Subject: [FFML] [fanfic][Ranma] Three Souls, One Heart, Chapter 5
From: "David A. Tatum" <desaix@sysnet.net>
Date: 10/21/1998, 12:46 AM
To:

Well, my ISP isn't letting me log in when I want to send out Episode 03 of
my Patlabor fic, so I decided to make the revisions I'd recieved from my
prereaders so far and send this out alongside it, as well.  Hope you
enjoy...
(Oh, and if you aren't Gubby, then please C&C.  If you ARE Gubby, I already
know what you think of this, and I don't particularly care)

Chapter 5:

Akane shifted uncomfortably.  She wasn't entirely sure how Ranma would take
this.

"Okay, the deal is this.  If you and I remove a curse that was placed on
the Oni, it will agree to leave me forever and never do anything which
would harm you, me, or my family without our freely given consent."

Ranma raised an eyebrow.  "We haven't exactly been able to lift very many
curses in this town- how many Jusenkyo victims wander the streets of Nerima
on a regular basis?"  He thought about it for a little longer.  "In fact,
that whole story sounds funny- how can an Oni get cursed?  Don't curses
generally serve evil spirits?"

"Well..." Akane began, smiling slightly.  "I seem to remember we found that
the evil in Happosai overwhelmed the evil in the Oni last time it was here.
 And Happosai was the person who cursed it, so...."

"It's serving the greater evil," Ranma finished.  "All right, doesn't sound
too bad- what do we need to do to lift a curse from a demon?  As long as it
doesn't involve too much travel or something like human sacrifice, I'll
probably be willing to help it out, if it really will get the oni out of
you without forcing me to hit you."

"No, no HUMAN sacrifice," Akane blushed.  "Just... I have to give up my...
er, WE have to...."  Akane couldn't find her voice to continue.

"What?" Ranma asked.

"You and I have to have sex together!" she blurted out, her face flaming an
even deeper red.

Ranma was silent for a minute, almost in shock.  "Are you really Akane, or
the Oni?" he asked, speaking very slowly.  "Swear an oath that it was Akane
who agreed to something like that, and I might keep talking."

Akane looked at him for a moment, then sighed.  "I suppose this possession
thing does make it pretty hard to trust what I'm saying, and I need you to
trust me... hold on."

The life in her eyes once again faded.

Seeing it, Ranma could not help but be concerned.  'That looks bad...  I
hope I'm doing the right thing in giving her this chance.'  Worriedly, he
looked at his hand, just to make sure he was still holding the ward.

*	*	*	*	*

"Hey, you guys still around here?" Akane called out, looking through the
dark recesses of her own mind.  Somehow, she'd gotten used to walking
around here, but she wasn't exactly sure how she was able to just pop in
here like she did.

"Yes?" the Oni said, appearing out of nowhere.  "What is it?"

"Is something wrong, Akane?" Iria asked, showing up seconds later.

"I need to explain things to Ranma, and I need him to trust me completely. 
He won't believe me while you're here, so...."

*	*	*	*	*

Akane's eyes snapped back to life a second after Ranma finished his glance
at the ward in his hand.  "Okay, I... 'talked' to the Oni.  It's willing to
leave me long enough for us to talk about all of this, but only if you
promise not to attack it, as long as it makes no aggressive moves and stays
in this room."

Ranma blinked.  "Why is all this necessary?  Why shouldn't I just use the
ward on you now?"

"I've already said- you'll harm not just the Oni but someone else close to
me."

Ranma frowned.  "You'd better explain that better- but I want to talk to
Akane about this, and I'm not sure I'm doing that right now.  Okay, I
promise."

Akane nodded.  "Thank you, Ranma," she said, moments before she closed her
eyes and fell to her knees.  Ranma rushed forwards to help, but she waved
him off.  Ranma was almost sickened as he saw the Oni emerge from the back
of her neck, and float back into a corner of the room.  When the Oni had
completely left her, Ranma steadied her and helped her to her feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked.  He shot a furious glance at the Oni, a little
surprised it still looked like a beachball after having possessed Alejandro
Perez and Akane for so long.

"Fine... that just felt REAL weird.  Like a part of me was being torn
away," Akane gasped.  "Ranma, I can't let you use that ward, if it's at ALL
possible.  It'll kill someone very close to me."

Ranma nodded.  "Uh-huh.  You said that.  I just don't understand it- who
would be hurt, and how?"

Akane looked thoughtful for a moment.  "Ranma, you and I have had a lot of
adventures since you arrived here, wouldn't you say?"

He shrugged, uncertain of where this was going.  "I suppose, yeah."

