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Remind My Heart
A Ranma 1/2 Fan Fic
By Stephanie A. Gonzales

_________________________________________________________

My heart
That was rapt away
By the wild cherry blossoms-
Will it return to my body 
When they scatter?

	  -Kotomichi
_________________________________________________________



     Early evening.
     A man stood at the door of his dojo, looking up at the
rapidly darkening night sky.  His hair was all grey, but he
stood straight and his chest was as broad as it had been
when he was still a young man.  His countenanace held the
wisdom of his 80 or so years lightly; there were very few
wrinkles on his face.  The years had indeed been kind to
him.
     A cool  breeze blew by, picking up fallen cherry
blossoms and depositing them in the small pond by the dojo. 
He shivered just slightly as the wind gently tugged at his
clothes, but he didn't pull his eyes from the sight above. 
The full moon was beginning to rise in the east and the
evening star was setting in the west.  The Milky Way cut
clean across the sky between the two.  It was the evening
star that he was looking at, thinking of a time long ago
when he had done the same.  There had been someone with
him that time though.  Tonight he was alone.
     She used to love doing this, he mused.  He stood there
several minutes before a look of pain washed over his
expression.  But as soon as it appeared it was gone again. 
He sighed and walked into his house to escape the chill in
the air.  Once inside, he made tea then went to sit in the
living room.  He found himself thinking about what he'd
been doing outside.
     I haven't done that in years, he thought to himself.  He
had avoided doing anything that reminded him of her. 
Tonight, however was different.  Now, he wanted to
remember her.  He wanted to remember their short time
together, all that she had meant to him.  Because tonight, he
had lost her forever.
     No, I lost her 60 years ago, when I didn't come back for
her in time.  With that thought, all the pain he felt at losing
her then came rushing back.  He no longer fought the tears,
instead letting them flow over unfamiliar territory.  He had
considered himself immune to the tearing he felt in his chest. 
How can it still hurt after all this time? 
     He remembered the day he came back and found out that
she'd married another.  After the initial shock had worn off,
anger and denial set in and he left again without speaking to
her.  How could she have married _that_ man?  Why hadn't
she waited?  Didn't she know how much he had loved her? 
No, she didn't know.  I never told her.  I thought I'd have all
the time in the world to tell her once I got back.  But it was
too late.  He had travelled Japan, improving his skills,
refusing to think about her.  
     But no one had ever taken her place in his heart.  
     No one else had her gentle smile or her light laughter. 
No one else had her beautiful eyes; those brown eyes that
held both strength and passion.  He had never met another
woman like her.  And so, he had never married, devoting
himself instead to his training, and later, teaching.
     He refilled his teacup and sighed.  News of her death had
come this afternoon, when he had finished with his last
student.  Takuma, who helped him teach at the dojo and
would later inherit it, had brought the message to him.  He
thought of the young man he had raised as his son, after the
boy had lost his own parents.  Now Takuma had his own
family to look after.  He smiled.  Has it been that long?
     He rose and brought the teapot and his cup to the
kitchen, then went to his room.  He set up his futon and
closed his eyes, but his mind was still full of thoughts of his
lost love.  Finally, after about an hour, he fell into a fitful
sleep.
     Only to awaken some time later to a faint sound, like
someone calling him.  He sat up and looked around, then
finally spotted something on the wall facing him.  
     The wall was beginning to glow.  
     In that glow, a shape was beginning to resolve itself into
a person.  He saw that the figure was a woman, then 
gasped as he recognized her.  He stood and walked over to
her and was only faintly surprised when he turned back and
saw himself still sleeping on his futon.
     She looked as she did when he had first met her, her
long, dark hair falling in waves over her shoulders.  His
heart pounded in his chest.  "Am I dreaming this?"  The
words came out as a whisper as he looked at the vision in
front of him.  But she wasn't a vision.  She's right here in
front of me, real enough to touch!  Tentatively, he reached
out and touched her cheek, then gasped again when she
smiled up at him.
     She reached up and covered his hand with her own. 
"No, you're not dreaming.  It's been a long time, my love." 
Her voice was the same as he remembered, sweet, almost
musical.   
     He started at her last comment.  "You call me that, even
with all that happened?"
     "I may have married someone else, but my heart was
always yours until the day I died."  There was a hint of
sorrow in her voice.
     "But your husband..."  He had never thought that she
had felt the same way.  He never stopped loving her, but
she...
