but they don't really love each other."

"Are you sure?"

The older Akane opened her eyes and nodded. "Ukyou told me.
We're still friends, though I can't stand to visit very
often."

Akane swallowed around a lump in her throat. Ukyou and
Ranma together, but not happy?

"I, Akane Tendo, promise on my family honor, to not strike
Ranma in anger in either his normal or cat personality."
She finally said.

The older Akane relaxed and gave her a weak smile. "You
know, I was kind of hoping I would be forced to take your
place, to be with him again. But this is better, thank
you."

"If I change things here what happens to you?" Akane asked.

"One of three things. Most likely is that I cease to exist.
Or I might merge with the new me three years from now, or
this may cause a split and I'll end up in the same future I
left. Cologne couldn't tell me which."

A glow came from an object in the older Akane's hand. "My
time is up. Take good care of him."

"I will, I promise."

The glow spread  to the older Akane, outlining her in
light.

"Oh." The older Akane said in a voice that was beginning to
sound far away. "Next time you see P-chan, take a *good*
look at his collar."

With a flash of light, she was gone.

For a long time Akane just sat, her mind whirling with the
possibilities the visit by her older self brought out. She
had always known that her actions would effect her future,
but she'd never had her faced rubbed in it like this. She
could see that she had not always been acting responsibly
or even reasonably, especially where a certain pigtailed
boy was involved.

Her reverie was interrupted by a knock on her door.

"Akane," said Ranma as he opened the door and peeked
inside. "I... I just had... can I talk to you for a
minute?"

Akane smiled at him. "Of course Ranma, come it."

*****
[Two days later]

"Ryoga! I'm going to turn you into pork stir fry!"

*****
Epilogue

Akane snuggled closer to her husband. The heat wasn't
working again. It was a good thing she had him to keep her
warm.

Suddenly an odd sensation filled her body as it was
momentarily outlined in light. Then she felt the other
Akane in her mind.

 The thought drifted through her head
softly, almost like someone was whispering to her without
sound.

"I am" Akane whispered back. "I had convinced myself you
were a dream."



"It seemed like a good idea." Akane admitted. "What happens
to us now?"



"Does it hurt?" Akane whispered, concerned about what the
other her was going through.



"I am pretty happy." Akane admitted with a small smile.



"Ranma's and my apartment, it's not much, but it's close to
school."



"The heat is out again. The place needs some work."



Akane laughed aloud. "It is." She whispered. "But it's
home."



"I won't forget you." Akane whispered. "I owe you so much."



"We will." Akane whispered as the pressure inside of her
faded out.

Ranma stirred and pulled her into a warm embrace.

"It sound like you were talking to someone." He said in a
sleepy voice.

"Just talking to myself, love. Go to sleep now, you have a
test tomorrow."

"Umm hmm. See you in the morning Akane-chan."

==== END ====

C&C *very* welcome, flames ignored. Please send comments to
twrensch@geocities.com. My completed stories and relatively
complete drafts are posted at
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/5201/.

    Source: geocities.com/twrensch