"Suppose I were to say that, on one of those adventures, we rescued a
spirit... and that spirit had nowhere to go but inside me.  Suppose that
spirit has since become a sort of... advisor for me.  That ward would
merely chase the Oni away, but it would destroy her."

"And how would I know that this supposed spirit wasn't controlling you?"
Ranma asked.

Akane's mouth opened and closed a few times.  She had no answer for that
one.

She felt the buzzing in the back of her head that indicated Iria wanted to
talk to her, and sighed.  "Hold on, Ranma."

'Akane?  You there?'

'Yes, Iria, I hear you,' Akane answered.  'What do you want?  I'm trying to
have an important talk with Ranma right now, and DON'T particularly want
you interrupting.'

'You think I don't know that?' Iria asked, exasperated.  'Look, I know
you're stressed out about this, but I think you need to know that I've
NEVER taken over your body without you being aware of it.  I'm not powerful
enough to any more, even if I wanted to.'

'That's fine, and I believe you, but how do I prove that to Ranma?'

'I don't know,' the spirit admitted.  'You can tell Ranma the entire story-
everything I told you, and everything you remember yourself- but, while he
might believe you, that wouldn't tell him that I wasn't controlling you. 
You could swear that you were in control, but he wouldn't necessarily take
you at your word- after all, you're possessed by me, so why would I let you
tell him the truth- or at least that's what he feels about the situation.'

'Might he believe me if you're not in my body?  If you possess him?'

'He might, if I could do it,' Iria answered.  'I severely weakened myself
when I returned you to this body.  I wasn't prepared to do it, and burned
myself out to the point where I can no longer go to another body. 
However....'

'However?'

'That gives me an idea.  There might be a way for him and you to talk
spiritually, using me as a conductor.  It wouldn't be TOO great a drain on
me to do that, I think....'

'But then who would watch the Oni?' Akane asked.

'Actually....' Iria paused for a moment.  'We could let the Oni return, and
ask HIM to be the bridge.  That way, Ranma can keep an eye on him, you two
can talk with even greater privacy than before, and I won't be harming
myself.'

'But couldn't the Oni take over Ranma that way?'

'The Oni isn't going to take Ranma over while he's in his male form-
remember, when he's possessing a male he has to run in fear from any
females.  But if you want reassurances, he can use the ward...'

Akane blinked a few seconds later as she ended her conversation, and noted
Ranma's concerned face before her.  "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I was just talking to that spiritual advisor I mentioned, trying to
think of a way to get you to trust me.  Ranma, wrap the ward around your
wrist- I'm going to call the Oni back, and then I want you to hold my hand
so we can talk without interference.  The ward will keep the Oni from
possessing you."

Ranma blinked.  "I'm not sure I understand, but okay...."  He folded the
piece of paper into a loop around his wrist, tucking the ends together so
that it would not fall off.

The Oni, realizing what was going on, returned to Akane, and then the newly
repossessed girl held out her hand.  Ranma took it, and seconds later
everything went black for both of them.

*	*	*	*	*

"Akane!" Ranma cried through the darkness.  He couldn't see where he was,
he couldn't see Akane, and worst of all, he couldn't see himself.

"Ranma, over here!" her voice called to him.

The moment Akane started speaking, he was able to see the scaly exterior of
the Oni's more powerful form.  There were two other people in the room,
however.

"Akane?  There are two of you!" he exclaimed.  The other two people in the
room looked exactly alike, except for their eyes and their clothes.  One
had very seductive eyes- familiar to him, but he couldn't place them.  That
Akane was wearing a stylized robe that he remembered she bought at some
resort they had gone to.  The other Akane- which had the eyes Ranma was
used to- was wearing nothing.  Well, it sometimes wore nothing- sometimes
the blue school dress she wore seemed to materialize over her body, staying
on for a split second before disappearing again.

"Huh?" one of the Akane's- the naked one- asked, astonished.  She looked
around.  "What are you talking about?  I'm here, the Oni's here, and my
spirit guide is here- no one else.  And why aren't you wearing a shirt?" 
Ranma was wearing the same drawstring pants he always wore, but his shirt
was off, and his body was steaming and glistening with moisture like he
just walked out of the bath.  Kind of like he appeared in some of her
fantasies- not that she would admit it.

"Perhaps I can explain," the other Akane intervened.  "Ranma, I am Akane's
'spiritual advisor,' as she called me.  My name is Iria.  This world we are
in... well, it is your subconscious and Akane's subconscious linked, but it
is also the spirit plane.  In this world, you see other people as you best
remember them looking."  Both Ranma and Akane blinked, but Akane was the
most surprised- she never realized she thought of him like that so much. 
"Akane probably sees me through a cloud of mist, because it was almost
impossible to see me as anything more than a vaguely female figure when she
first knew me.  You probably see me as Akane, because I had possessed Akane
when you and I knew each other, Ranma- I'd taken over her body to kill
you."

