"WASURERARENAI"(Unforgettable)
An alternative reality fanfic written by Emily Siazon.
All characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.
< > are thoughts
\\ person talking on the phone
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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.
<Was Ryoga right? What if she really is happy?> 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.
<He's still scared.> Akane looked at the odd shaped instrument in
her hand and back up at her friend. <I wonder...> "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-hm."
"I'll take it then, but only if you swear to stay here with me as
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 can't believe Shinnosuke has kept it after all these years.>
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.
<I don't see why I bothered,> he grumbled mentally as he tried to
stuff half of his wardrobe into his backpack. <I'm just going to get
wet when I go back outside, anyway.>
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 backpedalled
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 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?
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AUTHORS NOTES: Ick. This has to be my least favorite part. It's too
serious ;_; It might be because I wrote this after I watched the final
episode of Blue Seed and Key The Metal Idol. *sigh* I knew I should
have watched a KOR tape after that.
Of course, I have to thank Scott for prereading this for me, and those
who are going to comment(hint, hint.)
<Emily notices the blank looks on the readers' faces and smacks them
on the head.> "Baka, that meant you!" ^_^