     "I grew to love him in time.  He seemed to know that my
heart lied elsewhere, but he was a good man and always
took care of me."
     He was silent as he thought about this.  He took her
hands into his and said quietly, "I'm sorry if I caused you
any pain.  I...I had always meant to tell you how I felt-"
     She put her finger to his lips to stop him.  "I knew.  I
always knew.  But I was given no choice in my marriage. 
Father thought you had left for good and in his eyes, he had
to redeem the family honor by marrying me to the son of a
wealthy man.  I was very unhappy and angry at first...but I
resigned myself to the fate that I'd been given."  She paused
and a look of pain crossed her features, quiet pools forming
in her eyes.  "Why didn't you come back for me?"  With
that, the tears fell silently down her cheeks.
     "I did, but by that time, you had married.  There was
nothing I could do, so I left."  He stopped and wiped her
tears with his thumb.  He then saw his reflection in her eyes. 
He appeared as he had all those years ago, her last image of
him.  "I  travelled all over Japan, concentrating on my
training and trying to forget you.  But you were always
there in my heart."  He smiled and brushed a strand of hair
back from her face before continuing.  "After a while I
started teaching, opening my own dojo and training new
students.  I was content, but there was always a piece
missing in my life.  At least until I found Takuma."
     "Who is that?" she asked, a hint of jealousy in her voice.
     He laughed briefly.  "He's an orphan that I raised as my
own son.  He will inherit the dojo when I'm gone.  Takuma
helped to ease the pain and loneliness I had carried with me
for years.  He's become quite a remarkable young man."
     "If he has, it's because his father has raised him that way. 
I wish I could meet him."
     "Me too,"  he said quietly.  He had so many questions,
but he asked the one that was uppermost in his mind. 
"Why?  Why are you here now?"
     She smiled again.  "Let's just say I was allowed to return
to you, even for this short time."  She paused and glanced
out his window.  "The night is still young - let's enjoy it
together."
     The moon was now high overhead and casting its soft
glow over the yard.  They sat outside by the pond talking
quietly, not thinking of their sixty years spent apart, just
happy with this one night together.  He didn't even know
how they had ended up outside and he didn't care.  Time
had ceased to have any meaning to him now that she was
beside him again.  
     They talked all night under the stars, watching the cherry
blossoms float softly to the ground and occasionally onto
the pond.  Once, a shooting star streaked overhead and they
both made a wish, smiling because they each knew they had
made the same one. Too soon, though, the moon dipped
lower into the western horizon, signaling the coming dawn.
     She gave his hand a squeeze.  "It's time for me to go."
     They were inside again, near the wall where she had
appeared.  He had known she was going to leave, but didn't
want to think about it.  In one night, they had managed to
relive a lifetime.  Now, again, his heart was tearing in his
chest at the thought of being apart from her once more.
     She looked up at him sadly, wet streaks already on her
lovely face.  "It seems I'm the one who must leave this
time."
     He gazed down at her and felt the longing and regret
that were apparent in her expression.  For the first and last
time, he reached out and enfolded her in his arms, never
wanting to let go.  "You and I were meant to be together. 
Does it really end like this?"
     She spoke into his chest.  "Someday we'll be together
again.  I truly believe that.  You must also, if it is to come
true."  
     One tear escaped from his eye before a fierce look of
resolve appeared on his face.  When he spoke, though, his
words were quiet.  "If we meet again, I'll never let anyone
come between us.  No one will take you away from me. 
And I'll never let anything happen to you."  He paused and
held her tighter.  "I swear it."
     His vow echoed in her mind as she closed her eyes and
clung to him with all the strength in her arms before finally
stepping back.  He let go reluctantly and looked at her one
last time.   She moved back into the soft glow that she had
come from before turning back to him again.   She gave him
the smile that had always stopped his heart.  "Remember
me," she said, then she was gone.
     He found himself back on his futon and sat up.  A dream,
he thought as he looked around.  Then he noticed the wall. 
It was still glowing.  What?  In the glow, he saw strange
passing images of people he'd never met and places he'd
never seen:  a land with many pools and bamboo poles;  a
girl, no, a boy with a pigtail, performing a kata.  There was
something familiar about him.  He saw a girl with
short hair watching the boy fight someone.  He then saw the
boy and girl arguing.  He chuckled.  Did she just hit him
with a wooden sword?  The last image he saw was of the
two of them standing by a river looking down as the water
reflected the light of a billion stars.  He gasped as he got a
closer look at the girl.  Her eyes...  She has beautiful brown
eyes, just like...   Could it be?  Someday...