Ranma's eyes widened.  "You're the vengeful spirit doll?!" he cried
incredulously.

"I was," she admitted.  "I used to be a demon- a succubus, a being whose
sole purpose was to make men fall in love with me, and turn that love into
a weapon with which I could deliver them to Jigoku.  I betrayed my position
when I fell in love with one of my assignments, and as punishment was
stripped of many of my powers and stuck as the power behind the curse of
the vengeful spirit doll.  Your attempt to sacrifice yourself to protect
Akane released me, but in order to save Akane's soul I had to burn out most
of my energies.  I am now a 'free agent,' if you will- a spirit that is
neither an angel or a demon.  I consider myself to be Akane's guardian
now."

Ranma frowned.  "Her guardian?  I doubt it- I've never seen you do anything
for her."

"Well, I helped sustain her when she was turned into a doll during the
Jusendo incident.  I've given her a lot of advice- some of which has
improved your relationship with her.  I warned her that the Oni was about
to attack when we were on Toma's island, and tried to warn her before she
was possessed.  I might have succeeded, too, if your date hadn't gone as
well as it did."

Ranma looked to the other Akane to see if there were any indications that
Iria was lying, but didn't.  "Fine... I guess I believe you.  But why does
my view of Akane herself keep... flickering."

Akane, Iria, and the Oni all blinked.  "Flickering?" Iria asked.  "Well, if
two pictures of her show up in your memories of her equally, I suppose your
mind could interpret it as flickering between the two pictures."

Ranma flushed a bit, but not too much.  He didn't want Akane to know that
he thought of her that way as much as he did.  He looked away.  "I see."

"Anyway, I think you and Akane have a lot to talk about, so the Oni and I
will leave you alone for a while.  Akane, the ward on his wrist won't let
you show him pictures like we were able to, but that doesn't mean you can't
share some thoughts will him- if you really want, you can communicate your
emotions to him."

"Um... okay," Akane nodded, and Iria dragged the beach-ball off, leaving
her alone with the half-naked Ranma.  Realizing her situation, she got a
little nervous.  Thankfully, Ranma wasn't looking at her, so couldn't see
her blush.

"So... um, you made a deal with the Oni?" Ranma finally said, breaking the
silence that had descended upon them.

"Yeah, I did," Akane replied.  "Didn't you ask me this already?"

"Well, I wasn't sure that it was you I was talking to," he answered.  "The
deal was for you to help lift its curse.  That, I'll believe- it sure
seemed to be weaker than it should have been, considering how long it was
inside... what's his name, that Perez guy.  That it was Happosai that
cursed it, I'll also believe.  I'll even believe that one of the ways to
end the curse is for us to... um, you know."  His blush grew to the point
that Akane could see it, despite the darkness of their surroundings. 
"After all, that sounds like the sort of thing Happosai would set as a
condition for a curse- though I'm surprised underwear isn't involved, too."
 That was able to bring a slight chuckle out of Akane.  "But I can't
believe you would agree to curing the Oni THAT way."

"I didn't think I would, either," Akane smiled slightly.  "When they told
me what I needed to do, I shouted 'What!?  Me have sex with that pervert!?'
 And so, they made another deal with me.  If they could prove to me that
you weren't the pervert I thought you were, I would agree to... well, to
seduce you.  After taking some time- at most a week- to build myself up to
it, of course."

"How were they able to do that?" Ranma said, his voice breaking.  He
couldn't imagine someone being able to do that, especially considering what
he saw when he looked at her.

"They told me some things I didn't know.  About your past.  About Kasumi. 
And... about the connection between Ryouga and P-Chan."

"I- I can explain!" Ranma cried, panicked.  "I knocked him in, and then I
promised to-"

"Ranma, I know why you kept this a secret from me," Akane interrupted
sternly.  "And I'm not happy about it.  But I understand why you did it-
which is much more than I can say for Ryouga."

Ranma was uncertain what to say for a second, but then remembered the
conversation they'd had in the hospital, and decided to try and defend the
lost boy.  "He thought he was in love with you, and he hasn't done it in a
long time, so don't be too hard on him when you see him next, okay?"

"Well... I'll think about it," Akane growled.

"At least leave him intact for Akari's sake," Ranma bargained.

"Hmm... that might be the perfect punishment," Akane considered with a
glint in her eye.  "Let Akari know all about her precious pig of a man."

