Subject: [Fanfic]:A Look In The Mirror, Part 1
From: Kevin Eav
Date: 1/29/1996, 2:28 PM
To: Fanfic List

Ok, folks, here it is, my first fanfic, ready to be torn apart by you loving,
kind, and unabrasive folks. :)
Seriously, all C+C will be much appreciated.
=======================================
    Ranma 1/2: A Look In The Mirror
=======================================

A Fan-Fiction based on and inspired by Rumiko Takahashi

written by Kevin Eav

Part 1

"Just Another Day...."

	Ranma sighed.  <*Why* couldn't he do it?>  He'd wanted to...for all 
this time.  But everytime he tried, something went wrong.>  It went on like 
this, every day, always the same, making Ranma want to just run away for 
a while, leave everything behind, at least until he could sort things out 
for himself.  <But I can't.  It's not the way I was brought up...at least I 
can say that my dad taught me that...even if he won't, or can't, practice 
his advice.> [Flashback:We see a much younger Ranma sitting crosslegged 
in front of his father, listening intently to his lecture.]<"Never back down, 
son," his father said.  "If you believe that you can do anything, it's 
more than likely that you can.  And if you give up, just because you 
can't do it within a few tries, then you'll never learn anything
beyond the most basic things."  "Hai!" "That's my son....">

	Ranma sighed again. "He used to be so good.  Focused, strong.  What 
happened?" he muttered as he climbed off the roof of the Tendo Dojo, 
taking care with the bruised ribs and cheek that Akane had given him 
after his last screwed-up attempt to tell Akane the truth. <Maybe I 
should trying thinking about what I'm going to say before I say it...>

	Akane fumed.  <That baka.  Always doing something to get me riled up.>
  She mused about his latest perversion.  <What *was* he trying to do 
anyway?  And why to P-Chan? The way he treats P-Chan, you'd think it was 
him 'n Ryoga, all the time.>  She looked down at P-Chan, sitting on her 
desk. "Aw, poor little P-Chan, lemme kiss it and make it better." She 
giggled.   Ranma, walking by her room on the way to his room, sighed as he 
heard her speak.  <I just wish she'd treat me like that sometimes...I 
don't know.  Maybe I should talk to Kasumi about it.>  He sighed, and 
walked to his room, laying down on his mattress, looking
up at the ceiling, his thoughts in turmoil.

	"Dinner time, everybody!" Kasumi called from the kitchen, eliciting 
happy sounds of people rushing to the table.

	"Ranma!  Where'd you get that bruise?" asked Kasumi, slightly 
concerned and horrified overtones coming through in her voice.  Akane 
started slightly, and had an apprehensive look in her eyes.  Ranma starts 
to open his mouth, glances at Akane, and closes it without a word. He 
thinks for a bit, then says "I slipped and fell...hit my cheek on a rock," 
and goes on eating. Akane stares at him for a bit. <Why didn't he take 
the opportunity?  What's he got up his sleeve?>  "Ranma, can I speak to you 
for a bit?"  "Uhhh...sure, Akane."  They go into the dojo.

	"Ranma, why didn't you yell at me for hitting you?"  "Huh? Oh...I...
just...didn't feel like it." "Hmm....what are you hiding?"  "I...I'm not 
hiding nothing!"  "Uh-huh, sure."  "Hey! I just...." "You just what?" 
quietly inquired Akane.  "I..I'm just...I'm just tired of fighting.  That's 
all I ever do, it seems, nowadays.  Fighting with Kuno, with Ryoga, with Ukyo, with Shampoo, with Mousse, with you.  And I'm tired.  Everyday, 
I wake up knowing that the same stuff is going to happen, no matter what 
I do."  "Ranma..." whispers Akane.  "Look.  I've been meaning to say something
to you for a long time."  "Ranma?"  "Shh...please, just let me say this, 
and then I need to leave for a bit."  "Ok..what did you want to say to 
me?"  "Akane...I...I...I l..lo...<Dammit!> Akane, I...lo--.." Ranma looked
frustrated for a second, then quietly said "I'm sorry, but this just isn't
the right time."  "Ranma?"  "I..I'll find some way to tell you what I need
to.  I--I've got to go and think for a while."  As Ranma turned to go, a
blast struck him from above, knocking him into unconsciousness.  The last 
thing he heard was Akane screaming his name.

=======================================
    Ranma 1/2: A Look In The Mirror
=======================================

a Fan-Fiction piece
based on and inspired by characters owned my Rumiko Takahashi.

written by Kevin Eav

Part 2

"

     Ranma woke up in a gray, swirling mist.  He tried to sit up, but his
whole body ached with soreness. "Ow..." he slowly sat up and looked around.
"Where the hell am I?" he said, not really expecting an answer.  "You are
deep within the recesses of your mind," a deep voice boomed, "and this is
where you will face the truth."  "Wha-?!?!"  "Who are you??"  "You will find
out in time." "Ok....so, what do you want?"  "You will find out in time."
"For now, just know that I have your best interests in mind."  "Look into
the mirror."  "What mirr--" Ranma saw a mirror appear before him.  "Oh,
that mirror."  Ranma got up and stepped toward the mirror.  "Ok.  Now what?"
Ranma was shocked to hear his own voice say "Now you face the facts."