	*		*		*

     "...Someday I won't come here to wake you up and you
can go hungry because your dad will eat your breakfast!" 
Akane looked down at Ranma again and saw that he was at
last waking up.  Yep, that did the job, she thought.   She
had considered dumping cold water on him, but decided
that she didn't want to hear him yelling at her on such a
beautiful day.   
     Besides, last night had been so...well...special to her. 
Ranma had gone through so much trouble to retrieve her
tanzaku, even getting knocked out by fireworks.  But he
had said the strangest thing when he had regained
consciousness.... Something about those reunited lovers,
Orihime and Hikoboshi.  Sometimes the strange things he
said were cute.  She smiled and started to rise when she
noticed that Ranma was looking at her.
     Wow!  was all he could think when he opened his eyes. 
Akane was smiling at him.
     "What's wrong, Ranma?  Why are you looking at me like
that?"  Although she had to admit that she didn't mind, it
was beginning to make her feel uncomfortable.  He wasn't
saying anything, he was just staring at her.  "Hey, are you
awake?"  She bopped him lightly on the head.
     Ranma sat up.  "Huh?!  What did you do that for,
Akane?"
     "You were acting weird, Ranma."  She blushed slightly. 
"You were staring at me like something was on your
mind..."
     "I was?!  Geez, sorry."  He scratched the back of his
head.  "I had the strangest dream.  Do you believe in
reincarnation?"  The question sounded odd to his own ears. 
Did I just say that?
     Did he just ask what I think he asked?  "I don't know.  I
never thought about it."  She thought for a moment.  "Are
you sure those fireworks didn't do something to your
brain?" she joked.  Ranma gave her a warning glance, so 
she decided to change the subject.  "Well, breakfast is
almost ready, so you'd better get up now."  She rose and
went to the door.
      "Okay," he said, watching her as she silently left.   He
recalled the events of the last night, and that look on
Akane's face when she thought she had lost her tanzaku. 
He couldn't stand for her to be unhappy, so he went after it,
only to end up in the path of an exploding fireworks rocket. 
The things I do for that uncute girl.  But the explosion-
induced dream I had was kind of cool...
     Then his heart quickened as he remembered details from
this most recent dream.  Soft moonlight.  The small pond
and the cherry blossoms floating on it.  How he held Akane
in his arms and the anguish he felt when she had left him for
the final time.  Wait a minute!  That girl wasn't Akane.... 
He wasn't the guy in his dream...or was he?  And that
definately wasn't the Tendo Dojo.  But why did it seem so
familiar?  "Get a grip, dummy, it was just a dream," he said
to himself. 
     Or a reminder... 
     He and Akane destined to be together?
     That's not too bad a thought.
     Ranma shrugged and headed downstairs to breakfast.  I
must have gotten a hold of some bad takoyaki last night, he
thought as he reached the staircase.  It gave me the
strangest dreams...


Fin.
May '96


Copyright 1996 Stephanie A. Gonzales

Author's Notes:
   This Fan Fic was inspired by two very different sources.
	-Volume 35, part 11 of the Manga.
	-An X-Files Fan Fic called "Grey Fox" by Sarah          
	 Stegall.

Many thanks to J. Palmer and Michelle Mista whose
comments and suggestions helped to straighten out the
kinks in this story and whose own Fan Fics inspired me in
the first place to write a love story of my own.

Ranma and Akane are property of Rumiko Takahashi,
Shogakukan, Viz, etc. and are used here without
permission.  No offence intended.  ^_^   Takuma is mine.

Comments can be sent to  jrhaye@earthlink.net  with 
my name under the Subject line.