"Anyway," Ranma began, trying to change the subject.  "What did you learn
about my past?  And what in the world would you learn about Kasumi that
would make me less of a pervert in your eyes?"

"Well, I learned that you lived with Ukyou's family for several months when
you first met her.  And I learned HOW you first met her."

"Oh, really?"  Ranma couldn't really remember how he first met Ukyou
himself, and might have asked, but he also wanted to know what it was
Kasumi had to do with him being a pervert.

"Uh-huh.  And then I learned that Kasumi was... well, at least partly
responsible for all the times we've bumped into each other naked in the
bath."

Ranma blinked.  "No way- Kasumi?!  The girl who worked you up so much about
how improper my possibly seducing you was that you tried to turn me into a
pin cushion when those hypnosis mushrooms started making me hug you?"

"I have a hard time believing it myself, but... well, it seems like it
might make sense.  She's the one who's always filling up the bath and
getting it ready for us, so she'd know when we were in there better than
anyone.  And she's frequently the one who suggests we take a bath when the
other's in the tub...."

"That makes sense, but... why?" Ranma asked uncertainly.

"To make me feel less... shy, I think."  Akane frowned.  "Though why she
felt it would make me less shy, I don't know...."  She looked at Ranma,
noted the 'freshly-bathed' look she was seeing, and couldn't help but
imagine that was the reason.

"I don't know why she would, either," Ranma nodded.  He couldn't help but
glance at her occasionally naked form and wonder if Kasumi had planned it
so that he would remember Akane that way.  "So, you no longer think I'm
such a pervert.  Does that really mean you're going to try to seduce me?"
he said, desperately searching for a way to change the subject again.  He
couldn't help but wince when he realized what he changed it to.

"Well... not until I'm ready to.  But I'm going to have to get ready to
within a week.  I was given a challenge, and I made a vow, so...."

Ranma shook his head.  "I don't have to agree.  I've been able to resist
Shampoo, Ukyou, and Kodachi's attempts to seduce me, I think I can resist
yours."

"What, you think I can't do it?" Akane growled.  It almost sounded to her
as if he was saying the others all had a better chance than she did.

"I don't think anyone could do it if I didn't want them to," Ranma shot
back.  "So right now, I'm going to ask you something.  Something
important."

"What is it?" Akane asked.

"How do you feel about me?" Ranma asked, his eyes staring straight into
hers.

"You mean... do I l... love you?"  Akane watched Ranma nod before
continuing.  "Well, I... I... I..."  Akane sighed- she couldn't say the
words, how would she let him know?  She tried to think of some way, and
almost gave up when she remembered what Iria told her right before she'd
left.  "You want to know how I feel about you?  Here- let me show you!"

Ranma was almost assaulted with a wave of emotions Akane sent into him.  He
staggered, unable to sort them all out while they were hitting him, and it
took him almost a full minute to start recovering.  Akane watched over him,
concern in her eyes, wondering if she'd hurt him.  Finally, however, he
stood back up and smiled.  "I'm just as confused as you are, sometimes,
Akane, but I love you, too."

"So, are you going to... to let me..."

"Am I going to let you seduce me?  I don't know, Akane.  If you didn't love
me, I sure as hell wouldn't.  Do you really want to do this?"

"I think I do... want it to happen.  Some day.  If it weren't for the Oni,
that day probably wouldn't be for several months- or even years- but...
some day, I do want it to happen."

"Then I guess... if you want it to happen, I'll let it happen.  If you
hadn't been willing to... well, I'd feel sorry for Iria, but I couldn't let
you do something you didn't want to."

They were both quiet for a few minutes, before Akane broke the silence. 
"I'm not going to be able to do it right away, you know."

"I expected that," Ranma nodded.  "I'm not ready for it, either- after all,
we only had our first kiss... what, a few minutes ago?  We're going to have
to do some things to build ourselves up to it."  With that, they started
discussing plans to bring themselves that much closer in a week's time.

Iria appeared a few minutes later.  "Hi, you two.  The Oni sent me to warn
you guys that he's going to have to break the connection shortly, so finish
up soon."

Akane and Ranma looked at each other and nodded.  "I think we're done,"
Akane said.

"Good," Iria nodded.  "Oh, Ranma- if you want to know who is in control of
Akane's body...."

"Yes?"

"Look at the eyes.  You know what I mean."  

Ranma nodded.  "Thanks."

"So, what did you guys decide, anyway?" Iria's voice faded away.

*	*	*	*	*

Ranma blinked.  There he was, back in Akane's room, holding her hand.  A
few seconds later, she blinked, and he looked into her eyes.  Akane was
there.

"Well... now what?" Akane asked, nervously.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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