     Akane, meanwhile, was cradling the body of a Ranma which appeared, to
all intents and purposes, to be comatose.  "That must have hit him hard--
even I've never done _this_ to him....oh Ranma...."  Kasumi and Mr. Saotome
, attracted by the sounds of blasting and screaming, appeared on the roof
at this moment.  "What's going on here, Akane?" asked Genma, remaining 
calm until he saw Ranma's still form.  "What's happened to my son?!?!"
"Quickly, Mr. Saotome, we should get him to Dr. Tofu, maybe he can help."
"Should I come along, Akane?" asked Kasumi.  Akane and Genma looked at each
other, and nodded.  "Perhaps you should stay and explain what happened
when Daddy and Nabiki ask."  "Ok...have a nice trip!"  Akane and Genma 
started off for the doctor's office.

    Ranma, meanwhile, was getting nowhere with his "mirror image", which
had stepped out of the mirror and smacked him over the head many times.
"When *smack* will you *smack* get the guts *smack* to tell Akane *smack*
the TRUTH?!?!?! *SMACK-K-K-K*"  "Ow!  Hey, stop that already!  I'll tell
Akane when I'm good and ready for it!" "But that time may be too late."
"What do you mean?"  "Well, let's explore the possibilities, shall we?"
Ranma-r (r for real) nodded....this could be interesting.

"Ok.  First up is--you never tell Akane.  This, is, probably, the worst
one."  "Whaddya mean?"  "You'll see.  You'll see."

=======================================
    Ranma 1/2: A Look In The Mirror
=======================================

a fan-fiction written by Kevin Eav

inspired by characters created by Rumiko Takahashi

Part 3

              Where we left off...
     Ranma was just about to get the guts up to tell Akane something, but
he chickened out, was struck down by a blast, and now is confronting a
mirror-image of himself.  So, on with the story.

     Ranma was worried.  <This doesn't seem like a normal dream, and I was
assuming that I was just dreaming.  Oh well.>  Aloud, he said "So what 
happens, exactly, if I never tell Akane the truth?"  "Are you sure that you
are prepared for this?  You may not like what you see." replied Ranma-m.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, let's just get this over with so I can go back to 
living my own life."  "Very well.  Look into the mirror, and see."
Ranma stared into the mirror, and the fog lifted.  He saw himself, as normal,
and Akane, fighting, yet again.  The image went to another one, of Shampoo
chasing him, and then one of Akane smacking him--the images went on much the
same for quite some time (imagine a collage of the first season.)  <Yeah?
So nothing changes, is that what he's telling me?>  All of a sudden, the 
deluge of images stopped, and Ranma watched on, bored, until he started
hearing Akane's voice.  "Ranma, you jerk...I guess you never really loved 
me."  Ranma sat straight up at that.  He saw Akane running, crying, away
from the Ranma in the mirror, and horror struck when he saw Akane get
hit by a car, and died.   "What the HELL was that, some kind of sick joke??"
"No joke, Ranma," replied Ranma-m, "That is just *one* possibility, in fact,
at that point, she could (and would) run off to Ryoga or Shinnosuke, and they
would be the one she married."  "NO WAY!!! Akane is MY fiancee!"  "Hey, you
don't have to tell me, just her, and you have to realize it yourself." 
"...."  "Keep watching *smack* there's more."  As Ranma watched, he saw
scenes of Ukyo and Shampoo chasing after him, Akane finnaly getting fed up
with him and leaving, and him marrying Ukyo.  <Hmm...marrying Ukyo wouldn't
be so bad, would it?>  All of a sudden, he was the Ranma in the mirror, and
as he sat at the table, Ukyo serving him some of her special okonomiyaki,
he realized that though Ukyo was a good friend, that's all she was, and there
would never be more, not after Akane.  

     Ranma blinked.  He said "Ok, I see your point."  "So, what do you plan
to do about it??"  "Well...."  "Well nothing. *smack* You have to tell her,
otherwise you'll always regret it, and you'll never know true happiness."
Ranma opened his mouth, and then closed it, and then finally said "You're 
right. I'll tell her as soon as I can."


     Once Akane and Genma arrived at Dr. Tofu's and had brought him in, they
sat outside, waiting anxiously for Dr. Tofu.  The doctor came out from his
examination room and said "Well--he's had some kind of shock, but otherwise
his body is in perfect physical condition.  However, he will be out for a 
while."  Akane turned to Genma and said "Mr. Saotome, could you bring him
home?  I need to ask Dr. Tofu something."   "Certainly, I will leave 
right now."  After Genma had left, cradling the limp body in his hands,
Akane turned to Tofu and said, quietly, "The truth, doctor--how bad is it?"
Tofu sighed.  "Akane, the first part of what I said was true; his body is
in perfect physical condition.  What I didnt' say was that his--soul--I guess
you could say, his soul is "missing".  What makes Ranma, Ranma, just isn't
there, and I don't know what to do."  "Very well, Doctor, thank you...we will
do what we can."

End Part 1
Yes, I know it's long, but if I posted it int he form it was originally, 
each section would barely have been a page.  This is *not* an ongoing series,
I plan on having part 2 (getting started o) be the end of this sordid little
tale.

 Soun:"When he's a boy, she just wants him.  When he's a woman, she wants 
       him dead."
Ranma:"...salad sandwich, and soup bread.  Wait. Soup bread doesn't exist."  
Akane:"Pile up enough dust and you've got a mountain, right?"
"KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF SHAMPOO!!! *SLAM*" -Mousse, in full kick-ass mode
"Only the supremely wise and the ignorant do not alter." -Confucius
email at:geist@holly.colostate.edu -- Ukyo on IRC at #ranma!